Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, only Pokémon owns me.

Notes:

I'm really sorry for not uploading this sooner. I didn't have enough free time to complete writing this sooner. When I sit down to write, I eventually write a lot in one go, but I generally didn't have much time for that to happen. Sometimes, I had zero free time to write at all. I've been somewhat busy over the past month or so, so I'm very sorry for the inconsistent upload schedule. Also, I plan to rewrite parts of Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, so enjoy this chapter while I work on those. Also, I'll make sure to write and upload Chapter 8 sooner.

Chapter 7 — Deal With It:

It had been several days, with the professor having strictly cautioned them not to go outside for fear of danger from those unidentifiable thugs, but for the quintet, things had finally given in. The house and the professor were nice, and they were never short of food or conversation, but being stuck inside for an unspecified, indefinite time was just too much to ask for. It was a problem for all of them, and yet no one could freely talk about it. The professor was just too nice to them, and besides, there had to be a real risk for someone as undemanding as him to issue a demand anyway. Against all this, Sally still spoke up, doing what no one thus far had dared to do.

Sally: "Guys, we can't stay here until Arceus-knows when. For all we know, these guys might never see us again. They weren't even in London to begin with, and it could take months or years for the police to find them and catch them. Or... they might never be caught."

Damian: "I agree. I didn't become a Pokémon Trainer just to be confined in another house. I want to travel, see as much as I can, and do things I've never done. While I've never had this seafood linguini and it's really nice, or any of the other food he's made for us, eating isn't the only thing I want to do either. Neither is always sitting down on a sofa when it isn't food time, even if it's the best quality leather I've ever sat on and rested on."

Gideon: "I mean, I haven't faced an Arcean cult group that potentially wants me dead and commits eco-terrorism before, but I doubt they'd be a trouble to us right now. Especially since the professor has already told the police about all of his findings and is working with them. These guys would do well to stay hidden right now. Besides, I've travelled the world over, seen four continents and fourteen different countries, and I've had to deal with… let's just say, more dangerous matters. It's much better than being attacked and almost killed by local gang within a matter of minutes from each other in Shanghai, just 'cause of the colour of your skin. Those guys even had knives and machetes. Compared to there, at least it's much more peaceful here, and there's many people who'd offer their help. No one would do anything but watch what was going on through their windows when I got attacked."

Everyone had to admit that Gideon had a point. He had lots of experience, some of which rivalled people twice his age, and had seen and done things most people would never get to do. To Jackson, though, a question still lit up in his head. How did Gideon, a semi-famous Pokémon Trainer and Gym Leader who almost beat Sally Gregor, the crowd favourite in the Pokémon World Championships, have such a mysterious past? He'd hopefully know someday, though it was hardly appropriate to ask now, even if Gideon sometimes talked about things he experienced, ones that most people would never get to or would have to experience themselves, straight out of nowhere.

Tristan: "But what if these guys really are waiting for us? What then? It's not that hard to track us down, especially when Sally's pretty much a celebrity. Hell, the paparazzi would've still been outside if the reporters didn't require rest, food and time with their families."

Gideon: "Are you sure the paparazzi have families?"

Jackson: "Maybe not, but I don't know what to do either. After what these thugs did to me, I really have no idea what they could be capable of. The old man's a professional archeologist and a biologist, and has other clever people working for him, and may have found a way to harness the power of a mythical Pokémon. Like, what do you suggest I do? Either this guy's mad, or he actually can use the kind of power that only religious texts from a certain religion have described, and regardless of that, clearly could wipe us all out if he wanted to. I vote we stay. We don't know what he's capable of, and we've already seen him cause major damage."

Damian couldn't deny that Jackson had had a rough time in these last couple of days, but staying here for "safety" was sucking his soul up.

Damian: "Nothing's going to happen. Besides, we're robbing ourselves from doing anything."

Jackson: "Well, what if something does happen to one of us? What will you do then? Ignore everything, like you do always?"

Damian: "Well, what if that something is us not having any fun all because of several people that we'll almost definitely never have to see again? I'm tired of waiting for a problem that doesn't exist to be over."

Jackson: "Cause you're the one that got hurt? Nah, the only thing that happened to you is that you got butthurt. I almost drowned inside a block of ice because of a psychotic Veluza, and then an hour later, I almost got stabbed by a bunch of quasi-religious cultists who started a snowstorm that could've also killed me. Grow up. We're in real danger, and I'm the one getting shafted by it all while you get to play hero and put us in real trouble."

At this, Damian had nothing to say. He knew that he was being selfish at this point, but he was burnt out, unable to do anything because of a series of problems entirely out of his hands. It was the most frustrating kind of problem he could face, one that limited him greatly whilst being totally out of his control, and he felt dangerously close to just exploding. He'd had plenty of problems like this, and this was precisely why he'd become a Pokémon Trainer in the first place, to escape all of these uncontrollable problems littered in his life. All of that, just to find yet another one.

Damian: "If you want to stay, that's fine, but that won't stop me from going. Have fun sitting on your butt all day and doing nothing as usual, yet again!"
He got off the sofa, hastily took his bag, and then stormed off, slamming the front door behind him.

Sally: "Sorry. I'll go talk to him."

Outside, Sally found Damian sitting on the stone steps leading to the door, deep in thought. For someone like Damian to just erupt in this fashion seemed unusual, and Sally knew the problem lay deep within.

Sally: "You good? You seemed… really angry almost in an instant."

Damian: "I'm sorry for that, I just can't cope with being stuck inside, even if it's a big house and the food is nice and we can watch and play whatever we want and-"

Sally: "Silly, I get you. I'm not happy with this either. But rather than arguing with them, I would've just snuck out if I were you. With you. Boy, it's getting hard to speak."
The two of them laughed at the awkward choice of words, pretty much erasing all of the tension he'd had. Damian would've never expected Sally to trip up with words. She always seemed so… perfect at everything. Top marks in class. Social butterfly. Expert battler. Smooth talker. Though, he reminded himself, he wouldn'tve expected what she'd said to him at the beach yesterday either.

Damian: "Well, I can clone myself if you want, how about that?"

Sally: "Well, let me think, for one, it'd be hard to find your other half, and he wouldn't be anywhere as interesting as you. Or as smart as you. Or as outright reckless as you."

Damian: "I'm reckless? 'Cause I was the one who thought that not warning anyone before going somewhere on their own was safer?"

Sally: "Well, I did say that you would be by my side. Or are you saying that you couldn't protect me if something did happen?"

Damian: "I'd certainly do a hell of a lot more to protect you than you'd think. Also, did I ever tell you that you're really cute when you pretend to pout?"
Sally couldn't help but blush, and she responded by gently stroking his curls.

Sally: "I have an idea that I'm certain you'll like. If you want, we could go out somewhere. Just the two of us. That could further calm you down. Or, get you started up, increase your heart rate, if you know what I mean."
She winked at that last sentence, immediately flushing red, turning her head towards the floor. Her blush was met with an even more ferocious reply.

Damian: "I'd love to. Thanks, you're the best."

Sally: "Just one thing first. Promise me you'll apologise to Jackson when we get back. He's been through too much all at once, and he deserves to be treated better."

Damian: "I knew it was wrong even as I said it, but it also felt so frustrating that the only reason we couldn't go out was because Jackson and Tristan felt uneasy over people we'll never see again in person. Also, I do not "get to play hero and put us all in danger"."

Sally: "He was unfair on you, but remember, he looked traumatised from that Veluza that almost killed him, and he almost died again only an hour later. He likely has PTSD from all of that. That's why I said that it's better to sneak out, because then there won't be an argument anyway. And you can always just apologise if people get angry because they figured you sneaked out. They'll be far less angry by that point. It's best to just diffuse the situation like that."

Damian: "That does sound smart actually. We should get going." (it was not as smart as he thought it was)

Sally: "Gladly. What would you like to eat?"

Damian: "I don't mind. What about you?"

Sally: "I don't mind either. We very much are indecisive. Maybe I should choose for us instead. I have the perfect place in mind."

Damian: "Well, where's the place? Sally, you're the best."

Sally: "Thanks. You are aware of just how much you say that, though, don't you? Also, no answer for your question, sorry. It'll be the best surprise you've had, though, I'll promise you that."
The couple chuckled together.

The two walked down streets, hand in hand, coming closer and closer to the mystery place Sally had in mind to eat in. Although neither of them had called it as such, both knew that this was essentially a date, and were looking forward to it.

Finally, they found a suitable place, and sat down to an outdoor table. The table had already been wiped, and menus had already been placed down. This wasn't your typical experience.

Damian: "You sure we shouldn't go to a different place? This looks-"

Sally: "Too fancy? Don't worry about it, being this famous has its perks. I can pay for this."

Damian: "You sure? Don't you think I should be paying for it?"

Sally: "Come on, don't be silly. I know you'll love it. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think you'd like it. You don't have to feel guilty about it."

Damian: "Thanks."

Waitress: "May I get your orders please?"

Damian: "Give us a moment please, we're still deciding."

Even after a minute or two of glancing at the menu, they still struggled to decide. Arceus, there were so many options to choose from. Eventually, they decided on what to have, though it was clear to Damian that even the well-mannered waitress seemed to be getting impatient.

Sally: "I'll have the rib-eye steak."

Damian: "I'll have a spaghetti bolognese."
At this, Sally almost deadpanned. You take him to a fancy restaurant, and the boy just wants a plate of pasta? Well, she would've done so, but she had to remind herself that Damian had probably never been anywhere even half as fancy. People of course tend to stick with what they're already familiar with, and this was of course much more likely to be when there were so many unfamiliar dishes to choose from, with half of the names not even resembling something legible upon first glance. She had to keep it a bit more simple, for his sake, even if part of her ridiculed it.

Waitress: "What will you drink? Any starters?"

Sally: "A large bottle of water for the both of us would do good. Unless you're fine with us breaking the law and drinking underage. As for starters, we could have some garlic bread."

Damian found it funny how nonchalantly Sally could speak about sudden random thoughts in head, though the waitress just seemed annoyed, with the sudden offtopic nature of her comment distracting her from writing down the orders. Thus, the woman had to ask for the orders to be repeated, and finally managed to fullly write them down onto her pad of paper before going back inside.

Sally could tell something was slightly off with Damian, prompting her to speak about it.

Sally: "So, anything on your mind? Is this about me paying again?"

Damian: "No, it's just that as much as I want to enjoy this time, those guys are still at the back of my mind. What if I've put myself in danger? Or worse, what if I've put you in danger, just by disobeying the professor?"

Sally: "I'm sure nothing would happen. Besides, even if I hate being famous due to people being this fanatically obsessed with me, it has its uses. If something was to happen, there would be enough people that recognised me to try to rescue us both. Worst case scenario, if he evades them and runs off with us, there will be good footage of that guy's face along with his henchmen, and he'll be caught whatever he does and wherever he goes. Just forget about all of it right now. Just knowing that you're here with me is already comforting enough. You're definitely stronger than anyone else."

Damian blushed at those last few sentences, feeling flustered by her thoughts, and looked over sweetly at her. Her hands, already placed on the table, slowly crept closer to Damian's until they met, and her brown eyes shined bright like diamonds, communicating with his.

Damian: "Aww, you're so sweet."
He was gently stroking her delicate hands, his fingers meeting with hers. They felt smooth and warm to touch, and there was something inviting about holding them. They seemed perfect, inducing feelings of soothing, comforting, calming; words indescribable and all soon forgotten. There was more depth to it than met the already meticulous words required to attempt describing it.

Sally felt much the same, lost in a swirling bokeh of thoughts and feelings. His hands felt strong and tough, and despite the sweat on his palms, the warm, tingly sensation of them embracing her delicate fingers with their powerful masculinity made her drop the awkwardness, the embarassment and the nervousness in a heartbeat, and those heartbeats sure were quick. His hands were careful in their movement, making sure to be gentle with hers, and caressed tenderly, longing for that connection, making her feel calm, protected, at peace.

Damian's plan was to wait until after they'd eaten, but the two of them very much seemed to be getting impatient. For Sally's hands had put him under such a spell, that to break it would be to enact the impossible. The scene They sat palm-to-palm, eyes locked intensely, until they felt gravity work on their eyelids, and a magnetic force pulled them closer together. Damian's hand found itself magnetised to Sally's rosy cheek, and her lips hugged his. It was a passionate kiss, and one that demonstrated all their thoughts and feelings together, conveyed their emotions about one another, all in a simple, yet mesmerising gesture.

Quite some time had passed, and Gideon was beginning to get worried about Damian and Sally. Jackson had been fuming, perhaps because the only real alternative was to go through those traumatic flashbacks that had seemed to be glued to his brain; and while Tristan was still trying his best to calm his friend down, Gideon had long given up. It was horrendous, sometimes, to be the only one who acted based on logic, rather than emotion. To him, both Damian and Jackson had successfully pointed out each others' flaws in their respective arguments, but neither would accept said flaws about their own arguments. Any criticism about them seemed to be totally ignored.

Jackson had started ranting a mixture of anger, paranoia, guilt and fear, and it had been going on nonstop for so long that Gideon had filtered it out entirely. In fact, to him, it had been so totally silent that his ears had started ringing from the perceived quieteness, and if it hadn't been for the fact that Jackson's lips were still rapidly moving after over an hour and a half, he wouldn't have noticed that Jackson was still speaking. In a way, this was worse than actually hearing him, as the ringing in his ears combined with the endless movement of Jackson's mouth was making him go crazy.

Gideon: "THAT'S ENOUGH! I CAN'T EVEN HEAR MYSELF THINK! YOU'VE BEEN GOING ON ABOUT THE SAME THING FOR ALMOST TWO HOURS! TWO...FUCKING...HOURS!"
Gideon's rage was sudden, but it was wearing off soon enough.

Gideon: "Have you even stopped to think where Damian and Sally might be? By not taking a step back and thinking you have to stand your ground, you made him step outside anyway. He's gone off to do the very thing you're scared about doing. He might be in danger, and it's because of you! You, and both his and your ridiculous levels of stubborness, that is."

Tristan: "We have to tell the professor. What do we do what do we do what do we-"

Gideon: "-We take it seriously for once. We talk to the professor, but we also have to find them before it's too late. Luckily for you, I have a tracker installed on all of us. They're in our bags, and I also installed an app as a double measure just in case. Oh, and there's one on each of your Poké Balls, just in case. I even made sure to also put them on the ones in the Poké Ball room that has your other Pokémon."

Tristan: "The fuck? You could've told us this. This feels… grossly violating."

Gideon: "I thought of doing this after what had happened on the beach. I knew that something would happen at some point. I mean, our group's morale wasn't exactly sturdy after the Veluza attack, and it was even worse after the storm. Something was bound to happen. If not due to one of us, then due to those crazy terrorists."

Jackson: "Let's do it."

Gideon observed that Jackson had never said so much by speaking so little. It intrigued him that someone usually so outspoken was being so reserved, but nonetheless did not have the time to think about it outside of this cursory exchange. His observant nature was both a blessing and a curse, and right now, it was the latter, as it distracted him from the most important thing to focus on. They would have to find their friends quickly, after all, or potentially risk great danger caused towards them.

Damian and Sally were, at this point, completely finished with their food. It had been lovely for the both of them, having enjoyed not just the food, but each others' company. They'd been speaking about various different things, ranging from their experiences after they'd parted ways for a while when Sally had decided to become a trainer, to other things such as their passions in life (Damian had never known about Sally's interest in baking, nor about her interest in motorcycles; equally, Sally had no idea that Damian had gotten into rock climbing, having always thought he spent too much time indoors) and their experiences with last year's summer holidays. Suddenly, they both noticed at the same time that a waitress, indeed the same one as the one that had taken their order, was passing by again.

Damian: "We'll have the bill, please."

The waitress seemed almost offended, as if she wanted to tell them about the huge selection of desserts that they'd forgotten about and would've missed. What Damian and Sally had both failed to notice, however, was that the waitress seemed to have one of her hands in her pocket, fumbling about inside to find something. After a long pause that the couple interpreted as the waitress debating whether or not to talk about the desserts, she finally answered.

Waitress: "Sure. Would you like a receipt?"

Sally: "No thank you. We-"

The waitress pulled out what appeared to be a tiny gun, and would've pulled the trigger if it hadn't been for a millisecond realisation from Sally just in time for her to elbow the waitress in the gut, temporarily immobilising her. The waitress' tiny gun, already having been difficult to grip just from its small size, fell to the floor, giving the couple a perfect opportunity.

Sally: "Run!"

The two began to sprint away, not having a moment to piece together what had just happened. They neither spoke nor looked back, their only goal to put enough distance away from their mysterious assailant. Even after having put some distance between the dangerous person, they could still hear a very real gunshot go off, presumably aimed towards them, which luckily missed. People who sat on tables nearby to theirs screamed, causing mass fear to spread within the whole restaurant in mere milliseconds, and caused everyone to run away. Unfortunately, with the large amounts of people being all within close proximity of each other, some people tripped up and were being crushed.

Nonetheless, said mysterious assailant had somehow avoided the sudden chaos she had caused, and was behind Damian and Sally, well away from what she'd unfolded. Despite the adrenaline pumping through her body, Sally's ears could determine the attacker's footsteps, and knew that at least she wasn't quite so near them, but even so, there was no guarantee that the woman wouldn't try to fire another shot. Or succeed, for that matter, assuming she was skilled enough that neither the recoil nor the accuracy would be a problem.

Waitress: "Stop running before things have to get ugly!"
She shouted that very loudly, the contents of the sentence echoing throughout the street.

Damian: "Never!"

Yet another shot was fired, this time missing Damian by only mere inches, though if the shot had hit, it would've gone through the back of his foot. Of course, neither Damian nor Sally could tell whether this had been the shot of someone skilled or someone outright incompetent.

They continued running, with neither person having missed a beat from that gunshot. Unfortunately, neither had the woman who was still holding the gun. In fact, she'd been shooting while running, rather than stopping to shoot, which was an enormously difficult task, enough that Damian and Sally finally decided that the person was skilled rather than stupid.

Unsurprisingly, all of this running was grueling work, even though both of them were in great shape. It had been more than two minutes since they'd fled the scene, and they'd put up considerable distance, but so had their attacker, who seemed to be gradually inching closer and closer. Despite the headstart, and the waitress attire's restrictive midi-skirt, she'd somehow been slightly faster than them.

Things took a turn when a car approached them from the right, and they had to jump in order to avoid getting hit. This helped stop the grunt from catching up, but it cut away from part of their own too, so it wasn't quite so helpful as they'd imagined.

Just then, Damian spotted someone else ahead nearby, one that was in front of where they were facing. The light, creamy beige-coloured suit; the matching trousers and hat; the elaborate beard; even the bridge of his nose: he looked… almost... familiar? Wait!

It suddenly clicked in his head, albeit slower than he would've admitted. At least it was just because he was forced to focus on his running, otherwise he'd count this as embarassingly long, even by his standards. This was none other than the old guy from the photo that the professor had used to be friends with.

Sally: "Isn't he the old guy from the photo?"

Damian: "Yes. What do we do?"

Old Guy: "My name is not "The Old Guy". I implore you to stop right there, before there has to be any trouble. Just watch and see what I could do to you in seconds. Or to her. I know just how valuable she is to you, so make the right decision for her sake. No one has to get hurt if you pick the correct choice, so I suggest you tread lightly and carefully."

If the old man hadn't been holding a gun, he would've ignored him. Of course, this decision would've happened before he saw the man's other grunts suddenly appear seemingly out of nowhere. Two of them came out of a car that had suddenly appeared, pne that Damian and Sally also recognised from both the photo and their encounter not two minutes ago, while another two seemingly appeared straight from behind the old man.

Old Guy: "Any questions? Or shall we start discussing terms straight away?"

Damian: "First of all, who are you?"

Sally: "I'd like to know as well."

Old Guy: "Me too. Who am I? I suppose one has to start somewhere. I'm what'd you'd call a professor, probably not of the kind your generation is so uselessly fascinated with. I, unlike the ones you're familiar with, study something that's actually worthwhile, the study of ancient cultures, as well as to a lesser extent the study of present ones too. Or, at least, I did. What would the study of them achieve, if it takes inhumanely long to actually achieve? Why not experience them for what they truly are? That's why I also studied the present, despite being a master of archeology, but that never quite answered that thirst for knowledge."

By the time the man had finished his monologue, the grunt in the waitress disguise had already long caught up with them.

Sally: "You still didn't answer our question.-"

Old Guy: "Don't be so impatient, young lady, I'll get there. As-"

Sally: "I'm not a "young lady"!"

Old Guy: "Oh, dear me. I forgot about your generation's insatiableness and lack of respect for one's elders. Well, I suppose, if one has to give a name, it'd be Haslow. Call me Dr. Haslow. I'm long past the point of them, but you're welcome to use it. You see, names matter not. No one really remembers it for long enough for it to have any value. Who will remember yours long after you're gone? Who will remember mine? We know so many names, and yet do you ever hear anyone utter Pyrrhus'? Plato's? Socrates'? However famous you are, likely no one will remember you soon enough, and if ever your name does get mentioned, either it will be for your misdeeds, in which case it will be said eternally, or it will just be momentary, all too easily shaken to dust once again."

Damian: "Does he ever answer questions in a straightforward way?"

Waitress-not-waitress: "I suppose not."

Dr. Haslow: "Oh, where were we? Right, I was about to discuss the terms about your capture. You see, you think you may have disrupted my plans, but to be honest, I did not care much about what the Castform did. As long as it did whatever I told it to do, I'd be fine, which I was. So, I don't hold anything against you two, since you never did anything to stop my plans. However, you are incredibly useful bargaining chips to use against my old friend, so I can't let you two go just yet. I believe you've met him, and have been resting in his residency for the last several days. Cuff them together!"

Having noticed Damian and Sally's suddenly shocked expressions, the man laughed after he said that last sentence, his highly elaborately sculpted beard rising with his mouth. It only ended when he started coughing several seconds later, forcing one of his grunts to slap him on the back to stop it. The laugh, the cough, the slap, all of it threatened to knock his brown hat off his head, which would've revealed layered, groomed wavy hair in such rich quantity that it would make him sound decades younger if not for its distinctive light grey colour.

The grunt in the waitress disguise brought out several handcuffs, and began cuffing Damian and Sally's arms and legs together, with the couple restrained in a back-to-back position.

Suddenly, a booming voice came out of nowhere, one that was familiar to Damian and Sally yet seemed so unusually rough, despite the person's face not yet being visible.

Professor Arauco: "Stop right there, Rupert! You'll be taking them nowhere!"

It was only several seconds later that the professor showed his face. Behind a couple of the grunts was one of Jackson's Pokémon that now tightly held them by the neck.

Dr. Haslow: "Oh, so now you decide to show your face. What was it that you'd last said to me? "Your work is nothing but a lie, our friendship was never more than a lie"? You even claimed I lied to you about my entire personal life. We could've discovered so much together, but NO, something that was definitely right that clashed with your over-rational mind was enough of an insult to throw a years-old friendship under a RUG! It's your damn ego playing over and over AGAIN!"

Dr. Haslow's plan was clearly just as personal as it was strategic. He clearly didn't just want to use Damian and Sally to gain Arceus-knows-what, but also to rub it into Professor Arauco's face just how much he'd failed at protecting those he cared about, and just how utterly powerless he was. Until the professor had come, the man had looked calm, overly calm, as if nothing in the world could rock him. Now, here he was, angrier than even the kinds of Tauros that were in Spain, his face redder than ever, and his voice had gone from gentle to full-on rock star mode. Seriously, the man had suddenly rivalled the grit-filled voices of famous rock singers, neck to neck even with Brian Johnson from AC/DC.

The professor was not much off either. He'd balled up his fists and clenched them, steaming sweat rubbing off of his forehead, and he looked readier to explode than any Voltorb or Electrode ever could. His face was just as red as Dr. Haslow's, and it was a miracle that his eyes were no more bloodshot than they usually were from the lack of sleep he seemed to suffer from. In fact, it was a miracle that he'd had any energy at all, considering the dark purple under his eyelids and the triple lines around his eyebags.

Professor Arauco: "Release them at once, or this is about to get real messy. You don't want your goons' blood all over the floor, do you?"

Dr. Haslow laughed ferociously, clearly not intimidated. He was completely unphased, no power within him lost at all: he knew he had the situation completely under control.

Dr. Haslow: "Are you sure you want to risk your very career over this? You very well know that the public would never forgive you, even if the judge found that you acted in self-defence. You know how the people and the media work, Raymond. You'd be called a murderer. I, on the other hand, have no such qualms. I can shoot you with this very gun and not have to think or care about public opinion. If it came down to you versus me, I'd win, for I'd have nothing to lose, but everything to gain; and you'd have everything to lose, and nothing to gain, not when your body lies aimlessly across the floor. Or I could let you live, watching you either here or from above, watching your life be torn apart piece by piece by the public. That would be even more fun to watch. Doing to YOU what YOU did, to ME! It would be amazing to disgrace you the way you disgraced me, and there would be nothing you could do. Nothing. Not that you do much normally."

Professor Arauco let out a grunt, followed by a sigh, looking almost defeated.

Jackson: "Maybe he won't, but I will! Ursaring, throw these grunts at the old man! Come on out, Nidoking!"

Dr. Haslow: "I have a name, you know, you insolent young man!"

Gideon: "Let's go, Corviknight!"

Tristan: "Time to shine, Houndour!"

Professor Arauco sighed, "This better be worth it," but nonetheless felt he should help, considering the immense support being offered to him. After weighing the scenario in his head for a few seconds, he finally declared, "Come on out, Weezing!" and threw out a Poké Ball open.

Without missing a beat, while sending out a Pokémon, Dr. Haslow instructed, "Protect, Aegislash!"

A moment before the grunts would've hit, Aegislash appeared from its Poké Ball, and immediately used Protect, forming a protective transparent barrier between its trainer and the people thrown at his direction. The two grunts rebounded off of it, creating a chromatic effect on the barrier, and were immediately flung onto the ground, hitting their heads on the asphalt road hard.

A moment later, Dr. Haslow sent out another Pokémon, this time a Tyrantrum, who soon very apparently towered over everyone present, enough to block out most of the sun that had shined on the professor and his friends. Professor Arauco had to guess that this specimen was about 3.5 metres tall, which made quite the difference in its size compared to its species' regular height of 2.5 metres. The female grunt in the disguise also sent out two Pokémon, a female Oinkologne and a Beedrill, and moved forward to meet her boss' opponents, as did another male grunt with his three Pokémon, consisting of a male Meowstic, a Tyrunt and a Sableye.

Despite the lack of much sunlight hitting him, thanks to the gigantic Tyrantrum, Damian realised that by now a crowd had formed where they were, intently watching the scene unfold. Some remained silent, scared; while others chose to watch with great interest and intent, often choosing to even record what was going on. Cars had stopped, unable to move forward due to the chaos that blocked that road, with drivers once again scared or interested, but more often than not, also angry. Sally, always as observant as he'd remembered her being, had also noticed, already ready to ask him a question his thoughts hadn't been fast enough to catch up to.

Sally: "Do you think the police will come here soon? I'm sure someone would have called them by now."

Damian: "Kehh? Wait, d'you mean the police?"

Sally: "That's literally what I said, silly."

Damian: "Sorry 'bout that. Well, probably is the answer you're looking for."

Sally: "And this lock breaking free is what you're looking for, which I've secretly delivered."

True to her word, Damian's left wrist was now free, though this was still only one of four. Despite the crushing disappointment he felt only a second after exhiliration, he still had to thank her.

Damian: "Thank you so much!"

Sally: "There's still 3 to go, or technically 6 if you count both ends of the cuffs, but once I free my right hand and yours, I can use Quilava to melt the other 2 cuffs. When that happens, get Haunter to attack the waitress' Pokémon from behind."

Damian: "Sounds like a plan."

Back over where Dr. Haslow was, Aegislash and Tyrantrum were fighting their opponents relentlessly. Nidoking had swung an Ice Punch aimed at Tyrantrum, but Aegislash had hit him in the face with Sacred Sword just before it could hit, sending him sideways.

Dr. Haslow: "Tyrantrum, use Rock Slide! Aegislash, counter with Flash Cannon!"

Nidoking sprang up into the air, the lime green glow of his Megahorn attack present, but was slammed into the ground by Aegislash's attack, creating an imprint onto the thick concrete pavement and a small part of a nearby house.

Rock Slide struck Ursaring, but luckily for Jackson, his Ursaring was much more nimble, able to dodge most of the rocks thrown at him. She even caught the last two, and threw it back at Tyrantrum, hitting him in the face, but unfortunately for Jackson, this did nothing except to aggravate the gigantic Despot Pokémon.

Without even a single word uttered at his Tyrantrum, Dr. Haslow's beast of a Pokémon swung his tail hard at Ursaring, who could only just about stand her ground to avoid getting crushed. The tail glowed green, a sure sign that Dragon Tail was in use, and looked much bulkier than Ursaring's entire body. Yet, Ursaring was holding his tail without too much difficulty, with only a few minor signs to show her hardship.

Meanwhile, Gideon's Corviknight had just defeated the female grunt's Beedrill, with a supporting British Weezing from Professor Arauco having significantly weakened the Oinkologne. Gideon had cleverly forced upon the grunt's two Pokémon to be packed tightly to each other by surrounding them with Double Team, making them easy targets for Corviknight to grab with its claws before then swinging them upwards into the air and striking them with Steel Wing.

Gideon: "Corviknight, grab and then use Steel Wing once more!"

Professor Arauco: "Use Heat Wave!"

Female grunt: "Use Dig to dodge it!"

The Oinkologne speedily drilled into the ground and escaped the two attacks. Luckily, Gideon had a plan.

Gideon: "Use Steel Beam on the ground!"

Professor Arauco: "Are you… sure about this? I'd rather not destroy the roads any more than necessary."

Gideon: "It's fine. Besides, we're gonna have to explain ourselves later anyway. We might as well do this."

Professor Arauco: "Okay, Weezing, use-"

Mid-sentence, Steel Beam struck the ground with a mighy crash, causing it to puke out the rubble of asphalt and the Pokémon that had burrowed herself inside it.

"-Gyro Ball!"

Weezing span mid-air into a silver ball, and then rammed himself into the Oinkologne, who had been caught mid-air from the explosion created by Steel Beam. Oinkologne was pushed back hard, crashing into a building that caused her to go through a window. The grunt looked a look of desperation, hoping to all hell for her Pokémon to get up, but get up she did not.

Just then, another male grunt's Pokémon was hurled onto a building, this time colliding into brick and glass from its left side repeatedly until friction lowered it enough to slam into the ground. Tristan's Houndour was no doubt victorious against the trainer's male Meowstic, alongside his two other Pokémon that had already fainted, lying on the floor.

Tristan: "You two idiots ready to give up now? Or shall Houndour show his worth against the both of you once again?"

It was great timing, then, for Damian and Sally to have arrived at the scene just when the fighting was over.

Damian sarcastically chirped, "Ah, so I guess you left no fun for us?", earning response consisting of a lighthearted chuckle from Sally.

Tristan: "Sorry, no time to lose. I need someone to look after them, so unless there's no objections, you two'll keep an eye on them."

Sally: "Gabite could look after them."

Damian: "And Heracross."

Tristan: "Sure. After all, that giant Tyrantrum's gonna need all of our help to beat."

Sure to Tristan's word, Jackson's Ursaring and Nidoking were having a rough time. Dr. Haslow was very dynamic with his strategies, weighing in on attack and defense in an instant when deciding on what to do. Tyrantrum was slow and bulky, so the fast Aegislash made for the perfect support Pokémon, with help dynamically changing between Aegislash's more offensive repertoire of attacks and its more defensive ones. Neither Ursaring nor Nidoking could ever get close enough before something would stop them. Whether that be Aegislash's Protect, Sacred Sword or another move; or one of Tyrantrum's, in the end, the two Pokémon would come crashing away from them. At least they were bulky Pokémon, so their fight wasn't over just yet, but it didn't seem like much was being accomplished or would be accomplished when they were knocked out. Then came Tristan seemingly out of nowhere.

Tristan: "Houndour, Quick Attack into Fire Fang at Aegislash!"

Houndour instantly leaped at Aegislash, the Pokémon's movements an instant blur, and then its teeth glowed a fiery red before sinking into the Royal Sword Pokémon's handle. The series of events seemed like a lot, but they were already over in an instant, befuddling Dr. Haslow and taking him completely by surprise. Before he could react, Houndour used Quick Attack once more to come back to his trainer's side.

Damian: "Let's go, Haunter!"

Sally: "You too, Tinkaton!"

Dr. Haslow: "Tyrantrum, Dragon Tail at the ground! Aegislash, Psycho Cut at Nidoking!"

They only had a moment to try to react to Tyrantrum's attack, but out came yet another person, with yet another Pokémon: Professor Arauco with his British Weezing. He opted for his Weezing to take the blow, as Dragon Tail's typing ensured it would do no damage to the part-Fairy-type, and would stop the move's original purpose from triggering: to wreck the ground and throw them to the ground. Having known Dr. Haslow for years, the professor wasn't sure whether the intention was just aimed at their Pokémon, or if it also directly included them.

Like he knew, the Dragon Tail struck Weezing without doing any damage, protected by a pink aura of sorts. Nidoking, on the other hand, was struck by the super effective move, sending him back yet again. He'd been so badly beaten that at this point, Jackson was forced to recall him.

Tristan: "Use Fire Spin first on Aegislash and then Tyrantrum!"

Damian: "Shadow Ball on Aegislash!"

Sally: "Gigaton Hammer on Tyrantrum's legs!"

Then came Gideon, who had quite the plan.

Gideon: "Hey, Jackson, get Ursaring on top of Corviknight. I have an idea. I'll whisper it to you."

Fifteen seconds passed, with Gideon quietly explaining his strategem to Jackson, who quickly understood the logic behind it.

"Jackson: "Ursaring, jump on Corviknight's back."

Professor Arauco: "Gyro Ball at Aegislash!"

Fire Spin hit Aegislash, trapping it in a fiery vortex, but Tyrantrum struck back with Dragon Pulse, cancelling out the second move and hitting Houndour, sending him back flying. Before Aegislash could react, Haunter's Shadow Ball struck it, almost knocking it back, and Gyro Ball collided with it a split second after that, sending it flying into a building's wall. With Fire Spin further sapping away Aegislash's health, it seemed like the Pokémon was fated to faint.

Meanwhile, Sally's Tinkaton struck Tyrantrum's legs, almost knocking it off-balance, but unluckily for her, Dr. Haslow instructed for his Pokémon to hit hers with Superpower, which stopped the move from hitting Tyrantrum's legs. Gigaton Hammer parried with Superpower, with the two moves endlessly hitting each other at different angles and in different positions, but every time Tinkaton moved to strike a different part of Tyrantrum's lower body, the Pokémon would find a way to counter it. At least she was keeping Dr. Haslow and his Pokémon occupied.

With both Jackson's and Gideon's Pokémon finally hovering over Tyrantrum, Ursaring jumped off of Corviknight, landing on Tyrantrum's head with a super powerful Hammer Arm attack that struck on cue, taking both the Despot Pokémon and his trainer completely by surprise. The attack rocked the Pokémon's balance, allowing for Sally's Tinkaton to strike Tyrantrum's legs with a powerful sweep of her hammer once again, which was more than enough to cause the Pokémon to fall.

Gideon: "Body Press, go!"

Corviknight swooped down to the fallen giant, who had forced all of the trainers to run back to avoid being hit, and with a final orange glow emanating from her shiny metallic body, crashed into the titan, dealing a massive blow.

Dr. Haslow seemed to now be panicking, for his eyes, which had been calm and calculated up until this point, were prickled with an intense fear. Gone was his look of superiority and sudden judgement, once a tool to instill fear into people's hearts, now replaced by a great pang of shock brought to his own, and it was evident that his thoughts were no longer linked together in long chains, instead a slop of smudged ideas all whipped up into his terrified expression. His hands were shaking, his body unable to keep still, and he twiddled his thumbs in the kind of way that Professor Arauco instantly recognised.

Gideon: "Finish it off with Steel Beam!"

A silvery metallic glow built up from Corviknight's beak, forming a powerful beam after about five seconds. She then fired it out towards Tyrantrum, hitting him with such force that it caused an explosion to be created, which formed thick clouds of smoke. Tyrantrum definitely wasn't getting up now. The mighty Pokémon had fallen in such short time, all thanks to the ingenious ideas of Gideon.

With a sigh of defeat that much resembled Professor Arauco's own from earlier, Dr. Haslow returned Tyrantrum to his Poké Ball. However, what no one had expected was a sudden aggression that had returned in his voice and demeanor a split second later.

Dr. Haslow: "Aegislash, use Sacred Sword at Houndour!"

Suddenly flinging itself at Houndour, the levitating Aegislash struck Houndour hard, sending him back once again, just like the Dragon Pulse from earlier had.

Dr. Haslow: "Again!"

Tristan: "Use Quick Attack into Flame Charge!"

Despite the two colossal attacks that had hit him in such a short space of time, Houndour breezed into action once again, literally flying into his opponent's Pokémon. Quick Attack turned into Flame Charge at the last second, the move's sudden impact sending Aegislash back significantly. If Fire Spin had caused burns on Aegislash, Flame Charge certainly had worsened it.

Dr. Haslow: "Use Head Smash!"

Head Smash, however, was no match for Houndour's speed. He deftly dodged past the already slow attack with a clear dramatic flair, as if to insult Dr. Haslow, and to add insult to injury, Houndour hadn't even used Quick Attack! Jumping back into the Royal Sword Pokémon, Houndour struck back with Flame Charge once again, this time pouncing on it from above to crush it into the ground, where it became stuck.

Dr. Haslow: "Aghhh! Use-"

Tristan: "-Shadow Ball!"

Whilst in the air from the pounce, Shadow Ball speedily went into Aegislash, and powerfully exploded straight upon impact, causing it to become engorged inside the road even more. Alas, it wasn't to last, with Dr. Haslow instructing the Pokémon to use Head Smash, and the move caused part of the road that had imprisoned Aegislash to crumble from the lack of support, freeing the Pokémon but causing lots of debris to collide with it before breaking from the impact.

Dr. Haslow: "Now use Fury Cutter!"

Before Tristan or Houndour could react, Fury Cutter hit from below, sending him slightly upwards. Each hit of the move increased in intensity, sending him in an arc in the air. Houndour seemed to be getting noticeably tired, with every hit of the move visibly lowering his energy. Worse, neither the Fire Spin nor the burns were on Aegislash anymore, probably smoldered as a result of the falling debris.

Tristan: "Hang on, Houndour! Give it everything you've got! Catch that stupid sword with your mouth using Fire Fang!"

Houndour, still being struck mid-air, caught Aegislash mid-attack at just the perfect moment, clenching the sword end of the Pokémon with his teeth. He flung the Pokémon back towards the ground, and then glowed white while gently descending towards the ground. To Tristan, the cause was immediately obvious: Houndour was evolving!

Ten more seconds passed, and out came Houndoom in all his glory.

Tristan: "Finish it off with-"

Before he could complete his sentence, Houndoom used Fire Blast, an attack that his Pokémon had never used before. The kanji-like pattern of the Fire-type attack flew straight into Aegislash just before the Pokémon hit the ground, sending him with enormous impact. A couple of seconds later, Houndoom's paws gently touched the floor again.

Dr. Haslow was visibly angry, and visibly defeated. He recalled Aegislash with a massive fury visible on his face, with his thick bushy eyebrows creating tension against his face. But then came a phone call from his Rotom phone, which clearly renewed Dr. Haslow's hopes up, the man's face brightening once again in an almost comical manner. Damian had never seen a Rotom phone in person, as they were very new, very expensive, and his parents had never approved of it, so to him, it was immediately eye-catching.

Grunt: "The red artifact was in his house. You should teleport to get away. The mission is done."

With that, the grunt hung up the phone, and the device swooped back into the man's pocket. Then, Dr. Haslow immediately sent out another Pokémon, presumably to use Teleport.

Dr. Haslow: "Solrock, use Teleport! Raymond, have fun with the consequences. Deal with it!"

In less than a second, the man and his cronies, as well as the unused car lying about, were gone.

Sally: "What was that? What red artifact were they talking about?"

Professor Arauco's face darkened at those very words. He was definitely aware of their meaning. His every movement, evidently full of the horror they meant, plainly showed great understanding of what the sentence had entailed. In a bleak, dire tone, he spoke up.

Professor Arauco: "He means that he stole something I own, a red chain made out of an unknown gemstone. Years ago, while studying sets of artifacts he and his team had found on an archaelogical site, he found this red chain, and progressive scans have never told us anything. I'd volunteered to help out, and at the end of it all, after being unable to find what it did, he gave it to me. He was scared that other archeological teams and institutions would try to understand it by using invasive processes, so to avoid them destroying it, he gave it to me. I don't know what it does, but we found it clamped inside a statue, and before we took it out, it was glowing. The statue seemed to have both features of Zeus and Arceus, hence Dr. Haslow's interest in Arceaism ever since. I guess this battle was just a means to stall me while one of his grunts robbed my home."

Sally: "Yeah, he seemed to be stalling for time when he captured us. He was monologuing about several important Ancient Greek people, about how no one remembers their names. It seemed… odd."

Damian: "Does he have anything to do with Pyhrrus, Plato or Socrates? He talked about them for a bit."

Professor Arauco: "None of their graves have ever been discovered, and they're rumoured to be in the kinds of places that Arcean holy books talk about. I guess it's an extension of his obsession with the religion, though he's also talked a lot about Pyhrrus. We're going to have to explain ourselves about the destruction we caused, so let's go home. Tomorrow's going to be a rough day."

Unlike the others, Gideon caught something that none of them had noticed. The professor seemed a lot more worried than the details of his speech. With that in mind, Gideon asked, "Are you sure you don't know anything else about this artifact? You sure do seem worried about it after all," and ruthlessly disregarded the professor's subtle move to end the talk.

At this, the professor felt both more terrified and yet more emboldened to speak, as if the dams in his mouth had finally burst.

Professor Arauco: "Well, I did decipher some of the text in those ruins of what seemed to be a temple, and I found out that it can be used to bind people and Pokémon against their will. I was sure it was a myth, but now suddenly Rupert — sorry, Dr. Haslow — wants it. He never knew my findings, because I realised the translation of the texts a long time after I got the artifact, but I guess his sudden heist of the red chain confirms that he knows of this, and that he wants to use it. His determination knows no bounds, and neither does his danger. He could hurt himself just as much as he could hurt us. Please don't go after him again."