Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Splash (Floatzel), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), and Tiburon (Garchomp)
Interactions: Naka (Merciless Medic), Theo (Sir Krazz)
At first, Charlotte said nothing. Her face didn't even change expressions. Part of it was being stunned by Naka's question. The other part was the amount of detail Naka noticed. When she mentioned Team Rocket, Charlotte laughed.
Splash and Dini froze. They had not heard their trainer laugh in months. Noticing everyone was staring at her, Charlotte stopped.
"Sorry. I can promise you Team Rocket is not involved in this. If they were, I wouldn't have gotten sued."
She turned to address Theo, who had been startled by Dini. "And yes, Dini is a Pokémon, specifically an Alakazam. Dini is just the nickname I gave him because he's an escape artist."
As if to prove it, Dini teleported away and back again.
"And to answer your questions, Naka, yes. That video was staged." She held up Tiburon's Poké Ball for emphasis. "This is Tiburon. She was the Garchomp from the video."
"
The same one that tried to kill me six months ago," she mumbled. Although, anyone close enough would have heard it. Now that the Meowth was out of the bag, Charlotte spilled the whole story.
~
Six months prior~
Location: the C.E.L.L, the main corridor, Sinnoh Region
This is a really really really dumb idea.
Charlotte's Alakazam was eyeing her judgmentally.
"Wait. Can you read my thoughts?
"
Hardly, her Alakazam's expression said, you're just very transparent.
Charlotte sighed. The lab coat she was wearing was way too tight. She pushed the fake glasses she was wearing closer to her face. She was certain anyone standing at close range would see through this disguise immediately. Fortunately, she wasn't planning on getting close.
"Okay. Let's do this."
If anyone asked, she was Lucille Diamond, the same name as the one on her fake ID. Posing as an intern to sneak into a company and gather evidence of a Battle Enhancement scam was probably illegal, but Charlotte didn't have a choice. Director Topaz had declined all interviews, and the authorities said they couldn't investigate without probable cause. If the Center of Enhancements for Life and Limb wasn't going to play fair, then neither was she. And yes, that was the company's name.
"Ready, boy?"
Her Alakazam nodded. Raising the spoons in his hands, the space around Charlotte began to turn shades of pink. It bent and twisted, giving Charlotte a faint nauseating feeling before Dini teleported her anyway. A moment later, she and the Alakazam were in the storage closet of the C.E.L.L building. The last time Charlotte was here, she and Dini explored every nook and cranny for places to hide. Teleport was a great move, but it required Alakazam to see the location and properly store it in his memory for it to work. Charlotte picked this storage closet because it wasn't locked, and the hallway it led to had the least foot traffic compared to the other corridors in the building. She creaked the door open just a sliver to allow one eye to see outside.
"All clear."
Dini followed close behind. These corridors were too narrow to allow multiple Pokémon to walk through them. Even if they were wide enough, Charlotte didn't want to attract unnecessary attention. One Pokémon was already suspicious enough.
The lab was just down the hall. If she could get to it, the police would have all the evidence they needed. Suddenly, there was a rumble coming down the hallway. Charlotte's blood froze. A whole bunch of people were running towards them.
Nuts! Charlotte braced herself for the inevitable tackle, but it never happened.
"Run!"
"Every man for himself!"
"What the--?"
Charlotte's unfinished question was answered by the crazy-eyed dragon Pokémon that came barreling after the panicked lab workers. Charlotte recognized it as Garchomp, the land shark Pokémon and perhaps the strongest non-legendary Pokémon in Sinnoh. Only this Garchomp did not look normal. Its pupils were dilated, and a weird black smoke-like foam was dripping out of its mouth.
"Lord Arceus."
Dini was staring in awe too, but he couldn't think of anything to say.
The Garchomp twitched its head in Charlotte's direction and roared. It sounded like a crazed banshee or a dynamaxed Exploud. Charlotte wasn't sure which. The Garchomp charged at them, banging its wings against the walls and scratching the ground. What was wrong with it? This was not how Garchomp behaved. One thing was for sure, it needed help.
Just as long as it doesn't tear us to shreds first...
~Present~
"I had never seen anything like it. I mean, I've heard of Shadow Pokémon and the Team Rocket experiments before, but this." Charlotte took a breath. "This was insane."
"Before I could even say anything, it attacked. Dini teleported in front of me to protect me. After one hit from Dragon Tail, he was knocked out. I called out my Luxray next, but she barely lasted five seconds. The whole thing was a combination of running away and fighting for our lives. We ended up getting cornered near one of the laboratories. Tiburon knocked over some canisters and they leaked gas everywhere. When we hit a dead end, I was down to this girl."
Charlotte rubbed Splash's head. Telling this story was bringing up a lot of memories, but it felt to tell her side.
"Tiburon had slowed down. I think the drugs were wearing off, or maybe it was the gas in the canisters. Either way, the Garchomp fainted after Splash used Razor Wind. I threw a Poké Ball at her, took some of the X All drugs--the ones that made Tiburon crazy--and booked it to the nearest Pokémon Center."
Charlotte sighed. "I thought that was the end of it, but I guess there are some conflicts that a Pokémon battle won't fix."
