Operation GEAR: The Angel of Reckoning

by The Great Butler

A girl and her friends set out on a search for truth in a land torn apart by political and religious strife. However, they are unaware of what they are stepping into: the grasp of a terrifying, inescapable enemy that aims to bring down mankind's greatest achievement, the Pokemon League. Soon, the truth becomes clouded, and a desperate struggle for survival begins.

6. Transcending Humanity

There's going to be some violent content in this chapter. Nothing too intense, but I'd rather be more cautious than I have to be instead of not cautious enough. Also, language.

-:-

CHAPTER 6: Transcending Humanity

-:-

Matt and Nekou had spent a small amount of time talking over the beer she shared with him the previous night. Somehow, it was actually a worthwhile discussion – they spoke of Olivia's well-being for a while, then started talking about books they liked. The alcohol took its toll on Matt, though, and he soon felt tired. It was not long after that that he simply fell asleep.

On the upside, though, he slept well and felt completely reinvigorated the next day. As he had finished eating well before the others had even all gotten up, he separated from them and left the Pokémon Center to await them at the gateway to Route 30. The bright morning sun cast golden light over the flowing grass stretching out beyond the borders of Cherrygrove City; it also warmed the earthy red leaves of the autumn trees surrounding the route.

He had a wait of about forty minutes before Nekou arrived with Olivia, Bunny and Dante in tow. Even when he knew they were behind him, however, he did not immediately turn around.

"Matt, I think you better see this…" Judging from her voice, something had clearly disturbed Bunny.

"What happened?" he wondered, taking his time to turn around.

The answer didn't come immediately to him. He glanced over the four of them; the flamboyant young woman, his conservatively-dressed friend and her outlandish counterpart, and the elderly scientist wearing a brown coat and holding a briefcase in his hand. All of them merely stood before Matt and stared back as he tried to figure out what was wrong.

It didn't take long for the truth to hit him like a speeding truck.

Olivia was standing there like the others.

"Olivia, your leg!" Matt exclaimed, adjusting his glasses in disbelief. "How are you standing there like that without your crutches?"

"I guess it just got better during the night," Olivia answered with a shrug. "It was feeling a little better yesterday, and when I got up this morning, I could walk again."

"It is atypical for someone to recover from an injury that quickly," Dante stated. He hesitated briefly before adding, "But I'm sure you already knew that. The Pokémon Center nurse and I took her cast off before we came out here. I'm not sure why she recovered so quickly, but I'm sure there must be a reason."

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, I say. Maybe she wasn't injured as badly as we all thought. What do you think of that?"

Olivia smiled when Nekou patted her on the head, and in response to the question Nekou posed, she said, "You might be right, I guess. I'm not concerned about it."

Though he wanted to accept Olivia's decision, second thoughts clouded Matt's mind. He stood still, unable to rid himself of a lingering concern that something just couldn't possibly be right about Olivia's miraculous recovery. To force it out of his head, he finally turned back around to face what he had been looking at.

"And I've got something to show you," he declared, spreading his arms wide. "Take a look at this!"

Sitting just off the road, a robotic vehicle the size of a large truck greeted the eyes of Matt's companions. Sleek in both its aerodynamic shape and primarily black coloration, it cut the figure of something out of a science fiction movie.

Nekou drew in a stunned breath, clearly impressed by what she was seeing. "That's... you built this?"

"That is not the same one you had when we worked together years ago," Bunny swiftly pointed out. "What happened to the old one?"

"For those of you who don't already know," Matt answered, "this is the HR-E second version, or HR-E 2 for short. The original HR-E was destroyed five years ago when its electronics got fried by an EMP and then it got blown up."

"What… what is it, exactly?"

Matt nodded to acknowledge Dante's question, as he clearly recognized the confusion present in the old man's mind. "To put it simply, it's a mobile home and a laboratory at the same time. I designed the original version using everything my robotics teacher taught me so I could use it to travel around and do field research. For this new version, I simply streamlined the old plans for the original. So what do you think? It can serve as a place to stay if we ever need such a thing, and I can call it to me no matter where we are!"

"I'm in." As she responded almost instantly upon Matt finishing, Olivia was the first to get in her thoughts. "The old one that my dad, my mom and I stayed in was great, and the new build is even better."

"I've got to agree," Bunny concurred. "I don't mind fieldwork, obviously, but if I have somewhere comfortable to sleep, I'll take it."

"I have to," Dante added with a quick cough. "These old bones aren't getting any younger."

"We're all on the same page then." Smiling, Matt pointed directly down the road. "Route 30 awaits us, and beyond that Violet City, so let's get going."

-:-

At that same time, somewhere far away, Finansielle was meeting with Jeunes and Getriebe. The video screen displaying her armor-covered shoulders, head and face was so outsized that it allowed her to lord over the sterile, metallic laboratory where the two male Polaris members were.

"The correct solution is just eluding us, Finansielle," Getriebe explained in a bored-sounding, monotonous voice. "We haven't been able to find the genetic key that will make the Pokérus take the form we want."

"But everything else is going exactly according to plan," Jeunes made sure to hastily add, all while pushing up his Mewtwo mask to push up the glasses held underneath. "The gathering of battle data has gone smoothly. We're tracking the Meteonite right now, and we have several teams ready to go to secure it, which I intend to personally lead. Getting back to the Pokérus for a moment, though, we have managed to find the way to trigger a transformation in its genetic makeup. We just don't know how to get it to mutate into what we want yet."

"I'm rather disappointed that I put so much investment into your research only for the most important answer to remain elusive." Finansielle's stinging criticism of their work prompted Getriebe – who was younger and wearing a helix-patterned suit along with his Electivire-themed helmet and mask – to shift his weight uncomfortably from one leg to the other. "It's not that we don't have a use for you any longer, though. Jeunes, what you should be doing is overseeing the collection of the Meteonite."

"It will get done, I swear it. The final stage of our search is not far off."

"Good. And Getriebe, your role is to continue gathering the battle data necessary for when we have the modified Pokérus and the equipment to harness it ready."

"Of course, Finansielle," Getriebe said while leaning forward into a seemingly forced bow. "My Purine Base serves that exact purpose…"

"Very well. I'm confident you'll have good news for us all at the next meeting of the Sacred Helix. As for me, I am currently heading to the Adenosine Base. I'm calling in an expert on Pokémon strength to analyze the existing research and help fill in the missing gaps. He's arriving there via helicopter sometime soon and I'm on my way to greet him. We're now one step closer to our promised world…"

-:-

"Drowzee, use Pound!"

Further up the lightly wooded road of Route 30, Renzo and his Drowzee were engaged in a battle against a wild Pokémon while three younger children watched from the sidelines. The Pokémon – a fluffy, round, white ball of cotton – used a pair of green leaf-like appendages to flutter out of Drowzee's grasp, making it hard for the Psychic-type to land a hit.

After escaping several times, the Pokémon flicked her arms to toss several sharp-edged leaves as a counterattack. Much to Renzo's annoyance, Drowzee was too slow to escape from the wild Pokémon's Razor Leaf, leaving his body riddled with cuts. Behind his mouth-obscuring scarf, Renzo clenched his teeth.

"I will not fail to capture you, Cottonee! Drowzee, take a ranged approach this time. Psycho Cut!"

Jumping back, Drowzee quickly slashed the air in front of himself using his right arm, flinging a purple-hued blade of psychic energy directly into his opponent. The Cottonee crumpled beneath the crushing force Drowzee's Psycho Cut carried, the wide gash across her face still faintly glowing from the residue of what created it.

"You're mine now! Go, Poké Ball!"

Renzo pulled a red-and-white sphere from the inner part of his tattered poncho and threw it at the Pokémon he'd just finished fighting. The Poké Ball cracked open upon hitting Cottonee's body, allowing its inner technology to convert the Pokémon into energy before pulling her in. It then sealed up and fell to the ground, where before the eyes of Renzo and his Psychic-type, it rocked and shuddered.

"Come on..." the ragged trainer thought to himself. "I can't afford any more Poké Balls…"

He didn't need to worry, however, as almost immediately after he finished that thought, the Poké Ball became still and gave off a pinging sound, indicating a successful capture. Renzo's attitude quickly changed; he excitedly ran over to where the Poké Ball lay on the ground and picked it up, while the more lethargic Drowzee simply ambled up alongside his trainer.

"Wow, great job!" called one of the children, a bright-eyed girl whose brown hair hung in a side-tied ponytail.

"Yes, thank you…" Renzo replied, before cracking the Poké Ball in his hand open once more. The Cottonee, her body visibly bruised in several places, materialized from its confines and almost immediately shrank back upon seeing Renzo and his Drowzee. "Now, now, you don't have to be afraid, Cottonee. We're not going to hurt you. Please, forgive us for doing what we had to."

Lowering himself so he wound not appear as intimidating to the small Pokémon, Renzo extended a hand and waited as Cottonee nervously examined it. It took a bit of time, but Renzo's newly-caught Pokémon did eventually decide that the situation was safe, at which point she hopped up into his hand and allowed him to hold her.

"There you go," he said in an attempt to further comfort her, "nothing to be afraid of."

"Mister Renzo, outsiders!" one of the two male children suddenly cried.

"Hmph. I would wager that I can guess who." Slowly turning around, Renzo came to face Matt, Olivia, Nekou, Bunny and Dante, who had arrived in the pass just after Cottonee was captured. His guess having evidently been right, he sighed and said, "So the usurper and her followers return, with a new addition, no less. Listen, I will not be persuaded away from my goals, no matter how large your group becomes!"

"We're not interested in you," Matt attempted to argue while adjusting his glasses in exasperation. "We just want to go to Violet City."

"That Pokémon in your arms," Olivia observed, pointing straight at Cottonee. "I've never seen it before."

"Cottonee, the Cotton Puff Pokémon," her Pokédex stated once she took it out. "Perhaps because they feel more at ease in a group, they stick to others they find. They end up looking like a cloud."

"I would say that your little invader is plenty interested in me, thank you very much. Actually, come to think of it, we have a bit of a score to settle from New Bark Town, do we not? Olivia, I challenge you!"

"Bring it on!" Olivia immediately shot back, without even taking a moment to think. "I beat you once and I'll do it again!"

"You go for it, Olivia!" Nekou encouraged. "Put him in his place!"

"Ha! Fat chance!" The boy from earlier, who was clothed in a red t-shirt and denim shorts, was starting to walk over in Renzo's direction. "Renzo beat all three of us without breaking a sweat. He'll make quick work of you, too!"

"Please, do not interfere." Renzo's request prompted the bold-tempered boy to stand down. "This is a burden I must bear alone, teaching this undeserving swine her place in the world."

"Don't you think that's a little cruel?" By the scowl on her face, Bunny was clearly bothered by Renzo's names for Olivia. "The way you talk, you make it sound like Olivia killed your mother or something."

Renzo flinched, but quickly recovered. "Olivia, I will not be using this Cottonee against you. I just captured it, and it is not in prime health for battling. Neither will I be using my Drowzee, who is tired from battling Cottonee. I have prepared a Pokémon specifically for my next meeting with you, and now it is time for you to meet that Pokémon."

"Like I said, bring it on! I'm not afraid of you!"

"You should be." With Cottonee, Drowzee and the three children looking on, Renzo drew out another Poké Ball from his poncho and silently threw it.

From that Poké Ball emerged a muscular Pokémon whose gray body was covered in pink veins bursting from his skin. His lumpy head, round red nose and the iron beam he held alongside himself offered Olivia the only hints to his identity.

"That must be…" she gasped, quickly taking out her Pokédex once more.

"Gurdurr, the Muscular Pokémon. Evolved form of Timburr. With strengthened bodies, they skillfully wield steel beams to take down buildings."

"So you evolved it, big deal." Though Olivia was putting up a tough front, she had an increasing feeling of dread developing in her mind. Gurdurr was much more intimidating in appearance than Timburr was, and she knew that evolution would bring the Pokémon even more strength than he had before. "I won't be afraid. Oshawott, let's play!"

Olivia's Water-type Pokémon appeared on the path in a burst of bright light. He did not notice his soon-to-be-foe right away; instead, he started playing with the shell on his stomach by turning it to different angles. Once he finally did notice Gurdurr standing over him, though, he quickly became serious. Like his trainer, he was nervous to be facing the menacing Gurdurr, but he had resolved to prove his worth to Olivia.

"Are you going to try to take a stand here?" Renzo taunted, extending his right arm and gesturing to dare Olivia to attack. "Throw everything you've got at me! This time is going to be different!"

"You're going to regret saying that! Oshawott, Water Gun!"

"That's it? Gurdurr!"

Drawing in a deep breath, Oshawott spit a stream of water from his mouth, aimed squarely at his opponent's chest.

Gurdurr remained unfazed, however. He picked up his metal beam with dexterity that betrayed how thick and unwieldy his arms were, then began spinning it in circles in front of himself, creating a shield. Oshawott's Water Gun bounced harmlessly off the beam, accomplishing nothing.

"Evolution really made that Gurdurr stronger," Matt commented, a cold feeling running down his spine.

"It's a natural trait of the evolution family of Timburr," Dante explained. "As it goes through its evolutionary stages, a Timburr gains more and more skill in using its chosen weapons. This Gurdurr's shield technique, though… it's impressive."

"Alright, now give her a taste of what you can do offensively, Gurdurr. Drain Punch!"

In order to give himself more mobility, after he was finished using the iron beam as a shield Gurdurr stuck it firmly into the ground. He then lunged at Oshawott with his right fist pulled back and enveloped in a red glow.

Oshawott held up his shell in a feeble attempt to shield himself from the terrifying Fighting-type Pokémon bearing down on him, but it made no difference. The shell was no match for the force of Gurdurr's fist, which shattered it into pieces before striking Oshawott directly in the stomach, sending him rolling back through the dirt. Oshawott was hit so hard that he dug a trail into the path as he skidded to a stop.

"Oh no, Oshawott!" Olivia cried out, her earlier feelings of dread now manifesting as sadness and fear for Oshawott's safety. She was planning to call him back, and even had taken out his Poké Ball, but he struggled to his feet.

"Osha! Osha!" Though his voice was shaky, Oshawott's message was clear – he wanted to continue, no matter the cost.

Unfortunately, Olivia and her supporters were not the only ones who understood this message. Renzo picked it up, too, and he nodded his head slowly. "Your Pokémon is a foolhardy one who knows not when to quit... kind of like you, usurper. Gurdurr, teach it a lesson. Mach Punch!"

In a flash, Gurdurr was towering over Oshawott once more, and without facing any resistance, he used a blazingly fast punch to slam Oshawott into the ground.

This time, when Gurdurr pulled his fist back, Oshawott did not rise again. He lay unconscious in the hole smashed open by the sheer force of the blow.

"No!"

"Olivia, send Oshawott back!" Bunny shouted with her hands cupped around her mouth, unable to bear seeing Olivia's Pokémon suffer. "This isn't worth it!"

Silently, Olivia followed Bunny's advice, calling Oshawott back to the safety of his Poké Ball. Instead of backing down, however, she armed herself with another sphere. "I won't be afraid…" she said out loud, seemingly addressing her own nerves. "Minccino, let's play!"

Once he saw Minccino emerge from Olivia's second Poké Ball, Renzo scoffed. "You bank your hopes on the power of love? That's all you've got with that weak little thing against Gurdurr. Well, let me tell you right now, the power of love is a lie! I'll prove it to you right now! Gurdurr, attack with Drain Punch!"

"Minccino, counter that using Aqua Tail!"

Both Minccino and Gurdurr let out battle cries and jumped at each other, Minccino somersaulting through the air and Gurdurr with his fist pulled back. Minccino's tail, which had taken on a blue glow, met Gurdurr's fist with explosive results; the blast threw both Pokémon onto their backs.

"Don't let up, Minccino! Keep the pressure on it! Tail Slap!"

Olivia had already honed in on one of Gurdurr's weaknesses – outside of Mach Punch, he was not very swift. This weakness affected his recovery from the collision of Aqua Tail and Drain Punch, as he was struggling to stand back up. Taking advantage of this, Minccino rushed in and spun, enabling her to use her tail as a whip, striking Gurdurr's body four times. Each hit elicited a low, pained groan from the thick-bodied Fighting-type.

From the sidelines, Matt smiled. He was proud to see Olivia taking charge as much as she was.

"That will not get you what you want. Wake-Up Slap, now!"

Minccino was not out of Gurdurr's reach just yet, and he took full advantage of that to strike back with a vengeance. He swept his arm across the space before him, smacking Minccino with a sharp slap.

"Ciiiinooo!" cried the tiny Normal-type. By the time she landed at her trainer's feet, Minccino was completely unconscious as a result of Gurdurr's extremely effective hit.

"Minccino…" Olivia was beginning to become numb. Watching Oshawott fall in defeat quickly was hard enough for her to accept, but to watch the same fate befall her beloved Minccino affected her on a deeper level. She no longer could clearly visualize her surroundings beyond the battle, nor could she even hear Nekou yelling to her. She simply recalled Minccino and got the next Poké Ball ready. "Roselia, let's play!"

Gurdurr immediately locked eyes with Olivia's Roselia when she was freed from her ball, and Roselia returned the gesture. Memories of New Bark Town flashed between them. Back then it had been Roselia that defeated Gurdurr, when he was still a Timburr prior to his evolution. He'd never let go of that defeat, and seeing Roselia again sent rage flowing through every bit of his body. It took all the restraint he could muster to remain in control and stop himself from attacking without orders.

"Roselia, Sludge Bomb! Let's try to get in a good hit!"

"Gurdurr, you know what you must do."

The bursts of slime Roselia fired from her flowers never reached their target, as once again, Gurdurr spun his metal beam to shield himself. Once the poison dispersed in clouds of smoke, Gurdurr tensed his muscles in preparation for his next command.

"Now, Gurdurr, Rock Slide!" To give his order some force, Renzo thrust his arm straight up, briefly tossing his ragged poncho open.

Once again, Gurdurr planted his beam in the ground, but this time he climbed atop it. From his perch, he focused all the rage he felt toward Roselia and raised his arms into the air, roaring a battle cry across the field. His power caused an energy field to open over Roselia and drop large rocks onto her, crushing the leaves on her body.

By this point, Olivia had long since realized that this battle was a lost cause, but something in her refused to allow her to quit. Taking what few openings she had left, she yelled, "Quick, Energy Ball!"

"Rock Slide, once more!"

The sparking green orb Roselia produced using what nature-based power she could draw upon while partially buried missed hitting Gurdurr, but it did cut down the iron beam, leaving the metal's owner to fall to the ground. However, before he hit the dirt, Gurdurr triggered another Rock Slide, adding enough pressure on top of Roselia to force her to faint.

"Fuck this!" Nekou screeched, still trying to get through to Olivia. "Olivia, there's no shame in throwing in the towel! This isn't worth it anymore!"

"You stay out of this!" Renzo angrily shouted over her. "This battle is between me and Olivia! This is my score to settle and I will not let you interrupt it!"

Ignoring Renzo's ranting, Matt loudly said, "I agree with Nekou. There's no need to go further!"

All of it was in vain. Olivia was too broken by watching Oshawott, Minccino and Roselia go down easily, and she could not just let the battle go. She'd already called Roselia back and sent out Lillipup, who shrank before the intimidating gaze of Gurdurr.

"Is that all you've got left?" Renzo furthered his grandstanding by throwing his head back and spreading his arms. "Don't bother lying, I can tell you don't have any more Pokémon. I can see it in your face. That look of sheer despair when there's no option left but to give up… it's something I'm too familiar with, so I've learned to tell when I'm looking at it. So… shall we get on with finishing this once and for all, usurper? Gurdurr, Drain Punch!"

Olivia couldn't even give Lillipup a direction with how numb she was. He was left with no other choice but to watch in terror as the slow moving but immensely powerful Gurdurr bore down on him.

"Enough. Kangaskhan, Sucker Punch."

Suddenly, Gurdurr's path to Lillipup was cut off by a Kangaskhan appearing between them. She swung and punched the Fighting-type, not hurting him much but knocking him back and stopping him from attacking Lillipup.

"What?!" Renzo stomped his foot into the ground in rage over having been interrupted. "Who did that? Was it you, whore?!" he screamed as he pointed at Nekou.

"You would know if it was me, kid. And 'whore?' You wish that was the worst name I've been called."

"It was I."

To the surprise of all the people gathered on the road, a tall, lithe young man jumped from the bushes to stand in the middle of the battle. His windbreaker jacket – designed with a checkerboard pattern over half-black, half-white coloring – fit loosely on his thin frame, while his long green hair flowed into a ponytail against his back from beneath his similarly-colored baseball cap.

"And who are you, freak?!" Knowing the intruder's face didn't placate Renzo's rage at all. In fact, it made him even more angry.

"Fighting so brutally against Pokémon weaker than your own… it isn't right…" As he spoke, the young man made strange gestures with his hands, as if he were manipulating something in the air before him. "Kangaskhan, Mega Punch."

"It's just a Normal-type, Gurdurr! Get that thing out of my way! Drain Punch!"

Gurdurr and the mysterious trainer's Kangaskhan each swung their respective right fists toward each other, but when the two met, Gurdurr's effort was easily overpowered. Kangaskhan managed to land a bruising blow directly on Gurdurr's body, injuring him critically. Unable to believe what he was seeing, Renzo could do nothing but watch as his Pokémon crumpled to the ground before its mighty new foe.

Kangaskhan kept growling at Gurdurr, but she stopped when her trainer put his hand on her side as an indication to stand down. The trainer then walked over to Gurdurr and lowered himself onto his knees.

"What are you doing?!" Renzo raged as the young man placed his hands upon Gurdurr's body. "Get off of my Pokémon!"

Ignoring Renzo, the trainer closed his eyes and said quietly, "Transcend the confines of time and space..."

Matt's group, the three children and Renzo all looked on in varying degrees of surprise. They were watching a soft green light envelop Gurdurr and seemingly heal the visible wound he'd received. None of the observers to this was more shocked than Matt, though.

"He's using that power, I know it!" Matt thought, his eyes wide. "It's almost the same as hers!"

A moment later, the light faded, leaving the fully healed Gurdurr completely visible. Both the Pokémon and the trainer who healed him rose to their full heights, with the trainer walking back in Olivia's direction while Gurdurr retreated to Renzo's side.

"Just who are you?" Renzo demanded. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"So ungrateful, but I forgive you…" The strange young trainer continued gesturing strangely as he spoke, moving his hands and arms in wide, sweeping gestures. "My name is Nikolai, and I am a trainer… well, that's not quite right. I am searching… for trainers and Pokémon who get along as equals. Where will you go from our meeting?"

"Not that I owe you any answer," Renzo replied with a scoff, "but I am going to traverse Dark Cave and the mountains of Route 45 beyond. My goal is Blackthorn City, where I will get a Dratini no matter what I must do."

"Why Dratini?" Bunny questioned. "I get that it's rare, but you seem like you have a deeper reason."

"Dragonite was her favorite…"

Without saying anything further, Renzo wandered off with his Pokémon. heading north on the road. The others who remained had little time to ponder his bizarre behavior, as Nikolai next approached Olivia.

"Please allow me to see your Pokémon…"

"Um…"

"We're here, Olivia," Matt said in an attempt to reassure her, not noticing that Dante and Nekou both had stepped back to coldly observe things. "I… I think he's trustworthy. He did protect you from Gurdurr…"

"You're right."

Her concerns soothed, Olivia quickly released her severely weakened Minccino, Roselia and Oshawott once more. They joined Lillipup, who had been hiding behind Olivia's legs for some time, only coming out once the other Pokémon were present.

"Thank you," Nikolai spoke in a voice that was almost whispering, as he once again knelt down. "You have a fine collection of Pokémon… Now, transcend the confines of time and space…"

Nikolai spread his hands over Olivia's four Pokémon, and the same green light that healed Renzo's Gurdurr engulfed them. Before anyone knew it, Oshawott, Roselia and Minccino were completely healed. Several stunned pairs of eyes rested squarely on Nikolai as he stood back up.

"Your Pokémon spoke to me, Olivia... Oshawott says he wants to impress you and make you proud of him… Roselia and Minccino love being with you... Lillipup is scared of the big Pokémon but wants to get stronger…"

"Wait, just what is it you're saying?" Dante questioned, abruptly dropping back into the exchange. "You can talk to Pokémon?"

"It's the power of Transcendence," Matt explained, earning a nod of agreement from Bunny, who was the only other one that knew what he was talking about.

"How do you know about my power…?" Nikolai's gaze was strangely pitched, as if he was looking over Matt's shoulder to some object far away.

"Because I used to know someone who had that power." Reaching into his coat, Matt took out a pocketwatch, which he opened. Inside was a second cover, and on that second cover was a painting. It depicted a young woman, wearing white priestess clothing and her brown hair styled into three buns, whose face was distinguished by thick eyebrows above a pair of fierce, powerful blue eyes. Matt spent a moment looking at the painting, allowing himself the memories and regrets it brought to mind, before he spoke again. "Sheena was her name. She had the power of Transcendence like you, except she could only link with the hearts of people and Pokémon, not heal them like you do."

"I see… there aren't many others like me. I want to use my power to… encourage humans and Pokémon to live together in harmony. This is all I can think of… please allow me to meet the Pokémon each of you possess."

"Why would you want to do that?" Nekou interrogated, her voice carrying more than a hint of suspicion over Nikolai's motives.

When Nikolai answered not by speaking but by merely staring at the ground, Matt decided to pick up the slack for him. "He healed both that Gurdurr and all of Olivia's Pokémon when he didn't have to, and quite honestly, I don't think someone with powers like Sheena's can be all that bad. I'll go first."

While Matt took care in sending out each of his six Pokémon one at a time, there was more going on than any of them were aware of. Hiding in the woods and still following Matt's group, Jessie, James and Meowth had been spying on the entire scene with their equipment and turned to each other in a panic.

"What is he doing here?" Jessie demanded of the others. "We already knew about Ghetsis but this is something nobody said anything about!"

"Team Plasma is more connected with this than we were ever told," James said in agreement.

"And if those crazy knights are mixed up with what's going down with Polaris, things might be about to get really bad." After seizing the R-Pad from James, Meowth touched an icon on its screen that allowed access to videos. "That contingency plan Ariana and the doctor came up with might be just what we need now."

Out on the road, Nikolai seemed to have a childlike sense of wonder as he examined Matt's six Pokémon, the light of his power emanating from his outstretched hands all the while. He had quickly gravitated towards Matt's Heatran, as he was aware of the kind of stories told about the stout-bodied Fire-and-Steel-type. Next, he moved on to Matt's Sigilyph and Golurk, and the brightly-colored, three-eyed bird and towering golem both appeared more than happy to interact with him. The same could also be said about his Salamence and Beartic, but his final Pokémon – an eel whose blue body had three yellow dots on each side – visibly vexed him.

Meanwhile, while Nikolai was carrying on his conversations with Matt's Pokémon, the third of the children approached Olivia. Unlike the first two, who were rather excitable, the bowl-cut-wearing boy conducted himself very timidly as he looked up at her with wide, green eyes.

"Um... you have an Oshawott, and a Pokédex…"

"So?" Whatever the boy was trying to get at, Olivia wasn't understanding it. "Besides it being Oshawott instead of Chikorita, Cyndaquil or Totodile, what's the big deal?"

"That scary guy on the television keeps telling us that trainers who have starter Pokémon and Pokédexes are the reason why trainers like my friends and I never get anywhere…"

"Do you mean Ghetsis?" Nekou interrupted. When the boy nodded, she asked him, "What do you mean when you say that you and your friends never get anywhere?"

"None of us have starter Pokémon. I just have my Taillow, while Julia has her Sandshrew and Ronald has his Marill. The three of us have been trying to make it to Violet City for weeks, but stronger trainers keep coming and beating us, and we don't have enough money for medicine or the Pokémon Center…"

Having listened intently to the boy's story, Nekou decided to give them help. She immediately looked up and called, "Matt!"

"What?" He had been watching Nikolai with his Pokémon, and as a result he was not paying attention to Olivia or the children.

"Call HR-E here. These kids are in desperate need of some supplies."

"Hm?" Nekou's request was so sudden that it took Matt several seconds to fully process exactly what it was she wanted. Once he fully grasped it, though, he reached up to his mask and pressed a tiny button located just under the eyepiece. "It'll be here in a little while. What'd I miss?"

"Ghetsis has been giving speeches claiming that trainers with starter Pokémon and Pokédexes keep trainers without those things from succeeding. I think this might be a little more serious than just the typical dime a dozen television snake oil salesman."

"Isn't Pokémon training supposed to be about making it your own way, no matter which way you choose?" Olivia wondered out loud. "The idea of one group of trainers making it harder for another group of trainers to succeed doesn't make sense to me."

Though she claimed to not find any sense in the story, however, the idea behind it did bother Olivia. She truly believed that Pokémon trainers on the most basic level helped each other, yet standing before her was someone who seemed like he might actually buy into the concept of a simple yet fundamental difference between groups of trainers hurting one of those groups.

"Please explain something to me…" Matt's attention was pulled back to its original location when Nikolai suddenly spoke up after having approached moments before. "Your Pokémon all seem at least relatively happy to be with you, as they've told me stories of some of your adventures… but why is your Eelektrik not responding in the same way?"

"I haven't really used her at all yet, to be truthful. I was hoping to get in some training with her soon..."

Suddenly becoming angry, Nikolai moved in a single abrupt motion to get right in Matt's face. "You must treat your Pokémon better! When I spoke to your Eelektrik, it told me that it feels forgotten. Simply capturing a Pokémon in one of those awful Poké Balls is not enough! You must spend time allowing that Pokémon to be free, as well!"

"Geez, go easy on him, he only caught Eelektrik recently!" Bunny interjected as a defense for Matt. "Also, you say Poké Balls are awful, but don't you use them as well?"

Backing down from his anger somewhat, Nikolai admitted, "I do, but I do not take pleasure in doing so. I do not believe in confining Pokémon in situations where it is completely unnecessary… but in this society, it is difficult to travel with a party of Pokémon. I prefer to allow my Pokémon to live in the wild in various places until I need them, when possible..."

"If I need to spend more time with Charlotte, then, how about you and I practice a bit?"

"I dislike battling, except when one of my Pokémon wishes to engage in one..." Nikolai briefly closed his eyes and said after reopening them, "I can feel that I do have a Pokémon with me that desires a battle. Stantler, come alongside me, my friend."

Just as Nikolai sent out his Stantler from his ball, the HR-E 2 came gliding up, making a quiet, clean run just off the main path. As it settled into place, Matt looked back over his shoulder to Nekou, Bunny and Olivia.

"Would you three go in there and get the medicine and supplies for the kids? It's not hard to find."

"Do I have to do it?" Olivia sighed. "I want to train too!"

Before Matt could say anything in response, Bunny said to him, "It's okay, Nekou and I can do it ourselves, no problem."

"Alright, if you say so."

Nekou was uncharacteristically quiet and cooperative as she followed Bunny up to and past the entrance door into the HR-E 2. Calling back his other Pokémon, Matt brought Charlotte, his Eelektrik, to the forefront to face Nikolai's Stantler.

"Lillipup, Oshawott, I want to focus on training you guys specifically. Come on over here."

All four of Olivia's Pokémon heeded her call despite her only requesting Lillipup and Oshawott; Roselia and Minccino stood beside her while the two she wished to battle waited in the front.

"You want to battle against us?" Ronald took Olivia's actions as a challenge, so he dragged his timid, soft-spoken friend alongside himself to face her. "Fine, let's have a battle where you use two Pokémon and we'll each use one! I'm fired up!"

"If that's what you want," Olivia answered with a shrug, feigning a sort of surprise at how badly contrasting the personalities of the two boys were.

-:-

Off somewhere deeper in the woods, further away from the road than before, Jessie, James and Meowth were gathered around the R-Pad, which James was holding.

"Are we far enough away?" he wondered.

"They won't hear us here," Jessie sharply said. "Play the video."

"And go!"

Meowth reached under James's arm and pressed his paw against the R-Pad's screen, triggering a pre-recorded video of Dr. Zager sitting in front of a camera.

"Welcome. If you're watching this video, something has gone wrong with the mission to capture the Meteonite from Route 29, and therefore you require the pre-prepared contingency plan. On Route 30 is the home of a man known as Mr. Pokémon, who collects and researches rare treasures. It is highly likely that he possesses information on the Meteonite. You are to remotely hack into his servers and download any data you can find, then forward it on to me."

"It's all working out in pitch-perfect shape," Meowth realized out loud. "That old guy's got the Meteonite and is taking it to Mr. Pokémon. All we gotta do is keep following him until they meet up, and then we swoop in for the score!"

"Let's move, then," Jessie directed. "What we can't afford is to fall behind."

-:-

Some time later, Matt, Nekou, Olivia, Bunny, Dante and Nikolai were once again walking on the road, having reached the northern part of Route 30. Dante and Matt were leading the pack, with Olivia, Bunny and Nekou clustered in the middle and Nikolai bringing up the rear.

"I've got to tell you, Olivia, you did really well back there," Matt said over his shoulder. "Even for a training battle, that was good work."

"Thanks!" the girl beamed, smiling broadly for the compliment. "Harold and his Taillow were stronger than I expected… I thought Ronald's Marill would be tougher, but I was wrong. Lillipup and Oshawott really came through for me, though."

"And what about you and Nikolai?" Bunny chimed in. "You two had a pretty nice sparring match yourselves."

"I guess he was right about Charlotte wanting to have some time out doing things. She really responded to getting a chance to battle. Nikolai, thanks for that."

"I'm only doing what I think is right…" By now, Nikolai's anger from earlier had fully subsided. He lurked behind the others and watched them carefully as they walked, not bothering to socialize but also not bothering to detach himself from the group.

"Mr. Pokémon's home is right through here." Gesturing to an offshoot of the path that briefly crossed into the forest, Dante led the others in the direction he indicated.

At the end of the path was something none of them were expecting.

The house, a modest, two-story building made of wood, was being attacked by a Pokémon. They had to look carefully to see it, but there was a blue rock Pokémon shooting energy blasts from its yellow core at the structure.

"What is that Pokémon?"

Even before Matt finished asking his question, Olivia had her Pokédex out and was already in the process of scanning the Pokémon.

"Roggenrola, the Mantle Pokémon. The hexagonal-shaped hole is its ear. It has a tendency to walk in the direction the sound is coming from."

"Why is that Roggenrola attacking Mr. Pokémon's home?" Dante lamented aloud.

The owner of the house was nowhere to be seen; Matt assumed, or at least hoped, that he was still safely inside. Roggenrola didn't seem to notice the group and remained fixated on firing Rock Blast attacks at the building.

"Let me find out," Nikolai declared, showing an unexpected assertiveness as he stepped forth and extended his hands. "Transcend the confines of time and space!"

Roggenrola didn't even become aware of the group when Nikolai activated his power, but the glow from his hands enthralled Matt, Olivia and Bunny. As he probed into the mind of the small Rock-type Pokémon, Nikolai started to sweat, as accessing the innermost of Roggenrola's thoughts was proving harder even than healing Olivia's injured Pokémon.

"Why is he having trouble?" Olivia asked Matt out of worry.

"Sheena told me once that when a Pokémon is enraged, it becomes harder to reach that Pokémon's heart. He's trying to break through."

"I've… aah!" Nikolai's eyes whipped open and he stumbled back, prompting Matt and Bunny to run to hold him up. "Th-thank you. That Roggenrola… it's gone into a feral state and is trying to get food from in the house, because he's been feeding the wild Pokémon in the area…"

"Well, if that Pokémon is feral, maybe capturing it would be a good idea? We could civilize it."

Unsure of Matt's proposal, Nikolai pulled his hat down and said, "I disagree on principle, but your Pokémon were fairly happy to be with you…"

"I don't see any other way to calm it down, and I think I might be able to get some training out of this, too. Charlotte, make your mark!"

This was actually the idea that had jumped into Matt's head almost immediately upon seeing the wild Roggenrola. Ever since learning that Charlotte was unhappy with her current situation, he'd been hoping for a chance to let her have a real battle. The sparring with Nikolai's Stantler was a start, but he wanted something a bit less controlled.

Charlotte balanced her long body on the ground so she could stand up and sent electricity flowing through her muscles, lighting up the spots on her sides.

"Take the first attack, Charlotte! Charge Beam!"

Some sparks shot out of Charlotte's open mouth, followed by a concentrated blast of electricity. Roggenrola had finally taken notice and turned around when she heard Matt give his command, but she was nowhere near agile enough to avoid being swept up in the electric flow.

Leaping out from the vortex, Roggenrola aimed the opening on her body at Charlotte, which then began to glow as it gathered power. Four energized rocks shot out of the opening and smashed into Charlotte, leaving purple bruises across her skin.

"That first attack was quite effective, Matt." After announcing her assessment, Bunny thought quickly and added, "I don't think you need more than one more. Be very careful not to knock it out!"

"Well, it's a Rock-type, right? Then a Poison-type move should weaken it just enough. Acid Spray!"

Charlotte cut off the flow of electricity to her mouth, then spat out a blob of green acid. Though the acid washed over Roggenrola's body and broke down her defenses, however, it did not add significant injury to the already-hurt Pokémon. She could be seen breathing deeply, most likely drawing in air through the opening on the front of her body.

"Ro-genn!" she cried, rushing forward on her tiny brown feet. She threw herself at Charlotte, but the Eelektrik weaved away, allowing the failed Headbutt attack to sail harmlessly past. Roggenrola ended up sliding into the dirt just beyond where Charlotte stood.

"Now, the truth shall reveal itself! Go, Poké Ball!"

Having taken an empty Poké Ball from his bag, Matt threw it in a sweeping motion at the Roggenrola, who was struggling to pull herself up from the dirt. When the capsule hit the Rock-type Pokémon's body, it split open and absorbed Roggenrola in a flash of light before closing and falling to the ground.

"I cannot say I approve of dealing with this situation in such a way…" Nikolai uttered in a severe tone while the others all watched the ball shake.

To the surprise of even him, though, shortly thereafter the Poké Ball shattered. Now freed and growling in rage, Roggenrola turned to face Matt and Charlotte.

"Looks like you pissed it off," Nekou slyly said, fully knowing that Matt was perfectly aware of this already.

"Don't give me that now!"

"Matt, watch out!" Olivia hastily cried.

Roggenrola was charging again, this time squarely at Matt. He hadn't noticed because he'd turned his head to address Nekou.

Grunting, he covered his mouth with his arm and shouted, "Charlotte, Thunder Wave!"

Despite having tiny feet, Roggenrola was able to build up enough force to jump directly at Matt. Charlotte got in the way, though, and intercepted Roggenrola. She was releasing electricity from her body when they collided, causing paralysis to overcome Roggenrola while she was flung back herself. Matt barely avoided getting knocked down by his own Pokémon.

"I think that ought to do it," he said to Bunny, Olivia and Nikolai, who were the only ones still paying attention to what was going on; Dante was already walking to the door of Mr. Pokémon's home, while Nekou was spending her time looking at the trees surrounding the road. Sighing, Matt took out another Poké Ball and wordlessly threw it at Roggenrola. This time, the Pokémon put up little resistance and was successfully captured.

"I hope you will treat that Roggenrola properly…"

"You don't have anything to worry about," Matt said, dismissing Nikolai's incessant concern while he picked up the Poké Ball that now contained his Roggenrola. Turning his head, he asked, "Nekou, what are you doing?"

"I love how the trees look in autumn…"

"I guess she's just being herself again," he conceded, sighing.

Meanwhile, Dante had long since stopped being concerned about what the younger members of his traveling group were doing. He was standing in front of Mr. Pokémon's front door, waiting after having rung the bell.

"Come on, I know you're home!" he called, his voice clearly conveying the irritation he felt.

"The Pokémon want to come in here and eat all the food I've got!" someone shouted back from behind the door.

"Oy, not this again… there's no Pokémon out here that want your food, at least anymore anyway. And if you'd stop feeding them, they'll stop coming!"

There was a hesitation, as if the owner of the voice was considering what Dante had said. The sound of many locks being undone followed, coupled with more muttering from inside the house.

"You can never be too sure in this day and age, Dante. Blasted Team Rocket taking all our money from the banks and all… this world ain't what it used to be."

The door was opened slowly from the inside, and the house's owner shuffled out. Mr. Pokémon was a man about Dante's age, however, he appeared much older due to his rumpled clothing and unkempt white hair and beard.

"You brought the thing?" he requested, shielding his tired-looking eyes from the late afternoon sun with his arm.

"Right here," Dante replied, holding up the briefcase with the Meteonite inside.

"Good, good. Tobias and Gabriella have been riding my ass about this, and you just made it in time. They're coming tonight." Peering out further, Mr. Pokémon spied Matt's group and Nikolai standing around and talking nearby. "Look at that. Look what the feminists caused, that wench over there with her body hanging out everywhere."

"I heard thaaaat," Nekou interrupted, speaking in a loud, sing-song voice. "So fuck you, because I don't care!"

"And now you see what I've been traveling with the last couple days," Dante chuckled. "They're good people, though. I've enjoyed my company with them."

"Mr. Pokémon, I presume?" Having walked up alongside Dante, Matt addressed the strange old man himself.

"Who are you?" Mr. Pokémon fumbled a pair of glasses out of the breast pocket of his brown suit, put them on, and squinted at Matt. "Is it already happening?"

"Okaaay…" Matt took a step back before continuing. "It might be. You see, we came from New Bark Town, and Professor Juniper told us that Professor Elm had gone to visit you. Is he here?"

"Professor Elm was here, yes, but he left with as much haste as he came. Said he was going to the Ruins of Alph, if I'm not mistaken."

Matt shrugged in response to this news. Granted, finding Elm wasn't number one on his list of priorities, but he still would have liked to have located the professor.

"Matt, please give my farewells to Olivia, Bunny and Nekou," said the doctor. "I must stay here tonight to present my Meteonite research to Mr. Pokémon's guests. I have enjoyed traveling with you and your friends."

"And it's been an honor to get to know you, Doctor. Hopefully we'll meet again."

Dante extended his hand, so Matt took up the offer of a handshake with no hesitation. The magnitude his mind assigned to shaking the hand of such an important scientist was not lost on him. After that, Dante sharply turned on his heel and entered the house, then Mr. Pokémon slammed the door shut.

"Well then…"

"So what are we doing now?"

The feeling of Nekou's hand on his shoulder made Matt turn abruptly. She, along with the others, had come up behind him while he was speaking with Dante.

"I don't know. Finished looking at leaves?"

"I'll remember that, smartass." The way Nekou was smiling gave away that she was saying this in a good-natured way, for a change. "What's going on with Dr. Fantomos?"

"He's staying here to present his Meteonite research. He didn't ask me to stay behind and wait for him, so I assume that we can go ahead to Violet City."

"It's not far from here," Bunny piped up. She had a map unrolled in her hands and was studying their location on it. "Yeah, we only have a little way longer to go now."

"Then let's hit the road!" Olivia cheered, pumping her fist into the air. "Violet City and Badge number one, here we come!"

"Always so much energy… I have to admit, Olivia, sometimes you keep me going."

With Violet City awaiting them to the northwest, the group – now minus Dante, but with Nikolai in tow – set out. The trees, their leaves cloaked in the earthy autumn colors that so enraptured Nekou, provided a warm framing for their trip down the dirt road that led the way.

"Stop."

They didn't even get twenty feet away from Mr. Pokémon's home before more trouble arrived.

"What? Who said that?"

Nekou thrust her right arm out in front of Olivia and pulled her switchblade from her blouse with the left. "Someone's here. They're watching us…"

"I am…"

A sound like a gust of wind tore through the clearing, and one of the members of the Shadow Triad appeared, seemingly materializing from thin air. The color drained from Nekou's face as she stood ready to fight him, while Matt, Olivia, Bunny and Nikolai all just stared at the strange young man.

"What's going on here?" Bunny demanded. "Who are you?"

"I am… the unbreakable steel of Chaos… I do not have any orders to harm any of you unless you get in my way. Lord N, you are coming with me."

"N? What kind of name is that?" Olivia wondered out loud.

"Tough luck, none of us is named N," Matt harshly added. "Leave us alone."

"I am looking at you right now, Lord N…" Chaos announced, leveling his finger straight at Nikolai. "Cease these foolish games… Lord Ghetsis has grown impatient."

"I don't know who you are!" Nikolai cried out. "I am just a simple trainer. Surely I am not the person you speak of!"

The striking sincerity of Nikolai's words gave Chaos pause. In his hesitation, he left Nekou a chance to slip into the exchange.

"So Ghetsis is still controlling your Shadow Triad?" she quizzed the ninja.

Apparently having not perceived Nekou's presence earlier, Chaos smirked beneath the mesh covering his mouth. "Well, well, well, seeing you is certainly a surprise, Black Cat. It must have slipped your mind that we, the Shadow Triad, live only to serve Lord Ghetsis and his whims."

"Black Cat? What is this guy talking about?

Nekou went even paler at Matt's line of questioning, but otherwise held her cool. "He's trying to psych you and I out. Don't listen to him."

"You're lucky I do not have the time to deal with you. Lord N… if you cannot remember your place in this world, I will force you to remember! Liepard! Bisharp! Banette!"

Chaos reached to his waist and threw three Poké Balls in a single motion that was so swift it nearly could not be seen. His three Pokémon appeared before him, one of which – a lithe-bodied, feline creature covered in purple-and-yellow fur – Matt noted he hadn't seen before.

"Go forth! Bisharp, Assurance! Liepard, Aerial Ace! Banette, Will-O-Wisp!"

With Nikolai fixated in their eyes, all three of Chaos's Pokémon lunged forward; blue light surrounded Liepard's front claws, while Banette crossed his arms and threw flares of blue fire and a black glow surrounded both of Bisharp's hands.

"No you don't! Tanya, make your mark!"

"Right alongside you! Kayla, come out!"

Blocking the path of the three Pokémon with their bodies, Matt and Bunny sent out their Heatran and Mienshao respectively to provide some additional cover. Tanya's large, bulky body was, in fact, enough to deflect the attempted attacks of the trio by itself.

"You're going to protect him? Your loss… not even a Pokémon like Heatran will make me stand down… Liepard, Snarl!"

A single fallen leaf crunched under Liepard's careful steps forward. He opened his mouth as widely as possible and let out a horrific screech, filling the air with shrill noise. Matt, Olivia and Bunny all had to hold their ears to protect themselves from the terrible sound. Tanya and Kayla cringed as well, but strangely, it appeared to have no effect on Nekou and Nikolai, as they simply stood still.

"Do... do you think… that'll actually work?!" It was a struggle for Matt to speak under the influence of Liepard's well-practiced Snarl, but he managed to force himself through it. "T-Tanya… Flash Cannon!"

One downside of Chaos's honed attack was that Liepard was left vulnerable to a counterattack, which came when Tanya fired a large shot of silvery light from her mouth at him. As soon as it hit Liepard, the blast exploded, cutting off Snarl from continuing. Bisharp immediately picked up his teammate's slack, jumping in and swinging his arms to dispel the smoke. Liepard arched his back from behind Bisharp, his coat discolored from Flash Cannon's heat.

"I am one of Lord Ghetsis's chosen hands!" Chaos appeared to be losing his composure, slipping into behavior more suitable of his name as he clenched his fists. "I will not fail him!"

"It'll be hard to please him when you're in pieces."

Out of nowhere, Nekou was right next to Chaos, swinging her knife down with his shoulder as her target. He was forced to defend himself by swiftly pulling a dagger from his belt to block the strike.

"You're out of luck, Black Cat!" Chaos growled. "Bisharp! Lead Banette and Liepard while I take care of this one!"

A sharp grunt and a smile indicated that Bisharp gladly accepted the responsibility Chaos delegated to him. Banette and Liepard rallied to his side, and much like a trainer, he pointed his right arm forward at their enemies and spoke in his own language to give orders, which Banette and Liepard seemingly understood.

While Banette hung back, Liepard lunged forward once more, again attempting to land an Aerial Ace. Banette backed up his ally by waving his arms back and forth to generate a gust of chilled air. However, also in much the same way as the first exchange of attacks, Tanya used her body and her natural Fire-and-Steel typing to block and absorb the Aerial Ace and Icy Wind.

"I think it's time we fought back. Kayla, use Drain Punch on Liepard!"

Moving with great speed, Kayla immediately closed the gap between herself and Chaos's Liepard. Before the Dark-type Pokémon could react, she threw back the long, purple-tipped fur on her arm and punched Liepard squarely in the face using the fist underneath. The welt left behind quickly transformed into light, which was absorbed into Kayla's body.

Crying out his name in an ear-splitting hiss, Bisharp leapt over the stunned Liepard, his hands glowing black in preparation for Assurance again. His target was Nikolai, but Olivia was standing close enough to also be threatened. Seeing Bisharp coming down toward her caused Olivia to cringe in fear; she'd already had one near-death experience with a Bisharp and had no desire to go through another.

"Magma Storm!"

The tornado of fire that swirled from Tanya's mouth failed to directly connect, but it flew closely enough to blow Bisharp back with its sheer force. Once she was out of danger, Olivia ran to Bunny, but Nikolai simply remained still.

"This is not right…" he thought. Tears were welling up in his eyes, hidden from the others due to the shadow of his hat. " Pokémon and humans fighting each other like this…"

As the Pokémon exchanged blows, Nekou and Chaos were doing the same. Sparks flew every time the metal of Nekou's switchblade and Chaos's dagger clashed, but neither of them could make much headway against the other, as the rapid pace of Nekou's attack forced Chaos to defend himself instead of fighting back.

"Let's see how you like this!" Chaos abruptly roared.

Deciding to take a risk, the Shadow Triad member dropped his defensive techniques and attempted to directly hit Nekou. The mesh covering over his mouth ended up getting cut off, but in exchange for that battle damage, he managed to slash a long gash into Nekou's left shoulder.

Stumbling back and looking down at the red ooze slowly trickling out of her skin, Nekou spat, "Fuck, you got me! Well, actually, you only got my clothes… I guess Ghetsis didn't prepare you for facing me?" Nekou lightly ran her hand over the bloody wound, then raised that same hand to her mouth and licked the liquid off. Immediately, her mind began to race. "Mmm… yeah, they didn't tell you, so I will. You might have cut me, but the thing is… a wounded animal is the most vicious!"

When she jerked her head back up, Nekou's eyes were filled with a bright yellow glow. She screamed loudly enough to cause her voice to crack and lunged at Chaos, assaulting him in such a bloodthirsty frenzy that he couldn't keep up. Her switchblade first claimed his gloves, which fell to the ground in pieces, then began nicking small cuts into his exposed hands and arms.

"You're mine now, you little shit! All I have to do is beat you before that happens now!"

Chaos knew he was in trouble against Nekou if she was going to press him so relentlessly. Becoming consumed by desperation, he began to reach for a small pouch attached to his belt.

Before any of this chaotic scene could be sorted out, however, a new element entered the fray to decide the outcome. A Haxorus came crashing through the battle with her Dual Chop move, using the first swing of her tusks to fell Banette and Liepard and the second to separate Nekou and Chaos.

"That Pokémon," Olivia gasped, genuinely surprised. "It's…"

"You should not be using Pokémon to cause harm to those who have not harmed you," Dante lectured Chaos as he stepped back into the clearing. "I come out here to see what all the racket is, and what do I find? Nothing more than some white-haired ninja scoundrel making trouble for some innocents. It's rightly disappointing."

"Stay out of this, old man!" Chaos sneered.

"Matt, Nekou, Olivia, Bunny, take Nikolai and go to Violet City as you intended. I'm sporting enough to stay behind and deal with this common thug of a villain."

"You heard the man!" Wasting no time in agreeing with Dante's proposal, Matt rallied his friends to evacuate Route 30 right away by recalling his Pokémon, a move mimicked by Bunny. "Let's move!"

"Oh no you don't! Not with Lord N!"

Of course, Chaos was completely unwilling to let his prey escape capture. Capable of going to any length to accomplish Ghetsis's orders, he reached into the pouch on his belt, swiftly withdrawing and flinging a dart. The dart hit Nikolai in the center of his chest, and almost immediately, he started going into convulsions.

"Nikolai?" Bunny whispered, suddenly feeling terrified unlike anything else she'd felt that day.

"Listen to me, you're going to be okay!" Matt rushed over to support Nikolai just as the green-haired young man vomited into the grass. Though he was not an expert in the field of their study, Matt knew enough about toxins to realize quite swiftly that Chaos's dart was surely poisoned.

"Now will you be a good prince and return on your king's decree?" demanded the shady ninja bodyguard. "That genetic suppressant ought to be working wonders on your freak body right now."

His suspicions of a poison dart confirmed, Matt made a motion as if he was preparing to battle Chaos directly, but all the ninja's threat earned him was a swift, high kick in the throat from a very angry Nekou.

"If you're gonna fight dirty, do it against me, fucker!" she screamed at Chaos as he fell backward.

"Nekou, not now!" Matt shouted over to her. He and Bunny were supporting Nikolai, who could no longer stand on his own and was suffering more violent convulsions. "Look at this… whatever he had that dart spiked with really messed Nikolai up!"

"Hurry, get him out of here! Go to Violet City's Pokémon Center. He should be able to get treatment there!"

"You heard the man, Nekou!" Bunny called out, intending to follow Dante's orders. "Let's go!"

It took every ounce of Nekou's remaining restraint, but she managed to tear herself away from her fight with Chaos, even though she hadn't yet worked through the rush she still felt. Blinking repeatedly, she forced down her aggression, and the yellow glow disappeared from her eyes. Matt and Bunny assisted Nikolai in escaping into the woods to the west, and Nekou escorted Olivia in following them.

Stumbling to his feet, Chaos yelled after the five, "Stop! You are going nowhere!"

"No, you are the one who won't be going anywhere," Dante offered as a correction while his Haxorus stood in Chaos's way. "I will dispose of you myself."

"Hmph, like there's anything an old man like you can do! Bisharp, Liepard, Banette, attack!"

Summoning what strength they had left, Chaos's three Pokémon all lunged at Haxorus. Both she and Dante remained calm, however. Neither of them saw the opposing trio of Pokémon or their trainer as a threat in the least.

"Haxorus," Dante coolly directed, even closing his eyes as he spoke, "Dual Chop."

Just like when they'd arrived earlier, Haxorus swiftly charged forward and cut Liepard down using her right tusk, then slashed Banette with the left. Both Pokémon crumpled to the ground as a result of everything they'd taken.

"Bisharp, Iron Head!"

"It is over. Haxorus, use Counter!"

An orange light outlined Haxorus's body, and when Bisharp's metallic headbutt struck her, she immediately punched him squarely in the face. Because Haxorus's attack was twice as strong as the move she had been hit with, Bisharp was defeated just as his allies were.

"Is that it?" Dante taunted the dumbfounded Shadow Triad member. "You were not even a slight challenge for me. Be on your way if you don't want this to get any worse for yourself."

"Ugh… I swear on my honor, I will avenge this loss in the name of Lord Ghetsis! Harmonia shall rise!"

Chaos quickly recalled his three fallen Pokémon, then disappeared using one of his ninja techniques, leaving Dante alone in the clearing with Haxorus.

Turning to her trainer, the golden-bodied dragon questioningly growled, "Haro?"

"He will present no more disobedience, so it is not worth pursuing him further. You did well, so rest awhile."

A few hours later, after the sun had set over Johto, a helicopter rested outside of Mr. Pokémon's home. It was colored black with gold trim around the doors, and barely fit in the clearing.

The inside of Mr. Pokémon's house was as much of a disorganized mess as he was himself. Towering computer hard drives and bookshelves lined the walls, while his tables were covered by sloppy stacks of papers, magazines and foreign coins. On the far side of the darkened room was a red couch, on which his guests were sitting. One was a man in a gray uniform and a short red cape, who was sitting with his arms crossed; the other was a bright-eyed woman dressed in a smart black business suit and tie. Both of them had long, flowing hair that covered the left side of their faces; the man's was shoulder-length and blue, while the woman's golden hair stretched all the way down to her thighs.

"Governor Tobias, President Gabriella, is there anything I can get either of you fine folks?" Mr. Pokémon was standing hunchbacked next to the couch and held his hands together as he tried to be polite to his guests.

"Have you got any coffee? I'd really like some, especially if you could throw a lot of sugar in!"

"I'll just take a bottle of Fresh Water, if you would."

The difference between the two couldn't have been more pronounced. Gabriella was outgoing and very upbeat, while Tobias conducted himself in a serious and straightforward manner.

Mr. Pokémon disappeared into the kitchen of his cluttered bungalow to fetch the refreshments that had been ordered. Standing across the room, next to a table on which he'd placed his briefcase, Dante stepped forth to begin his presentation.

"Thank you for coming out, Tobias, Gabriella." Before speaking further, he leaned his weight on his cane and bowed slightly, then opened his briefcase to reveal the Meteonite piece. "I merely have a small amount of research to present to you regarding the Meteonite, as I described."

"I'm all ears," Tobias said.

"You see, the Meteonite…" Dante was briefly interrupted when Mr. Pokémon returned to hand Tobias his water and Gabriella her coffee, but he quickly picked up again. "The Meteonite is composed of an element that does not exist on Earth. This alone warrants further study, for it is clearly not anything that is currently included on the periodic table. This element, therefore, should also be called Meteonite, unless a new name is decided upon later."

"That's fascinating, Dr. Fantomos, but tell me… does it actually do anything?"

"Yeah, you know, Tobias is right. A glittery rock is nice and all, but if you can't do anything with it, it's only good for looking at. And that's really kind of boring, right?"

"I'm getting to that. One property this element appears to have is responsiveness to itself. As in, if you use a quantity of it to search, it will react when a second quantity is nearby. It appears to interfere with electronics when it is activated, as if it is generating an electromagnetic pulse."

"Could it possibly have a medicinal use?"

Dante coughed before answering Gabriella's question; the air in Mr. Pokémon's house was rather dusty. "I suppose it is possible that the electrical pulses released by Meteonite can have a stimulating effect on living tissue."

"Excellent! I wish to acquire some of this magic rock of yours right away, then, Dante. I'll send it right off to my R&D department at the Angel Corporation, and we might discover some new medical treatments!"

"Surely this element is useful for more than just regenerative medicine?" Tobias remarked.

"I was getting to that. During my experiments with the Meteonite in my possession, I discovered a potential use for it that was unlike anything else."

"Which is?"

"While I was experimenting with applying electrical pulses of differing frequencies to the Meteonite, it reacted and created energy pulses. Nearby, a pack of Pawniard and a Bisharp went wild after being exposed to that energy. I believe that this element may be capable of influencing Pokémon behavior when certain electrical pulses are applied to it. I tested several different frequencies, and it would appear that the Pawniard and Bisharp only responded to that frequency, so I theorize that different frequencies affect different families of Pokémon."

"To think a simple rock from space could be so amazing…" said an awed Gabriella.

"It all makes sense. I will have to direct the Tohjo Continent officials to draw up emergency plans for if more Meteonite lands on Earth after the Ruins of Alph strike." Rising to his feet, Tobias extended his hand to Dante. "Dr. Fantomos, I know Gabriella will have the Angel Corporation's R&D do what they can, but your mind is very important for us to have on this study. You may be the only man who can truly understand how Meteonite affects living things."

"I'll be honored to continue working with you, Governor," Dante responded, accepting Tobias's handshake. "Anything I'm able to do to help the people of this country, don't hesitate to let me know."

"Dante, you know, I have to thank you for all the help you're giving us, for real. Since those things started falling from the sky, weird stuff has been happening. I appreciate that someone with a big brain like you is giving us a hand figuring it all out."

"You're very welcome, Gabriella." Dante shook Gabriella's hand after releasing Tobias's. "I'll arrange the transfer of the Meteonite to your building in Viridian City right away. Be safe on your way back."

-:-

Tobias and Gabriella left Mr. Pokémon's house and Route 30 at the conclusion of the meeting, departing together in the helicopter that they arrived in. Dante, on the other hand, stayed at his friend's home; the two spent quite some time discussing the most recent magazines from foreign nations to be added to Mr. Pokémon's collection over some beer. Eventually, Dante decided to turn in for the night, but Mr. Pokémon remained up, working on his computers.

Outside in the bushes, beneath the moon and stars filling the clear night sky, James and Meowth were working with the R-Pad while Jessie and Wobbuffet observed Mr. Pokémon's house using binoculars.

"Look at this data, it's incredible!" James exclaimed, though he quickly tried to check the volume of his voice. "Maybe this is how we should have gone about it this way last time, stealing the data after letting Team Plasma take the Meteonite."

"Oh, come on." Meowth looked up from the charts of data steadily streaming in from Mr. Pokémon's hacked servers and hissed, "You know that's not helping!"

"Sorry, sorry." As the download of the Meteonite data completed, James deactivated the computer and picked it up. Turning his head, he quietly called to his teammate, "Jessie, see anything?"

"It's a house at night, James. Of course I haven't seen anything." Jessie sighed and slumped over. The job of keeping watch over the building for signs of any danger was an incredibly boring one to her; in fact, she found a lot of their current mission dull. Ever since she, James and Meowth had been dragged out of retirement by Pierce on behalf of Team Rocket, she had been hoping that it would at least be for an entertaining reason. Simply sitting around watching houses didn't sate her appetite for action.

"Wobbuffet! Wobba!"

Wobbuffet frantically tugging on her arm meant that just perhaps, action had found them in the end.

"What do you want?" she sharply demanded of her Pokémon.

"Wobba!"

Following Wobbuffet's wild gestures, Jessie looked back through her binoculars at the house. What she saw made her gasp.

"James, Meowth, be quiet and get over here. Something's happening."

The door of the building had opened, and Mr. Pokémon had stepped out. In his hand was the briefcase containing the Meteonite, the same one that Dante had delivered to him.

"Where are they?" the disheveled old man wondered aloud. "They're late."

"Sorry to keep you waiting. We are here."

From the westbound road, a woman wearing a plush coat of brown fur emerged, followed by four men in khaki uniforms. The woman's most distinguishing feature, however, was the mask covering her face, which was designed to incorporate the beak and red-white-and-blue feathers of Braviary.

"So you finally showed up, Mercury?!" Mr. Pokémon growled. "It took you long enough. Getting this thing was hard enough!"

"Oh, cool it, we're not that late. Séduire and I were making some preparations for the next stage. I trust that knowledge of the Meteonite's purpose has been contained?"

"There's nothing to worry about," he assured Mercury with a smirk, which quickly vanished. "Your son and that girl he was taking care of were sniffing around here, though. I don't have any reason to think they know anything beyond the word Meteonite."

Mercury slouched; this wasn't news she was hoping to hear. "I really would have liked that to not be the case, but it's not your fault."

Over in the bushes, Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet were watching this scene with awe.

"Would you look at that," Meowth uttered in sheer amazement, "Mr. Pokémon is in with Polaris!"

"This is big… we have to tell someone. It's worse than we thought."

Nodding in agreement with James's comment, Jessie added, "Dr. Zager and the boss need to know that nobody can be trusted."

"Nobody needs to know anything!"

Out of nowhere, Chaos warped into the area the trio were using for their hideout. The sudden appearance of the Shadow Triad member startled them so badly that they stumbled out into the open, blowing their cover. Mercury seemed unsurprised by their presence, but her followers and Mr. Pokémon all jumped, shocked by the sudden interruption.

"Intruders!" Mr. Pokémon shouted before seeing the 'R' logo on the uniforms they wore under their trenchcoats. "Team Rocket! They're here! It's happening!"

"What is it you want, Team Rocket?" Mercury questioned them in a severe tone, having secured the Meteonite's briefcase for herself.

"They were spying on your meeting," Chaos explained as he walked from the bushes. "They know about the Meteonite."

"Well that is not any surprise, not after how relentlessly Team Rocket pursued the Meteonite in Unova."

"Shall we dispose of them?" one of the men in Mercury's team asked her.

"No," she replied, looking down on the Team Rocket trio, who were in complete disarray. "Let me do it. Electivire, go!"

The Electric-type Pokémon, whose bulky, muscular body was covered in yellow fur and black stripes, materialized alongside his masked trainer. They both took a single step forward, meaning to intimidate the Team Rocket trio.

To a degree, it worked. Surrounded by Mercury, her men and her growling Electivire on one side and Chaos on the other, they constricted closer and closer to each other, searching for a way out.

"Jessie, James, you know, now would be a really good time for one of you to come up with a plan!"

"We're sitting ducks here," James concurred with Meowth. "What should we do?"

"There's no way out of this one," Jessie quickly concluded, taking another Poké Ball from the pocket of her coat, "so the only right thing to do is go down fighting!"

"That's my kind of talk."

Jessie and James each opened a single Poké Ball simultaneously. Jessie's ball released a plump bat Pokémon with a heart-shaped nose and a midsection covered in white fur, while James's gave rise to a golden coffin cloaked in a shadow that formed four long arms and hands. These two Pokémon, immediately becoming aware of the threat they faced, moved to shield their trainers with their bodies.

"How quaint!" Mercury blew her opposition off. "Two agents of a dying crime group trying to stand up against me."

"You be quiet!" James shot back, his emotions finally boiling over. "We don't know what Polaris is planning, but I'll tell you that Team Rocket will prevent you from doing it so we can rule the world!"

"If that's what you believe in, defeat me." Shedding her lighthearted cockiness, Mercury steeled her stance and became serious.

"So what are you two mooks waiting for?!" Meowth loudly griped at his teammates.

"Nothing! Swoobat, use Heart Stamp!"

"Cofagrigus, combine your Will-O-Wisp with that!"

Cofagrigus's red eyes, which were peering out from an opening in the upper part of his coffin, flashed brightly. He then made a flicking motion with each of his four hands, forming a ring of blue fireballs. When Swoobat started to glide toward Electivire, these fireballs surrounded her, complementing her glowing, heart-shaped nose.

"I'll give you credit for having the courage to attack head-on. Foolhardy, but courageous. Electivire, take all that out with Electroweb!"

Electivire thrust his right arm forward, directly at the oncoming attacks aimed his way. From each of his fingers, strings of electrically charged webbing lashed out, washing over and knocking down Swoobat while dispelling the Will-O-Wisp flames.

Once Swoobat was down, Electivire released a second, more intense shock through the web, causing the bat Pokémon to cry out in pain.

"Swoobat!" exclaimed a dismayed Jessie. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of there. Right, James?"

"I'll try! Cofagrigus, use Will-O-Wisp to burn the webbing!"

"Electroweb!"

Cofagrigus started to form more wisps of fire around himself, but Mercury's Electivire cut him off. The Electric-type Pokémon now thrust up his left hand and released an even larger amount of web, now creating a massive net that held down both Cofagrigus and Swoobat.

"Now it's time for this to end. Electivire, shock them."

With both hands now controlling the wide net he'd cast, Electivire sent a massive surge of electricity flowing through it. The web ultimately burned away, but not before acting as the conductor for enough energy to leave Swoobat and Cofagrigus as twitching wrecks on the ground.

"Finish them off! Wild Charge!" Mercury wasn't paying attention to the Team Rocket members, but if she was, she would have seen that they smirked slightly when she gave this command.

A shroud of yellow electricity completely enveloped Electivire's body, and by using his powerful legs to propel himself, he lunged for Swoobat and Cofagrigus.

"Now!" Jessie screamed. "Wobbuffet, Destiny Bond!"

To protect his trainer, her friends and her Pokémon, Wobbuffet jumped in between them and the charging Electivire. Just before Wild Charge struck him, his entire body flashed with purple light.

Left with a wide swath of his skin seared by Electivire's power, Wobbuffet crumpled to the ground. Electivire backed up to survey his work, only to be suddenly overcome by the purple light. Despite his best efforts to tear out of its influence, Electivire was unable to escape, and ultimately ended up falling as well.

"Well played!" Mercury said while sending Electivire back to his Great Ball, genuinely impressed at Team Rocket's tactics.

"You ain't seen nothing yet!"

Meowth charged forward, setting his sights on the briefcase containing the Meteonite shard, which Mercury had set down on the ground when the battle had begun. As soon as they realized what was happening, Mercury's men all drew Poké Balls of their own, but it was once again Mercury herself who threw her Net Ball. Just as Meowth secured the case, a Pelipper appeared and impeded him.

"Outta my way, you lug!"

"Not with our Meteonite, Meowth. Pelipper, use Soak!"

Before Meowth could escape, Pelipper opened her large bill and sprayed a shower of water over Meowth. He wasn't hurt by the attack, but he hated being covered in water and tried as hard as he could to shake it off.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Taking back what rightfully belongs to Polaris. Seed Bomb!"

Pelipper opened her bill again, but what came out this time was a barrage of round seeds. Meowth tried to run, but no matter which direction he took the case, he couldn't escape. He found himself trapped within a field of small explosions that wracked his body like that of a rag doll.

However, something else happened in addition – the explosions threw the briefcase into the air, and while it reached the peak of its flight, it slipped open and the Meteonite shard fell out.

"That's the Meteonite!" Jessie exclaimed, having recalled all her Pokémon along with James.

"Meowth, get it!"

"I've got this!" Meowth lunged for the rock with his arms outstretched, and surprisingly enough, he safely got under the falling Meteonite with little effort.

The Meteonite landed squarely in Meowth's grasp, prompting him to smile in relief once he realized he had it. That happiness would not last long – sparks suddenly started flying from the glowing Meteonite, followed by a radiant energy blast that blinded everyone in the clearing, including Mercury and her followers.

At the center of it all, Meowth felt like his mind was being torn apart. Horrifying images of death and despair flashed rapidly through his imagination, and he could feel his soul warping with every vision.

When the light faded and both opposing factions recovered their sight, they found Meowth standing at the epicenter of the event, eyes closed and holding the Meteonite in his arms.

"The Meteonite became unstable again…" James immediately observed.

"Wait, what's wrong with Meowth?" wondered Jessie.

On the other side of the clearing, Mercury knew exactly what was going on. "Meowth, come over here. Be a good boy and give us the Meteonite piece back."

"Yes, as you wish…" the feline Pokémon mumbled. He turned and shuffled to Mercury to hand over the Meteonite, and it was not until then that he finally opened his eyes.

Meowth's eyes were filled with red.

"What have you done to him?" James angrily demanded, stomping his foot into the ground hard enough to leave a relatively deep footprint.

"Isn't it obvious? The Meteonite can control the minds of Pokémon! You know that! Your Meowth just exposed himself directly to its power as it became unstable, so it has changed him. He is now one of us!"

"That's a lie! Meowth, you'd never betray me, right?"

The silence that Jessie was met with told her everything she needed to know. Something really had happened to force Meowth to switch sides.

"Well, I would call this a successful meeting. We've got the Meteonite and Team Rocket's Meowth is now a Polaris member. I'd say it's time for us to call it a day. Pelipper, Gunk Sh…"

Mercury's final command was cut off by the sound of a speeding car. A short, black limousine came tearing into the clearing, spinning to a stop near Jessie and James, and the flash of a Poké Ball from inside released an Arbok.

"Arbok, Thunder Fang!" Ariana commanded from inside the car. Arbok immediately went off lunging at Pelipper, so Ariana then called to Jessie and James, "Hurry unless you want to get captured or killed!"

"But they got Meowth!" James yelled back.

Ariana let out an exasperated, exaggerated sigh. "Then I'll have to just pick you up on my own. Arbok, Poison Tail!"

Pelipper was already stunned by the time Arbok brought his tail down on her. Smashed into the ground and unconscious, Pelipper would no longer be a problem for Team Rocket's goals.

However, before they could do anything, Jessie and James had their path to Mercury and Meowth blocked by a Gastrodon, a Porygon2, a Sandslash and a Weavile. The four Pokémon under the ownership of Mercury's henchmen glared menacingly at the now helpless Team Rocket members.

"Jessie, what do we do? We've got to get to him!"

"I-I don't know!" Admitting helplessness was something Jessie hated doing, but the situation gave her no other choice. "Meowth, snap out of it!"

"If that's the best you can do," Mercury taunted them, "give up now. You're in over your heads."

Jessie and James both opened their mouths to respond, but before they could, Ariana's Arbok slithered and coiled around them, then dragged them into Ariana's car.

"Hurry, stop them!" Mercury ordered her subordinates.

Before the four Pokémon still under her squad's command could launch any kind of attack, a weapon installed in Ariana's car discharged a thick smokescreen. With their sight impaired, the Pokémon were powerless to prevent Team Rocket's escape.

Inside the plush interior of the car, however, there was no feeling of victory. Both Jessie and James, while still trying to maintain some air of respect for their superior, felt completely outraged at what they'd been forced to do.

"How can you make us leave Meowth behind? They brainwashed him!"

"You and Dr. Zager didn't tell us everything we needed to know!" James added. "Team Plasma? Mr. Pokémon being a Polaris member? We weren't prepared to deal with this!"

Ariana kept her gaze fixed straight ahead and continued driving as she responded to them. "There are things even we didn't know. We thought Ghetsis was the only Team Plasma member involved in this, and we had no intelligence to indicate that Mr. Pokémon was one of them. I'm sorry about Meowth, but there's nothing we could have done back there. I'm taking you two back to Dr. Zager and we'll talk to the boss."

"Well, make it quick, because James and I are going to get him back."

"We'll make them sorry they messed with us. It's personal now."

END of CHAPTER 6