Steven Stone wiped the sweat off his brow while his Aggron stood loyally beside him, the beast’s eyes searching the darkness for any unseen threats. Meanwhile, a large black creature with two short legs and a head with several pink eyes illuminated the otherwise dark tunnel.
Aggron and Claydol were his chosen protectors while he searched the depths of Mt. Moon for the ever-elusive Moon Stone. He’d been down in the lower levels of the mountain for the past two days and was running out of unexplored passageways.
Pulling out his handmade map, he crossed out the path he was currently in, having come to another dead-end. According to it, he had only one unexplored tunnel left and was debating even exploring it, as he had a feeling the original moonstone was somewhere towards the top.
Deciding to make that decision once he arrived at his base camp, he turned and started heading out the way he came in. Allowing his mind to wander as he walked, glad that Mt. Moon was an ordinary mountain with regular passageways and non-time-distorting tunnels like Mt. Coronet.
He had visited there soon after Cynthia had become Champion to congratulate the newest member of their private club. Before turning it into a mini-vacation as he explored the mountain's depths.
Then, what was supposed to be a two-day expedition turned into a week as he realized why Cynthia had told him to be careful and to pack extra supplies. He remembered vividly watching a tunnel he was about to explore shift before getting closed off as a completely different passageway took its place.
Exploring that mountain was the most fun he had in years and was honestly the start of his desire to find a replacement Champion for Hoenn so he could travel the world once more. Eager to find the origin and history of all the rare stones across the globe.
Suddenly, Aggron shifted and snorted in annoyance, breaking Steven out of his thoughts.
“What’s wrong, my friend?”
Aggron gestured his massive head upwards, his horn digging into the low ceiling and creating gouge marks through the rock. Closing his eyes, Steven reached out his senses until he felt the thumping that no doubt had his second companion annoyed.
Opening his eyes, he considered the cause being Pokémon native to Mt. Moon before quickly dismissing them as potential culprits. It was too consistent to be anything but man-made, and Steven had a gut feeling it wasn’t any authorized work.
“Claydol, can you sense what’s going on?”
A series of beeps was the response he got as his Psychic-type glowed while his head spun. He pulled out his Pokénav to send a message to the local Ace station before quickly realizing he didn’t have service inside the mountain.
Claydol finished his scan before relaying what he found in the form of pictures in Steven’s mind. He saw a drill, some sort of thumping machine using hydraulics to hit the cave floor, and some kind of sound device that was no doubt broadcasting at a frequency human ears couldn’t detect.
A couple more images flashed in his mind of people in uniforms with a large ‘R’ emblazoned on their shirts and a man in a suit and tie that made Steven pause as he recognized him. Before the former Champion could even begin to process what he was doing here, another image filled his head.
This one filled him with fury as he saw several human corpses in a pile, a few of which had to be trainers not even a year into their journey. Then, another one that showed three obviously rookie trainers with their hands tied behind their backs being marched toward the group's leader.
“Claydol, get us as close as you can.”
The teleportation was instant and done without a sound. Steven simply blinked and went from one spot to another. Releasing his Metagross as well who, Claydol caught up to speed much faster than Steven could’ve before motioning to the wall separating them and the group.
“Aggron, get a tunnel to their cavern. Metagross, make sure he stays silent. I don’t want them to know we are coming.”
His Pokémon immediately got to work, creating a path that would hopefully allow Steven and his team to catch the crooks off-guard before they could get rid of any information. Aggron stopped his tunneling once there was an inch of rock between them and the criminals, which allowed Steven to hear the tail end of a conversation.
“-ocket has no place for scum like you. Muk, kill them.”
Thankfully, his team wasted no time, and Aggron immediately burst through the wall and was instantly followed by Metagross, who was followed by Steven himself. Claydol was on protection duty and quickly created a barrier that stopped a Sludge Bomb from hitting the former Hoenn Champion.
Metagross psychically obliterated the Muk before grabbing the three rookie trainers and placing their limp bodies beside Steven as he immediately released the rest of his team. Cradily quickly ingrained itself in the rock beside the rookie trainers, joining Claydol on protection duty.
Armaldo and Skarmory, on the other hand, went on the offensive. Attacking the recently released Machamp and Rhydon rampaging in the large cavern with seemingly no regard for self-preservation. Meanwhile, his Excadrill immediately burrowed underground and began hit-and-run tactics on the newly reformed Muk and an Arbok.
Steven glanced and saw his Metagross fighting with Proton’s Metagross. At the same time, he saw his Aggron engage Proton’s Houndoom, stopping it from destroying evidence. Adrenaline pumped through Stevens's veins as he watched his Mawile grab an Ariados with her large jaw, smashing it around as the creature screeched in pain.
The Bug-type had attempted to sneak up on Armaldo, who was entirely focused and engaged with the Rhydon that almost seemed rabid in Stevens's eyes. His Ancient Pokémon was doing a great job limiting collateral damage, but it was taking his entire focus.
He wanted to believe the Ground/Rock-type could be saved, but glancing at Skarmory’s battle with the Machamp showed a similar struggle. Meanwhile, the rest of Proton’s Pokémon lacked the bloodshot and rabid eyes that Rhydon and Machamp had.
Something was seriously wrong with the two Pokémon, and the longer they distracted two of his heaviest hitters, the more likely it was that the man responsible got away. Making a decision, he called out to his team.
“Everyone, don’t hold back.”
The response was instant, and the kid gloves had been taken off. His Pokémon stopped worrying about whether or not their opponent would ever get back up, and he saw Skarmory immediately go for the Machamp’s neck.
Meanwhile, Armaldo’s claws shined with Steel-type energy as he slashed through the Rhydon’s rocky hide. Mawile crunched down on the Ariados with a sickening crunch that the Bug-type somehow managed to escape, scurrying off with two of its appendages dragging behind and a trail of green blood.
Excadrill once again scattered the Muk into a hundred pieces, but the Poison-type began to reform again. The Subterrene Pokémon couldn’t even spread the Muk chunks farther apart to slow the regeneration, as he had to immediately burrow to avoid the Arbok from wrapping him up.
Steven then watched as his Aggron attempted to gouge the Houndoom that he had been fighting, only to miss and receive a Flamethrower to his side. His second Pokémon lashed out with his arm, sending the hellhound into the wall.
In the carnage that began to unfold, Steven found Proton scrambling to grab certain items and destroy others while his Pokémon occupied Steven’s. The man looked up, and the two locked eyes.
Proton’s face went through a myriad of emotions as he realized who he was fighting for the first time. The foremost of which was surprise, which was quickly overtaken by fear before finally morphing into a sneer as he yelled over to the Former Champion.
“What are you doing here, cousin?”
“Stopping you from killing more innocent trainers, Proton. What happened to you? Stop this.”
Before he could say another word, Armaldo’s screech of pain broke Steven out of his staring contest with Proton, and he could only watch as the Rhydon shoved its horn through his Pokémons stomach.
He grimaced, but Armaldo powered through and decapitated the creature despite the horn impaling him, taking advantage of its bad position.
Steven quickly recalled his injured teammate, but that distraction was all Proton needed. The Rocket Executive recalled all of his Pokémon, except for his Metagross and the Machamp, teleporting out before the Former Champion could do anything.
Steven let loose a frustrated sigh but quickly calmed himself as he triaged the situation he was left with. Several other people had filtered into the cavern, all wearing a shirt with a red R emblazoned on their chest.
Thankfully, Metagross was on top of it and quickly enveloped the newcomers in Psychic energy. Stopping them from releasing their Pokémon and knocking them unconscious before putting them in a corner to deal with later.
He then focused on Skarmory’s battle with the Machamp and held back a grimace as he saw the state the Fighting-type was in. It was missing an entire arm and bleeding profusely through several cuts across its body.
Yet, the creature was still trying to fight, throwing wild punches with its three remaining arms. Skarmory gave him a look as she dodged a kick, and Steven sadly nodded his head, giving her permission to put the creature out of its misery.
The Superpower Pokémon would’ve never made it to a Pokémon Center, and he had no idea how it was still fighting, considering all its injuries. Whatever Proton, or the organization he worked for, did to that Machamp and Rhydon turned them into rabid animals that only craved violence, and it was no way for any Pokémon to live.
Taking a breath, he turned his attention to the next task.
“Metagross, please go alert Nurse Joy in Cerulean, and once she is done alerting her government, get her here now.”
His Metagross disappeared instantly without a sound as Steven turned his attention to the three trainers that were swallowed by the Muk. Bending down, he was relieved to feel they all had a pulse.
Reaching into his pack, he quickly pulled out several human-safe antidotes, giving each of the three trainers a healthy dose. As he did so, he looked up at his Cradilly and smiled at her.
“Cradilly, can you use some vines and tie up the other people in the corner over there.”
His other Ancient Pokémon wriggled her body in excitement, tying the hands and legs of those who worked with Proton. With that accomplished and the rookie trainers stabilized to the best of his abilities, Steven then turned his attention to his Pokémon.
Thankfully, all of them just had some cuts and bruises that he treated with some potions before moving on to securing the rest of the cavern they were in. He would let the League personnel handle collecting evidence so as to not step on any fingers due to his former job.
Then, after making sure the area was secure and his team was watching the tunnels, he focused on feeding and caring for the wild Pokémon stuck in cages. He wouldn’t release them until he got the okay from the Indigo League simply because he didn’t know what had been done to them.
Steven hoped that Nurse Joy would have some answers about the group that these people and his cousin seemed to be a part of. They almost reminded him of an organized group of Pokémon Hunters or Poachers, but worse.
Before he could think more about it, Metagross appeared with Nurse Joy, three beds, a Chansey, and a slew of supplies. She caught sight of the rookie trainers and immediately got to work setting up as Chansey got them set up on the beds.
“How can I help Nurse?”
Without even looking at him, she rattled off a list of tasks for him.
“Check each of the Pokémon in the cages for a syringe mark. Start with the ones behaving normally, as they can still potentially be saved. The ones who are already sickly or are acting abnormally are sadly too far gone already.”
Steven nodded despite the Nurse's inability to see his acknowledgment since she was focused on the injured trainers. However, before he could even turn around, she called out to him again.
“Oh, and Former Champion Steven, good job. Gym Leader Brock from Pewter is on his way now to debrief you.”
He knew it was coming and should’ve been thankful it wasn’t Lance himself, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed at the comment. He wasn’t used to being the one who was questioned.
Nonetheless, he went about his task, tagging the Pokémon he saw with needle marks, still behaving normally. Unfortunately, he found a couple of them that were acting abnormally or were sick that he tagged differently than the rest.
Not long after he was finished, Brock, on top of a Steelix, came in through one of the cavern walls. Steven then returned all of his Pokémon out of respect and politics, to which Brock nodded his head in appreciation. Before making his way over to Steven rather than making Steven come to him, something that wasn’t lost on the Former Champion.
“Steven Stone, Former Champion of Hoenn. You’re a long way from home.”
He snorted in amusement before turning his attention away from Brock to the girl who had just appeared beside the Rock-type Gym Leader. She had black hair and glowing blue eyes, dressed in a red crop top and white pants.
He easily recognized her as the infamous psychic from Saffron City, Sabrina. At first, he was annoyed at what the woman's presence meant, but after he caught the loving smile Brock gave her, he calmed himself, understanding why she was really there.
“Steven, this is my Girlfriend, Sabrina. She is here as my backup and not as a Psychic.”
Said girl gave Brock an incredulous look, and Steven had a feeling he was let in on non-public knowledge. Something he appreciated the Gym Leader for doing to assure Steven that his mind wasn’t being read.
“Thank you for the clarification, Brock. Both of your secrets are safe with me.”
Brock gave him a smile that Sabrina mirrored before the Psychic went to assist Nurse Joy, leaving Brock to handle the Former Champion’s debriefing.
“Alright Steven, let’s start from the beginning. What are you doing in Kanto, and why are you in Mt. Moon without notifying the Indigo League?”
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Professor Oak massaged his temples as he re-read the report that he had gotten from The League on the Mt. Moon incident. Four trainers had been killed before Steven had stepped in, saving the lives of his three students.
The current synopsis from The League’s Investigative Bureau believed that Team Rocket was using a combination of sound amplification and drilling to lure Pokemon into their waiting operatives stationed at various sections in the mountain.
Oak wasn’t sure what the organization wanted with all the Pokemon, but he knew it wasn’t good. He had no doubt in his mind that the Pokemon that weren’t given to the grunts would be used as experiments.
It made his blood boil, but a calming presence washed over him before he could do something rash, like calling Lance and throwing his weight around.
“Thank you, my friend.”
You are most welcome. I do not understand why you get so agitated about these things? You are the one who chose to step down as Champion. Did you not consider something like this would happen?
Alakazam’s voice was arrogant but confused. Something he had come to expect with the wizened Psychic, having known him for years at this point.
“I know it is hard for you to understand, but watching innocent lives ruined because an organization lusts for power infuriates me.”
So do something then. Even that Cynthia girl respects your strength, and all the Champions understand she is the strongest.
The Professor turned to face his oldest companion.
“It is not that simple, I’m afraid. I have to trust that Lance can take care of this. If I involved myself, it would undermine his authority. Which would undo all the work I did to unite Kanto and Johto after the last war.”
Suit yourself. I also came to tell you that the brute saw something suspicious while patrolling the reserve. He is outside.
With that, his starter vanished back down to the basement. Oak sighed as he made his way downstairs from his personal study.
Alakazam were a unique Pokémon since they held themselves back from evolution. They only decide to evolve from a Kadabra once they gain enough knowledge in a subject of their choosing to master it.
Then, once they did, they never shared what they learned. He and Sabrina talked at length one day about the Abra line once her Kadabra evolved, and after she talked with her newly evolved Psychic, she learned it was because Alakazam viewed humans as inferior. Only listening to their trainer out of respect for their help in achieving their goal.
Opening the door to the pasture, Oak was greeted by his Dragonite with a wave. The man smiled and waved back at his Pokémon before walking over. The setting sun casting a beautiful hue over the pasture.
“Alakazam said you saw something, my friend. What was it?”
His Dragonite then acted out what he saw, with occasional cries of his name to help get the point across. It was moments like these that he wished he could develop some way for people to understand what Pokémon were saying.
But then again, there was a particular pride in understanding your companions without the need for words. That was why the Professor, having known him for decades, knew what his Dragonite was talking about.
“Well, let’s go and see if we can figure out what happened to this truck you said disappeared.”
Hopping on his Dragonite’s back, the two took off at incredible speeds. Zipping across the sky until the Professor soon found himself dozens and dozens of miles Northeast of Pallet. If he had to guess, they were three-quarters of the way toward Viridian at this point.
There was a break in the trees, and the two soon landed. Dismounting from Dragonite’s back, all it took was a glance, and the Professor knew it was a road of some sort. Discluding the tire tracks imprinted in the dirt, the path was unnatural in a forest like this.
Taking a moment to compose himself after the short flight, Professor Oak followed the tire tracks, his hulking Dragonite lumbering behind him as they reached an abrupt wall of forestry. The man took an inquisitive look around.
“I see what you mean my friend. It is weird how a truck could just disappear like that. I thought maybe this was an old bunker from the war, but there’s no entrance around, and the ground is solid.”
Before he could think about it more, his Pokénav rang, and he stared down at it in shock. Amelia caught a Feebas of all Pokémon nearly two hours ago. Giving the area one last look around before deciding to let Giovanni handle it.
His hands were full with Project M, running the lab, his research, and the Pokémon deemed too far gone from whatever serum Team Rocket injected them with. So far, all his tests and experiments have resulted in nothing but death for the poor creatures. Despite the setbacks, though, he was still hopeful for a breakthrough. He had to be.
It wouldn’t do him any good to lose hope. Still, there was only so much he could do since he wasn’t able to really study the serum Team Rocket was using since it had such an incredibly short half-life outside of a Pokémon’s body. However, whatever it was made of made every Pokémon ten times more aggressive.
Getting back on his Dragonite, the Professor returned to his lab, lost in thought on the latest mystery.
‘Where in the world could Amelia have gotten a Feebas in Cerulean?’
His mind was racing with all the possibilities, and it wasn’t until he landed back at his lab that it began to slow down. Before eventually deciding to ask her how she found such a rare Pokémon himself the next time he saw her.
The Professor thanked his friend as he dismounted, asking the giant dragon to keep him up to date about anything he thought was suspicious before waving goodbye and answering the League representative that messaged him moments earlier.
It was nearly dark now, and the esteemed Oak let out a tired sigh. He hadn’t slept in two days, but he was close to a breakthrough on Project M for Silph Co. He just needed to find the right component that would be able to channel any amount of energy thrown at the locking mechanism.
He also had a class to teach in the morning, so it would be best to rest now. So, after sending a message to Giovanni about the disappearing truck, he made his way to bed.
Laying down underneath the covers, he closed his eyes. But, before he could drift off to some desperately needed sleep, his video console rang, and the esteemed Professor groaned. He dragged his way to the terminal and vainly tried to shake the exhaustion out of his body.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Accepting the Cerulean Center’s call, he smiled, realizing it was three of his sponsored trainers.
“Oh Ho Oh, if it isn’t the trainers that everyone’s been dying to talk to.”
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Lance Wataru was fuming as he made his way down one of Indigo Plateau’s many hallways towards the Champion’s office, causing several Ace trainers and a few secretarial aides to scramble out of his way. He arrived at his office within minutes before quickly opening up his laptop to join the impromptu meeting.
“Someone give me a status report.”
“Intelligence suggests that Team Rocket was using Mt. Moon to bolster their test subject numbers, recruit new members, and increase their reserve of available Pokémon.”
Lance practically snarled at the Ace trainer who spoke. “Tell me something not obvious, captain.”
“I want to know how they managed to set up such an operation right underneath our noses. I want to know how many trainers were killed, and I want to know how the fuck Steven Stone is involved.”
Brock, the Gym Leader of Pewter City, spoke this time. His voice was solid and immovable, like a mountain.
“Take a breath, Champion Lance. They got in through an unknown entrance, bringing in small pieces of their equipment at a time. There are four confirmed dead, and based on my conversation with Steven, he was at the right place at the right time.”
It took everything in Lance not to publicly dress down the Gym Leader on the call with several high-ranking Ace Trainer captains and League Personnel. But nonetheless, he still took a deep breath, reigning in the draconic energy that was fueling his anger.
“Thank you, Gym-Leader Brock. What did we manage to recover?”
The Ace captain from before spoke up again, his voice slightly timid.
“We managed to get a partial copy of the Executive’s hard drive before the personal Porygon wiped it. However, our Porygon team is still working on breaking the encryption.”
Lance nodded his head.
“Better than nothing, I suppose. All of the League’s resources are at your disposal to get past that encryption, and yes, that includes the Porygon Z. Stay vigilant, and notify me once the hard drive encryption is broken.”
With that, Lance shut his computer and made his way toward his next meeting, having only a slightly better handle on his rage. The draconic energy wasn’t aiding matters, and he couldn’t help but want to track down Steven Stone and kick him out of the Indigo Region.
His inner pride didn’t like such a powerful threat that was no longer tied down by the duties of a Champion hanging around in his backyard. All the Champions knew he threw the match against Wallace, but none of them had figured out why just yet.
Walking into the meeting room, he was greeted by the faces of his current Elite Four and their future replacements. Will stood in a corner talking with Karen while Koga sat upright in one of the seats along with Lorelei. The ninja giving him a nod of acknowledgment as they made eye contact.
Meanwhile, Bruno stood at the other end of the table, talking with Agatha, whose shadow was a writhing mess of darkness and malice. It would be a shame to lose such a talented Ghost specialist, but he supposed everyone deserved their chance to step away.
Once he had become Champion after Samuel stepped down, the future Professor had stressed to him the importance of having a balanced Elite Four between Kantonians and Johtoians. So, after Agatha told him that her replacement was a Dark-type specialist from Johto, he announced Koga as his replacement.
Thankfully, there hadn’t been a lot of outcry from the people of Johto about there only being one Johto native on the Elite Four in Lorelei since he was Champion. However, it took time to acclimate potential recruits to the prestigious position.
He just wished that he had been able to offer Sabrina the chance to replace Lorelei instead of Will, but deep down, he knew she would’ve never accepted the position. The girl loved her city and being able to help train fellow psychics too much. Not to mention the budding relationship she had with Brock in Pewter.
The life of an Elite Four member, or Champion for that matter, did not leave a lot of time for extracurriculars. Focusing on the task at hand, he cleared his throat. Allowing everyone to quickly take their seats.
“Alright, I am going to move some timelines around with Team Rocket becoming a bigger and bigger threat every day. First, Will and Karen.”
Hearing their names, the two prodigies sat up a little straighter. Giving their full attention to the Champion.
“I will delay the announcement of you two being Lorelei’s and Agatha’s replacement for a few months. I want you two to be able to be my boots on the ground without drawing too much attention. Will, you’re going to be patrolling Johto while Karen, you have Kanto.”
The two trainees nodded while he went about assigning tasks to his other Elite Four members. He’d hate having to deal with Lorelei for more time than was necessary, but Team Rocket was more significant than his personal feelings for the woman and her chosen type specialty.
After going over what he wanted everyone to accomplish, he wished them luck before motioning for Karen to follow him as he made his way toward his least favorite activity of being Champion, politics.
The bluenette jogged her way over to the Dragon master, falling in step with him as he walked with speed and purpose. His cape billowing slightly behind him, making him look all the more imposing.
“What’s up, Lance? Whatever it is, I’m glad you agree that I'm the best person for the job.”
Lance rolled his eyes at the young woman’s arrogance. Although, he couldn’t deny that she had earned the right to be a bit cocky. Considering she’d soon be the youngest member to join the Elite Four, on top of being a master in the third most challenging type to train, he’d be a bit arrogant too.
“I believe Team Rocket is using one of the bunkers built during the war near Cerulean as a forward operating base. I want you to go and check on a couple of them; I’ll send you a map after I get done talking with Charles.”
Karen widened her eyes slightly at his words, and he couldn’t blame her. The bunkers built by each side during the war were a closely guarded secret. Only the Champion got the locations of each side's bunkers.
Then, the Kanto Elite Four members got all the bunker locations in Kanto, while the Gym Leaders just got the sites of the ones around their city. It was the same way in Johto. The reason was primarily fiscal since vast amounts of money were invested in the facilities, and if the worst were to happen, no one wanted to build a whole lot more.
It also helped put the past behind them and keep people focused on the future. He was confident that neither region would like to know that an ‘enemy’ bunker was right next to their capital. He was broken out of his thoughts as Karen finally managed to find her words.
“Thank you, Lance. I appreciate the trust you are placing in me.”
He nodded, but before the woman could leave, he spoke up again.
“Also, Karen, what do you know about the Hydregion line?”
He could feel her tense beside him as he made the last corner to the League Commissioners' office, stopping in the hallway as he turned to face her before putting some draconic energy into his stare. He grinned slightly as he watched her squirm a bit under his gaze.
“What do you wanna know?”
“I want to know if they’re worth the trouble of training.”
Karen tilted her hand back and forth like a scale.
“It depends. I never trained one because they are incredibly time-consuming since the second stage develops another head with a whole new personality. This causes the trainer the need to earn its loyalty all over again.”
“So, I should start with a Zwelious then?”
Karen shook her head at his response.
“No, because the head that gains control once it evolves into a Hydregion is the one it had as a Deino. So you have to start with Deino if you want the Hydregion to obey and respect you, but once they do, you don’t have to worry about it betraying you or going on a rampage.”
At his raised eyebrow, the bluenette continued.
“While the dragon aspect of the Hydregion line has a lot of difficulties combined with the dark aspect, it culminates in fierce loyalty and trust if raised properly. Unlike most dragons, where it’s more of a power and respect relationship, Hydregion become incredibly loyal like an Arcanine.”
Lance nodded, thinking about how he would make the necessary time to train the powerful Pokémon. Thanking Karen for the information, he made his way toward the doors of Charles Goodshow’s office.
Putting the knowledge he just learned about Hydregion on the back burner for now as he prepped to brief the Commissioner on how they would be stopping Team Rocket. The entire time, though, he began to understand why Agatha praised the young Dark-type Specialist so much.
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Giovanni grinned as he sat down in his chair, leaning back into it as Persian jumped up into his lap, purring as the man ran his fingers through its fur. Project Reformation was moving along swimmingly; their latest business endeavor was a massive success, and they were seeing significant returns from their latest recruiting strategy.
“I don’t think today could get much better for us, Persian, do you?”
His first companion let out a long mewl that he translated as.
‘Don’t Jynx yourself master.’
Laughing slightly, he continued stroking his oldest Pokémon's fur until he was interrupted by the phone on his desk ringing. Grinning, he picked it up, talking to Persian as he did so.
“I bet you this is Proton, calling to tell me that our Mt. Moon operation was successful.”
His Persian scoffed before laying its head back down on Giovanni’s leg as he put the phone up to his ear.
“This is Giovanni.”
“Boss, I regret to inform you that we had to abandon Mt. Moon before completing our research or mission.”
Giovanni let loose a groan and pinched his nose. Wondering if Arceus heard his arrogance and decided to fuck over his good mood.
“Well, get on with it Proton. What happened? I assumed you’d be able to handle Brock if he came snooping.”
“It wasn’t Brock that showed up, sir. It was Steven Stone. I don’t know what he was doing in the mountain, but he managed to get to our FOB undetected. He got the drop on me and killed two of my Berserkers. It took everything I had to escape and not get captured.”
The Ground-type Specialist let out a long sigh. His anger at the failure just barely being restrained by the fact it was a Former Champion, not even a week into retirement, that trounced one of his strongest executives.
“We are going to have to up your training Proton. Did you manage to save anything, or will the League know what we were trying to accomplish?”
“I’m not sure, sir. I had my Houndoom burn the computers, but that’s all I could do before Steven’s Aggron got in the way. I managed to grab a couple Clefairy Pokéballs and the Fossil we found before Metagross teleported me out.”
Giovanni sat back in his chair, letting out a sigh of relief this time as tension he didn’t even realize he was holding left his body. The chances of the League salvaging enough information on what was left behind to figure out the goal behind Project Silver were slim.
They would probably think they were just increasing their reserves of Pokémon, and while that was indeed a byproduct of the mission. It was not their primary goal of finding a Cresselia feather, which would hopefully help move along Project Reformation.
Yet, the tiniest part of him couldn’t help but worry. It was a one-in-a-million chance that the League could piece together that he needed the Cresselia feather to help their own Psychic-type, but there was still a chance.
His paranoia getting the best of him, he made a note to visit the Indigo Plateau soon and see what, if anything, they managed to recover. The creature still hadn’t woke up and was not ready to be used. He could not let the League learn about its existence until he was powerful enough to take them on.
A slight cough reminded Giovanni that Proton was still on the line, and he quickly dismissed the man before hanging up. Persian knew better than to rub his earlier comment in his face, so instead, it nudged his hand to get him to stroke his fur.
Absentmindedly petting the feline, he began to think of other ways to give his own Psychic-type a taste of other Legendary psychics' power. Mt. Moon would be unusable for the foreseeable future, and he didn’t have the presence in Hoenn to conduct an operation on Crescent Isle.
That meant a Cresselia feather was out, which was a shame considering the possible added benefit it would have in making Mewtwo less irritable if it woke up. Maybe a scale from Lugia would suffice his needs.
It was rumored to be a Psychic-type as well, and would hopefully help his researchers learn more about the power difference between the two Pokémon before he gave it to Mewtwo as a gift to build trust.
His thoughts drifted to other possible replacements for the Cresselia feather as his hand expertly gilded through Persian’s fur.
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The Legendary Samuel Oak was practically skipping as he made his way back to the lab. After his conversation with three of his sponsored trainers the previous night, he hadn’t been able to sleep. The excitement of Amelia’s possible Lapras discovery had kept him up.
So, he spent the night refamiliarizing himself with the information available on the Larpas species and their habitats, more eager than ever to get to Cerulean and learn more about how they behave in the wild. He hoped it would finally help him crack the code on successfully repopulating the species as a whole.
Then, right as he had laid down for a short nap, Ash called to tell him the Absol egg had hatched! He could feel the passion in the teen’s words as he talked about helping the public stop fearing Absol. He just hoped that Ash would remember to document and record all his findings and not forget to do so with his ADHD.
With this massive influx of work, he would have to look at hiring some more aides to assist him. He loved every part of research and hated delegating it, but it was the only way he could finish up some of his projects and continue to make an impact in the field.
Not to mention that he’d have to lie to their faces when he hired them. He had so many classified projects he was working on that even his most trusted and experienced assistants and aides weren’t privy to the whole picture.
He had Amanda, who had been with him for years at this point, working on energy conduction research. She thought he was working in tandem with Professor Rowan on a way for humans to create man-made evolution stones by conducting and storing abundant amounts of type energy.
He was confident that it would be a by-product of her research if successful, and he’d be sure to credit her with the invention. She’d deserve it, since she would have to be nameless in discovering the solution to the research’s actual goal, Project M.
Arguably, it was the most ambitious and potentially world-altering project he had ever worked on. If he managed to succeed, it’d be something that only a select few would ever get the knowledge of. Simply because the consequences would be catastrophic if it ever fell into the wrong hands.
The reward far outweighed the risk, however, and if triumphant, it would be able to save the lives of potentially billions. A ding from his pocket brought the Professor out of his thoughts as he fished around his labcoat before pulling out his Pokénav.
I finished exploring Hoenn for a bit Grandpa. Care if I stop by and help out around the lab for a bit?
The legendary Oak couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he quickly replied to his granddaughter. Telling her she was welcome anytime, and he looked forward to catching up with her once she arrived.
He put his Pokénav away as he finished walking up the hill to his lab. This week was quickly becoming a highlight of his life; with all the excitement regarding Lapras and Absol, Gary catching his sixth Pokémon, Daisy coming home for a bit, and a phenomenal lunch with Delia.
It made this week almost as exciting as sending off his grandson to start his journey with the undercover Ace Trainers posing as cheerleaders. Cherishing that feeling of accomplishment he felt as he remembered finally figuring out a way to ensure Gary was protected without making it obvious.
His excellent mood diminished slightly as he opened the door to his personal quarters of the Lab, realizing he’d have to delay his nap once again and clean up a bit before Daisy arrived. He didn’t want her to fuss at him over his messiness once she arrived.
A tap on the shoulder startled the old man awake, his hand instinctively going to his Pokéball belt, only to pause while releasing one of his old teammates, hearing a soft feminine laugh.
“Relax Grandpa, it’s just me. You’ve not been getting enough sleep.”
It wasn’t a question, and the Professor could only sigh as he nodded. Before taking in his surroundings as he fully woke up from his nap. The tea he had brewed to help him sleep, now cold beside him, along with his latest research reports, next to his recliner.
The Pallet newspaper was open and lying on his chest. At the same time, his personal study was much more organized than before he had fallen asleep. That didn’t stop his granddaughter from giving the room a once over and looking at him with a critical eye.
“You could’ve at least cleaned up a little before I arrived, ya know.”
The man rolled his eyes at Daisy’s teasing and got up, shaking his limbs a bit to get the blood flowing and help wake him up. His granddaughter looked at him in concern but didn’t say anything.
“I would’ve cleaned up more, but someone didn’t tell me when they would arrive.”
Daisy shrugged as she organized some of his papers and grabbed his cold tea, putting it aside to take up when they left the study.
“I didn’t know how many breaks Altaria wanted to take, and I didn’t want to push her after such a long flight to get back into Kanto.”
The Professor nodded his head in understanding. While Hoenn wasn’t far per se, it wasn’t exactly close either. It was a two-day trip via ferry or an eight-hour flight for most Pokémon with no ability to rest in between.
It didn’t help either that, in most cases, it's impossible to communicate between regions via Pokénav because the infrastructure just hasn’t been built to handle transcontinental traffic yet. However, the building blocks were there because Pokémon Centers, Regional Labs, and League Headquarters could communicate internationally.
It just simply hadn’t been optimized to the point yet that would allow for Pokénavs or Pokédexes to use that same network and system. However, he knew the Devon Corporation was working on improving and expanding that network to help increase their Pokénav's value.
Something he was aware of only because he had to negotiate with them to allow his Pokedexes the ability to piggyback off that network to create and build the National Dex. This was ultimately why he could only allow some trainers access to the database lest he overload the system.
“-pa, you there?”
“Huh, sorry Daisy dear. I was just lost in thought; what were you talking about?”
His granddaughter chuckled. “Some things never change. You got that look in your eye, and I wanted to know what you were thinking about?”
“Oh, nothing, just the Public Switched Poképhone Network. But I want to know how your time in Hoenn was? Did you catch any new Pokémon? What did you think of Pokémon Contests? Oh, and how are your Ampharos, Altaria, Ninetales, Gastrodon, and Cubone doing?”
“They're doing well, Grandpa. Roxie even evolved when we were exploring the Desert!”
“That’s amazing, dear. I’m glad she finally moved on from the death of her parent. How’d she do it?”
“Well,” Daisy started. “My newest addition, and the only Pokémon I caught in Hoenn actually, helped her with that.”
The Professor raised his eyebrow as Daisy unclipped a Pokéball from her belt. Releasing the creature inside while she spoke.
“Gramps, meet Titania. My Kirlia.”
The Professor widened his eyes slightly at the revelation as the little ballerina called out her name, twirling on her toes once the light from the Pokéball died down. Ralts were a rare Pokémon to find, even more so than Abra, because of how well the species could read emotions and intent from the living creatures around it.
In fact, he and Birch had a working theory that no trainer could just find a Ralts by accident, and instead, the Ralts sought out their trainer. Neither of them had been able to prove this theory so far due to a lack of time, but the evidence they had so far was supportive of their hypothesis.
“Kirlia, Kirl, Kirlia!”
“Is that so, Kirlia? Well, I’m glad my granddaughter has you looking out for her.”
Kirlia gave a firm nod that looked absolutely adorable and caused both Oaks to smile.
“Yeah, she evolved from Ralts in Slateport mid-contest and got us the ribbon! Then, she was super helpful with Roxie getting over her mom's death. Even Ninetales started to like her almost immediately.”
“That’s amazing, Daisy! I'm so proud of you! Why don’t I make you some dinner, and you can tell me more about your time in Hoenn?”
The Professor’s grandaughter nodded as Oak made his way to the kitchen to start making Daisy’s favorite, Tauros Meatloaf. It had also been her mother’s favorite growing up, and he knew the recipe by heart.
After all, that was how he coped with her death along with his son-in-law when the Gyarados attacked their vacation ship to the Orange Archipelago. That’s what he assumed, at least, as the boat never made it to port and never sent a signal out about an attack.
He knew because he was the reigning Champion at the time and had someone monitoring the ship's communications 24/7. That day changed a lot in his life and was a major reason he stepped down as Champion.
But only after passing a new law that required every Kanto ship to have at least half a dozen six-badge or higher trainers for protection. He didn’t want anyone else to go through the pain he had after all.
Unconsciously, he wiped a tear from his face as he put the finishing touches on the Meatloaf. He had made it on autopilot like he always did. Clearing his mind from his biggest failure, Oak put a smile on his face as he turned around, setting the plates at the table and focusing on his granddaughter as she told him about her journey through Hoenn.
He could see the melancholy behind her eyes as she realized what he made, and it reminded him of why he became a Professor after stepping down as Champion.
To not only spend more time and be there for his grandchildren but to make sure that others didn’t have to die or lose their loved ones because of something unknown. After all, it had been ten years, and he still wasn’t entirely over the tragedy.
----------------------------------------
‘Why am I here?’
That was his only thought as he opened his eyes. It felt like he was submerged in some form of liquid, but he could breathe. He could feel dozens of people around him, their thoughts flowing freely with no defense.
It was worse than those supposed powerful Psychic-Types they brought in that they called Alakazam. He had accidentally killed the first one who tried to talk to him because he simply thought too loud.
When he communicated with the next one, one of the humans had asked him to try and whisper. He did, but that didn’t stop that creature from going comatose for a week. His thoughts turned back to the people around him as they let their thoughts flow freely.
Some were thinking about their next meal, others of a thing called family, and the rest were thoughts of him. However, that all changed as another person entered the lab. Suddenly, all their thoughts were filled with fear and worry.
Opening his eyes, he saw a man in a black suit step out from what one of the humans called an elevator. He could feel the man in black radiate fury and anger as he locked eyes with each and every one of the scientists in the room.
Not wanting to accidentally kill one of the fragile humans by looking through their minds to hear what the man was saying, he instead focused on the sound waves that reverberated from where he was submerged.
“All of you begin packing up equipment and get ready to move to a new site on New Island. One of you idiots got caught by Oak’s Dragonite with the delivery truck. Thankfully, he’s a busy man and passed off the responsibility of investigating to me.”
“You all are lucky your leaders in your field, or else you’d be captured like the poor grunts I now have to move into this base. And trust me, you don’t want to be captured anytime soon because Lance is pissed after the failed Mt. Moon operation.”
A worried and controlled panic flooded his senses, along with a cacophony of noise as all the people began to move. Performing different tasks such as moving equipment or collecting paper into a big bin.
The man in black looked at him, and based on the way he made these other people move, he might know why he was there. He reached out to the human with his mind and was surprised to realize he couldn’t read it.
The man’s eyes widened ever so minutely, and then, before he could try and communicate with the human, he reached out to him.
‘Hello, my friend.’
‘Hello... friend? Is that my name?’
‘No, friend is not your name. It is a term we humans use to talk with someone we like and view as an equal. Your name is Mewtwo.’
Mewtwo could barely contain his excitement and had to quickly reign in his emotions as he saw the man in black grimace slightly. He did not want to hurt or kill his new friend.
‘I am sorry... friend, I am still learning to control my power so I do not hurt people. What can I call you?’
‘You can call me Giovanni, and controlling your power is important. But do not control it so you don’t hurt people. Control it so you don’t hurt your friends.’
Mewtwo nodded as much as he could, taking Giovanni’s words very seriously, causing Giovanni himself to smile at the motion.
‘Do you know why I am here, Giovanni?’
‘You were created to be one of the most powerful Pokémon in the world, one powerful enough to protect your friends from the dangers of others.’
Mewtwo tilted his head in confusion. He didn’t understand who or why he would want to hurt his friends.
‘I don’t understand?’
Giovanni smiled.
‘You will in due time, my friend. We will talk more once you are home at New Island. For now, try and get some rest.’
Mewtwo didn’t want to get rest. He wanted to learn, to understand. But he also didn’t want to disappoint or upset his new friend. So, he closed his eyes and his mind, allowing sleep to embrace him.
Giovanni grunted in relief as the pressure disappeared from his head. Mewtwo was asleep, and the power he held was nothing short of extraordinary. His mental defenses were able to get past even Sabrina undetected and unnoticed.
Meanwhile, Mewtwo had nearly busted them open in two seconds without even trying. He was confident the Psychic would’ve succeeded, too, had he not reached out to connect on his own. However, the most exciting and terrifying part of the whole ordeal was that he didn’t even realize the creature was awake. That meant Mewtwo would be able to slip past most defenses undetected.
There was a lot of potential there, and Giovanni couldn’t wait to utilize it. Letting the scientists continue packing and preparing to move locations, Giovanni walked into the elevator. Project Reformation could officially be considered a success, and he was giddy with excitement at the power he now had at his fingertips.