The Poisonous Paradise- Keith's Secret Base

[Missingno. Master]

Tessa didn't have long to look- Aragog had been scuttling around on the ceiling, idly weaving a Spider Web. Upon seeing Tessa looking around, he lowered himself to the floor on a strand of string. "Hi, Tessa," he said. "I like to weave practice webs on the ceiling every so often," he explained, gesturing with a leg at the web he'd been working on.

Pomona looked at Cassiopia. "Hey, so, if you like, I could show you around the house," she offered.


Jake withdrew Milo, after which he suddenly decided to leave. Helena felt like facepalming- she had been too obvious, hadn't she? Even so, she could still get a taste of the veritable smorgasbord what made up Jake's anxiety. Hatred, anger, despair, fear- the Banette equivalent of the four food groups, basically. The Banette gave a small sigh, then sank through the floor into the dining room, and then again into the Pokémon Center.

Speaking of which, Cyanide nodded at Freighya's words. "Couldn't have said it better myself," she agreed. "Though I'm also pissed at him for making you cry," she added.

Millicent frowned at the mention of Aco- that was Jake's Shuppet, wasn't it? The one she'd seen back at his Secret Base?

"Excuse me? Telpo, Millicent, Willow?" Helena said, floating over to them.

"Oh- Helena, hey," grinned Millicent. "What'd you find out?"

"Not a lot, I'm afraid," sighed Helena. "I don't have a lot to report, but what I do have is... well, first, I was able to taste anxiety coming off of Jake. Lots of it. With a very diverse flavor to it- there's hatred, anger, despair, and fear in there. And... he let slip one thing, too," she added. "Whatever's troubling him, he's afraid that it'll make everyone think he's a creep. I'm sorry I couldn't find out more than that," said the Banette.


Myrtle listened to the mad ravings of a delusional Rotom as Arthur plotted the horrific things he wanted to do to Freighya, and interrupted aforementioned disturbing mutterings with her presence. Arthur, however, didn't seem to care that someone was witnessing his madness, and explained to Myrtle the horrible fate he believed Freighya deserved, before coming to the realization that Myrtle was likely on Frieghya's side, at which point he threatened to destroy her if she tried to take him on.

The Banette gave a derisive snort. "Far stron-ger ghosts than you have tried to de-stroy me, and have failed mi-ser-a-bly," she retorted. "You would be un-wise to try it. Luc-ki-ly for you, I do not in-tend to take you on, as long as you leave them a-lone," she stated.


Peeves glared at Duosion, and was about to retort when Sophie told the Psychic-type to stop, reminding him they were all on the same side. And thankfully, Duosion was far more responsive to her words than to Peeves's.

As Jake made his preparations, Keith did likewise. He took off his Mega Hat and put it in his backpack, and he transferred his Poké Balls onto the illusory belt.

"Give it here," Peeves offered. "Your stuff's safe in the First National Bank of Peeves."

"Right," Keith nodded, handing his backpack over to his Dusknoir, who promptly popped the pack into the mouth on his stomach. Keith knew better than to mistake this for eating the backpack- it was being very safely stored within the Dusknoir's ghostly body, and it would be an easy matter for Peeves to retrieve it later on. Peeves than sank into the ground, ready to accompany Keith and Jake without being detected by anyone else. "Ready," he reported.

[Marion Ette]

Originally Posted by Missingno. Master

As Keith and Minerva walked into the entrance hall, the latter was greeted with August's battle stance. Keith tensed at this- his instinct was to place himself between Minerva and August, but even as he did so, Marion calmed August down before explaining to Keith that she'd wanted to talk to him about a few matters, though suggested that she might be interrupting an important visit, and voiced the idea of returning at another time. Before Keith could even begin to say anything, Bedivere intervened, stating that Liliana could very well speak for herself, and that he had more than enough food for everyone. Keith couldn't help but grin- it had been years since he last witnessed Bedivere's generosity and good cooking firsthand. It was almost nostalgic to hear him rattle off such a long list of foods.

Moreover, as the Jellicent spoke, he activated a Poké Ball, sending out a very familiar Dusclops. Peeves's eye lit up, and he promptly hugged Liliana back as she zoomed over to him. At her question, Keith blinked in surprise, and looked at his Dusknoir, who was giving him a look that very plainly said "please say yes". Once the initial shock of the request had passed, however, Keith couldn't help but grin. "He certainly will," he said to Liliana. "You and Peeves have been apart for entirely too long. Believe me, I can relate," he added. "Lil, you're more than welcome to stay with us."

Tears of joy leaked from Peeves's eye. "Thank you," was all he could say to Keith before turning his full and undivided attention to Liliana, who, it seemed, was now going to become a part of their large and diverse family. Keith smiled as he saw the Ghost-types hugging. He'd been supportive of this couple since they were just a pair of young Duskull, and while he hadn't seen this coming at all, he honestly had no objections to welcoming Liliana onto his team.

Deciding to leave the Dusknoir and Dusclops to their joyful reunion, Keith turned back to Minerva, who was flipping through a number of documents Marion had handed her. One in particular caught Minerva's eye, and judging by her reaction, not in a good way. The smile on Keith's face vanished, replaced by a look of concern. He approached Minerva and put an arm around her for support- in more ways than one, for her body was starting to slump. "Minerva? What's wrong?" Keith asked.

Also deciding to provide the pair of reapers some space to reunite after such a long separation, Marion steps away from Liliana and Peeves, watching as her sister engages in the overdramatic reaction that she had feared.

"Minerva, for Giratina's sake..." The lavender-haired woman sighs heavily. She seems to be measuring her words carefully, though a frustrated twist in her mouth shows the struggle of it. "...If your desire is to be truly human, this is the natural consequence..."

Minerva, leaning into Keith for support, throws the papers down on the floor in a huff. "So THAT'S how it is, sister? What, embarrassed by the tabloids? Trying to get rid of that black mark on your otherwise pristine record? Your adoring public disapproves of me?"

"My intentions have nothing to do with that! Surely you understand that -"

"I saw what the papers said about me. I saw the names they called me, the labels they attributed to my 'deviant behavior' - oh, but I'm sure it hurts YOU more than it hurts me, right? How much you've SUFFERED, Marion. When I did all I could to take care of you -"

"Minerva, please -"

"I don't want to hear it! I can't BELIEVE would disown me like this -"

At this accusation, Marion's eyes flare, her posture nearly mimicking that of August's earlier battle stance.

"No, I don't want to hear it. You want to come waltzing back into this country expecting a pardon for all that you've done to me - to everyone that you've harmed - fine. Fine. We can do this. I've given you that pardon, given you my old base, given you your freedom, given everything that's within my power as an Elite to give - and I've taken my share of flack for it. I did this for YOU, so you could live the life you wanted, and I don't want to hear this nonsense that I've abandoned you. But, you know what? If that's the card you want to pull, I'm not falling for it. I'm not going to beg for you to come back into my life. I'm done with you. Go live whatever unnatural life you've procured for yourself and leave me the FUCK alone."

Wind knocked out of her sails entirely, Minerva appears utterly unable to speak. Marion throws Liliana's Pokeball at her sister with undue force, which she stumbles to catch. The new Elite whirls around angrily, preparing to storm out of Keith's base. August shoots a glare at Minerva, clearly sharing in Marion's frustration.

[Missingno. Master]

Marion seemed to be rather frustrated in response to Minerva's reaction. Though Keith didn't hear exactly what had even happened, enough was said in the following exchange for him to piece it together- Marion had made use of a recently introduced service. Namely, the new ability to remove one's starter Pokémon from one's team, something unheard of prior to this new Elite Four. She had dropped Minerva from her team. Certainly he could see Marion's side of things- Minerva becoming human would, of course, mean that she'd pretty much have to be dropped as Marion's starter. But on the other hand, Minerva was very clearly taking this quite hard. Keith held onto Minerva as she leaned into him- she was getting support from him, both physically and emotionally.

Then, the argument reached a boiling point- Minerva appeared to have struck a nerve by accusing Marion of disowning her, and the Ghost-type specialist was very clearly fed up. She declared she was done with Minerva, heaved Liliana's ball at Minerva with entirely unnecessary force, and wheeled around with the intention of storming out. It was this that spurred Keith into action- he was not about to let things end like this between two sisters who loved each other.

"Marion, hold on a second," he said, still holding Minerva close to him. "Look... The one thing Minerva wants, the biggest reason she's doing what she's doing... Between Halloween of 2012, and whatever went down when she got her memories back, she doesn't want to risk hurting loved ones anymore, and she wanted, more than anything, to reconcile with you. And then, this being the first time she sees you in I don't even know how long, and you bring her news of this nature before pretty much anything else... I mean, even considering why you're doing it, you have to admit it doesn't exactly scream 'touching family moment', you know what I mean? She just wants her sister back, is what I'm trying to say," said Keith. "It's not about the Secret Base or the pardons or any of that- she just wants some reassurance that you'd welcome her back into your life, that even if you won't call her your starter, you'd still call her your sister. And I want you two to have each other, too, for that matter. I've seen how you two have interacted in the past, I've seen enough of it to know you two really love and care about each other," he stated, the utmost of conviction and sincerity in his tone.

[kawaiiconcept]

Cassieopia nodded "I would like that."
Frieghya smiled without removing her gaze from the celing and wrapped her tail over Cyanide's.

[EpicSquirtle]

Tessa couldn't help but let out a small yelp as Aragog greeted her.
"Oh umm..sorry Aragog..I just...well I didn't notice you were there." The Cosplay Pikachu apologized.
"That web though..it umm...looks great...I-I think. I'm uhh...not the greatest ...judge of spider webs." Tessa explained.
"I was umm...actually looking for you. Y-you see...me and my trainer, we're about to leave. So I..umm..thought that I should tell you."
----
Before Telpo could say anything else, Helena floated over to Millicent and him, grabbing their attention away from the rest of the group.
The Banette explained that she didn't have a lot to report, much to Telpo's dismay.
Helena stated that she had been able to taste lots of anxiety from Jake, as well as whatever was bothering him had him worried that others would think he was a creep.

"Jake's worried that others will see him as a creep for it?" Telpo repeated. "I wonder what that's about...nothing's really coming to mind.. Well regardless..thank you for helping us out, Helena."

"Thanks from me as well." Pom nodded. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear what you were saying.
But from what I heard, you were trying to help figure out what's up with Jake? If so, yeah, thanks. I've been kind of worried about him recently."
----
It seemed the Rotom's suspicions were right, the Banette in front of him was indeed with Frieghya and the others. Though she didn't intend to take him on, so long as he left them alone.

"Leave them alone?! After all that stupid pink Eevee's done to me?!" Arthur exclaimed.
"I need to have my revenge, for all that she has made me suffer! As a Banette, surely you understand!"
----
"A-alright..then let's head out." Jake said, before leading the way out of the alley. The streets seemed just as busy as before for the group, Jake being extra cautious of not banging into anyone.
The last thing they needed was to draw attention to themselves, even if they weren't in the laboratory yet.
As the group continued towards their destination, Jake couldn't help but notice that the crowd reacted no differently in his catalyst disguise, as they had in his regular attire.
Were people too busy to care about his appearance, or was his unusual garb not that big of a deal?
He didn't have too much time to ponder that question, as he soon found himself in front of Hagane Labs for the third time that day.

Jake was about to ask if Keith and Peeves were all set to enter, in case they had forgotten something, but quickly realized how terrible of an idea this was.
With his voice not matching his disguise, he would only be drawing attention to himself. Instead, he gestured to the entrance, hoping that they would get the message.

[Missingno. Master]

Pomona smiled. "Come on, then," she said, leading the way, first arriving at the library just down the hall. "This is Hermione's library," she said. "There's tons of books in here. Some of them are just notebooks full of notes Hermione took on all sorts of things."


"Oh!" Aragog exclaimed, as Tessa yelped. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he said, his apology nearly overlapping with Tessa's. "No, it's OK- many don't think to look up at the ceiling. It actually makes it a nice place for some privacy whenever I need it," he remarked. He listened as Tessa remarked that to the best of her knowledge, the web looked great, and that she and Jake were gonna leave soon. "Oh, OK," he nodded. "Bye, then. It was great to meet you, Tessa," said the Ariados.


"Happy to help," Helena said with a small smile- she was still sad that she couldn't be of more help than she was, but hopefully what she managed to learn might help Jake's Pokémon uncover the truth. She nodded as Pom explained that he'd overheard, and had also been quite worried about Jake. "You're not the only one," Helena stated. "I tasted something off about his emotions since he arrived, and even Keith's picked up on something being wrong, he's worried about his friend."


Myrtle listened as Arthur explained his need for revenge, even appealing to Myrtle's similar desire for vengeance to get her to understand. "True e-nough, we Ba-nette need our ven-geance when wronged," she nodded. "Need it like the li-ving need food and wa-ter... Ex-act-ly what did this Ee-vee do to war-rant your wrath in the first place?" she asked.


Jake led the way, and Keith followed, with Peeves quite literally underfoot. The Catalyst Grunt uniforms didn't seem to attract much attention, but then again, they did pretty much just consist of lab coats. With a prominent Pokémon lab right there in town, Keith reasoned, lab coats surely wouldn't look especially out of place, would they?

Soon they arrived at their destination. Jake said nothing, remembering that the illusion did not change his voice, and simply gestured to the entrance. Keith got the message and nodded wordlessly in response. He was ready, and judging by the fact that Peeves wasn't doing anything to impede them, he could only assume that the Dusknoir was also ready.

[kawaiiconcept]

Cassiopia nodded "Very nice, I'm sure i could contribute to it with information from my travels."
Freighya shifted ansy, she was tired of waiting.

[EpicSquirtle]

"It was umm...nice to meet you..as well, Aragog." Tessa smiled, before turning her attention to Jake.
Or she would have, if he had still been there. Alas, he had already left the battle room, leaving the Cosplay Pikachu behind.
"Weird..he was right there a moment ago." Tessa murmured.
She was about to ask Aragog if he had seen her trainer, when Hazel once again approached her.
"S-sorry a-about that." Hazel stammered in between heavy breathes.
"J-Jake... he's..he's downstairs now. F-follow me."
"Umm..ok, sure." Tessa nodded, before following the Eevee out of the battle room..
----
"Yeah, I'd bet not." Pom said as Helena explained he wasn't the only one to feel something was off about Jake.
"But it's very hard to try and force anything out of him...so I'm kind of surprised you managed to get what you did."
"I don't think even Sparky's managed to do that." Telpo added.

As this was going on, Jake suddenly came walking down the stairs, in search of the rest of his Pokemon. Upon entering the room, Jake immediately noticed Pom and Telpo, and was about to address them, when something caught his eye.
Beside Cyanide and the pink Eevee was a Zebstrika.. Jake didn't think Keith had a Zebstrika, or did any other trainers at the party for that matter. He hadn't seen Hayai on his search either...

"H-Hayai?" Jake questioned. "Y-you evolved! C-congratulations."
"I did! It was super cool, and I'm really powerful now." Hayai smiled, before turning his attention back to the ceiling.
"So umm..d-do you mind me asking...w-why are you guys....staring at the ceiling?"
----
With everyone ready, Jake pushed open one of the massive doors and entered the building. Once inside, Jake couldn't help but compare the building to the inside of the CPA.
From the sparkling white tiles, to the pristine condition everything seemed to be in, the two buildings looked almost identical. As he admired his surroundings, Jake quickly realized that he shouldn't be looking around too much.
After all, a regular grunt wouldn't stop to check everything out, right? Luckily there seemed to be no one at the front counter to notice his mistake.
Reminding himself that they had to move quickly, Jake swiftly walked down the first corridor he spotted. As he passed by various rooms, Jake couldn't stomach more then a quick glance at each of them.
Peeves had said that Hagane Labs had been conducting some rage inducing experiments, and Jake wasn't all too eager to see what the Dusknoir meant....

[Missingno. Master]

"Wow, I bet Hermione would love that," smiled Pomona. She led the way once more, though before heading down the stairs, she pointed out the other door. "That's Keith's bedroom, by the way," she added. "I'd show you in there, but he keeps it locked when there's company over." With that, she led the way down the stairs, and into the kitchen. "And here's the kitchen," she smiled. "That Swirlix over there, his name's Cotton- he loves to eat, but he really loves to cook. Usually Hermione cooks in here as well, but today she wanted to spend the party with little Albus," she smiled.


His goodbyes said, and with Tessa gone, Aragog reeled in his String Shot, raising himself back up to the ceiling, whereupon he resumed work on the web he was weaving.


"Well, I hope I did help," Helena said to Pom. "I like when I'm able to help others. That's why I suggested this Pokémon Center to Keith in the first place- when I was alive, I wanted to be a Pokémon Center nurse someday," she explained.

Jake, meanwhile, arrived downstairs, and after noticing that Hayai had evolved, asked why he, Cyanide, and Freighya were staring at the ceiling. "That's where we're expecting Arthur to pop out of," explained Cyanide. "By the way, your Rotom is psychotic," she added.


And so they entered, Jake leading the way. Keith's first impression was that the interior of Hagane Labs bore something of a similarity to the interior of the CPA, it was all white and sparkling and pristine. So clean that if a Minccino wandered in it'd end up bored out of its skull.

And along they went, down the nearest corridor. Keith decided to try peeking in each room, but very quickly decided against this, recalling what Peeves said about the horrible experiments what went down in this place. Besides, their destination was the fourth floor, and so he kept his eyes peeled for any sign of stairs or an elevator. Peeves, thinking along the same lines, used Foresight to try and pinpoint any sign of stairs or an elevator, with the intent of giving Keith and Jake a gentle Psychic prod in the right direction. Not nearly enough to disrupt or break the illusion, but just enough for them to get the idea.

[kawaiiconcept]

Cassieopia nodded and waved to Cotton.
Frieghya nodded her head slightly.

[EpicSquirtle]

Helena explained that she liked when she was able to help others.
The reason she had suggested Keith build the very Pokemon Center they were standing in, was because the Banette had wanted to work at one as a nurse, back when she was among the living.

"I think you would have done a fine job." Pom said. "I'm sorry to hear that you weren't able to achieve that before.....well you know."
"For what it's worth, I'd imagine you're doing a good job now." Telpo added. "I mean, just because you died..doesn't mean you have to give up on your dream."
----
Jake was quite taken aback as Cyanide casually stated that Arthur was psychotic.

"Wait what? N-no I think you're mistaken..." Jake replied. "Arthur..he's just...w-well maybe he's a bit...delusional. B-but he's definitely not psychotic."

Hayai was about to correct his trainer, but stopped himself. Though the Rotom had hurt the Zebstrika and his friends, he couldn't bring himself to explain the story.
Instead he opted to let one of the others explain. They would probably do a better job then him anyway, Hayai reasoned.
----
"What did the Eevee do?! What hasn't she done?!" Arthur exclaimed. "That stupid sage, Luna, she decided to deceive me and a former friend. So what do I do? I obviously make her pay for messing with us! But then that stupid pink Eevee ran off and got the Swoobat's friends." The Rotom explained.
"After I was forced to flee, Luna and her gang brainwashed my friend into joining their side! Can you believe that?! That pink Eevee stole my friend! She called on a gang to beat me into submission!" Arthur exclaimed.
"She's taken everything thing from me...and for that I want...no, I need to take her life! To spill her blood upon these floors!"
----
As Jake continued to walk through the maze of hallways, one thing stood out to him.
There wasn't a single person or Pokemon they had passed. Besides the few scientists in the rooms he had briefly glanced at, there was no sign of life at all.
Jake couldn't help but consider this very odd, this was the laboratory of a major city, after all.

With his use of Foresight, Peeves would be able to see that the stairs was only two right turns away.
Continuing his investigation, Jake suddenly felt an urge to turn right..as if he was being influenced to do so.
Following this strange feeling, he forked to the right at the presence of another hallway, doing so again once the strange feeling resurfaced. Sure enough, just ahead was the stairs the group were looking for.
Before progressing further, Jake turned back to make sure Keith was ready.

[Missingno. Master]

Cotton floated over. "Hey, Pomona," he grinned. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Cassiopia," smiled Pomona. "Hey, Cotton- do you have any food left?"

"I got a few burgers left," nodded the Swirlix. "Cassiopia, you want one?"


Helena nodded. "It's OK," she replied. "Like you said, just because I died doesn't mean my dream had to die. I even got a chance to train an Audino like I always wanted to, and I was able to locate my long-lost little brother. Thank you, Telpo," she added with a smile as Telpo stated she was doing a good job. "Though Rubeus is a big help as well. He knows Soft-Boiled and Heal Bell, both of which he uses to help out injured Pokémon. In fact," she added. "I'm considering asking Keith to help me learn Heal Bell as well."


"Yeah, well, you didn't see what we saw today," stated the Umbreon. "He tried to turn us all against Luna, he berated Hayai for losing to Luna after tricking him into fighting her, and the less said about the threats he made to Freighya here, the better. It was disturbing, to say the least. Even if you don't believe us, at least keep a close eye on the guy, alright?" she asked. "I definitely agree he's delusional, but that's just the tip of the Bergmite."


Myrtle listened to Arthur's ranting and raving, a look of extreme skepticism on her face. "So... Lu-na de-ceived you, and brain-washed your friend," she said, sounding just as skeptical as she looked. "I have on-ly one ques-tion... what kind of i-di-ot do you take me for, ex-pec-ting me to be-lieve this load of Tau-ros shit?" she demanded.


Keith followed Jake, noting as he did so just how empty the place seemed. No other people or Pokémon, save for whatever scientists were in the few rooms they peeked into. Just like Jake, he too felt the psychic pull, compelling him to turn right. Getting the feeling that this was Peeves's doing, Keith made the turns he felt compelled to, and soon they arrived at the stairs. Jake turned back to ensure Keith was ready, at which the Poison-type Trainer nodded wordlessly. He was as ready as he'd ever be.

[kawaiiconcept]

Cassiepoia nodded "sure thing."
Frieghya rolled her eyes "he made me cry, not a lot makes me cry."

[Raves]

As he descended to the shore and the familiar ship, Alex could make out some small figures down below, neither of which appeared too familiar with him. Some girl with hair that put a shiny Honchkrow to shame with the vibrant pink, and another who seemed somewhat off, with hair just as abnormally toned. Easing on the landing, the earth still shook as the Golurk touched down, such was the size as he met Keith's call.

"It's fine, we were bored anyways," he responded, with a wry smile. Not long after, reinforcements arrived as he withdrew the titanic creature, figuring the ship would need the space for anyone else arriving. True to point, another figure appeared astride a magnificent Salamence, and as Alex looked at him, he realised who the person was, given that a Seviper he had was traded to him mostly to avoid creating a situation such as this with his Zangoose, ironically.

Another stranger arrived later upon a Tropius, the fellow going by the name of Connor it appeared, before the group were ushered onto the ship and the group set sail. Alex was on deck, as he felt it would be foolish to take something weak to water over an ocean, as well as conserving energy for the battle ahead. While the vessel chugged after the shadow trail, Keith gave a briefing and apology, while Alex listened intently.

"Well at least your shadow pokemon has some get up and go about him, mine's as lazy as they come, though I did bring her given the fact that as a shadow pokemon she'd be immune to the effects of that dark sky. We already prepared before setting out, and I brought a group capable of bringing him down a peg or two."

Watching the sky, Alex knew from a glance this would not be an easy fight, but with the support of his allies and companions here, he felt nothing was unstoppable.

[EpicSquirtle]

Helena seemed to agree with what Telpo had to say, stating she had even managed to train an Audino, as well as find her long lost brother.
"That's great to hear." Telpo chimed.
Helena then went on, thanking the Abra, before explaining that Rubeus was also a big help, knowing both Soft-Boiled and Heal Bell. The Banette then stated that she was considering getting her trainer to help her learn Heal Bell.
"I wish you luck with that. If I remember correctly, Heal Bell isn't a move Banette can normally learn, right?"

Jake shifted around uncomfortably as Cyanide and Frieghya explained what had happened. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty for what had happened. Arthur was his responsibility after all.
"I'm..s-so sorry...I'll...I'll talk with him later." Jake murmured. "For now...y-you said he was in the ceiling..r-right?" Jake questioned, before turning his attention to where Hayai and the others were looking.
"Arthur...I-I know you're there... Look I-I'm not mad but....c-can you please come out? W-we've got to get going."
----
Myrtle seemed quite skeptical of Arthur's story, before outright calling it Tauros shit.
"You know what? I don't care what you think! You're the one who wanted to know anyway!" Arthur exclaimed. "If a stubborn Banette like you doesn't believe my very true tale of woe...then so be it."
He then turned his attention back to the scene downstairs, where he quickly noticed his trainer, pleading to the Rotom to show himself.

"How pathetic, he honestly thinks begging is going to get me to come out?" Arthur questioned. "Still...I suppose I can't stay up here all day." The Rotom continued, before turning to Myrtle.
"Well I guess I must be off. But before I go, can you give Frieghya a message for me? Tell her that if she ever shows her ugly mug around me next time, she can bet she won't be leaving alive."
With that, Arthur zipped off towards the Pokemon Center to confront his trainer.
----
Much to Jake's surprise, his pleading seemed to have worked. Only a few moments after his words had left his mouth, did Arthur present himself to the group.

"Yes, yes..I'm sure you're all dying to see me." Arthur said, rolling his eyes as he descended from the ceiling.

"W-why did you do it Arthur?! Why did you...decisive me?!" Hayai demanded.
"Why did I decisive you? Oh Hayai my friend...you've got it all wrong. I didn't decisive you. Luna and her lackeys did, plain and simple." Arthur explained. "What I don't understand is why you'd betray our friendship for these peasants."

At the Rotom's accusation, both Telpo and Pom looked ready to jump in with their own points. If something wasn't done soon, things were about to get heated!
----
With Keith ready, Jake began to ascend the stairs before arriving on the second floor. There, he quickly noticed another set of stairs, this one going even further up.
Jake couldn't help but smile, it seemed luck was on his side today. Climbing higher up, he soon discovered the same thing applied on the third floor. Upon reaching the fourth level, the first thing Jake noticed was how different it looked compared to the others.
Unlike the first three floors, this one looked very messy, as if the place hadn't received a proper cleaning in years. Another difference was that this floor seemed to have one large hallway stretching from one side of the building to the other, instead of the maze of smaller ones on the lower levels.
Jake couldn't complain though, this layout made it easier to find what they were looking for, after all. Making his way deeper into the building, Jake decided to take a gamble and peek at the various rooms to each side of him.
Much to his relief, he spotted no Pokemon of any kind, instead the scientists seemed to be tinkering with some kind of capture device. Much like the disguises the group was wearing, these scientist's lab coats were a light shade of gray, unlike the ones downstairs.
With no sign of the tracker, Jake pressed onwards down the hallway, unsure of just what he would find.

[Missingno. Master]

Cotton was quick to bring two bacon cheeseburgers, giving one to Pomona and one to Cassiopia. Pomona extended a pair of vines with which she accepted her burger. She took a bite, and her eyes lit up. "Mmm!" she smiled after swallowing said bite. "Delicious, Cotton!"


Helena nodded. "Very true," she agreed. "Then again, it's also not a move Stunfisk can normally learn, either," she smiled. "If Keith can teach his Qwilfish Fire Spin, I'm confident he'll find a way to teach me Heal Bell."


Myrtle scowled at Arthur. "Do not take me for a fool," she said ominously. Arthur then asked the Banette to give a rather threatening message to Freighya when she next saw the pink Eevee, but before Myrtle could tell the Rotom to go screw himself, the Electric/Ghost-type floated down into the Pokémon Center. Cyanide bared her teeth and Growled at the Rotom, even moreso at his accusation that it was Luna and her "lackeys" who had been brainwashing Hayai. "You lying sack of-" began Cyanide.

Stop, came a familiar voice, as Luna flew up to Arthur. She was not smiling. Arthur, I have had enough of you trying to cause problems for my friends, she stated. Please leave us alone. I won't ask again.


Keith followed Jake up the stairs. Conveniently enough, the stairs leading up to the third floor were right there as they reached the second floor, and upon reaching the third floor, once again they immediately saw the steps they sought. Keith smiled as well- he wasn't sure they were out of the woods just yet, but for the time being, luck seemed to favor them. And so they proceeded down the hallway. Peeves, still underfoot and out of sight, used Foresight once more, trying to locate the tracker they were searching for.

[kawaiiconcept]

Cassieopia nodded "very tasty."
Frieghya jumped to her feet ready to give off another SWIFT attack.

[EpicSquirtle]

Before Cyanide could give Arthur the verbal thrashing he deserved, Luna intervened. Fed up with the Rotom causing problems, the Swoobat requested that he leave the group alone.
Looking around, Arthur could see he was clearly out numbered. Not to mention his trainer was around as well...surely he stood no chance.
"....Fine, I'll stop." Arthur conceded, before turning his attention to his trainer.
"You said we were leaving, yes? Good. I don't think I can stand to be around these Pokemon a moment longer."

"Alright then." Jake nodded, before tapping Arthur with his Pokeball, sucking the Rotom inside. With Arthur gone, Jake turned his attention to the rest of the room.

"I-I'm sorry everyone..it's my fault." Jake apologized. "I-I should have known t-that he was going act like this...."

"There's no need to apologize, I don't think any of us could have seen this happening." Pom replied.
"But if anyone should harbor the blame..it should be me. I was the one who originally suggested bringing him out, after all."

"Wait Master, you said we were leaving?" Telpo questioned.

"Umm..yeah." Jake nodded, before realizing he had forgotten something.
"I-I'm just..going to say g-goodbye to Keith. A-after that...we should be ready."
Jake explained, before making his way back to the battle room, hoping to find Keith once he got there.
----
"Well, it seems that I must be off soon." Telpo said, turning his attention to Millicent.
"It was great to see you again, and hopefully I'll be able to see you again soon enough."

"I guess we won't get in any more mind control practice after all." Pom said as he approached Cyanide.
"Thank you for helping me with that by the way. And thank you for..well...just being there I guess."

"Excuse me...Luna." Hayai said as he approached the Swoobat.
"I wanted to apologize..for attacking you earlier. I thought I was doing the right thing but...well..you know."
----
With his use of Foresight, Peeves would be able to spot what they were looking for. The tracker was at the very end of the hall!
Jake wouldn't need any sort of Psychic influence for this though, as there seemed to be no other way to go. Stepping over broken test tubes and strange liquids, Jake continued towards the end of the hall, before stopping in front of a rather large doorway.
With both doors stuck open, Jake could see the room contained all sorts of computers and electronics. But what really caught his eye was the machine in the center. It was a large computer, with two antennae on the top left and right of the frame.
There was no mistaking it, the strange machine was none other then the Project X tracker. It seemed Duosion was right about the tracker's location after all! Still, Jake couldn't help but feel it was slightly odd that the device had no one protecting it.
After Peeves managed to set off an alarm, he figured Team Catalyst's security would have been tighter.
With no one in sight, Jake walked through the doors and into the room. Once inside, he turned to Keith, wondering if his friend had a plan on how to proceed.

[Missingno. Master]

"Heh, thanks," grinned Cotton. "My first time doing the cooking by myself- usually Hermione's running things in here, y'know? Well, I mean, Shelley helped with the bacon, of course, but you know what I mean. So, Cassiopia- you new to the team, or you just visiting, or what?"


For a moment, the situation looked tense. Cyanide was all set to start launching attacks if need be, but Arthur wisely backed down, allowing Jake to withdraw him. Cyanide shook her head as Pom suggested he was to blame, considering bringing out the Rotom had been his idea. "Hey, you couldn't have known either," she pointed out.

Back up in the Battle Room, Keith noticed Jake re-entering and approaching him. "Hey, Jake," said Keith. "What's up?"


Back downstairs, Millicent nodded as Telpo started to say goodbye. "It was great to see you too, Telpo," she smiled. She then pulled the Abra into a hug.

"No problem," Cyanide smiled in response to Pom's words, nuzzling him affectionately.

Luna smiled at Hayai. It's OK, she replied. You were doing what you thought was right. I can't blame you for that. It was a good battle, she added. I'd like it if we had a more friendly rematch sometime.


Peeves spotted the tracker fairly quickly, but this time, he wasn't gonna need to steer Keith or Jake in the right direction, for they were already headed that way. And indeed, Keith and Jake arrived at their destination, and were standing before the tracker in the center of the room. That was easy... entirely too easy, in fact, Keith realized. Shouldn't security be a bit tighter than this following the alarm Peeves set off? Then again, maybe the fact that they couldn't see any evidence that Peeves had infiltrated the building, maybe they simply chalked it up to a false alarm?

Keith eyed the tracker warily. It had to be disabled somehow, he knew. But directly attacking it would likely set off an alarm, just like with the other one. Was stealing it an option? Not especially likely- the thing was huge. There didn't seem to be some sort of way to get it out of here, or at least not without being noticed. But how to do this, then? It's not like they could just set something up, make their getaway, and be too far away to raise suspicion whenever the setup went off-

...Of course. Keith felt stupid for not having thought of it right away. He knelt down, pretending to tie his shoe just in case any actual Catalyst Grunts were looking in, when in reality, he was whispering to the floor. "Peeves, Future Sight," he whispered.

Peeves poked his face out of the floor ever so slightly, gaze fixed on the tracker as his eye glowed blue. "Alright- we got five minutes to haul ass," he whispered to Keith and Jake. "Let's try to be out of this building when the attack hits, yeah?"

[EpicSquirtle]

It seemed Keith had come up with the perfect plan. Using Peeves Future Sight attack, they'd be able to flee from the scene before any alarm could sound.
With the Dusknoir warning them that they had five minutes to get out, Jake gave a brief nod before turning towards the exit, intent on heeding Peeves words.
Before he could take a single step however, a man walked into the room. Much like the others, he too was wearing a lab coat, this one being mostly black.
The man appeared to be in his early twenties, and Jake couldn't help but notice he looked somewhat similar to Zack. Beside him was a vicious looking Lucario.

"Ahh, Trevor, Charlotte, I didn't realize you two were here." The man said upon approaching the pair.
"How would I? I could have sworn I told everyone not to enter this room after the destruction of our other tracker." The man continued.
"Though I imagine you have your reasons, just like I have mine. You see..our systems report that you aren't wearing your trackers. Well actually, it says someone is wearing your trackers, it's just not you two. Maybe you can explain why that is."
Once the man had finished, his Lucario let out a menacing growl, as if ready to lunge at the pair at any moment.
"Now now Lucario, I'm sure these two have a perfectly good explanation. Let's wait to hear it, yes?"

[Missingno. Master]

Keith mentally cursed out this man, his Lucario, and their horrible, horrible timing. Just when they were getting ready to leave, this man approached. His lab coat was primarily black- did this mean this was one of Team Catalyst's higher-ups? Either way, it looked as though their cover was about to be thoroughly blown, if it wasn't already- one detail that managed to escape their notice was that apparently all Catalyst Grunts wore trackers of some sort, presumably to prevent exactly this sort of intrusion. According to this man, the trackers were not being worn by anyone present in the room. Oh, and apparently all Catalyst personnel had been told to not enter this room, following the destruction of the previous tracker. This piece of info, in spite of the dire situation, gave Peeves a small sense of satisfaction- his efforts had succeeded. But he had to focus- if either Keith or Jake spoke up, their already thin disguises were as good as busted, as neither of them knew how the grunts they were impersonating sounded.

But Peeves did. He'd eavesdropped on a whole conversation between Trevor and Charlotte. Thinking quickly, the Dusknoir passed up out of the floor and into Keith's body, invisible as he did so. Keith was a bit startled as Peeves possessed him, but he didn't argue with it, assuming that the Dusknoir had a plan. Which was better than what he had, which was to say absolutely nothing.

Peeves cleared Keith's throat before speaking up, in his best impersonation of Trevor's voice. "Of course we have a good explanation," he said, making sure to sound mildly indignant. "I'm insulted. Charlotte and I misplaced our trackers. As soon as we realized this, we saw a couple of Rattata running away. We thought they might have stolen our trackers, so we followed them. They're somewhere in here, we haven't been able to find them, though I'm guessing they don't actually have our trackers, considering you already know we don't." As Keith heard these words come out of his mouth, he was mildly impressed with Peeves for coming up with this cover story on the spur of the moment. It still felt funny that his Dusknoir was possessing him like this, but he certainly couldn't argue with his reasoning for doing so.

[kawaiiconcept]

Cassieopia tilted her head "I'm a member of Kawaii's team. She was visiting Kieth."
Freighya tilted her head "now,what?"

[EpicSquirtle]

"Oh, w-well I just wanted to...t-thank you for inviting me." Jake said. "I-I'm actually going to..b-be leaving so...I thought I should thank you."
----
Telpo smiled as Millicent pulled him in for a hug, before his changed to a look of realization.
"Sorry...I just remembered that I forgot to give you something." Telpo explained, pulling away from the Timburr.
"I'll be right back, I left it in my master's bag." The Abra said, before floating off upstairs.
----
Pom smiled, but said nothing as Cyanide began nuzzling him. It appeared that he was deep in thought about something...
----
"I think I'd like that as well." Hayai said with a nod, before turning to Frieghya.
"Well..I'm not sure, but I know me and my teammates are going to be heading off, so Arthur shouldn't be a problem anymore." The Zebstrika explained.
"Look Frieghya...I'm sorry for siding with Arthur...you know..earlier. Once we're back home, I'll be sure to give him a piece my mind though."
----
"So you...lost your trackers...which you believed some Rattata stole...before chasing them in here..." The man repeated, sounding very skeptical.
To this Jake gave a brief nod, impressed that Keith's voice had been convincing enough.

"Right..ok well, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and believe you here. But that doesn't mean you're clear to leave." The man said, before removing a remote from his pocket.
At the press of a button, the doors behind him slammed shut, before making a sound which suggested it had been locked.

Jake seemed quite surprised at this turn of events, though he kept his silence all the same.
"Now now, there's no need for alarm. I'm just going to be administering a little test, it's our policy, as you know." The man said, noticing what appeared to be Charlotte's reaction.
"As was explained when your trackers were first administered, whenever a member of our team loses their trackers, they must perform a test before receiving a new one."
"Don't worry, the tests should be easy. We just have to make sure you're not a Ditto or some sort of an illusion, as well as if you're in your right mind." The man explained.
"You're up first, Trevor. Given your consent, Lucario here will use Foresight to make sure everything is okay. Of course, if you're not okay with this, just let me know."

[Missingno. Master]

"Ohh, OK," nodded Cotton. "Well, either way, nice to meet you."


"Aw, you're leaving?" Keith replied. He sounded mildly saddened by this, but nodded as Jake thanked him for having him there. "Hey, no problem," Keith replied. "Just glad you could make it. Any time you're in the neighborhood, feel free to drop by. Well, I mean, you're doing that tomorrow anyway, but you get the idea," he grinned.


Millicent nodded, and waited where she stood for Telpo to return, wondering what he had to give her.


For a moment, Cyanide noticed nothing off, interpreting Pom's silence as his enjoyment of this moment. However, as she glanced at him, she got the feeling something was on his mind. "Something on your mind?" she asked Pom.


The man sounded highly skeptical of Peeves's cover story, but stated he would give them the benefit of the doubt. Keith was about to breathe a sigh of relief, when the man then pressed a button on a remote control, closing and apparently locking the doors behind him. Keith started to sweat under his illusion- they were trapped like the Rattata Peeves had fabricated for his cover story. Moreover, the man made clear Team Catalyst's policy regarding misplaced trackers- before getting new trackers, any employee who lost their tracker had to undergo a test- Lucario had to use Foresight to ensure they were who they claimed to be.

Peeves hastily exited Keith's body and resumed his position beneath the floor. They were fucked. Foresight would rip his illusions apart like tissue paper. He silently rose up out of the floor behind the man and his Lucario, shaking his head, trying to convey that his illusions wouldn't hold up against Foresight.

Whether Jake got the message remained to be seen, but for now, Keith at least got it. Remembering how Peeves sounded, he made an effort to disguise his voice likewise. "Of course. Naturally," he said to the man. "Policy is policy, we understand. With that being said, I guess there's only one thing for me to say now... Peeves! Fire Punch!" At this, the Dusknoir's right fist ignited, and he threw a powerful punch at Lucario.

[kawaiiconcept]

Cassieopia bowed "nice to meet you as well."
Frieghya nodded "It's fine. Kick his ass for me ok?"