Chapter 24- Wait, what?

I have been fooled! Bamboozled! Completely taken advantage of. Everything is a lie, and I will never believe what anybody tells me ever again!

“Stop exaggerating…”

Utterly and entirely fooled.

“You...”

“Fooled I say!’

*Slap*

“Enough with the drama let’s go back.”

I scratched the back of my head where I was just slapped after my internal monologue became a bit too external. But I mean who could blame me?

All of this began on the next and last rest day that I got on this expedition. After we found the fossil deposit, the effort focused there instead of the continued exploration. Since a second more experienced team would come back later to do a sweep there was nothing wrong with looking for precious rocks. Well, the other trainers were not so lucky since now the fossils found would go straight to Genesis even if they could get a sort of commission on it, increasing their pay at the end of the expedition should they find a fossil.

After days spent going to and from the spot, we were finally free to explore a bit more of the surroundings, and mainly for a Pokemon for Sera and Arnold. Frank also decided to tag along to train his Darumaka while I was there because I was bored, and I wanted to remain as far from Michael as possible after Skoll’s reaction.

On that topic, Frank also noticed the reaction from Skoll and seemed to be more on guard against the man as well. As for Sera and Arnold… I didn’t tell them. Sera because she was clearly somewhat close to the man and Arnold because that didn’t change much whether he knew or not.

Anyway, so we went to look for the Pokemon together. Then Arnold led us to where he saw a Rufflet build its nest. This particular Pokemon is why I was so incensed. So, Rufflet has the reputation of picking a fight with practically everything, regardless of size, strength, type, and pretty much every factor imaginable. It was the reason why I wanted to see how Sera would catch one because of their tendencies.

Of course, Arnold was the one ahead with his Snivy since he was leading the way, and sure enough, the young eagle-looking Pokemon made his discontent known pretty fast, until Arnold stepped back.

Now, everything until then checks out right? Rufflet being territorial? Check! Arnold backing off because of the grass type and he is not interested? Check! Me ready to have a bit of fun teasing Sera for a while? Check! Rufflet calmly landing on Sera’s shoulder?

Yeah, that was the issue. Of course, she called out her Luxio for maximum advantages and was ready to give it a try. And our resident thunder kitten was already sparking, ready to throw down and show that she was strong. Sera herself was only ready to battle if the Rufflet wanted to join her team rather than straight up attacking… only for the Pokemon to give us one of the biggest middle fingers I had ever witnessed. It simply ignored Luxio, and slowly made its way toward Sera, in an obviously nonthreatening manner.

It simply got close and flew at the level of her eyes for a few seconds, with Sera just standing there. After the flying type was done, it simply flew over to her shoulder and landed slowly, even taking careful precaution with his talons, before chirping happily and nuzzling against her cheek.

“Aren’t you and cute fellow.” She laughed.

More chirping ensued followed by Sera asking the Pokemon to join her team. She barely finished the sentence when loud chirping and wings flapping ensued. She fished out a Super Ball and enlarged it to its travel size before catching Rufflet without any further fanfare…

“You’re joking, right?” were the first words that left my mouth.

The others were just as dumbfounded as I was judging by the hanging mouths.

“Is it supposed to be that easy?” Arnold asked, failing to control his twitching eye.

“Ah…Well… *Ahem* this is just a lesson for you, young trainer. Every Pokemon is different…and luck is important…or gender.”

“What do you mean by that?” Armold asked confused at what gender had to do here.

“This. This is what I mean.” He answered pointing to where the bird exited for his ball before landing on the shoulder of his new trainer once more.

“… Is… is the Pokemon smirking at us right now or do I need to get glasses?” Arnold asked.

And he was right. The Pokemon was standing on Sera's shoulder as she walked back toward us and looked at us. It was looking down at us to be more precise, and the corner of his beak was twisted upward at its corner in physically smug satisfaction. I was pretty sure beaks were not supposed to emote that much but yeah… So, he simply wanted a female trainer?

Asshole bird!

Luxio was clearly of our opinion as she eyed the bird suspiciously. Her tail was hanging because she was probably looking forward to the fight… When Sera noticed she was quick to console her Pokemon and joined back with us. That’s also when I voiced my discontent at having my entertainment ruined which earned me a slap in the back of the head.

“You know, violence is a crime,” I said before ducking and avoiding another hit. Thankfully after the first hit, Nike was in my arms, or she would have been sent flying.

Our adventure continued for a while, looking for a Pokemon for Arnold. In the end, he came back empty-handed, but his luck turned the next day in the cave system. He stumbled upon a Drilbur who he managed to convince to fight before deciding. So, the Drilbur led us to an empty cavern where they battled, and of course, Arnold won, resulting in him catching his third Pokemon, the second being a relaxed Pidove.

This concluded our group escapade and trying to catch new Pokemon, with everyone reaching their goal and Sera exceeding them with two new Pokemon. Sure, one was waiting to be revived but it was a formality, really. The topic of reviving extinct species is somewhat of an ethical concern for some, but maybe because I considered them a staple, I didn’t mind. Although thinking more about it, I can see why it would be.

Moving on! The exploration of the cavern in itself had practically stopped after the fossil discovery, the entire focus has seemingly shifted. But we also got the scan of two underground rooms and discovered the existence of others, so I guess that was enough. That thankfully meant that I wasn’t forced to Interact with Michael more than necessary.

I did discuss it with Frank after and he agreed that discounting the reaction of a Pokemon capable of sensing Auras might be stupid but advised me to be cautious to not rely too heavily on it.

“Even good people commit bad acts, after all” was the exact words.

With that, the remaining days went by, being more of relaxation and making acquaintances than research. Faster than I realized, the two weeks were up, and we were making our way back to Castelia. An additional team did come before we left to secure the existing camp while the bigger expedition was assembled. With our two original groups splitting toward our destination. That wasn’t really true since some trainers opted to change groups because they were going to the other city, but the difference in number was not enough to create problems.

The way back was similarly way more relaxed than when we arrived. People had gotten close to each other and got to know the different people in the group. There was still the underlying tension of traveling through Off-Route territory, but there were still whispered conversations occurring as opposed to complete silence before.

We once more stopped at the Oasis with the Ludicolo and were just in time to see him use Rain Dance, which partly explained how the grass remained grass of its oasis. It did have the minor annoyance of making our clothes wet, but I don’t think anyone would complain about that. That did raise a concern that had slipped my mind, however.

I need to get an umbrella…

Actually, I needed to sit down and list every possible inconvenient natural phenomenon I could think of and prepare some equipment for it. Sure, the goggles didn’t come useful this time, but I am sure they will! …Eventually! Right?

Because of all the conversations that happened while traveling, we took longer than when we were going to the encampment site. I was expecting Natalie, with the serious demeanor she showed, to be a bit ticked off by it, but she was busy talking and giggling with Frank, so I guess not. The guy didn’t even notice the daggers that some of the guys threw at him or simply didn’t care.

I was too busy humming and generally being happy to care about that. The reason for that was quite simple. So close to Castelia, we were in range to receive non-emergency communications, which included bank notifications! I was already 15 thousand richer than before thanks to a generous donation from the poacher that went after Tiamat!

I did feel bad accepting that much since it was Frank who did most of the work but the man himself shrugged and started bragging about not needing it.

So, to summarize I left with almost nothing in my account apart from food for my Pokemon and I and came back with more than I ever managed to save up. Nice! And that was even before I got paid for the request and fossilized teeth for Genesis. In conclusion, I have money to spend! Kind of, since I still have to be responsible.

Once we got it range, I texted the old farts that I would call them tonight, and Mathew to check if he was done. I received a thumbs up from the former and a location from the latter. It was in a residential part of town, so I am guessing he knows some people here.

Walking through the connector and back into the busy streets of the even more busy Castelia, we made our way toward the headquarters of the Genesis Society. There was a brief debriefing about the results of the expedition before everything concluded. It was quick after that since we were let go and paid. We got paid extra because of the discoveries we made but it wasn’t that much more. Well, between that and the fossil I ended up with 8 thousand more, so I am not complaining.

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“So, what are you guys doing now?” Sera asked Frank and Arnold.

They exchanged a glance before Frank answered. “My next destination is Virbank. I might just challenge the personal team of the gym leader there. It's rare to have a poison type gym.”

“I already made a reservation for the gym battle before leaving. I’ll head straight to rest for tomorrow’s match” Arnold said with steel in his eyes. “After that, I’ll head for Virbank as well.”

Frank seemed to think for a while before proposing. “if it’s just one day I don’t mind delaying so we can go together. Of course, that applies to you two as well.”

I shook my head and pulled my case. “We just came from Virbank so we are headed in opposite directions.”

“Bummer! So, what are your plans?”

Sera hesitated for a few seconds before speaking up. “I don’t know. We were supposed to take on the gym but… I’m thinking of going to Nacrene and try to convince them to let me see the revival process.” She said with scrunched eyebrows before turning to me. “I’m guessing that’s where we split since you’ll probably head for the gym?”

“Not necessarily.” I shook my head before looking at Arnold. “I have some weakness to address so I was thinking of taking some time to get some real training in. Probably a few weeks.”

Sera seemed relieved while Arnold simply accepted the challenge with a grin.

“Seems like everyone has their own plan then. Although we should probably exchange contacts.” Frank said and his phone floated out of his pocket.

Arnold whistled and pulled out his phone. We all exchanged our numbers and were about to split up when I made a proposal.

“How about we go to a restaurant tomorrow after the win?” I said and everyone agreed.

Arnold did try to protest by saying that it was not guaranteed but we ignored him and made plans for afterward. We split up formally after that and Sera and I followed the location sent to us by Mathew. We ended up moving away from the signature high rises of the city and moved further out where there were at least some houses.

It was toward one such house that we moved and rang the bell. It took barely a few seconds before Mienshao opened the door and was more than happy to let us in once he recognized us. The house was a simple but elegant accommodation. On the right of the entrance some stairs led to an additional floor while the corridors led to a living room on the left, where we found Mathew… and a Pokemon that should not be here.

“Oh, welcome back guys!” he said while we both stared at the Pokemon dancing to the music playing on the TV.

Sera probably because she did not recognize the Pokemon and me because I did. Mathew quickly caught on and explained.

“Ah! Sorry about that. Meet the new addition to my team. It is a regional variant of Lilligant from another region.” He said with a smile. The Pokemon in question did a curtsy at the presentation.

Sera was the first to break the spell. “She is a Lilligant?” she asked excitedly.

It took me longer before I decided to play along the best I could. “Y-yes which region?” I feigned excitement.

“It’s a long story how about we just sit down for now? I am sure you guys also have a lot to tell me.”

We entered the room, and it was only now I noticed the backyard where his bigger Pokemon were lounging. They lifted their head once they noticed us and also noticed Sawsbuck’s leaves starting to fall and shed his fur as winter approached.

We sat down and let Mathew tell us what happened to him, and how do I say this… for me, it is obvious that it is an ‘official version’. Apparently, a trainer from another region illegally released their Pokemon which then proceeded to rampage through the Pinwheel Forest. Supposedly the league is still looking for the trainer in question and in the meanwhile, Mathew was the one to handle the Lilligant because he was the one who managed to subdue it.

I don’t have anything to say regarding why they entrusted her to him, but the part about the trainer is definitely bullshit. He did say the name of the region was Hisui and that it is not well known. Which, I guess is technically true since it is now Sinnoh. That doesn’t explain how Lilligant ended up in our time. And to that, I couldn’t even ask since “Hisui is a region far from here…”

“Some people are terrible. How can they abandon such a sweet Pokemon!?” Sera said, red in the face.

I could only nod to not say anything while Mathew shrugged. I was still grappling with the presence of a Pokemon from the past in front of my eyes when Mathew continued the discussion.

“How about you? How was the expedition?”

Explaining our adventure was very fast since it wasn’t as interesting as him catching a perhaps unique Pokemon… I shook my head, yet my thoughts kept going back to the grass type that was bouncing in rhythm while we were talking.

Eventually, the topic of the poacher came. “Honestly Nexon, two groups of poachers in two towns, you might be a better Ranger than me!” he laughed.

I tried to ignore the comment and moved on to the next topic which was of course Tiamat. We moved to the garden since I wanted to avoid breaking anything. Sera also took the opportunity to release her Rufflet. The two Pokemon materialized before I decided to release my whole team. Since we had a new traveling companion, they might as well get to know her.

Nike of course pouted because I didn’t release her as soon as we arrived, but between reminding her of the noise and the new Pokemon her attention quickly shifted as she floated toward her, curious. Tiamat was also looking around curiously and Skoll was…

Wait what?

The usually stoic fighting type had been looking around until his eyes landed on the new addition to Mathew’s team. Then his entire demeanor shifted and he seemed to be entranced. In fact, I’m pretty sure that if he was human, he would be blushing…

“Wait seriously?” I asked exasperated.

He tried to cough and act innocent, but his gaze kept moving back to the new fighting type. For her part, she was looking at all the new Pokemon that appeared in front of her as Luxio and Litleo were also released. Mandibuzz also reacted, but when she noticed the Rufflet perched on Sera’s shoulder, she flapped her wing in what was probably provocation.

Mathew for his part just looked at the scene and laughed. “Well, our little group sure got a lot more lively didn’t it?”

No retort came as I watched all the Pokemon making all kinds of noise in the garden. They were so noisy that we didn’t even notice when a new person stood on the porch.

“So that is where you were. I was wondering why you weren’t on the couch today.” Came a voice from behind me.

I jumped and turned around, only to come face to face with Mathew, but a woman instead of a man. The same bond hair and black eyes, but where Mathew seemed relaxed every time, she looked very strict with her hair tied in a neat chignon bun on the top of her head and formal suit.

“Come on sis. It’s not that bad. Anyway, these are the kids I came with, Nexon and Seraphina.”

Her eyes widened a bit before she smiled. “Yes, you told me about them. It is nice to meet you. My name is Alisson, but you can just call me Ally. Sorry, you have to deal with that oaf.”

“Hey-“he seemed to want to protest but a glance made him shut up and I am pretty sure I heard a gulp.

“Nice to meet you” Sera and I said after laughing at the now meek ranger.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t know we had guests. What can I offer you?”

Mathew seemed to shrink once more as we moved back inside. Nike already made her way to my arms as we walked in with some Pokemon opting to stay outside. Ally joined us as it was Sera's turn to explain everything related to the fossil and Rufflet. Both Mathew and Ally laughed aloud when we told them Sera caught Rufflet before we moved on.

Sera explained that she planned to go to Nacrene before taking on the gym while I opted to train a bit as well.

“Speaking of plans. The HQ you want you to come by tomorrow.” Ally said as she turned to Mathew.

“But I’m on break!” He complained.

“Not my problem. I just relay the orders.” She smiled sweetly, but it did not reach her eyes.

“Hum, I am sorry. Are you a ranger as well?” Sera asked for the both of us.

“Me? hmm not really but I do work on the logistics side of things. You can think of us as the brains behind these brawns” she explained.

“I never really considered it, but It makes sense that they would have some people in the chair,” I mumbled.

That got a laugh before the discussion continued on other topics. Soon after, we excused ourselves and went to get rooms at a Pokemon Center not too far. It wasn’t close but close enough. Ally did try to insist on us staying there but we declined politely. I practically had to drag Skoll, but we made it in the end.

Fortunately, the Pokemon center had some rooms, probably due to the distance from the Gym. We had a quick meal before we split up for the night. I directly went to my room and called Pops and Nana.

“Hello dear. It’s nice to hear your voice. How are you doing?”

I spent the next few minutes detailing what had happened to the two of them what happened. I included everything from the Lord of the Oasis, the fight and defeat against Arnold, and of course, I introduced Tiamat.

“Well done, Kiddo. I am proud of you. Unfortunately, poachers are still a pain all around, but you did well.” Pops gave me a thumbs up while Nana went into worry mode.

And of course, on the topic of Tiamat, I had to mention Frank and our conversation after the Darumaka. I also evidently asked for their opinions. it was something that I kept thinking about and wanted their opinion on. There was a brief silence as they looked at each other before Pops spoke up.

“Honestly kiddo he is kind of right. Your way of viewing things isn’t necessarily bad, but it is an idealized approach. Also, you will need to apologize to that guy if you meet him because I don’t think you were in a position to pass any sort of judgment.” Pops said sternly.

“I think what he is trying to say, is that while you have your own view on things you should not push these onto others. His reaction to ability is his own choice just like it is yours to choose not to care. Let me ask you this: what would you do if someone came to you and you that you were wrong to not care about the Ability of your companion? Never mind if it was someone less experienced than you.”

I barely needed time to think before coming to an answer. “I wouldn’t even have listened to them.”

Because honestly who were they to tell me what I could and couldn’t do with my life? It was mine, and I wouldn’t let anyone tell me how to leave it… Which makes me feel stupid for how I reacted. What rights did I have to criticize him?

“I see you are getting my point.” Nana nodded. “But do not get me wrong, I am not saying you should like him. You have your own principles and morals that guide you. As long as you are sure of the road you are walking on, go with it. But do not disregard or disdain the roads others walked.”

“Also do not be afraid of change if you feel like you need to. Adapt yourself, but do not lose yourself. It is a tightrope, and you have to find your balance.” Pops added.

After listening to what they had to say, I agreed that I overstepped and would apologize to Frank tomorrow. Yet I needed to make sure that I did it for my own reason, not because they told me to. After all, they said it themselves, I have my own road.

We continued to talk more, and I asked more about everyone before I went to bed. By now my three companions were already sleeping in a pile of limbs which I slowly joined, careful not to bother them.

The next day, I met up with Sera before moving toward the gym for Arnold’s match. to the surprise of absolutely no one, he won, and I got to see Burgh's fighting style. It will no doubt be useful for the training and my battle but that was for the future me. Now, it was time to celebrate.

I also took the opportunity to apologize to Frank, only for him to wave me off. Apparently, I was the only one that even considered this a minor argument. For him, it was just a discussion, so that was nice as well.

---

“How is the production of the device?” he asked the individuals present in the call.

An eager voice answered his question. “Everything is on schedule in a few more weeks we’ll be able to use them reliably.”

“Very well. Proceed.” He ordered, satisfied.

He liked it when things were going according to plan, and right now they were. The meeting was about to end when a question was asked.

“Is there anything more of interest?” the man asked calmly.

He wasn’t excessively fond of meetings like this, be he also knew they were needed to keep track of the occurrences.

“Yes. I saw one of the potential targets, but I did not approach them. They have some annoying Pokemon, so I kept my distance.” Came a gruff reply.

“Annoying?” asked one of the women. “What kind of annoying?”

“Sensory type.” The previous voice grunted.

There was a groan of irritation from the other present. He himself almost failed to contain the frustration. They were some of the most annoying ones to approach because it put everything they stood for in jeopardy just to get close to them.

“I suggest we just ignore them. It doesn’t seem worth the risk.” Came another voice.

“I think what we could gain from it is worth it.” responded yet another individual.

The different people slowly gave their opinions on the matter before the only one left was him. Whatever their opinions were, his will be the course of action they selected.

“Continue the monitoring without change of plan. If the opportunity arises, we will take advantage of it. If not, we will still be informed.”

That was the end of the discussion and the silence that followed confirmed it. Soon the man was once more alone with his thoughts.

Soon…