Badge verification
Article 5
1. In the event that any of the presented badges is found to be counterfeit or falsified during the authenticity check, the following measures shall be taken:
a. All badges, regardless of their authenticity, shall be confiscated from the trainer.
b. The offending trainer shall be permanently barred from participating in any future iterations of the Champion's League.
xxxxxxxxxx
I've Been Around
xxxxxxxxxx
Chapter eleven – Infiltration!
xxxxxxxxxx
Nothing but silence greeted Callahan and Risa as they soundlessly climbed higher up the rocks. He twisted his head to the sides, frowning as the lights in the mountain cast suspicious shadows all over the area.
"Move quietly," he mumbled as Risa strode past him. They moved over the land, careful not to step into the light of the moon. Callahan could neither hear nor see anything out of the ordinary coming from the base, but the atmosphere left him with an eerie feeling of being constantly watched.
As they moved closer to the mountain, Callahan's ears caught the sound of someone shouting. He looked up, quickly locating the source coming from one of the holes in the mountain. The voice was deep and hoarse, as if the owner had been smoking since he'd been nine years old.
"Risa," Callahan mumbled and motioned for the girl to come closer. "You're good at climbing, right?" Risa nodded, so Callahan turned around and pointed up at the closer of the two openings. "Think you could climb up there and see what it looks like, how many we're up against?" he asked.
"Right." Without making a sound, she dashed across the space between their hiding place and the mountain.
It didn't take her more than a few minutes to reach the large opening. Now, more than ever, she wished she owned a dark hat, as her blonde hair could give her away if someone were to glance in her direction. She braced her legs against the curves in the mountain, and after inhaling deeply a few times, she peeked over the edge.
She didn't dare rise too high, so she could only see a small fraction of the room. A seemingly enormous cave resided within the mountain, and from what Risa could see, the cave had been renovated into the perfect base. This particular room was styled after a normal living room, with couches on the side contrasting the harsh stone walls.
A throne had been carved out from the mountain wall, the seat currently occupied by a man; by far the largest man Risa had ever seen.
"The leader..."
His body was solidly built, with large muscles the size of cannonballs running across his arms and short, jet black hair standing up straight all over his head. He was dressed in a dark tank top and equally dark cargo pants, the cuffs tucked into a pair of heavy combat boots. Risa could swear she even saw a few golden teeth.
"Where is Norman?!" the man shouted and slammed his fist into the armrest of his throne. "He and his platoon were supposed to get here with the boy over two hours ago!"
"The boy," Risa repeated silently. "That has to be the guy we met a few hours ago."
She didn't have enough patience to watch the big man throw a tantrum, so she quickly navigated back to the base of the mountain.
"The leader's in what seems to be a throne room," she said when she slid down the mountain and leaped in front of Callahan. "I'm guessing the Pokéballs are stored in one of the other rooms."
"And the guards?"
"I couldn't see any," Risa said. "He'd have seen me if I'd climbed any higher. But the room was pretty baren apart from the throne, so I think they must be in another room as well. They seem to be connected by a lot of tunnels."
Callahan nodded and looked around. He could hear the leader's growls from here, but apart from that, the area was silent. "Okay, let's try to find the entrance," he whispered and started prowling along the mountain base.
They didn't have to move far before spotting a crevice. An orange light spilled from it, nestled amidst a jumble of colossal boulders.
"Wait." Callahan raised a hand to stop Risa, and he perked his ears as he could've sworn he'd heard something move from inside the entrance. "Someone's standing just inside," he mumbled.
"Should we wait?"
Callahan send her a smirk. "Improvise."
xxxxxxxxxx
Two guards were standing boredly inside the torchlit tunnel when they heard the sound of a Pokémon. Startled, they looked up from what they were doing, angling towards the moonlight that sippled through the entrance. A large shadow stretched towards them, haunting and large. It was intimidating enough to make them reach towards the Pokéballs attached to their belts, until the mysterious figure revealed itself.
Sudowoodo was standing obliviously inside the tunnel, looking around as if he had no idea what he was doing there.
"What's a tree doing in here?"
The guard gave the other a whack on the head. "That's not a grass Pokémon, that's a rock-type, you idiot! Can't you see?"
"Alright, alright, I got it! So what? You want me to catch it?"
"No, I want you to make sweet love to it—of course I want you to catch it!"
"God, I feel sorry for your wife. You got anger issues, honey!"
"Say honey once more and I'll make sure it'll become your issu—"
Barely had the words left his mouth or Sudowoodo materialized two rocks above his head and shot them at their heads.
The two guards fell unconscious to the ground, and after staying hidden for a minute longer, just in case someone would come out to check on them, Callahan and Risa squeezed through the crevice.
Risa would've made a joke about him even being able to squeeze through that narrow gap had the tension not been thick enough to clog their throats. Her heartbeat increased, pounding uncomfortably at the vein near her left shoulder. She massaged it uneasily, taking a deep, shaky breath before eying her companion.
Callahan patted Sudowoodo before shifting his gaze towards the three foreboding tunnels stretching out before them. The air hung heavy with anticipation, each path overflowing with unknown dangers.
"I can hear the leader from all the way over here," Risa whispered as she peered into the left tunnel.
"Then we know which one not to take. We'll stick together?"
Risa frowned, as if the answer was all but obvious.
"Okay." He swallowed thickly, trying to detect any voices coming through the tunnels. Once the leader was done shouting, everything fell eerily silent. Nothing except the echo of dripping water and the sound of their breaths rang against the walls.
They took the middle one.
Though dimly lit, the tunnel revealed occasional glimmers of light from hidden torches built into the stone, casting flickering shadows on the rough-hewn walls. The echo of dripping water provided a haunting backdrop to their descent, never failing to make them jump every single time. They delved deeper and deeper, rounding corners and reaching different crossroads. Both lost the way back soon enough, and the only solace admits the encroaching darkness was the Sudowoodo walking up ahead, who seemed to lose more of its courage with every step it took.
It was only when they rounded another corner that they were confronted with a long corridor ending with a large door. No guards were visible, so they sneaked soundlessly along the narrow hall, cautious not to kick a rock or step on something that could reveal them.
Once they reached the door, Risa pressed the side of her head flat against the thick wood. "There are people in there," she breathed out as quietly as she could. "I think I can hear... laughter. Rattling. And…"
"And what?"
"Pokémon," Risa said with dilating pupils. "Screaming."
Without another word, Callahan pushed her aside and opened the door.
Risa hissed for him to be quieter, but Callahan's curiosity overruled her protests. With a sweaty hand, he cracked the door open just enough to peer inside.
The sight that greeted him was both astonishing and concerning. Shelves lined the cave, reaching all the way to the cave's domed ceiling, each one brimming with Pokéballs. The air was alive with a soft hum, accompanied by the rhythmic clattering of Pokéballs being transported along a complex maze of treadmills. The mills navigated the Pokéballs down towards a drop, letting them clatter into thick steel boxes stationed at the far end of the room.
There, a group of workers diligently sealed the tops of the boxes, their movements quick and precise.
Amidst the bustle, one person with blond hair caught his attention. The figure leaned back against a wall, his legs crossed in a girly-fashion. He nodded as the workers gave him a thumbs-up and ordered two Machokes to carry the box towards an ordinary wall which, with the tap of a button encircling his neck, caused it to split open with a low rumble.
The gap provided a passage for the captured Pokémon to pass through. Moonlight spilled in. Then, it closed automatically, making the torchlit room grow darker again.
Callahan closed the door gently.
Risa stared up at him with worried eyes. "And?"
Callahan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, all fear had left his eyes, the dream of beating his first gym having all but smouldered it.
"Jackpot."
Without further thought, Callahan recalled Sudowoodo into its Pokéball. He sneaked through the door and vanished into the outer shadows of the cave. Risa watched him from the crack in the door, gnawing at her bottom lip before following his lead.
The two of them moved like phantoms along the outer edge of the room, hiding in the shadows that shielded them from the prying eyes of the factory workers which passed them every so often.
Amidst the deafening clamor of machinery, Callahan's eyes widened as he finally stood opposite the rows of shelves. His heart raced with excitement, yet his attention was abruptly stolen by a sharp, anguished shriek that pierced the air.
Turning his gaze, Callahan's eyes locked onto a scene unfolding nearby. In a desolate corner of the factory, a tall chicken with a yellow upper body and orange lower body was being forcefully yanked from a jail cell that was carved into the rocks. Five imposing men surrounded the struggling creature. With desperate flails and futile struggles, the Combusken fought relentlessly against its captors, trying to rip its claws through the workers' stomachs, but its efforts were in vain. With all the power inside their bodies, the workers forced the Combusken beak-first onto the ground.
"Edward!"
The blond guy from before turned his head and tossed some of his long hair over his shoulder as he made his way towards the crowd.
"Look," the worker said as they kept the Combusken down.
Through the darkness, Callahan could just barely make out a symbol which was scorched on the Combusken's shoulder blade, its feathers being ripped off around that part. It was a simple square, with a fist in the middle.
"That burn mark," the workers shared each other a look, "that's…"
"Yeah, it must've escaped." Edward rubbed a finger past the red skin.
"Escaped? Past those armored walls? How the hell did that thing manage? That city is the most militaristic hellhole I've ever laid eyes on. There's no way it climbed over that, let alone past all the guards."
The blond shrugged and patted against a container that was being filled with Pokéballs. "We're shipping this load to Ironclad anyways. Maybe we'll even gain a bonus when we ship it back to them!"
"Good idea! But do we," the worker bended towards Edward's ear, "see a bit of that money ourselves, or do we…?"
Edward smirked and patted the guy on the back. "Finders keepers. I'll tag along with that one anyways. Just buy something nice with it for the kids."
"Thank you, sir!"
One of the workers smiled at the blond. "What are you going to spend it on?"
Another worker came amidst them. "On girls, I'm sure."
Edward laughed extravagantly with his hands perched on his hips, tightly clad in black leather. "My friends, allow me to teach you all some of my wisdom. Hookers are not, in fact, women. Women grow older. Hookers wear down."
"There it is, his holy wisdom!"
The group burst into laughter. They were too busy with their 'intelligent conversation' to see two silhouettes creep towards the shelves.
Callahan craned his head all the way back to look at the rows before him. He snapped out of his daze. "Quick, stow as many in the bag as you can."
The two started shoving as many Pokéballs into their backpacks as humanly possible. When the backpacks were full, they started shoving them in their clothes.
Dear Arceus, Callahan thought as he propped some in his pants, thank you! Thank you! Now, I have finally a chance of beating the league and be on time.
"What about the Pokémon of the boy?" whispered Risa as she stuffed some in her hoodie. "You think it's in one of these, or in the cells?"
"I don't know, and I don't care."
Risa swallowed anxiously and scanned around. The men were still busy chatting. She wasn't glad with the way Callahan said that, but at this point, she really had to agree with him. It was impossible to find the boy's pets between all of these, and the risk…
Risa shook her head. "L-let's go."
"Yeah."
Crawling to the darkness around the walls, the two kept their gaze locked on the group of men. The Pokéballs in his shirt were clattering softly against each other with each move he made, until one rolled out of it and fell onto the ground.
One of the people on the treadmill turned his head. "Huh?"
He stepped closer and closer. Not before long, he stood in front of the Pokéball and picked it up. The man looked around, then shrugged and put it back on the shelf.
Callahan and Risa panted like maniacs, sweat pouring off them that reflected the red hue from the torches in the distance. They had crawled in the darkest shadow they could find at an incurve in the rocks. Their hearts were beating so fast that it echoed through the room and made them feel dizzy.
They gave each other a look, then made their way towards the door.
He planted his palms against the double doors and gently pushed it open, only to see a gigantic muscular figure with jet black hair stand before them.
"Hey there."
The doors were kicked open with a deafening crash, bashing against their heads and sending them flying a good distance back into the room.
Callahan tumbled to a halt and looked up.
Not only was he greeted by the blond man and the gigantic leader, but close to hundred men now stood with their heads turned in his direction, all wearing extremely threatening expressions.
xxxxxxxxxx
A/N: To be continued...
Until Monday, farewell my friends!