Private/Closed Pokemon: Returning Wishes

[Ghostryder30]

[(Chapter 0/Prologue: Old friends and enemies, new missions and activities)]


"This is Lusamine." Said Lusamine on computer cam. "I have a mission for Cascade and Ryder. Ryder and Cascade, I trust that this mission now goes to you. Something made the Unova radio comms haywire. You both may not believe me, but I found something not good here. This is whatever happened to the radio comm while I was in touch with Professor Juniper, and all of the sudden, some of the ice has infected the radio. Cascade, Ryder, I think it's time you equip yourselves with some Aether Foundation equipment. And you both are going to the Unova region, but don't forget your friends, Ryder. They knew the Unova region more than we do. And be careful, Team Plasma is still roaming around the region very silently. I'm sending the message to your friends, Ryder. You and Cascade will not be alone in this mission. I'm ending this transmission since the ice spreading slowly fast. Good luck!" And the computer screen went black.

[(Chapter 1: Ambush at the Unovian seas - Castelia City - Ryder/Circuit, Cascade/Storm)]


At the Unovian seas, an Aether Foundation boat was sailing across the seas. From inside, an Aether Foundation employee was piloting the boat as they reached the bay of Castelia City. "Okay, kids we're here." Said the employee. "Right where you Aether enforcers told me to take you. Question is why?" "We're seek for something that infected the ice." Said Ryder. "Infected ice?" Said the employee. "Hey bud, you can't just enter the region when you both noticed that Team Plasma will be at our throats again." "Exactly why we must stay vigilant." Said Ryder. "Well I got news for you, kid." Said the employee. "There everyone calm out there but no signs of ice and panic." "That's what others think." Said Ryder. "Pikachu...("This boat ride is tiresome...")" Said Circuit acting bored.




@JustNinja @Rex

 

[Rex]

It was snowing in Castelia City. Not for the first time, Ryan found himself wondering if he’d made the right decisions, leading up to this point in his life. On one hand, he’d gotten everything he ever wanted. He’d made it, Champion of Unova. On the other hand, he was finding actually possessing what he desired far less enjoying than actually seeking it. Part of that was that he’d inherited a huge mess from the previous Champion. Pockets of criminal activity, Gym Leaders disappearing off to who knows where, and a million other little problems that were daily passed up the food chain to him.

You see, while he wasn’t really a political leader of Unova or anything of that nature, Gym Leaders were, at least supposed to be, pillars of their communities. A voice to rally around, an example to follow, someone to protect and guide the people. And Gym Leaders answered to the Pokemon League, and, as Champion of Unova, that meant they ultimately answered to him. He’d come into this project with a reformist angle, and wasn’t opposed to shaking things up, though he would like to keep friction to a minimum. Things worked people when people worked with him, not against him.

It kept him busy though. Officially he was in Castelia for an event with the local Gym Leader, Burgh, though he was also taking the time to check into rumors of Team Plasma activity out of the sewer system. As it was winter now, the sewers were largely kept drained, both for maintenance purposes and to keep the system at a state of readiness for any sudden thaws. However, this also made them a place well liked by the less demanding element of the city’s criminal underbelly. It felt like Ryan was always chasing rumors like this, admittedly. They occasionally panned out, but just as often proved to be a waste of time. Still, all he could do was keep hammering down Plasma pockets when they cropped up, at least until their enigmatic leader deigned to show his face again.

That was for later though. At the moment, Ryan was engaged in the more public facing aspect of his job. He’d spent much of the morning spectating Burgh in his job as a Gym Leader, offering tips and tricks to Trainers who failed to overcome the Bug Type expert and earnest congratulations to those who did. Many of them expected to face Ryan himself someday. Some of them told him outright, but others only made it obvious through their eyes. He welcomed them all to try, but was quite thankful the stronger Gym Leaders and the Elite Four would weed most of them out before they got anywhere close. There simply weren’t enough hours in the day, and he and his Pokemon deserved a break sometimes too!

Technically, he was on his break right now. The Gym had stopped taking challengers for a few hours so Burgh could engage his other passions, and also to give the Pokemon and Gym Trainers a chance to eat and rest. Ryan had taken the opportunity to mosey down to Thumb Pier, his trusty Samurott Dodger by his side as the Pokemon always was, both to relax and enjoy the sights and smells of the sea, but also to keep an eye on the nearby entrance to the sewers, on the off chance he spotted anyone shady. Thankfully, the winter cold had driven most people indoors, and Thumb Pier was located on the very edge of the city, just south of the Skyarrow Bridge gate. So, he had the place mostly to himself.

So far, though, the most interesting things he’d seen were the ships coming in and out of port. Castelia was both the gateway to the Unova region and its beating heart, and the port was active night and day, so there was always something to watch, even in the cold and snow. One particular ship that had caught his eye was an Aether Foundation vessel – at least, that’s what it appeared to be, given the ship model and general design. Everyone knew what Aether was, the Foundation had branches all across the world, including local branches in Unova. Even the old Plasma outfit that had splintered off from the group when Ghetsis revealed his true colors, based out of Driftveil City and lead by Rood, was affiliated with them. Perhaps one of those branches had called in extra assistance? There were certainly a lot of Pokemon in need of help these days.

 

[Ghostryder30]

As the boat reached the docks, Ryder and the others got off the boat. "Stay here, and make sure the boat's active." Said Ryder. "You and your Pokemon team can handle things from here while we're gone. Besides, little ice won't do good on us." "You mad, kid?" Said the employee. As Ryder went to the city, he and his friends were then ambushed by one Team Plasma grunt. "So, you came to the Unova region, eh?" Said the grunt. "Very smart for a grunt who was snooping on us." Said Ryder. "Tell me, what have you done to the region?" "Well, let's see." Said the grunt. "We didn't capture that Pokemon that we wanted to control. We made our own ice ray with a touch of our own image of our supreme rule in which we call it "Black Ice x". Maybe that's why we were striking fear on all of these pathetic peasants." "That last sentence almost sounds like a loser would definitely call himself that." Said Ryder. "Besides, little beating on you would do you good." "How dare you!" Said the grunt as he sent out Octillery. "I don't need an ice ray to make you feel hurt..."


@Rex @JustNinja @YoungBeedrill

 

[Merciless Medic]

It was a very sour morning. A young woman woke up late when she should have been to the rendezvous point an hour ago, her Pokemon didn't even want to get up, she stubbed her toe on her bed, and she was halfway to the rendezvous point when she left some rather essential items, like her bluetooth earpiece. Now that she had everything she needed with her dark blue jeans and black combat boots, black t-shirt, and a grey hoodie with her trusty slingshot and stun gun within the hoodie's pocket, the disgruntled agent traveled to the set point. It was near the dock. She was told who to meet, but due to her rather unceremonious wake-up this morning, she forgot who it was. She walked around the dock for a while, her PokeBalls of varying models snug on her trainer belt as she tooled around, unsure of what else to do until someone she needed to meet caught her eye. It was when she had heard of a commotion nearby. She stuck her hands in her pockets, fiddling with her slingshot as she made a beeline towards the commotion, but stopping short. She pulled her hood up to disguise who she was and watched as a very small group were being harassed by a Team Plasma Grunt.

I thought they were all gone. This realization helped made sense of the mission briefing she had went through. Seeing that they needed help, she stepped up to offer her services, when another grunt came out of nowhere. This grunt was wearing the original Team Plasma suit, but he had his hood down, where his mousy unkempt brown hair could be seen. His hazel eyes shone with a lazy indignation, as if he were just being taken along for the ride. He looked over at the woman approaching the group and made his way to stop her advances. "Hey, stop!" The woman still kept going, which slightly unnerved him. His voice raised a notch louder. "I said stop!"

She finally listened, but not from his command as he had thought. A Level Ball erupted from her side as she tapped it with her finger, sending a colossal amalgamation to appear on the field. A red and green-striped dinosaurian haunches with a tail ending in a large fish-like head accompanied with glassy eyes and a Choice Band around the creature's tail. The Dracovish, standing at eight feet instead of seven-foot-seven-inches, didn't seem like it was completely conscious. A device around the Dracovish's gills surged water around his head that went into his gills, awakening him and focusing his eyes to a more clear look as they glared down the person in front of him.

"Alright, Vishy. What shall we do to people like him? Hm?" Getting the hint, the Dracovish slowly stomped forward, his jaw snapping shut hard enough to make a loud clacking noise. It was enough to cause the grunt to step back a few paces before sending out his own Pokemon. Not having fought anything like this before, he sent out his Zebstrika by shoving his PokeBall into the air, sending the black-and-white zebra-like Pokemon forward to stand in the way of the beast. However, even the Electric-Type seemed to be reeling back from the creature's look. It didn't have the ability Intimidate, but the grunt could tell with the amount of confidence the woman held exuded from her Pokemon, as well. Plus, it seemed like she had been training for far longer than what he had for his entire life, leading him to believe that he was vastly unequipped for this, even with a team such as his.

"Zebby, Thunder!" Fear overtook the man's voice as crackling electricity surged through the Zebstrika's body, making his mane glow yellow-white with electrical energy before sending it off into the sky. A storm cloud was created from the lightning as it sent the electricity back down towards the Dracovish. Instead of charging forward, the Dracovish took it head on, squaring out their feet to tank the hit and send the electricity coursing through the ground. While it did hurt and Vishy could feel the electricity getting real close to locking up his limbs, he was thankfully not paralyzed.

"Fishious Rend." With a cool voice, the woman commanded one of the creature's signature attacks. The Dracovish roared and ran forwards, water bubbling at their mouth before becoming a current around their teeth and around their head, allowing them to hyper-focus on their prey. The Zebstrika tried to leap out of the way, but the Dracovish had their sights on him. Without missing a beat, the Dracovish's watery fangs bit down on the retreating equine's legs, earning a shrill neigh from the Electric-Type as the Water/Dragon-Type threw the Thunderbolt Pokemon back at his trainer. The trainer jumped back as his Pokemon fell at his feet. While his Zebstrika wasn't out yet, he could tell that another hit from the Choice Banded monster wasn't going to be pretty. He returned the Zebstrika and sent out his Scolipede. The Bug/Poison-Type came out, thinking he was having to fight this thing, until he felt weight on his back.

"Get us out of here." With an affirmatory click, the Megapede Pokemon scuttled away at surprising speeds, leaving the woman and her Dracovish alone with the other grunt and some other people, who looked rather familiar.

"Hm, that's rather disappointing. You did well, Vishy. Now." She looked to the other grunt, her voice dripping with irritation and exacerbation. "Do we have to fight you, too?" She wasn't really paying attention to the group beside her, as she didn't know them and really couldn't care less who they were which was just fueled further by her irritation this morning, not realizing these were the people she was supposed to meet up with. All she wanted was to get her anger out and maybe make this day rather worthwhile was all.

 

[Ghostryder30]

A small violent rumble came from Ryder and the grunt who got defeated by Ryder after a long battle. " Bad boy..." Said Ryder. Circuit returned back to Ryder only to warm up his side of the face. "Thanks for the help, Circuit." Said Ryder. "Let's go ask around the city to see if anyone here knows where is the radio tower."

@Rex @JustNinja @YoungBeedrill @Merciless Medic

 

[Merciless Medic]

Having just been defeated by Ryder, the other grunt looked at Natalia and bolted. There was no way he'll be able to survive two rounds of battle right after another. With the grunts defeated, the woman caught the young man was talking to his Pikachu about the radio tower. Wait, she knew where the radio tower was. At least in Unova.

She ran up to the young man with the Pikachu, waving him down. Maybe he was the one she was looking for? "Hey, aren't you Ryder? I was told to meet someone by the name of Ryder, but I kind of forgot about what 'Ryder' even looked like. Though, when I noticed you had a Pikachu and you were talking about a radio tower, which was the thing I was supposed to help a few people get to and their plans overall, I thought maybe give it a try." She was vague enough not to incur the wrath of her superiors if they ever found out she just walked up to a complete stranger and asked who they were, but she wasn't caring at the moment.

Her Dracovish's water channeled around their gills at a smaller rate, but the clarity in the Pokemon's eyes did not fade into a cloudy mess. Instead, he was focused on the Pikachu, tilting his head like a curious Lillipup would do.

 

[Ghostryder30]

Circuit starred at Natalia's Dracovish, and pondered if it came from the Galar region. Realizing the asking questions would slow the two of them down, Ryder then said: "Yes, I'm Ryder. And yes, we're looking for a radio tower to re-establish all radio communications across the entire region. And you must be...?" Ryder then waited for Natalia to reply.


@Rex @JustNinja @YoungBeedrill @Merciless Medic

 

[D34N.U5R]

Meanwhile
There was a Pokémon battle going on between a boy named Black Zodokai and a young woman named Nia. "We can win this, Pikachu!!" Black yelled, "VOLT FIST!!!" The Pikachu ran into the Garchomp on the field, sending it flying into the air afterwards. Then, the Pikachu attempted to land a punch powered by speed, and succeeded! The Garchomp fell onto the floor, dazed. The screen flashed a score. Pikachu: 2. Garchomp: 1. Pikachu wins! it read. "WE DID IT!!!" Black yelled. His Pikachu jumped with glee. Nia smirked. "Well done, Black." she said, "Now to find someone named 'Circuit'."

Black chuckled. "Easy!" he gloated, "I'll go as fast as I can!"

 

[Rex]

The running grunt didn’t get much further than the entrance to the pier before he was caught unawares by a Haxorus. The hapless man was snagged between the Pokemon’s tusks, lifted into the air, and tossed back to the ground. Even with the snow dampening his fall, the force of it was still enough to knock him out. A little rough, but it got the job done.

“Whew, looks like we’re just in time for the cleanup.”

Ryan had caught sight of the battle from a distance, and though he was loathe to leave the sewers unattended, his curiosity had eventually gotten the better of him. It seemed like this time at least, that curiosity paid off. Though he’d missed the main action, he’d caught one of those rare, illusive, Team Plasma grunts he’d been looking for. Now the question was, just what had he been running from?

A quick visual scan of the pier revealed two potential suspects, an adult woman and a child who appeared to be half her age. He also noticed the Aether ship docked nearby and he momentarily inwardly cringed. This grunt was wearing the old colors, and if Ryan had just accidentally set Lucie on one of Rood’s men there was going to be hell to pay. Well, he’d cross that bridge when he got to it. In the meantime, of the two Trainers standing on the pier, the woman looked to be the more likely of the two to have sent a Team Plasma grunt packing.

Ryan shared a look with Dodger, then motioned for Lucie to collect the grunt. He’d have to apologize to Burgh later, but if Team Plasma was on the move then that had to take precedence. In the meantime, the Trainer and his two Pokemon approached the pair of Trainers, who, if Ryan’s ears were any good, were just in the process of introducing themselves to each other.

“’Scuse me,” he said, “Hate to interrupt the meet and greet, but I was hoping you two could tell me about what this sad sack was up to.” He jabbed his thumb towards the unconscious grunt being carried by the Haxorus for emphasis.

 

[D34N.U5R]

Back in Neos City after a while, Black and his Pikachu got on a plane when they heard a voice. “Black,” the voice said, “be careful.” Black turned around. He saw the figure who was talking. It was Travis. “Sure, Travis!” Black said. Black got on the plane, and immediately did the doors shut when he got in.

 

[Ghostryder30]

Ryder didn't anticipated for this, but decided to talk to him. "These grunts were up to no good all right." Said Ryder. "There have been sightings that they didn't brought that thing back, but they used the black ice serums to terrorize the entire region. And as enforcer of the Aether Foundation, it's my job to protect those in need of help. By the way, what's your name?" Circuit then came back on Ryder's shoulder.

 

[Merciless Medic]

"Oh, my name is Natalia. So, I need to meet you. Cool." As soon as she was done, somebody else had come up to them, a Haxorus at their heels. The large man (at least in her eyes) asked what the grunt was up to and Ryder was the one who answered. Apparently, something about black ice serums that Natalia was only made aware of fairly recently, and Ryder worked for the now reformed Aether Foundation. She still didn't trust the company due to its history, but she can look past it for now. They needed each other.

Due to not living under a rock, Natalia felt like this large man with the Haxorus was very familiar. Natalia shrugged her shoulders at the entire thing, putting everything that was said in mental notes but brushing it away to get going. "Well, whatever they are doing, we apparently have to get to the tower. Didn't realize comms were down, but they were. Granted, I haven't had contact with my superiors in a while. Anyway, we talk and walk. We don't want to waste time. By the way, what's your name and, if it isn't too much trouble, can you lead us to the radio tower? I feel like someone who has been here for far longer than myself would have better directions. I know it is in Castelia City, though."

Natalia's Dracovish tilted their head in curiosity as they stared at the Haxorus. They made little steps towards the Dragon-Type, wondering how sharp those axe jaws were. Their eyes looked cloudy due to the water in the mechanical contraption around their head not pumping water through their gills at a regular rate, which meant the Dracovish had a limited time to be out. Natalia eyed her Pokemon, making sure they behaved themselves while awaiting an answer. She shifted from one leg to the next in a hypnotic rocking fashion, as if antsy and not being able to sit still.

 

[Ghostryder30]

"Then it's settled." Said Ryder. "We'll find a radio tower and find out who's responsible for sending Team Plasma and firing black ice serums on the region. This may be hard, but... it's all we've got. I hope you both can handle a hazardous weather." Circuit then hopped off of Ryder and went to see Natalia's Dracovish and the man's Haxorus. Both were big, but Circuit was smaller than the two.

 

[Rex]

The kid answered him first, going off on some tangent about sightings and not bringing things back. Apparently, Team Plasma was using ‘black ice’ to terrorize the region. He then announced that he was an ‘enforcer’ for the Aether Foundation, and therefore it was his job to protect people. Kids had really active imaginations, didn’t they? Ryan didn’t know why a Pokemon care group like Aether would need enforcers, or why they’d employ a child to do such a job. Ryan spared a glance towards Dodger, and the Samurott only shrugged in response. Seemed like he was on his own, here.

Unfortunately, the woman seemed to be rolling with whatever the kid was talking about. He did catch her name, at least, Natalia. Apparently, the pair of them absolutely needed to get to a radio tower immediately because communications were down. Odd, last he checked his PokeNav he still had a full connection. Maybe they were playing some kind of game? Making a little snow out to be some great evil plot and inventing a communications blackout as a crisis only the kid could solve? Well, he supposed he could play along.

“Castelia Communications? You can’t miss it,” he said, before pointing at one of the city’s tallest towers, a gleaming white one that almost blended in with the falling snow, and featured an ornate spire at its peak. In fact, taking account for said spire, it probably was the tallest building in the city. “It’s got to be the tallest, otherwise it’d be blocked by the other high rises. Just orient yourselves towards it and it should be easy enough to reach.”

As for him, he really needed to figure out what to do with this unconscious grunt. Neither of these people had been any help in telling him what, exactly, the man had been up to before Lucie had caught him, which was the question he’d actually asked. At least neither of them recognized him, thank Arceus for small miracles. He liked being Champion just fine, but sometimes it was nice to be anonymous. “I’m just a concerned citizen, don’t mind me.”

Lucie, meanwhile, shifted uncomfortably and grunted. A natural on the battlefield she may be, but without an opponent to focus on she didn’t do well with eyes on her. Especially when they were the eyes of a cobbled together freak of nature like Dracovish. They really would just cobble together and old fossil bits in Galar, really, the thing looked barely even alive. Ryan shot the fossil Pokemon a disapproving glance, before returning his gaze to the two humans.

“In any case, I need to get Sleeping Beauty here to the police before he comes ‘round,” Ryan said, “Good luck with your, uh, thing.”

 

[Ghostryder30]

Circuit then returned back to Ryder and they both went off with Natalia. As they reached Castelia Communications tower, Ryder knew lots of people were panicking amidst the black ice attack. "Looks like a long way up, but I think it's our best shot." Said Ryder leading the way.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Natalia was unable to really properly understand that what she had just heard sounded like a fantasy or a game, and that Interpol probably had led her astray or she had misinterpreted the entire board meeting about why she was here in Unova. It was just easier to go with the flow and act like she was no one important. However, when she watched the vaguely familiar man's face, he seemed almost unconcerned and confused as he looked at his Samurott. Maybe. Either she was reading him wrong or something else.

Then it clicked.

She looked to Ryder with a confused look, mental dots connecting in her head. She looked on over the radio tower, but she felt like she was here for the wrong reason. She had never heard of this black ice, even though the grunt was just talking about it earlier. So why did she not hear of it until now? Surely Interpol would have told her about this and send not only her but give her a team to work with. Her contemplation had stopped her watch of her Dracovish, who was not giving the Haxorus their space. The look from the familiar man only proved to make the Dracovish more curious.

When Natalia looked over at her Pokemon finally, she realized how low the water was getting and the Dracovish was getting a bit too close. She whipped out her PokeBall, returning the Dracovish and giving the Haxorus their space. She looked back to Ryder. "Hey, you go on ahead. I need to put Vishy in water before they pass out." She gave the familiar man a raised eyebrow, the look in her eyes spelling confusion and realization, before turning around. She gave a little jerk with her head towards the dock, pretty visible as she was nonverbally asking for the familiar man to join her, as she was fairly lost still. Natalia was so hoping she wasn't having this issue, but given that her day started out pretty bad, it seemed like now she had this confusing situation on top of that and she needed answers.

She went back to the dock to release Vishy, her hand ghosting over the Level Ball. She trained her Pokemon how to doggy paddle at least, so they shouldn't have too much- Oh. There was a little embankment under the dock. Now, she didn't have to worry about Vishy swimming. She released her Dracovish on the embankment below. Upon feeling the water push and ebb against their feet, the Water/Dragon-Type gurgled with glee as they dunked their head into the water, refilling their contraption and getting a good breath of fresh water.

 

[Rex]

The woman bade the kid to go on ahead, and go on ahead he did. Ryan caught himself wondering if the kid would be okay by himself. Though, he supposed the boy did have Pokemon, if that Pikachu was any consideration. And younger kids than him did go on Pokemon journeys from time to time. Hopefully he wouldn’t get into too much trouble out there. Still, the woman clearly still had things she wanted to say to him, so, he leisurely followed her to the end of the dock.

Along the way, he tried to remind himself not to be judgmental of her strange Fossil Pokemon. Regardless of what he thought about its existence, the fact was that it was alive now. And, watching it play in the water, it seemed clear that the woman was doing what she could to make it comfortable and happy. Not to mention, he had no idea where it had come from or who had revived it, so he shouldn’t jump to conclusions about it or its owner. He also let Lucie put the grunt down and returned her to her Pokeball for some respite. Dodger would be more than enough to keep an eye on the unconscious man.

In the meantime he tried to mentally go over what the kid had said again. The woman had seemed almost as confused by his words as Ryan himself felt. What did Ryan know for sure? Team Plasma was definitely still around, he was constantly chasing rumors of grunts around the region, and had in fact found one today. Presumably they had some sort of plan in motion, but their leadership was keeping a surprisingly low profile given Ghetsis’ previous MO of showing up in places acting concerned for the plight of Pokemon. Could they be doing something with ice? Well, it was winter. There was perhaps a little more snow on the ground than Castelia usually got, but averages were averages because there were occasions where the number was both higher and lower. So far as Ryan could guess, this was just a higher than average year.

But, then he remembered the woman, and how she’d clearly wanted to speak to him. So he gave her an apologetic smile, and offered her his hand to shake, “Sorry, couldn’t help overhearing earlier. Your name’s Natalia, right? I’m Ryan.”

 

[Merciless Medic]

Natalia watched her Pokemon stomp the water, a high pitched chortle coming from within the water as a flurry of bubbles popped up to the surface, bursting immediately as the Fossil Pokemon swayed this way and that in complete bliss. Natalia sighed a little in relief, still keeping her eyes on her beloved Pokemon with such fondness as they walked into the water, being leg deep now as they watched the marine life swim around them. Natalia pulled her attention away as the man returned his Haxorus after setting down the grunt. She stared at the grunt, her face not distorting in a scowl due to anger, but one of sympathy and pity. Solemn thoughts overtook her, but she shook them away. Looking up, she noticed this man was also in a reverie before remembering that she was there. She returned his apologetic smile and the handshake, firmly squeezing and giving a couple of quick shakes like how her father taught her. She nodded in at his question, giving him a sweet smile. "Yes. Nice to meet you, Ryan."

As she pulled her hand away, she returned her attention to the grunt, her thoughts swimming in her head, eagerly vying to be picked first. Instead of talking about the task at hand, she began to talk about her Dracovish. She was trying to make sense of the thoughts in her head and talking about something she knew well aided in organizing her thoughts as she took a small break from them. "You know, I have always been asked questions about Vishy or blamed for their existence. I didn't ask for them to be revived. It's interesting that you haven't passed judgment verbally or asked why I have such a pained creature, but I assumed you were just being nice. Still, I feel like I should explain myself." The way her tone was sounded practiced, as if she had talked about this before many times to many people. Still, her face showed the sympathy for her Pokemon. "Basically, I gave this woman in Galar a fish fossil because she asked. I didn't think she would put a different fossil together with that one, and I saved them from her crazy hands. It was a rough week, but I managed to get that contraption so they can breathe normally without having their head dunked in water 24/7." She nodded her head towards Vishy, before returning her attention to the grunt, now her thoughts coming together in a neat line.

"Anyway, now that I have collected my bearings, I'm awfully confused about the whole situation. For one, I know that is an Aether cruiser, but someone so young being a part of that group and being an 'enforcer'? I thought they were more about research. I'm 30, and I feel like kids getting into these positions is dangerous, regardless of how much shit they've had to go through in their journies. It feels wrong. And second, my superiors never told me about this 'black ice' or how active Team Plasma was again. It's possible they didn't know, but they are a huge organization. I thought they'd tell me, unless I forgot the mission briefing. Hell, I don't even remember why I'm here." Her rambling came to an end with a huge sigh, happy that she got everything off her chest. After realizing she had talked on for way too long without giving him some comment within, she gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I'm just honestly very lost right now and I tend to ramble because of that. If there is any information you can give me, that would be appreciated."

 

[Rex]

“Aah, you got me,” Ryan said bashfully, putting his hands on his hips, “Really though, even if you had decided to bring them back to life yourself, the problem with these Fossil Pokemon isn’t with you, or any other individual trainer. It’s a systemic issue, caused by a scientific community that doesn’t respect these relics, or the Pokemon that can be brought back to life from them. People got too caught up in that they could bring them back to life like this, and never stopped to consider if they actually should.”

He could imagine Lenora giving such a lecture. Though, he wasn’t half as knowledgeable or elegantly spoken on the topic as she was. Still, that was neither here nor there, the truth of the matter was that he had judged the Pokemon and its Trainer for something that was beyond either of their control. “Still, allow me to apologize, I have no right to judge you or your decisions about your own Pokemon. It is good to see you’re taking good care of the little guy.”

Still, he didn’t interrupt again while the woman explained her perspective on this whole mess. She shared some of his doubts about the kid who had left them well behind. She also mentioned some superiors that weren’t keeping her in the loop, though who it was she was working for, she didn’t quite say. Apparently it was a large organization, though, one that should have noticed something like Team Plasma’s return. Still, she was hoping he’d help clear some things up, he could at least give that a shot.

“Well, as you may be aware, a splinter faction of Team Plasma, under the supervision of one of the former Sages, Rood, currently operates out of Driftveil City. Their job there is much the same as the Aether Foundation’s, they take in sick and abandoned Pokemon and care for them. These are all people that earnestly believed in that whole “Pokemon Liberation” thing, and even though they’re not so extreme in their beliefs now, they were and are doing what they think is best to help Pokemon.”

He paused a moment to gesture at the unconscious grunt, “The thing is, that splinter faction still wears the old uniform and calls themselves Team Plasma. Now this is merely conjecture on my part, but I think it’s possible that the other faction of Team Plasma is using the good name and reformed image of their former cohorts as cover for their ongoing criminal activities. They have a new uniform, but they still occasionally dress grunts up in the old colors and send them out to cause trouble. Your organization might not have noticed because of that intentional attempt at confusion and misdirection.”

“After the whole mess with Team Plasma a few years back, most of the Sages were arrested by Interpol and returned to their home countries for trial. Rood remained here, in Unova, where he’s effectively doing community service. However, Ghetsis and Zinzolin were sprung from prison, and both went underground. Since I acquired my current job a year ago, I’ve been chasing rumors of Team Plasma up and down Unova in the hopes of finally stamping them out, but I’ve been lucky to catch more than a few grunts who appear to be intentionally left out of the loop.”

He paused again to look back towards the city, and specifically to the big white tower and its grand radio spire. He really hoped that kid wasn’t causing trouble for anyone. He really didn’t get this whole enforcer thing either, but Natalia was correct, that was in fact an Aether Foundation ship. “As for ‘Black Ice,’ this is the first I’ve heard of such a thing as well. It’s true that we’re getting a larger than average amount of snow this time of year, but considering that to be significant without further proof just seems like giving in to paranoia, to me. Did the grunt mention Black Ice, himself? It’s possible that it’s code for something, or maybe just another bit of misinformation he was fed to throw people off Team Plasma’s actual plans if he got caught.”

 

[Merciless Medic]

Natalia smiled widely at his stance on her Fossil Pokemon. She did feel like maybe Vishy would be better off being with another trainer or even one who was more equipped to take care of them. However, she did know that she would feel guilty for giving Vishy away to someone else and not spending the time she had in taking care of them. Regardless, she did feel tons better and her shoulders eased from their tension almost immediately. She didn't realize how tensed her shoulders were until then, but now she was more comfortable. She gave him a gracious nod in thanks, giving him a cheeky smile and playful squinting eyes. "And I accept thine apology." While her eyes went back to normal, she still held that cheeky smile. "And thank you. That means a lot to me." It was rather few and far between when she actually met someone who didn't blame her, even after hearing her story of how her and Vishy met.

As Ryan talked, Natalia felt some of her suspicions about Team Plasma lessen and her suspicions about the kid worsen. Who even was he? Though, with how much Ryan had talked about Team Plasma and the history they had in Unova, Natalia felt deja vu. When Interpol was mentioned, recognition lit in her eyes as she realized she had heard of this story before, but it had been a few years since she was debriefed on it. Though, to see that Rood was trying to reform Team Plasma and there might be a smaller faction that is making the reformed team look bad, this seemed like a much bigger mess than what she was qualified for. Ghetsis and Zinzolin having disappeared from prison was something she felt was rather upsetting. She was sent here in Unova to find them. That's what she was here for. She chuckled in amazement as she pinched the bridge of her nose when Ryan was coming to a close in his explanation about 'Black Ice'.

"Thank you, you have reminded me of what I should be doing here. Finding Ghetsis and Zinzolin. I was told they escaped quite recently and I was tasked to not only find them, but protect someone, who was going to help us, since my position is being a bodyguard." At the mention of his current job, a sudden surge of curiosity overtook her, but she felt like if she asked, he would ask her about her job and she didn't want that. Instead, she focused on the topic at hand as she hugged her arms. "I'm certain it has nothing to do with the commonly occurring black ice, and I wouldn't doubt if it were a misdirection. In fact, the grunt did say something about there being a 'Black Ice X', which they were going to use to control Unova after their failed attempt at their plans a few years back when they were still a huge terrorist syndicate. Still, if that were the case, maybe we can help each other out. I'm assuming your job has something to do with keeping the peace here in Unova. If that's the case, then that means you have access to high security areas, which we'll need." She looked back at the radio tower and she felt a slight pang of guilt for leaving someone to go up there alone when she already thought to herself about how she was going to be their bodyguard. Regardless, she whistled, causing the Water/Dragon-Type under the dock to lift their head from the water, streams of clear liquid cascading down their blue fish-like head as the water contraption for their gills seemed to be filled with water.

"Return." She pointed her Level Ball at the creature, earning a garbled roar of affirmation before becoming orange and blue energy as they got sucked back into the safe confines of the orange and black ball. Once they were inside, she attached it back on her hip and looked back up at Ryan. "So, whaddaya say? Care to help?"

 

[Ghostryder30]

As Ryder and Circuit came to the upper levels, they then set the alarm off in the entire building to catch Team Plasma's attention. Once they both reached the radio station level, Ryder and Circuit begins to fix all communications while Team Plasma follows the sound of the alarm scattered across the city. "Looks like we're gonna have a high rise free fall fight." Said Ryder towards Circuit. "I hope the parachutes we equipped ourselves with are fresh from the box." "Pikachu...("I agree with ya.")" Said Circuit.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Pardon the brief interruption but I've received a report of an autoing attempt and several additional reports about posts that are fairly short and about an instance of accidental present tense. While the latter can be an accident and the shortish posts are not necessarily rule-breaking on their own right as they appear to be quick interaction posts, the former... shouldn't be a thing, period. Remember - controlling other people's character without their express permission is not allowed here.

I also can't help but get a certain vibe that there are two things going on here - one being the rest of the RPers actually interacting with each other, and the other being Ryder being off in his own little world with his own plot and mostly ignoring everyone who may not be going along with him. That's... honestly bad form. If you want to write a solo fanfic, you should do so... but not in an RP thread.

That's neither here nor there, though. Just don't let me catch you autoing again.

I am so tired.

 

[Rex]

Ryan performed an ostentatious bow, playing along with Natalia’s fancier wording of accepting his apology. Really though, he was glad they were able to patch things up fairly easily, he really did have a problem with judging things too quickly. But, thankfully, he’d been able to remind himself to take stock before he’d gone too far with it. Adults they might both be, but it was clear Natalia had a few years of experience over him in that department, so he must’ve come across as quite the upstart!

Still, she seemed appreciative of his rundown of what he knew, and suspected, about Team Plasma. Apparently, she was on the case of the two escaped Sages, as well as to protect someone that she was supposed to work with. He wondered about that kid again, was he the one she was supposed to be protecting? He did seem to lack a certain degree of experience, so such a protection scheme might make sense. ‘Enforcer’ or not, kids often do get in over their head. Hopefully he hadn’t make her mission harder by detaining her, if that was the case!

As far as ‘Black Ice’ was concerned. Well, Ryan did find himself musing that Team Plasma’s plan all along was to make all the roads in Unova dangerously slick with ice the color of asphalt. Such an innocuous sounding name, there had to be some amount of misdirection to it, even if it wasn’t an outright lie as he suspected. Still, she was offering to team up to look into this whole Plasma thing together. Heck, it made sense, it was her case and part of his job, after all. But, if they were going to work together, he’d have to spill the beans on his position. Ah well, it was nice to be anonymous while it lasted.

“I’d be honored to help you on your case, especially since it’s for the good of all Unova that whatever Team Plasma is really up to is dealt with. But, if we’re going to be working together, I’d better introduce myself, officially this time. I am Ryan Harrison, Unova League Champion,” he gestured to the Samurott beside him, “This is Dodger, my faithful companion.”

The Samurott rolled his eyes. Ever the sour supporter, since the two had first met and started their journey together. Ryan knew him better, though, the Samurott liked the attention.

“Don’t mind him, he likes to pretend he’s too good for everyone,” Ryan teased, “In any case, what’s your next move? Off to keep that kid from getting into trouble?”

Unfortunately, it seemed like the second those words left his mouth, he jinxed himself. He felt his PokeNav buzz in his pocket, and upon pulling it out, Ryan was dismayed to see he’d received an alert of an intruder inside Castelia Communications. Such alerts were fairly common since the Team Rocket attack on the Goldenrod Radio Tower in Johto a while back, basically alerting anyone nearby of the situation. Keep innocent bystanders away, get the authorities on the case, that sort of thing. And given that he was getting one, and given that it was at the location he’d just pointed out to a strange child.

“Well, I’m beginning to regret certain life choices," he mused. "We’d better hurry before he gets himself in even more trouble.”

 

[Ghostryder30]

Ryder's plan to catch Team Plasma's attention was working. Even though he didn't like to fight from high rises, he has to take the risk of doing so. "We've got to fix all communications." Said Ryder. "Or we'll never save the city in a flash." "But master, the odds of fixing the radio tower are more harder than what we expected." Said SER-M. "Sure I can help, but how are you going to fix all communications when the radio tower is blocked by Team Plasma?" "Circuit, on me." Said Ryder. "It's blackout time..." Circuit looked up and grinned softly as he knew Ryder's big game card, and followed Ryder up the building to the roof of the building and began to override all Team Plasma communications.

From below, the Plasma grunts saw Ryder overriding the Plasma controls from the radio tower. "It's the champion from the Alola region! And he's disrupting our plans!" Grunt A said. "Let's go give that intruder a taste of an icy medicine!" Said Grunt B.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Natalia was pretty surprised that the person she was talking to was the champion. A Unova League Champion. She had half a mind to treat him differently, but there was probably a reason why he avoided telling everyone he was a Champion. Maybe he just wanted to be treated like any other human being with nothing really all that important to them? Well, she at least knew that feeling. If that funny bow he did earlier was any clue to how fun this guy can be, then she wasn't going to let this status change the way she viewed him. She felt almost pressured to say who she really was, but she decided to do so anyway at the drop of a hat.

"I'm Natalia Nakamura, an agent for Interpol. Normally, I wouldn't say anything, but being you are of a high authority, I thought you might need to know that." She waved a happy wave at the Samurott, and snickered at the seeming exacerbation just oozing out of the Water-Type.

She was about to answer his question when Ryan got a notification on his PokeNav. He looked at it as Natalia got an indication from her Bluetooth earpiece. All it said was "Castelia Communications Tower". Natalia sighed, wishing she had a Pokemon capable of carrying them on her right now. Her Scolipede would be perfect for this.

"Right. Do you have a Pokemon who can carry us there faster? Or know Teleport to get there quicker?" Natalia was walking as they were getting there. "I do have a Scolipede, but she's not with me at the moment. I can go get her real fast, unless it's just faster to get there by running?" Natalia squinted at the tower, but she couldn't see anything. The clouds were lightly dusting just over and around it, making it practically impossible to determine what was going on.

 

[Rex]

So she was a cop, after all. Ryan might’ve been able to guess as much given enough time, the way she talked about working for an organization that gave her cases, and how her job was to hunt down the escaped Plasma Sages, certainly came together to suggest a law enforcement background. He wondered why she’d been so quick to let a Plasma grunt escape her, but perhaps she’d been too focused on dealing with the kid. He certainly seemed to have instantly gotten himself into trouble the as soon as eyes were off him, to be fair. And if anything he was probably equally to blame, he did point out the tower to the kid.

She asked him if he had any utility focused Pokemon on him, something to make getting to the tower quicker and easier. And, unfortunately, he did not. He was carrying his battle team with him today – the one he fought challengers with – as part of the day’s events with Burgh there was supposed to be a big exhibition match between the two of them. Obviously, that would not be happening now. He cringed inwardly, what a mess. The clouds and snow were getting a little thicker, and it was starting to blot out the tower in question. If there was anything in particular going on there, he couldn’t tell, but he should be able to make it to the building just fine on foot.

“I’m afraid we’ll have to run!” he said, apologetically, “Dodge, clear a path for us?”

Ryan leaned down to heft the still unconscious grunt off the ground, grabbing his wrist with one hand and his belt with the other, then hefting the grasped man’s arm over Ryan’s own shoulder. It’d slow him down somewhat, but he couldn’t let this grunt slip through the cracks in the coming chaos. In the meantime, Dodger roared, and dropping down to all fours, charged down the pier towards the city.

“We know this city like the back of our hands,” he assured her, “Just follow Dodger and he’ll lead you to the tower, I’ll bring up the rear as quick as I can.”

 

[Ghostryder30]

As Ryder and Circuit finally worked the magic, all of Team Plasma communications were finally cut off. It was too late for the Plasma grunts to stop them but not too late for Team Plasma to destroy the building if one of their captured communications tower is overridden. "Now you left us no choice to destroy this tower with you!" Said Grunt A. "Disturb this city at your own risk." Said Ryder. "Like we even care about that one!" Said Grunt B.

Meanwhile, SER-M fixed all communications and sent a telegram to Aether Foundation saying that they'll be here for a long period of time. Seeing that this tower is about to blow up from Team Plasma's escape plan, this will be harder than what this mission really had in mind after what Lusamine said. Reluctantly, he finished what he did to give in communications, and went up to find Ryder. "Master, all communications are restored for a short period, but we need to get off of this building!" Said SER-M.

With no time to waste, Circuit soon held onto Ryder's shoulders as SER-M followed Ryder because Rotom-dexes can float, and Ryder jumped off the building only to be rescued by his Dragonite as they escaped the building. "All personal must leave this building immediately." Said the P.A. announcer. "And to think we'd be home in time by now." Said Ryder.