Intro:
Hey, sorry for being late my finals got in the way of making this chapter and I had a family emergency that outweighs this in terms of importance but I am back and we are back on schedule. Let's keep this intro short and let's hope back in with our story!
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Pokemon in any way this is just a fanfiction. Please support the creators by purchasing and playing Pokemon Platinum Version wherever sold in your respective area.
Guide:
Bolded Italics: Speaking out of time or audience
Regular Italics: Character Thoughts
COF: Character(s) of Focus
AND. HERE. WE. GO.
Lucas ran to the pokemon gym both full of excitement and typical gym leader nerves. This would be his third gym battle and he spent all of last night thinking about strategies he could use against Fantina. But whatever he thought off came to a standstill. Stumped he decided to use that new device Dawn gave him.
"Lucas, I knew you'd be the first to use the device, what's up?" Dawn asked over the computer.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt but I am about to go into Fantina's gym. She's a ghost type, any ideas?" Lucas asked.
"Ghost-type, let me check," Dawn said, looking at some files.
"Okay, it says here that Normal Types are immune to Ghost attacks, does that help?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah, very helpful. How are Water attacks and Fight moves?" Lucas asked.
"Water moves are fine but Ghost types are immune to Fight moves and also Normal moves, it's like a tie between them," Dawn confirmed.
"Great, guess a Normal-type will be both my best and worst option" Lucas commented.
"I guess so, I recommend starting with Bibarel but be careful she is a gym leader after all she probably has a plan for normal types," Dawn added.
"Thanks, Dawn, I'll call with an update," Lucas said.
"Good luck," Dawn said before hanging up.
Lucas reached the gym and saw Barry already running you, of course, he got there first.
"Lucas, too slow that's 4 million," Barry said, running up to him.
"Shut up dude, unlike you I don't have caffeine coursing through my fucking veins," Lucas commented.
"Well you better get a needle and catch up," Barry said, leaning against the wall.
Lucas just rolled his eyes, yesterday he and Barry were chatting like the friends they were but now it was back to business. Barry had gotten up way before Lucas just made sure he got the gym badge first.
"Any tips?" Lucas asked.
"It's like a maze, you'll see a symbol on the floor and you have to navigate through trainers to one of three doors to find your way," Barry said, looking at his badge.
Lucas thanked Barry and walked inside, right away it was dark. It was foggy, it gave the gym this creepy vibe and with the dark purple walls and dimly lit ceiling, Lucas could easily tell which type this gym was associated with. The ground was tiles of dark purple and black with skulls as guiding ways for a maze. Lucas pulled out a flashlight and looked at the ground to find his first symbol, a skull. Lucas saw other peering lights throughout the maze, it had to be trainers.
The maze was fairly simply to Lucas, take the symbol and find the matching door. The problem was the maze, sometimes he got spun around and ended having to face trainers along the way. Trainers in gyms never bothered Lucas, he always managed to get past them and he always scoffed at the power difference between them and gym leaders. The maze had three levels to it with each level getting bigger and more complex than the next.
Lucas finally finished the maze, he entered a brightly lit room that was the polar opposite of the maze. The walls were bright purple with spotlights all around. Lucas now thought he was on a dance stage. He could hear music used at the contest hall as Fantina came in through spiraling stairs. She walked with elegance and class as she eyed Lucas.
"I was wondering, when you would arrive," Fantina said, walking down the stairs.
"And I was wondering when I walked out of a ghost gym, what's with all the lights and shit," Lucas smirked.
Fantina was a tall woman with purple hair and a purple dress. She spoke with smoothness in her voice comparable to butter. She looked at Lucas seductively and had eyebrows so neat it was impressive. She eyed Lucas with both intrigue and desire, ever since she saw Lucas on the news she wanted to meet him, battle him, and maybe go out for dinner.
"It's to make my arena pop like a dance stage," Fantina said.
"For a ghost type?" Lucas asked confusingly.
"Despite my type, I am still very much a performer Mr. Diamond," Fantina said smoothly.
"Dual jobs, that sound stressful," Lucas commented.
"It is, I use gym battling as a way of blowing off steam, as well as other ways," Fantina winked.
Lucas just blushed, right away she knew this would be another Gardenia situation.
"Ever since we met I have been looking forward to this," Fantina said, pulling out a Pokeball.
"As you would say, let's dance," Lucas smirked.
Chapter 14: Lucas vs Fantina
COF: Lucas Diamond/Hunter "Looker" Langley
Gym Leader Battle: Lucas Diamond vs Fantina (5 v 3)
"Duskull, Dance for me!" Fantina shouted, releasing Duskull into the field.
"Bibarel, you're up," Lucas said, sending Bibarel out.
Bibarel looked at the ghost type and got a little scared but stood his ground, his trainer needed him and he was going to give it his all.
"Ah a normal type, an excellent choice," Fantina commented.
"Thanks," Lucas said.
"Duskull, Pursuit," Fantina ordered.
Duskull faded and almost became invisible and pounded Bibarel. Lucas was shocked, normally a gym leader would have moves tied to their types but it seems this was Fantina's counter to normal types. Have a diverse set of moves to counter any bad type matchups.
"Shit, Bibarel, Water Gun," Lucas commanded.
Bibarel shot jets of water at the Duskull, hitting it but it seemed to not do a lot of damage. Right away Lucas knew he had to think of something else but the problem is that Bibarel can't use most of his moveset. While he was immune to Fantina's hardest-hitting moves, Bibarel couldn't do much on the offensive. Bibarel took another two hits but held his ground.
"Your Bibarel seems to be able to take a good amount of hits, you have raised him well," Fantina complimented.
"Thanks but is this a battle or a date," Lucas scoffed.
"Maybe both," Fantina smirked.
Lucas just blushed, he was never hit on by a girl, and even if Fantina was messing around like Gardenia it was enough for him. Lucas snapped back to his senses and remembered that there was a gym badge on the line and maybe this was a tactic.
"Bibarel, another Water Gun!," Lucas ordered.
Bibarel shot more jets of water, hitting Duskull but again to little damage. Lucas had to try something else.
"Duskull, get in close for another Pursuit," Fantina ordered.
Duskull once again hit the Pursuit and this time even harder, Bibarel took the hit again but was fading.
"Bibarel, use Yawn," Lucas ordered.
Bibarel launched a Yawn cloud hitting Duskull causing him to get drowsy.
This is good, if I can make the Duskull fall asleep that'll give me some time.
Lucas wanted to switch Bibarel out but couldn't, making Duskull sleep would be his best option. Fantina on the other hand knew she had about one turn to get one more hit in before Duskull was practically done. She needed to leave as big of an impact as she could. It was hard because Will-o-Wisp would be useless in this situation and she couldn't use Duskull's other moves due to the type. This really was a stalemate for both of them.
"Duskull, one more Pursuit try and hit a Will-O-Wisp at the same time!" Fantina ordered.
While the Will-O-Wisp wouldn't do much damage it still would hit with an impact. She was right, Bibarel crashed down on the ground, Lucas was both impressed with the Duskull and concerned for Bibarel. However, Bibarel weakly got up and Duskull fell into a deep sleep.
"Bibarel, Water Gun one more time," Lucas shouted.
Bibarel shot more jets of water this time using the rest of his energy and knocking out the Duskull.
"NICE WORK BIBAREL," Lucas shouted with excitement.
"He isn't just a flunk," Fantina grinned to herself.
"Stay in this Bibarel, two more to go," Lucas shouted.
Bibarel nodded and smiled through the exhaustion at his trainer, Fantina didn't know all of Lucas' team so it was going to be tough but she had a typing that favored her more than anyone else.
"Haunter, show them your style," Fantina shouted, releasing Haunter into the field.
Haunter came into the field and stared right at Bibarel with a deathly grin that even creeped Lucas out.
"Bibarel, waste no time, Water Gun," Lucas ordered.
Bibarel shot jets of water but it missed due to fatigue and Bibarel was cut down by a huge Sucker Punch. Bibarel was out but he took Duskull with him.
"Nice work, Bibarel take a rest, Staravia, come on out," Lucas shouted, sending Staravia out.
If I can't hurt them at least Staravia can outspeed them.
"Haunter, hit a Hypnosis," Fantina ordered.
Haunter tried to lure Staravia to sleep but she knew exactly what to do and sped right through Haunter with a Wing Attack so fast Fantina dress flew upwards giving Lucas a view of sorts.
"OH SHIT SORRY," Lucas shouted, covering his eyes with his face flushed red.
"That bird is fast, very well done. I can see how you have made this far." Fantina laughed while putting down her dress.
"Yeah, she's my ticket to getting your badge," Lucas smirked, still a little red.
"Is that so, you're confident but not as much as your friend," Fantina said.
"Please no one can be more confident than him, he's worse than Trainer Blue," Lucas scoffed.
Lucas and Fantina eyed each other, Lucas saw a gym leader who was an obstacle but Fantina saw an aspiring trainer with a passion comparable to the champion of the region which she secretly knew. Now it was time to test his limits.
"Haunter, Dead Silence," Fantina ordered.
"The fuck is that?" Lucas questioned.
Haunter disappeared and crept so quietly Fantina almost lost him. He hit Staravia with a nasty Sucker Punch that was impossible to see coming. Fantina seemed to use Haunter's ability to turn invisible as a way to execute moves.
"Staravia quickly hit an Aerial Ace," Lucas ordered.
Staravia hit Haunter back with an Aerial Ace that sent him back. The move seemed to hit harder than Water Gun. Staravia had things much easier because unlike Bibarel most of her moveset wasn't useless. However, Staravia didn't know any combo moves which have become a staple in Lucas' battle style as of late.
"Haunter, use Shadow Claw," Fantina ordered.
Haunter with that one command scratched Staravia with a black shadowy effect inflicting horrible damage.
"Shit, Staravia, another counter this time with a Quick Attack," Lucas ordered.
Staravia went as fast as she could and sliced right through Haunter shocking Fantina again with the speed.
"Staravi-" Lucas was about to say but Staravia was already working.
Staravia grabbed Haunter and flew way up into the air shocking both Fantina and Lucas. Staravia grinned at Haunter and flew down and slammed Haunter into the ground so hard Haunter left a dent in the ground. Haunter was down and Staravia learned Brave Bird.
"What the," Fantina said shocked.
"Holy crap," Lucas said stunned.
Fantina had one more Pokemon, luckily it was her best Pokemon. She knew Lucas was good enough to beat her but she really wanted him to prove it.
"Mismagius, end this with class," Fantina said, launching Mismagius into the field.
Mismagius came out and immediately exhibited an aura of power that worried Lucas. Staravia stared right at her.
"Staravia, let's end this, Quick Attack," Lucas ordered.
Staravia rushed right at Mismagius but was stopped by a harsh Psybeam. The attack sent Staravia crashing into the wall.
"STAR," Lucas yelled, running to Staravia.
Fantina herself wondered if she went too far but saw that Staravia was moving and had a sigh of relief.
"Hey, it's okay you can rest," Lucas said, pulling her Pokeball out.
Staravia got up as if saying that she was okay and Lucas nodded. If he wanted to bond more with his pokemon he had to trust them in times like these.
"Mismagius, Magical Leaf," Fantina commanded.
Mismagius sent a storm of leaves hurling towards Staravia. Staravia flew straight up and expertly dodged the leaves and flew straight into Mismagius hitting a Brave Bird, damaging herself as well. Mismagius grabbed onto Staravia and took the hit but also used this moment to strike with a Shadow Ball.
"COME ON STAR YOU CAN TAKE IT," Lucas yelled.
"END THIS MISMAGIUS," Fantina shouted.
Fantina was impressed by the adrenaline and rush she felt while battling Lucas, it was comparable to another activity she loved to do.
Mismagius raised her hand and got another Shadow Ball ready but as she was about to hit she noticed that the grip Staravia had on her tightened. It tightened extremely and Staravia felt this burst of energy, unlike anything she had ever felt before.
"What's going on?" Lucas questioned.
All of a sudden Staravia grew in size, her beck was sharper, her wings were stronger. Her voice was more intense. Staravia evolved into Staraptor. Mismagius stared in disbelief as Staraptor grabbed her arms and carried her to the top of the arena with ease.
"Heh, get her girl," Lucas smirked.
Fantina just stared, she had never seen an evolution mid-battle before, it was scary, it was awe-inspiring, it was beautiful.
Staraptor sped down beck first with top speed slamming Mismagius into the ground making a crater. The battle was over, Lucas had won his third badge.
Staraptor flew back to Lucas and hugged him. Lucas was over the moon both for the win and for her. Staraptor was now Lucas' second fully evolved Pokemon.
"Fantastic battle," Fantina commented, walking over to Lucas.
"You too, sorry for the crater," Lucas said, nervously laughing.
"Don't worry about it, this happens, you truly showed me that you deserve to be here," Fantina said with that seductive grin again.
"Thanks, I learned a lot from this battle, I hope we can do it again sometime," Lucas commented.
"Most definitely, but for now I present you with the Fog Badge," Fantina said, giving Lucas his third badge.
Lucas walked out of the gym and smiled at himself. Three down, five to go.
Meeting Room, Team Galactic HQ
Hunter "Looker" Langley/Farid Rome
Looker walked into the meeting room to see it was empty. The only person sitting there was Mike. The man who had no file he could find on the database of Team Galactic, a man whose history was almost nonexistent. His assignment required him to get information on all important Team Galactic members including him. Luckily, Looker had training on how to socially engineer people into getting information without making it seem obvious.
"Farid, please sit," Mike said with a smile that looked both inviting and dangerous.
"Mike, it's about time we did this," Looker sat down.
The two of them sat across from each other both with fake smiles and shook hands.
"It's nice to relax every now and then, it gets tiring going through these plans and finding out the hundreds of ways it can go south," Mike said, pulling out a cigarette and offering Looker one.
"Oh no thanks I don't smoke," Looker said.
"Scared of cancer huh, ha that won't be what kills you," Mike said, smoking.
"I think if we are going to work together we should get to know each other," Looker said.
"I agree making friends is good business," Mike said.
Mike looked right at Looker as if asking him to go first that same smile stayed on his face, it both intrigued and creeped Looker out and that was saying something considering the work he has done.
"I hate talking about myself, it's so egotistical," Looker scoffed.
"I agree, when people just go on about their lives I just wanna shove them off a cliff I think we all know someone like that, okay I'll start," Mike said, leaning back in his chair.
"Okay, where are you from, Sinnoh?" Looker asked.
"Me no...Alola," Mike said.
"You seem to have no pokemon from Alola though," Looker added, raising an eyebrow.
"I prefer Hoenn Pokemon. I have them brought to me, they are just so wonderful," Mike added, tossing one of his Pokeballs up and down.
"So you're a trainer?" Looker asked.
"I guess you could call me one, I have a team but I mostly have them for the company. My job doesn't require a lot of Pokemon," Mike said.
"So many people just use Pokemon for crime, it's disgusting," Looker said, letting out a bit of IP agent.
"Yeah, I agree I think Pokemon should be seen as companions, not tools but who am I to judge," Mike said, putting the Pokeball away.
"So Alola, you know I've only been there once," Looker said, noting that in his head.
"Yeah, it's sunny and there are a lot of beaches. It's almost like that whole region was made for vacations," Mike scoffed.
"Yeah, I'm from right here in Sinnoh, I wish I could go somewhere warm like that," Looker smirked.
"I moved here and got a lumbering job, that's where I met Cyrus," Mike commented.
Looker was both confused, normally he could tell by a person's voice and body language if they were lying but there was something about Mike that no matter what he said it sounded like the truth, his body oozed confidence and his eyes dominated the encounter.
"What about you?" Mike asked.
"Me, you know the classic story, the family is poor and needs money and I joined crime, you know how it goes," Looker said.
"Yeah...too many people like that in the world," Mike said.
Looker saw a crack, a small one he got him. Now he knew that Mike's family was poor, he was a trainer, he was from Alola and he met Cyrus through a lumbering job. He couldn't risk interrogation tactics he knew Mike would see through that. He couldn't risk blowing his cover.
"This job pays well but god damn it takes a toll on your soul doesn't it," Looker commented.
"Tell me about it, that pain you feel that'll become normal here if you have any sense of morals," Mike said, putting his feet up.
"Normal, is that even a word here," Looker scoffed.
"I always question whether or not I should keep doing my job, yeah it's illegal and I don't like hurting people but at the end of the day there have to be villains for good guys to exist right?" Mike asked.
"True," Looker said.
"I mean without us, people like the IP would be out of a job so I say we have a role in society just as big as the good guys," Mike said, taking a puff of his cigarette.
Looker was captivated by those words, almost as if he agreed with that. At that moment he got a glimpse of the real Mike. Someone who knows what he is doing is wrong but does it anyway for some unknown reason. Someone who isn't oblivious to the bigger picture.
"I gotta ask, why did they choose you for the advisor, of course, no disrespect but just curious," Looker said.
"Well I have a knack for seeing the dumb things people do and correcting them, I take all the plans and find everything wrong with it, my job is literally to complain," Mike laughed.
"Sounds like a stressful job, ever consider quitting?" Looker asked.
"All the fucking time dude, but I have my reasons for staying, in terms of stress, yeah seeing some of the things these idiots come up with makes my head hurt like seriously these are the people in charge," Mike said irritated.
"So they're stupid?" Looker asked.
"Not really, they have talent. What I don't get is how they see their plans, they are only interested in how their plans affect Team Galactic, I see how it affects the region and take that into account," Mike added.
"Speaking of plans, I heard talks about a big plan, mine telling me what it is?" Looker asked.
"Wish I could man but that's classified," Mike said quickly.
Classified, that was a word Looker was used to saying not hearing. For a minute there was just silence, both of the men looking right at each other with tension in the air that could be cut with a knife. For dinner, there was no food just talking. Two men who both had suspicions of each other.
"So that Lucas guy is really something," Looker said.
"Yeah, I admire his courage and see myself in him a bit that's why I'm not so keen on destroying him," Mike said.
"And if you disagree with something do we stop it?" Looker asked.
"Not really, Cyrus ultimately makes the choice but he takes my opinion over others given my position," Mike said.
Looker was getting some good information here, his original region, his motive, and position. That is all he needed to continue his operation in peace. Just as he was gonna ask another question, Mike's phone rang.
"One second," Mike said, leaving the room to answer his phone.
Looker quickly took out a pad and wrote the information he had down before he forgot it, this meeting was a success. Though he needed more information it was a start. Mike returned to the room and started to grab his things.
"I have some matters to attend to. This was fun we should hang out again...Farid," Mike said.
"Agreed," Looker said standing up.
The two men just looked at each other with more fake smiles and went their separate ways. Mike watched as Looker went back to his living quarter's area. He smiled to himself because as Looker was getting information on Mike, he was also getting information and he took one thing from this meeting.
"The IP sure knows how to pick them, now for an insurance policy," Mike smirked to himself.
Later That Night
Looker was alone when he received a text from his CO saying to call them. Making calls to the officials was hard to do while undercover so if they wanted Looker to call them, it means it's important. Looker went to a faraway closed off area of the headquarters to make the call.
"Agent Langley," A superior office answered.
"Sir, everything okay?" Looker asked.
"Yes, you're doing a good job but a CO from Johto wants to speak to you, I'll send you the address," The officer said.
"Sir, I can-," Looker said but was interrupted.
"I don't care what you are doing right now get there, that's an order, and you're representing Sinnoh so show some discipline," The officer commanded.
Looker sighed, he knew it was risky but orders were orders.
"Yes sir," Looker said.
Looker hung up the phone and went to the address, it was a house in the middle of Veilstone. He had passed by it lots of times but never saw people go in and out of it. Before long he was called inside.
"Color of the day?" The man asked.
"Green, Agent Langley of Sinnoh's Counter-Terrorism," Looker said, sitting down.
"Captain Thomas Depp of Johto's Counter-Terrorism, I understand you're UC?" Depp asked.
"Yes sir, investigating Team Galactic, sorry for speaking out of line but what is a Johto Captain doing in Sinnoh?" Looker asked.
"I'll get straight to the point, Team Rocket has a new boss named Simon, he's trying to get Team Rocket back on top," Depp said.
"Rocket...I remember those assholes," Looker said, crossing his arms.
"Exactly I understand in between the years of 1989 and 1991 you were involved in a group tasked with assassinating Giovanni's second in command?" Depp asked.
"Yeah, part of Kanto's Counter-Terrorism me and 3 other agents," Looker confirmed.
"Excellent, I need you to recall those events, anything you can remember, the information might be helpful," Depp said, pulling out a pad.
"Why don't you ask Ramierz or Black, hell or even Maxie he was there," Looker said.
"Ramirez is with a Trainer, Black is in Galar right now and Maxie is in prison. You are our best asset for this," Depp said.
"A trainer?" Looker asked.
"Yeah, a kid named Ethan Gold he's been a thorn in Simon's side for a while now and he's talking to him," Depp said.
"We have two people just like him here, Lucas Diamond and Barry Platinum, they are causing trouble for Team Galactic," Looker added.
"Good, we need more people willing to go against these douchebags anyway I need you to go back to the beginning," Depp said.
The beginning, alright it all started when I was called to Kanto's Counter-Terrorism for a "special" assignment.
Outro:
Chapter 14 is history, so yes with chapter 15 we will explore a bit about Looker and his history with the IP. This is not a backstory chapter but more a character dive for Looker because he is an important character for this story. We will also see how the IP works in my universe. I always thought the IP was something of a CIA type organization for the pokemon world, a group of people doing secret missions to benefit the Pokemon world. For this next chapter, we will see what Looker's typical job looks like in the IP. I hope you all enjoyed and as always feel free to leave a comment telling me what you liked, dislike, etc. PM with any questions or if you wanna tell me that a Bellsprout has a higher IQ than me then hmu. I hope you all have a great Christmas or holiday that you celebrate! I will see you in the next chapter!
Don't forget to smile!
-Shocker
Question of the Chapter: Who is your favorite member of Lucas' Team? What was your favorite moment of the chapter?
For me, I really like Monferno, his personality and attitude are so fun to write about. I really like the dinner with Mike and Looker. It was very tense and having two big characters in my story interacting is so cool to me.
Important Events/Ideas (Spoilers):
-Lucas beats Fantina to get his third badge
Lucas' Team (5/6):
-Monferno: Ember, Mach Punch, Flame Wheel, Cut, Leer
-Luxio: Spark, Charge, Tackle, Bite, Flash
-Bibarel: Water Gun, Headbutt, Rock Smash, Yawn
-Staraptor: Wing Attack, Aerial Ace, Quick Attack, Tackle, Brave Bird
-Gabite: Slash, Dragon Claw, Dig, Take Down, Iron Tail
Mike's Team (6/6):
-Silver (Swampert): Waterfall, Dive, Ice Beam, Surf, Hammer Arm, (unknown full moveset)
-Blacksteel (Aggron): Earthquake, Dig, Rock Slide, Cut, Rock Smash, (unknown full moveset)
-Rogue (Dusknoir): Psychic, Brick Break, Confuse Ray, Fire Punch, Shadow Ball, Control Touch, (unknown full moveset)
-Lyon (Magnezone): Thunder, Shock Wave, Thunder Punch, Flash, (unknown full moveset)
-Atlas (Salamence): Dragon Claw, Fly, Aerial Ace, Zen Headbutt, Toxic, (unknown full moveset)
-Flare (Flareon): Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Bite, Quick Attack, Strength, (unknown full moveset)
Next Chapter: Hunter "Looker" Langley
After being called into a team of 4 agents, Looker is tasked with finding Giovanni's second in command!