Hopefully some of the rough patches out of the gate will be smoothed over here. The story in this chapter should be much more organized.
So, let's get to it…
-:-
CHAPTER 2: A New Rival and a New Mission
-:-
In the main chamber of Professor Elm's laboratory, Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Bunny found themselves face-to-face not with Elm but with a lab coat-wearing woman whose wide, pale-green eyes and curled mouth reflected a similar sense of surprise.
"Professor… Juniper?" Nekou slowly gasped, taking a step back.
"That's my name, don't wear it out," came the cheerful reply, spoken by Juniper as she turned her head to work out a cramp in her neck. "And of course, I know who you four are. I'd be quite the fool if I didn't recognize the heroes of Whitegold City, right? Doubly so for me, no less."
"Please don't take this as any disrespect," Matt said, nervously adjusting his glasses. He was wearing a different pair that covered his left eye with a golden, Ho-oh themed mask with a purple rose eyepiece, instead of his usual eyepatch. Finally continuing, he asked, "but what are you talking about, and why are you here, anyway? Where's Elm?"
"Oh, that's right, there's no way you could have known that Fennel was my old roommate from college. She called me right after you guys saved her. I want you to tell me all about your interactions with Victini and the events of Whitegold City, but first, about Elm…" As soon as she breached the topic of the other Professor's whereabouts, Juniper's expression and attitude noticeably darkened. Olivia picked up on this and fidgeted uneasily, while Bunny almost seemed as if she was holding her breath. As for Juniper herself, her voice became much more serious. "I came to New Bark Town to work on data with Professor Elm regarding the migration of Pokémon from the Unova Region into the Tohjo Continent."
"Ah, that's right," Bunny commented to herself, "the government is working to bring foreign Pokémon in from Unova so trainers here have more diverse options."
"When I got here," continued Juniper, "Elm was gone. His family told me that he said he was going to visit his friend Mr. Pokémon on Route 30, but he never came back. You can obviously guess the problem this presents, because in his absence, there aren't any starter Pokémon."
"What?!" Olivia exclaimed, before Matt, Nekou and Bunny had the chance to ask questions or even ponder the meaning of Professor Elm's disappearance. "What do you mean, there are no starter Pokémon?" she screamed, so enraged by this sudden swerve in her anticipated schedule that her eyes almost looked like they were going to pop out of her head. "I would have just gone right to get my first badge if I would have known!"
"Now, Olivia," Matt cautiously ventured, setting his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to pacify her, "I'm sure Professor Juniper doesn't mean you any harm, so being rude to her isn't nice…"
Turning her frustrated anger on Matt, Olivia threw his hand away and yelled, "You're not my dad, so don't tell me what to do!"
Nekou and Bunny shared concerned glances with each other, then with Juniper before all three turned to Matt, who returned their gazes. Matt knew all too well that he wasn't Olivia's dead father, nor could he ever try to be. What he had hoped to accomplish was bringing Olivia to a point where he could tell her the truth about her beloved father's demise instead of lying and claiming he left on a trip, but that was clearly not going to happen any time soon.
"You haven't really wasted your time, though, Olivia." As she said this, Juniper lifted up a briefcase that had been resting on the floor next to her. She set it down on a nearby table and flipped it open, revealing two Poké Balls amid a multitude of papers and field equipment. "I brought a few Pokémon with me from Unova when I came here. If you'll agree to help me with my work, I can give you one."
The sight of the two spheres in Juniper's briefcase brought light to Olivia's blue eyes. Her mood changed immediately; once again, her mind was filled with thoughts of an epic adventure ending with her becoming a famous trainer, which Olivia believed would bring her father back to her. She didn't even think to ask what Juniper wanted her to do in exchange, but even if she had considered it, she wouldn't have cared.
"That's good for me, then!" she declared excitedly. "I'll take Totodile, please!"
"Yeah, um, about that…" Olivia couldn't see them behind her, but Matt, Nekou and Bunny all saw Juniper's grimace and knew what was coming next. "These two Pokémon aren't Johto Region starter Pokémon. Allow me to show you them up close."
After taking the Poké Balls out of the briefcase, Juniper popped them open, causing two flashes of light to take shape in front of the extremely disappointed Olivia. One of the bursts took the shape of a red-and-black piglet with some yellow above its snout and a curly tail, while the other transformed into a blue-bodied sea otter whose head and arms were white.
"Tepig and Oshawott," Nekou quickly identified.
"I have to pick one of these two?" Olivia complained, shutting her eyes in exasperation. "Please tell me this is a cruel joke…"
"Olivia, don't complain." Matt reached into his closed longcoat, a mostly blue article enhanced with silver lining around its edges and a yellow feather pattern on each lapel. He withdrew a rectangular smartphone and touched its screen several times, opening an application titled 'Pokédex 3D.' "Tepig is a Fire-type Pokémon, while Oshawott is a Water-type Pokémon. Both of them have quite a bit of potential."
"But I wanted Totodile! I didn't come all the way out here just to settle for something I don't want!"
"Please, Olivia, I ask that you give these two a chance," requested Juniper. "They, along with the Grass-type Pokémon Snivy, are the starter Pokémon of the Unova Region. Tepig is a dependable partner who will ultimately evolve into the powerful Fire-and-Fighting-type Pokémon Emboar…" Tepig responded to Juniper's praise by snorting enthusiastically, snorting out some small embers. "…while Oshawott fights with the shell on its stomach, and as it passes through evolutionary stages toward its ultimate form, Samurott, it first gains a second shell and then a pair of formidable shell swords."
Evidently having picked up on Olivia's complaint about not being able to select Totodile, a Water-type Pokémon, Oshawott focused on impressing her by detaching and wielding his shell. It didn't work, and Olivia simply kept pouting.
"I went through a lot of time trying to figure out what Pokémon to take," she repeated, "and I decided I wanted Totodile. I don't know if I can get behind either of these two."
"Would you at least give them some consideration, Olivia?"
Olivia crossed her arms in response to Bunny's request. "I guess," she answered bitterly. "But don't expect me to decide quickly. My starter Pokémon was supposed to be something that could stand right alongside me, Minccino and Roselia as we won badges and Ribbons, which would force my dad to notice me again. It was never supposed to start like this."
"Let's go get something to eat," Matt suggested while slipping his phone back into his coat. Despite his outer air of calm, his nerves were tightly wound. "You can think on it while we eat, and everything will turn out fine."
"May I join you?" Juniper asked sweetly. "I really would like to hear about the things you guys have seen so far."
"Of course!" Bunny answered. "You're more than welcome."
With nods from all the others except for Olivia, Juniper's request was confirmed. She recalled Tepig and Oshawott to their Poké Balls, then put the balls away in the briefcase, closed it and picked it up before following Matt's group out.
-:-
Time had not been kind to Doctor Gabriel Zager. In the intervening eleven years between his escape from Polaris and the present, his once-orderly brown hair had become a frizzled mess with the same ghostly white pallor his moustache had also taken on. He had long since replaced his glasses with a monocle over his left eye – the one in which his vision actually was weaker – but he dressed similarly to before, wearing a rumpled purple shirt and gray trousers underneath his unkempt white lab coat.
Dr. Zager's working environment was very different than what he had before, too. His new lab was falling apart in places – wood paneling was cracking off the walls, the red curtains over the windows were riddled with tears, and some ceiling tiles were missing, creating holes through which wires of multiple colors could hang through. True to the nature of its occupant, though, the lab's equipment was still meticulously kept, affording Zager a full array of high-tech tools.
Keeping the scientist company were two very different individuals. One was a Galvantula, the evolved form of the Joltik he'd kept as a pet since his days as a member of Polaris; the large, six-eyed yellow-and-blue spider Pokémon busily skittered about the lab, amusing herself by staying active.
The other was a curvaceous woman in a white blouse and skirt, an outfit accented by bits of black around her neck, midsection and wrists as well as down at the end of the skirt, near her knee-high white boots. Her bright red hair stood out like a spotlight against the rather droll surroundings of the laboratory, and in her boredom, she was lounging in a chair next to a coffee table away from Zager's work space, her feet up on a torn ottoman. Zager was absorbed in working at his computer bank, so to break the monotony of the situation she was eating a box of doughnuts one-by-one while drinking what appeared to be a glass of whiskey.
"I hope you're going to clean up that mess when you're done, Ariana," Zager snapped irritably when he spotted the doughnut crumbs falling all over the floor. His eyes briefly glanced to the black badge on the chest of her uniform, which bore the insignia of a red letter 'R.' He then said, "I don't care if you're an Executive or not. Giovanni knows I need my space to work."
"Don't be such a killjoy, Zager," Ariana flippantly countered, making sure to drop another batch of crumbs deliberately. "Look at how run-down this place is. A few crumbs aren't going to ruin anything. Not to mention Galvantula's picking them up anyway…" This fact was true, and Zager couldn't ignore his Pokémon skittering about to collect the crumbs. "…and I'm sick, did you forget?"
"That's right, you just reminded me. Put the booze away, it's time for your medicine."
Ariana sighed in disappointment but put her whiskey down anyway, because she knew that Zager was right. After collecting a medicine bottle from the table, she walked over to a nearby counter, where there was a pot of coffee being kept hot. She poured herself a share into one of Zager's aged coffee cups – he'd collected them during his time with Polaris and was reluctant to let them go – and then dropped one of the oblong pills out of the bottle into her hand. Without skipping a beat, she swallowed the pill and then immediately followed it with a huge gulp of the coffee, despite it being completely black and quite hot.
"Ah, medicine you have to take with coffee instead of water. A miracle of modern science."
"Indeed, it was a wise creation." A sharp rapping at the door interrupted Zager, and he turned toward the portal before yelling, "Come in!"
Opening the door swiftly and deliberately, Pierce walked in, leading Jessie, James and Meowth in as well. Aside from the short feline Pokémon who was wearing no shoes, their steps made loud creaking sounds come from the floor; this was especially true of the heavy boots Pierce was wearing. Immediately upon seeing Zager, Jessie, James and Meowth all looked at each other in nervous surprise.
"Team Rocket Elite Agent Pierce reporting," the mysterious agent said, bowing slightly to both Zager and Ariana. He removed his trench coat as he spoke, eventually revealing a gray uniform with the red 'R' insignia on it. "Executive Ariana, I have brought the agents as stipulated by emergency protocol Code Black Seven."
"At ease, Pierce," Ariana casually replied, waving her hand. "There's really no need to be so serious. Not here, at least." Picking up the box of doughnuts, which she had only eaten half of, she offered, "Any of you want some of these?"
"No thank you, Executive Ariana." Pierce remained as rigid as ever, despite Ariana's clear attempt to bring a more casual mood to the gathering. "It would be unbecoming of me to so readily accept an unearned bonus."
"You really shouldn't be such a stiff, Pierce. Look, they've got the right idea."
Ariana gestured to Jessie, James and Meowth; the three had each taken considerable shares of the confections and now were eating them voraciously, earning a chuckle from not only the Executive but Zager as well.
"This certainly is bringing back memories," he said, while stepping away from his computer console with his arms crossed behind his back. "Welcome, Jessie, James, Meowth. It's been quite a while since we last met."
"The operations in Unova, to be exact," Jessie clarified. "So the boss kept you working while we were put on standby?"
After Zager responded by nodding, James asked a question of his own. "What's happened, then? The code that the boss activated was only supposed to be used for absolutely the worst emergencies. Does this have to do with his house arrest?"
"Let me show you." Zager walked back to his computer and entered a command into it, prompting the screen to display the double-helix-themed 'P' logo of Polaris. "Code Black Seven, the protocol Giovanni activated, was brought on by an attack members of Polaris staged on a speech given by Matt Chiaki last week in Whitegold City."
As he spoke, Zager's computer displayed footage of this incident. Three people in white lab coats were commanding a trio of Magneton to attack Matt, while Bunny fought to shield him using her Ninetales. Eventually, Nekou knocked out two of the attackers by hitting them in the shoulders with the heels of her shoes, then stopped the third by stabbing him in the back with her knife.
"Before that," the doctor continued, "all of Polaris's moves were merely their activities as a religious cult. This action shows that they are becoming a much more aggressive organization, which in turn must mean that their plans are nearing completion. Great care must be taken to prevent what they're aiming for from coming to fruition."
"And you're placing that job in our hands?"
"Yes, Jessie. While we have other agents still on staff, your experience in battling Team Plasma in Unova may be of precious importance."
"Well then, I would say that Polaris should prepare for trouble," she shouted, posing dramatically.
"And they best get ready, because we're bringing double," James added.
"We'll protect the world from their devasta…"
"Would you two just shut up already?" Meowth snapped angrily. "We've been past the motto thing for years now! There's no reason to start it up again!"
"Can I at least get to say that we'll keep them from uniting all peoples within their nation?" asked a pouting James.
"Meowth is right, the motto goes," Zager warned, not even bothering to turn around. "We are aware that Polaris may be planning a major operation, therefore, we must try to get the upper hand on them. Have a look at this."
Several new windows opened on the computer's screen. The outlying ones displayed differing energy readout charts, while the most important one at the center showed a three-dimensional image of a giant, jagged rock floating through outer space.
"This is the meteor Persephone-2213, which is currently on a track to make its closest pass to Earth in over a millennium. Some smaller meteorites from the cloud surrounding it have passed through the planet's atmosphere and impacted. It is believed that Persephone-2213 and its surrounding satellites are made of Meteonite, the element we discovered in Unova. As you may remember, Meteonite is a highly conductive element with extremely unusual reactive properties, and we do not know everything about it yet."
"You're going to tell us to go get one, aren't you?" Jessie complained, shrugging her shoulders. "Don't you remember what happened last time we messed with that thing?"
"The boss docked us pay and lunch for nearly blowing up Castelia City," James added, his voice reflecting a clear timid attitude.
"And we ain't getting involved in that again!" finished Meowth.
"You don't have a choice," Zager said sternly, "procuring a Meteonite fragment may give us an upper hand against Polaris. Our rudimentary radar devices have been able to pick up faint traces of the energy signature associated with Meteonite on the west end of Route 29 near Cherrygrove City. I want you three to go with Pierce to Cherrygrove City, determine the exact location of the Meteonite shard there and attempt to capture it."
"We'll be coordinating everything on our end from here," Ariana chimed in to explain. "Any necessary supplies you'll need can be provided here as well. After you get suited up, we'll get you your equipment so the mission can begin."
Turning away from Ariana, Jessie inquired, "I assume that you'll be the one providing us with our tools again, Dr. Zager?"
"That's right. I'll make sure you have everything you need."
"This really is just like old times, then," she said to James as they both turned.
"The stakes weren't this high last time, though." A strange hint of sadness could be noticed in James's voice; the meaning of their new mission had clearly already taken its toll on him.
Jessie and James eventually walked off in the direction of another exit from the lab, with Meowth and Pierce silently following. Pierce ended up being the last one to pass through the door, so he closed it behind himself. Once they were alone again, Zager and Ariana shared an uneasy glare between themselves.
"Do you really think they're going to be okay dealing with all of this?" he wondered aloud.
"I sure hope so."
-:-
Matt, Olivia, Nekou, Bunny and Professor Juniper were sitting around a table in the elegant café they had selected for their meal. Each had a plate of food sitting on the white cloth covering the table before them, and they were talking intently as they ate.
"So, Olivia, what are your goals for your journey?" asked Juniper, puckering her lips after taking a sip of the hot tomato soup she had ordered.
"I want my dad to come back," Olivia responded, prompting a nervous exchange of glances between the adults, who all knew that her father Rich was gone. "He left because I wasn't living up to his expectations. That's what I believe. If I can win a lot of badges and Ribbons, and win the Pokémon League and Grand Festival, he'll have to admit I'm good and come back to love me again."
"And where do you think your dad is right now?"
"I don't know. I'm sure he's watching me, though. He'll come back."
Pensively poking at the eggs and sausage on his plate, Matt added, "Rich disappeared five years ago, as you already know, Professor. I was there."
"Wait, you saw what happened to him?" Bunny choked out, half-swallowing a scoop of oatmeal in her haste.
"I was there the day he disappeared, yes. I guess it all started six years ago, while I was in the region of Oceannia looking for Spheres to aid in the development of the ALEA, my clean energy invention. Well…" Matt's expression and tone both soured noticeably as he pulled down the wide brim of his blue-and-silver hat. "It was me and my supposed girlfriend Cassy, actually. We both met up with Olivia and Rich and her mother Anabel then. That was when they were fighting that terrorist group that called itself Enigma Shadow."
"'Supposed' girlfriend?" Nekou sniffed, barely hiding a condescending tone in her voice. "Why would a ladies man like you need to say that, I wonder?"
"Nekou, shut up," Matt sighed, readjusting his hat; the yellow feather tucked into it trembled slightly as he did so. "To make the very long story very short, she wasn't who she said she was and we split on very bad terms. Anyway, Enigma Shadow was trying to take over the world with Pokémon whose hearts were sealed, rendering them soulless battling machines. Olivia's parents were leading the charge to stop Enigma Shadow from realizing their plans using these Shadow Pokémon. Eventually, the person that was manipulating the organization, a woman named Judy, managed to call forth Arceus. She lost control of it, though, and in the confusion Rich saved us all before disappearing.
But yes, I was there the last time any of us saw Rich. I think he knew something was going to happen, though, because he left instructions for me to take Olivia under my wing, which is what I've been doing for the past five years."
"I've learned a lot from Matt," Olivia bragged, before sarcastically adding, "at least he's good for that much."
"Well, I've really been learning alongside you," Matt said, seemingly brushing off her insult. In actuality, he was glad to have her saying such things, because it meant that she wasn't becoming emotional over discussing her father. "That was the entire point of it all."
"So… I understand you four have been on some pretty exciting adventures and met some Legendary Pokémon already."
Juniper mentioning the travels the group had already experienced was what it took to loosen up Olivia's attitude. Her eyes lit up, and she began shouting excitedly, "We have! We met a bunch of rare Pokémon and time traveled at the Indigo Plateau, and then in Whitegold City, we saw Victini, Cresselia and Darkrai!"
"My, my, Olivia," laughed the professor, "there's no need to get ahead of yourself. Tell me about what happened at the Indigo Plateau first, how about that?"
"Matt was teaching me for the past five years at the Rustboro School in Hoenn," Olivia explained, toning back her enthusiasm only slightly. "We went to the Indigo Plateau before coming here because my mom was hosting the Frontier Society's opening commemoration tournament."
"Did you participate?"
"No."
"I did, though," Matt offered to supply some additional information. "I competed alongside Tanya, my Heatran. Unfortunately, the tournament got interrupted by Team Rocket's attack, and I had to help the police bring Team Rocket's boss into custody instead."
"I got the job of being Matt's bodyguard at the same time, too," Nekou sarcastically added, "and he was lucky to have me guarding it."
Playing no mind to the clenched expression Matt was showing in response to Nekou's comments, Juniper turned to Bunny and asked, "So where do you fit into all of this, Bunny?"
"I already had arrangements with Matt. We were looking for the ruins of an ancient town called Argyros that once stood near the Indigo Plateau. Little did we expect that finding them would be the easy part."
"So we went up to the ruins of Argyros Town, and this weird Pichu appeared," elaborated Olivia. "I followed it and it led us to a strange light inside a temple."
"It was a Time Ripple," Matt clarified, much to the surprise of Juniper, who visibly jumped at the mention of it.
"You found one of those?!" In her excitement, Juniper slammed both of her hands down on the table and stood up. Bunny held onto the side of her oatmeal bowl to stabilize it, while Nekou and Olivia nonchalantly continued eating their bacon strips and blueberry muffin, respectively. "That's a portal opened from another place in time!"
"We know," Matt chuckled, "because we went through it. On the other side was this country in the year 1850. A military official of the era was planning to overthrow the government there, and we ended up getting roped into helping stop him."
"And I got to be a hero!"
"Don't sell her short," Bunny said of Olivia to Juniper, "she really was brave during the war that broke out. She was right out there with the soldiers trying to quell the rebellion doing her part to fight. I, for one, was very impressed."
"It sounds like you did a very good job," the professor complimented as she sat back down. "Olivia, if you were able to fight like that, then you already possess a pretty impressive skill set, and that'll come in handy for you out there on your journey. Of course, that's not the only big thing you've been involved in… there's still the events in Whitegold City. You must tell me everything that happened there!"
"Someone's really worked up," Nekou deadpanned, her eyes half-closed behind her glasses.
Growing flustered, Juniper tried to explain, saying, "The incident in Whitegold City has been all over the news, and one thing I know about it is that Victini was deeply involved. I… I want to know what happened there from the people who witnessed Victini's power firsthand. It's for my research!"
"For science, huh? I guess you're calling yourself a mad scientist, then, because only people like me get to use that one."
"Nekou, don't, please," Matt argued. He got a glare shot his way by Nekou for his trouble, but it did manage to stop her from saying anything further. Sighing, Matt returned to answering Juniper's question. "We went to Whitegold City so I could give a speech about new energy sources at the behest of Captain Liam Everton, the president of oil conglomerate Everton International. Or maybe I should say former president, now that he's dead, but…"
"That little prick…" Olivia growled into the crumb-covered plate before her, paying no mind to the shocked look Matt gave her over her language.
"Now, now, Olivia, there's no need to use those kinds of words," he gently suggested.
"And what of it if she does?" Nekou rudely interjected. "Words are words. They don't hurt anyone… unless you make them."
Much to Matt's relief, he was saved from getting into a hopeless argument with Nekou when Juniper piped up, interrupting the escalating scene.
"What's going on? What are you talking about?"
"Well," Matt explained, "As it turned out, Liam Everton was in pursuit of Victini because he hoped to gain the power of the Victory Star from it. To that end, he released a Darkrai into the city, forcing Victini's guardian, Cresselia, to come out and fight it. It fell to the four of us, along with a team we assembled, to stop him. Our allies were Liam Everton's former first mate from his naval years, an old fortuneteller woman, a magician and his assistant, an undercover reporter and a posh girl we happened to meet named Katorena."
"The Victory Star is the power to see the way to victory itself," Bunny added, noting Juniper's expression of intense concentration. "I could tell you were about to ask that. Normally, the power is obtained through the creation of a mental contract between the recipient and Victini, and will guide the way only to the specific victory the recipient desires most at the time of the contract's creation. Everton wanted more than that. He devised a way to make his mind completely blank when he made his contract, which rendered him able to use the Victory Star in any way he wished. He was going to use it to take control of the entire world's oil supply and bring all nations under his rule, but first, he viciously attacked and tried to kill all of us while using its power to make his Pokémon stronger."
"We had to fight back." Unlike Matt and Bunny, recalling the events of the Whitegold City crisis visibly disturbed Olivia, a fact the others hadn't been aware of before. She had her hands rolled into fists so tightly that her fingernails were almost piercing the skin of her palms, and her whole body was shuddering subtly. "It took all of us to pull it off. We spread illusions of Victini throughout Whitegold City to waste Everton's time, and all it did was leave us all to fight him individually. He ended up flooding the city anyway, and it took Matt's Golurk and Sigilyph and then Victini itself to finally stop that horrible dragon…"
"Horrible dragon?" Juniper questioned, puckering her lips.
"That mean old man had a Hydreigon, and that was the Pokémon he used to try and kill us," finished Olivia, her voice shaking all the while.
"That makes sense when I consider the details." Surprisingly, Juniper was now speaking and conducting herself in a very serious manner. "Hydreigon is a terribly brutal species of Pokémon, known for attacking just about anything in the wild. It is easy to see how that power could be used to very dangerous degree if harnessed by the wrong person. Is there anything more to your tale, Olivia? Has anything else happened since Whitegold City?"
"We stayed over there for a little while and then came right here, so no."
"In that case, then, Olivia…" Before asking the fateful question, Juniper wiped the last drop of her soup from her lip and pushed her empty bowl away. "…have you finally decided which starter Pokémon you'd like yet?"
All eyes moved to Olivia as Matt, Nekou and Bunny all anticipated what she'd say. In their minds, they had opinions of their own – Bunny actually suspected that Olivia might break the mold and take the Fire-type Tepig, while Matt and Nekou thought that she'd take Oshawott instead. Both sides used the same logic to arrive at their conclusions; that logic being the idea of each starter Pokémon attracting Rich's attention in some way.
Finally, Olivia swallowed the last bite of her muffin and sharply stood up. "It'll be Oshawott. No matter what's happened, I can't betray my dad's expectations by going with a Fire-type. That said, I still wanted Totodile, so this is just another Pokémon to me."
"Shouldn't you be a little more enthusiastic, Olivia?" Matt asked. "Oshawott's going to be with you for your whole journey, so…"
"I don't even really care," Olivia growled back, showing a degree of indignation. "I'm only taking it because I pretty much have to take something."
Olivia's attitude clearly disturbed Juniper, who stared at her with a stunned look of confusion in her eyes. In her home region she'd been distributing starter Pokémon for a long time, but she was unable to recall any other time that a new trainer had so much indifference toward the entire process. However, she then remembered a trainer to whom she'd given a Snivy some years ago; at the time, he kept saying that he only wished to become stronger at any cost, but eventually, he learned to understand his Pokémon more and eventually became a respected Gym Leader in Unova.
With that memory in mind and the reasoning that Olivia could change too, Juniper lifted up her briefcase onto the table and flipped it open. The first thing she removed was the Poké Ball containing Oshawott, which she set on the table and pushed toward Olivia.
"If Oshawott is your choice, here you go. I hope you'll get along well. Why not let him out?"
Sighing, Olivia picked up the Poké Ball and opened it. "Fine."
From the flash of light that emerged from the ball, Oshawott took shape. He looked inquisitively at Olivia, Matt and Nekou before finally looking back to Olivia and realizing that he must have been the one she selected. Excited to have received this honor, Oshawott cheerfully plucked his shell off his chest and tossed it into the air before catching and replacing it.
"He's pretty cute!" Bunny exclaimed with a laugh. "Olivia, I think he actually really suits you."
"Totodile would have suited me better, but I guess this is going to have to work out."
Noticing that Oshawott was upset by Olivia's comments, Nekou decided to try and lighten the mood at the table. Taking out a Poké Ball of her own, she said, "Olivia, you really should give Oshawott a chance. He might surprise you. Perhaps it will help if Marie does something?"
Nekou opened her Poké Ball, releasing a Sneasel. Marie yawned and stretched out her black body before looking down and taking notice of Oshawott; she made a face to playfully intimidate the young Water-type before snatching his shell with her sharp white claws and running off. Infuriated, Oshawott jumped off the table after Marie and chased her, causing all the people seated there – even Olivia – to laugh.
"Now, Olivia," Juniper spoke up, being the first to return to attention, "about the other half of our deal. I said I would give you one of my Pokémon in exchange for you doing something for me. What I would like you to do…" Before continuing, Juniper took a pink, cell-phone shaped device out of her briefcase and showed it to the others; it had a pattern of a sideways Poké Ball on its bottom half and a screen on its top, with a second screen able to be flipped out from behind. "I would like you to take this Pokédex and help me by documenting the Unova Pokémon you see in Johto and Kanto. My assistant is out there conducting research on how our migration efforts are progressing, but I could use a second set of eyes in the field. It would help me learn more about how the Unova Pokémon are acclimating to their new environments and interacting with the Pokémon species native to this continent."
"I don't see any reason why I can't do that," Olivia replied, accepting the Pokédex into her possession. "It'll be a good adventure, and one more thing I can try to do well."
"I know you'll pull it off, Olivia," Matt complimented, albeit rather feebly. "All the learning you've done should pay off now."
"Of course it will. Do you really think I'll fail?"
-:-
With Jessie, James and Meowth riding as passengers, Pierce was driving his car through an underground tunnel. All of them were now disguised in identical black trench coats, fedoras and sunglasses; even Meowth, despite his smaller, feline body, had one suited for him.
In the dashboard of the car was a small video screen, through which Dr. Zager was communicating with the four.
"Proceed to the checkpoint inside Dark Cave," the elderly scientist instructed his agents. "From there, go south on foot until you are just outside Cherrygrove City, and attempt to confirm the location of the Meteonite shard."
"Understood, Dr. Zager," Pierce stiffly responded, not removing his eyes from the rough road ahead.
Suddenly bursting into the picture by pushing Zager aside, Ariana loudly directed, "Jessie, James, Meowth, I don't want you guys taking any crazy risks on this operation. We can't afford a major confrontation with Polaris yet. For that reason, I've prepared a contingency plan in case something happens to prevent you from collecting the Meteonite shard itself."
"A contingency plan?" Jessie repeated questioningly.
"You two didn't brief us on the details of such a thing," James quietly complained, poking his fingers together.
"You need not worry about briefing," Zager informed them, making his way back into view as best he could. "I took the liberty of adding all necessary mission plans to your new R-Pad, which is chief among your equipment."
"Great!" Meowth shrilled. "Now, let's go get that chunk of space rock and show those freaks that they should fear us!"
-:-
The doors of the café opened, allowing Marie and Oshawott to dart out, still engaged in their chase over Oshawott's shell. Olivia, Nekou, Bunny and Professor Juniper followed, all laughing at the childlike intensity of Oshawott's quest to save his shell from the mischievous Sneasel. Matt brought up the rear, as he was finishing putting his coat back on.
"The first place you'll want to go is Violet City," Juniper was explaining in her usual cheery mood. "The Gym there specializes in Flying-type Pokémon. Since you have to go through Route 29, Cherrygrove City, Route 30 and Route 31 to get there, you should be more than prepared to face the Gym Leader."
"I'll be ready!" Determination flowed from Olivia, surrounding her like a cloud. One could tell from her eyes alone that the daunting task she faced did not intimidate her. Even while paying little mind to what Oshawott could be capable of, she was more than confident that her other Pokémon could do the job.
"If we'll be passing through Cherrygrove City, that's good for me, too," Matt commented, finally catching up to the others. "I've heard Cherrygrove City is where the Battle Arcade, the first of the seven facilities associated with the Frontier Society, is located. I don't really have any leads on what I'm looking for myself yet, so I figure that's as good a place to start as any."
"It's sounding like we're going to be quite busy soon. Not that I'm complaining, all this stuff sounds exci…"
"You four! I finally found you!"
Bunny was cut off mid-sentence by a deep male voice with a commanding, nearly bone-chilling presence. It belonged to the young man blocking their path to the outskirts of New Bark Town, a strange figure wrapped in a long, ragged black poncho who kept his appearance carefully hidden using a stitched-up black hat and a dark green scarf, leaving only his sea-green eyes visible.
"Oh, joy," Nekou deadpanned, "a roadblock already."
"Who are you?" Matt demanded in annoyance. "Tell us now or get out of the way. We're busy."
"So the sycophants of the false messiah Rich Mistbloom still fail to recognize the messenger of truth," the mysterious young man growled from under his scarf. "Unsurprising. Even those who claim to be seeking the truth are truly blind to it."
"You done calling my dad names yet? Keep it up and one of us is going to kick you in the ass."
"Olivia!"
Ignoring both Olivia's threat and Matt's reaction to it, the strange figure turned his glare to Oshawott and Marie, causing Oshawott to freeze in fear. "Rich Mistbloom was the brother of Sootopolis City Gym Leader and Hoenn Champion Wallace. Olivia, I see that your obsessive dedication to preserving that man's memory has continued as far as dictating your selection of a starter Pokémon. You asked who I was?" Thrusting out his right arm, the young man revealed a Poké Ball in his hand and the tattered sleeve of his decrepit clothing. "Because you cannot remember despite meeting me at the Indigo Plateau, I'll remind you that my intention is to show this world the truth about the miserable Rich Mistbloom. Olivia, you call your father a hero, as do many others. Because you identify yourself as his heir, my defeat of you right here will be the first step toward my goal!"
"I think this punk is stepping up to you, Olivia," Nekou whispered. "He's clearly got a few screws loose, so go ahead. Fuck him up."
"I have every intention of doing that. Hey, Oshawott!" During the young man's rant, Oshawott had shaken off his fear and finally managed to get his shell back from Marie, so he was able to turn when Olivia called out to him. "If you want to learn how I do stuff, sit on the sidelines and watch this!"
Though bothered that Olivia wasn't picking him for the battle, Oshawott nodded to her and waddled to the sidelines, where he was soon joined by Matt, Nekou and Bunny. Juniper, meanwhile, stood in a position at an equal distance from each of the two trainers.
"What shall the rules be for this match?" she asked out loud of them both.
"A pair of one-on-one battles with no substitutions," Olivia's opponent instructed. "When one side's Pokémon faints, that matchup is over and both sides must switch."
"Is that acceptable, Olivia?" Juniper called out.
"It's fine by me. Bring it on!"
"Well then, this match will now get underway! It's Olivia versus the… mysterious… um… cloaked trainer? Whatever, it doesn't matter. Send out your Pokémon!"
"I'll be going first!" the young man roared, his cold glare giving way to fire in his eyes. "Timburr, leave port!"
The mysterious trainer's Poké Ball gave way in a blinding burst of light to a small, gray Pokémon holding a beam of wood under his left arm. His body, which was almost entirely pure muscle, had pink veins bulging out in several places.
"A new one already?" Olivia wondered. Recalling the instructions she'd just received, she reached for the Pokédex.
"Timburr, the Muscular Pokémon. Type is Fighting. It fights by swinging a piece of lumber around. It is close to evolving when it can handle the lumber without difficulty. These Pokémon appear at building sites and help out with construction. They always carry squared logs."
"A Fighting-type… Minccino won't be any good against that thing…" Olivia mumbled to herself. The circumstances essentially made her mind up for her, and she threw out her other Poké Ball, calling out, "Roselia, let's play!"
Despite his small stature, the mysterious trainer's Timburr was still taller than Olivia's Roselia, but she didn't let that scare her. The tiny flower Pokémon stood bravely before her opponent's gaze and glared back with all the ferocity she could muster.
Off on the side, Bunny said to Matt and Nekou, "A Fighting-type against a Grass-and-Poison-type. Olivia should be able to handle this."
"Yeah," Matt concurred, before adding, "Fighting-type moves don't work very well against Poison-types."
"Olivia will win this, I'd even bet a beer and some chips on it." Nekou took a bite of her butter-drenched bread roll after proclaiming her wager, while Matt and Bunny looked on in exasperation.
"The first matchup is Roselia VS. Timburr!" Juniper announced. "Begin!"
"Timburr, Pound!" called the cloaked trainer.
"Roselia, use Energy Ball!"
While Roselia gathered up energy from the terrain around her, giving it the shape of a crackling green sphere, Timburr darted toward her with his right arm pulled back. Upon reaching his target, Timburr swung to punch Roselia; however, he instead hit her Energy Ball, which resulted in it exploding. Both Pokémon took injury from the exchange and were pushed away from each other.
"So that's your short-range tactic. Impressive, just like your father."
Confused by her adversary's words, Olivia raised an eyebrow and said, "What are you talking about? I didn't do anything."
"So you say. I won't fall for the deceptive ways you've clearly inherited. I have skills of my own too, you know."
"Oh, just shut up already," Olivia sighed. "Roselia, try a Sludge Bomb!"
"Is that how it's going to be? Timburr, Rock Throw!"
Both Pokémon sent projectiles at each other as their respective followup attacks; Roselia generated a blast of purple slime from her flowery arms, while Timburr scraped up a small rock from the ground using his wooden beam before throwing it. Neither had particularly good aim, but Timburr's Rock Throw actually managed to graze Roselia, her Sludge Bomb missed Timburr entirely. Her right arm went limp as she fell onto the corresponding knee.
"Your aim is poor. If you cannot strike me from afar, then this battle is already over. Timburr, use Rock Throw again. Knock out that Roselia's other leg!"
"Don't give up yet, Roselia!" Olivia cried, trying to conceal the feeling of dread that was creeping over her. "Try another Energy Ball!"
With only her left arm immediately mobile, Roselia's pace in creating the Energy Ball was more sluggish than usual. This left Timburr all the time he needed to pull up and toss another stone, but before her left leg got knocked out by it, she managed to send the Energy Ball flying. Roselia collapsed to the ground just as Timburr got hit in the forehead, singeing the protrusion sticking out from above his eyes.
"Roselia!"
Olivia's bad feeling about the situation was shared by Matt, Nekou and Bunny, who were watching the battle unfold in silence. They all recognized that she was in trouble, and reluctantly had to acknowledge that the strange young man was more skilled than they gave him credit for.
"Well, Timburr, it's about time to take what is rightfully ours. Use Pound to finish this up!"
"Roselia, get ready!"
There was no chance for Roselia to escape from Timburr as the Fighting-type bore down on her. She knew this, so instead of trying in vain to get away, she simply braced herself against the ground.
Timburr smiled as he drew closer and closer to his target. The blow he had prepared would surely defeat her, he believed.
Little did he expect that getting within range for his strike would leave him wide open for Roselia's own counterattack. A thorn glowing with purple light suddenly emerged from the rose on Roselia's right arm, and she drove it into Timburr's stomach. Caught completely off guard by this Poison Sting, Timburr howled in pain as he flew back through the air. His wooden beam slipped from his grasp during the recoil from the hit, landing a few feet from his trainer.
"So you've still got some fight left in you," Olivia's opponent growled, briefly widening his eyes. "It is clear that you have inherited your father's clever approach to battling. But I won't fall to a usurper like you! Timburr, no more games! Use Rock Throw and hold nothing back!"
Without his beam to dig up rocks with, Timburr simply shoved his hands into the ground instead, pulling a jagged stone from the earth manually.
Feeling the tide of the battle turning, Olivia was able to smile slightly for the first time as she ordered, "Hit Timburr with Sludge Bomb, Roselia! You've got a shot!"
Roselia's aim was still off by a bit, but it was not as poor as earlier. She managed to get the blast of sludge to hit Timburr's lower body, causing him to cringe as the toxins burned his skin. He did, however, manage to fling the rock he was holding back at Roselia, barely missing her due to his weakening stance.
Timburr was becoming tired and weak, a fact conveyed by his labored breathing and trembling body. His trainer picked up on this, and resolved to do something about it.
"If you're to keep going, Timburr, you're going to need more health. Drain Punch!"
When Timburr clenched his right fist on this command, a red aura enveloped it. He threw all of his remaining strength into lunging at Roselia one last time, but he realized just as well as Roselia and Olivia did that this was probably a kamikaze attack.
"Finish it off with Energy Ball, Roselia!"
Drain Punch managed to connect with Roselia, but it was not very effective due its poor type matchup, and Roselia held fast against it. She brought her arms up around Timburr on each side and formed the Energy Ball with her Fighting-type opponent right at the center. The resulting explosion violently threw Roselia back, but while she got back up from skidding on the ground, the smoke cleared to show a clearly unconscious Timburr lying at the center of a ring of burned terrain.
"Timburr is no longer able to continue!" Juniper declared, raising her arm toward Olivia and Roselia. "Roselia wins the first round!"
"Roselia!" Though victorious, Roselia had suffered some injuries of her own, so Olivia was careful when she picked up the Pokémon in her arms. "You did really well out there, okay? Rest up now."
Hearing a soft chirp in response, Olivia smiled and shuttled her Pokémon over to where her friends were sitting, where she set Roselia down alongside Marie and Oshawott.
"I'm very proud of you, Olivia," Matt said. "You showed some great tactical thinking and on-your-feet decision making just now."
"Thank you. Even if it would mean more coming from my dad, I still like hearing that."
"Here, Olivia, you've earned this." Nekou happened to have another one of the butter-drenched rolls, and as a reward for how well Olivia was doing, she gave it to her. "You're halfway to cleaning this arrogant little jerk's clock, so don't lose your pace now."
"Don't worry, I don't intend to." Turning around but still reveling in the praise given to her by her friends, Olivia strode back to her battle position while eating the roll one bite at a time. She felt like things were happening incredibly fast – the day wasn't even over yet, and she'd already met a professor, suffered a setback in her quest before it even began and received a substitute for the starter Pokémon she wanted. Now she was in her very first battle as an official trainer and halfway to fully winning it, and it excited her beyond her original goal of impressing her father. Winning, she was quickly coming to discover, felt good.
Just as Olivia returned to her position, the young man finally recalled his Timburr, the Pokémon's wooden beam being pulled into the Poké Ball at the same time as its wielder.
"It is unsurprising that you would be able to defeat the weaker of my two Pokémon, Olivia Lynn Mistbloom," he thundered, his cutting eyes blazing with rage. "Oh, how speaking that name makes my skin crawl. Someone who should not exist has no right to consider themselves entitled to anything more than the air they are lucky enough to breathe! Now… Drowzee, leave port!"
The sleepy-looking Pokémon that burst from the young man's second and final Poké Ball stretched his yellow-and-black body and yawned, the excess air causing his trunk to vibrate. He then moved his gaze to Olivia in an apathetic show of interest in what he'd be facing.
"Alright then! I wanted to use you in the last round, but Timburr was just too much for you to handle. This ought to be where you can shine. Minccino, let's play!"
To face Drowzee, Olivia sent out her Minccino, a Pokémon that had the appearance of a gray chinchilla with big black eyes. She cheered happily when she got out of her Poké Ball, but shrunk back slightly when she saw Drowzee lazily staring at her.
"The final matchup is Minccino VS. Drowzee! Begin!"
"I want to make this quick, Minccino. Hit it with Tail Slap!"
Shaking her initial fear off, Minccino ran up to Drowzee and sprang into the air before starting to spin, striking Drowzee in the face repeatedly.
"Drowzee, use a close range Poison Gas!"
Just as Minccino fell back after the fourth and final hit of Tail Slap, Drowzee expelled a cloud of noxious purple gas from his trunk right into her face. She was overcome by a violent coughing fit and rolled backwards, her movements becoming strained as the poison set in.
"Minccino got poisoned!" Bunny exclaimed in dismay. "That's going to make this all the harder for Olivia…"
"Come on, Olivia!" Nekou called out. "Don't let him get away with that shit! Finish this before it's too late!"
"I'm working on it!" Olivia's patience was being tried as well, through a combination of the pressure she already felt in addition to her concern for Minccino's well being. "Do you think you can pull off a Swift, Minccino?"
"I won't let you! Drowzee, Psycho Cut!"
Simultaneously, Drowzee quickly crossed and uncrossed his arms to send two blades of concentrated psychic energy at Minccino, while Minccino returned the favor with a shower of star-shaped rays from her tail. Though Drowzee's trainer had intended for Psycho Cut to block Swift, the stars actually passed right below the energy blades in midair; as a result, both Minccino and Drowzee took harsh blows, Minccino suffering more due to the continuing effects of the poison.
"If she doesn't win this quickly, the poison will do her in before Drowzee's attacks do…" Matt thought, shifting uncomfortably. Even though Olivia losing would only cause the battle to end in a tie, he felt that she needed a comfortable victory at this early point.
"We can't do this with just Swift, Minccino! Try Aqua Tail!"
"Coming in close again, are you?"
Instead of going for multiple hits, this time Minccino aimed squarely for the middle of Drowzee's head for a single attack using her tail, which had taken on an aquatic blue aura. Drowzee, surprisingly, just stood still, allowing Minccino a clear shot. He barely even flinched when the Aqua Tail made contact.
"Perfect range. Now, Drowzee, use Thief."
Drowzee jabbed his right hand forward like a spear, catching Minccino in the stomach as she drifted back after her attack. She squealed in agony from the crushing blow, which sent her crashing to the ground, nearly unable to get up.
"M-Minccino…" A conflict was developing in Olivia's mind; she could not decide if she wanted to win or lose anymore. Obviously, pulling out victory over this opponent would be something that felt very good, but she now questioned if the price was worth it – Minccino could barely stand, suffering greatly under the effects of Drowzee's Poison Gas and subsequent relentless assault. She began raising her arm to stop the battle, knowing she'd be unable to live with herself if Minccino didn't come back from this battle.
Before she could speak, though, she was cut off by her opponent. "My victory is now assured. This is the first step on my quest to show the truth to the world! So many fools throughout this world see your father as some sort of hero for stopping Enigma Shadow, but I will make them see Rich Mistbloom's true vile nature!"
"That's enough!" Seeing Olivia about to cry rendered Matt unable to take sitting by any longer, and he jumped up and confronted the angry trainer. "All you're using your Pokémon for is to destroy the lives of everyone who believed in one person? What could Rich have possibly done to you that justifies what you're doing right now, cruelly crushing the one thread of hope this girl has?"
"Silence yourself, you fool!" he shot back, visibly shocking Olivia, Bunny, Juniper and even Nekou. "Take a look at yourself, you're just as disgusting. You call yourself someone who seeks the truth, but right now you deny it! I will gain more power so I may destroy the lies consuming this world! Right now, you could not possibly understand the years of agony that Rich Mistbloom subjected me to!"
The cloaked young man's breakdown afforded Olivia with one precious advantage, however – it gave her time to think about how the battle had progressed so far, which led her to realize that she still had one way out.
While Matt, Bunny and Nekou stared at Drowzee's trainer, Olivia shouted, "Quickly, Minccino, use Swift! Aim for Drowzee's legs!"
Olivia's voice gave Minccino a burst of strength, and she jumped to action, raining glowing stars down into Drowzee's legs. Her opponent was too preoccupied at first to prepare a defense, so when he realized that Drowzee had been undercut and dropped to his hands and knees, he started to panic.
"Drowzee, get up! Get up now! Don't fail me now! Use Psycho Cut!"
"You're finished! Consider this one from my dad… Tail Slap!"
Drowzee was struggling to stand, and when Minccino saw this, she felt a rush of energy overcome her and darted right at her stunned Psychic-type foe. His face was like a target to her, and she took great joy in delivering each of the five consecutive strikes she landed right in the center of Drowzee's forehead. The last hit was forceful enough to throw Drowzee up into the air and down onto his back, with his point of fainting coming halfway between the two.
"Drowzee is unable to continue!" Nekou sprang from her seat to embrace Olivia with her good arm, and their combined cheering drowned out the rest of Juniper declaring Olivia the winner.
Remembering that she still had a tired Pokémon out on the field, Olivia pulled away from Nekou's embrace just as Matt and Bunny reached them. "Minccino!" she called out, noticing that her beloved Pokémon was barely able to stand any longer. "Minccino, hold on!"
Olivia was too far away from Minccino to catch her before she fell, but luckily, Juniper was right there to do it instead. The tiny Pokémon trembled violently in the professor's hand, and she looked up at Olivia and said, "Minccino and Roselia need to be healed."
"Are they going to be okay?!"
"Don't get so worked up, Olivia, this is nothing too serious. Professor Elm's lab actually has a professional-grade Pokémon healing machine, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind us borrowing it. If you'd lend me Roselia and Minccino's Poké Balls, I can restore them pretty quickly."
"That sounds pretty good to me," Olivia responded, handing over the two Poké Balls. "Would you, please?"
"Of course." Juniper smiled warmly at Olivia before turning to her two Pokémon and pointing the Poké Balls at them. "Roselia, Minccino, come with me and I'll fix you up."
A red laser shot out of the button on each Poké Ball, engulfing Olivia's two Pokémon and pulling them back into the safe confines of the spheres. Juniper then nodded approvingly to Olivia before walking back toward the direction of Professor Elm's nearby lab.
"Well you're just something else, aren't you?" Bunny beamed, clapping a hand down on Olivia's shoulder. "I knew you were pretty courageous, but that last move that turned the flow of the battle… that took guts to do."
"Yeah, it did… but after all, when you put me and Minccino together, we won't be stopped!"
Matt laughed, simultaneously out of amusement at Olivia's ever-cheerful nature and relief that she hadn't yet brought up Rich again. "That was an intense match, even for your first battle. Pulling it out under pressure deserves respect."
"And of course I'm proud of you!" Nekou cut in. "Tell you what, how about I buy us all some pizza when we get to Cherrygrove City?" Before giving Olivia a chance to answer, Nekou leaned in close with her eyes half closed and, in a voice just loud enough to deliberately let the others hear, said, "That means Matt is buying us all pizza when we get to Cherrygrove City."
Her face brightening in a mischievous way, Olivia immediately declared, "Hell yeah! Of course I'm up for that!"
The laughs being shared by the group save for Matt did not last long, however. The cloaked trainer called his Drowzee back to his Poké Ball and stomped on the ground, causing the quartet to turn their heads toward him.
"You are a worthy adversary, Olivia Mistbloom," he growled, breathing noticeably more deeply than usual. "You are definitely your father's daughter, I will concede that much. But, this is not over. I will grow stronger… I will grow stronger and use that power to show this entire world the truth behind that false messiah they believe in. You four are more than welcome to try and stop me if you wish… but you will fail, because the truth will always win out over everything else. Let me leave you with one piece of advice – remember my name this time. I am Renzo, Renzo Milos, and I will avenge what Rich Mistbloom did to us."
Having completed his speech, Renzo turned and briskly walked off toward the exit gate of the town; a spiked ponytail of sky-blue hair outlined in black slipped from under his scarf as he walked. Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Bunny were all left confused by his strange behavior and sudden departure, trying to make sense of it all as they waited for Juniper to return.
"Okay, someone tell me they're actually going to care to remember the little fucker's name," Nekou groaned while slouching forward. "I stopped caring."
"Renzo Milos, was it?" Bunny repeated to herself. "Besides the fact that his name sounds like some sort of ancient statue, there's nothing that would make him stand out in it. It doesn't help tell me why he'd hate Rich so much."
Paying little attention to either Renzo or her three adult companions, Olivia turned to Oshawott and declared, "Did you see that? That's how we're going to do things. We're going to work hard and find my dad. Now is your chance to leave if you want, because we won't be turning back."
Much to Olivia's surprise, Oshawott did not back down from the seriousness of the situation even as she presented it to him. He simply said his name and jumped up enthusiastically, showing that he was more than accepting of Olivia's terms.
"I see you've gotten a little closer to Oshawott." Juniper had suddenly reappeared, carrying the Poké Balls containing Roselia and Minccino on a small tray. "That's a good sign."
"I'm not getting any closer to it," Olivia objected while collecting her two Poké Balls. "I'm just getting along with it better."
Juniper laughed. "I'm sure that you'll learn to like each other soon enough. For now, why not just head for Cherrygrove City and see how things go?"
"I think that's a good idea, too," Matt commented.
"Then that's what we'll do! To Cherrygrove City!"
With Oshawott nipping at her heels, Olivia marched off toward the town gate in a haughty manner, prompting Matt, Bunny and Nekou to follow her; Marie, the runt Sneasel, jumped onto Nekou's back for transportation. They all waved goodbye to Professor Juniper as they left, their minds shifting from the reflective moods of a beginning to the eager anticipation of things to come.
-:-
In the meeting chamber of the Sacred Helix, seven of the ten seats were occupied, with the ones ranked one, five and ten empty. The assembled seven were speaking amongst themselves when the sound of a door opening pierced the air in the room, prompting them to fall silent.
A tall, lithe man in a white suit emerged from the shadows behind the number one seat, his gray hair making him stand out even more in the darkness of the chamber. Unlike the others, he was not wearing any kind of mask whatsoever, and as he sat down in the chair, the other seven began to complain.
"What is this? We get called here and Father doesn't bother to show up?" Jeunes's objection gave voice to the dismay of many of his colleagues, and they fell into line behind him. "This was supposed to be an important meeting!"
"There is nothing to be upset about," the white-suited man causally dismissed. "Father has appointed me as his envoy to the Sacred Helix, so we shall now get on with the business of the day. Chromosomes, as you know, for the past five years, we have not had a leader of the tenth section."
"Not since the averted Day of Reckoning in Oceannia that Rich Mistbloom stopped," Ghetsis commented into his folded hands.
"Correct. Well, today, we now present the issue of appointing a new Chromosome to lead the tenth section." Father's envoy waved his hand, prompting a spotlight to come on over the area surrounded by the circular table. A four-sided, pyramid-like shape was depicted in gold on the red carpeting; its two longest sides converged directly at Finansielle's seat, and kneeling at the center of the shape was the man who had robbed the Pewter Museum. "You are on file as the creation of Polaris's Project J, is this correct?"
"Yes, sir," the man replied, his face largely obscured from view by shadows. His mouth was visible, however, and it was twisted into a sadistic smile.
The Darkrai-masked member at the number two seat spoke next. "You have been in training since the day you were given your body, and your first field mission for us was the job of stealing the Adamant and Lustrous Orbs from the Pewter Museum. It has been reported that your execution of this mission was flawless."
"Indeed, what you did the other day will prove to be a major help to us," said the diminutive male seated at section nine, who was wearing an Electivire-themed mask and helmet complete with antennae. "Not to mention, your use of my section's electrical bodysuit was superb. Do you understand that this is why we are debating giving you the position of Chromosome?"
"Yes, sir."
"You've spent years doing everything we've asked," Jeunes offered as input. "Truly, you are one of our most loyal members."
"I believe we've said all that needs to be said," Ghetsis declared. "I would like to motion for a vote on the confirmation of Project J as the tenth Chromosome."
"Wait, Séduire is not here," the woman seated at section six sighed from behind her mask, an avian-themed one featuring a beak and feathers of red, white and blue. "How will we achieve a fair vote?"
"With the tenth seat empty and Séduire absent," the envoy reasoned, "we need one recusal to make the vote a fair seven. Jeunes, because you were the director of Project J and can be considered this individual's father, I would like to request that you be that recusal."
"Hmph, fine by me. I don't concern myself with these political matters when I can predict the outcome. It's boring."
"Very well. Now, allow the vote to commence." The man stood and announced, "As the envoy of the first Chromosome, Father, I, Archer, cast a vote of yes!"
The Darkrai-masked leader rose next. "As the second Chromosome, I, Praeses, cast a vote of yes!"
As Ghetsis hobbled to his feet, Project J smiled to himself again, out of the view of the council assessing him and voting on his fate.
"As the third Chromosome, I, Ghetsis, cast a vote of yes!"
"As the fourth Chromosome, I, Finansielle, cast a vote of yes!"
The majority was already reached, but the vote had to finish for formality's sake. It would just give Project J more of the attention he loved, though.
"I am disturbed by what you are," the woman with the Braviary mask remarked. "I don't know if I can trust you. As the sixth Chromosome, I, Mercury, cast a vote of no!"
A number of the Chromosomes were surprised by this, but Project J was able to relatively ignore it. He knew he never needed her approval anyway.
At section seven was a man wearing a cape and a Dragonite mask who hadn't spoken yet. He simply stood up and declared, "As the seventh Chromosome, I, Athleta, cast a vote of yes!"
Passing over Jeunes, the last vote arrived at the short man with the Electivire helmet. "As the ninth Chromosome, I, Getriebe, cast a vote of yes!"
"The final vote is six for yes, one for no," Archer announced. "Welcome to the Sacred Helix, our new tenth Chromosome."
"My name…" Emerging from the shadows, Project J was already in the process of pulling on his Sigilyph-themed mask and helmet. "…shall be Geminus."
Leaping high into the air, the newly-named Geminus landed in the space just behind and between sections eight and nine. However, he was also unexpectedly met by a young woman that had just entered the chamber, whose shoulder-length red hair combined with her spiked mask to give her the appearance of an Entei.
"W-who are you?!" she screeched, recoiling back in shock.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Geminus…" Just after walking past the young woman on his way to his seat, Geminus said just loudly enough for her to hear, "I'll be looking forward to working with you again."
"Come in, Séduire," Archer said to the newly-arrived Chromosome. "You already missed the vote to confirm Geminus."
"I was busy!" she yelled as she arrived at her seat.
"Stalking that boy you're infatuated with on the Internet does not count as 'busy,' Séduire," Ghetsis sarcastically admonished her. "It was due to your possessive tendencies over him that our men were sent into Whitegold City too early and exposed our movements before we were fully prepared."
"And you're any better?" Séduire shot back. "You let all three Angels escape your grasp in Unova! I could have already been united with Matt in the future world if you hadn't messed that up!"
"Father wouldn't tell us who Azrael was so we could go after her…" Praeses mumbled to himself. "He insisted he would capture her personally…"
"Now, Chromosomes, please don't fight," Archer said in an attempt to soothe the conflict. "For the first time in five years, our Sacred Helix now has all ten Chromosomes. It is now time for us to move forward into our future world… consider the history of the world. Our planet took shape as a mass of molten rock millions of years ago, and from that beginning, humans and Pokémon inherited the Earth. From then on, humans and Pokémon have progressed forward in two identical but parallel lines, always moving forward but never truly crossing. Today our world is suffering, no, it is dying. For both humanity and Pokémon to survive, those lines must cross to take the sacred shape of the DNA that comprises all living things. Now, Chromosomes, go to your stations and prepare for our first major operation. We have now commenced the beginning of a glorious new chapter for humanity and Pokémon alike. Meeting adjourned."
END of CHAPTER 2