Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Klarp Glornharm]

"Hide one of your pokemon and take Manny down with you." Ben replied smoothly. She clearly didn't like the idea of having the link, but Manny would be better with radius if he was with her.

Odds were higher that Ska's people would be spread out in one, and if Manny was on the opposite end of any of them, it would be harder to scout them.

"Wait, why do we need sunglasses?"  

[Jump Einatz]

Salieri cringed at the idea of bringing Manny along by reflex, trying to hide that reaction right after. "It's not you, it's me," she assured the Meditite. Even so, she had reasons why she didn't want to bring Manny herself that weren't personal.

"I don't want Ska to know I'm working with a Telepath. He doesn't know you or your Pokémon, and that's our advantage." Sal gestured to three points on an invisible line in front of her. "If you're positioned in the middle of me and Zack then we'll have better reception for communicating, that's key. We can scout for his backup with other Pokémon. Your Pidgeotto, Zack's Kirilia, his Gengar, etcetera. The more responsibilities Manny takes on, the more this depends on just one person. Lets use strength in numbers."

Ben came back around to the sunglasses, and Sal gave him a look like it was obvious. "Duh, they're for-"

A loud KRACKOOM startled Salieri and turned her around in the direction of the sound, where all of her other Pokémon were staring. She saw Durendal, who was frozen in place with his arms stretched out in front of him, and followed his eyeline down to the pier a few blocks north. In the distance, a chunk of the pier was missing, vaporized by an attack she didn't see. Smoke floated up from the singed edges of where wood used to be, and people on the pier were already staring at it ominously.

"Holy crap. Was that you?"
Durendal nodded slowly, still staring.
"...were you aiming for the pier?"
Durendal shook his head.

"Right. Okay, well. ********." Salieri started returning her Pokémon one by one. The railgun clearly needed work. And a private shooting range. "That's our cue to bounce. You might wanna leave too." Her eyes darted side to side, worried if anyone else saw that property destruction.

"I'll call you when I'm done talking to Ska, okay? Then we'll fully bake this plan."  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Benedict looked at the pier and then back to the Durendal... What would happen if an electric type and he teamed up and turned him into one of those shots? It would hurt him like heck, but in a desperate situation it could be pretty useful. Or, if he were fighting a steel type, a good weapon against his opponent's pokemon.

But Sal was also right, they needed to get the heck out of there. His pokemon were called back and he laughed. "I'll, uh, continue my training elsewhere. Good luck, by the way. See you when it's time to bake that plan."

And then Benedict was off away from the site of the property damage. Not running, of course, but sure as heck not sticking around.

Hopefully Sal didn't get them in trouble with the police before any of the things with Skar happened.  

[Marsuru]

Lumiose City - The Moreau Library

It was another quiet day at the library, not a visitor in sight. Chatite the Espurr doddered along between bookshelves. Its vacant eyes scanned the spines of each book as if looking for something. When it reached the end of the row it stopped, rotated its head, then its body, and continued in a new direction. Esme's Aunt Janvier hummed to herself as she carried a large stack of books, keeping them balanced with her chin. The delicate operation nearly failed when she halfway jumped out of her skin, and landed on her feet, her glasses dangling from her nose.

'Sorry,' said Zack.
'Zack! We 'ave Teleport Zones for a reason!' Janvier said as the trainer hopped down from the reading desk he'd materialised on. Serene dropped to the floor a second later, and came face to face with Chatite. They stared at each other for a few seconds, then Serene pulled on Zack's pants leg, pointing at the tiny cat pokémon.
'Yeah, that's exactly what you were like,' Zack said before turning his attention back to the librarian. 'I'm in kind of a rush. Esme isn't around is she?'

Janvier huffed, dropping the heavy stack on the reading desk with a loud clatter. She readjusted her glasses. 'My Esme, she is at work. And if you want 'er, you should 'urry. You are not the only boy who called for 'er today.'

She said that last part with a smile.

Lumiose City - Sycamore Pokémon Lab

It was another quiet day at the lab until everything blew up. The hallway filled with a rush of smoke and debris, and the sound of a pokémon roar. It charged through the rubble, raking its hooked claws along the walls, steam easing from its open mouth. Esme couldn't lie, she hadn't seen this coming. Dexio chased after Garchomp, waving a fire extinguisher above his head while Sina dialled Sycamore on her Holo Caster and chased after them both. Esme pinched her brow, then halfway jumped out of her skin.

'Zack! We have Teleport Zones for a reason!'
'Sorry,' Zack replied, hopping off the observation table with Serene at his side.
'You would have needed more than an apology if you splinched me,' Esme grumbled, brushing herself down to regain her cool.

'Actually that's a misconception,' said Zack. 'The teleport pushes things out of the way on reentry, so you'd probably just land on your a**. Uhh... what happened here?'
'This,' Esme gestured to the collapsed mound of brick, wood and plaster where the door used to be, 'is the lab team landing on its a**.'

---

'Ah, hello? Garchomp?' Dexio said, hiding behind his fire extinguisher. 'It's me, Dexio. I have something for you to eat. It ah, it isn't us. But you still might quite like it.'
'How'd we even lose a six foot tall dragon?' whined Sina, jumping at every other noise. 'It's huge! And scaly. And really, really strong.'
'And apparently capable of stealth. Perhaps it is time for the Defenders of Kalos to--'
'No. Not here. Esme is too close, she might suspect something.'

Dexio ran his finger along the wall. There were still the odd scratch marks. Some of the scratches rounded a corner, and then he realised why Garchomp hadn't tried to eat Sina and him yet. It had already found its prey.

'Oh nuts,' Sina said, thinking the same thing. 'It's after the eggs.'

---

The nursery was a large room at the rear end of the lab. It contained rows upon rows of pokéballs, lining the walls on shelves. Each ball contained a newly hatched pokémon that the lab team would raise, and eventually give them away as starter pokémon. Deeper in the room were more shelves, and they contained something far more appetizing. Each contained in a separate glass incubator, the pokémon eggs slept, unaware of the monster prowling towards them.

Garchomp's chin was slick with drool. It stabbed its claws between the metal doors that guarded the nursery and wrenched them apart with ease. It climbed through, saw the eggs, eyes glistening with hunger.

'Freeze, dickhead!'

It sounded like a good line when Zack shouted it, but that was before Dexio and Sina tackled him into the wall. He couldn't quite release Lethal, and the pokéball slipped from his grasp, scattering to the ground unopened. Garchomp turned around.

'What the,' Zack shoved both aides away from him one-handed, 'actual ******** do you think you're doing? I had it!'
Dexio looked just as terrified as he should have, but still he said, 'Under no circumstances can a pokémon use attacks in that room. You might destroy the eggs!'
'This isn't some no-smoking policy,' Zack snapped. Garchomp had laid eyes on him. Great. 'So now what do we do?'
'Maybe we can lure it out,' Sina said. 'I have been told I'm pretty tasty.'

Zack groaned, but not loud enough to overpower the Garchomp's roar. Even with a warped door between them, the heat and wet and stink of its breath was all too powerful. It took a step forward, and tilted its head as if it were listening to them. Then it stepped back, and bolted for the eggs.

'Okay, ******** it,' Zack shoved his way past the aides and climbed through the tear in the door, leaving Lethal's ball on the ground. He rounded the corner, and pulled the keystone bangle from his pocket, holding it like a knuckleduster as it glowed with brilliant light. Garchomp had an egg in its grasp, the shattered incubator glass at its feet, when it froze. A strange shell of energy formed around it, pulsing with power. In seconds it shattered, and made the shelves of incubating eggs tremble. Now Garchomp was Mega Garchomp. Bigger and stronger, but this time the mega evolution had worked.

'Stand down, a*****e,' Zack said. This thing could tear him apart like a wet tissue, but he had learned early on in his career that he couldn't let it see he knew that. The trainer was king. Mega Garchomp clutched the egg, and turned. It growled softly, walking towards Zack. He had the impression that it was deliberating. Or maybe fighting with itself. Its expression turned dark. It bore its fangs, roared. Mega Garchomp rushed Zack, and Crunched.

But something slid into its open maw. Something metal and red. When Mega Garchomp Crunched the fire extinguisher, the pressurized foam exploded in its mouth, splattering the room with white slop. The pokémon staggered forward, stumbled, and landed face first on the floor. Zack caught the egg one-handed before it smashed, and breathed a sigh of relief.

'Oh Zack, you're so cool,' Sina gushed. Dexio gaped.
'What? He? But I- I threw the fire extinguisher...'

---

'So then, lesson learned,' Dexio said, sweeping up the debris. They were back in the lab, and Zack was the only one who wasn't cleaning anything. Wasn't his mess. 'Only attempt to mega evolve a pokémon you cannot control under close supervision. I should write that down.'
'Here I thought you guys were supposed to be smart,' said Zack. He had Serene helping Sycamore's aides to clean with her Psychic power. It would be good practice for the courtyard. At the moment she still used too much power; while she had no problem lifting things, she struggled to manipulate them in mid air. He had faith, however, that she could master Telekinesis.
'Thanks so much for evolving it properly, Zack,' Sina said, creeping up to him. 'You calmed it down just enough to make it stop. It's so great when a man can get things done.'

'Again, I threw the fire extinguisher so...'
'It still tried to eat you,' Esme said. She had finished unscrewing the remains of the doors from their hinges and yanked one of them off the wall. 'But thank you anyway, I suppose. Nice timing.'
'Right,' Zack said. He struggled to look Esme in the eye after the display Salieri had put on yesterday. Just when he was starting to think she might be into him too. Even so, he needed her. 'I can't hang around long.'
'Me either,' Esme said, glancing at the clock. 'It is a prior engagement.'
'Good,' Zack bit the bullet and looked her in the eye. 'Then let's make this quick.'  

[Jump Einatz]

The Fishbone

“Hop to it, people!” Skarada called out, clapping his hands and sidestepping the various crewmates running in and out of open hatches through the halls. The Fishbone hadn’t properly been mobilized for a while, and their wares needed to be stored properly in case of an emergency. Ska knew his scheme would cause a backlash, but if he could control enough factors then no one unwanted would set foot on his ship.

“Your sentimentality has us behind schedule,” said a grumpy Erin, stepping out of the pantry and walking in line with the captain down the corridor. Ska twirled out of the way of a pirate carrying a crate past him.
“We set the pace, love. We had two shots to launch today and we still have the second.”
“The trade complicates things. It’s unnecessary.”
“It puts piece where we want them. Open your mind, Erin.”

Erin stopped in front of Ska, cutting him off. “We need 241 for this to work. Putting the whole op at risk, just to troll-“
“Come now, it’s not just a trolling. Call it…” Ska searched for the words. “Conditioning.”

He made to walk away, but Erin grabbed his arm. “We’ve come too close to blow it on a gamble.”
Ska turned to her, cupping her face with one hand. “Love, all we do is gamble. I don’t plan on losing now.”
He disarmed her. Erin tried to keep up her scowl, but she couldn’t as he put his other hand on her stomach to feel the baby. “You’re a scoundrel.”
“And you’re a menace.”

His phone buzzed in his pocket. “Finally. I’ll be right back for check in,”

They lingered on a kiss for a few rings, before Ska finally answered the call and peeled himself away. He kept walking. “And here I thought you dropped off the Earth.”
“Not before I get what’s mine,” said Salieri, all business. “Let’s make a deal.”
“You wait til the last minute to ring me? Tacky, Sal. You know what the deal is. Standard standoff. I’ll send in 241 with your Dex, you send whoever you want with the Stone. That Dex won’t shut up, by the way, it’s made Erin cranky.”
“Just turn off the volume.”
“Tried that. It’s rebootin’ something awful, Sal. Keeps asking to play games like that computer that tried killin’ everybody.”
“Don’t whine. It’ll be off your hands soon…just like Prou. Where’d you even get her, Ska?”

Ska smirked and took a few steps backwards to a door he just passed. He opened the hatch into a tight medical bay. The doctor of the ship was washing surgical instruments at the sink while on of the crew’s engineers was turning dials on the side of Prou’s helmet. The armored Gardevoir was sitting still and obediently on the table while the engineer made the helmet whole again. “When I teamed up with Flare, they gifted her to me. Apparently their mystery backer has a surplus of well trained, very illicit Pokémon. One guess as to who they are, mate.”

He gave the doctor and engineer a nod, acknowledging their presence while staring at himself in Prou’s visor. He could practically hear the gears spinning in Salieri’s head. “You’re saying it was the nobles.”
“Bingo. And imagine my surprise when I saw the Original Trainer data. Fate’s a funny thing.”
“Not when it’s bringing you and me together again.”
“Hehe. Well, that’s something we can agree on. You wanna talk to her?”

Ska held the phone up to Prou’s ear, still hearing Sal drone on from a distance. “Yeah, so let’s get this over with. I have a place in mind….hello? Ska, don’t ******** with me right now.” There was a pause, and then a timid, hopeful, “Prou?”

Predictably, the brainwashed Pokémon didn’t react. “Yeeeeah, that’s not her name anymore,” said Ska, taking the phone back and stepping out of the room. “241. That’s the number they gave her.”
“How do I know she’s okay?”
“The girl’s half vegetable, she’s far from okay. But I’ve kept her whole, no sickness or nothing. You’ll see when we meet.”

Skarada followed the corridor down to a hatch that led to the deck. Currently, The Fishbone was sailing over international waters at 30,000 feet, coasting through clouds. Ska snapped a few of the buttons on his coat closed, pacing slowly across the cold, wet deck.

“Now tell me where and when.”
“There’s a cove connected to a sandbar leading to the Tower of Mastery in Shalour City. Do you know it?”
“Don’t act like you didn’t see me there yesterday, mate. I know you were watching me.”
“…there’s a hill up from the cove at the northern part of the city. That cross street, before sunset.”
“Can’t do sunset. All I’ve got is three hours from now.”
“You just said that I set the terms-”
“Let’s not twist it, I said I’d hear you out. The ball’s in my court. I make the rules. Three o’ clock or nothing.”
“…you’re such a connard.”
“Let’s keep your fancy Kalosian cussing out of my deals.”
“Why are you doing this, Ska? You hate Kalos. Go rob somewhere else.”

A flock of Wingulls soared in line with the side of the ship. Skarada scowled. “You know why. Of all people, you know why. Three o’ clock. I’ll be there.”

Shalour City Pier

Salieri ended her call with Skarada and switched to the call she had waiting. “Did you get all of that?”
“Do you even have to ask?” answered Mia.

Sal tucked the phone to her ear and looked over her shoulder. Shards from where Durendal leveled a railgun round at the pier swirled in midair, returning to their original positions thanks to Oberon’s Recycle. Most of it had been vaporized entirely, and so a full repair was out of the question. Still, the dockmaster was grateful. “Thank you for the help, mademoiselle!” the dockmaster cheered to Salieri, who just returned the thanks with a thumbs up and went back to her call.

“So? Where’s the ship?”
“He didn’t stay on long enough to get a full trace. Buuuuut Ivan pieced together the rest of it…oh. Yep. He’s in the middle of the ocean, if this is accurate…”
“Ivan? Ivan helped you?”
“Yeeeeeah.” Mia lingered on the word. A clear case of when she neglected to say the whole story. “So, the thing is, Ivan detached itself from the Dex to roam cyberspace. She’s been helping me piece together what’s going on from her end-”
“The AI from my Pokédex detached itself?” Salieri tried wrapping her head around the consequence of that statement. “The ********? That’s a thing that can happen?”
“Not really. Not for other Pokédexes. Ivan is an independent AI that I programmed to be your companion.”
“Can you put this into simple terms for me?”
Mia sighed. “The Dex you wanted me to rebuild was mostly scrapped. I took the base of another AI that got sent to me by the Kid’s Grid, added onto that with the AI fragments that were still in the Dex, and bam. Ivan was born.”
Salieri pinched her brow. “…what does that even mean?”
“Don’t worry about it. The upgrade I sent you a few days ago was supposed to patch the final problems, but instead Ivan evolved.”
“Evolved, like, how a Pokémon evolves?”
“Yeah. Exactly like that, actually.”
“So what is it now?” Salieri had read enough science fiction to know that artificial intelligence was a dangerous thing. “On a scale of friendly to Skynet, how dangerous is Ivan on the loose?”
“Not dangerous at all. To you. Mostly. Not quite on the level of the three laws of robotics. But for you, it’s close.”

Salieri stopped looking off at the ocean in time to see a familiar face approaching. Matheson was coming down the pier waving at her with a nervous expression. He was wearing a grey suit with trimmings befitting a noble. Very unlike his usual casual outfits.

She groaned. After last night’s call she wasn’t sure how to go about dealing with him, especially with the other more pressing events going on in her life. “Can you send me what Ivan got for you? I have to go. Math is here.”
“No problem. Bye.”

Sal hung up and Matheson stopped in front of her. “How’d you find me here?” Sal asked. She remembered that he had a literal degree in tracking, so she backpedaled. “Actually, nevermind. What do you want, Math?”
He rose his eyebrows, not expecting hostility right off the bat. Sal watched him recompose himself, going into a less happy-go-lucky expression. “I’m, uh, sorry about yesterday. I wasn’t really…uh. I wasn’t really expressing myself right.”
“Damn straight.” Salieri looked around at the people walking past them on the pier, around the giant hole Oberon was half repairing. “You sure you want people to see us here? In public?”
“Sal, please. That’s not what I meant.”
“It’s exactly what you meant.”
“I’m part of a super uptight society and I’m already stepping on eggshells everyday. I don’t want to make it worse, but I still want to see where you and I are going.”

Salieri folded her arms. She really didn’t want to have this kind of talk. Not with other people watching, and not on top of the other things she had to deal with. Relationship drama was not her department. “You’re not the only one stepping on eggshells. If you wanna have it all, you have to compromise, and if you’re scared of that then I dunno what to tell you.” She stepped past him. “We can talk about this later, Math. I have to deal with pirates.”

Math stepped in front of her again. “That’s also why I’m here. The pirates. I think I can help.”
“I’ve got it taken care of.” Salieri didn’t want Matheson to get himself involved further, and not because of their rough patch. Now she was negotiating to what amounted to terrorists, and she was concerned his loyalty to the nobility would undermine that. Or worse, Ska would find out what Math meant to her, and then she’d have one more weakness to consider.

“Yeah, well, it’s not up to you.” Math gulped when he saw her agitation with him rise. “Sorry. But also not sorry. They’re my responsibility too. And I have a new source for intel on his crew.”
“Yeah? What can you tell me that I don’t already know?”
“Not me. Her.”

Salieri had a feeling she knew who it was when Math gestured to someone behind her. Her suspicions were confirmed when she turned around. Wearing a grey suit much like Matheson’s was Juliet, face to face to Salieri with her hands clasped behind her back. Straight faced, she bowed her head. “Salieri.”
“…oh come on.”  

[Jump Einatz]

Shalour City Pier

The folder that Salieri leafed through was jam packed with papers and photos, more than enough to cause an overflow. Bounty posters for each member of Skarada’s crew who had one, charted records of the Fishbone’s whereabouts for the past two years, schematics on the airship itself, history on the Poison bomb cannon, and other random collected factoids on Skarada himself. The most substantial pieces were on the context of the Kalosian occupation of Orre, but for most Kalosians like Salieri, that was something she already knew. “Where did all of this come from? Do the nobles have a library or something?”

“Yes,” Juliet answered matter of factly, her back to both Sal and Math as she looked out at the sea. Her Shiny Ninetales Kallikrates sat beside her, each one of her tails wavering side to side majestically. “I worked with the LCPD, pulled from all the sources we had. All coastal police departments have the same data now.”
“Does she work on every case in Kalos?” Sal asked Math on the side. “Or just the ones that matter to me?”
“Juliet’s the best detective Kalos has to offer,” Matheson said with some measure of pride. “It’s basically her job to uncover high tier crime.”
“Matheson told me you were searching for this pirate captain. He’s been eluding Interpol for years now.” Juliet looked over her shoulder at Sal with cold green eyes. “What you’re holding is all the data I could declassify. This is the extent of our leads.”

For once, Salieri was actually ahead of the nobility on something. With her inside track, Sal already knew each of these pirates personally on some level. What she hadn’t known were the specifics of the airship and the cannon. The schematics could lead to weakpoints. Other than that, the information was nothing new to her. “Why are you helping me?” Salieri asked rather pointedly.

Juliet turned around to fully face the other girl. “This isn’t for you. This is for Kalos. You may have figured out by now that not all of our police forces are equipped to handle terrorists. Providing you with the means to carry out combat against Skarada is the closest I can get to deputizing you.”
“Deputizing? “ Sal let out a one note, spiteful laugh. “You think just because you hand me some papers that I’ll do what you want? Don’t flatter yourself, Juliet.”
“I’m not flattering myself. I’m putting you down. You’re a loose cannon and I’m simply showing you how to shoot.”
“Guys, please.” Matheson got between them and held up his hands. “Jules, you said you’d keep it civil.”
“I was gonna find him anyway,” Sal asserted, pushing away Math’s hand. “So thanks, but I don’t need you.”
“Very well. But take the file regardless. Normally I’d like to be hands on about defending my country, but today we’re unavailable.”

Salieri wondered what she meant by that. Again, she looked at the depressing grey suits they were wearing. These weren’t fashion choices. Those clothes were meant for something specific. “Why?”
“We’re attending Gabriel Leroux’s funeral,” Matheson explained, looking away. “He was my uncle.”

Suddenly, Salieri could put aside her aversion to Juliet long enough to create some sympathy. She became flustered, changing her tone entirely. “Oh. Math, I’m sorry-“
“Thanks. It’s fine. Let’s not talk about it.”
“I was told the reason you’re after this pirate is to retrieve you stolen Pokédex and your family’s missing Pokémon.” Juliet straightened herself out. “I hope you succeed. But don’t forget, the safety of Kalos is also at stake. This is not just about you.”

Sal looked at Math, who sucked in his lips. She realized he hadn’t divulged the whole nature of her relationship with Skarada to Juliet. He was a blabbermouth, but it appeared he really did have a sense of discretion when it counted. After all, discretion was what he asked of her the night before. Sal looked back at Juliet, and just nodded. “Okay.”

“If it was up to me, I would take care of this matter with internal help. But today, I’m indisposed. Don’t get used to handouts.”
“Wasn’t counting on it,” Sal shot back. “Don’t get used to favors.”
Math checked the time and sighed. “Already?” Juliet asked.
“I have to be at the procession early,” said Math. “…umm, can I…”

He glanced at the front of Juliet’s jacket and beckoned with his hand. Immediately, Salieri thought he was asking to grab her boob, only understanding seconds afterwards how ridiculous that was. Instead, Juliet reached into the inside of her coat and pulled out a flask. “Thanks,” he said, taking a long swig and gagging near the end. “Okay. Okay, I’m ready to go. Sal, if you run into trouble, call me. Doesn’t matter when.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Salieri said, dropping the guarded tone she used for Juliet. “Go be with your family, Math.”

It was clear that he didn’t know what else to say. The pirates and their relationship weren’t the things that weighed the most on his mind right now. He simply nodded again and took his Klefki out of his pocket. Apparently, Metis liked to hang out in his pocket. He walked up the steps on the side of the hill back towards town, looking for a door.

Salieri felt bad for him, but she really wished he didn’t leave her alone with Juliet. They watched him go in silence. “Truth be told, I never liked Gabriel all that much,” Juliet confessed. “But Matheson…well, he loves everybody, more or less.”
“I had no idea about his uncle.” Salieri crossed her arms and looked to the ground.
“There are many things you don’t know about that boy. It’s one of the reasons I don’t think you’re good enough for him.”

Sal almost answered back with a snide remark, except Juliet’s statement rang true. She and Matheson came from two very different worlds, something that became more apparent every day. “Yeah, well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore. I probably won’t be seeing him much longer.”
Juliet rose an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“I won’t be in the middle of your weird, clearly evil arranged marriage anymore, if that’s what you wanted to know.”

Juliet’s cheeks flushed pink as she avoided Sal’s eyes. “That means little to me…is that what you really want?”
“Yeah. I think...it’s better for him that way.” Sal put up her guard again. “Are you this nosy to everyone, or just me?”
“I’m invested in his future, and you may be a part of that.” Juliet stepped closer to Sal as she spoke, until they were inches away. “Whatever you do, be honest with him. He’s very fond of you. And if you break his trust, and hurt him-“
“Yeah, yeah, you’ll hurt me worse. In imaginative ways. I’ve heard it before.”

Juliet gave her the tiniest of sly smiles and tapped at the folder. “Don’t lose that,” she said as she walked away. Kallikrates followed in tow.

Salieri watched her go as well, and then took out her Pokégear. “Think you’re soooo cool cause you have connections,” she muttered. “Look at me, I’m Juliet, I go to fancy parties and funerals.” Sal sent a group text to Ben and Zack, telling them that the trade was set up and to meet her ASAP at the Tower of Mastery. Time was of the essence.

“I have a Shiny Pokémon, and a sword, and I’m…not short…” Sal went on in her mocking voice. She saw how alone she was on the pier, and that even Oberon was a fair distance away. She was talking to no one. “And now I’m talking to myself. That’s fine, whatever. I have important stuff to say…”  

[Marsuru]

Sycamore Pokémon Lab

The lab was trashed. Esme led Zack back through Garchomp's trail of destruction and reached the rear laboratory. The gardens shone through the windows, peaceful and perfect. Zack caught Serene wandering around the flowerbeds, and recalled the way their surroundings had shifted during the battle with Bonding. Kirlia had the power to create mirages, and one of those mirages was of Serene's home on Route 4. She must have missed it.

'Our little Kirlia seems like a new mon,' Esme said, following Zack's gaze. 'Are you glad you did not give up on her?'
'She saved my life,' Zack said. He realised he still had hold of the keystone bangle and passed it back to Esme. 'It's like you said, her powers are changing. She seems better now.'
'But you still wanted me to take a look at her?'

Zack nodded. Serene seemed okay now, but if she was still changing then she had become unpredictable. And he couldn't have that. He put his fingers to his temple and thought, very loudly, 'Serene. Get over here.'

And the Kirlia stopped frolicking, stared at Zack through the window, and Teleported right in front of him. She bowed as she touched the ground, and pirouetted to face Esme.

'Was that Telepathy?' Esme asked, impressed. She knelt down to Serene's level and smiled. 'I do not have long, little Kirlia, but let me take a look at you.'

---

'And you say you used your Kirlia's Telepathy to effectively jerry-rig a bond between you and Garchomp, and that's how you made it mega evolve.'

'Yeah, that's literally what I just said,' Zack replied. They were sat on the pile of rubble outside the rear lab while Esme gave Serene her check up. Sina was dialing up Professor Sycamore to let him know there had been another lab accident while Dexio grilled Zack for information.

'This is fascinating,' Dexio bit the end of his pen for a second. 'To think that you of all people could produce a bond with a pokémon you had never met.'
'Bonds are in my wheelhouse now,' Zack said. 'Guessing Esme didn't fill you in on my situation yesterday.'
'Aaaand the Professor said it's totally okay,' Sina said, hopping on the rubble pile next to Zack. 'He'll call the usual guy, we just need to clear this mess up. He did say something about our bursaries but I'm sure it was nothing important.' She grinned. 'See, Zack, these are just the kind of wacky shenanigans we get up to on a daily basis.'

Dexio didn't take his eyes off Zack all the time Sina spoke. 'What do you mean "your situation"?'
'With the darkhorse hun...ters...,' Zack caught the look Dexio and Sina were exchanging. 'Never mind.'
'Esme has told you about Darkhorse Hunters?' Dexio asked.
'Oh boy,' Sina said.

'Getting my hand glued to someone told me about Darkhorse Hunters,' Zack said. 'Esme just saw me afterwards.'
'Zack, we try to elicit a friendly, somewhat mischievous atmosphere around the lab, but now we are being serious.'
'Super serious.'
'You cannot let Esme start delving into this darkhorse business again. It is very unhealthy for her.'

Zack looked along the ruined hallway to where Esme knelt down with Serene, checking the Kirlia's temperature. If Esme was doing the same check up as yesterday, they were almost finished.

'You do know what today is, don't you?' Sina asked, her hair flopping into her face as she leaned over. He didn't. Zack thought about it, about today's date and what relevance it might have. Then it hit him, he'd seen it before, on a specific news article.

'It's two years today that Esme's boyfriend, Allard, died,' Dexio said in low tones. 'You didn't see what it did to her. She blamed it on these darkhorse hunters, and went to a very dark place. It took us over a year to pull her back. Please don't let her go down that path again.'
'Seriously, Zack. Esme might act like a total ice queen, but she gets stupid emotional when Allard's involved. If you give even half a s**t about her, you'll keep her well away from that conspiracy stuff.'

---

South Boulevard wasn't too busy today. A breeze shook the trees lining the pavement, scattering leaves loose. Esme hopped down the stairs that joined the lab's doors to the street while Zack followed her out with Serene. He thought about what Dexio and Sina had said, but there was something else rattling around his head.

'You and Salieri used to be friends,' he said. Esme paused and looked over her shoulder.
'Did she tell you that?'
'Lived it thanks to that bond,' Zack said, rubbing his neck. 'It's not as vivid as before, but I can still remember. She used to come to your library a lot. She looked up to you.'
'Ah. That is quite weird. Do you, ah, recall anything specific?'

'Just the way you were before,' Zack said. Esme blushed. 'Dexio and Sina think they helped you by pulling you away from the darkhorse hunters.'
'And what do you think?'
'I think grief changes people. I think all they did was put you in a limbo where you can't do what you need to do to move on.' Zack walked down the steps, looked Esme right in the eye. 'They don't know how it feels to have someone taken from you by these assholes. You can get closure from this, Esme. It won't be the same, but you can claw that happiness back.'

Esme bit her lip, then exhaled nervously. 'Do you have a plan?'
'Yeah.' Zack remembered Autumnal Avenue, remembered how he felt when Arnaud was Hexed and had his life taken from him. Those weren't his memories, but the feelings were raw. 'We're going to draw this ******** out, and I'm going to crush him.'

The Tower of Mastery

Zack arrived at the foot of the tower in a flash of light, in the middle of the township's main street. People scattered and backed off in surprise, leaving Zack and Serene in the centre of a circle devoid of people. Now where was Salieri?  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Benedict took a deep breath. He did not particularly know what his role in the next bout was going to be. His pokemon wouldn't really have time to train and heal again, not intensely. He also needed to visit the others in the hospital, but hopefully they would understand why that was going to be put off. All things considered, he wasn't particularly happy with the idea of the upcoming ambush.

At least, with how little time it seemed he had now to handle it. Manny was preparing himself with calm minds, and the rest of Benedicts' team was put through the pokemon center again in preparation for what would come next. Then came Sal's text, and he let loose a sigh.

It was time.

Tower of Mastery(ToM)

Benedict arrived soon after Zack in a much more mundane way, by walking. He looked around for Sal as he approached Zack. "Hey. You got here pretty quickly."  

[Spinne Biss]

Helena woke up screaming. Vivid nightmares of being trapped in a place where she couldn't do anything, she couldn't move, she couldn't speak, she couldn't even feel - not without his permission. Even if she couldn't remember it clearly, the memories of her body going from agony to bliss were etched into her head.

Sweaty, crying, and a mess, Helena stared up at the cieling through the blurred vision of her tear covered eyes. Her body wasn't her body anymore.

Except it is, Helena told herself. She moved her hand up, reaching toward the cieling, and used her other hand to wipe her eyes. This was her moving. She could feel the bed underneath her, her clothing as it rested on her skin. She was more aware of every sensation in her entire body, from head to toe, than she ever had been before.

Despite that, and as she got out of bed to take a shower, Helena doubted that she was in control. It was easy to say it, easy to move, easy to defy the thin air. But what if he came back? Then he'd been just as in control. The thought caused her heart to hammer in her chest, and Helena sucked in a sharp breath.

There was that little bell of anxiety that she had spent the night fighting off, brought into a full ceremonious concert after her nightmares. Helena stepped into the shower and tried to calm herself. She couldn't rely on Zack, he'd just push her further away. Salieri wanted nothing to do with her. The friends she'd made? Even Grant? They were all just normal people.

Absolon had said it at the party, and Grant had echoed the sentiment, it doesn't matter how good of a trainer you are, a soldier will still kill you.

In the end, the only person whom Helena could think of to calm herself enough to even take a shower was Ratio. No, there was one other. It helped that Moze was there, it helped to know she wouldn't be alone if she agreed to work with him.

After all, it was Ratio who had taken away Jean's influence and let her feel like a person again, a person with agency and consciousness and sentience. Moze had helped her feel like Helena again.

As she exited the shower, clad in two towels, one around her body and the other holding her hair, twisted above her head, Helena glanced at Tyrant's ball. Tame him, make him kneel, and Ratio would accept her. Even if he rescued her, even if he was there for her, she still needed to do that.

Because how else could she prove she was useful to him? Helena frowned once she realized she was smiling.

"Wait," she said the word outloud, meekly, to the void, to herself. Why did she smile? Ratio was going to turn her into a murderer. It wasn't a good thing.

That's when her holocaster beeped, pulling her out of her thoughts.

Answering the holocall, Helena came face to face with Azucena, or at least they came face to face with holographic projections of one another.

"Nice outfit," Azucena said and Helena blushed.

"It's modest enough," she said, having forgotten that she was wearing just a towel.

"Not for what we have planned. Where are you at?"

"Shalour city."

"Great! We'll meet you there. I'll text you the address."

Helena wanted to decline the offer, but Azucena had already hung up.

After Helena left, the scales on Emily's body dispersed. She frowned as she looked around the room. "I could have sword that Grant guy would have been here." She looked out at the empty space of the room as Kecleon's yellow mouth formed, and then he grinned, showing his teeth.

"Yeah, let's follow her."

***

Thirty minutes later Helena Redgrave, dressed in shorts and a tank top - because they were easy to throw on - met Azucena and Henrietta at a cafe.

"Hey!" Azucena said when she saw the approaching teen. She waved Helena over, and her other hand was busy stroking Henrietta's head, the blonde and pink streaks of it covering the other Unovan girl's face as she laid her head on the table.

"Why's she so glum?" Helena asked, hoping she didn't look half as miserable. "Tired?"

"No. Melty, her Chandelure, killed some dude. We handed him over to Absolon so they could take him to the proper authorities, hopefully without killing him. If a Pokemon isn't considered dangerous of becoming a 'serial killer' they release them to areas between routes. Helps to spread that Pokemon's environment, so the environmentalists love it."

Helena had cocked a brow as she rested her hand on Henrietta's, the timid girl gently wrapped her fingers around Helena's in respose. "Pokemon can be serial killers?"

"With a taste for human blood, yeah. Like Ursarings that start eating humans cause they think they're tasty."

"And Melty might have that?"

"He did eat a dude's soul."

"What?"

"Yeah, apparently Chandelure's fire doesn't work you physically. It lights your soul on fire. Imagine getting that burn, dude. I think if you lose your soul that's it. You stop existing."

"Azzzzyyyyyyy," Henrietta whined through her hair.

"Yeah, anyways, my girl here feels so bad, but it's gonna be okay." She knelt down to be face level with Henrietta. "Hey."

Henrietta picked her head up, her hair still in her face, sticking to her lips. "Ngggh"

"It's gonna be okay. Okay?" Henrietta pressed her lips together and tried to pout. Azucena kissed her, just a peck, and then hopped up to her feet. "Cause we're moving."

"Where!" Bridgette's voice squeaked into the conversation. The young trainer had somehow managed to get right next to the group of girls. Helena mused that it would be easy, since Bridgette made Salieri look average height.

"Ettie's got a TV deal, so we're headed back to Unova tonight. She's gonna be a super hero or something."

"Like the Pokevengers?"

"No, more like super sentai."

Bridgette frowned. "That's no fun."

"Don't say that."

"But I don't want you to leave! You guys are my friends!"

"I'm not leaving," Helena said as she brought her hand up. "I still have to win the league."

Bridgette looked up at Helena and smiled. "Awesome!"

"We'll get you a backstage pass to make up for it, okay?" Azucena said and Bridgette grinned at her.

"Promise?"

"Promise. Speaking of league, I got an idea to cheer you up, Ettie."

Henrietta perked her head up again. "Hum?"

"One last battle. These scrubs," she pointed at Bridgette and Helena, earning a "hey!" from Bridgette, "against you, the Sponsored Trainer."

"Being sponsored for underwear doesn't count," Henrietta groaned.

"It's active wear, sweetie. Durable too." She looked at the other two girls. "Like armor. Well, not like steel, but if someone smacks your boob? Nothing." Azucena said, as if speaking from personal experience.

"Now come on, get up, I'm sure these girls have gym matches to win." Azucena dragged Henrietta to her feet and off the four of them went, to find a secluded place to battle.

Shalour City - Above Sal

The great crack boomed through the city, sounding as if the sky had just split open. It might as well have, because seconds later Wailord would cast its massive shadow over Salieri's location, coming down toward her fast like it had been punched at her on purpose.

A second later, three figures flashed to life just below it. Loki had one hand on each of their backs, Helena and Bridgette materializing just below the falling Wailord.

In a flash of red light, the Water type was recalled. Loki brought the trio safely to the ground with telekinesis.

"Who tries to punch a Darmanitan with a Wailord!"

"It worked yesterday!"

The two of them had apparently not noticed Salieri. Loki, the Alakazam, however, had. He looked at Salieri, and then back to the battle. He was covered in little burns, patching his skin black.

The path infront of them was shimmering with heat as Henrietta approached, her white dress trimmed pink, and her expression timid and apologetic. Darmanitan was at one side of her, the cause for the heat, and Galvantula at the other, crackling with electricity.

Azucena trailed behind. "I returned all your other Pokemon for you!" she called reassuringly. If Salieri counted Loki, the Wailord, and all the pokeballs that Azucena struggled to keep in her arms she'd be able to note that Henrietta's two had taken down a total of eight Pokemon so far.

"You fought her yesterday?"

"No!"

"Hum!" Henrietta said, trying to catch their attention. Helena looked at the timid trainer.

"I forfeit."

"No, behind you," Henrietta pointed at Salieri. "You almost hit her."

Helena looked at Salieri. "Oh."

"Sorry!" Bridgette shouted.

I definitely don't have to say sorry if she did, right?

"Hey."  

[Jump Einatz]

Tower of Mastery - Sandbar

Low tide came twice a day to the northern shore of Shalour City. The second time, during the afternoon, had begun, giving way to a long sandbar that stretched out to the Tower of Mastery on the sea. It was a perfect path for Salieri and Banksy to walk on, albeit temporary. Sal hoped she and the boys would have enough time to use it on the way back.

Giving Skarada exactly what he wanted didn’t sit well with Sal. In Lumiose, if she gave in to a rival street gang’s demands completely, she’d lose credibility. It was the same here, only this time her family rode on the line. Assuming Ska made good on the deal, it would be the easiest way to bring Prou home and get the pirates to leave Kalos.

But Sal didn’t assume that, that would’ve been stupid. She was ready to bring the pain if she had to. It was a lot to ask of Ben and Zack to get involved. Still, they knew what they signed on for.

“Hey, did you and Moze ever stop here during your tour?” Sal asked Banksy, glancing at her brother’s emblem spray painted on the back of Banksy’s shell. The tortoise nodded, looking ahead at the Tower wistfully. “Did he put a tag down here?” A sweatdrop appeared on the back of Banksy’s head. “He did, didn’t he? Nice-“

Salieri trailed off. It had gotten dark quickly. Too quickly to just be the clouds passing by. She braced herself and grabbed a Pokéball off her belt, expecting an airship.

What she saw instead was a large whale, much closer than the airship would’ve been. Sal went from gritting her teeth to raising an eyebrow of baffled irritation. Banksy pivoted, ready to respond. “Oh come on.”

Before they snapped into action, the Wailord phased away in a flash of red. Salieri looked at the girls who appeared on the scene. Some of them had Pokémon she didn’t recognize. Sal almost pulled Ivan out of her sleeve until she remembered she couldn’t do that. Not yet, but soon. She had to hurry, they needed to strategize.

It must’ve been a battle that got lopsided and out of control. Salieri saw Helena and Loki, and saw that they saw her too, then wished she hadn’t made eye contact with them but it was too late. Sal just shook her head and turned.

“Work on your aim,” Salieri admonished at Bridgette, before walking forward to pass Henrietta. “How do you throw a whale at a monkey and miss?” she muttered to Banksy, who sighed a puff of smoke.  

[Spinne Biss]

"I threw him at a giant tree monster, thank you very much," Bridgette said to Salieri as she stuck her tongue out. "And a dragon, and several times at a weird naked image of my father. It killed a guy named Dennis."

Henrietta and Helena were both staring at Bridgette as she spoke calmly about what had happened.

"Anyways, I guess punching Wailord at strong people doesn't work, but I sure kicked that dragon's a**."  

[Jump Einatz]

Bridgette was speaking gibberish. Suddenly her aim was more excusable. Salieri stopped herself from formulating a response to that, since she didn't know where to begin aside from "What". Instead she gave Bridgette a very sarcastic thumbs up and kept walking.

These girls were slowing her down, and Salieri didn't want to get sucked into drama with Helena now. There was enough drama elsewhere. As far as Helena knew, Salieri was unaware that the Unovan girl had expressed to Zack the desire to apologize for yesterday. Salieri wasn't going to fish for that, and their last encounter was sour, so she didn't have anything to say. 'Hey, I'm taking your brother out for some pirate sniping.' Yeah, I'm sure you'd love to hear that one.

"S'cuse me," Sal said to Henrietta's Galvantula with a nod. The sandbar was not a wide path, and it was the way of the traveler to mind the road.  

[Spinne Biss]

There was a buzz in her ears. Azucena had made a joke about punching naked people, and Bridgette went over to retrieve her Pokemon.

Salieri walked past Henrietta and Azucena, the timid one apologizing, and the feisty dark skinned girl sticking her tongue out at Salieri as she left.

"We're gonna head to the Pokemon center and then the gym, right? Before you guys leave tonight?" Bridgette asked. They'd made plans. Get Helena and Bridgette their fourth badges, then see the two girls off. It was set up to be a cute day, with nothing bad happening.

Helena watched Salieri walk. A knot grew in her stomach. If she let her go now, she'd have no other choice. Join Ratio, fight Jean, fight the nobility.

Or go after the karate girl, who hates her, to try and fight Jean, fight the nobility. At least with Salieri, she wouldn't be expected to kill anyone.

But with Sal, Zack would just try to send her home.

"Guys, I'll catch up." She'd run after Salieri then.

"Hey! Wait, please! Salieri!"  

[Jump Einatz]

Salieri and Banksy didn't stop walking, but they did slow down, and Sal looked over her shoulder. "Yeah?"  

[Spinne Biss]

"Can you wait, please?" Helena felt like she wanted to cry. If Salieri walked away now, it was over. There was an endless void of everything she'd have to face, alone. The fear of that shook her.

Henrietta and Azucena were leaving, and Bridgette was a child. Grant was helpful, but he was also going to be a target. Nobody could help her like Salieri could. Nobody but Ratio.

I know what the nobility are planning. The words caught in her throat.

I saw your brother.

I was attacked by somebody. His name is Jean-Pierre, and he's a lot scarier than Ratio.

I miss my brother.

I need your help.

Please.

"I'm sorry. Is Zack okay?"