Chapter 83- Rescuing Agate

A/N: This is an original Pokémon Fan Game made by Amethyst. To check it out and play the game, download it at Reborn Evolved. Search for it on your web browser to get to the website.

Location: Calcenon City

After some time, the group finally returned to the city of Calcenon. While it would have been interesting to go straight into a fight against Meteor in Agate, most were exhausted, and attacking without backup would have been idiotic. So, return with the idea of a small break and prepare to attack.

Radomus, Serra, Anna, Noel, Shelly, and Hardy had entered the city first. Nero, Lucille, Percival, Lumi, and Eve followed behind. Eve had given some brief explanations of the remaining PULSEs to Percival and Lucille while also saying it might be impossible to get into Labradorra due to the Barrier controls.

"Neither Lumi nor I was added to the whitelist to enter and exit Labradorra freely. It may still be possible for Nero to enter." Eve had suggested to the grimace of Nero.

"And I go and fight that fucking monster all by myself?" Nero asked, barely containing his anger.

"They're not telling you to go and defeat Lin, Nero," Percival said, confused as to why Nero was upset. It was a PULSE. Yes, they were Pokémon forced to evolve into monsters with unknown destructive potential, but they've fought them off before.

"Yeah, but that thing's outer barriers are like walls. But the ones it uses for defense… I ain't doing shit to it, even with Grim." Nero admitted he knew he wouldn't be able to beat that PULSE.

"I'm not saying to beat it, but just to shut off its main power supply." Eve refuted.

"And it's just going to let me walk up to it and do that? You know it tried to kill you after setting it up." Nero countered, having seen the dreadful power of that thing. "And we were barely able to get out of there. And you want me to face that thing… alone! With one less arm, too!"

"Its proximity defenses have one flaw," Eve tried to persuade him. "Its proximity defenses will break when you use Fairy-type moves."

"And immune to all other types of hits… Not to mention, I don't own a Pokémon that uses a Fairy-type move!" Nero shouted at the young girl.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" someone else shouted quickly, striking the remaining segment of Nero's right arm.

"MMmm!" Nero bit his lips as he nearly fell to the ground. He was barely able to keep a scream hidden as pain seared through his still relatively fresh wound.

"You think you can just come into my city?" Charlotte yelled at Nero.

"Charlotte." Percival tried to stop her.

"And start yelling at some kids? Hell no!" Charlotte prepared to hit Nero again.

"Charlotte! He's on our side!" Lucille stopped her before she hit Nero again.

"What?" Charlotte looked down, realizing who she just hit. "Wait, you're alive?"

"…" Nero glared through clenched teeth, stained slightly red from how hard he bit down.

"Yes, and missing an arm from less than a week ago," Percival stated.

"Oh, well, here." Charlotte didn't intend to apologize to Nero but reached out to help him.

"…" Still clenching his teeth, he grabbed Charlotte's hand and picked himself up.

"Wow, character growth, huh? Wasn't expecting you to take my hand." Charlotte looked at him with surprise.

"…" Nero's eyes glazed from a glare to a look of indifference at Charlotte. Looking at Eve and Lumi. "We'll discuss our options of entering Labradorra later. First, we have Agate to free." Nero said quickly, walking away from this potential slugfest against Charlotte.

"He's as friendly as ever." Charlotte mocked as Nero walked away.

"Honestly… He's much friendlier than ever." Lumi retorted while it was hard to notice… Nero had become at least one degree friendlier.

"Sure, whatever you say," Charlotte said sarcastically.

"Sooo… Is Saphira still unconscious?" Lucille felt she had to ask, seeing how Charlotte immediately attacked Nero.

"Saphira, no. She got up and then disappeared to look for Laura again, no doubt." Charlotte sighed. "I'll probably be stuck here again. If she gets back and I'm gone, I'm pretty sure she'll just get up and die of shock on the spot. Thanks, Mom."

"Well, while having forcibly stuck here… I'm sorry for you being forced to take responsibility for your siblings' actions." Percival apologized. "But we're going need some people to stay behind as we plan to recover Agate."

"…Seriously? I'm going to miss all the fun. Again?" Charlotte said, somewhat exasperated.

"Yes. Though I'm sure my siblings are keen to keep boredom at bay," Percival said back with a smile.

"Elitist, your sister keeps flirting with me," Charlotte said, annoyed. "Nearly had to keep Saphira from giving the chic a black eye."

"…" Percival had then sighed. "I hope Saphira's threats made Ariana rethink her choices."

"Probably not; she's about as bad as Cain," Lucille commented.

"Oh, so that's where the sense of nostalgia came from." Charlotte nodded her head as she heard that. "Well… either way, I've got time to burn. I guess I'll go take a nap."

After a small conversation with Charlotte, Percival and Lucille entered the house that everyone used as a base of operations in Calcenon City; Nero, Hardy, Shelly, Florinia, and Titania occupied the room. Hardy was still heavily sleeping on the couch… Despite Nero's violent efforts, Hardy refused to wake.

Lucille was grateful that Shelly explained the situation and that neither Florinia nor Titania had attacked Nero on sight, though neither Gym leader looked akin to Nero's sudden team shift. It was evident as Titania kept eyeing Nero suspiciously.

"Ahem, Percival, Lucille, excellent timing." Florinia, seeing the two enter the building, cleared her throat and alerted everyone to the situation. "Communication has been received from Ciel of Agate Circus. The civilians in Agate City have begun to wake up. In-"

"They're doing what I think anyone has expected—a ruthless dictatorship. The Circus duo is doing what they can, but there's no way they can retake the whole city." Nero cut off and informed Percival and Lucille of the situation.

"So it is as you already predicted." Percival sighed. It was literally from one fight to the next… likely going to be that way for the foreseeable short future… "So what are we standing here for?"

"Estimated likelihood of the scenario being a deliberate ploy to reduce resistance: 83%," Florinia stated, glancing at Nero. "Correction: 90%."

While Nero rolled his eyes, although understanding he wasn't trusted, he was annoyed. "..."

"And?" Though the rhetorical question came from none other than Titania.

"A course of action must be swiftly decided," Florinia affirmed, though everyone had already decided.

"No, that last part. It's a trap, so what?" Titania stepped forward, pointing her finger at Florinia. "If you're going to say we shouldn't go, then just say we shouldn't go."

"No judgments or suppositions have been made on a suggested course of action." Florinia denied, refuting the slight shake in her voice. "However, significant losses have already been undertaken from the previous endeavor."

"..." Shelly looked away in shame and blamed herself for all the trouble in the Glass Works Factory.

"Discretion is therefore advisable." Florinia reiterated.

"This isn't "Discretion,"" Titania snapped. "What did I just say earlier? You're just trying to hide your own emotional standpoint behind a veil of false objectivity, like always. If you're scared, then admit you're scared. Don't try to push that fear onto us."

"Um… So we're going to help them, right?" Shelly timidly asked, confirming the plan for agate.

""Obviously."" Nero and Titania answered simultaneously. Titania frowned as Nero answered; Nero didn't particularly care.

"Regardless of what you think, I have responsibility for what happened. If you think I'm just going to betray you…" Nero didn't hesitate as he took a step right up to Titania; a sardonic smirk rose on his face. "Don't worry; I'm used to avoiding attacks from "allies."

"*Sigh*" Titania shook her head; it would be useless to protest. Though Titania was quite annoyed by Nero's apathetic gaze, it almost reminded Titania of herself. Turning to the orange-headed sleeping beauty. With a hefty resounding slap across Hardy's face. "Oi, Your city's awake. Time for you to be too."

"Nn… not yet… I still-" Tiytania didn't give her younger brother a chance to continue that useless thought; she smacked her brother's cheeks. Hardy's eyes widened, "Hey, hey- Sis, come on- that's enough!"

Titania relinquished her assault, "Did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah, yeah, you said my-" Hardy finally internalized what Titania had said. "Wait, what?"

"And it's under attack by Team Meteor," Nero called out from the corner; Hardy, perplexed, gave him a weird look. A perfectly normal look to someone who was once A) an enemy. B) thought to be dead.

Before deciding what was more critical, he barely looked at the door and then bolted, not allowing anyone to discuss a plan with him.

"..." Percival, Lucille, Nero, Shelly, and Florinia looked on without a word as Hardy ran out.

"Welp, guess that's the plan of attack." Nero groaned out, walking to the door.

"We… We made a plan?" Shelly timidly asked the black-haired boy, afraid he might snap at her.

"Yeah, rush 'em." Nero sarcastically smiled. Whether this ended well or not was anyone's guess. Nonetheless, they were short on time.

The battle for Agate was as chaotic as expected. Meteor Grunts did what they could to subdue Citizens, Trainers, Gym Trainers, and Gym Leaders alike, all failing at the sudden waking of the slumbering citizens.

To say that Agate City woke up in a frenzy was an understatement. When word spread that Agate City was no longer putting people to sleep, all the refugees relocated or blocked in Agate Circus were pushed into Agate City. Agate Circus' Ringmaster couldn't hold the crowds back, so the Crowds mixed into the battle.

Some were fighting to see their loved ones again, some were fighting to get revenge for Meteor's annoyance, and others were forcing their way to do the righteous thing. All was chaos; while Meteor still had the terrain advantage, they quickly lost ground. However, they managed to halt that loss once they took the Gym Leaders Ciel and Samson hostage.

However, with the sudden arrival of four Gym Leaders, Meteor's Number 1 pests Lucille and Percival, and the traitor Nero, The ground Meteor had held began to crumble once more. Pushing through, Lucille, Shelly, Florinia, and Titania held back to rescue the unprepared civilians. While Hardy, Percival, and Nero reached Agate's center.

The center was filled with Meteor members, lower leveled ones, but Nero would attest most of them weren't weak. However, the top three of Meteor's Squadron were also stationed there. A man with an eye patch looked on in disdain at the arrival of Hardy, Nero, and Percival. From the glare from that one eye, Nero could tell Sirius wasn't pleased with Nero's survival.

Another man stood tall and imposing with a long ponytail and a brown trench coat. He spared no glance towards Hardy. Solaris at least gave Percval the bare minimum of respect as a strong trainer… But looking at Nero, Solaris looked somehow content yet saddened. Nero didn't feel great about this type of reunion, but this was how it would be.

"You may play with these," said a voice filled with uninterest. Her green hair was still, and her plans seemed unbothered by the noise around her. Her calmness at seeing a deadman walking made Nero believe Lin let him get away.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?!" Hardy yelled as he saw Lin walking away from the conflict.

Turning her head, her disinterest was apparent. "Flies need no answers, no matter how much they buzz. The only reply is a swat and the silence that follows." Before leaving, her eyes turned to the man with the ponytail. "Solaris, see to their silence." Without letting him respond, Lin walked away. She was leaving them to deal with the nuisance.

"Do not assume your skill permits you to order me around. I am Team Meteor's rightful leader; I call the shots." Solaris muttered angrily, looking at the trio of kids before him. "Orderlies. Take care of the Gym Leader and the… Traitor"

"..." both Percival and Nero could feel the betrayal in Solaris' voice. It was a bitter feeling for Nero.

"I will face Percival alone," Solaris said. Sure, Solaris was angry at Nero's betrayal, though he couldn't bring himself to fight him. Percival, though, was a different thorn—one that Solaris at least respected due to his strength.

"So be it," Percival said, calming his nerves. "I'm grateful that Lucille had my back last time. But I've been wanting a proper rematch against you."

"Understand this, Percival: As an individual, you have my utmost respect," Solaris admitted; for all the disturbances Percival caused him, Solaris at least respected his strength. "Much like Nero and his sister, You also have unique god-given beacons of resolve and initiative, as well as the skill to enact them."

"You sound almost jealous of that," Percival forced a smirk, tossing a Pokeball between his hands. Percival knew full well the hardships he faced to get this far. Some difficulties that it was hard to say Solaris understood it.

"Those are traits which I have had a drought of years to develop," Solaris stated, throwing out his first pokémon into the field. A big bird with greyish-black wings and a feather flicking back into its head. Its sharp talons made it clear it was a predatory bird.

"Miii!" Percival silently sent out a long tan serpent with a long pink antenna. It had been long overdue for a rematch, a one-on-one at that. This wasn't something that could be avoided.

"You may have had a drought of years… Well, I've had a flood of battles in too short of time." Percival's sharpness was etched in his words. Yes, Percival had come a long way, growing at a rate he'd never expected… It was just two months since Percival arrived in Reborn, two months for him to have claimed sixteen gym badges. Two months of back-to-back battles against Team Meteor. "All thanks to you and your Team Meteor no less."

"Hmph. Startraptor deal with the serpent."

"Star!" The bird flapped hard, raising its altitude before pulling its wings close aime straight at Pheobe. As it got closer, the Staraptor became engulfed in blue and orange as it rammed into Pheobe, though the energy too powerful also hurt the Staraptor.

"Mii!" Seeing its chance as the Staraptor tried to back away, Phoebe released a blast of a cold blue beam. The beam closed over the raptor's wings, dropping the bird to the ground and knocking it out.

Solaris silently watched as he returned his Startapor to its Pokeball. A red-plated insect with two large claws appeared from the field. Percival immediately remembered Pheobe, switching out for a red and orange fox wielding a wooden wand.

"Zor!" the scizor, already moving to attack, saw no challenge and forcible tried to subdue the Delphox, Oracle. Its claws glowing with a blue energy as it punched into the Delphox.

"Del…" Oracle groaned in pain from the attack, raising its stick as a small flame appeared at the edge.

Seeing the flame ignite, Scizor reared up one of its claws for a quick-paced punch to snap the ignited stick. Oracle predicted the bullet punch, and though the punch missed Oracle's wand, it still connected with her shoulder. But with the close pro, Oracle quickly exalted into the flame, letting out a powerful torrent of flames to consume the red bug.

"Tyrantitrar." Solaris sighed, switching to a green titan. Once it landed on the field, the titan caused a sandstorm. Percival and Oracle had to cover their eyes as the sand stormed around in the small area.

"Oracle, clear the sand!" Percival commanded. Oracle nodded, twirled her stick, and sent primordial flame energy to empower nature. She removed the sandstorm from the field and increased the power of the sun's natural heat.

Though on the downside, Oracle was now left open to the Tyranitar attack. The Green behemoth stomped to Oracle and crunched down, nocking the fox out of the battle. Would the effects of removing the sandstorm change the outcome of the battle? Simply put, no, because one way or another, Percival would twin

"Vee, you're on. I believe the fresh, clear sky has you all warmed up. Why not shape your prowess even more." Percival smirked as his small little Leafeon hit the ground of the city.

"Leaf!" Vee's leaves flowed a gentle green, empowered by the blazing sun. Vee deftly dashed around as blue swords seemed to form around her. The Sun empowered Vee so much that the Tyrantiar missed a flaming punch to the Leafeon.

Seeing the Tyrantar's fist stuck in the ground, Vee took the chance, jumping up her main leaf, glowing a deep green. She slashed down into the Tyranitar, one shot at the creature. "Leafeon!"

"..." Solaris only glared as the Leafeon showed ferocity. Returning his Tyranitar. He took out his next pokémon, a large blue serpentine creature, its red eyes filled with rage as it looked at the small creature before. "Gyraaaaaa!" The Gyados screamed as it thrashed about, swinging its body wildly. Vee had nimbly moved around, barely dodging the thrashing momentum of the Gyarodos' large body. However, as Vee landed a strike, the Gyarados knocked her back with its tail.

"Vee!" Percival shouted, only for Vee to stand back up. If the Gyarados thought that was a powerful strike, they underestimated Vee's true strength. Running at full speed right back at the Gyarados, slashing it down and out of this battle.

"Excadrill." Solaris sent out a large mole with large metal claws. It looked very bulky and would have moved much faster if the weather had been to its liking. However, it still glared at his opponent, rushing him and swiping with its claws.

"Eon." Though Vee wasn't phased as it deftly dodged, two slashes also knocked this one out.

"What, you look upset, Solaris. I've said this earlier, but I'll say it again. I've gotten this far, fighting a team that has been tearing the Reborn Region down. A Region loved by many."

"You… much like the world may resent our method, like the crying child resents their parents for their discipline. I wish to protect this region." Solaris said, releasing a large dark blue dragon with a yellow star on its nose and red scales covering its belly. Solaris' words were annoying to Percival's ears. All the pain and hurt caused. All the lives lost… under the guise of Protecting this region. "Garchomp, show this child discipline!"

As the Garchomp ran forward, energy enveloped the creature, causing it to transform, the fins turning into a sharp scythe, sharp teeth-like protrusions around its body. The Garchomp flashed and became even faster as its mega-evolved Vee lost sight of it before the Garchomp suddenly blinked behind her with its scythe-like claws, launching Vee into the side of a nearby house.

"..." Percival silently returned Vee to her Pokeball. That damned Garchomp was always a pain due to it's speed and overwhelming power. But Percival wasn't worried… No, Percival was determined to win. "If you think what you're doing is protecting… Then you're blind, Solaris. I'll show you what this region means to me, my friends, and my allies. Artemis!"

Out of a red Pokeball came a blue Gardevoir with a flowing dress that was reminiscent of a starry night sky. Artemis barely spent a few months here in the Reborn Region, whether that was just a small number of years ago before Percival's mother left the Reborn Region or now coming back with Percival. In either case, Artemis had seen Reborn years ago, and now… If she had to pick, the things team Meteor was doing were just erasing the lovely region she had all but a glimpse of.

"All your efforts are nothing but a tantrum." Solaris disregarded Percival's opinions. "Children cry because they do not understand."

"If that's so, then who was the one to teach us to understand? The past of this region is all but forgotten due to the actions of Team Meteor…And yet here you are punishing Reborn for forgetting that same past!" Percival's thumb scratched the surface of the keystone, causing light to envelop his Gardevoir. This caused her dress to expand, her powers becoming apparent, and constellations formed around her. "You want a tantrum, then we'll give you one. Artemis Hyper Voice!"

"GarrdeeVOOOOIIIIIR~" Artemis sang a loud yet beautifully melodic tone—anger, frustration, hope. Memories of the past flew through Artemis' and Percival's minds: all the trials, the heartache, the triumph… All of that going into the power of this attack,

"G-gar…" All of it was slamming into the Garchomp. The strongest pokémon of Solaris was taken out in a single attack.

"..." Solaris fell silent. Percival had truly grown strong, stronger than Solaris.

"You're losing your edge, commander." Sneered the nearby Sirius. "Perhaps a soft bite runs in the family."

Solaris took his eyes off Percival and glared at Sirius, angered by that statement. "You would do well to mind your tongue, Sirius."

"You might have done well to mind your son. But it's a bit late for that now, isn't it?"

"And just what does that mean?" Solaris took another step up to Sirius, anger on Solaris' face.

"..." Percival fell pale, realizing Solaris didn't know. Though at the same time… Would Solaris have still stood there if he knew Lin gave his son on a suicide mission? No, Solaris didn't know about Taka's demise. The sight of the blade through Taka's chest still etched into his mind.

"Why don't you ask-"

Shining!

Sirius got interrupted as a double-edged blade flone by his face. A doublade, Tyr, quickly flew back to Nero's side. "Shut the fuck up, you one-eyed bastard!"

"Of course, even Nero must have witnessed Taka's final moments as well." Sirius smiled. Sirius never liked Nero or Solaris; seeing them angered or frustrated gladdened him deeply.

"His…What?" Solaris was speechless… What did this man just say?

"Did your win condition neglect to mention that?"

Solaris took another step, grabbing Sirius by his color. "Explain yourself. Now."

"Shall I?" Sirius said, two Meteor grunts walking forward as well. "But I'm not sure you're in a position to be giving orders here, commander."

"!" Both Nero and Pericval had realized what was now about to happen. A hostile takeover…

"Do not forget your place," Solaris said, still believing he was in charge.

"As I see it, I understand my place a great deal better than you do yours. Consider the following. You've expended your Pokémon's strength. Your ace in the hole has her own intentions. And look around-" Sirius smiled. Solaris looked, realizing none of the people around him were his usual loyal followers. "Are these faces, you know? Is this your team? Or is this the team that I acquired through Dr. Connal? Their contracts are with me- not your shambling organization."

"..." Solaris took a step back.

Nero tried violently knocking down the ex-orderlies. While they certainly weren't on his level… they more than compensated due to their numbers. Sensing the change in the scenario, he started to fight Percival on his own.

"The truth you can't admit is you are alone in your goals." Sirius openly mocked Solaris. ""Protect the old world?" Who's going to care about that? Even the core grunts, like Nero once was, are recruited under the promise of a new life. Surely, you must have known this would happen. Even at the beginning, you could only chase those keys because I told you what they had become. You should have listened to that woman. In the end, it comes down to power. And you've blindly depended on ours for far too long. So I ask you, "Commander", Who, really, is out of place here?"

"..." Solaris was silent as more Grunts came over to restrain him. None noticed the shadow behind the two grunts restraining the Gym Leaders.

"Hela!" Nero shouted, and suddenly, a black and red Zoroark appeared between Samson and Ciel. Firing two pulses of dark energy at the two grunts restraining them before firing a huge wave of dark energy at the grunts to the left of Solaris.

"!" Solaris blinked in surprise, glancing at Nero… The one who gave him a chance to escape. Nero silently nodded for Solaris to run. Regret showed on Solaris' face, and he turned and ran through the city streets.

"A move that should be expected by you nero…" Sirius grimaced, annoyed by the cowardly antics of Nero and his Zoroark. Looking down the path Solaris ran down, Sirius chased, giving orders to the Grunts. "You deal with this issue. I'll see if this loose end cannot be tied up."

Percival, Nero, and Hardy dealt with the Continuous stream of Metoer grunts. Hela slashed the binds of Samson and Ciel.

"Thanks… uh, kid?" "Didn't expect you to turn ally, but many thanks~"

While they now had a total of three gym leaders and two powerful trainers, they were still getting swarmed

Author's Note: Hey there… Many may have wondered why, mid-chapter, I said, "It had been just two months since Percival arrived in Reborn." Now, some may wonder if that is too little time for the events of this story… I'd argue otherwise.

In my headcanon, given the structure and severity of many situations, the original Reborn MC gets themselves into… well, a game will give you as much time as you need to solve a problem or win a Pokémon battle. But, a sense of urgency is placed on the characters in a narrative story structure, especially ones with a touch of realism. Percival and Lucille's journey was filled with a sense of urgency: from defeating Pulses destroying Obsidia, Jasper, and Beryl Wards, rescuing children from orphanages and Team Meteor, delivering medicine to save someone's life, to saving a city that's been forced asleep, to Devonyx… a lot of problems occur very quickly in this game, giving the MCs little to no rest between them. While I never saw any comments on Chapter 25 – Limits… I'm sure many people wondered why I had Percival pass out from exhaustion. But that's the thing: Chapters 18 to 22 took place on the same night, and Percival didn't get any type of rest until he collapsed in Chapter 25, which included essentially two rival battles, a battle against a former gym leader, a gym battle that Percival won, and a battle against ZEL and a PULSE. This does not include all the running around Percival did between those battles. So, for this chapter to occur about 62 days after Percival and Lucille arrived in the Reborn Region… makes sense to me.