Chapter 4: Information Gathering
The founder and self-proclaimed leader of Team Phreatic, Shelly, sat at her desk, pouring over a variety of reports. Once an admin for Team Aqua, as well as a stout believer in Archie's goal, Shelly had found herself without a life's purpose when Team Aqua disbanded. She had found that she was the only Admin from either group who was still in the area, the others apparently having flown the coop before they could be apprehended by Hoenn Law Enforcement. It was a cowardly ploy, but Shelly couldn't bring herself to blame her former cohorts and rivals for taking such actions.
Despite everything that happened, Shelly didn't want to completely abandon everything Team Aqua stood for. She had stayed in Hoenn to at least see if there was something she could salvage from the organization's ruins. It had taken a while to regain what was left, and despite that, she was less than pleased with what she was left with.
All that remained of the once proud organization were some straggling grunts, their Pokemon teams, some equipment and supplies, and Team Aqua's submarine. It was all piteous compared to the power once held by one of Hoenn's most notorious criminal groups, but Shelly still saw opportunity. If she could play her cards right, she would be able to build up a new organization from Team Aqua's remains. Despite the disastrous conclusion of Team Aqua's ultimate goal, they had been successful as an organization, and Shelly could rebuild that power.
But simply following where Team Aqua left off wasn't an appealing thought. Shelly wanted to avoid a repeat of Archie's mistakes.
After Shelly finished gathering what she could; which included the remaining members and equipment of Team Magma, the newly christened "Team Phreatic" had fled Hoennian waters in their now redecorated submarine, bearing a new "P" insignia of white steam. However, their finances had begun to dwindle, forcing Shelly to seek out a new source of funding before anything else. After going through some old files, however, it didn't take long to come up with a solution.
Several reports had come in from other regions over the course of Team Aqua's history, one describing a concerning incident in the Johtonian city of Alto Mare some time ago. The city's ancient defense mechanism had gone awry and wreaked havoc, and according to reports, it seemed that the machine could control water to a degree. Because of this, Archie had taken an interest in the DMA, but the Blue Orb's discovery not long after led to the reports on the DMA being buried and forgotten.
But Shelly saw potential for the DMA now that Archie was no longer in charge. Such advanced technology would be extremely valuable to those who could make use of it. Citywide reconfiguration, hydrokinesis… Shelly could think of several wealthy individuals who would flock at the opportunity of obtaining a machine with such abilities. Reviving Team Aqua's ambitions with it right off the bat was a tempting prospect, but there was so much more potential that lay in the DMA. So much more…
Shelly rummaged through some old Team Aqua data on the DMA, as well as other resources "obtained" from other parties. If they were to succeed, they would first need to procure the device.
"Team Rocket…" she mumbled to herself sourly, powering on a laptop. "What a bunch of idiots."
The laptop screen displayed the interior of Alto Mare, a live feed from the drone they had deployed.
"All these gizmos and they have a success ratio lower than Team Magma's, even now that they're gone."
Team Phreatic had done extensive research on the last time the DMA was accessed, including on the perpetrators responsible. The laptop Shelly was utilizing had once been owned by the Team Rocket member Oakley, though she had remodeled it into something more… visually appealing before repurposing it.
"I see all the equipment I managed to swipe for you is working," said a snarky voice emerging from a dark corner of the captain's quarters.
A vein of annoyance throbbed on Shelly's temple as she responded, not looking up from the screen, "I should have known you would be lurking around."
"Hey, what can I say? It's what I do," said Brodie as he stepped out of the shadows, dressed in Team Phreatic garb, his faithful Ditto on his shoulder. "See, I told you I was worth every penny."
Shelly grunted in annoyance, still not giving Brodie even a sideways glance. "Just be grateful I had a use for a washed up Team Magma stooge"
"I prefer master thief," said Brodie, looking over her shoulder at the computer, grinning. "So, whatcha doing?"
"If you must know," Shelly began with an annoyed huff. "I'm using the drone to gather information on the DMA."
Brodie looked at Shelly quizzically. "I thought this laptop already had sufficient data on it?"
"Maybe. But I intend to verify the data's authenticity before making any critical moves," said Shelly, inputting the coordinates that, according to the data on the laptop, would direct the drone to the location of the Secret Garden. "After all, the source is… less than reliable."
"Ah, Team Rocket, yeah," said Brodie with a condescending chuckle. "If you were to look up incompetent in the dictionary, Team Rocket's goofy red R logo would be the first definition."
"Indeed," said Shelly, begrudgingly agreeing with him. "Which is why it would be foolish of me to take everything at face value without at least cross referencing everything from the original source. If the Secret Garden is where this thing says it is, we'll have at least verified that."
"And after that?" asked Brodie, watching as a Murkrow suddenly assaulted the drone, which ducked into an alley to evade the dark bird pokemon.
"If the Secret Garden is where it's supposed to be, there should be stone carvings with instructions relating to the DMA. The laptop apparently has something like that on file already, but like I said, I won't trust words that come from the mouth of Team Rocket. If the carvings are there, we can cross-reference them for legitimacy."
"You seem to be taking this very carefully," Brodie scoffed. "It's quite unlike you."
Shelly glared at him. "I've changed since my days in Team Aqua. Unlike Archie, I've learned the value of patience and being discreet."
"Clearly," said Brodie. "So what steps do we take if all this "cross-referencing" pans out in our favor?"
"Then it's simply a matter of claiming what we came for… No matter what."
"Well," said Brodie with a smirk. "If it turns out your new little toys aren't capable of doing their job, give me a ring. I'll be able to find the information you need quicker than you can say "Alto Mare."
"I believe I have sufficient data on the DMA for now," said Shelly, pivoting in her chair to look directly at Brodie finally. "You are dismissed until I have further need of your services."
Brodie took his leave, something told Shelly he was all too happy to leave her presence. Possibly still held onto past grudges, at least slightly. But none of that matters now, so Shelly went back to surveying the drones' progress.
"Well, would you look at that," said Shelly to herself, bemused as the laptop displayed the drone's descent into the Secret Garden. "Those two Rocket stooge's intel on the Secret Garden's location was accurate after all."
Shelly directed the drone to switch to terrain mode, the little spindly legs emerging from its base as the drone began to scurry along the ground. It didn't take long for the drone to come across the stone tiles engraved with the glyphs that supposedly held the key to operating the DMA, and it only took a few minutes for them to be scanned and cross-referenced with the data on the computer.
"Alright, this checks out too," said Shelly, watching as the computer encrypted the ancient writing. "And now…
The drone crawled up the nearby pool, and, sure enough, soon spotted the Soul Dew. This is where Shelly was sure Annie and Oakley blundered. They had removed the Soul Dew from its placing in the pool, despite the warnings in the stone tablets that the Soul Dew is sustained by the very water it provides to Alto Mare, and will perish if removed.
"Fools," commented Shelly as she input new orders to the drone. "If someone was going to use a bluff, they would come up with a better story than that."
Shelly wasn't about to repeat Annie and Oakley's rash actions; she wasn't going through all of this only to have the key to it all shrivel up and die like a Magikarp out of water. No… this required careful analysis in order to keep the Soul Dew alive outside of its special pool. Setting the drone to cycle through all its visual settings systematically, Shelly ordered the drone to gather all of the information it could.
The future of her organization depended on these funds. She would not fail.