Chapter 29: Gym of Faith! Echo vs Lan
The next day, the group had all woken up and were eating breakfast in the lobby of the hotel as they waited for the call that Lan was ready to battle. "So which of you two is going to take on the gym first?" Sigma asked between bites of his food.
"I want to make sure that my team is ready to go, so Hibiki is going first." Echo said.
"Still only have three Pokemon?" Cherry asked.
"Yes. Well… technically no." Echo responded as she got out a Pokeball.
"Is that Sly's Mismagius?" Hibiki asked, a hint of concern in her voice.
"Don't worry, I don't actually plan on using it. The temptation is there, but all that tells me is that I need to see about finding more members to my team." Echo said as she put the ball on the table. The others all nodded in agreement as they continued to eat, Echo thinking of things to do while waiting. Eventually, Echo & Sigma broke off from the group to talk about what Pokemon would work well for her. "Are you sure you're fine giving me one of your personal pokemon?" Echo asked, a tad unsure.
"Yeah it's totally fine, I have plenty that I'm not using and I would rather they be used on another trainer's journey. Besides, your team really isn't that ready for Steel types and you really need something to help." Sigma told Echo as he got out his laptop.
"You're… not really wrong on that part." Echo admitted. Sigma simply smiled at that as he went through his Pokemon Storage and looked at what he had.
"I will go ahead and ask this now, is there any type that you want specifically? I know that I said we need to prepare against steel types, but I do want you to be comfortable." Sigma questioned.
"Oh what a gentleman. Since you're asking, I'm good with any type, but I would like a Poison or Fire type. Poison type feels a bit redundant given what I have to go up against, but it'll work for after." Echo responded. Sigma nodded, rolling his eyes a tad, as he proceeded to look through his collection of Pokemon. After a few minutes of showing Echo various Pokemon and getting a sense for what she liked, before leaning back in his seat.
"Well, we have a list that we can choose from. Problem is I think it's a tad too big to reasonably narrow it down in time cause you really like a lot of these." Sigma said as he handed the list of 30 Pokemon to Echo.
"I could ask why you have so many pokemon, but then again you probably caught a lot back home and when you were with Neo Cypher." Echo said as she looked through the list. Echo took a few moments before sighing as she scratched the back of her head. "Yeah I really did pick a lot of Pokemon didn't I?" Echo said with an awkward smile.
"Hey, that isn't a bad thing, it just shows that you have a lot that you want to use. Still, what to pick for you?" Sigma wondered.
"Maybe we should just get me a temporary member for this gym and decide on one later. Steel is not the gym I want to be stuck at." Echo told Sigma.
"That is true, but that does make me wonder what Pokemon wou-" Sigma began to respond before thinking about something. Echo tilted her head as Sigma looked through his Pokedex until he found the Pokemon he was looking for and staring at it. "I think I have something in mind, but I need to make a quick call." Sigma said as he got up.
"Ok?" Echo responded, a tad confused. Sigma walked out of the room as he got out his phone and began to call someone, leaving Echo alone in the room. Echo stayed still for about half a minute before getting a bit curious, walked over to the door and put her ear against it.
" … Really, just like that? … Ok, what do you want me to do? … Excuse me, could you repeat that? … Um, no issue, just give me a second, I need to get her." Echo heard Sigma say. As she heard the end of that, she backed away from the door and pretended she was thinking before Sigma entered the room. "So I do have someone willing to help me get the Pokemon I'm thinking about, but they want to talk with you for a bit." Sigma told Echo, blushing a tad.
"If that's all and they're trustworthy, I don't see why not." Echo responded. Sigma smiled awkwardly as he handed his phone to Echo, who took it and put it up to her ear. "Hello?" Echo said.
"Hey there, am I talking with my brother's boyfriend?" the voice on the other end asked.
"Yes it is, may I ask who I'm speaking to?" Echo responded calmly while glaring daggers at Sigma, who was nervously standing by the door.
"This is his sister Phica, but you can call me Phi. Now then, I take it that you're the friend that my brother mentioned?" Phi said.
"Yeah I would be." Echo said, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance.
"Cool. So, the Pokemon my brother was telling me that you needed a Pokemon that can help deal with steel types. I think I can get you one of those, but I want to ask you a question first just for my curiosity." Phi told Echo.
"Ok, what would that question be?" Echo asked.
"SInce you are aiming to be your region's Champion, what is it that drives you to be the Champion?" Phi asked. Echo nodded and was about to give a quick answer before pausing, taking a moment to consider the question a bit more.
"The reason I want to become champion is because I want to look out for my family. It might not seem like much, but my family means everything to me and if I can make them happy, I'm more than happy with myself." Echo told Phi after a brief moment of thinking.
"That… is not an answer I was expecting, but I do love that reason. Apologies if I put you on the spot like that, I just want to make sure that the Pokemon I'm sending was going to a good person." Phi said.
"It's all good, I totally understand that line of thinking." Echo said with a smile.
"Ok then, tell Sigma to head to the Pokemon Center so I can send him the Pokemon in question. Also, if you don't mind, I want to keep talking with you for a bit." Phi told Echo. Echo nodded and relayed the order to Sigma, who nodded and headed out to go to the Pokemon Center.
"So, what did you want to talk with me about?" Echo asked curiously.
"First off, is my brother still there?" Phi responded.
"No, he just left." Echo said, now a tad concerned.
"Ok, then you can drop the act now." Phi told Echo, a hint of relief in her voice.
"What are you talking about?" Echo questioned nervously.
"Girl, you're fine, I can tell you're a good person. My brother wouldn't vouch for you if he did." Phi said, smiling on her end.
"Huh, why put up the act then?" Echo asked.
"I wanted to ask you a question about my brother, one that I just want to know." Phi said.
"What would that be?" Echo questioned.
"Well, is my brother doing anything bad?" Phi responded, a hind of dread in her voice. Echo was quiet as she looked out of the window towards the Pokemon Center as SIgma entered it, smiling at the sight.
"Not anymore." Echo told Phi.
"Somehow, I'm surprised at that answer. Thank god." Phi sighed in a relieved tone.
"How long have you figured that something was up with Sigma?" Echo asked.
"For about a few months now, around the time I started attending the academy. I figured that something was up when he accidentally sent me a secret document and didn't realize it, but I didn't want to say anything as I didn't want to put him in danger." Phi explained.
"I see." Echo said.
"I'm happy to hear that he's not doing anything bad anymore, though I have a feeling that you might have helped with that." Phi commented.
"You could say that." Echo said.
"Oh, I just realized I never got your name." Phi said with an awkward laugh.
"Echo Eversong." Echo responded.
"Good to know, we should meet up sometime after you're done in your region Echo. Take care of my brother for me." Phi told Echo.
"It would be a pleasure to meet you in person Phi and I'll make sure he doesn't get into any trouble." Echo said.
"Ok, I'll go send the Pokemon now, bye." Phi said before hanging up the phone. Echo put Sigma's phone on the desk and smiled as she looked in the direction of the Center before she put a hand close to her heart.
"Sigma's girlfriend huh? …Why don't I dislike that idea?" Echo wondered to herself as she went about waiting for Sigma to get back.
After waiting for Sigma to return and getting her new Pokemon, the two made their way to the gym. As they entered, they heard the sounds of a battle happening from the main area. "Looks like we got here just in time." Sigma said. Echo nodded as they rounded the corner just in time to see Melody using Brick Break on a Magnezone, knocking it out.
"Magnezone is unable to battle! The winner of this match is Challenger Hibiki!"
"All right, great job Melody." Hibiki said as she walked up to Melody. Melody smiled and nodded as she slightly twitched from the electricity flowing through her.
"Not bad you two, that was some fine teamwork." Lan said as he recalled his Magnezone.
"Told you we could handle that one. Might have been a bit too close to comfort, we managed to do it." Hibiki told Lan.
"Looks like we got here just in time." Echo said as she and Sigma walked up.
"Yeah you did, just finished up with Hibiki here." Lan said with a smile.
"I'm a bit sad you had to miss the fight, it was a bit close at the end." Hibiki told Echo.
"A bit close, funny. I brought out one of my stronger Pokemon and you still beat them with relative ease." Lan responded as he handed Hibiki his badge. Hibiki gave an awkward smile as Melody hovered over to her shoulder and sat on it.
"Good to know I don't have to worry about it then. I take it you'll need a moment to get the team you'll be using ready?" Echo questioned.
"Yeah, just hang out for a bit while I get it ready." Lan said as he walked to the back of the gym. Echo nodded as the four of them walked to the stands where Cherry was sitting and talking with Adagio, who was sitting next to her.
"Miss Adagio? What are you doing here?" Echo asked as she walked up.
"I am here because I had heard about the attack on the ship, so I wanted to make sure everything is ok. Seems I had nothing to worry about for the most part, so I decided to stay and see if you two would take on Lan." Adagio explained.
"Thankfully we did manage to handle it, but we really did cut it close, at least I feel like we did." Echo said as she sat down.
"Yeah, the grunts were a hassle, but your brother's help was appreciated in taking them down. I was lucky he was there because he is pretty good at fighting." Sigma commented.
"That definitely sounds like Alegro, he's always been one that's ready to fight the bad guys at any moment." Adagio said as she thought about her brother.
"He was really friendly, but I have noticed that he can be a bit intense at times." Hibiki told Adagio, thinking back to her first encounter with him.
"Oh that, he's generally always been like that. No out of anger mind you, he's just naturally intimidating." Adagio responded with an awkward laugh. As Sigma and HIbiki kept talking with Adagio, Echo looked over at Cherry, who was sitting alone and hunched over her laptop typing something. A bit curious, Echo walked over to sit next to Cherry, who took notice and looked up at her with slightly tired eyes.
"Hey Echo, didn't see you walk in." Cherry said with some exhaustion in her voice.
"Had a bad night?" Echo asked, a tad concerned for Cherry.
"I guess you could say that, I've just been thinking about the events as of late and getting worried." Cherry told Echo.
"I'm not even going to try and say that we're ok in that regard, the last few days have been a thing." Echo admitted with a heavy sigh.
"Yeah, certainly have been. It's not that I'm worried about you two… ok that's a lie. What I'm trying to say is that this is getting out of hand really fast and I'm just terrified that I'll lose you two to their more extreme actions. Symphia was a good friend of mine and I feel like I would let her down if that did happen" Cherry said.
"Sadly a real possibility, but one we're just going to have to deal with for now." Echo told Cherry, giving her a pat on the back. Cherry simply nodded heavily as she looked at her laptop before closing it. "What were you typing out by the way?" Echo asked.
"Oh, just filling your mom in on the situation. I know you two probably do that on your own, but making sure is always a good thing." Cherry explained. Echo simply nodded, though she was dreading to hear from her mother later, as Lan walked out with a new set of Pokeballs.
"Ok, got my team selected. Are you ready to go kiddo?" Lan asked.
"Yep." Echo said as she got up and walked over to the field. As the two got into place, the Rorom Drone flew above the field.
"The battle between Challenger Echo and Gym Leader Sigma will now begin. First trainer to lose three of their Pokemon is the loser! Battle Start!"
"Let's show them what you're made of Psy!"
"Come on out Mawile!" As the two pokemon appeared on the field, they both waited for their first commands to come as they kept a distance from each other.
"Mawile, use Sandstorm." Mawhile nodded as she roared and created a sandstorm that encompassed the field.
"That will be an issue, but we can deal with it. Psy, use Charge Beam!" Psy did as she was told, charging an electrical beam before firing it at Mawile, who managed to dodge before it hit her.
"Get in close and use Ice Fang." Mawhile dashed as fast as it could before reaching Psy and attempting to hit her with its glowing maw, who barely dodged in time. "Don't let up, use Iron Head!" Mawile, being close already, immediately lunged forward and hit Psy with a head-first lunge, knocking her back a bit.
"Fight back with Fire Punch!" Psy nodded as she quickly punched Mawile with a flaming fist, hitting her target and knocking Mawile back while doing a good bit of damage.
"Use Taunt!" Mawile shook off the pain and damage before taunting Psy, who took the bait and was more than a little peeved.
"Psy do- and this just got a bit harder. Ok, then use… Thunderbolt." Psy immediately obliged and launched a bolt of thunder at Mawile, who took advantage of Psy's more impulsive attack and the still ongoing sandstorm to dodge.
"Dark Pulse!" Mawile nodded before concentrating and sending out a pulse of dark energy, hitting Psy and getting her attention to Mawile's location.
"Use Thunder!" Psy was a tad wary of using that move, but trusted in her trainer despite her current state and launched a large bolt of lightning that tore the sandstorm. It hit its target, causing Mawile to yell in pain as it almost fainted, but barely managed to hang on. "Fire Punch!" Psy nodded as she dashed forward to finish off Mawile as they stood up.
"Use Sucker Punch!" Mawile stood it's ground as she waited for Psy to get up to her before the two traded punches. Psy fell to her knees in pain, but stayed up and looked to see Mawile fall on its back, unconscious.
"Mawile is unable to battle!"
"That wasn't half bad Echo." Lan said as he recalled Mawile.
"Given what you gave me with that Mawile, I think I did ok. Did you really have to Taunt Psy?" Echo said as she looked at Psy, who was more than ready for a fight despite looking very tired.
"Hey, all is fair in a Gym battle! Speaking of, let's keep the pressure on, Lairon." Lan said as he sent out his next Pokemon. Lairon roared as it appeared, making Psy straighten up and get ready for a fight. "Use Iron Defense and follow it up with Rock Slide!" Lairon nodded as its shell became harder and sturdier before stomping the ground and causing rocks to fall on Psy.
"Psy, dodge and use Thunderbolt!' Psy obliged as she gracefully weaved around the rocks before launching a bolt of electricity at Lairon.
"Protect!" Lairon roared as a barrier was erected in front of him, blocking the attack from Psy.
"Get in close and use Fire Punch!" Psy quickly began to dash towards Lairon and her fist was engulfed in fire before jumping and landing the punch on Lairon, though it didn't seem to do much. "Right, part Rock-type, forgot about that." Echo thought to herself.
"Bulldoze now!" Lairon reared up and stomped the ground in front of it, causing shockwaves to shake the field and causing Psy a lot of pain as she felt her legs give out a bit. "End it with Rock Blast!"
"Dodge!" Psy barely managed to dodge the attack from Lairon, but was very weak and knew it wouldn't last long.
"You won't get away for long, Iron Head." Lairon roared as its head shimmered before it began to charge at Psy.
"... Nothing for it, use Thunder." Psy nodded weakly as it yelled, sending a large bolt of thunder at Lairon that managed to hit. However, Lairon powered through and rammed Psy, knocking her on her back unconscious.
"Kirlia is unable to battle."
"You did good Psy, get some rest." Echo said with a small smile on her face, returning Psy to her Pokeball.
"Not bad, but you'll have to try harder than that." Lan said with a tough smile as Lairon roared.
"Well, I'll just have to give all I've got then. Let's go Shock!" Echo said as she called out Shock. As Shock appeared on the field, Lan was a bit surprised to see it in it's Wash Form.
"Ho, took a bit of countermeasures against me I see." Lan said, a wide smile on his face.
"As much as I wanted to bring the Heat Form, your preference for rock moves made that a bit difficult. Went with the next best choice." Echo responded as Shock happily danced.
"Well I can work with, use Sunny Day." Lairon roared into the sky as a harsh Sunlight covered the field, making Echo pinch her nose in annoyance.
"Ok, we're going the hard route for this. Very well then, use Double Team and follow it up with Confuse Ray." Shock nodded as it split into various doubles before launching a volley of light at Lairon which hit its target. Lairon attempted to look towards where the shot came from, but wobbled as it went cross-eyes from confusion. "Nice job, now use Electro Ball!" Shock nodded as all the doubles moved in unison before the real Shock launched a ball of electricity.
"Dodge it Lairon!" Lairon attempted to follow the order, but instead jumped right into the attack, making it hit. "I know you can do this Lairon, use Rock Tomb!" Lairon nodded and was going to follow the order, but hit itself in its confusion.
"Man, I can't believe this works. All right, let's set up a Rain Dance." Shock obliged and pointed its hose into the sky before launching a cloud that covered the sunlight and creating rain.
"Lairon, close your eyes and focus. I know you can get through this." Lairon did as it was told, closing its eyes as it tried to focus and break its confusion.
"Hydro Pump now!" Shock pointed its hose at Lairon before letting loose a torrent of water that was powered up by the rain. As the attack looked like it was about to connect, Lairon's eyes shot open and it dodged out of the way in time.
"Nice! Counter with Stone Edge and follow it up with Shadow Claw!" Lairon roared as it slammed into the ground, causing a surge of rocks to make their way to Shock as Lairon waddled forward.
"Dodge and use Dark Pulse!" Shock quickly dodged as several rocks jutted out of the ground where he was before sending out a wave of dark energy that hit Lairon. Lairon powered through the attack and got up to Shock, slashing at him with a claw of shadow that hit and made Shock back up.
"Not bad Echo, but what are you going to do now?" Lan asked.
"Well… I set up the rain for a reason." Echo said with a sly grin. Lan thought back to the Hydro Pump that Shock had tried to use earlier before realizing something.
"Use Dig to get underground Lairon."
"Too late! Shock, use Thunder!" Shock nodded as it let loose a massive surge of electricity that managed to hit Lairon before it managed to head underground, causing Lairon to scream in pain as it fell on its side unconscious.
"Lairon is unable to battle."
"Should have figured that you had two of that move." Lan sighed as he recalled Lairon.
"A bit of a gamble, but I think it worked out." Echo said as Shock cheered.
"Well good thing that I decided to bring my ace. Pull us through Bisharp!" Lan exclaimed as he called his last pokemon. As Bisharp appeared on the field, Echo was a bit nervous at that when she looked at Shock. "Ok, let's make this quick. Use Swords Dance." Bisharp nodded before taking an offensive position as its blades grew sharper and sliced through the rain.
"Ok, cautious game time Shock. Set up a Reflect and use Electro Ball." Shock nervously put up a barrier around itself as launched a ball of electricity at Bisharp. Much to Echo's surprise, Bisharp quickly dodged out of the way and dashed towards Shock.
"Metal Claw!" Bisharp's hand was covered in a silver glow as it struck Shock, causing him to yell in pain.
"Hydro Pump!" Shock shook the pain off and aimed its hose at Bisharp before letting out a torrent of water that connected, but didn't seem to bother it much as Bisharp shrugged off the attack. "Ok then, use Thunder Wave."
"Dodge and use Poison Jab." Bisharp quickly dashed towards Shock, ready to hit him with a flurry of punches.
"Protect!" Shock quickly put up a barrier around itself as Bisharp's attack connected with it, causing a noticeable clang of metal. Echo looked at the falling rain and noticed it was letting up, which gave her an idea.
"Will-O-Wisp!" Shock was confused by the order before he remembered their new recruit and nodded, following his order. He produced several balls of fire and launched them at Bisharp as the barrier fell, who managed to dodge the attack in time.
"I don't know what they're planning, but end this quickly with Brick Break!" Bisharp obliged and attempted to close the distance to get a hit in, but Shock kept a distance between the two, even if Bisharp was gaining ground.
"Keep as much distance as you can Shock! Use Thunder Wave! " Shock nodded and looked back to launch a wave of paralyzing electricity at Bisharp, who quickly dodged and resumed the chase.
"In that case, jump in front of it and use Metal Claw!" Bisharp nodded, leaping over Shock before turning and getting its attack ready as the rain started to face.
"Perfect, use Will-O-Wisp once again!" Shock did as it was told, running towards Bisharp as it managed to produce the balls of flame again. As the Metal Claw hit Shock, the Will-O-Wisp managed to also find its mark, giving Bisharp a painful burn as Shock fell unconscious.
"Rotom is unable to battle!"
"You did great Shock, return." Echo said as she recalled Shock.
"I take it that you had a plan and achieved it." Lan said as Birsharp held completely still so the burn wouldn't hurt him.
"Yes I did and it went perfectly." Echo responded. Lan tilted his head as he tried to figure out the plan when he realized that it wasn't raining anymore. "Exactly, now come out, Specter!" Echo said as he tossed out a Great Ball. As the ball opened and the Pokemon appeared, Lan was a bit shocked to see a knight in purple armor with flaming sword arms standing before them.
"Ho, a Ceruledge. Didn't expect you to have one of those with you." Lan said, a hint of surprise in his voice.
"Had a bit of help from Sigma to get him. Now, let's finish this battle." Echo said as Specter roared for battle.
"All right then, Bisharp. Use Assurance!" Bisharp nodded as it went up to Specter and attempted to hit it, but Specter dodged out of the way.
"Night Shade!" Specter quickly dashed up to Bisharp before slashing at him with his spectral swords, causing him to slightly wince.
"Dark Pulse!" Bisharp let out a yell as it let loose a wave of dark energy that hit Specter, causing him to wince in pain as it staggered back.
"Don't falter, use Flame Charge!" Specter held his ground before engulfing himself in fire and charging at Bisharp, hitting the Steel Pokemon and causing it to scream in pain.
"Bisharp, are you ok?" Lan asked. Bisharp nodded weakly as it wobbled a little, looking at Specter who was getting ready for another attack. "All right then, use Iron Defense and follow it up with Aerial Ace." Bisharp's skin grew a bit sturdier as he ran forward towards Specter and lunged at him, hitting his mark with one of his arm blades.
"Swords Dance and follow it up with Shadow Claw." Specter, not flinching in the slightest, sharpened its spectral blades before attempting to hit Bisharp with a claw of shadow.
"Dodge it and counter with Foul Play!" BIsharp quickly stepped out of the way of the attack before punching Specter in the gut, causing Specter to get launched back.
"Specter!" Specter was on the ground for a moment before bringing himself to his feet and staring at Bisharp, who was looking equally as run down as him. ""Looks like the next attack is the final one. In that case, give it everything you've got with Flame Charge!"
"Let's do the same! Night Slash!" Bisharp and Specter both nodded at their respective commands as they both charged at each other, Specter being engulfed in flames and Bisharp's arm turning black. Neither slowed down and the two attacks collided with each other, with the two Pokemon passing each other. There was no movement before Specter fell to one knee and Bisharp fell forward onto the ground, falling unconscious as it did so.
"Bisharp is unable to battle! The winner of this match is Challenger Echo."
Echo was silent for a moment before yelling victoriously and running to hug Specter. "You did a great job, Specter." Echo said as she hugged Specter. She quickly let go as she felt the heat from Specter, who looked at Echo with a hint of concern. "I'm good, just need to get used to that." Echo told her Pokemon.
"That was a fine battle Echo." Lan said as he recalled his Pokemon.
"Thanks Uncle Lan." Echo responded.
"You make me proud and I'm more than happy to award you with the Cargo Badge." Lan told Echo as he held out a badge that looked like a cargo ship on the sea. Echo took the badge in her hand, looked at it proudly, and placed it in her badge case. As she put her badge case away and called back Specter, she heard someone run up behind her and turned just in time to see Hibiki as she hugged her.
"That was absolutely amazing sis. Your new pokemon is so cool and that whole battle was astounding." HIbiki squeaked as she squeezed her sister in a hug.
"Thank you sis… but could you let me breathe?" Echo said in a strained voice as she tapped Hibiki's arm.
"Oh… sorry." Hibiki said, releasing Echo from her hug. As Echo took a moment to breathe, Cherry, Sigma, and Adagio all walked up to her.
"Not bad Echo, I'm starting to get a bit nervous about my position if you two keep improving like that." Adagio told the twins.
"Wow, some praise coming from our reigning champion. I shouldn't be surprised, but it's still nice to hear." Cherry said.
"Hey, just giving praise where it's due." Adagio said, a small smile on her face.
"It's praise that they both deserve in my opinion." Sigma commented. Hibiki and Echo looked at each other before smiling, giving each other a fist bump of celebration.
"As much as I don't want to be a downer in this situation, don't get too cocky yet you two. You still have half of the gyms to go and they only get harder from here." Lan told the two.
"True and we still have to take care of Neo Cypher." Hibiki said. Echo nodded as she looked down at Specter's Pokeball, clutching it tightly.
"I won't lose you sis… I won't." Echo thought to herself. Interrupting her train of thought was a buzz from her phone, which she grabbed and saw a text notification. "Oh we should probably get going." Echo said as she read the text.
"Right, the professor is getting here in about two hours." Lan told the group.
"Professor?" Adagio asked.
"Professor Micheal, head of the Pokemon Research Lab in the Orre Region.: Cherry responded.
"Really? Well if you don't mind me tagging along, I wouldn't mind meeting him." Adagio requested.
"Sure, I don't see why not." Hibiki said.
"Ok, you all should hit the road so you don't have to rush too much. Oh and before I forget, just be careful if you run into Neo Cypher. Since we took care of them without much incident last time, I would suspect they plan on upping the ante next time you find them." Lan told the group. Hibiki nodded at that as the group exited the gym and headed out to Alaria City.
?, Communication Room…
"... and that is the end of my report, Master S." Sly said through her monitor.
"Man, you didn't even get stopped by the one with the Meloetta. You got stopped by her sister." Strong chuckled to himself.
"Well they wouldn't be a problem if you had stopped them, but what did you do? You underestimated them like you always do with trainers." Sly bit back.
"Settle down you two." S ordered. The two commanders merely grumbled to themselves as they obeyed. "Now then, given what has happened recently, I'm giving the go ahead for the plan to start." S told the two commanders.
"Sir, forgive me if this comes across as insolence, but are you sure this is a good idea? We don't have a substantial hold over the region and we still have Pokemon to convert." Sly said.
"The issues are acknowledged, however given the current state of affairs and that girl, I believe this is the best course of action." S responded. Sly and Strong nodded as S typed on his keyboard for a moment before sending out a message to all troops. "It's done." S said.
"Guess I better get back to base then." Strong said.
"Actually, I would like you and Sly to oversee sending the yet to be converted Pokemon to our friends overseas. I think I am going to take care of our little problem personally." S told his two commanders. Strong and Sly both nodded before logging off, leaving S alone in his communication room as he stood up and got out his phone. "Still, if I am to take care of this trainer, it might be good to have a backup plan." S thought as he called one of his other commanders.