Chapter 44:

Journey to the East

Mount Actanite

A chain of mountains divided West Tandor in two halves, one to the north, and the other to the south. Mount Actanite, located on the westernmost edge of the chain, is the highest of these mountains, and one of Tandor's most important landmarks. On top of Mount Actanite is Actanite Town, where the Tandor League takes place once a year.

However, while there will be plenty of events worth attention taking place in such a locale, that's not why we're here right now.

Because the place of interest right now isn't the summit, but the depths. Under Mount Actanite lies a complex maze of caves and tunnels, with rivers and waterfalls of magma flowing through it, and populated by extremely powerful Pokemon. Back in the day, trainers that hoped to take part in the Tandor League were forced to climb to the very top of the mount through these caves, though thankfully the practice has been abandoned due being considered too dangerous, so aspiring champions nowadays can take the cable car to the top like non-participants do. Though some people still try to climb to the top the old fashioned way as a way to prove their strength.

Right now, a single, canine-looking Pokemon crossed the maze of tunnels at great speed, unperturbed by the extreme heat produced by the magma. At first sight he might look like a Nuclear Pokemon, given his color scheme of black and vibrant green, but the truth couldn't be any further from that.

Despite its small size and not that impressive appearance, every other Pokemon that crossed the newcomer's path quickly scurried away, sensing the immense power the seemingly unassuming creature hid within himself.

Eventually, the outsider reached his destination: a large chamber with several waterfalls of magma that fell upon a single, large pool of molten rock. For humans and most Pokemon, nothing of value was in this chamber, but the outsider knew better. For this place held the being that the mountain was named after.

All the outsider needed to do was to flex his power a little.

The results were almost immediate, as a dome raised from the pool of magma, revealing a large creature under it.

A large Pokemon with a lithe but strong body held by long, thin four legs ended in large feet with three metallic claws. His body ended on a long tail with two metallic blades at the end, like those of an ax. His skin was dark blue, and had a black underbelly. He had an elongated, domed head with red eyes, visible fangs sticking out of his mouth, and a pair of forked horns over each eye.

"WHO DARES TO DISTURB THE PEACE OF MY SANCTUM!?" The Pokemon bellowed, making the cave shake and the magma bubble up with his sheer power alone. Then, upon seeing his unwanted guest, the Pokemon's unbridled anger vanished, replaced by mere annoyance. "Oh, it's you."

"Yes, it's me," the outsider replied. "And do you think that's a proper way to address a superior, Actan?"

Because this was Actan, one of Tandor's foremost Legendary Pokemon. The one who taught humanity the secrets behind radioactive metals, who dwelled in the fiery depths under the mountain that bore his name.

"Oh, spare me the attitude, Zygarde," Actan replied, shaking his body in order to get rid of the bits of magma clinging to it. "Oh, wait, I hear that you have a new name now. Smushy, it is?"

"Squishy," Zygarde corrected. "But don't think for a second that I let anybody call me that. Only one being is worthy of calling me that, and you are not her."

"Whatever," Actan said dismissively. "Why are you here, Zygarde? I honestly thought you had forgotten that this region existed. How long has it been since you last came here? Three, four centuries?"

"You should know why I'm here, Actan," Zygarde replied. "In a rather short span of time, two human power plants have suffered meltdowns that resulted in nuclear catastrophes, leaving the lands around them as toxic wastelands and twisting the Pokemon into mindless monsters."

"Why are you telling me this? Do you expect me to punish those humans because of their lack of skill with my gift?" Actan asked.

"We both know the humans are not to blame, Actan," Zygarde replied. "There's something out there. Something evil, and very powerful. Something that's directing the Nuclear Pokemon to attacking Tandor. Even from here, you must have sensed it."

"Of course I did, who do you take me for?" Actan replied, almost sounding offended. "But I'm not going to interfere. At least not yet. Right now the humans are containing the catastrophe to a single spot. If they fail, I shall make my move."

"Good. All I ask you for the time being is to keep your eyes peeled," Zygarde said, as he turned around, ready to leave. "And once this threat is dealt with, I'll help heal the land with my power."

"Have you talked with my brother too?" Actan asked.

"Right now, the danger seems to be contained in West Tandor," Zygarde said. "But I think I could pay a visit to Lanthan in order to warn him of potential dangers."

And with that, Zygarde left.

...

Maskara Channel

Thanks to their newly evolved Dragon-type Pokemon, the group managed to not only cross Baykal Forest in record time, but also bypassed Comet Cave by flying over it, and reached Comet Port in only a fraction of a time it would have taken if they walked.

In order to get to Venesi City they needed to cross the Maskara Channel, the body of water separating West Tandor from its Eastern counterpart. While it was relatively small, it was too big to merely fly, so they had to board a ship that would take them to a port on Maskara Island. From there, they'd have to walk towards Venesi City, which was in the southeasternmost part of the island. Unfortunately, the waters around the island were shallow and full of sharp, jutting rocks which created natural barriers, making navigation from west to east all but impossible.

Resting on the ship's handrail, Serena took a deep breath of sea air. "Ahhh, this is so great, isn't it?"

"Well, it's not as great as flying, but it beats crossing another jungle," Bonnie agreed. "At least we won't have to worry about being attacked by angry territorial Pokemon or running into the lair of human-eating bugs or-"

"I can see that our trip through Baykal will be one to remember," Ash chuckled. "And after that, even I can agree that something like this is a welcomed change of pace."

"Pika," Pikachu nodded.

Right now, Ash, Serena and Bonnie were on the ferry's deck, watching the sea as the ship sailed through it. The sun was shining, there were barely any clouds in the sky, and the fresh sea breeze made staying outside very pleasant. Aside from the sea, the trio also watched the Pokemon around them, a flock of Birbie and Aveden flying above them, as well as some fish Pokemon that sometimes jumped out of the water: both species being black and red, one having a small, black oblong body with small red fins and a diamond-shaped black tail.

"Frynai, the Kunai Pokemon. Water/Steel. A favored Pokémon of Ninja clans. They propel themselves backwards through the water to attack with their sharp tails." The Pokedex explained.

Next to them was a similar Pokemon, only with a larger, longer and sleeker body, whose tail was gray and shaped like a three-ended prong.

"Saidine, the Sai Pokemon, and Frynai's evolution. Water/Steel. They are the bane of many fishermen as their bladed tails often cut fishing lines. They can change direction rapidly in the water." The Pokedex supplied.

"Hey, why don't you let your Pokemon out? Especially the fliers. I'm sure they'll enjoy spreading their wings," Bonnie suggested.

"Hey, good idea!" Ash said, picking half of his pokeballs. "Splendifowl. Dunseraph, Frosthra, come out!"

"You too, Coatlith!" Serena said, sending her only flight-capable Pokemon.

The four Pokemon materialized mid air, and once they realized where they were, they immediately took off, gaining altitude but never getting too far away from the ship.

Dunseraph and Coatlith were the ones that flew the slowest, given that their huge size made their movements difficult. But while Coatlith merely flew at her own pace and enjoyed the cool breeze, Dunseraph seemed to push himself into flying faster. Splendifowl apparently noticed this, and while normally gentle and kind with his fellow Pokemon, it seemed he couldn't suppress an impulse of pettiness, and began to fly around the God Snake Pokemon, flaunting his relative agility and better maneuverability.

"Sple, spleee!" Splendifowl whistled as he performed a near perfect loop around Dunseraph's neck.

"Dun, ser!" Dunseraph growled, trying and failing to smack the blue bird with a wing, but his teammate proved to be too nimble.

"Come on Splendifowl, don't tease Dunseraph," Ash replied. "I know you believe he deserves it, but try to be the bigger person. Eh, bigger Pokemon," he amended.

"Pi, pika!" Pikachu added.

Ash's words seemed to have some effect on the Paradise Bird Pokemon, who looked a little ashamed of himself and moved from Dunseraph, giving him space to fly at his own pace.

"Wait, now that I realize, we're in the middle of the sea!" Serena said, as she picked another pokeball. "Syrentide, come out! I bet you're going to enjoy this!"

The pokeball opened, and next to Serena appeared her first Tandorian Pokemon. Upon seeing the sea, the Siren Pokemon beamed.

"Sy, syren!" Syrentide cried in joy as she leaped into the water. The trio of humans saw how fast Syrentide swam, being able to match the ferry. She would sometimes leap out of the water while squealing in elation.

"Heh, look at her go," Ash chuckled.

"Syrentide are a Pokemon that mostly live in the open sea," Serena reminded Ash. "Even if she's okay traveling with us, I'm sure she missed this."

Upon seeing Syrentide, Splendifowl forgot about Dunseraph and quickly dived to fly next to her. For a few moments, the two of them moved together.

Syrentide smirked "Syren, sy, tide!" The Water and Fairy-type Pokemon cried teasingly, before shooting forward with the speed of a torpedo, leaving the stunned Splendifowl behind.

"S-Sple...?" he whistled.

"Come on Splendifowl, you aren't going to let her beat you, are you?" Ash asked in a somewhat taunting manner.

This seemed to snap Splendifowl out of his stupor, as his eyes gleamed with resolve.

"Fowl, fo!" Splendifowl whistled, before pushing forward with Quick Attack, ready to catch Syrentide.

As they watched the two Pokemon race, they could see a tiny bit of land poking out in the horizon, which became slowly bigger and more visible as the ferry sailed towards it.

"There's Maskara Island. Once the ship docks, it's a walk until we get to our next destination," Serena pointed out.

"Venesi City," Ash said. "I can't wait until we get there!"

Serena rolled her eyes, but smiled. "You just had a Gym Battle not long ago, and you're already craving for another," she chuckled good naturedly. "Never change, Ash."

"Oh, right. That too, hehe," Ash bashfully said.

Serena turned at Ash, mildly shocked by what the raven haired teen had implied. "Wait, what? You weren't thinking in the Gym Battle Rosalind promised you if you beat Tiko?"

"Eh... well, I was thinking about our next date," Ash said, rubbing the back of his neck as a red tinge colored his cheeks, before his signature boundless excitement emerged. "I remember that you said something about Venesi City, so I did some digging and-"

"Guys!" the last member of their group burst out of a nearby door, startling them. "You have to see this!"

Bonnie crossed her arms and shot Clemont with an unamused glare. "Way to go brother. You interrupted Ash when he was getting all romantic. Do you know how rare that is?"

"It's okay. So, what's going on, Clemont?" Ash asked. "You look kind of nervous."

"Professor Larkspur is on the news!" Clemont said, before turning around and dashing back towards the ship. "Come on guys!"

The other three looked at each other, and without exchanging a word they decided to follow Clemont to see what was so excited about. They followed him towards one of the ferry's common areas, where Clemont's laptop was opened, the screen displaying a paused video of what looked to be the news, showing a blond anchorman and a black haired anchorwoman, both looking to be in their early forties, and a logo that said 'Tandor News Network' on the bottom left.

"Here, look!" Clemont said, pressing the 'play' button.

"-and now, we've received a special report coming from Larkspur Laboratories," the anchorwoman began. "Which informs us that we might be a step closer to deal with the threat of Nuclear Pokemon."

"Indeed," the blond anchorman interceded. "Nuclear Pokemon have attacked both Bealbeach City and Vinoville Town in the past weeks, destroying the two nuclear plants near those population centers, and leaving the latter as an uninhabitable, toxic wasteland. Scientists believe that capturing Nuclear Pokemon is paramount in order to study them, learn how we can fight them better, and hopefully, restore them to their original state. But alas, the current pokeball's inability to capture these Pokemon made the task substantially harder.

"That's it, until now!" the anchorwoman continued. "Because a few moments ago, Professor Larkspur, founder and CEO of Larkspur Laboratories, has announced that his team has developed the very first prototype of pokeball capable of keeping Nuclear Pokemon inside without breaking it. These new pokeballs have been dubbed 'Nuclear Balls', aptly enough."

The screen changed to a video of a man wearing technician clothes inside a metallic room, commanding a Palij to battle a Nuclear Chiynmunk. Once the Chipmunk Pokemon was weakened enough, the man tossed the pokeball at the Nuclear Pokemon, which was turned into energy and was sucked inside. However, rather than the ball exploding, as it had happened to Ash in Bealbeach, the ball dinged after shaking three times, keeping the Pokemon trapped inside.

"As you can see, these pokeballs have been tested, and their efficacy is one hundred percent, according to a Larkspur Laboratories' spokesman," the anchorwoman finished.

"According to several sources, the Tandor Regional Government has already arranged with Larkspur Laboratories for these new type of pokeballs to be mass produced, and there are talks for increased fundings in order to continue the fight against the threat of Nuclear Pokemon."

The video ended there. Clemont then turned towards his friends, beaming with excitement. "See? I told you you had to see it!"

"So, Nuclear Pokemon can be caught now?" Ash asked. "That's great. Too bad we didn't have that kind of pokeball when the Nuclear Pokemon attacked Bealbeach and Vinoville."

"Back in the day, Nuclear Pokemon like Alain's Xenomite or my own Geigeroach were the only ones people could catch, and normal pokeballs worked just as fine," Clemont said, picking Geigeroach's pokeball and looking at it. "But these corrupted Nuclear Pokemon... the way radiation changed them also made them impossible to catch through normal means."

"Still, better late than never," Serena said. "From what I heard, there are still scores of Nuclear Pokemon around Vinoville Town and the former Wheatfields. They haven't moved from there, but I feel it's only a matter of time until they do."

"Yeah. The next time the Nuclear Pokemon attack, we'll be better prepared. And it will be thanks to Professor Larkspur," Clemont said.

…

Silverport Town, East Tandor - Team Omega's HQ

"...according to several sources, the Tandor Regional Government has already arranged with Larkspur Laboratories for these new type of pokeballs to be mass produced, and there are talks for increased fundings in order to continue the fight against the threat of Nuclear Pokemon."

Inside Professor Larkspur's personal office, the same news clip Clemont had shown his friends not long ago played as well. Larkspur has already seen that news report multiple times, but hearing it again never failed to bring a smile to his face.

Idiots, the lot of them.

No one had realized that Larkspur had swindled the Tandor Regional Government for a sum of money ten times higher than needed in order to mass produce the Nuclear Balls. And that wasn't even taking into account the additional funds for further research. Even if they weren't any closer to their main objective than they were a few months ago, at least he would soon have more money than he could spend in several lifetimes

And the best part? The Nuclear Balls were just the tip of the iceberg. Even if the main objective of the mission to the Nuclear Plant Epsilon has been a failure that resulted in the loss of many human and Pokemon assets, it ended up with a net positive gain, since Anika was able to retrieve terabytes worth files from Lucille's computers. Many of them corrupted and sadly beyond fixing, of course, but it wasn't all lost.

As he did every day, he checked the Team Rocket's server to see if there was any news. And as usual, nothing. That was good.

Team Omega had done many deals with other criminal organizations, Team Rocket included, often selling them tech. What none of them had found out is that said tech came with a computer virus that allowed Larkspur access to their servers, and thus the leader of Team Omega could monitor their movements.

While normally they didn't do anything that merited his attention, one day he was informed that they had found that Team Rocket had plans to set a foot on Tador. This matched a recent pattern of regional criminal organizations collapsing, only for Team Rocket to move and fill the void left behind.

If Giovanni thought that this was going to be a repeat of Team Plasma or Flare, he had another thing coming. All he needed was to gather some incriminating evidence (not much, or else his infiltration would become evident) and send it anonymously to the proper authorities. That's how Larkspur got Team Rocket's Sinnoh cell completely compromised. The effect was instant, and Giovanni was forced to divert resources to that region instead, preventing him from expanding his organization into Tandor.

Tandor belonged to Team Omega, and Team Omega only.

That moment, a notification popped up. Speaking of the devil. Pushing his glasses up, the professor clicked on the 'accept' button on the notification, which morphed into a window showing Alina and Anika.

"Ah, Alina, Anika," the man said, leaning backwards on his chair. "I was expecting your call. I hope this is your report on our fledgling Gamma Division?"

"Indeed, professor," Alina, the teal haired sister, answered..

"We have the results of the tests," Anika, the brown haired – and normally very foul mouthed – sister added.

"Excellent. Enlighten me, then," Larkspur said. "I hope all the tests produced positive results?"

"They were within expectations, sir," Alina said, pressing some keys on her keyboard, which displayed the blueprints of what looked like an advanced body armor appeared on a corner of Larkspur's screen. "This is the Gamma Armor, sir. Resistant not only to radiation, but also to attacks from Nuclear Pokemon," the teal haired sister began explaining. "It also has a cerebral relay that allows its bearer to keep Nuclear Pokemon bound to their will."

"Unfortunately, unlike the original design, the armor can't do it on its own," Anika interceded. She pressed a couple keys, and next to the armor blueprints appeared the blueprint of a high-tech collar. "So we needed to use another project as support: the Pokemon Willpower Suppressant."

"I thought that the PWS didn't work on Nuclear Pokemon," Larkspur replied.

"Originally, it didn't, just like how normal pokeballs couldn't capture them either," Anika continued. "Fortunately, the research breakthrough that allowed us to develop the Nuclear Balls also allowed us to adapt the PWS to Nuclear Pokemon."

"It doesn't work on its own, since it needs somebody wearing the Gamma Armor for it to properly function," Alina interceded. "It's, admittedly, a rather shoddy job. But for the time being, it produces the desired results, and does what we intended until we find a way to perfect the design."

"If it can allow our troops to walk through an irradiated zone unharmed and control Nuclear Pokemon to their will, then I said it's a success," Larkspur decided to see the glass half full, much to the twins' relief. "Now, what about Project 092? Have you figured out something about its whereabouts?"

"By studying the corrupted files I've been able to fix, I can assure with one hundred percent certainty that it was under Nuclear Plant Epsilon while we were there," Anika said, before wiping a strand of brown hair from her face.

"Following radiation traces, we can also assure that Project 092 was on Nuclear Plant Zeta before it blew up," Alina added. "And in fact, we believe it might have been the culprit."

"Yes, yes, that's nice, but I want to know where it is now," Larkspur impatiently asked.

"Based on the radiation levels... we believe it's still somewhere on Nuclear Plant Zeta, sir," the teal haired woman said.

Larkspur pressed the fingers of his hands together, before letting out a sigh. "That complicates things. Even with our Gamma Division, breaking into that place will be next to impossible."

Even if one were to ignore the barricades the Rangers had erected in order to stop both radiation and Nuclear Pokemon from spreading to the rest of the region, satellite readings showed that the Nuclear Pokemon there were without number. Even if he was able to equip all his troops with Gamma Armors and send them there, the sheer number of strong Nuclear Pokemon there would tear them apart.

"In that case, I believe we might need to increase our forces in both quantity and quality if we're going to breach that place," Larkspur said. "How many volunteers do we have to form this new division?"

"More than we initially believed, sir. The increased monetary compensation was a great incentive," Alina said.

"Yeah, that and the idea of commanding those little radioactive monsters to do their bidding," Anika added with a snort.

"A man who loves his job is a productive worker, as they usually said," Larkspur grinned. "Speaking of them, how about the Nuclear Pokemon? Do we have enough for our men to use?"

"The pens are at their full capacity, sir," Alina said, sounding optimist. "Not only can we do that, but we have plenty of specimens to either study or sell. The latest raids to the irradiated Wheatfields have been quite successful."

"Excellent. Alright, in that case, all that division needs is a captain to lead them. Send me the profiles of those who scored the highest marks on the tests so I can choose the most suitable candidate for such a role."

"Right away, sir," Alina said.

"That would be all. Continue with your work," Larkspur said, ending the communication.

Alone again, Larkspur exhaled. As much as he wanted things to be different, he needed to be patient and try to take every victory he could get, no matter how small. Even if his plans weren't going as smoothly as he would have wanted, at least they were progressing at an acceptable pace.

Another notification popped up, this one with several files attached to it. Clicking on the 'download' button, several files opened at once, almost filling the screen completely. He minimized all of them except one, which he began to read.

Yes, he needed to be patient. He had waited ten years for this. It would do him no good if everything went to hell because he couldn't have waited a few more months.

…

Maskara Island

By the time the ferry had arrived at Maskara Island, the sun was starting to set. According to Serena's travel guide, it would take at least two days of traveling on foot until they got to Venesi City. Of course, there was the option of using Dunseraph and Coatlith as aerial transports and do it only in a fraction of a time, but given that there was no hurry – the Grand Festival was still two months away – they agreed with Ash's suggestion of taking the scenic route.

The port on Maskara Island was even smaller than Comet Port, where they had taken the ferry. A small town built around docks and warehouses, mostly from the people who already worked there. Given that it shared an island with Venesi City, no wonder most people preferred to live in the latter place.

Fortunately, the small port still had a Pokemon Center, which was all Ash and his friends needed as for now.

"Raptorch, use Brick Break!" Ash ordered.

"Parry it with Needle Arm, Quilladin!" Clemont replied.

Serena watched how the Fire Dino Pokemon leaped above the Spiny Armor Pokemon while making a somersault mid air, and bringing down his tail, glowing with a pure white light. Quialldin, for his part, stood his ground and crossed his arms in front of his head. Said arms began to glow with a green light as energy spikes grew out of them.

The two attacks clashed, and Raptorch was pushed backwards.

"Well done, Quilladin!" Clemont cheered.

"Qui, quilla!" Quilladin drank his trainers' praise with gusto.

"Raaaaa...!" Raptorch whined, as he nursed his hurt tail.

"Raptorch, you okay?" Ash asked. Once the Fire Dino Pokemon nodded, Ash smiled. "Very well! Attack now with Flamethrower!"

"Use Vine Whip to launch yourself above the flames, Quilladin!" Clemont ordered.

Raptorch took a deep breath, before releasing a stream of roaring flames at his opponent. Quilladin, fro his part, generated a pair of whips from his body and used them to catapult himself into the air and dodge the flames.

After Serena had won her final ribbon, training sessions had been more focused on Ash, given that he still had badges to win. Not that she minded, she knew that they would help her prepare once the Grand Festival was closer.

Plus, not that she didn't train at all. Before Clemont, it was her who was the one fighting against Ash, her recently evolved Pangoro versus Ash's Frosthra. Given that her Pokemon had gone from a small, fast and nimble bear that she could hold between her arms to a monster of a bear that towered over her, Serena needed to check how Pangoro managed in proper matches.

And yes, like she expected, Pangoro could no longer make those impressive leaps with multiple somersaults mid air, but the Daunting Pokemon retained some speed and agility. Still, she would have to change the way Pangoro battled.

"Sure, Pangoro might not be able to move like Pancham did before, but he has gained a lot of physical strength and endurance upon evolving!" Ash had told her as the two of them battled. "So maybe try to develop combat tactics that make use of Pangoro's present strengths."

Serena didn't plan to ignore such advice.

Looking up, Serena saw her other Pokemon that had undergone rather drastic charges upon evolving, Coatlith. She was now perched atop the roof of the Pokemon Center, her body coiled around itself, looking at the sparring match between the two male trainers from her privileged vantage point. She didn't have the chance to test the limits of her newly evolved Pokemon just yet, but she planned to do so as soon as she could.

Lowering her sight, Serena looked at what was currently her biggest headache, regrettably enough: Oblivicorn.

As usual, the Dark Horse Pokemon was lying on a corner, alone and away from everybody else, human and Pokemon alike. While Serena was happy that the equine hadn't tried to escape from her like she did shortly after evolving, she wasn't making much progress. Whenever Oblivicorn was released from her pokeball alongside the rest of Serena's Pokemon, she would seek the most isolated place and lie there. She refused to interact with any of her other Pokemon or talk to her.

At the very least she was eating.

The honey blonde hoped that if she gave Oblivicorn space and enough time, the rebellious Pokemon would eventually turn around, or at the very least, try to be more receptive to her. But there has been no progress since the time she evolved.

"I guess I'll have to take the matters into my own hands before it snowballs into an even worse problem," Serena thought, as she began to walk towards Oblivicorn. She put on her best smile and greeted her. "Hey, there. How are you doing, Oblivicorn?"

Oblivicorn didn't even raise her head. She merely opened her eyes, glared at her, snorted, and closed them again.

Serena sighed. "Come on Oblivicorn. I know that you're upset with me over something. Why don't we talk about it?"

No response.

Serena extended a hand to touch Oblivicorn, but pulled it back at the last moment. She wasn't sure how the Dark Horse Pokemon would react to physical contact. She had shown in the past willingness to use violence against her trainer, and Serena didn't want to risk it again.

"Come on, Oblivicorn. Please. Just tell me what's wrong so I can fix it," Serena insisted.

But Oblivicorn didn't pay her any attention.

Serena continued talking to her rebellious Pokemon for the next fifteen minutes, but there was no change in Oblivicorn, as the Dark Horse Pokemon continued to pretend like she wasn't there.

Seeing that she wasn't going to make any progress by insisting like that, she gave up and decided to try again once she could think of something else. Fortunately, Oblivicorn didn't resist being recalled back into her pokeball.

Turning back, she saw that Ash and Clemont had already finished their little bout and were recalling their Pokemon as well. Upon seeing Serena walking towards him, Ash turned towards her and smiled.

"Oh, heya," Ash said. "So, shall we go back inside and have some dinner? This training left me starving!"

"Sure," Serena said, as they walked back into the Center together. "So, how was training today?"

"Couldn't have been better. Dunseraph is on the verge of learning Dragon Pulse, and Raptorch has become much stronger recently," Ash happily told her.

"I'm glad to hear that," Serena said, smiling. "Rosalind won't know what hit her."

"Haha, yeah!" Ash agreed. His enthusiasm diminished a little before changing the topic: "I've seen you've been trying to talk with Oblivicorn again," he stated. Serena wordlessly nodded. "Any luck this time?"

Serena shook her head.

"Don't worry. I'm sure sooner or later, Oblivicorn will come around," Ash said with his usual optimism.

"I don't know, I..." Serena began. She grasped her blue ribbon. "It's been a few weeks since she evolved, and I haven't made any progress with her. And I'm not going to give up on her, not until I learn what's wrong, but... I admit I'm starting to get a little desperate..."

"Yeah, I know how you feel," Ash replied. "I think I told you about my Charizard, didn't I?" Ash asked.

Serena nodded. "You did. Though you never tell me how did you manage to make him listen to you."

"Well..." Ash began, growing a little uneasy as he rubbed the back of his head. "Let's say it's something I won't recommend you doing. Since Charizard was frozen after a battle against a trainer with a Poliwrath, and since we were on an island with no Pokemon Center, I had to spend all night taking care of him," he recounted. "I think that after that moment, either he saw me as a worthy trainer, or he saw how much I cared about him, that he no longer disobeyed me ever again."

"Sounds about right. But I think Oblivicorn's case is a bit different," Serena replied. "I have the feeling that she's acting this way because something I did that offended her. And I don't know what it is, and she refuses to tell me. I think she wants to figure it out myself."

"I see. That's quite a pickle you are into," Ash said. "Still, I believe that if you stay by Oblivicorn's side and show her that you care about her, she'll eventually see what a wonderful trainer you are and will come around."

"I hope you are right," Serena said, before letting out a despondent sigh. "Because how am I supposed to make people smile when I can't even figure out why my Pokemon is mad at me?"

"You will figure it out," Ash insisted, placing a comforting hand on Serena's shoulder. "And if that's not the case... well, Oblivicorn will see how hard you're trying to make her happy. There's no Pokemon that can stay mad at you forever."

…

Team Omega's HQ

"You called for me, Professor?"

In front of Larkspur was a large, brown skinned man with a black beard and black hair styled in a military-style buzzcut, wearing standard Gamma Division battle armor. The man was tall, almost two meters in height, broad shouldered, and with a thick body packed with muscle.

"Yes, Darren. I have great news for you," Larkspur said, smiling. "I called you here to personally promote you to captain of the newly formed Gamma Division. Congratulations, Captain Darren."

"It's a great honor, professor," the man said, bowing in gratitude.

Yes, Darren was the perfect candidate to lead the fledgling elite division. The man used to be in the army, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant, before being dishonorably discharged due repeated cases of insubordination and violent behavior. After that, he went on to have a couple jobs on private security firms before being fired for similar reasons, until he entered Team Omega and joined Alpha Division.

Some might have seen Darren as a mere brute, and a dangerous one. But where other, more short-sighted people only saw a dangerous man, Larkspur could see a fearless, natural-born leader that would make sure every mission would be complete.

"I'm still impressed by the way you commanded that Nuclear Gyarados," Larkspur praised. "I was afraid that, after going through the effort of capturing several, no one would be brave enough to take one."

"I may be a lot of things, professor, but a coward ain't one. That beast has great power, power that will serve me well," Darren proudly stated. "If those ninnies are too scared of a Pokemon without a will of its own, no matter how big, they have no business here!"

"I see that you don't lack conviction. That's good. I believe it's about time for you and your men to take the field," the bespectacled man announced.

A grin of excitement adorned Darren's face. "I'm ready, professor. What's my first mission?"

Larkspur pressed a few keys on his computer, and an holographic projection of a black haired young man appeared between the two men.

"This is Alain, one of our top priority targets. Find him, neutralize him, and bring him here. Make sure not to harm his Pokemon too much if possible, especially his Charizard," Larkspur instructed. "I have seen that Pokemon in action, and it could fetch a high price in the black market."

Darren smirked at the projection. "That kid has his days numbered."

"You'll be given additional information on the target before you and your troops leave," Larkspur said. "Though, a piece of advice, captain. Try not to underestimate the boy. He's the most recent Kalos League winner. He won't go down without a fight."

"I hope so! More fun that way!" Darren laughed, before leaving Larkspur's office.

Darren walked out of the office, leaving Larkspur alone once again. The middle aged professor took a look at his computer's screen, which displayed three pictures, as well as information under each of them.

"Once Alain is in our power, that will be two out of three," Larkspur said, looking at the leftmost picture, next to Alain's. "And only Ketchum will be left."

Author's Note: After the Anthell and Ash's fifth Gym Badge back to back, we needed a calmer chapter for our heroes to relax and to set up future plotlines now that they are moving towards the Eastern side of the region.

Hello there, Squishy! Bet you guys weren't expecting him to show up in this story, did you? While he won't met Bonnie and the rest of the group anytime soon, rest assured that they will reunite with him again.

And it seems like Team Omega is preparing for something big. And yeah, turns out that what happened with Team Rocket in Sinnoh that forced Giovanni to send the Trio there wasn't a random coincidence (thanks to my beta Viroro-kun who gave me this idea).

Thanks a lot to Lipeghoul, Fox McCloude, dmrm, hirowriter, MegaSalamence64, MarcusDarkus87 and Jose4Andres7 for reviewing past chapter. Sadly, my beta Viroro-kun wasn't available this time around, so I had to betaread the chapter myself. Hopefully he will be back for the next one.

Next chapter, Alain is back. In the meantime, don't forget to leave a review.