Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Pokédex no Isekai
Chapter Twenty-five: Rockin' Big Sis
The Big Beauty was parked at a port area located on Milos Island, where the reborn trainers were searching around for the Forces of Nature. Dawn as well as Kenny and Trip recalled being on Milos Island back in the Team Scorn timeline when the male Forces of Nature, those being Landorus, Tornadus, and Thundurus, showed up. Enamorus, the fourth and only female member of the Forces of Nature, was also there and ended up being caught by Ideku.
But here in the Team Heart timeline? Enamorus ought to still be wild. Same applies to the male Forces of Nature. As such, the reborn trainers, with Dawn taking the lead because she has a hunch, came to Milos Island to check things out. "Hey Kenny, sweetness," Mina began, "You find anything yet that may suggest where any of the Forces of Nature are at? Because I've looked all around this place and have come up with bupkis."
Kenny gently shook his head. "Sorry Mina, but I'm as lost as you are," Kenny replied. He was looking at one of the shrines that one of the male Forces of Nature came out of back in the Team Scorn timeline. Here, it looked like it had happened in somewhat recent events, but a long time ago. Kenny was concerned about the likelihood of him, Dawn, and Trip finding any of the Forces of Nature there on Milos Island. "Come on, let's see if Dawn or Trip have had more luck," Kenny said.
...
Kenny and Mina went to find the Berlitz siblings, although they stopped short upon hearing the clashing sounds of battle. Perking up, Kenny and Mina made haste as they rushed towards those sounds of battle, eventually stopping short upon finding Trip, his back to them, watching something unfold before him. When Kenny and Mina got up to Trip and looked in the direction that his gaze was aimed in, they saw what he was looking at.
Dawn, commanding her named alpha Hisuian Arcanine Argent and her alpha Sneasler, was currently battling Enamorus.
"Well, it looks like we've found one of the Forces of Nature," Kenny said wryly as he got Trip's attention and gestured to where Dawn was currently battling Enamorus.
Nodding once in the affirmative, Trip said, "Yeah. I came upon Dawn battling Enamorus, who must have shown up here on Milos Island for some odd reason, when I heard the sounds of battle. At least we're gonna get one of the Forces of Nature taken care of, and it'll complete the Hisui dex in the process."
Down where Dawn was battling Enamorus, she called out, "Argent, use Wild Charge! Entreri, use Dire Claw!"
The alpha Sneasler rushed forward and struck Enamorus with a Dire Claw attack, scoring a direct hit and surprisingly making Enamorus fall asleep. It was a sitting Psyduck for Argent, cloaked in violent surging electricity, to rush in and crash into at full force, dealing a lot of damage to the female Force of Nature. Only Argent's Rock Head ability kept the named alpha Hisuian Arcanine from taking any recoil damage from using Wild Charge.
Seeing that Enamorus was still asleep, Dawn quickly took out an Ultra Ball, expanded it, and threw it at Enamorus. It went into the Ultra Ball which fell to the ground with a light clink, before it shook for a bit and made a clicking sound, indicating capture. Dawn let out a sigh of relief as she went to collect the ball holding her newly caught Enamorus. It was as Dawn held that ball that Trip came over with Kenny and Mina behind him.
"We found no other signs that any of the male Forces of Nature are here," Trip said, "I think we'll have to put finding them on the back burner for the time being."
"But at least we got Enamorus," Mina said, "Oh, are you gonna name it?"
Dawn looked at Enamorus's ball, a look of contemplation on her face. "...Yeah. I'm going to be naming her Cupidos."
Kenny smirked a bit in amusement. "Ooh, I see what you did there." There was no further work on Milos Island to be done, so the reborn trainers decide to vacate and continue their Unova dex work elsewhere. They still had to find the male Forces of Nature, as well as the Swords of Justice for that matter, but they weren't gonna make any further progress if they remained on Milos Island.
The reborn trainers found their way over to Virbank City, where The Big Beauty was landed in an open lot next to the local Pokémon Center. After the usual away team got off to look around, Lucas said, "So you guys failed to find Thundurus, Tornadus, and Landorus?"
"We're going to have to look elsewhere for those three," Dawn said, "Also, don't openly speak of how we're looking to find and capture legendary Pokémon while we're here on Team Heart Empire soil." Lucas immediately clammed up, he forgot that Team Heart wasn't supposed to hear of it that there are people looking to find and capture legendary Pokémon on their Empire's turf. Team Heart would mostly likely lay claim to those Pokémon and use them for their own ends.
It was as the away team was walking around that they stopped upon hearing the familiar voice of Roxie call out, "Oi! It's Dawn and friends! Although I am seeing some new faces!" Dawn and the others stopped short upon hearing Roxie, the Virbank City gym leader, call out to them, thusly they all turned to see come jogging up to them, followed by a girl who Dawn was estimating was either late teens or very early twenties in terms of age.
The girl with Roxie was fair skinned, had brown hair in a pixie cut, and she wore a purple sleeveless top with a white stylised skull image over the front of the shirt, a purple plaid skirt that reached her knees with a few white belts around her waist, and a pair of purple boots. For some odd reason, the girl with Roxie had paper clips worn in her ear lobes as earrings.
"Long time no see, Roxie," Dawn greeted, "Who's your friend here?"
"I'm Sophia," greeted the girl with Roxie, identifying herself as Sophia in the process, "I heard from my older sisters Lexi and Eva, and my younger sister Annaka, that they had all run into you."
Right away, Dawn's interest was piqued. "...You're one of Admin Wolfgang's sisters."
Sophia nodded once in confirmation, a resigned and guilty look on her face. "Me and some of my little sisters are hanging out at Roxie's place," Sophia said, "You guys wanna come hang? We... we could really use a fresh person or two to vent to."
"Fair enough," Kenny said, having Dawn and the others in the away team follow Roxie and Sophia over to Roxie's place. They were getting the feeling that they were going to be learning more about the scarred history of Wolfgang's family, they figured it would be useful in learning more about what makes the Admin of the Unova Sector of Team Heart tick.
As it turned out, by 'Roxie's place', Sophia was actually talking about the Virbank City gym, although it wasn't set up for a gym battle, just regular hanging out. It was there that Dawn and the rest of the away team met more of the sisters of Wolfgang, at least ones that they hadn't met beforehand.
First was Catherine, the next oldest after Sophia. Fair skinned, long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail with a scrunchy, and she wore a white sleeveless top, yellow plaid skirt that reached her knees, white socks, and brown shoes. Catherine gave off an air of being the kind of girl who fancied herself as something of a budding comic.
Then there was Aubin, the oldest of the sisters who were younger than Wolfgang. She had pale skin that showed she didn't get out much, long black hair with the bangs covering her eyes, black sleeveless dress that reached her knees, black and white stripped arm warmers and matching stockings, and black shoes. Clearly Aubin was a goth girl.
After Aubin was Mia. Fair skinned, had yellow blonde hair in twin pigtails, she wore a murky green t-shirt under a pair of overalls, white shoes, and a red baseball cap that she wore backwards. Mia gave off the air of being a tomboyish girl who loved getting dirty, although Mia also seemed to feel a bit lost at the moment, as if a part of her was missing.
Lastly was the youngest of the siblings overall, August. She was fair skinned, had scruffy yellow blonde hair that reached her chin, and she wore a white t-shirt, pastel purple shorts, white socks, and shoes the same color as the shorts. She looked around excitedly while saying something about wanting to play with Roxie's Pokémon.
"This obviously isn't all of my siblings," Sophia began, "Lexi and Eva are out, as is Annaka who said she's gonna be training for the next weekly Friday tournament held in Driftveil City. Lara is also out because she ran away, Ella is serving time in one of the Team Heart labor camps here in Unova but I don't know which one, and Wolfgang..." Sighing, Sophia said, "...Wolfgang wants nothing to do with any of us. Not that I can blame him."
"Were all of you girls utter crud towards your brother?" Dawn asked.
Briskly shaking her head, Sophia replied, "Hell nah, guv. A good few of us were generally nice as a whole to Wolfgang. Hell, I always felt that he's my favorite younger sibling, favorite sibling overall. I will admit I felt a pang of jealousy towards Eva upon finding out she was Wolfgang's favorite sister before everything was blown to hell."
"And he ended up utterly hating all ten of you girls," Roxie spoke up.
Sophia, looking like she was stabbed in the heart, nodded a bit in the affirmative as tears threatened to well up in the corners of her eyes. "Are you girls going to try to do something to try to make things right with your brother?" Paul asked, "Your brother is in a foul spot right now, a foul spot brought about by the way he was treated by you girls as a collective. I myself had a significantly far better relationship with my own brother, who I am working hard to try and save from his own foul spot he's in right now. You girls ought to work hard to save your brother as well."
"I'm planning to gather all of my family to discuss it," Sophia replied "Or at least I WAS planning to gather all of them before Lara ran away and both Ella and our dad got taken to Team Heart labor camps here in Unova."
"I got it that not ALL of your family thinks Wolfgang can be saved," Dawn said, "Or at least they don't even wanna try."
"Mom realized how badly she and the rest of us as a whole had messed up," Sophia said, "I'm very much certain that she can make dad and the girls who don't wanna try to help Wolfgang all fall in line. If there's one person out there who dad doesn't wanna cross, it's mom."
Smirking in amusement, Roxie said, "I can see who wears the pants in that relationship."
Looking concerned, Lucas began, "Umm, I have a question. I know you and a lot of your family all want to try to fix things with your brother, but what if your brother doesn't wanna fix things with you guys? What of he's been too hurt by what the rest of you as a collective have done to him to even want to give you a chance to try?"
"Your family never gave him a chance," Barry went on, "Why would you expect him to give you all the same courtesy?"
Sophia looked troubled. "...That's a valid point. Our family, at least as a collective, had treated Wolfgang like he's what Miltanks leave out in the field while grazing. Just because we want to make things right with Wolfgang doesn't mean we should expect him to wanna get in on the ide-"
"Excuse us! We're here to see Roxie and her band mates!"
Sophia was cut off when she and the others heard a female voice call out, making her and the others turn and see a number of Team Heart members enter the Virbank City gym. The one leading the group was a uniquely dressed female Team Heart member; she had somewhat tannish skin, and eyes denoting an oriental heritage. Her hair was jet black and chin length, and she wore a pink t-shirt with black trim, black baggy cargo shorts held up with a belt, pink socks, black shoes with pink shoelaces, and a black Team Heart 'H' on the shirt over the left breast.
Standing next to the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member was a male Team Heart grunt who is fair skinned, has reddish hair, wore glasses, and he was dressed in the standard Team Heart grunt outfit for male members. Behind them were a good number of Team Heart grunts, enough to ensure that the rock music venue would be secure for Team Heart inquiries.
Stepping forward, the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member said, "I'd like to see Roxie and her band mates now. I had just received a report that they had performed a song during their most recent performance, and said song contained lyrics that reflect an attitude that goes against the ideology of the Team Heart regime."
When Roxie stepped forward, the rest of her band mates, who all saw what was going on, came up as well. "And you in blazes are you guys?" asked the only other girl in Roxie's band, clearly annoyed with the sudden intrusion.
"Watch that tone of yours," said the male Team Heart grunt next to the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member, "You can be arrested for poor attitude towards us, you know."
Roxie got her band mates to settle down before turning back to look at the Team Heart members. "Sorry about that, she's grumpy because it's that time of the month for her," Roxie said, "Anyway, you guys said that a song we performed during our last concert here that's a problem?"
Taking out a piece of paper, the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member said, "It's a song that's called 'Best Man', and it held lyrics that strongly suggest that men are superior to women, and implying that it's due to gender." Lowering the paper that she held, the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member said, "If that song turns out to really be like that, then you guys can get into a lot of trouble."
"How would such a song, if its lyrics are like that, be an offense to the Team Heart regime?" asked a bald male member of Roxie's band.
"Such lyrics can easily be considered a form of Sexism," said the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member, "As they suggest that one gender is better than the other."
With pressure on them, Roxie's band mates got the lyrics for the song in question and presented them to the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member for her to review. "...Ah, whoever made that report probably got worried due to this one line here," said the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member as she underlined something on the paper the lyrics were written on. Handing the paper back over, the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member said, "Change that one line there so it isn't Sexist, and the song will be okay by the standards of the Team Heart regime."
Roxie and her band mates looked surprised. "...Really? That's it?" asked the girl in Roxie's band.
"Team Heart doesn't like the various kinds of discrimination out there," said the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member, "And Admin Wolfgang specifically doesn't like Sexism. The line in the lyrics I had underlined was Sexist in a way that suggests guys are superior to girls."
"I would think that Wolfgang would LIKE to hear people say that guys are superior to girls."
The members of Team Heart who were present, as well as everyone else, turned to see Catherine look right at Team Heart, a bold look on her face. "...You're one of Wolfgang's sisters," said the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member. Looking around, the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member went on, "In fact, I'm seeing five of them here. Wolfgang showed the others and I a photo of all of you girls, so I can tell that Lexi, Eva, Annaka, Ella, and Lara are absent."
"And what makes you think Wolfgang would actually LIKE to hear people say that guys are superior to girls?" asked the male grunt next to the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member.
"Because our sisters and I have always been favored over him," Catherine said, "He's always been told that he means less than a girl due to him being a boy. I would figure that he'd like hearing the opposite of that being supported."
Gesturing to Catherine, the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member said, "You think that a person who had suffered due to Sexism would like hearing Sexist attitudes and ideas being sung about in a positive light? It doesn't matter if it's a 'girls are superior to boys' idea, or of it's a 'boys are superior to girls' idea. It's still Sexism."
"Let us make one thing clear to you," said the male Team Heart grunt next to the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member, "Admin Wolfgang is against all Sexism. All of Team Heart is."
Catherine looked like she was about to speak up, the bold look on her face suggesting she was gonna say something that wasn't exactly aligned with what Team Heart likes to hear. But Sophia who got behind Catherine put her arms around Catherine's waist before hoisting her up and bringing her down into a Suplex. After Catherine fell over knocked out, Sophia recovered and said to the Team Heart members, "I am VERY sorry about how rude my younger sister Catherine was being just now. I have no idea at all what came over her."
Shrugging, the uniquely dressed female Team Heart member said, "Yeah, Wolfgang mentioned something about how his Lucario destroyed a ventriloquist dummy that Catherine owned. So that girl you suplexed is Catherine, huh?" Given that the business that Team Heart had at the Virbank City gym was done, the Team Heart members took off, asking one last time that Roxie and her band mates make the necessary changes to the song in question.
They warned what would happen if the necessary changes AREN'T done.
...
"The girl in the unique outfit was Trinity," Sophia said to the away team from The Big Beauty after things had settled down, "She's the Third Captain of the Unova Sector of Team Heart. The boy next to her with the glasses is Mateo, he serves as Trinity's Captain's Assistant. The both of them are friends of Wolfgang's from before they all joined Team Heart. All of the members of the Officer Staff for the Unova Sector of Team Heart are friends of Wolfgang's, all of them knowing one another from before joining Team Heart."
"So all of your brother's friends followed him into Team Heart, huh?" Dawn asked.
Sophia nodded once in the affirmative. "It had caused quite a stir," Sophia remarked, "Especially with the respective boyfriends of Lexi and Eva. Lexi's boyfriend is the older brother of Betzabe, and Eva's boyfriend is the older brother of Astrid. The guys weren't exactly happy to hear that their respective little sisters had joined Team Heart."
"At least Wolfgang was followed by people who cared about him," Kenny said.
Sophia looked like she wanted to speak up, but she stopped short. "...We didn't really show our brother that we care about him," Sophia said.
"Uhh, he had Ella and dad thrown into the Team Heart labor camps here in Unova," Catherine who is now awake said in an unamused tone as she held an ice pack against her head also she had a pad bandage on her forehead.
"Wolfgang technically didn't order either case," Sophia pointed out, "It was rank and file level members who did all of that."
"He could get them out at any time but he's just letting them sit there," Catherine said.
"I'm not entirely sure if he's aware they're both in labor camps here in Unova," Sophia replied.
Using her free hand to pound the surface of the table, Catherine snarled, "He had his Lucario destroy my ventriloquist dummy!"
"Considering all of the times that you had pulled malicious pranks on him while we were growing up, that was pure karma being dealt to you," Sophia said dryly.
"Hol' up," Barry said, "What's Admin Wolfgang, who is a member of Team Heart thus is technically a bad guy, doing with a Lucario of all Pokémon? Lucarios are the quintessential good guy Pokémon, they're always being seen being used only by heroes and other good guys! Hell, it's to the point that a Lucario would or at least should abandon its trainer if said trainer goes villain!"
"I think that Lucarios are more into what they see as justice than the black and white concepts of good guys and bad guys," Sophia said, "Wolfgang wants only for acceptance without one's gender playing a role, he wants no-one to suffer from Sexism like he had. Anyone who is for justice can easily get behind such an idea."
"This may not be entirely relevant," Aubin spoke up as she came over to where Sophia and Catherine were both talking to the away team, "But Admin's Assistant Marshall of the Johto Sector also owns a Lucario." The reborn trainers remember Marshall, who serves Admin Coryn over in Johto. They had no idea until now that Marshall also owns a Lucario.
Scowling, Barry said, "I still find it hard to believe that a quintessential good guy Pokémon like Lucario would willingly shack up with straight up villains. I feel that only those who are straight up heroes and other good guys ought to be allowed to have Pokémon like Lucario."
"Then going by that logic," Paul spoke up, "I by no means am worthy of having a Lucario of my own."
Barry looked confused by Paul saying that he (Paul) himself isn't worthy of having a Lucario. "What do you mean, Paul?" Barry asked, "Why would you think that you don't deserve to have a Lucario? You're a good guy."
"Ask former Veilstone City gym leader Maylene if she thinks I'm worthy of having a Lucario," Paul said, "You'll get your answer." The reborn trainers knew what Paul was getting at, they would explain it to the others later. There wasn't much else left for the away team to look into, so they said their good byes to Roxie, Sophia, and Sophia's siblings before taking off. The reborn trainers still had a good bit of dex work to do for Unova, and they had to be careful about it.
They don't want Team Heart learning of what they're up to.
A few days later, the reborn trainers met up with Kieran at the trainer school in Driftveil City, after they had gotten more Unovan Pokémon registered as caught. "Yeah, I was able to use the favor that Lady Bianca granted me to get an exhibition match with Champion Nate," Kieran said, "I wanted to see how I'd do if I was able to get to battle him. We had a full battle, single style."
"How did the battle go?" Kenny asked.
"I lost," Kieran admitted, "Even though I had Ogrepon. But according to Nate, our battle was the toughest battle that he ever had that he still won. The only time he lost a battle was in the most recent World Coronation Series. But then again, with juggernauts like Champion Serena as well as Champion Dawn here entered in the Masters Eight, even Nate wouldn't stand a chance."
"My memory is a bit hazy," Dawn said, "Could you refresh me on how Serena would be such a threat to face in battle?"
Kieran looked a little bit surprised at Dawn's lack of memory. "You... forgot that Champion Serena owns multiple legendary Pokémon?" Kieran asked.
The reborn trainers had to contain their surprise upon hearing that Serena owns multiple legendary Pokémon. Kieran, after the reborn trainers explained that they were so busy as of late that they can't recall a lot of stuff clearly, was all too glad to explain to all of them that Serena had caught a lot of legendary Pokémon.
Kieran told them a tale that basically replayed their time in Kitakami back in the Team Scorn timeline where they caught the Loyal Three. Only here in the Team Heart timeline, Serena had been the one to catch the Loyal Three, while convincing Ogrepon to go with Kieran while citing how she had already caught so many awesome Pokémon in Kitakami.
During Serena's time with Kieran in Kitakami, he saw her use Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus, Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virision. So Serena here not only has all of the Loyal Three, she also has all of the male Forces of Nature and the Swords of Justice. That would explain why a good number of people think Serena is stronger than Ash, the boy she's in love with.
Also, since Serena owns the Unovan legendary Pokémon that the reborn trainers don't have, they're going to have to see her when they get to Kalos, as they'll need to touch trade with her in order to complete the Unovan Pokédex. They'll just have to complete it as much as possible without the male Forces of Nature and the Swords of Justice. They weren't sure if they could convince Serena to agree to do touch trades with them. Maybe they could if they could get Ash to ask her to do so.
Dawn also had a sudden idea. "Would you know if Serena has any other legendary Pokémon?" Dawn asked, "Again, my memory's a bit fuzzy."
"She caught some Pokémon in Alola that the Alolan people are wanting her to release back into the wild," Kieran said, "She had also gotten variant versions of the legendary bird Pokémon that Kanto Champion Ash owns, this martial arts ursine Pokémon from somewhere in the Isle of Armor area that's part of Galar, and these four dark ruinous Pokémon from Paldea."
Dawn wasn't sure what Pokémon Serena could have caught that the Alolan people are calling for her to release back into the wild, but she was able to figure that Serena had caught the Galarian versions of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. She had also figured that Serena got an Urshifu, and had gotten the Treasures of Ruin which, in the Team Scorn timeline, the reborn trainers caught.
Regardless, the reborn trainers were going to have to do a LOT of touch trading with Serena to get some legendary Pokémon registered as caught to their Pokédexes. "Thanks for letting us know," Dawn said, "This will be a big help to us in our continuing field research efforts on all of the various species of Pokémon in the world."
Kieran gave a smile and a nod. "Glad to be of help to good people like you, Kenny, and the others here. You all are loads better than Carmine."
"Yeah, Imma have to pop her in the face the next time that I see her," Kenny remarked.
"I'll do it for you if I see her before you do," Mina said.
Kenny could only smirk in amusement. "Thanks, babe."
"Break her nose if you can," Kieran requested, "She's been nothing but trouble because she is literally incapable of reigning in her ego and domineering attitude. And I hope like hell that she hadn't really joined up with Aincrad, it could land me and my grandparents in trouble."
The reborn trainers could understand how Carmine being confirmed to be a member of Aincrad could get Kieran and their grandparents in trouble. They had seen a similar deal forced onto Brendan over in the Hoenn region, and only in recent events was the bad deal undone. And only then because Brendan after he was taken from a Team Heart labor camp by a freedom fighter group in Hoenn helped to bring down said freedom fighter group, at least to some extent.
There was more or less nothing that the reborn trainers could do in Driftveil City anymore, so they decided to get going. They had to complete the Unovan Pokédex as much as they could before they had to seek out touch trades; Serena was the main person they had to see, but they also needed to see Ash as he's got Meloetta. Melmetal too, the reborn trainers will also need Melmetal. Hopefully they can also find a Meltan.
The reborn trainers thanked Kieran for his time, then they took off.
(Melemele Island, Alola region)
"AY! Who the hell are you, you asshole?!"
"The name's Chandler, and I expect you to show me proper respect."
Eric, who had escaped from Johto thanks to Silver's help and is now in Alola, was with Silver as well as Faba and Minoru when Chandler of the now defunct freedom fighters group Hoenn's Heroes had somehow shown up in Alola. They were at one of Eric's business interests in Zapapico which had been pushed from Pladea to Alola so Zapapico is now a town located in Alola, please do not forget that bit of info it is relevant.
Looking around the business that Eric owned in Zapapico, Chandler said, "You did pretty well for a guy who had escaped the reach of Team Heart, Eric. You and I are of a kind."
Eric stopped short, knowing full well he was caught by the balls in a vice grip; no-one aside from Silver, Minoru, and Faba knows that Eric is the very same Eric wanted for death over in the Johto region, his execution called for by Admin Coryn. And yet this Chandler man had somehow figured out that Eric here is wanted by the Team Heart authority in Johto, despite how Eric's appearance had changed from what's known in Johto.
Scowling, Eric said, "It sounds like you wanna propose forming an alliance of some kind."
"My bastard son had sacrificed the only hope that the Hoenn region had of being able to throw off the oppressive shackles of the Team Heart regime," Chandler bitterly spat, "Most of Hoenn's Heroes had been captured, including all of the leadership. I alone of said leadership was able to escape to continue to fight the good fight."
"I heard about the downfall of Hoenn's Heroes in the news," Silver said, "And evidence was shown to prove that Hoenn's Heroes had done some rather reprehensible things in their efforts against Team Heart, including the taking of innocent lives."
Waving a dismissive hand, Chandler said in an equally dismissive tone, "The ends will justify the means." Getting serious, Chandler went on, "But seriously. I know that you, Eric, are the same Eric who is wanted for death over in Johto by its local Team Heart authority. I saw your wanted poster online, and did a little digging and learned that you were a somewhat bigger guy before you were thrown into prison for your crimes before you escaped."
Eric scowled, bitterly regretting letting his life of leisure he found in Alola to have him gain back his pleasantly plump physique he had before he went to prison in Johto and came out really skinny and with much longer hair. He had since gotten a haircut to get his original hairstyle back, and as had been stated he gained back all of his lost excess weight.
If he wasn't careful, Eric could be identified and his location gotten to Team Heart. A mistake that had been brought to his attention by Chandler who confronted him with the evidence. "So then," began Eric, knowing that he had to be careful, "What is it that you want?"
"I need the help of you and your fellows here to build back up a fighting force that can be used to liberate Hoenn from the authority of the Team Heart regime," Chandler said, "And I'm not going to be giving you guys a choice. You all WILL be helping me, whether you want to or not."
"I fail to see how you can bully us around like that, good sir," Faba said wryly, "You're one man, and you don't look to have any Pokémon. Meanwhile, Eric, Silver, Minoru, and I are four, and we have a good few Pokémon to use."
"If you all refuse to help me," Chandler said, "Or do anything against me, a setup that I had prepared ahead of time will let Team Heart know that Eric is here. I can very easily imagine that Admin Coryn of the Johto Sector will be thrilled to know that the guy he wants to execute has been located."
Scoffing, Minoru said, "Pfft, yeah right! Like you honestly had thought that far ahead!"
Arching a wry eyebrow, Chandler said, "Do you all really wanna take the risk?"
Eric and his companionship were not entirely sure how to proceed here. How can they be certain that Chandler can be trusted? He's just as wanted by the Team Heart regime as Eric, surly he knows that if he rats out Eric, Chandler himself will be ratted out. "You do realize that if you expose me," Eric began, "You expose yourself as well, don't you?"
"I'm good at taking precautions to ensure I'm covered," Chandler replied coolly, "And even IF I end up exposed, as least I won't be the only one going down. Now then." Stepping forward a step, Chandler said, "Are you guys going to agree to help me or not?"
It was clear to Eric and his companionship that Chandler didn't care what all else happened, so long as he gets what he wants or takes as many others as possible down with him. Eric didn't like how Chandler was threatening the freedom and escape from Team Heart that he (Eric) had worked and struggled so hard for.
But given that Chandler had his balls in a vice grip, Eric had to play along for at least the time being, at the very least until Eric can sus out if Chandler's threat of exposing him actually has any validity to it. Letting out a breath, Eric said, "We'll do things on a trial basis for the time being. How does that sound to you?"
Chandler gave off an annoyed, sneering scowl. "I was expecting you and your fellows here to all fall in line wholeheartedly right off the bat," Chandler spat, "But I suppose that it is to be expected that I have to convince you cowards that you can trust me."
"Given how you're acting," Silver began to point out, "Coming in out of the blue, threatening to rat Eric out, demanding us to help you, your overall general attitude towards us, what makes you think that we would actually want to help you?"
"Because I'm fighting for what's right," Chandler sneered at Silver, "And how dare you show me such disrespect, boy."
"You showed us disrespect first," Faba pointed out, "What, you think you can act towards us as you please and expect us to be nothing but kind and courteous to you in return?"
"Yes," Chandler replied bluntly, "Now first off, if we're to take back Hoenn from the Team Heart regime, we're going to need to gather as many persons who can fight as possible. Is there a good place here in Alola that we can go to in order to find a good number of trainers ready to march off to glorious battle?"
Eric, again knowing he had to play nice with Chandler at least until he can find out if Chandler's threats against him are actually valid, remarked, "There's Team Skull here in Alola. They're a gang of local thugs and delinquents led by a guy named Guzma. They regularly get into fights against the local members of Team Heart, keeping even with them."
"Ah, already there's a group of allies against the Team Heart regime," Chandler said, "Good, let's go and gather them so we can go liberate Hoenn, or gather more allies first."
"And how do you propose we get a large enough fighting force to liberate Hoenn from Team Heart rule from here in Alola over to Hoenn?" Faba asked, "We have no planes or ships, and Pokémon can only carry humans in travel for so long before getting tired and needing rest. The Hoenn region is quite far from the Alola region."
Chandler for the first time acknowledged a point made by the people he's trying to bully. "That's a good point, we're gonna need some boats to sail from Alola to Hoenn," Chandler said, "We'll also need provisions to bring along for the trip. We're gonna first have to figure that business out before we can go and liberate Hoenn from Team Heart rule."
Eric will admit that he liked the sound of removing Team Heart rule from Hoenn; Ken ruled there, meaning he'd be booted if Team Heart rule was booted. But still Chandler was thinking way too fast, he had to slow down. "...Well for the time being," Eric said, "You look like you've clearly just gotten to Alola. You ought to rest, I can have some employees of mine help set you up so you can relax."
"Heh," Chandler sneered, "About damn time you started showing me the proper respect that you owe me." Eric was very put off by Chandler's petulance, but again Eric had to play it smart due to how Chandler was threatening his hard earned escape and freedom from Team Heart. Eric knew that he couldn't afford to take any chances, especially after he had gotten so far.
As for Chandler, he was glad that his bluffing and bullying had worked to secure him the help he needed to get Hoenn liberated from Team Heart rule. He had utterly no means whatsoever to actually do anything against Eric or his companionship, he had to rely in the dirt he had dug up on Eric and using that in his bluffing to make Eric and his companionship fall in line. He'd be utterly screwed if he failed to get Eric's help.
END, CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Author's notes;
This chapter sees Dawn and the others meet the rest of Wolfgang's sisters in Virbank City with Roxie. They also meet more of the Officer Staff of the Unova Sector of Team Heart, and also learn that Wolfgang is against ALL Sexism, not just the 'girls are superior to boys' type of Sexism. Barry also questions why someone who is (arguably) a bad guy owns a Lucario, while Paul states that he isn't worthy of owning a Lucario himself.
Meanwhile in Alola, Chandler who escaped from Hoenn and made it to Alola found Eric who escaped from Johto and proceeds to intimidate and bully Eric and his companionship into helping him with plans to liberate Hoenn from Team Heart rule, having dug up enough dirt on Eric to know what to do to bluff. This will play out later.
Anyway, the next chapter will see the last of the Officer Staff of the Unova Sector of Team Heart get introduced, as well as seeing some of the crew of The Big Beauty get kidnapped by Aincrad. There will also be more development in what a certain girl is up to. Until then, take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Tsukune (Palkia), Leni (female Lucario), Argent (male Arcanine; alpha; Hisuian), Lincoln (male Latios), Entreri (male Sneasler; alpha)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Black (Giratina), Shallot (male Glaceon), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Roshi (male Torterra), Zarbon (male Machamp), Kermit (male Politoed)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Deelia (Dialga), Lisa (female Latias), Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), Veda (female Abomasnow), Myde (male Empoleon), Villetta (Miraidon)
Mina's Pokémon: (on hand) Scar (male Eevee; scared over one eye), Gardevoir (male), Lucario (female), Umbreon (male; shiny), Espeon (male; shiny), Jolteon (male; shiny)