Mellanie strode into the room, sweeping to her chair at the head of the table. Waiting for her, already sat in their places were Sam, Steven and Lance, along with an Officer Jenny.

"What do we know?" Mellanie demanded.

"After your announcement, there was a riot in Sunnyshore City." Officer Jenny started. "It was a riot targeted against the Pokémon League. We have secured the security footage from the square where the riot started. It was sparked by a woman talking to the crowd."

"Who?" Mellanie asked.

Jenny looked down at the table nervously. "We are unsure."

"Find out," Mellanie ordered. A cough from next to her made her turn sharply. "Yes, Sam?"

"We could ask Ash Ketchum if he knows. His scouts are the best I've ever known at finding answers."

"Do you know where he is?"

Sam shook his head.

"Then until he reaches out to the Pokémon League, we assume he cannot help us."

Mellanie turned her attention back to Officer Jenny.

"Do we know how bad it is?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Jenny said. "I've got a direct link to the Sinnoh Police Headquarters based in Sunnyshore City. The riots started around the Pokémon League offices and they have already looted the main office buildings."

"Where is Lucian?" Steven asked sharply.

"We have had no contact with him," Jenny admitted.

"Can the police restore order?" Mellanie asked.

"The police in Sunnyshore alone, probably not," Jenny said, her voice quiet. "But this is the only city where there have been problems after the announcement. Officers can be redeployed from other cities to bring Sunnyshore back under control. It just needs to be approved by the leader of Sinnoh."

"Lucian?"

"Not quite," Steven interjected smoothly. "As Pokémon Master, you have the right to overrule any regional leader. Furthermore, you are the one who takes their place in the case of a short-term incapacitation. With Lucian not responding, you have authority over the region."

Mellanie nodded, before turning back to Jenny. "Are we certain that there are no other cities with unrest?"

"There are no cities with unrest at the moment," Jenny said. "Of course, that doesn't prevent it breaking out again."

"I thought as much," Mellanie said. "I need other options."

"Martial law," Jenny said instantly. "It would give us the authority to use all measures against the protestors."

"All measures?" Mellanie asked, her eyebrow raised.

"There are ways of suppressing riots that we tend not to use." Officer Jenny said slightly nervously. "They can have long-term detrimental effects on humans."

"What ways?" Mellanie asked, her full focus on Officer Jenny.

"There are Pokémon attacks that can incapacitate large groups of people," Jenny said. "All city police departments keep a small supply Pokémon that can use these attacks, in case of emergency."

"You're talking about poison and paralysis attacks," Steven said, disgusted.

"I am," Jenny said, turning to face him. "There are others as well, but the least dangerous are Sleep Powder and Stun Spore. Their use could be argued to violate human rights, and so we would only deploy them in a situation of martial law. Assuming they can get close to the protestors, they can bring the numbers down to something we can handle."

"You can't do this," Steven said, appealing to Mellanie. "It was attacked by the Pokémon League against the people of Sinnoh that set this off. You turn this kind of attack against the citizens, you'll spark a full region revolt."

"It is a possibility." Officer Jenny conceded. "Of course, the other cities in Sinnoh would also be ready to deploy their own reserves of Pokémon."

"Please," Steven said. "Don't do this."

"Do I have any other options?" Mellanie asked the room at large.

There was silence in the room as her subordinates looked at each other without anybody speaking. Mellanie waited, eyebrow raised until somebody spoke.

"You could use the police from the other regions."

Mellanie turned her attention onto Sam, eyebrow raised. "Oh?"

"My Elites knew that something was up," Sam admitted. "And after the riots, they produced options for me. One of them involved sending trainers from Kanto to help the police in Sinnoh. We could send the police, escorted by one of my Elite Four. The same could come from the other regions."

Mellanie nodded slowly before turning to Steven. "Would this work?"

"It would get the police that are needed in Sunnyshore to the city," Steven said carefully, trying to hide how taken aback he was by the suggestion. "But we would run into the same problem that Lucian had, and the problem that the police in Sunnyshore already are having. This is the core problem and we need to have a solution that addresses it. The protests are based around the way that the Pokémon League left them with Cynthia, somebody that they claim was corrupt. The oppression of the Pokémon League they call it, This might make it worse."

"I'm not sure," Lance said, before turning to Officer Jenny. "Can you bring up the footage of the riots starting?"

She nodded, before turning to the screen on the wall. She pressed a few buttons on a controller and an image of Sunnyshore City appeared.

"What did you want to see?"

"Show the riot starting."

The screen played through, watched in silence by the room. As the police line crumbled and the crowd pushed through, Lance made a cutting motion to Jenny and she stopped the recording.

"What did we watch that for?" Mellanie asked.

"That woman," Lance said. "She's a ringleader. This is not a natural rioting crowd. If we can snatch her and anybody else who directly supports her, we might be able to stop this."

"Risky," Steven said instantly. "If we antagonise the crowd any more, they might not need her. Once a fire like this is started, it doesn't always need its leaders anymore."

"But if we don't do anything, we admit they have control of Sunnyshore City." Lance retorted. "We can't let that happen, especially in the absence of a leader in Sinnoh."

"We don't have to send in the police," Sam said quietly. "We have plenty of powerful trainers in our regions. We could send them in with members of our Elite Fours, snatch the ringleaders and pull them out."

"Doable I suppose," Steven said. "And probably less risky than using the police, especially as they are typically stronger trainers. If they get recognised though…"

"So, what's your suggestion?" Lance asked. "What would you suggest doing?"

"We let it burn out," Steven said. "Bring in police from Sinnoh, surround the area and let it burn out. We'll have to spend money to repair the damaged areas, but we can contain it. When they wake up in the morning and see the damage they've done, then they'll calm down. They can't stay at this level of intensity forever."

All heads turned to Mellanie who blinked. The full weight of her authority came crashing down on her as she wilted slightly under the intense stares.

"Pokémon Master?" Steven asked. "It would be likely to be your call, even if Lucian was here. He is not. What would you have us do?"

Mellanie hesitated. "Are there any other options that would work?"

"No," Lance said, his voice low but insistent. "None that we can think of quickly. We need a decision."

"I…" Mellanie said, playing for time.

"We'll support you, Mel," Sam said quietly. "Whatever decision you take, no matter what happens, you have our support. We work together. But we do need you to decide."

Mellanie nodded nervously. "I… I don't know." The admission cost her a great deal inside. "How long would each option take?"

"The deployment of Sinnoh police to Sunnyshore can be started within the hour," Jenny said. "They'll be in place within four hours, ready to move into the city by the end of today."

"But if this spreads, we could lose the entire region," Mellanie whispered. She turned to Sam. "How long till you can get trainers there?"

"We have a plane on standby," Sam said. "I can get the first flight in the air within an hour. They'll be on the streets tomorrow morning."

Mellanie nodded slowly. "Do it. I want them in Sinnoh as soon as possible. But do not attempt to snatch anybody yet. Surround the area. Don't let the rioters out."

"With respect Ma'am, they might not be quick enough to contain efficiently," Jenny said. "And trainers from a single region might not have enough manpower."

"You are probably right," Mellanie said before turning to Lance and Steven. "You both do the same. I want your strongest trainers in Sinnoh by tomorrow morning. Police are to follow as soon as they can."

"Okay," Lance said, looking relieved to finally have an order. "It'll be done."

Mellanie turned back to Sam. "One more thing. Find Ash. If anybody can think of a way out of this, it is him."

The man scurried down the alley before he turned his attention to the door halfway along. A key was taken from his pocket and he jammed it into the lock. A moment later, the lock clicked and the door swung open. He slipped inside, shutting the door behind him.

"Report."

The word was clipped, coming from the shadows. The man felt his legs tremble with fear. Everybody had heard stories of men who disappointed their shadowy leader. Men who were never around themselves to confirm the tales that they heard.

"The city is clear of police reserves, Sir."

The man decided not to go into more detail. He didn't think his boss wanted to hear about how they had fabricated reports of violence to pull police into ambushes. The Pokémon League believed that most of Sunnyshore City was in pure anarchy. The truth was a lot further away. Only the very centre of the city was in uproar, the rest of the city watched and waited. Yet those reports had never made it to the Pokémon League. Instead, they were being fed information that forced the police to be spread too thin. The city had been placed onto full lock-down, but it didn't make a difference. There was nobody left to enforce the martial law across most of the city. All the police were on the streets, trying to contain the troubles they already had.

"You are certain?"

The clipped voice rang out again and the man nodded nervously.

"I saw the last squads be taken march into the streets myself sir."

"Good. Leave."

The man turned and hurried to the door which swung open. Too terrified to even think about how the man fled into the night.

Dawn couldn't tear her eyes away from the images on the screen, shock holding her in place. The screen in her hotel room was showing images from the helicopters over the centre of Sunnyshore City. The main office of the Pokémon League had smashed windows, some of them surprisingly high up the building. The doors lay in the square underneath the building, torn off their hinges by Pokémon. Police officers had deserted the area, many of them being carried away by their colleagues. A perimeter had been set up around the building, with more police officers arriving to reinforce it but as looters streamed away from the Pokémon League it was quickly apparent that the police were outnumbered. The camera suddenly shifted sharply as the helicopter veered away from the smoke that was beginning to spiral out of the building.

Almost subconsciously, Dawn reached for her phone, dialling a number. It was answered almost instantly.

"May?"

"Dawn!" May's voice was frantic down the line. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure. Where are you?"

"I'm near the hotel. You?"

Dawn breathed a sigh of relief. May had been talking about wandering through the city today, but she clearly hadn't gotten very far.

"I'm still at the hotel. We need to meet up."

"I'll meet you in the lobby. What then?"

"I'm not sure," Dawn admitted. "I don't think that standing up in front of camera's will do anything for us."

"I'll call Misty," May said decisively. "Whatever we do, we now need to work with the Pokémon League."

"Okay," Dawn said, absurdly grateful for somebody else to take control. "I'll see you shortly."

She hung up and looked back at the screen. There was now a thick column of smoke pouring out of the building, and there was a flickering glow that could just be made out through the windows. Rioters were now streaming out of the building to find police officers waiting for them, Pokémon released onto the street. There was a roar from the crowd as they charged forwards, towards the line of police standing between them and more targets.

As Dawn watched the line of police seemed to buckle before steadying as the riot grew in fury. She turned the television off and hurried out the door to meet May.

Alicia looked up as Misty strode in.

"Yes?" the fiery trainer Elite asked bluntly.

"I've just had a call from May Maple," Misty said, cutting straight to the point. "She wants to know what she and Dawn should be doing in Sunnyshore."

"How bad is the situation?" Alicia asked, turning to give Misty her full attention.

"The police are just about holding for now," Misty said. "They've contained the riots, but if there are any other trouble areas they won't be able to react."

Alicia nodded as she grabbed her computer screen and wrenched it around to look at it. "Then we will assume that there will be another trouble spot. Tell them to get to the airport. We'll need somewhere to land."

Misty blinked. "Are you sure? That seems extreme."

"On the contrary, it is the absolute minimum."

Both women spun to see Rose stood in the doorway behind Misty.

"And that's because?" Misty asked, an eyebrow raised.

Rose slipped past, leaning against a wall to meet the gazes of her two colleagues.

"People always think I'm boring, the way that I'm always buried in books," Rose started, but Alicia cut her off.

"Yes, you're a bookworm. What's the relevance here?"

Rose shook her head. "So rushed Alicia. My interest is more than just the numbers that make our region so economically strong. My first passion was history. Specifically, military and political history."

Rose watched the expressions on the faces of Misty and Alicia, allowing herself a slight smile before pressing on.

"This isn't the first time that this has happened in history," Rose said. "Records go back so far that almost nothing is the first ever time."

"Rose," Misty growled. "If you don't get to the point, I'm going to have Gyarados smash it out of you."

"Very well. Military strategy dictates that success in a such a volatile situation will require you to maintain flexibility. The airport gives both a link in and a way out. With it, you can be supplied and reinforced from across the four regions. Without it, you will be isolated and exposed. Brief enough for you Misty?"

The red-head nodded. "Thank you."

Alicia seized the bag that she had been stuffing things into and headed for the door. "Then Misty, tell May and Dawn to get to the airport. Any trainers that will work with them, have them there as well."

"You'll leave the police vulnerable," Misty warned.

"I know," Alicia threw other her shoulder as she headed out the door. "But I'm not sure we've got a lot of choices."

As Alicia vanished, Misty turned to Rose. "No choice… I wonder if this is how Ash always felt."

"Ash Ketchum?" Rose asked. "I have no idea. There is depressingly little information written about him."

"How come you're so good at researching things?" Misty asked, ignoring the comment about Ash. "I always thought numbers were your strength."

Rose smiled slightly. "I used to help Mum with her research."

"Your mother?"

"Professor Rose of the Johto region."

Misty felt her jaw drop and didn't make any attempt to stop it. "How do I not know this?" she demanded.

Rose shrugged. "You never asked. And Mum never took Dad's last name, so when he died before I was born, she wanted me to take it instead. I was given her first name and his last name."

Misty nodded weakly. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It doesn't matter," Rose said, heading for the door. "I never told you either so it is hardly just you not knowing."

And with that, she vanished out of the door, leaving a stunned Misty behind her.

Ash appeared outside the laboratory in New Bark Town, striding straight inside. He made no attempt to hide his identity, dressed in his famous black outfit and no hat on his head. Waiting for him with her arms crossed was Professor Rose. Ash met her gaze with a slight smile.

"I remember when Professor Elm was here," Ash said. "You could get in and out without him noticing."

"And you fired him for that." Professor Rose said.

"Amongst other things," Ash conceded. "Primarily it was his lack of care for the Pokémon in his charge. He found a new place to carry on his work where he could afford to get distracted without Pokémon suffering. And you have done a wonderful job in his region since he left."

"We're not here for you to go back over past decisions." Professor Rose said. "What's done is done."

"Indeed," Ash said sagely. "I'm here because you wanted to see me. What can I do for you?"

"I have to admit, I didn't expect such a rapid response time." Professor Rose admitted. "I am impressed. All I did was send a message to the Pokémon League that there was something in New Bark Town that required the attention of Ash Ketchum."

Ash shrugged. "And yet here I am. What can I do for you?" he asked again.

"My daughter." Professor Rose said. "I am concerned for her."

"She is a formidable woman and a fearsome trainer," Ash said instantly. "To become the third Elite in any region is no mean feat, and Sam has assembled a particularly strong set of trainers."

"And yet, she is surprisingly bookish." Professor Rose said. "I am proud of how well she has done in her career, but she is more like me than she would care to admit. And I am concerned with what I am hearing coming from the Pokémon League. I want her to be protected."

Ash tilted his head to one side slightly, eyes burning into Professor Rose's, causing her to fidget subconsciously.

"There is more." Ash decided. "What is it?"

Professor Rose looked away, suddenly guilty. "You owe me a favour," she said defensively. "Are you saying that you won't come through?"

"Not at all," Ash said. "Your daughter will be protected from harm. If necessary, my Pokémon will remove her from harm's way. We meet our commitments. But I am curious. Why are you so concerned?"

"Because the scale of the riots in Sunnyshore City scare me." Professor Rose admitted. "Riots tend to grow over time, and this one has been raging for just a few hours yet has already stretched the resources of the local police to breaking point."

"You are well informed."

"And now Kanto is dispatching trainers to reinforce the police in Sinnoh." Professor Rose said, speaking quickly. "Johto and Hoenn will most likely do the same. The logical people to lead these groups are the Elite Fours of the regions. How long till my daughter is on the front-line? Aside from my research, she is the one good thing that has happened in my life. I will do whatever I can to keep her safe."

Ash inclined his head. "Very well. She will be protected."

"Thank you."

Ash turned away and headed back out of the door, leaving Professor Rose to slump against the table behind her. She had done all she could. All she had left was faith in the strongest trainer she had ever known.

Officer Jenny felt utterly shattered. It had been a brutally long night, trying to hold the rioters in place. The riot had had a fury that she had never seen in her entire career. Usually, when contained, rioters tended to calm down, but these had gotten more agitated. Their aggression had slowly pushed the police back for the first few hours before they finally relented. Before the police had a chance to rest, another riot had broken out across the city. Officers had been diverted to try to contain it, but less than ten minutes later, there were renewed clashes around the centre of Sunnyshore City. She looked at the line of exhausted officers in front of her, arms lined with their Pokémon, standing to face the crowd that was advancing towards them. When the sun had come up over the city, the clashes which had burned through the night had calmed down to give the police the slightest breather. It was now mid-morning and a third trouble spot had erupted inside the city. Every single police officer in the city was on the streets, desperately trying to contain the unrest, but Jenny knew they were close to losing control of the city.

The radio on her shoulder buzzed and she spoke into it.

"Yes?"

"We have reports of unrest starting in the commercial district."

Jenny didn't say anything for a long moment. The commercial district was a part of the city that was as yet untouched. Not for long she suspected, but there were no officers to spare. They were fully committed and now it looked like they would be beaten.

"Can the other areas spare any officers?"

"No," came the answer quickly. "Can you?"

"We're barely holding with what we've got," Jenny admitted as she looked into the sky. She saw a plane passing very low overhead which a part of her knew was wrong but her mind was too tired to understand why. "Can we ask the Pokémon League for reinforcements?"

"They aren't sending police, but they are sending assistance."

"When is it arriving?"

"Soon."

That was it. Jenny blamed the fact that she had been up all night for taking so long to remember, but now she knew why the plane was unusual. Nobody would be flying to Sunnyshore City at the moment, nobody flew to a city in open civil unrest. Except... the planes from Hoenn and Kanto were due to be arriving. She had seen one of them flying overhead, beginning its descent. Which she couldn't be sure, but it meant that reinforcements were on the way. She only hoped that there were enough of them to relieve her beleaguered officers.

"Begin to fall back to the airport," Jenny said. "We'll hold as much of the city as we can with that at the centre. Once they arrive we can start to push back."

"Understood. Out."

Jenny looked up to see the officers in front of her casting nervous glances back. They were heavily outnumbered, and their Pokémon were in sore need of a long rest.

"Slow withdrawal," Jenny ordered, keeping her voice quiet. "We'll begin to fall back to the airport and hold a line nearer there."

Mellanie stood in front of the wall of screens, watching nervously. A map of Sunnyshore City was enlarged on one screen, with lines reflecting the last known locations of the police. Parts of the map were turning red as the police accepted that they had been completely overrun by the unrest. By her side stood Sam, Lance and Steven, all of them with nervous expressions on their faces.

"Any sign of Ash?" Mellanie demanded of Sam who shook his head.

"None. We've contacted everybody we know who might know where he is, and I sent a Pokémon to Mystery Island. None of his Pokémon are there."

"Professor Rose has asked to see him as well," Lance said quietly. "A message was sent to the Pokémon League from her laboratory. She's been told that if he does appear, she should send him to us."

"How would know to visit her?" Steven asked.

Lance shrugged. "I have no idea, but if anybody would, it is him."

There was a murmur of agreement from Sam as Mellanie watched another section of Sunnyshore City turn red. She turned to the regional leaders.

"How long till your trainers are in Sunnyshore?"

Kanto and Hoenn are already reinforcing the police." Sam answered instantly. "Johto is less than an hour out."

"Can they push back and reclaim parts of the city?" Mellanie asked.

Sam and Steven looked at each other nervously as Lance pulled out his phone to answer a call, turning away from the group and walking a short distance. After a moment, Sam spoke. "I'm not sure. We've sent all the trainers we can in the first wave, and I've got another plane in the air. Two more of my Elites are on it to lead them in Sinnoh, but we are running out of strong trainers that we can trust."

"I've done the same in Hoenn, and Lance in Johto," Steven said. "We have sent every trainer that we can, but our own regions are now dangerously exposed."

"Officer Jenny," Mellanie asked, turning to the policewoman in front of her. "What kind of resources would you need to reclaim the whole city?"

"The police are utterly exhausted," Jenny admitted, looking up from the screen that she had been reading information off. "They've been trying to contain the riots for hours now and they are struggling. The reinforcements might be able to hold the line they established, but without further support, they won't be able to push back. There are too many protestors."

"Protestors?" Mellanie asked, her voice acidic. "I think we are beyond that point. There is an entire city in complete unrest. This goes beyond protesting."

"Yes, Ma'am," Jenny said. "But whatever we call them, we are close to conceding that they have control over large parts of Sunnyshore City. There are now too many of them to push back."

"How many?" Steven asked sharply.

"Our best estimate is nearly eight-thousand rioters," Jenny said quietly.

Sam let out a low whistle. "No wonder the police are struggling. This is just happening in Sunnyshore City?"

"For now, yes," Jenny said. "The police in other cities are all on the alert for this, and planes are on standby for them to be deployed to Sunnyshore if the order is given. For now, though, the priority is to ensure it doesn't spread out from the city.

Sam felt the phone in his pocket vibrate and he pulled it out, gesturing for those around him to be quiet.

"Sam Fernandez."

"Sam, it's Alicia. We've just relieved the police in a section of the city."

"How bad is it out there?" Sam asked.

"It's bad," Alicia said. The uncertainty in her voice alarmed Sam, usually, his first Elite was so assured and confident. "There are hundreds of them near us."

"Do what you can," Sam ordered. "We are sending more reinforcements, but they won't reach you for some time. You just need to hold the line until they get there. If the police can rest, once more reinforcements arrive they can begin to regain control."

"Understood. We will do the best we can, but we can't guarantee that we won't be pushed back."

Sam ended the call before turning to Mellanie.

"They aren't sure how long they can hold a line for. They'll give ground if they have to, but we need more reinforcements."

Before Mellanie could say anything else, Lance arrived back, looking horrified.

"We've got a bigger problem. We just lost contact with the plane from Johto."

A/N

Apologies once again - this was meant to come out yesterday but I got a little distracted by the World Cup that is on. I tried to write in front of one of the matches, and it didn't go too great... Still, we got there eventually!

To answer a couple of reviews:

Regfurby - I had indeed considered the use of area attacks to disable crowds, but the problems for the police here are two-fold. Firstly, they have the publicity image. Using Sleeping Powder or Stun Spore on your own citizens isn't going to look great. Secondly, there is the practicality problem. If the wind blows at an inopportune moment, or one of your targets has a Pokémon use Gust, you might accidentally take out half your own police force in a single stroke. This is why, as Officer Jenny suggests, the police use it more as a last resort than anything else! As for containing rioters, you might accidentally trash half your cities utilities by moving rocks. I try to keep it realistic, so to build a wall of rock, it has to come from somewhere. Thus, you'd have to dig up streets to build the hypothetical wall, breaking water networks. You might create a wall, only to find it falls apart with flood damage from the pipes you broke to build it. I've gone into quite a bit of detail here, but only because it is a very good question!

PureBlank - I often think this when writing. I only seem to write of all the problems in Ash's life. With this in mind, I think of an old quote. No idea where it is from originally, although I pulled it out of a Robert Harris novel, Imperium. "Few subjects make more tedious reading than happiness"

Otherwise, until next time. This may or may not be next weekend, but I will do my best!

Iama2p