Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As he breathed the smog filled air of what was now Galar's third largest city, he could not help but wonder how the place looked before industrialization grabbed it by its neck. For starters, perhaps the town's textile industry wouldn’t have been so expansive. The implementation of water powered cotton mills definitely contributed to the town's market and its close proximity to both Wedgehurst and Turffield ensured a steady supply of material to feed the factories. The availability of work only endeared the town to prospecting citizens looking to move away from the dangerous outskirts. Outskirts that edged just too close to the Wild Area to be considered safe. While he was unable to fully relate to their troubles, he understood well enough how dangerous Pokémon could get—despite the recent mass production of poké balls. That wasn’t even mentioning the so called Maximizing phenomenon.

Regardless of their motives, the steady increase of the population only added fuel to the fire that was industrialization and after a slight name change, the city of Motorstoke flaunted its status through its success. Many towns across the world had evolved into cities like Motorstoke and would continue to. He was not bitter about their success only saddened by what the true cost was.

Bidding the gray sky good bye, he stepped into the building before him.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

The University of Motorstoke Institute of Science and Technology was a comparably large building to the ones surrounding it. While not necessarily a product of the time, the industrialization of the city had done the building several favors in regards to its subject matter.

After all, the revolution did not just lead to the introduction of water powered cotton mills and more textiles. While many innovations improved the general manufacturing market, the "invention" of poké balls elevated the field of Pokémon Research into new heights. Engaging Pokémon shifted from careful environmental observation into capture and close up study. While this was already well practiced in regions where apricorns were prevalent, the spread of the technology enabled regions with more rambunctious Pokémon to invest into research regarding them. The fickle nature of Pokémon remained but now, people stood a little higher on the playing field. Seeking equal ground then was the next priority and understanding one’s opponent the next logical step.

To summarize, a great deal of funds just so happened to flood the Pokémon Research Department due to uptake interest into the creatures. This wasn’t even mentioning how poké balls were slowly becoming more available for the general populace. With enough time, everyone would have access to Pokémon.

What that entailed wasn’t why he was here, though.

The doorframe was crooked. The nameplate barely hanging on. The letters were fading, ghosts of their formal selves. He would’ve passed it by if he hadn’t asked for directions prior. Not exactly what he was expecting but from what he heard of her, maybe this wasn’t as surprising as he thought it was.

Politely, he knocked on the door.

For a moment, there was nothing until—

CRASH!

"BLOODY HELL!"

Taken aback by the noise (and the curse), he went to open the door. "Professor Prunella—?"

As a sudden weight pressed on the door, someone called out, "Don’t you dare! Slam it back, you git!"

Instinctively obeying the order, he slammed the door against the weight—

BOOM! CRASH!

"NOT THAT HARD!"

"Sorry Professor—"

She quickly cut him off, "I’m not taking apologies! Now get in here so I know who to expel off campus."

He slipped out a soft sigh before facing his fate. Opening the door, he came face to face with the consequences of his actions or at least, the remains of it. Scattered across the floor were several banged up boxes and broken bottles with an assortment of liquids dripping or puddling from them. Some of them were clearly just water but from the arid smell wafting towards him, some were definitely not. Looking over at the bottle currently eroding the floor away confirmed his suspicions. Drapion venom. Other broken bottles were labeled in similar fashions, though, some bordered on the ridiculous: Vileplume Flower Spores, Galarica Sticks, Quillish Barbs, Stunky Spray, and Tea—wait, what?

"Were you drinking tea out of a beaker?"

"Tea out of a—" She scoffed. "Don’t be daft! What professional drinks tea from a beaker?" She said before immediately taking a swig from a—you’ve got to be kidding me.

After doing a double take, he further inquired, "Is that a Pokémon?"

In response to his perfectly reasonable question, she rolled her eyes and dropped the tea cup. Reaching out to catch it despite the distance between them, he froze as the tea cup remained in the place. Turning to face him, the tea cup blinked and smiled at him before floating off and disappearing. As he stared at the area it disappeared at, she laughed at his expense.

"Hahahahaha! The look on your face!" As his attention returned to her, she noticed the flush on his face and doubled down. "Ahahahaha!"

As her laughter continued he choose to remain quiet lest she embarrass him further. After a few more minutes, her laughing fit died into pitchy giggles and into a couple of hiccups. Interspaced between these shifts, she would look up at him and erupt into more laughter. He chose not to be offended. When she finally recovered, she straightened her back and addressed him,

"Alright Lad, let’s get down to business. What does your old man need me for?"

His eyes widened. "You remember my father?"

"Of course I do." Under he breath she commented, "How could I forget those ridiculous eyebrows."

He didn’t hear it, though, as he continued, "Well, um, he recommended you to us when he heard we were looking into prospecting members for—"

Startling, she shook her head of her thoughts—those eyebrows—and interrupted, "Excuse me, we?"

He nodded. "Yes. I work for the Universal—"

"BLOODY—" she hissed. "Not those sods again!" Taken aback by her comment, he could not reply as she continued, "I told those prats to piss off ten years ago and eyebrows or not, I’m going to say it again. Piss off and leg it before I tell Laventon to kick you out."

As if delighted by the prospect of kicking someone out, the tea cup from before—who he could presume was Laventon—appeared again and smiled sinisterly at him. Reaching for his own Pokémon, he held the poké ball at his side if only for comfort.

Catching his movements, the Professor waved off the Pokémon. "Never mind. Go back to faffing around."

Disappointed by the lack of violence, the tea cup Pokémon disappeared back into the ether. Professor Prunella only shrugged at the creature’s behavior.

"They do that a lot. Think it’s funny."

He couldn’t help but agree.

"Now then, if only out of courtesy, tell me why you’re here again."

Slightly confused, he asked, "Are you sure you want to hear me out?"

"Definitely," she said clearly uninterested.

Clearing his throat, he proceeded. "As you might’ve heard, the Universal Corps have gained permission from the Galar state of government to set up a base here for—"

"Didn’t hear of it."

"Hmm?"

She smiled. "Don’t keep up with politics nowadays. Left a bad taste in my mouth."

He nodded. His father had retired for a reason after all.

"Well, with the Universal Corps establishing grounds here, they’re looking for people from Galar who would like to join the organization. Officially that is. Positions include field work, travel to and from other regions, office work, and the like."

"Their usual shtick, got it."

"Yes, well...Commander Hinoki trusts my father's judgement and asked him if he had any recommendations given his past experience in the region." Pausing for effect. "He immediately suggested you."

She lifted a brow at this. "Did he now?"—

"Yes—"

"—Well, he's an idiot." Stunned again, he couldn’t argue against her as she raised her complaints, "Look at me. Do you think this old bird has any prospects of flying across the sea." Before he could answer, she hissed out, "Not a question. You’d have to be absolutely bonkers to think I could do any field work in my state."

Finally managing to speak, he eked out, "The Universal Corps are also looking into indoor testing."

"And what do you think my current job is now?" Her tone shifted, clearly not as aggressive as before. "Look lad, I’m happy where I am now. Teaching isn’t a bad gig all things considered and despite my language, I do have a fair amount of friends here I want to stick close to." Her gaze drifted towards the spot Laventon had disappeared off to.

Despite their obvious closeness, Professor Prunella had made no show to release or return the Pokémon. While having a Pokémon out in the open wasn’t inherently strange—especially as poké balls became more common—the university did have a policy regarding them. While releasing them outdoors was permitted, during indoor lectures and labs, Pokémon were required to be kept in their capsules unless otherwise permitted. While Professor Prunella was a senior professor at the college, her work entailed a level of precision and safety that required little distractions.

Laventon also held a aloofness uncommon to captured Pokémon.

The Universal Corps required all partner Pokémon to be kept in poké balls.

"I understand."

She smiled solemnly before easing back into a neutral expression. "Sorry lad. I’m not looking to transfer anytime soon."

"Don't worry about it professor." Looking to address the mess, he moved towards the closest box— "I’ll handle this before I depart—"

"Hold it right there you git!"

Pausing in his movements, he stared up at her. The smile on her face had returned and although it looked more genuine, something about it unnerved him.

"I wasn’t done talking yet. Now stand up proper before I continue."

Complying quickly to the order, his attention was focused entirely on her. Noticing his posture, she grinned and snapped her fingers. Appearing already in her hand, Laventon matched her expression as she sipped the purple tea.

"Good. Now while I am not looking for job prospects, I may know of someone who might take your offer."

"You’re recommending—"

"Not finished yet," she interrupted. As the silence returned, she nodded resolutely before speaking, "Good kid. Was one of my best students in Pokémon Behavioral Studies before he dropped out."

He frowned at that. "Dropped out? I’m not sure we’re looking for—"

"Let. Me. Finish," she hissed. "I’m not looking for your opinion. I’m giving a recommendation." After sipping from the tea again, she continued, "He said he didn’t have the nerve to continue with the program. Too frazzled. Bloody excuse if you ask me. Lost the plot, that day, I did. Had to replace a whole box full of vials. Finance was none too happy about that, let me tell you..." She shook her head. "Anyway, he ran off to Wedgehurst and managed to score a cushy job monitoring dens for Maximizing activity—Waste of time if you ask me. Just look to the sky you sods..."

As she took another sip of her tea, he spoke up, "What makes you think he’ll fit the Universal Corps?"

She glared up at him but replied smoothly, "In my 37 years of teaching here, he was the only student of mine who took to studying Pokémon as fervently as I once did. And I’ve had plenty of great students before and after him." She quickly tagged on, "—that’s not to discredit their own accomplishments either." After taking another sip, she returned to her original point, "Saw a bit of myself in him before he chickened out. Still do if I’m being honest..."

"Professor—"

"The kid has a lot of potential. All he needs is a good push." As Laventon looked up at her, she acquiesced, "A shove down the stairs would also work."

From how she had described her old student, he understood where she was coming from. She wasn’t worried, per say, more concerned about the other's prospects. While monitoring dens did sound like a cushy job, it didn’t sound very engaging. He could imagine someone wasting away looking at nothing but a calendar for months or years on end. There was a certain irony in losing time while watching it. Regardless of how he felt, however, the Universal Corps weren’t as emotional.

Remembering the posture his father bent his back into, he straightened out his shoulders and spoke plainly, "The Universal Corps is not looking for potential."

Interrupting once more, Professor Prunella answered in her own authoritative tone, "No it is not. What the Universal Corps is looking for is resources. Just as the factories of Motorstoke hired children to scrap off whatever cotton they could despite risking limb and life." —The Pokémon took a mournful expression before returning to its usual smile.— "But unlike them, the Universal Corps is different, correct? It wants its agents to succeed and come back from their missions, safe and sound. I’d say that requires a bit of chance each time, wouldn’t you?" His gaze remained locked on hers. "But they’re not gamblers obviously. No. I’d say they’re invested in experience. I have experience so they wanted to hire me. A worthwhile investment, I’m flattered."

She paused here. Setting down the tea cup Pokémon, for the first time since she began, Professor Prunella closed her eyes. As she opened them again, he was faced with the prospect of her age. She was old. Quite old. Winkles lined her face and despite her glasses, she was squinting at him. The years she had lived had aged her. She was born at the beginning of something. Before laws were set in place to protect her. Before she rose—climbed—into her position. Before her chosen profession became safer, more secure. He could see it now. The faint burns and scars covering her arms and neck. She was old. She knew this perfectly well.

"The Universal Corps wants an investment. My recommendation is exactly that.

"So, think they’re willing to trust an old broker like me?"

...

"What’s his name?"

He didn’t know what they would say but he already knew his answer.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

"...Excuse me?"

"Hmm?"

"You just said Laventon. Isn’t that your Pokémon?"

"Yeah? You haven’t heard me call them anything else, have you?"

"Well, no but why do they have the same name as your old student?"

"I liked the name, simple as that."

"But didn’t it get confusing?"

She rolled her eyes. "Please, he was my student. I just called him Perry and Laventon Laventon. Wasn’t that hard."

"Does that mean you only met Laventon recently?"

"What? No! I’ve known them since I was eight years old."

"But how did—"

"I kept throwing names around until one stuck. They liked Laventon much to Perry's annoyance and my amusement."

"That’s—"

"Enough questions! Now help me clean up this mess!"

"Yes Professor..."

Chapter Text

It always started in the same way.

He’s in his bed, waking up to the world around him but excited about what today may bring. What it would bring. It’s his day off and while he still had a few chores, he managed to free up most of his schedule. Because today something special was happening. Today, they would venture out into the Wild Area.

While on most days venturing out into the Wild Area was exciting on its own right, Myrtle had managed to elevate it beyond such normal levels.

'It took much convincing,' she had said. 'But I managed to make em fold.'

Her parents had given her permission to use some of her own savings to buy a poké ball. Poké balls had been mostly available to people who had the money to buy them but with exports coming in from other regions, more regular folk were able to peruse the market. They were still ridiculously expensive but with how they were made, they were becoming more common.

He still wasn’t permitted to spend his own money but with Myrtle's success maybe his own chance would come. His parents knew hers so depending on how the day went perhaps they would be convinced to let him take a crack at it.

Regardless, today was special and he had enough sense to support his friend in her efforts.

At this point, it would skip ahead to when they had snuck out of Motorstoke. The seven of them—lucky number it was—had managed to meet at the usual meeting spot and had left together. With their chores finished, none of their parents would go looking for them for a while. Myrtle, however, had wanted to be quick about it.

'If we catch one now, we can play with it for the rest of the day!" she had exclaimed.

They had all readily agreed with her explanation. Looking at Pokémon go about their day had always been plenty of fun but actually meeting one seemed like a dream come true. She also already had an idea of which one she wanted.

Lake Axewell had always been the place they stuck around in the Wild Area. It was close enough to Motorstoke to return home or get help, quickly. The latter of which was luckily almost never a concern. Thanks to their height or lack there of, most of the bigger Pokémon tended to overlook them and even the smaller ones ignored them on most days. There was always danger of course but even then, they had more happy experiences over the scary ones. He could still clearly recall the day they had first ran into a Delibird.

It was winter at the time and snow had been plentiful in the Wild Area. They had just been having a snow ball fight when a figure appeared over the hill. It was a funny looking thing but as it saw them, it had immediately perked up before waddling over. They had been so confused over its appearance none of them bothered to fear its approach. When it reached the middle of the battleground, it beckoned them over and still slightly enthralled by the funny looking bird, they came closer. As they all stood in front of it, it unraveled its tail and gave them several strange looking berries and fruit. Although they were still baffled over its actions, they gave their thanks and the bird accepted them. Soon afterwards, it left and they enjoyed the surprise lunch it had gifted them.

That meeting had been a treat and he still looked fondly back on that day. His friends would agree with him on that and judging by where Myrtle was leading them, she especially thought so. The Delibird had approached from the west after all and despite the lack of snow, there were a couple of days they managed to find tracks resembling its foot print.

'Don’t ya think your parents would like a bigger Pokémon though? Might do well to intimidate those debt collectors,' Sorrel had suggested.

Myrtle had quickly refuted him, 'With as much food as it had given to us, we wouldn’t have to worry about scrounging about. Besides this is my money, I’m doin what I want with it.'

With their wills reinvigorated, they had continued towards their destination.

The Watchtower Ruins.

As the name suggested, this particular section of the Wild Area was home to a decrepit old tower where the wind howled fervently and unsettling chills crept up one’s back. Cursed Pokémon and spirits were said to haunt the base of the tower warding off the living and protecting some ancient treasure from the age of the First King. Many ghost stories had been made up between them and amongst the general population of Motorstoke. How such a sharing Pokémon like Delibird lived there was a wonder.

When the sight of the area’s namesake came into view, they had all instinctively shuddered under its shadow. Still the bravest of them all, Myrtle had taken the first step towards it.

She egged them on, 'Let’s do this.'

They nodded and followed after her even as their legs shook.

Soon enough, they were at the base of the tower looking up towards it. They all had enough sense to know not to climb it as the search began. He, Sorrel, Violet, and Sage were sent to scout the base of the tower while the others went off towards Dappled Grove. Like usual, most of the Pokémon were ignoring them so making a few rounds wasn’t too difficult. When it became obvious that Delibird wasn’t around, they took to hanging out near the cliff over Lake Axewell. As Sorrel kicked another rock into the water, Sage had the sense to look for the others. For her part, Violet was still hanging out near the tower.

Eventually, Sage returned with the group A and by the pep in her step, Myrtle had clearly caught something.

'Did you manage to catch one?' Sorrel had asked excitedly.

Instead of answering, she smiled and released a newly caught Delibird. To their shock, it sparkled as it appeared and it was blue.

'Wow!' the two of them had exclaimed.

'Her name is Delphi and I caught her in a single throw.'

Not knowing that the poké ball would’ve broken otherwise, they gaped at her accomplishment. The other hunting party took the chance to look smug over their expressions. They had bore witness to the event unlike them so inherently, they were better. Although the Pokémon was slightly confused by the conversation around her, Delphi took the opportunity to eat the berry she had on hand. Even this, however, had caught their wonder. They looked like right idiots as well much to Myrtle's amusement.

Luckily, they were interrupted by the return of Violet, 'Guys, you’d never guess what—is that a Delibird?'—before she too got distracted by the Pokémon.

'Yes, it is but what were you going on about, Vio?' Myrtle had asked.

Turning her attention away from the bird—something even he nor Sorrel had managed to do yet—she had replied, 'I found something inside the tower. You know that hole in the side of it—'

Sage looked up at her aghast. 'What were you doing there?! I thought we agreed to not go inside of it.'

Violet only shrugged. 'I was getting bored. Anyway, getting as close as I can, I managed to sneak a glance on the inside and there was this huge pit.'

This caught his attention. 'A pit?'

She nodded. 'A pit. It kinda reminded me of those craters we pass by every now and then, actually...'

As she trailed off, more of them grew interested in the prospect of the pit. They had been told many a time to stay away from the craters and on the occasions where strange lights shined through the sky, they had been kept inside and watched over. On those days, there was no sneaking out. It was as if their guardians knew they would try to escape unless otherwise not grounded. It always made him second guess if they knew they had snuck out to the Wild Area or not. As a result of their efforts, however, the craters had become a certain legend amongst them. Whether it was treasure or great dragons, they had made up plenty of stories surrounding the mysterious craters. The thought of exploring one unguarded intrigued them as much as it excited them.

Sorrel had enthusiastically suggested, 'Why don’t we check it out? We have a Pokémon now so we should be safe.'

The others had quickly agreed, though, Myrtle looked a little bit more reluctant to participate. Noticing her expression, Sage had done his best to convince her,

'We’ll just be taking a peak, okay? You and Delphi can guard us if you’d like..."

When they turned their hopeful stares to her, she sighed and motioned towards the tower. 'Let’s get to it then.'

As they all cheered and began walking towards the tower, they failed to notice a pair of eyes following them.

'Here it is,' Violet had exclaimed. 'What do you guys think?'

It was exactly how she described it. The pit was very big and by their vision, it was even deeper. No light emanated from the hole but a strange unearthly red glow seemed to surround its perimeter. The craters had been marked off by surrounding stone circles that were said to have been artificially placed by knights of old. This pit held no such markings as if it had been overlooked. However, there were a few signs of acknowledgement. At the base of the pit from the view of the hole in the tower, there were strange glyphs in some sort of language lost to time. However, the very sight of them engraved in their hearts that this place was dangerous. That they were unwelcome.

'Guys.' Violet had stammered. 'I...I don’t think we...we should be here.'

Silently, they had all agreed but as they took a step back from the abyss, something came up behind them.

'Skwov?'

Startled by the noise, they had all tumbled into one another and in the confusion, he had tripped backwards.

Time seemed to corrupt at this point.

In reality, this sequence probably only took a second but here, it played out in slow motion. He’s falling. He knew it but unlike most of his past trips or tumbles this one wasn’t ending. There’s nothing below him to bump into. To abruptly catch his descent. He knew this but his attention was taken away by the sight before him. His friends had all noticed his slight yelp. Some of them were on the ground but others were standing. They were looking at him. Shocked expression all over their faces. Even Delphi was distracted by his fall while the culprit looked curiously over at him. It's small and brown with a big fluffy tail. Its expression was sweet but it’s eyes were confused. Like it didn’t know what was happening.

This is the last thing he sees before the darkness surrounds him

It always ended in the same way.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

The first thing he noticed was that the building was very yellow. A light yellow, yes, but still obnoxiously yellow. The locals had told him that the building had been built a decade ago for some high class family looking to spend their holidays away from the city. This plan didn’t play out, however, due to the sudden bankruptcy the family suffered soon afterwards. It was then bought out by the government who then loaned it to some consultant company who monitored and handled Maximizing activity. The residents had minded their business and were actually grateful for their presence.

Apparently, Maximizing Pokémon when they left their dens tended to wander south or towards Hammerlocke depending on their den's location. Wedgehurst was only a farming town unlike the second largest city so they hadn’t been prioritized much in the past. Their relationship with Motorstoke had improved their standing and the railway had given them some voice in the region’s affairs but even then, they weren’t very well heard.

So when the consultant company had decided to place one of their members nearby, they had been thrilled at the prospect. When they learned why they were there, they had been even more excited. Stationing a den monitoring specialist nearby surely entailed that their concerns were finally being met. If any Maximizing Pokémon was coming towards them, they would be the first to know.

That wasn’t to say the person the company had chosen wasn’t a bit...odd. A definite recluse, while the man occasionally showed up at the market, he hadn’t done much to plant any roots. They had tried to engage him with any sort of conversation, the weather and the like, but he had always disappeared soon afterwards. They didn’t mind it, though. There had been a few instances in the past where he went and informed them all of upcoming Maximizing activity before sending out a letter to his actual bosses. The locals he had asked said they appreciated the effort to include them, though, no danger had yet to reach them. The consultant company had done their jobs quite well even if it was for the profit that came with raiding dens.

It was also quite funny, the children had commented, that a man named Periwinkle Laventon was living in a yellow house.

He had definitely not smiled at their antics. Definitely. Not.

The door, thankfully, was not yellow so he knocked on it cheerily. Like Professor Prunella, there was initially no answer. Figuring this was simply something the two had in common, he decided to wait before he did anything else. And he waited. And waited. Ten minutes passed and he was still waiting. Perhaps the man wasn’t awake yet, though, from where the sun was currently at, he wasn’t so sure about that. He decided to knock again if not a little harder. Another fifteen minutes had passed before he tried the door. It was unlocked and as he stepped inside, he was immediately startled by the sight in front of him. Laying on the floor was a young man fully dressed for the day ahead. From how he was splayed out, it looked like he had fallen down suddenly. The shattered tea cup by his outstretched hand suggested as much.

Instinctively, he moved to perform what he had learned during his medical training. As he knelt down to address whatever wounds he had, however, the man stirred and slowly assessed his surroundings. Sitting up, the man yawned and stretched before turning to meet his gaze. When their eyes met, he was met with the face of a man who had just woken up from bed. For his part, the man suddenly blinked out the sleep from his eyes and turned away, quite embarrassed. As his eyes caught the sight of the broken tea cup, he sighed,

"It seems I’ve mistook chamomile for black tea again. So sorry I startled you."

He quickly shook his head before standing up. "There’s no need to worry. I was only concerned for your health."

The man laughed at that. "Well, now I feel bad." Moving to stand up, he refused his help and instead, motioned towards a teapot. "Would you like a spot of tea? I’m sure to have something you’d like. Not chamomile preferably."

"No need," he refused. "Though, feel free to have something yourself. Just make sure to change the pot first."

This got a chuckle out of him. "Yes. I’ll be sure to do that."

As the other went about preparing the tea, definitively not chamomile this time, he took the time to look over the place. It was surprisingly a very open area. There were some tables off to the side and around the corner, he could see a decently sized desk. Plants were gathered in various places amongst shelves and floor space but were also secluded to a greenhouse area that extended into the second floor. Bookshelves lined the walls and were filled with all matter of subjects, though, the lines of dust covering each one suggested they hadn’t been opened recently. In fact, the busiest part of the room, from what he could see, was a large sheet of paper marked with the months and their dates. From what was written out, he guessed this was where the man had worked out the days Maximizing would occur at various dens. To his surprise, the calendar seemed to extend into the next year and the one after that. If all these predictions were true then there wasn’t much work a den monitoring specialist needed to do. A cushy job indeed.

As the tea was set, the man returned his attention towards him barely giving him enough time to politely turn his gaze towards the teapot.

Ignorant of his previous thoughts, the man politely asked, "So, what business do you have with me? I don’t recognize you from town and I’m pretty sure I’ve been introduced to all the folks living here. They threw a house warming party soon after I arrived. I was mightily confused about it but it was quite pleasant in the end."

"You are correct," he confirmed. "I am not from around here and as you’ve said, I am here for business. Particular concerning your job."

The man's expression did not shift but a sort of coldness seemed to envelop the room. As he replied, his suspicions were correct,

"I’m afraid I’m not the one to speak to concerning it. I’ve already heard several comments on my age and I would appreciate it if you could withhold your own."

Momentarily stunned, he quickly reassessed his previous words to see where he went wrong. Too vague. He had been too vague. Hopefully, he could correct his mistake,

"I am not here to criticize you or anything, sir. I am only here to inform you of an opportunity we would like to present to you."

The other startled at his assurances but quickly reoriented himself into a formal posture. "Well...now. I am much too young to be called a sir I think but it seems as if I’ve misread you. I apologize."

He shook his head. "No need. I should’ve been clearer."

With their misunderstanding sorted out, the conversation settled back into a calm tone. The man was the first to speak,

"You mentioned a we, correct? May I ask what you meant by that?"

After overcoming a strong sense of déjà vu, he replied, "Yes. I work for the Universal Corps. They had just opened a new base in Galar and were looking into..." Trailing off, he paused his explanation after seeing the other's expression. His face was scrunched up like he had swallowed a lemon while his eyes were distant.

Eventually, he settled back into himself and smiled off his momentary daze. "Sorry about that. I was just reminded of my old Professor. I think she mentioned the group before in some way or another."

"Well, I hope she talked about us in a good light," he said knowing fully well she hadn’t.

The other took the offer and ran with it. "Yes, well...you could say that." He shook his head. "Anyway, what are the Universal Corps approaching me for? Are they interested in the Maximizing phenomenon? If they are, I’m afraid I can’t spill anything without my bosses' expressed permission."

A small lie but he glossed over it. "We’re not here to address that. Rather, with the corps establishing ground here in Galar, the Universal Corps is looking for people willing to officially join the organization. Positions include field work, travel to and from other regions, office work, and the like."

"Re-eall-ly?" the other stuttered.

"Yes," he affirmed. "Professor Prunella had recommended you actually."

Hearing the name of his old professor, the man immediately latched onto the distraction, "Professor Prunella, truly? How was she when you saw her? Well I hope. It hasn’t been too long since I’ve last seen her but I would like to know. Is Laventon still hanging around her office?"

He nodded. "Still disappearing around corners as well."

This seemed to lighten the other's spirits. "That’s good to hear, though, I hope the professor hasn’t been drinking of that substance. While I was still studying under her, we actually learned about it’s life draining properties. I’m pretty sure Laventon meant no harm by it but it’s not exactly good for her health."

Life draining properties? She knew of its effects but still drank it like water in the dessert? Maybe the scars she had garnered didn’t entirely come from Pokémon attacking her.

"She still partakes in it, unfortunately..."

He shook his head at that. "Doesn’t surprise me one bit. It does have a unique aftertaste all things considered."

"Yes, well..." They had gone off topic. "About the position, what do you think about it?"

Since the start of the conversation past the misunderstanding, they had both been engaging with one another but as he spoke, he could see the life draining out of the other’s face. When he finished, silence had returned to the room. Sweat drops were dripping down Laventon's forehead.

Taking his chance, he took a moment to check over the young man in front of him. He looked young but he also looked oh so tired. Exhausted to be exact. Despite having camomile in his possession, dark bags lined the other’s eyes and his hair stuck out on all ends. While dressed for the day, his clothes were all wrinkly and his lab coat was stained in several places. A mark of his profession and he had completely failed at taking care of it. Even as he was sitting down, there was a jitteriness in him. It seemed like he wasn’t able to be still. How did a protege in Pokémon Behavioral Studies turn into such a wreck?

Recalling the conversation he had with Professor Prunella as they cleaned up her office, he only had her words to go on concerning what could’ve possibly happened.

'That’s a rather personal question to ask lad.'

'I know but I need some information to tell my superiors to assuage their concerns when the time comes.'

She had frowned at that. 'Well from what you’re asking, it wouldn’t put Perry in a very good light.'

'As long as the reason doesn’t compromise his work, the Universal Corps would probably be willing to ignore it.'

The glare had been clear on her face. 'You’re not convincing me lad.'

'I know,' he had acquiesced. 'I’m just being honest.'

She had snorted at that. 'How kind of you...

'...Very well. If I’m being honest, I never got him to spill the beans. He was always so frazzled, you see. When he first met Laventon, he had thrown a fit at the sight of them. Had to make him smell Spritzee fumes to calm him down. He managed to keep to himself after that but it took him weeks to meet Laventon's eyes let alone be near the rascal at all.'

'How did he get used to them then?'

'Time I’d say. That and naming Laventon Laventon, I think. It sort of endeared the Pokémon to him. Something I think he tended to avoid otherwise.'

'Mind elaborating?'

She had shrugged at that. 'Perry wasn’t really fond of being near Pokémon. He could tolerate them to an extent and he was excellent at writing down their habits and abilities. But get him within two feet of one and...' Freezing in place, her expression stilled before returning to normal.

'He froze?'

'He froze. Ghost types in particular always set him off.'

'Why did he even try getting into Pokémon Behavioral Studies then? He’s clearly terrified of Pokémon. Wouldn’t he rather get as far away from them as possible?'

She had sighed. 'That does seem like the most logical answer. But maybe...

'He didn’t want that to be the case.'

Their conversation had drifted soon after that but her last comment had stuck around. What type of person was terrified by Pokémon but so devoted to studying them? Just who exactly was Periwinkle Laventon.

Whoever he was, he didn’t seem too happy. Not anymore or any time since.

"I...I’m not sure you’d want me," Laventon stuttered. "I’m...I'm not exactly the most qualified for such a position. It’ll be a waste to go to me..."

"I assure you, you’re plenty qualified to join us."

"But I’m a dropout!" he excused. "Hardly fitting for such a prestigious organization."

"Professor Prunella has already informed us of your experience," he tried to address his concerns—

—Only for the other to cry out, "Clearly not! Of all people, the professor would tell you how unfit I am for any of this. Look at me!" Abruptly standing up, Laventon gestured towards himself and yelled, "I’m hardly the pinnacle of...of anything really! Can’t even get dressed right..."

As he thought of what he could say to that, Laventon continued deluding himself with more of his so called failings. Walking over to the enlarged calendar, he wildly pointed at it while shaking in place. "Look at this for example! 1854. 1855. 1856. I’ve written out all future Maximizing phenomenon in these years. Impressive, right?" He stomped his foot barely missing the paper. "Not at all! Anyone could’ve written this out if they just paid attention to the pattern! Heck, just look at the sky! See a red beam of light? Congratulations! You’ve just done my job for the day!"

His breath had started running out at that point and he was pretty sure the tea had steeped far too long to be enjoyable.

After taking a few moments to recover, Laventon managed to whine, "...So there’s no reason to hire me, see?"

Before he could reply, their attention was taken away by the front door being flung open. While the man at the entrance was a stranger to him, Laventon seemed to know him.

"Rodger, is something the matter?"

Rodger, though clearly out of breath, managed to wheeze out, "A light just appeared over the horizon! One of the swirling ones!"

Whirling around to face the calendar once again, Laventon’s eyes quickly glazed over as he observed the date.

"There wasn’t supposed to be one today. It was scheduled for next month at the very least." His breath hitched, "...Which means someone must’ve have activated it early. Rodger, call a town meeting! There needs to be an evacuation order immediately!"

Rodger paled at the news. "Yes sir."

As Rodger ran off, he managed to ask, "Why take such drastic measures?"

Laventon gaped at him, "Drastic measures? This is standard procedure. Everyone knows these practices by heart by the time they’re six!"

"I just arrived a few days ago. I have yet to witness the Maximizing phenomenon."

He laughed weakly at that. "I’m afraid your luck has ran out then..."

As a great monstrous roar reached their ears, he had enough sense to fear what was about to come.

Chapter Text

Calling a town meeting wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be thanks to Wedgehurst's relatively small population. Even as the residents of Postwick joined them, the crowd size barely changed. Despite their numbers, however, the town square was still filled to the maximum and as their gazes turned towards the horizon, the townsfolk grew restless.

"Rosario, what’s going on?"

"All the Pokémon have ran off!"

"What was that horrible noise?"

"I’m scared!"

"That light in the distance isn’t what think it is...right?"

"Why weren’t we informed of this?!"

At those words, Laventon seemed to shrink into himself before quickly recovering his posture. He couldn’t help but agree. Now was not the time to be self conscious.

The mayor, who he could presume was Rosario, stepped forward to address the crowd, "I’m sure you are all well aware why we have gathered here today." She pointed at the swirling red light out in the distance. "A Maximizing event is underway and given its proximity, the Pokémon will be heading right for us. We must evacuate immediately."

Most of the crowd quieted at that. With their own suspicions confirmed, there wasn’t much else they could say. Others, however, were not so easily silenced.

"What about those den raiders! Why aren’t they handling it?" an older man spoke out.

"Yeah! Isn’t that what the government hired them to do?"

"Not like they care about us. They’re just in it for the treasure."

As more complaints rose from the group, Rosario turned towards the two of them, though, her focus was more on Laventon.

"What do you make of this? I do not recall you mentioning a Maximizing event at the last town hall."

"I didn’t..." He said softly. "This particular one is unnatural."

Her eyes widened and some of the more closer townsfolk began whispering.

"Unnatural? Aren’t they all unnatural?"

"Unscheduled, more like. You saw the calendar as well as I did. It had always been accurate before."

"Then do you think it’s—?"

"Maybe but I’m not—."

As their whispers spread, the crowd became more rowdy. It was clear he was missing some important piece of information. He would’ve asked Laventon to clarify but Rosario raised her voice.

"Regardless of the circumstances, unless we all want to be crushed underfoot, we have to leave the area." Turning to her closest attendant, she asked him, "Hazel, have you spotted the monster yet?"

From the downturned faces of the people behind him, his answer was already clear. "It’s coming up from over the hill already. You should be able to notice—"

"There it is!" someone shouted.

As gasps and screams started to fill the air around them, he found himself breathless at the sight before him. The green hills he had once soared over were now accompanied by a great mountainous mass that glowed an unnatural red. As he gazed upon it, the mound only grew bigger—No, wait...It was getting closer! He quickly came to understand that this was no mountain. Great spiky thorns stuck up from its shoulders. Boulders the size of houses tumbled from its peak but crumbled the moment they struck the ground. The green of the hills, already stained black by these masses, were also now ablaze. The fires devouring what was not destroyed by the monster's footsteps. Towards the creature’s belly lied a great flame separate from the glow but ever fiercer than it. Heat radiated around the beast distorting the once peaceful land behind it.

"Oh bloody hell..." Hazel whimpered. "Why couldn’t it have been a Butterfree?"

Laventon quickly disagreed with other's assessment, "It would’ve reached us sooner," and had the gall to add, "And with the winds it would've kicked up and its toxic scales, it would’ve been impossible to evacuate."

Rosario nodded resolutely. "I had not asked for an explanation but at least luck hasn’t completely abandoned us." Turning back towards her people, she directed their attention to the train station, "Since the monster is approaching from the northeast, we should follow the tracks towards Motorstoke! Now, let’s get moving!"

Realizing the exact danger they were all in, the townsfolk raised no more heckles and started trudging towards the station. Their lack of panic impressed him but as Laventon beckoned him and Rosario closer, he had a bad feeling.

"They won’t be able to move quickly enough to escape the fires. That forest is a death trap," he informed them.

"You don’t think I know that," Rosario hissed. "What would you have me tell them? That we'll all succumb to the flames before any hope of rescue." As her face morphed into a sneer, she got up into the other's face and said, "These folks are my responsibility and I would not have any one of them fall into despair!"

Laventon quickly tore his gaze from hers and looked away, ashamed of himself. Satisfied with having gotten her point across, she looked at him for the first time.

"And who are you supposed to be? You’re not a part of the same lousy company as him are you?"

He shook his head. "I’m with the Universal Corps."

She raised her brows. "Never heard of them before. You with the government?"

"No but I may be able to provide assistance." Pulling a poké ball from his side, he showed it to her and looked back towards the gigantic Pokémon approaching them. "If I could buy time facing off against the Maximized Pokémon, the townsfolk might be able to evacuate."

Unlike the two of them, he had not spoken so quietly. While most of the citizenry were already making their way towards the tracks, Rosario's attendants and advisors were still nearby. From the looks on their faces, he could tell they didn’t believe him.

"Are you bonkers?" Hazel gaped at him. "You would be walking to your death if you did that!"

"Pokémon or not lad, there’s little chance you would be able to do anything against that beast."

"Not necessarily."

Since Rosario's takedown of him, Laventon had finally managed to break from his self wallowing, though, he looked no better for it. Sweat marks were lining every bit of his face and by his shaking hands and legs, he was clearly terrified.

But as he spoke, his voice was clear, "There is no trick to stopping Maximizing Pokémon. Those energy beams always appear from dens whether activated over time or by wishing pieces. The only reason why gigantic Pokémon aren’t stomping all over Galar is because someone deals with them."

Rosario's breath hitched while Hazel and some of the others looked like they were about to gag. "You don’t mean—?"

He nodded solemnly. "Every time one of those lights appears from the horizon, a group of people go into the dens and fight the Maximized Pokémon with their own Pokémon."

"Why didn’t you tell us this?!" another attendant yelled.

Laventon looked away sheepishly before quietly replying, "I’ve already broken several rules already by my superiors' standards. Can’t I keep some things to myself?"

By the looks of their faces, they disagreed with him on that notion. Rosario only looked resigned by his words. In his opinion, Laventon was not giving his true thoughts on the subject. He clearly didn’t care about what his superiors' thought of what he should and shouldn’t share. There was nothing stopping him from saying anything. What would not telling them about how Maximizing Pokémon were prevented from rampaging accomplish?

The wealth from raiding dens was well known. Who’s to say anyone couldn’t take a crack at it?

He didn’t much care for these revelations, however. "So you’re saying I have a chance at fighting it and not begin scorched off the face of the planet?"

Laventon’s face scrunched up at his words but he managed to answer, "That depends...What..." He took a moment to pause before saying, "What Pokémon do you have?"

His answer came easily enough. Grabbing the three remaining poké balls from his belt, he released the four of them onto the field. Laventon noticeably took a small step backwards. As they appeared from the capsules, he heard gasps of wonder from behind him. It seemed like the technology hadn’t reached this far south yet. His four teammates stood tall seemingly aware of the attention on them.

Ko stood at the head of party. Attentive as always to his surroundings, the Golduck took no time in spotting the enemy. He kept his usual scowl but quickly went to assuage his teammates' fear as they failed to share his confidence. Skipper was shaking in his feathers at the sight of their gigantic foe. As the Pelipper started to peep, Ko had done his best to wave off his concerns but as the peeping got more rapid, it was clear he wasn’t helping. Hasu looked miffed at the inevitable battle before them and had turned to glare at him as if it was his fault. The Lombre had always been particularly good at showing her displeasure. Taking after her father, Ahiru looked as unperturbed as usual, though, her gaze never left the horizon. From only her eyes, he could see the Ducklett's fear.

"Water Types," Laventon drawled, not sounding especially confident. "This may be our doom as well as our salvation."

"Care to elaborate?"

Although he clearly didn’t want to bring the mood down any further than it already was, he gave in to their demanding stares. "Coalossal has three possible abilities. Flame body which has the chance to burn its opponent on contact. Flash Fire which makes it immune to fire attacks and powers up its own fire moves. And..." Swallowing his fears, he spat, "And Steam Engine which activates when Coalossal is hit by a fire or water type attack..."

"What happens when it’s activated?"

...

"Laventon."

"It’s speed is increased six fold."

...

"くそ," he hissed. "That is not good."

"No, it is not," he agreed. "But luckily for us, Coalossal is fire and rock type. Water types are your second best bet at defeating it in time."

"Second best?"

"Ground types," Laventon elaborated. "Same effectiveness as water types and no risk at activating Steam Engine. If it even has it, that is."

He shook his head. "We should practice caution regardless. The success or failure of our mission decides the fate of all these people."

"You’re right." Laventon gave a shaky smile. "Whatever happens, we must do—" He coughed abruptly, finally registering his words. "I’m sorry, did you say 'our'?"

He nodded, not seeing what was wrong with his statement. "I am not from this region so I have little experience or knowledge dealing with Maximizing Pokémon as we’ve already established. I need your expertise if I even have a chance at succeeding."

The other immediately stilled at his words. With his wide eyes and open mouth, he looked like a Magikarp out of water.

"I...ah...Well, I’m not sure...I can—"

Interrupting the other's mumbling, Rosario gave her own vote of confidence. "I will also do my part in this plan. I may know of someone who would be willing to help us if they haven’t traveled down stream already."

Seemingly in the know of what she was getting at, Hazel nodded along. "I’ll see if I can get word out to Motorstoke. There has to be some Rookidee still around."

"Rookidee, you say?" one of the older attendants inquired. "I might know where some are at but playing them as messengers might not be our best bet."

Taking inspiration from their fellows' words, the townsfolk that remained started throwing ideas off one another. No longer were they a hopeless bunch. No. Instead from their voices and cheer, they looked like a proper town, each having each other’s backs. Although he himself was not one of them, he looked fondly upon their faces, remembering his own family and the town he had left behind. As he turned his gaze to the other outsider, he saw that the Laventon felt the same. Patting the other’s shoulder, he did his best to assure him,

"Working together, we might just make it out of here alive."

Laventon hiccuped and in a shaky voice, he replied, "I hope you’re right..."

He nodded.

He hoped so too.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

The ground quaked with every stride the great beast seized, destroying the once green hills around it. Following the crescent, the monster balanced each step as it approached its destination. The town of Wedgehurst was only a stepping stone in its path towards its true goal. Whatever drove it southward was unknown but to the people living on the land it walked over, it was of little concern. For just as the beast had its own purpose, they too had a will to defend themselves. It was when these two objectives clashed that the true battle was wrought.

Just as every step the gigantic Pokémon took hurdled boulders and started fires, a new force introduced other effects to the land. A strange mist started enveloping the area, unaffected by the rocks and fires underfoot and overhead. Clouds gathered in the sky amongst their unnatural red brethren before tearing open and unleashing a torrent of steady rain. The Coalossal took no note of these phenomenon and neither did it care for who caused them, though, its steps noticeably became more uncoordinated.

The source of both (and the secret third), however, stood directly in its path further south along with three others. Accompanied by a Drednaw, a Ducklett, and her trainer, Hasu stood satisfied with her efforts but by simply looking up towards the latter, she knew this was only part of the plan.

His gaze never left the sky and although he would not get his answers from looking up, he knew quite well what he was waiting for. Ahiru joined him on his shoulder as they awaited the message.

The object of their stares flew steadily above them all. Away from the beast but close enough to observe it, Laventon studied the effect the rain had on the monster while clinging to the Pokémon carrying him. His fear of falling overriding his fear of the bird. Ko calmly held onto the Pelipper even as one of his flippers hung in the air. He watched the other take his observations, awaiting his final judgement. Skipper, holding the weight of the two of them, peeped nervously and shifted to accommodate their adjusting centers of gravity. Its gaze never drifted from its opponent, however, even as it shivered in flight.

Noting the steam steadily leaking from the Coalossal's stomach and shoulders, Laventon reluctantly concluded his observation,

"It has Steam Engine."

As Skipper's whining became more rapid, he took the time to pet the poor Pokémon's feathers as Ko relaid the message.

Suddenly sitting up straight, Ahiru abruptly started flapping both of its wings. Hasu winced at the sight of her movements while the Drednaw let out a sad huff.

He sighed, bemoaning the fact that of course it wouldn’t be that easy, before shaking his head and facing their opponent once more. "Hasu, drain what’s left of the foliage. Ahiru, use Bubble Beam on the ground and go gather the others." As his Pokémon went to obey his orders, he turned to the remaining member of their party. "Drednaw, we may also need your assistance in this matter."

The Bite Pokémon nodded before moving to follow Hasu. As Hasu started Giga Draining the surviving plants, Drednaw began Water Gunning along the right side of the hill underneath the Coalossal's feet. Ahiru moved the closest to the beast and at times, flew directly beneath its path as she blasted the hill with Bubble Beam. Once the ground was soft enough, she doubled back towards Wedgehurst passing them as she did so. She had her own part of the plan to accomplish.

Their efforts were not in vain. As the Coalossal moved to take another step, the soft earth beneath it collapsed causing it to sway towards the right side of the hill. As it fell over, it hit itself and cried out in pain. The top half of its back scattered across the hillside and into the valley reducing the Pokémon's mass by over a fourth. As it eyed its losses, the beast growled before letting out a massive roar startling everyone in its vicinity. Momentarily losing his focus, Skipper lost control of his wings causing Laventon to lose his grip. Before he could completely fall off, Ko grabbed his wrist and pulled him back on the still panicking bird. Eventually Skipper managed to steady his wings but their struggle had managed to catch the attention of the Coalossal.

Eyeing its new prey, the beast gathered what coal it could and launched it towards the trio. Spotting the attack, the group quickly realized there would be no hope in dodging the rockfall as it covered most of the sky. As the attack reached them, there was little time to scream.
___ ___ ___ ___

BOOM!

Turning towards the sound, Hazel managed to spot several black boulders falling from the sky. As the air suddenly turned arid, he hoped their plan hadn’t failed. Noticing his expression, Rodger patted his shoulder and said,

"I’m sure they’re fine lad. Let’s just trust that they’ll pull through, alright?"

Although his words did little to assuage his worries, Hazel nodded and continued to follow the main group. There was no point worrying about what ifs. His presence at the battle would do little but hinder the mission. However, his slow footfalls soon caught the attention of one of their guides.

"Yip! Yip!" the Yamper barked.

Ramming into his leg, the attack did little but make the Pokémon tumble backwards. Rodger laughed at its antics.

"Looks like she wants you to get a move on!" He nudged him. "You could learn a thing or two from her."

He wanted to roll his eyes at that but he couldn’t help but find some truth to the other’s words. The Yamper was only trying to help and by the distance they had already walked, she and her friends were succeeding. Although technically wild Pokémon, the several Pokémon that were accompanying them had close ties to the citizens of Wedgehurst. In return for providing boarding and the occasional snack, the Yamper always made sure to keep the Wooloo in one area so they could shave them for their wool. The Wooloo had a reason for staying around too lest their wool grow too much but the creatures tended to wander off. The Yamper had made sure to wrangle them in whenever that happened.

Yipping at his ankles again, he realized this situation wasn’t much different. They were just the Wooloo now. Shaking his head, he kneeled down to pet the Pokémon before complying to its orders.

Ahead of him were the rest of the townsfolk. Having been kept on safe paths lead by two other Yamper, the crowd had managed to maneuver between the fire set trees. The occasional one they would encounter would always be dealt with by the squadron of Chewtle and the two Drednaw leading them. While the water Pokémon had less reasons to help them, their currently absent leader had directed their efforts. Even after so many years, he was still wrapping his head around how Rosario knew such a powerful Pokémon.

Regardless of that hidden history, the turtle Pokémon's water type skills had done wonders in clearing a path and keeping them safe.

"Yip!"

Surprised at the scared yelp behind him, Hazel turned and found the Yamper from before obscured by a flaming tree. Before he could call for help, however, a Drednaw was already on the scene. Facing the flaming trunk, the Pokémon gave a low rumble before splitting the log in two with its claws. The five Chewtle backing it up quickly doused the flames allowing the Yamper to join them once again. As he gaped at their efforts, the Yamper barked at him again.

He smiled solemnly before breaking off into quiet chuckles. "I’ll do my best to keep up. Thank you."

They would make it out of here alright. He just hoped the others did as well.
___ ___ ___ ___

Just as the attack reached them, Ko stood up and flung himself towards the upcoming wreckage. Swinging his arm forwards, the Golduck managed to make an opening in the rock wall just large enough for Skipper to fly through with Laventon. Quickly moving to intercept him, Skipper flew under Ko as he fell which allowed Laventon to catch the Pokémon. While the Golduck was mostly unharmed, the coal had stained his downy feathers and had reached his eyes. As Ko struggled in his grasp, Laventon did his best to hold onto him and Skipper lest they both fall this time. Skipper did his best to stabilize his flight but made sure to watch for any upcoming attacks. With Ko out of commission, it was now his responsibility to ensure their safety. That didn’t stop the Pelipper from whining, though. This was too much for his poor feathers to handle!

Not helping the situation, the rockfall that had not been intercepted was now clouding up the atmosphere. Interrupting the rainfall, the remaining coal soon scattered into the beginning of a tumultuous sandstorm. Appreciating the results of its attack, the Coalossal let out another massive roar before continuing on its path. However, its joyous mood was soon interrupted as the rain started again effectively dragging the rock particles out of the air and back onto the ground. As steam hissed from its belly, the Coalossal grumbled before turning its attention back to its previous target. The pesky bird was still flying above it. Ungrounded despite its efforts. Perhaps it could fix that.

Grabbing a decently sized boulder from the ground, the Pokémon playfully tossed it up several times before reeling back its arm to launch the attack.

Before it could smack down its prey, however, someone else took the initiative to strike.

While the sky had already been preoccupied by gray clouds, a new force overtook the Coalossal's vision. Abruptly blinded, the Pokémon stumbled back in fear as it was pelted from all sides. As it swung its body around to deflect the new foe, the mass dodged its clumsy maneuver and took to squawking and sneering at it. As more of its mass fell from its head, the beast gave a weak whine before flailing at its foes. The shade dodged again and its next strike only did more damage than before. As the monster felt its movements slow, it roared again and uprooted several rocks from beneath its feet. As the boulders took to the air, the onslaught finally paused allowing the Coalossal to look upon this new force. As its vision cleared, the beast startled at the sight of a flock of Rookidee being led by a single Ducklett. While the monster would’ve taken pride in impeding its opponents movements with Stealth Rock, Ahiru gave it no time to feel confident. Instead, with a single flap of her wings, she dislodged the rocks from the air and scattered them back towards the ground. (The mist also returned soon afterwards). As the Coalossal gaped at the sight of its plans being foiled, Ahiru took the opening and slashed at the other's face with a gust of concentrated wind. Stumbling back, the Coalossal was once again overcome by the flock and struggling to gain a footing.

However, their luck would not last. Now knowing its true opponent, the Coalossal kept its eyes open and picked up a small boulder. As it swung its weight around again, it used the seconds between retaliations to fling the rock at the Ducklett. Surprised by the attack, Ahiru was unable to dodge and was smacked out of the sky. Startled by their leader's downfall, the Rookidee froze in flight.

A mistake they would regret.

With their defog user out of commission, the Coalossal immediately set up more Stealth Rocks before incinerating the battlefield. As the Rookidee tried to escape, their movements were impeded by the floating rocks allowing the flames to reach them.

Able to see the attack coming kilometers above in the sky, Skipper preemptively used Protect, saving them from the fiery attack.

The three that were still grounded were also saved through the efforts of Drednaw doing the same.

Even as most of their forces fell from the sky, Laventon managed to stay focused on observing the monster instead. It stood confidently upon the eastern side of the hill, smiling as its opponents flailed in front of it. The Coalossal now burned an even brighter red compared to when it first came upon the horizon.

His blood turned cold as he realized what this was. Swallowing his fears, he spoke, "It’s time for phase two."

At his words, the two Pokémon with him quieted. Having recovered from his fainting spell, the still blinded Golduck sat up, his eyelids glowing a light purple. The Pelipper sighed before firing a Hydro Pump into the sky.

BOOM!

The clamor of the move breaking the sound barrier took away the Coalossal's attention from its path back to the foe in the sky. It stood there, momentarily confused about the point the other Pokémon was trying to make. After all, there was no reason to launch such a move unless it was directed at an opponent.

Its thoughts were interrupted, however, by someone doing just that.

As the Hydro Pump slammed into the Coalossal, it cried out in pain and fell over. Its barriers shattering instantly.
___ ___ ___ ___

What the Coalossal was not aware of was the secondary force on the ground or in this case, a lake. Team B, as they were designated, were responsible for handling the inevitable downfall of most of Team A. In fact, during the time the beast was distracted by Skipper's confusing actions, another whole flock of Rookidee were catching their fallen brethren along with a very unconscious Ducklett.

Circling back to the lake, the Rookidee gently dropped their passengers from their backs and left them to be attended by several Gossifleur. They flew off soon after that with several new passengers accompanying them. While the Gossifleur used Aromatherapy, the lake's true leader, a Lapras, used Life Dew to reinvigorate them. Standing off to the side alongside one of her attendants named Victoria, Rosario continued watching the Coalossal.

"I think it’s been enough time."

Victoria nodded. "All seventy-nine of them are present. No Rookidee has been left behind."

Satisfied with her answer, Rosario left the part time bird keeper and began walking towards the Lapras. Noticing her approach, the Lapras smiled and gave a slight bow, though, it kept its focus on the injured Pokémon. Rosario returned the greeting before motioning towards the Coalossal.

"It’s time. They’ve all returned."

In an instant, the Lapras's gaze became cold and while Rosario knew it wasn’t directed at her, she felt herself froze. Lil lil had grown up a lot since their childhood. No longer was the Lapras quivering in fear of bullying brats. Now, he was the leader of the whole lake and no one would trespass on his home and get away with it. During the Maximized Pokémon's initial appearance, he too had turned to evacuating the area but when she sought his help, he had freely given it. In the past, she had protected him and now, he was returning the favor.

As the Lapras's steely gaze landed on the Maximized Pokémon in front of them, he hummed a low note summoning his second in command from the lake bed. The Gyarados stood tall on the surface of the pond and had immediately obeyed the order. As the Hydro Pump slammed into the Coalossal's side, steam immediately released from the Pokémon's gut. However, it gained no advantage thanks to Team A's Rookidee slowing the beast's movements with Scary Face.

Without the risk of a speedy approach, Gyarados began launching Hyper Beams at the monster with Lapras joining in between healing sessions with the occasional Ice Beam. Fully enraged now, the Coalossal had put all of its remaining energy into charging straight for them. As it drew closer, she could feel the heat radiating off it.

Lapras's and Gyarados's attack were doing damage but even their efforts wouldn’t defeat the beast singlehandedly.

Luckily, this was only a distraction.
___ ___ ___ ___

"Here they come!" he shouted safely positioned on top of the hill.

While Hasu and Drednaw cheered in relief, he looked once again to the sky.

They had already begun to descend.
___ ___ ___ ___

The Coalossal, so irriatated it had become from these interlopers, had started roaring and raving as it stomped down the valley. No longer would it tolerate such irritants. It would reduce that lake to a puddle and burn the forest along with it until nothing remained but a desert from its heat. After reducing that land to nothing, it would continue south towards...Well, it didn’t know what but surely, it needed to go there. To wake them up. Who? It didn’t know and it didn’t care.

In this madness, the Coalossal failed to notice the second wave coming for it. Rapid Spinning the Stealth Rocks away, the Gossifleur lead the Rookidee forward to attack the encroaching beast. Unleashing a torrent of Leaf Tornadoes, they covered the birds as they used Swagger to confuse the monster. Stumbling backwards, the monster groaned under the sheer stress it was experiencing. Blinking through the dazzling lights and chirping birds, the Coalossal managed to notice an approaching blur. Its sight was immediately taken away, however, as another Hydro Pump slammed into its face. As steam erupted from its stomach, in a moment of clarity, the beast attempted to utilize its newfound speed to unleash a G-Max Volcalith.

Unfortunately for it, the Coalossal's ability activation was not only to its own advantage.

After unleashing a Hydro Pump, Skipper had taken to diving straight at the monster with his two passenger’s holding on for dear life. In the split second it took for the Coalossal to reorient itself, Ko Psyched himself Up to match the stats of the other. Without being hindered by confusion, the Golduck had acquired all of the Coalossal’s attack bonuses and speed. The Maximized Pokémon stood no chance as Ko leapt from Skipper's back and slammed an Aqua Tail onto it. The move proved true thanks to the Gold Duck's psychic abilities. Zen Headbutt had given the Pokémon enough focus to aim and finally, finish the battle. Once again, Skipper came up from under the falling Pokémon but this time he managed to land without assistance.

Collapsing backwards, the Coalossal fell into the valley completely knocked out. In a puff of red smoke, it disappeared or more accurately, shrunk down to its normal size and form. He would later recover and manage to pull himself up before being assailed by several angry Rookidee who would drag him to the lake to apologize. Although he would admit to having no memory of the event, he took the circumstances in stride and would apologize anyway.

No one really paid much mind to that yet, however.

Landing safely near the lake, Skipper gently dropped off his two passengers before collapsing onto the ground in exhaustion. The Gossifleur and Lapras quickly moved to attend the two Pokémon's wounds, treating them as kindly as they would their own.

As they set about caring for the two aquatic Pokémon, with a third already recovering, Laventon quickly snuck away from the scene. Avoiding the celebrating groups of people and Pokémon, he made his way into the forest a fair distance away from the lake. Catching his breath, he did his best to think to focus on what they’d just accomplished.

Wedgehurst was safe. It wasn’t at risk of being trampled anymore or being burnt to a crisp...Maybe? There was still the matter of the fire already started by the Coalossal. While they had managed to keep it away from the town, the coal it had spilled onto the hills surely wouldn’t help mitigate the—

Shaking his head of such thoughts, he pushed back said concerns until later. Positives. Positives. He was thinking of the positives!

Wedgehurst was still standing. Everyone was alive—he hoped. They hadn’t yet sent word to Team C and there were quite a few Pokémon that were injured—Positives! The Coalossal had been defeated. They weren’t at risk of another Maximized Pokémon for the rest of the week!

Though, that wasn’t necessarily true either was it. This battle had been unprecedented actually. Unnatural some may say despite the strange nature of Maximizing events already. Regardless, this raid battled hadn’t been the result of pent up energy. It had to have been activated by a wishing piece.

Which probably meant someone had gotten a tad greedy...

He wheezed. Trying to think of the positives had done absolutely nothing for him.

He was being ridiculous, honestly. He was alive. They had succeeded. This wasn’t three days of waiting for the inevitable to happen. The battle hadn’t been that long despite the circumstances leading up to it. There had been a few close calls but everyone was still...breathing.

Though, he was still having some difficulty.

In. Out.

In. Out.

...Nope, not helping. While the tension in his chest had lessened, his mind kept coming back to what they still had to deal with. The fires. The coal avalanche. The injured. The cause of the Maximized event...

Just before his mind could start another tangent, luckily, he caught some movement at the corner of his eye.

Alongside the hillside they had positioned themselves at, he saw the three of them descending. Hasu was speaking to the Drednaw enthusiastically judging from her gestures. It was the most expressive he had seen her since her initial release. The Drednaw shared her expression but only listened to the other quack on. Their third member watched the two Pokémon converse, though, occasionally he looked towards the lake, clearly concerned for his other three Pokémon.

What positives there were had been the result of that man's plan. While he had only supplied information regarding a Max Raid Battles, the other had taken all of their allocated resources and contributed them to a viable plan. A plan that had worked out exactly as he had envisioned with only a few minor caveats. A plan that he had somehow agreed to despite what it entailed...

And he didn’t even know the other’s name.

...He didn’t know his name.

No. That couldn’t have been right. He had to have said it at some point.

But as he thought back on it, no, he hadn’t.

He was pretty sure he hadn’t introduced himself either despite the other already knowing his name.

He chuckled quietly to himself.

He’d just have to fix that when the other finally arrived.

They had made it out alive after all.

Chapter Text

With the end of the battle, several things happened in quick succession. As Team A and Team B were reunited, he quickly went to check up on his three other Pokémon along with Hasu. After making sure they were okay, he learned that Rosario had already sent one of the uninjured Rookidee to inform Team C of their success. This, however, turned out to be completely unnecessary as Team C had not only witnessed the Coalossal fall from where they were at but had met up with an incoming train.

Having seen the rampaging Maximized Pokémon from the city wall, the mayor of Motorstoke had quickly locked down the city before sending out a scouting party towards the monster. Concerned over relatives who still lived in Wedgehurst and Postwick, several of the railroad workers hijacked a train and started immediately towards them. Since the train went along the western hill range, the workers had failed to see the results of the battle and were noticeably weeping when they came upon Team C. The Pokémon had surprised them and the Pokémon were in turn disturbed by their presence. Luckily before any misunderstanding could occur, the two groups managed to settle down and start heading back to town, dealing with the fires they came across.

As the met with the combined Team AB in Wedgehurst, there was much celebrating and tears of joy all around. Concerning the Pokémon that had fought in the battle, the townsfolk had quickly offered their thanks in whatever food they had on hand along with a few pets for good measure. Even now, both people and Pokémon were enjoying the fruits of their victory together. Even the Coalossal from before was present, though, the Pokémon looked much calmer and was sheepishly going around apologizing. Some people and Pokémon scolded him for his actions but most were too taken by the relief in the air to care and quickly took to forgiving the Coalossal.

That wasn’t to say there was only cheer and celebration. Although most of the fires had been put out, the coal scattered across the hills could easily catch. It also wasn’t doing much for the environment having covered up most of the greenery the hills once housed. It would surely take a while to return to normal if no one acted to help the recovery along. Maybe he could send for some grass types to speed up the process, though, the Universal Corps would probably have to gather native grass type Pokémon from the region to ensure the right plants grew back. Perhaps the Gossifleur would be willing to help.

While the town of Wedgehurst was unharmed, along their way to safety, Team C found several damaged tracks that had been warped by the heat or burnt away. As a result, the train the workers had arrived on had to be left in the forest. Though, several people had stayed around to watch over it, Hazel being one of them. Luckily for them, some Pokémon had also chosen to stick around including a particularly hyper Yamper according to Rodger.

As for the workers themselves, having hijacked a train for their own personal use, they would surely be fired from their jobs if not forced to compensate for their actions through jail time or community service. There wasn’t much he could do for them unfortunately. Unless the Universal Corps suddenly took an interest in trains, they were on their own. Of the couple of train workers that had chosen to not stay behind, he could tell from their expressions that they knew this quite well. Some were nursing their fourth drink of the night while others did their best to hold themselves up to the level of cheer happening around them. The townsfolk in turn did their best to include them. Most of the smiles had been genuine in the end.

Victoria, meanwhile, was spinning a tale of their feats and painting them all in a legendary light much to his and Rosario's embarrassment. The Rookidee that were not injured had taken to re-enacting the aerial maneuvers they had used in the battle to add onto the storytelling.

As for Laventon? Well, not too soon after the battle and their subsequent walk back to Wedgehurst, a group of people had arrived separate from the train workers. From the logos on their uniforms, he was unable to tell who they were initially until Laventon froze at the sight of them. Rosario had a similar reaction but her expression quickly devolved into anger as she took to cursing them out. They had ignored her, however, and had informed Laventon that they wished to speak with him somewhere quieter. Much to his and Rosario's annoyance, the other had easily complied to the order and followed after them, though, his movements were stiff.

That had been the last he had seen of him since.

Luckily, soon after the group had left, Victoria had made sure to order one of her Rookidee to watch over them and to come back if any trouble arose. The Tiny Bird Pokémon had yet to return.

That didn’t give him much confidence, though.

So, he made sure to keep an eye on the area he had seen them disappear off to. The moment whatever discussion they were having was over, he would be the first to see them leave.

Hasu was also by his side. Having been the only uninjured member of his party, the Lombre felt somewhat guilty and had chosen to stick by him to compensate. Although from her expression, one would not expect to find she was there willingly.

Having recovered from his exhaustion and nerves, Skipper was gouging himself on berries, his beak never seeming to fill.

Ko and Ahiru were together of course. The father and daughter duo had not left each other’s sides since their return to Wedgehurst. Ahiru was suffering from a sprained wing while Ko was still crying out the dust particles that had gotten into his eyes. Victoria, the town's resident ornithologist, had assured him that both would recover just fine if given time and rest.

This was where the battle had left them. A happy present with an uncertain future.

Of course, while he was lost in his musings, something had finally happened.

Tugging on his pant leg, Hasu directed his attention to the spot they had both been previously staring at. As he turned to look up, his eyes met with the once absent Laventon. The other looked even more exhausted than he had been before with even darker bags hanging from his eyes. Despite this, however, the younger man's expression was somehow light, more serene. Waving a hand in greeting, Laventon made his way over to them before abruptly grabbing his hand and shaking it.

He spoke, his voice scratchy but clear, "Periwinkle Laventon."

Slightly startled, he automatically returned, "Kamado Denboku."

After ending the late introduction, Laventon laughed his strange actions off and said, "I was planning to do that since the end of the battle but I was distracted..."

"I failed to inform you of my name at our first meeting despite already knowing yours. The fault lies with me," he stated.

Only for the other to shake his head, "I should’ve asked it as well then." He smiled before adding, "Besides, since we’ve made official introductions, we’ve done our duty to formalities."

He nodded but took a polite pause before asking, "What did you and your employers end up discussing?"

"Oh that?" he exclaimed sounding especially cheery. "They just told me I’m fired. Nothing too shocking, I assure you."

As Hasu gaped at the other, he couldn’t help but agree.

"They fired you?" he said, almost mouthing the words as they failed to register.

Laventon nodded, his eyes taking a sort of mad quality to them. "Yep. They said since I didn’t inform them of the Maximizing activity..." His frowned a little at that before resuming his jovial expression. "I endangered everyone and failed to fulfill my job! It’s as simple as that really." As the his breath quickened, Kamado gently tried to grasp the other’s shoulder but was interrupted as the Laventon spoke up once more, "And I’m not even surprised! The moment that stupid beam of light appeared in the air, I knew something up!" He was rambling but he didn’t much care for appearances right now. "They got greedy I bet. Didn’t expect the battle to be too difficult. Just one wishing piece and they’ll be right as rain. Plenty of treasure to come afterwards once they succeeded." He laughed hysterically (only slightly, really. He promised). "I bet bloody not! They got their arses kicked! Don’t think I didn’t notice their singed hair. I did! They couldn’t cut away all the evidence!" As his breath started to run out, he wheezed, "And of course, they’d blame me for it. Much simpler than admitting to their mistakes..." He trailed off after this, his gaze locked on the ground, somehow ashamed for something that wasn’t even his fault. "And they’ll get away with it too, I bet." Seemingly snapping, his voice finally matched his words, "Unless...unless..."

Taking the chance to help his friend, he encouraged, "Unless?"

Laventon still looked rightfully pissed but his expression had taken on a more inquiring air. "The...the company..." he stammered. "They don’t actually really know how I do it, you see. They don’t know how I’ve managed to work out the Maximizing activity...they don’t know how I’ve 'predicted' when it occurs. They never bothered to ask." He grinned as he said that. As he continued, he spoke even more fervently than before but now, he had a point to get across. "They don’t know just how far I’ve done it either. 1854. 1855. 1856...I still have the years prior too just in case I ever needed to cross reference..."

Remembering there previous conversation, Kamado exclaimed, "The pattern you’ve mentioned before...it follows naturally occurring Maximizing phenomenon?"

Laventon snapped his fingers. "Only the natural phenomenon," he emphasized. "Wishing pieces allow for the instantaneous release of the pent up energy gathered in dens. It always results in a Maximized Pokémon regardless but the timing—"

"The timing is inconsistent with the previous established pattern," he finished.

"Exactly!" He explained further, "So using the calendar, it’s possible to establish what Maximizing phenomenon on a given date is or isn’t natural."

"You can prove your innocence then? If you show in court that the phenomenon was unscheduled according to what you’ve already mapped, you can prove they activated the den and weren’t simply misinformed."

"Yes."

"Then we should get started immediately." Looking towards the still obnoxiously yellow building, he started formulating a plan on what they should do. "We should head to your house and gather what evidence we have before the company evicts you. How much time have they’ve given you? Rosario should be able to assist us in delaying them if we..." He trailed off when he saw the other's expression.

He looked nervous, uncertain of what he was supposed to do now. No, that’s wasn’t right either. It was obvious what the plan should be but Laventon...he almost looked like he didn’t want to do it.

He must’ve looked upset or some sort, because the Pokémon researcher immediately tried to explain himself, "It’s not like I don’t want to expose them! I'm just..." Swallowing his nerves, he said, "I’m just not sure I’m the one who should do it."

As the other's gaze went past him, he understood what the he was getting at. Turning around, he saw the true victims of the day's events. They were all smiling now, simply happy to be alive and with their houses in tact. But who knew how long that would last. Several of them were definitely going to lose their jobs and the rest would have to wait until the tracks were repaired to ship out what goods they had. The lack of trade would be detrimental to the town and some people might not have food on the table for some nights.

The fires had also destroyed much of the forest. Trees that had once been burrows or sources of food were now charcoal. Rolling green hills were now overrun with coal. The Pokémon that fed from those grassy mounds would have to find somewhere else to frolic. Several hills were untouched by the disaster but would the returning and migrating populations get along? Would there even be enough for all if they did?

Kamado knew it was the right thing to do. He just had to make sure the other realized what it entailed.

"Laventon," he said kindly. "If you do this, you’re giving away any leverage you have. Are you okay with that?"

The other nodded and then completely missed his point, "Yes. I don’t want to go back to working for them. Let me tell you..."

He shook his head and clarified, "I mean if you let them do it..." He took a moment to gather his words before continuing, "All the compensation would have to go towards Wedgehurst and Postwick. If you participated, your past employers may try to paint the case as some disgruntled researcher seeking revenge. If the townsfolk want to win the jury over, they have to hold themselves at the center of the story." He quickly added, "You’ll probably be called to testify but only to confirm the facts. Nothing else."

For a moment, he felt bad for addressing the other in such a manner. After all, Laventon was the one who originally came up with the idea of turning the case over to the townsfolk. He was just worried the other hadn’t thought it through all the way. Though, maybe it was his fault for not allowing Laventon the time to do so.

Despite his fears, Laventon only retuned a smile. "I know," he said softly. "And I’ll do just that." His smile soon turned into an uncharacteristic smirk, however. "But don’t think you’ll get out of this either. I’m sure the courts will love to hear how the battle went after all."

As the color drained from Kamado's face, Laventon let out a very genuine laugh. Even Hasu let out a quiet snicker.

Like catching a cold, he too let out a little giggle much to the other two's amusement.

He, however, had his own comeback. "And what will you do after everything's settled then?"

Unwilling to answer just yet, Laventon turned back the question, "How about you? Any plans yourself?"

He answered plainly, "If I’m going to testify in court, I’ll have to inform my superiors immediately. My scheduled missions would have to be pushed back or given to another agent but that’s just standard procedure for these sort of things. The Universal Corps don’t like involving themselves in the intricacies of the Region Governments but they take care to adhere to their given laws."

"I see. I take it all agents have to follow those principles."

"Yes?" He said, somewhat confused of why the other was asking.

"That’s...that’s good to hear..." he stammered. "I hope I can follow such precedents..?"

As the other nervously looked up towards him, he finally understood what Laventon was saying, "You want to join the Universal Corps."

"Yes." Laventon gave a shaky smile. "If the offer is still on the table...?"

He nodded eagerly. "Of course. We’ll be happy to have you!"

The other's smile became fuller. "Do you have the authority to say that," he said jokingly.

Kamado, in turn, replied with all the seriousness he could muster, "I don’t but don’t think that’ll stop me."

After a moment of silence, the two of them bursted into laughter confusing the poor Lombre standing between them.

Perhaps the future wasn’t so uncertain.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Ten Months Later...

14 December 1854
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

"And that’s the end of it."

"Truly?"

"Yes."

As the crowd's gaze turned towards them, he confirmed, "The jury found the Galar Max-Raid Company guilty of all charges. They officially lost their license to raid dens and must pay for damages concerning their previous actions."

For a few seconds there was nothing but silence between them until—

"Thank goodness!"

"We won! We actually won!"

"Bloody bastards, they’ve got what’s coming to them!"

"Did something actually work out in our favor?!"

As the townsfolk erupted into cheer and laughter, Victoria slapped Rosario across the back and said, "Someone’s definitely getting re-elected."

She groaned in reply. "I may just retire actually. This whole entire case was a pain. Although..." Reaching into her coat pocket, she pulled out a singular poké ball. "I did meet a new friend."

This caught several of the townsfolk's attention and as they instinctively quieted down, she in return released the Pokémon. Appearing from the capsule, a very strange looking bird Pokémon now stood before them. Most of its body was green but its wings were composed of white feathers tipped with red and black strips. At the center of its chest were two strange spots that while mostly red had a speck of black in middle. This gave them the appearance of eyes. As for the Pokémon's presumed real eyes, they never blinked and even as it stood in front of the crowd, it wasn’t looking at any of them, only into the distance.

"Her name is Pearl. Say hello Pearl."

The bird tilted its head slightly but its eyes continued to gaze over them. The crowd remained silent.

"What a cutie!" Victoria exclaimed immediately shattering the tension in the crowd.

"Just as expected! Ever the bird watcher!"

"A very fitting Pokémon for such a dedicated mayor. Always got your sight on something!"

"I’ve never seen such pretty feathers before! Are they as soft as they look?"

"Can I pet it?"

"Where’d you catch it? I’ve never seen a Pokémon like it before!"

Quickly taking charge, Rosario answered accordingly, "She is—No one can deny Victoria's dedication to her craft—You know it—They are—If you ask nicely—Near Hammerlock Hills. Way farther north from here."

As she took to answering more questions, the two of them steadily crept away from the crowd only to be caught in their escape.

"And where do you think you’re going?" Hazel yelled rather humorously.

Much to their embarrassment, his exclamation managed to catch the attention of the rest of the townsfolk.

With Rosario as their leader, she raised a brow at them and asked, "Think you can escape that easily? Where are our two prime witnesses heading off to now?"

Kamado coughed and smoothly replied, "Well, while it was lovely to see you all once again, our ferry is leaving soon. If we don’t head up to Motorstoke right away, we may miss it."

Laventon eagerly nodded. "The court case took longer than we thought it would so Kamado's superiors want him to return immediately. As for me, I still haven’t been evaluated for membership and need to report at headquarters." He quickly added, "Which is all the way in Kanto."

Most of the crowd immediately blanched at the name which caused a number of them to nod understandably. That didn’t mean they would let them off so easily, however.

"Well in order to head off to Motorstoke, you need to wait for the train which is scheduled to leave in twenty minutes." Hazel grinned having seen through their words. "Which means you still have time to see what we’ve done."

As the crowd began murmuring excitedly, Rosario looked to Victoria for answers. "I don’t recall you informing me in our last correspondence of anything like this."

Victoria shook her head before grinning. "It’s nothing bad, I promise you but you’ll have to see it for yourself."

To their surprise, Rosario accepted the explanation. "Very well. Lead us there!"

The crowd cheered at the order and quickly went about herding the three of them towards their destination. As they walked, Laventon and Rosario were the first to notice the given path they were taking. Kamado, having already forgotten the directions he received those months ago, remained confused until they came upon Laventon's previous residence.

The obnoxiously yellow house.

But now, it was no longer yellow.

As Laventon buried his face into his hands, the rest of them erupted into laughter.

"We figured we’ll finally have it match you!" Rodger exclaimed.

"The Pokémon helped us gather the right types of berries for the paint." Hazel explained. "They wanted to express their thanks too."

"The building's still technically owned by those sods but we figured any sort of vandalism against them was worth it."

Still blushing, Laventon squeaked, "But was this really necessary?! What about Kamado? What did you get for him?!"

As some of the crowd deviously looked towards him, Kamado quickly deflected, "No please! This is reward enough! I hated that stupid color. This is much more fitting for it!"

Indeed! The acclaimed Pokémon Researcher Periwinkle Laventon only deserved the best reward in thanks for contributing to the salvation of Wedgehurst. To memorialize his accomplishment, it was only fitting for his previous residence to match him.

Purple was a much better color for the building anyway.

Chapter Text

>Battle Description: To Be Deleted

Boss: Coalossal
• Tar Shot
• Stealth Rocks
• Incinerate
• Smack Down
• G-Max Move: G-Max Volcalith

Attacking:
• Golduck: Ko
◦ Zen Headbutt
◦ Disable
◦ Aqua Tail
◦ Psych Up
• Ducklett: Ahiru
◦ Aqua Jet
◦ Air Slash
◦ Defog
◦ Bubble Beam
• Lombre: Hasu
◦ Rain Dance
◦ Giga Drain
◦ Mist
◦ Teeter Dance
• Pelipper: Skipper
◦ Protect
◦ Agility
◦ Stockpile
◦ Hydro Pump
• 79 Rockidee
◦ Swagger
◦ Fury Attack
◦ Scary Face
◦ Leer
• Gyarados
◦ Hyper Beam
◦ Hydro Pump
• Lapras
◦ Life Dew
◦ Ice Beam
• 3 Drednaw
◦ Water Gun
◦ Razor Shell
◦ Rock Tomb
• 25 Chewtle
◦ Water Gun
• 20 Gossifleur
◦ Aromatherapy
◦ Leaf Tornado
◦ Rapid Spin
• 3 Yamper
◦ Roar

Goal!: Defeat the Gigantamax Coalossal and Prevent It From Destroying the Wedgehurst

Part 1: Ensuring the Townsfolk's Safety
• While the overall goal of the mission is to defeat the Gigantamax Coalossal, what this accomplishes ensures the townfolk's overall safety.
• As a result, on the off chance the mission does not succeed, Team C will try to get them as far away from the battle as possible.
• Team C is composed of two Drednaw, three Yamper, and twenty-five Chewtle who have volunteered for this mission. The main mission of the Drednaw and the Chewtle is to ensure the fire does not get anywhere close to the townsfolk through the use of the moves Water Gun and Rock Tomb. Razor Shell is used to clear out foliage and a path. Yamper are responsible for keeping everyone in a group and heading down a safe path. Using the move Roar, they will communicate to the other members of Team C about current locations and upcoming danger. The humans leading Team C include Rodger and Hazel.

Part 2: Slip and Side, What a Fun Ride
• The next logical step in any battle is figuring out the abilities of one's opponents. So this phase of the fight while be assessing what exactly Coalossal has in its arsenal and a little bit of setup for the main fight.
• The prodding begins as Coalossal is walking along the hill tops. To start the battle, Hasu sets up a Mist to negate any stat lowering the Coalossal may get up to with its Dynamax Moves before using the moves Rain Dance and Teeter Dance.
• Observing from above on top of Skipper and with Ko, Laventon notes the effects of Rain Dance on the Coalossal. As he notices light steam surfacing from the Coalossal's stomach and shoulders, he concludes that the Pokémon does have the ability Steam Engine. After informing Ko of this, Ko sends a mental signal to Ahiru who motions to Kamado the news.
• Although he’s slightly disappointed that the battle will be a little harder now, Kamado accepts the information and proceeds into the next step of the plan. He orders Ahiru to use Bubble Beam and Hasu to use Giga Drain on the hill which somehow causes a landslide. (Due to the Fire Coalossal had caused many plants covering the hill had burned away. The loose coal that fell from the Pokémon shoulders also contributed to the instability of the hill. Knowing this, Kamado has Hasu drain the rest of the remaining plant life and for Ahiru to destabilize the dirt with Bubble Beam.) Confused, the Coalossal trips on itself and falls towards the east side of the hill.

Part 3: Getting to Shield Range
• With the Coalossal in the proper positioning, the next step of the plan is lowering the Pokémon's health. Main attackers for this phase of the fight come from of Team A which includes 40 Rockidee, Ahiru, Drednaw, Skipper, Ko, and Hasu.
• Now aware it is being sabotaged, Coalossal begins to look for the perpetrators. Spotting Skipper in the distance, the Coalossal fires off a Max Rockfall directly at them. Luckily for Skipper and Laventon, Ko moves to intercept the attack and manages to take the hit before being picked up by Skipper again. Just as a Sandstorm starts to move into the area, Hasu uses Rain Dance to cancel it out. Angered by the turn of events, Coalossal prepares to fire off another move (Smack Down) but is distracted by a flock of 39 Rockidee being lead by Ahiru. As they pelt the Pokémon with Fury Attack, Scary Face, Leer, and Air Slash, the Coalossal sets up Stealth Rocks to impede their movement. Its plan is thwarted, however, when Ahiru uses Defog followed by Hasu setting up another Mist. Once again angered, the Coalossal attacks Ahiru with Smack Down which OHKO hers and then sets up another Stealth Rocks before using Incinerate.
• The attack hits all the Rockidee but Skipper and co manage to evade using Protect. Kamado and Hasu are also able escape severe damage thanks to the Drednaw with them using Protect. Suffering from burnt wings, the Rockidee and Ahiru begin to fall only to be caught by the remaining 40 Rockidee.
• As Laventon pats down the small flames on his lab coat, he notices the red glow surrounding the Coalossal and tells Ko and Skipper that the shields have activated. The Golduck prompts Skipper to use Hydro Pump as a signal to Team B.
• Momentarily distracted by Skipper, the Coalossal does not see the upcoming Hydro Pump as it strikes it. As its shields all break, the Coalossal turns its attention to the perpetrator, a Gyarados in the distance.

Part 4: Recovery Team, the Other Half of the Plan
• While Team A were dealing damage to Coalossal's first half of HP, Team B were waiting to intercept the inevitable carnage. Composed of the remaining 40 Rockidee, 20 Gossifleur, Lapras, and Gyarados, this team is mainly here for recovery and defense. Their human counterparts include Rosario and Veronica.
• After the Coalossal used Incinerate, the Rockidee from Team B swooped in and saved all troubled flyers that had been attacked. Bringing them to the Lake on Route 2, the Rockidee and Ahiru were attended by the Gossifleur who used Aromatherapy and Lapras who used Life Dew. As their wounds were handled, the remaining conscious Rockidee and several Gossifleur got into position for the next phase.
• As Skipper gave the signal, Gyarados used Hydro Pump on the Coalossal. While this activated the Pokémon's ability, the speed was negated by the Scary Faces the first wave of Rockidee managed to land. Now officially having the Coalossal’s attention, the gigantic Pokémon started heading straight towards the lake they were all stationed at. Instead of attacking with Hydro Pump again, Gyarados started blasting the Coalossal with Hyper Beams while Lapras attacked with Ice Beam in between healing turns. This managed to distract the Coalossal long enough for the second team of Rockidee to attack.
• Clearing the air of the Stealth Rocks using Rapid Spin, the Gossifleur manage to make an opening for the Rockidee to swoop in and start Swaggering the Coalossal. As the Pokémon's attack stat builds up, it tries to use Max Rockfall again only for it to trip backwards. As the Pokémon recovers from its confusion, it fails to notice an approaching Skipper. As the Coalossal is hit by Hydro Pump, Ko takes the time to use Psych Up, copying the Coalossal's newly gained speed and attack boosts, before unleashing an Aqua Tail on the downed Pokémon. Instantly annihilating the remaining Pokémon’s health, the Maximizing Effect is removed and the battle won.
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