Chapter 1 - Destination Vacation

The evening sun bathed the relaxed vacation town of Heahea City in amber light as it began its descent into the sea. The various shades of orange and yellow weaved together in a harmonious dance atop the horizon, presenting its beauty to the sparse crowd of beach-goers soaking in the sights.

A peculiar pair joined the content watchers of the sea at a table near the entrance to the beach.

One was wearing a fully unbuttoned white shirt with rolled up sleeves, with nothing underneath it to hide his toned, well-built body. A pair of loud, floral beach shorts covered his lower half and some worn sandals combined with gold-rimmed aviators to complete the look. Some of his brown hair swayed gently in the wind, while some of it stayed frazzled and static from the salt that had accumulated on it. Zachary Lance lowered his sunglasses to reveal his bright hazel eyes and flashed a radiant grin to his compatriot who sat down opposite to him.

In massive contrast to the easygoing beach crowd that surrounded him, the other man was in city streetwear; a baseball cap lowered to cover his head as much as possible, a blue hooded sweatshirt with a game controller print and plain jeans. Brown sneakers - likely filled with grains of sand, judging by his sour expression - completed the ensemble. If incognito was a form of fashion, Zane Akiro had nailed it anywhere but out here. Here, he stuck out like a sore thumb.

"So nice of you to join me, stranger." Zack offered him a wink to ensure he understood that he was, in fact, not a stranger.

Zane took a moment and inhaled the insult he was about to throw at his accomplice. This was not the time. "Did you spot anything yet?"

"Personally? No." He turned to face the sea, producing a small paper bag of peanuts and offering it to Zane without looking at him. The grin remained plastered on his face. That did not bode well.

Zane declined the peanuts. "Impersonally?"

"Well…" He lifted his arm to take a quick look at his X-Transceiver. "If Sapphira didn't mistake a Wailord for a hidden floating platform…"

"And how many times has that happened?"

"If I had a nickel for every time that's happened-"

"Zack."

"Kidding! Sapphira spotted some odd shimmers out near the gamma sector while she was scouting, but considering our last run-in with their cloaking tech..." He turned to face Zane again, tossing a peanut into his mouth, missing the shot in the process. The lone peanut landed in the beach sand, much to Zack's dismay.

"That could align," Zane said, leaning forward slightly. "I tailed our suspects to a dock but couldn't get closer. It looked like they were loading boats."

Zack took another peek at his X-Transceiver. "What do you say we go get a closer look at what they're doing down at the dock?"

"We cannot. I tried. Place is sealed up and they use keycards to get in"

"Surely that isn't an issue for someone like you~"

"I am not breaking into places based on a hunch."

"Mmmmm… What if we had a keycard?"

"How would we-"

Almost on cue, the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps made Zane lean around Zack.

Reflecting the colors of the sky on its spiky, frazzled fur; a Jolteon zipped up to the duo and slid to a stop next to Zack, sending beach sand in the other direction with its sudden stop. In its mouth was a rectangular piece of white plastic. Its large black eyes sparked with energy and the rapidly wagging tail expressed its profound joy. He seemed very pleased with himself.

"Good boy, Bolt!" Zack reached down to rub Bolt behind his neck. The Pokémon barked happily, nuzzling into his trainer's hand as Zack gently retrieved the keycard.

Zack gently took the keycard out of Bolt's mouth. The jolteon barked happily as he received the accolades from his trainer and nuzzled into his hand. Zack offered the bag of peanuts to his pokemon, who decided to put its snout in the bag instead.

"That is still illegal, Zack."

He waved the complaint away, twirling the keycard around nonchalantly. "I've got a good feeling about this one~"

Zane pinched the bridge of his nose. "I hate it when you say that."

The dock was eerily quiet, its usual bustle replaced by an oppressive stillness. Zack swiped the stolen keycard at the gate. The electronic lock clicked open with a beep that seemed far too loud in the silence.

"Easy," Zack whispered as he pushed the gate open.

"Stay close," Zane muttered. "We don't know who's watching."

They crept between stacks of crates, their movements slow and deliberate. Toward the pier's end, a group of workers loaded unmarked boats with precision that felt unnatural. Their movements were synchronized, almost robotic.

"What do you think is in those crates?" Zack whispered.

Before Zane could answer, footsteps approached from behind. The two ducked behind a stack of crates, holding their breath as a pressurized container rolled past, escorted by a man in a white lab coat and flanked by an armaldo and kabutops. The man's eyes swept the area, and a chill settled in the air.

"Deliver this safely," the man instructed, his voice clipped and mechanical. "Any failure will not be tolerated." He rapped the container's surface with his knuckles.

A guttural growl reverberated from within, low and menacing.

"There is a Pokémon in there," Zane whispered.

"An angry one," Zack replied, his voice unusually serious.

The workers resumed loading, but the man lingered, his gaze scanning the area. Zack's grin returned, now edged with determination. "I think we just found our lead."

"And our way inside," Zane said, nodding at the boats. "But we cannot take on all of them here."

"Then we make them take us in," Zack replied.

Zane froze. "What?"

Before Zane could object, Zack cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Hey! What's in the box?"

The workers snapped to attention, their heads turning unnaturally fast toward the pair.

"You are the worst," Zane hissed.