Marsh of the Cybernetic Soldier Porygon

*`"There is a more efficient way to remove the spirit from mankind and pokemon, and that is: turning organic into synthetic. The flesh is weak. Hail to fax for the galaxy, join or be assimilated by Team Gigabytic!"`*

## Overview

Two teams are called out there up for a mission to save the world one mud shot after another...Who will ascend to the galactic podium, the heroes or the villains?

## Prologue

**// Vent //**

Frost Rotom was stuck in a pile of documents, files and clues that he had been analyzing for hours in the chance to find the key of the new case: if Metagross was only the half of the main villain of the season, who was the other half? The dossier on Lunatone was never officially archived, and the addition of Dunsparce to the team certainly lighted on some suspects, but...just...he knew there was something else. "If Ditto was hired by Metagross and Lunatone was also hired by Metagross, likely, then Dunsparce was hired by Metagross too but Metagross is gone now so "...aaargh! I was so, so close by the way." He dripped some milk while crunching his breakfast nervously, that was stone cold: t*his is what you get when you have forgotten the oven in vip class, Lester*.

"Hey! You should not even stay here, so stop shouting. I'm trying to make sleep here!" that was Anorith talking from the flits.

"At this timezone? Quirky."

"It's not for me, but for the egg. Urgh, forget it!"

"Sure thing." Lester shrugged not paying really attention. "Whatever you said, by the way. My agency is overbooked."

Anorith brought the egg with himself getting further inside the ventilation pipes.

"Okay, then, here's the tab." Lester showed a classic detective clues scheme rip off. There were almost all the pictures of the major contestants, including the rivals. "*Drifloon-Plusle-Ditto-Metagross-???"* then moved to another connection "*Aurorus-Dunsparce-Lunatone-Seviper-???*" and another one "*Lampent-Jirachi-Victini-Me-???"* and at the end but that was just deemed under "J*ust in case I am bored: Squirtle-Chimecho-Lucario-Ninjask-???"* Pondered deeply "See the common aspect? I always miss the **fifth** and last name! It was platitudinous that it was Metagross but nope! So, who could be the ***???***... There must be the same name for the first three at least."

Suddenly an announcement interrupted everything.

"ATTENTION ATTENTION, PLEASE, THE ZAPCANNONTASTIC ZESTY ZIP ZAPPY ZENITH ZING ZONKED ZPECTACLE OF THE MAGIC Z HAZ ZTARTED, ALPHA! @PIC P@Se."

"Splutt-t-t-t-t-t-t..." He spilled all the milk for the shock. Immediately after, Lester was sauntering through the vents searching for the origin of the voice.

**/- Average Class -/**

The majority of Venturers and Jigglers were still sleeping on their seats when the announcement was pumped in the megaphones. They found the section of the plane settled up as a peanut gallery for the occasion: Porygon Z, dressed in a fancy magician cape and hat, stood at the end of the hall with a microphone on one hand and a wand stick in the other.

"I decided to try a quirky thing I was never programmed for and so never believed into: magic! I studied @ll the nightime with not even a break for updates to understand every trick and every secret behind the scenes. And, with my psychic powers, I can do way better than what I learned in my database about, alpha!"

"What the hell...?" Lester spied from the vents with shrank pupils.

"After the study session and the practice, all I needed was an audience, and audience bring volunteers, too. You watch, I pick volunteers, you clap, I perform,you clap again. Underst@@d?! Line up on the seats, then, I assigned you in a strategic way so i can see the reactions of everyone during performances, and never leave your seat till the end of the show: Distortion Zone." Now Porygon Z was faster than almost every other pokèmon on the plane and could have prevented any escape in easy. "Show must go on."

Okay, enough, everyone snapped against him with Seviper in the spotlight: "Ssstop this shit now or-" Porygon Z kept his promise and knotted her body in multiple sections, choking her last words. "THIZ IZ NOT JOKING. @KAY?" his eyes turned of a spooky gleam of red. "Byte the way, you're exactly the first volunteer in my list! Let's begin."

Porygon Z dragged Seviper to himself and force opened her mouth largely, useless was any struggle of the viper with her poisoned fangs.

"First of all, a warm up number: what should I extract from the snake?" proceeded dropping the hat in the cavity. "Any clue?"

"An egg!" Aurorus shouted from the distance, causing mixed reactions and getting ignored by the magician.

"An air conditioner." Beheeyem purposed in the first line, enjoying every single bit of that moment.

"And air conditioner will be! Abra Kadabra Alakazam!" Porygon Z proudly extracted it. It was the same implant that Anorith had forced her to eat days ago... "Next request?"

"A toilet." demanded someone in the crowd.

And once again, Porygon Z made a toilet to appear out of Seviper's whazoo. Everyone laughed and laughed. Seviper had never looked less than a joke before today. Beheeyem launched a signal of satisfaction at Aurorus. Aurorus caught it as a spur and then said "I'd like to see a cut number."

"Sssay farewell to your future!" Porygon Z used Psychoshock to tame the viper down. With the same move he trapped the body in different cubes of solid shape. "Silence in the hall at all. Thank you. Preparing the saw blade... calculating each section cut...analyze the vital organic veins of the being... lighting off the room to maximize spannung. . ."

"I-I can't watch this! Ohh." Piplup fainted. Lucario crossed arms unimpressed "Don't believe this crap, there's always a trick."

"I don't think the dude is joking, Lucario, seems pretty off." Bagon disagreed in a whisper.

"By the way!" Lester lighted on the room again, possessing the lawn mower soon after. "This is not for amateurs. And by *this* I mean every bit, you chinese copycat."

"L. E. S. T. E. R. virus detected." Porygon Z's eyes turned crazy red again. "You didn't get it already: I'm the future while you are the past of the category. Looks like purge is the only s@luti@n then." Before he charged the attack, Seviper spat Poison Bomb on Lester knocking the mower away and coiled her tail around Porygon Z but "There's no neck continuity between head entity and body entity, S@RRY."

"You bassstard." she retailed swallowing his head in a single bite!

Surprising calmly for having been seemingly decapitated, he admitted "Didn't cee thiz coming. Reprocessing all datas. . ."

"I will reprocess you in a compactor." Seviper bit more reaching further part of the cybernetic body.

"No way you're taking my revenge in MY place, and I can swallow BOTH!" Lester's comeback was in washing machine form: he sucked the head of the snake in the dry spinner. "See? I'm still present and future of insanity, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

"Anorith, come help. Where are you when I need you, piece of ssshit!"

"Clap, clap, clap." Lucario stood up clapping alongside Beheeyem.

**// Vent //**

**Lucario: "I really enjoyed the show, actually."**

**Beheeyem: "Here we go, Seviper's credibility is utterly destroyed. She's proxy to be the next villain I will rid off."**

**Bagon: "Wow. I mean, this is the same Seviper that terrified everyone of us at the beginning. The reason why we always had to look for the Venturers out there. She's really long gone past her primes!"**

**And Anorith had heard all of them.**

Victini opened the lift-doors all of sudden "Contestants? We are arriv. . ."

**Porygon Z, Seviper, Lester** and now joined **Anorith** were still in the middle of their performance.

"CRITICAL ERROR: head entity.exe not found attached to the body."

"Yes, enjoying the dry spinner service!? I'll serve you all those S and Z once for all!"

"Oh for Kyogre's sake. Let her off, Lester!" Anorith squeezed the washing machine in the claws in the attempt to open the dry spinner door.

"Never!!! So you'll learn who is the only and original quirk here!!!"

## Challenge

"Venturers, with me." Victini signed to get back on the airplane. "Jigglers and Leviathans, you will follow the indications of Vulpix. *Also, Vulpix, ehm, did you remember to book for the restaurant, right?*"

"*Of course I did.*"

"*And...she accepted, are you sure? It's rare that Shaymin gives a second chance. Considering she seemed into Jirachi, too."*

*"Like my name is Vulpix with capital V, boss."* The fox made a strange smile and reassured. *"Considers Jirachi just a temporary replacement she had to accept, but she will be present in all her graciousness and daintiness by this late evening, for you only, don't worry.*" Victini overflowed in happiness at the idea! Chandelure gave a pitiful look at her stepfather, but eventually raised a contemporary comprehensive and sarcastic smile.

"Ahem, get on the plane Seviper & Co already! And everyone else listen to Vulpix, ok?" he returned on the plane and locked the entrances. The plane took off again immediately after.

"What?" Bagon scratched the back of the head. "This is a first time event." The two teams then followed the fox pokémon realizing they were in Pastoria City, Sinnoh. Vulpix stopped in front of the Great Marsh, changed her outfit dressing on a military set and signed two crafts for the contestants. One for each team, they contained safety goggles, shields, and weapons. "Look at this shit, Dewott! Today the Hot Water Police could reach a complete different level."

"Ooh, I see. Still prefer scallops. I like to chop 'em raw."

"Morbid, but legit." Bagon analyzed the weapons carefully. "On second thought, I would improve everything of this. It's all fake guns, refillable with something."

"This is your basic equipment, agents." Vulpix explained. "You're given: shield, set of berry guns, safety goggles, a bag of ammo, and bombshell."

"Bombshells?" Dewott's interest rose up, scavenged the bottom of the craft finding it. "But it doesn't look like a shell at all, what a fluke!"

"It looks like a shiny Pyukumuku, how cute. Go, I choose you!" Drifblim threw it in the air bursting her body caught in the spikes of the Durian Berry, and blowing up the rest of her team. The juice was splattered all over each of the Leviathans.

"DRIFBLIM."

"Clean the mess. Lucky for you, the challenge hasn't started yet." The fox could barely hold herself from laughing... "However, good luck finding another Durian Berry. As I said, you have limited ammo and the granada you've just wasted, well, blame on you, ih ih."

All the Leviathans (even Drifblim herself) facepalmed. Rotom Wash came in hand to clean everything, by the way. "Here. My Leviathans are squeak cleaned and ready for the war."

"This kind of things happens often?" Dunsparce murmured to a soaking Minun. The mouse answered with body language: shrugging in resignation.

"So we're going on a paintball war or something like that?" Bagon asked.

Vulpix answered with a wide smile rolling the big red eyes. "Something way more complicated. It looks like the infamous Team Galactic has recently awoken in its bad suit. It is unknown how this was possible considering that their leader Cyrus is long gone, but the increased activities of research and technology could be a red herring for Sinnoh. This is all the informations we dispose of at current update."

**// Vent //**

**"There's no doubt this is going to be another play like the Rocket Radio Takeover at the end." Bagon dressed on goggles n' stuff in slow motion. "But nonetheless I'm totally ready to do it with the bang. You got all my attention here, all me."**

"Your first mission takes place in the territory of the Great Marsh, where our satellite registered a pitched activity of Galactic grunts. They're not known to be trainers, so there must be something else in their mind in visiting a safari zone. Here's the list of your tasks in detail:

1-prevent them from capturing any local pokémon including your team members, that would cost you penalties

2-retrieve a ticket for the ferry and reach the furthest zone of the Great Marsh within the time limit

3-find and bring back an evidence of their true plans

4-find and bring back a galactic badge

5-conquer the 4 zones by hitting all the targets

6-once done, leave the place with at least one member alive otherwise mission is failed."

Lester and Ninjask received a dossier each. Vulpix continued "In addition, we were alerted about the possibility of interference from a task force of mercenaries hired to stop you at every cost. There are four zones in total. Jigglers will start from Zone 1, Leviathans on the other side with Zone 3. Here's the rules of the game:

-moveset is forbidden, you can only shoot using the weapons

-you die if you get shot on face or captured in a safari ball, getting shot on other body parts costs only wounds that gives a small penalty to the final score

-you lose the mission if all members of the team are out

-each task completed gives you a golden macarone. Macarones are the coins of the game that you can spend after a mission to: buy more berries, buy more equipment, or revive a dead member. So be careful in your choices or regret them for the rest of the day

-each enemy killed gives scores that will count for the finale victory...if you survive. Kill a mercenary gives twice the scores

-a mission is successful if at least one member survives to the end. Should be everything. Any question?"

**// Bagon; "Wow, scratch that. This was taken more seriously than the last time."**

"It is allowed to hit between each others?" Lester and Ninjask asked almost at contemporary.

"If there's not a rule against it, then it is." Vulpix blinked an eye.

The two leaders agreed with an handshake. "Let's play it dirt then." Not everyone of their respective teammates seemed to agree as well with that scheme.

**// Vent //**

**"So we can expect everything from two minds like them." Minun sighed, chilling all over the spine.**

**"I don't know, actually. It didn't seem wise to agree to the policy *all vs all* when you're up against Lester." even Bagon was perplexed by this decision, and by the fact Ninjask had basically exposed himself for the first time. "Strange from Ninjask to act this straight, he must have an unknown scheme we have yet to discover about."**

Vulpix had exploited that moment of distraction to sneak away, leaving them alone. The two teams retired in their hubs to study the strategy...

**<JIGGLERS>**

"This is huge. Where to begin with?" Bagon was overly eager, and expected the same from Dewott, but her mood didn't seem the same. "C'mon, this SCREAMS Hot Water Police: missions, guns, stuff! We cannot fail today as we didn't yesterday. We just have to enjoy it!" He shook her vehemently from the shoulders.

"O-O-Okay. You're right." Dewott put down the sunglasses and put on instead the safety goggles with the same attitude. "Listen all. Today more than ever, this will be Hot Water Police material: split in halves, a squad is the decoy for the enemies while the other sneaks undercover the whole time. Squad number one: me, Piplup, Bagon and Ninjask. Squad number two: Chimecho and Lucario."

"That isn't half at all."

"What are you insinuating?"

"Dewott..."

"Could you listen to the rest of my idea before, at least?!?" Dewott took a long breath. "Chimecho will go first weaponless luring the attention of the grunts on an easy prey. Then Lucario poses to get at her desperate rescue providing for further distraction. We four go undercover in the mud and shoot 'em all from behind until the zone is cleared. Job done. Look for the ticket, take the ferry, new zone, repeat. Isn't that a shell of a strategy?"

"It's slick! I really like it. Just..." Bagon rummaged carefully "We risk to lose two members this way from the very beginning. Vulpix said that they cost scores or something alike. That's why I'm not sure we can take such a risk without suffering consequences. There's something off in the plan."

"Again. What are you insinuating?!"

"Eh, nothing. Why do you keep asking that?"

Dewott stayed in an uneasy silence.

"The vanguard brings the shield." Ninjask solved it. "This should assure that Chimecho and Lucario resist to the attacks while giving you cover until you reach the ferry rails. I will snipe from the sky those grunts that are prompt to capture local pokémon before they do it, and look for the mercenaries."

"Amazing improvement! Master Ninjask hits again on spot.

Dewott attempted for an opposition "But that's not how I figured the plan, we could clear the zone quicker in my way just for a small price. Remember there will be a countdown for the mission?"

"Alright! Uhm..." she had a point afterall. Dewott pressed on Bagon invading his personal space, just, a little, rubbing the chin of the dragon. "Don't you trust the commander anymore, Water Not?"

"Woah, Dewott, slow down." a sweat drop fell down his chin. "It's true that you're the leader of the police department, but Ninjask has the last word as the leader of the team." Dewott backed off immediately. "Anyway, I think we figured the strategy we wanna use: let's apply it."

**<LEVIATHANS>**

"Leviathans. Today we are called up to save the world and hell if we're doing it! \*EPIC POSE\*." The giant map of the safari zone was aired on the flat screen.

"Great Marsh. 1551 m2 of treacherous territory full of traps: mud holes, hostile wild nature, and of course enemies everywhere. I don't want to scare you, but I expect half team to die for the cause out there."

Dunsparce gulped.

"By the way, the mission will be successful eventually. Zone 3 is heavily guarded but it has a weak spot: the pond. This mass of muddy water can play in our favor, how, you ask? First of all, it can be crossed without getting stuck. Second, it has a luring spot for baits in the middle: Galactic are looking for wild pokémon to catch, and they will get them all served on a silver plate. It's a trap by the way! When enough grunts will be on the same spot, the pond will detonate in a powerful explosion that surrounds them and those that will survive will go down under our cross fire."

"B-But how we can detonate without a granada if I dare to ask?" he was interrupted by the land snake.

"...ah. Drifblim! Have you prepared the poffins?"

"Sure! Directly baked on Chandelure's flame. Smack."

"Perfect, but still not enough to make yourself forgiven." Lester put an arm around her, in a mafia attitude "You want the forgiveness, right?" to which Drifblim nodded with ingenuity. "Then you are going to blow up as our bombshell, ah! It's settled, swallow most berry you can until you reach the limit of..."

"Y-Yet in this way we'll be down a member and lose macarones to revive her. No?" Dunsparce, again.

Rotom inspired and expired in a zen position. Ah, peace and quiet...to announce the tempest. "You're the last one so you have been utterly excused for two episodes, not for a third one by the way. Leviathans are a wonderful family of oddballs each one with at least one quirk...and a black sheep. The normal one of the bunch. It's a specific role assigned to a pokémon here: Minun. It's Minun and **only Minun** that has always got on my nerves, so, tell me, Dunsparce, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DEAL WITH TWO POKEMON WITH THE SAME ROLE AT CONTEMPORARYYYYYY! I can't, right?" his voice turned back mellifluous only to crack like an earthquake. "Therefore for once that Minun is not being a pain in my ass, would you mind to, I don't know, **stick to a different role?!**"

Dunsparce twitch twitched unable to reply.

"Actually, I can assign you one right now! I prepared a list the same evening you got switched with Porygon: the underdog, the suspicious mole, the deadlock or the mascotte. I was undecided between mole and mascot, but feel free to pick your favorite."

More twitching. "Mascotte...?"

"Excellent choice, you have the perfect look: small, cute, even yellow!" Lester moved forward soon after. "But for today, I got another idea. Drifblim! Forget what I said before. The pond will be the settlement for our *undercover agents."* shifted eyes on Dunsparce and Minun. "*Wooper* and *Marill*."

**<VENTURERS>**

"You understood your role and vantages, Villainous Venturers?"

"At perfection." Seviper sneered with her sole survivor fang glistening in the shadow. "It comesss natural for us."

"Then start the game!" Victini pushed her and Anorith to the fall, right above the Great Marsh territory. Needless to say, they didn't see that coming and landed abruptly like bombs. The flight continued for the other three members remained. "As you know already, only two mercenaries for mission are allowed, but everyone will be featured in the final part. I decided roles for you randomly unlike the other teams, so deal with it the best you can. Beheeyem, the daily penalty is that you will be weaponless."

The alien shrugged it off. "I consider it an easy favorite that you didn't force me to participate to every mission this time."

Victini facepalmed. "Above the Lake Valor: that's your destination." A trap door opened under Beheeyem and Aurorus that precipitated in the lake.

"I am @lone in the mission?"

"No, Porygon Z, your role is the leader. I noticed your recent ambitions of overtaking Lester's place and I want to test your words with facts." Victini pointed the finger at the skyscraper that served as head quarter for old Team Galactic. "Improve that place and make it absolute hellish for anyone. Assure that none comes alive from there. Lead the Venturers to the victory, and there will be a vibrant reward for your valor! *Immunity for the merge."*

"TILT."

"Uh? Yuuuh? You're arrived at the terminus. (capolinea) Understood? Go!" but the polygonal bird was frozen to move. Victini had to manually drop it out of the plane with a kick. "Hope to have picked the right candidate..."

**// Vent //**

**"Soon I rebooted, found the heaven of technology." Porygon Z narrated the first moments of acclimatization with the emphasis of the first walk on the Moon. "Advanced computing formations everywhere I turned, cooling canals underground the floor surface, and, despite primitive technology I have already seen when I was just Porygon, wormhole teleportation portals, signed the presence of a superior human colony. These beings looked all the same dividuals of male and female gender with a common dress code replicated infinitely, but lost without their hive mind. [(CY\_\_S? FILE CORRUPTED)] Lost and utterly abandoned to their flesh side. It was then I realized, their mind could be activated again in its purest form under a new collective consciousness: ME. *The sun of a synthetic dawn of cybernetic soldiers*.**

**-End of Log Z01."**

Victini explained the situation for the audience. "Venturers will play as the mercenary corp busy in a task force to stop the rescue squads from saving the world. A role suitable for the ultimate (unfortunately for my name reputation) hated team of the competition. This gives them a different amount of bonus and malus:

-they can use both weapons and moveset

-they don't need credits to get their members revived after a mission

-they can give orders to the grunts

but on the opposite hand...

-they gain scores only if both the other teams fail a mission or personally ko them

-they cannot leave the area they're assigned to patrol

-they die with a single shot to any body part and they can kill opponents only using weapons or poison moves (which Beheeyem doesn't have any, oops!)

-they can't win at all if Jigglers or Leviathans succeed the final mission but they will lose only if all the 5 mercenaries have been killed at least once in the whole arc of three missions.

That means, the losing team at the end, if not Venturers, will be the one between Jigglers and Leviathans with the lowest score! As you can see, this will be the ultimate challenge for team spirit: last chance for the three teams to work it or work shit."

LEX-TERMINATOR KOMMANDO
(LESTER LATIAS LEVIATHANS)
(undisputed leader)
 Chandelure
 Drifblim
 Minun
(simple soldier)
 Dunsparce
(mascotte)

TEAM GYGABYTIC
(MERCENARIES VILLAINOUS VENTURERS)
 Beheeyem
 Seviper
 Anorith
 Aurorus

### >>Mission One: The Marsh of Cybernetic Soldiers

**1-prevent them from capturing any local pokémon including your team members, that would cost you penalties. Escort to the exit the endangered species . (extra) +500 points for each species saved: Carnivine, Tropius, Wooper, and Marill.**

**2-retrieve a ticket for the ferry and reach the furthest zone of the Great Marsh within the time limit (main) +500 points**

**3-find and bring back an evidence of their true plans (main) +1000 points**

**4-find and bring back a galactic badge (main) +1000 points**

**5-conquer the 4 zones by killing all the enemies in the areas (extra) +4000 points**

**6-kill the mercenary agents for double scores (extra) +2000 points each**

**7-once done, leave the place with at least one member alive otherwise mission is failed**

The two teams studied the dossier of the mission for the last time before entering in the marsh. Jigglers from south-west and Leviathans from the eastern entrance. "There are two safe exits: the same entrance or the ferry if taken in Zone 4. Two mercenaries have been located in the area and one of them has the galactic badge (A-ah! Surprise.) . Time limit: 15 minutes. If you get wounded with poison you will faint after 51 steps unless you find an antidote. Ok, roger. Let's go!"

Chimecho and Lucario were the first to cross the entrance, contemporary a Wooper and a Marill approached to the opposite entrance with Drifblim to the direction via radio: "Stand on the feet, Dunsparce, you're not looking like a biped at all. Minnie, bounce and wobble more with that body! Did you forget the training already?"

"We practiced for five minutes..."

"Oh, please. In a Sinnoh contest we have even less time." The sinnohnian balloon rolled eyes. "This is not the performance I remembered from an Hoenn pokémon."

**// Vent //**

**"For dressing, roleplaying, dancing and battling at the end. I should have not forgotten anything." Drifblim swayed showing off her ribbons once more. "I won all of this for a reason...I can't quite figure at the moment...but still!"**

"By the way, DORY -codenames, remember?- I have to say I forgive you after the disguises you were able to make in few seconds: a very quirky use of *the Moyan Berry. That for some quirkier motivation you found in your pocket after we left Hoenn..."*

"It fell from the sky, that's all I remind." Drifblim blushed in delay. "Oooh, and thank you, it wasn't nothing really elaborated! I painted them blue with the juice and then the chuck (scorza) built up the tail for the disguise of MN17. Speaking about him, the belly! Don't talk too much or all the air inside will flow away. Inspire and inflate. There's always my bandage when you can't hold it anymore."

"Aaaaanfff-ffff--fff." the mice put the X bandage on the mouth and his cheeks turned even more blueish.

"Amazing! Now feel round, and just keep rolling."

"What should I do instead to look more realistic?" the land snake asked while struggling to walk standing on two feet despite being a snake...

"Headbutt! Bonk the head on random things around, and play with round objects like..like..like arceussakkit (= goddammit) it's on the tip of the tongue."

"Marill." Chandelure found the name for her.

"Yes, yes, yes! Marill."

"So...ehm...MN17? Okay." Dunsparce dribbled pounding the poor inflated rodent with a series of headbutts and irontails. Drifblim clapped from the sky "Go this way, DS! Make the audience crazy! Wow. You're a natural juggler!" and this way exposed her position to the enemy. A single shot of yellow berry pierced through her plastic body causing the explosion: the remnants fell miserably down with a wailing sound landing in another zone.

**// Vent //**

**"I didn't even notice that Drifblim was floating right above us that Ninjask had already sniped her down!" Bagon's fangasm resembled day after day the same of Minun for Metagross. "Having knocked down their areal support gives us an instant advantage on the opposition."**

**"We cut the supply source of the Leviathans, and their bag has fallen in a neutral space for us to collect it for a double gain." Ninjask polished the gun like a samurai fills the sword. "I signed that agreement with Lester and with this action I proved to respect the word given. This will increase a very weak spot of Lester: his paranoid that will make him do fatal mistakes."**

"Here goes our supplier. One minute of silence." Chandelure did the requiem hiding the smile upon her face.

"Here goes our supplies... By the way, the mission has to proceed as planned. Get in the pond already, Wooper and Marill!"

Dunsparce obeyed but got stuck in the mud tossing Minun in the pond lake, Minun in those conditions sank down immediately after. All that mess caught the attention of the grunts. "W-W-Woopah?"

"Finally, even for the wrong way. Attack!" Wash Rotom charged on the grunts starting a shooting. "One. Two, Three. You fell in the trap, stupid grunts (more or less by the way)."

"L-Looks like the opposite to me, I mean, w-wooper." Dunsparce struggled to get free from that trap of muddy water and dirt. Until the mud was dried by a sudden overheating. "Oh? Thanks, Chandelure." He was finally able to move again, and dodged a safari ball threw at him just in time. So they were actually buying his disguise.

"AGO, DS, someone saves MN17 from there!" Lester put the gun inside the spin dryer and rotated like a machine gun claiming victims. "Die. Dye. Dye!"

"Or we could wait for his ghost to merge on the surface." Chandelure joked and shrugged with a wink at the end. "I'll dry the pond then."

"Fuck the ott and her ideas." Lucario was protecting Chimecho behind the shield in the middle of a crossfire, and worst he couldn't counterattack properly. "Guns, pfui. Toys of weak muscled men. If I could solve it my way..."

"If you want to get disqualified. Get welcomed, otherwise shut up and stick to the assignment." Enough grunts had come on sight for them, Dewott signed to the rest of the Hot Water Police to enter. "MSTR, fly to take down possible turrets or snipers and stay available in case of emergency. SPYRO, FEATHER OF CYNTHIA, follow me." Crawled on the knees almost swimming through that marshy terrain. "Do the same so we can sneak unnoticed and shoot'em all from behind."

"Hold on, I shall crawl my body in this mud?"

"Yes, Piplup, that's the idea when you visit Great Marsh."

"N-n--nnno-no-noo no way, nonsense. We would get dirt and that should count as being shot as well: it's the same."

"Ehm yes? But actually not."

"What did you even say? First you were affirmative than the negation. Do young pokémon still listen themselves when they talk?!"

"Shhhh! Shut up and dirt your precious feathers again, dear FOC." Dewott pulled her in the mud with the good manners.

"D-Dir...no..T-There is a reason why I NEVER visited this place in 51 years." Piplup confessed under shock. "This is the place where I gained my rational fear of depth from!"

"Really. How even?" Bagon asked stiffing the giggles in the nostrils.

"I was 5 year old. Since my father wanted to bring me to an experience of life formation different from the habitually Amity Square, we traveled to Pastoria City for a weekend. Here he brought me for a safari with his trainer: obviously I was too little to participate but it was allowed to bring me as a pet pokémon."

"So you have a trainer, for real."

"No, it has been too much time. He was in the prime of his 50, so make your conclusions about."

"Also your parents..."

"Exactly, but I have a fully evolved brother at home." Piplup corrected soon after. "He should but preferred to travel around the world when he met a Primarina that set him on a wanderer life style. Anyway, you interrupt too much, where was I? I splashed my first steps in the Great Marsh until I tripped face front in an huge hole digged by Bibarel! I couldn't see anything than darkness with my eyes covered by the mud...and I was stuck, stuck, stuck. And sank..sank..sank more and more I tried to free myself." Took a dramatic pause. "This is where my fear originated from: I can go down until I see that darkness again, then I can't go further that point break."

Dewott dipped one arm in the ground and barely the mud reached the elbow. "Seriously? There's nothing to fear. Okay, maybe you were so little that you could not even reach my shoulder but of course it happened in the past! Come on, you're a grown up woman now. That's not what you always said me to become, like you?" Her pep talk shook Piplup a little. The penguin began a slow crawl trying to keep her body the cleanest possible. "Compromises are always a beginning. This is another tip you said me lot of times. What's going on in there?"

They heard the screams of Lucario.

"Oh-oh. We lost too much time and we lost Chimecho." Bagon scouted from the distance.

"Let's go." Dewott was delighted inside but serious outside. And the situation was getting serious as well: Lucario tossed the shield away and embraced the spartan way. "Face me, Team Galashittic.

THIS

IS

SINNOH!"

"Don't fuck the plan, agent CRNKY, take the shield back and -" a cracking noise was the only answer she got at the receiver. "Bastard. For once I chose strategy over violence. Okay, screw strategy, screw stealth approach, frontal assault. Everyone with me!" She stood up from the bush to shoot and tripped one step after faceplanting on the ground. "But this water is like glue! I can't breath."

"U-uh. Were you saying before?"

"This is not the moment, Piplup, and you're the last that should talk in the situation."

"Help me get out of here!"

"But they're shooting in this direction now. Crap. Feather of Cynthia, give me an hand. MSTR, can you give us cover for the time?" Bagon grabbed the tail of Dewott while Piplup grabbed his tail from behind, "Pull. Pant. Pull."

"Oh my Arceus." only Piplup seemed to realize the potential innuendo of the scene for the viewers.

Bagon dipped the hands reaching the waist of the ott, tightening the grip. "Piplup, pull more!" Dewott was getting impatient and began to moan in frustration. This provided a better decoy than the Chimario vanguard, actually. Ninjask didn't waste the occasion and shot down every grunt whose attention was diverted from the battle to give a peek at the scene. "Whew, we pulled it, incredible. The Master-" Piplup choked him immediately.

"Could you please not make the situation even more embarrassing by the use of words like *pull* and *master*?!" and pulled his neck so hard that they managed to unstuck Dewott from the hole. The captain of the rescue team was bleeding from the nose since she had realized it too.

**// Vent //**

**Bagon arrived it last. "Ah, shit. Does that mean that I just did it with my boy girlfriend and a granny at contemporary?"**

**"I've never felt this harassed before." Piplup had a new trauma now to add to the collection. "This is the final proof the Great Marsh is a cursed place for me! *However, it wasn't all to forget." Smirked thinking the camera was closed.* "Wait a second, what's that red light? Were you still recording?!"**

**"Anf, anf,,," Dewott was still short on breath and red on the face to speak out about.**

"Count the victims." in the meanwhile Ninjask took his leadership back and checked on the aftermath. "One member, 8 grunts: 800 - 500= 300 macarones in score."

"Lucario?"

"It's impossible to have lost the body in the mud but I lost sight of him when I had to come back in your help. I assume he left the area, bringing the fainted ECO with himself, too. There are footsteps heading to north. He's wounded for sure judging by the amount of paint left behind." The report wasn't comforting at all. "There's serious possibility that he screws rules of the challenge, we must hurry. Check those bodies one by one, find the ticket for the ferry. This chain of events would have not happened without Piplup."

"I found something in this dude's pharmacist jacket. Could be? Ah, no, it's not a member of Galactic at all. Ops, someone shot an involved civilian." Bagon launched the platypus statuette in the mud and slowly moved away from that corpse. "Lemme check another one... Found it! To the ferry now."

Leviathans had successfully retrieved Minun from the pond but soon realized there was nothing else they could do for him. "Salvage the body for his gun, munitions, and gimme the f\*\*\*ing undercover, too." Lester dressed on the Marill outfit "There always can be an use for this (and hides the wounds) from view.) Yes, it has even more potential now that I personally fit in. Now, ticket found, right?"

"Nope, LEX." Chandelure reported and asked for more instructions. "So I can burn any evidence left by the bodies. Proceed?"

"First duty, then, eventually, fun, Executioner." Rotomarill pondered carefully on the possibility. "Check if someone is faking their dead: it could provide a source of precious information, and would be all in your hands during the interrogatory." The soul-eating chandelier cheered and blushed at the idea, immediately showing off her experience in this matter even when all deaths were simulated from the beginning.

"To fake a proper death you have to reply a perfect illusion of rigor mortis. I practiced it a couple of times...when I was alive." Chandelure blushed a little more. "A couple of thousands."

"I know, I know already."

"How? That's nothing I ever said before."

"I know you very well I mean, ah ah ah! By the way, continue!"

"A premise: I assume that whether they are actors or real galactic grunts, they're consummate professionals. Therefore I set the highest bar and take no responsibility of what could happen to them. First rule of rigor mortis: body is dead cold no matter what happens." Aghostina lighted on the corpses of the grunts using the slick mud of the marsh as a combustive. "Second rule of rigor mortis: eyes must be carved out of any light of life. Only the best ones can master the eye-rolling technique this long if they get direct eye contact upon!" Proceeded staring with her void born eyes that also sucked the vitality out of her victim as a side effect. "This one, I confirm, it's not simulating at all."

"It would not be easier to check where they have been hit?" after that scene reminded him PTSD trauma with Lunatone, Dunsparce threw in his simple solution. "Rules say you get killed by getting shot on the face or on the chest."

"It's more entertaining this way but everyone has their quirky methods." she shrugged but also winked at Lester.

"Ah. Yes! Or better: yes, ah! DS, check it your way too if you want but don't give away the cover, okay?" Chandelure seemed disappointed like she expected a different reaction from him. "By the way, Aghostine, I like your way more of course! Just don't kill'em all, eh?" He gained in result an awkward silence from her.

"There's a female grunt here that has only a foot painted on!"

"A-ah! Spotted. Executioner Ago, there's work for you!"

"Ago stays for AGONY, too." Chandelure's mood changed immediately, and the sadistic smile on her face certified it. "Where is the ticket for the Great Marsh Ferry? *Otherwise allow me to test how much emotionless you are*." While she said these words the wax of the candles slowly dripped down on the face of the prisoner, sticking to her skin and hairs like a translucent mask.

"Sorry, but I don't wanna see anymore!" Dunsparce hid inside Lester. "One trauma is enough for one single pathetic land snake."

Chandelure moved her tentacles like a spider and attached them to the angles of the face. "One single move and I will rip your cheeks apart like a peeled berry. Think wise..."

"Eek!" she fainted.

"And they call them emo..."

"She was shot." Lester inspected the area. "From the sky! They're looking on us all this time, of course. Further challenge accepted."

**// Vent //**

**"Drone." Porygon Z had hacked the camera circuit transmitting directly from the HQ. "Never leave survivors. Survivors are evidences and evidences compromise missions. It's still a prototype but the aim bot is always locked on. This is going to be QUIRKY FUN."**

The drone laser pointed at the pokémon, then.

"Everyone in the washing machine!" the three repaired inside and used the spin dryer closet to deflect the rays. "Who needs a shield? My washing machine is stainproof. Shoot that thing down, soldiers!" The drone dodged very smoothly, flying up and down, and circled around them several times seeking for a weak spot in the machine. "It's studying us but is useless, there is not a way to get inside a rotom device without the permission of the guest. The moment gets close enough..."

"A-about this, L-Lester, the drone is no more visible."

"...The pump!" Lester realized his mistake and possessed the machine again. The drone aimed into the pump hole but he activated it right in time: the flux of water rejected the paint up and back to its shooter. The sensitive drone eye got blind in result and to add salt to the injury Lester charged his pump with a bit of filth of the marsh. "Send my death message to your creatoooor!"

**// Vent //**

**"A small price for the true goal." Porygon Z contemplated in satisfaction. "It wasted almost all their bullets and lot of time. Enough for now."** **By the way, the Cybernetic Soldier didn't think at all the possible throwbacks of this action.**

"Menace defeated. Get outside again, troop!" first thing Lester did then was washing away all the paint scattered on his body. "Et-voilà."

"Washing your wounds isn't like cheating, ehm."

"Dunsparce, what did I say before...?" he said it in the most soothing voice possible creeping the hell out of him. In the meanwhile Rotom used the pump to suck all the remnants of the drone. "Uhm...this logo is not the original of Team Galactic. Look, look carefully. The G has a little z-shaped leg at the end. That means this is the new trademark of the enemy and the evidence there is a new leader at their top! PORYGON. Evidence for the mission collected."

"Great intuition, Lester." Chandelure almost hugged him but stopped at the last second crossing her arms instead. "As for the ticket?"

"Let's kill other grunts until then! Same tactic as before but this time I will be the bait."

"OK, captain LK."

...

"Where are those stupid pokémon? I'm tired to walk in the dirt. It's not like walking on the moon anyway, I never signed for this." didn't pass much time before they spotted the remaining pool of grunts that patrolled the area.

"Yes, yes, you trained for the moon and to travel on space. We got it. Think that I studied to be the lawyer of the society and instead here I am: new change of property, new redirection of the business, new job opportunity. The single opportunity an evil team offers: be a grunt!"

"Are you two nuts? Do you even know who Cyrus was? Shut up, he returned and seems even less human than before. I'm not even questioning about it, just obey to whatever order is assigned by him through The Claw. He's waiting on the train for the specimens collected in the area. This special ticket will be null within an hour so we must hurry the research... Hold on...a Marill?"

"This huge? Looks more like an Azumarill."

"Could be an hybrid species then! This could put us in extra favor with the boss. Let's approach to it carefully, give me a poffin."

There wasn't need since it was Marill to approach at first sight. The blue round square rodent bounced happily swinging his long tubular tail while eating the sweetness through it.

"Awww. Wait, pokémon can eat using the tail?" Lester shot a berry right on her face knocking the grunt in a one hit ko. "Trick or poffin? Nevermind, it's always the same outcome. Shooting! Shoot? Oh-oh." They had run out of ammo and were completely weaponless since then. "Retreat before than immediately." Before the grunts could charge on the offensive, he activated the maximum whirlpool absorbing their uniforms, tools, and even a wig. "Ticket, please!" Leviathans ran away on the ferry.

"Give me back my clothes, thief, or at the very least don't wash the astronaut suit higher than 30°: it's expensive material!" The naked grunt looked straight at the other. "So you had a wig all this time?"

"Don't look at me with that expression. Running on an university career makes you bald for the stress, okay?!"

"And running on an universe makes you look like a sixty that suffered permanent liposuction in the case of Cyrus. Ooh, got it now!"

(wip, LOT OF WORK TO DO..)

## Epilogue (SPOILER GRANDI COME CASE)

Candles, and the moonlight that trembled on the Valor Lakefront enlightening the table. It was all settled for the dinner, the Seven Stars Restaurant was the reward of the winners. The couples sitting at the other tables were pretty awkward to say the least.

Anorith didn't dare to look his partner in the eyes hiding any eye contact behind the menu. "So, ehh... Do you order?"

"Water with ice." Aurorus ordered to the waiter for both.

"Ah...mazing choice! How about something to eat, too?" That wasn't the first time he dated a prehistoric creature, and he would have gladly swum in those waters in the company of such a cutie, but one thing is flirting with said cutie, another is reminding that she's the mother you're hiding her egg from.

"More ice, milady?" the waiter came back with the ordinations, serving two glasses filled of fresh water. "Eau of Lake Valor, -5,1° excellent choice."

"No, thanks, I'm fine with this temperature." Aurorus sipped it quietly, soon imitated by the hungry partner. "I drink it salty, at least." Anorith glared straight into her eyes and picked the salt shaker.

The other match was even worse, Seviper and Porygon Z at the same table... She ordered *Porygon* for dinner. Literally. Victini regretted to have let them play as customers, but it was too late for a change of mind. "Hope she comes before Seviper devour all my fake customers, aaa what's taking so long? I swear , if Shaymin dumped me again, to finish for real this time what Team Galactic started on this region years ag oh?" The centerpiece pulled him by a wing, blue flames merged from the candles, and Chandelure revealed herself. "Aghostina?! *What are you doing here.*"

"I'm on a date, too, or at least I'm trying." the chandelier was pretty dismissive about it but Victini understood her message.

"Don't tell me it's him for real, don't tell me it's freaking Lester!" Victini facepalmed and pointed at Seviper and Porygon Z that were currently fighting over dominance. "You Leviathans should not be allowed...but rules are mine...fine. Take yourself a table for two. No. Take **that** table, and you're returning me the favor." The two pokémon were warped miles away to the nearby city.

"Thanks! You're the best dad I ever had." that was barely a compliment considering her original family...but she was genuinely grateful on the face.

Victini smiled back, but not for long. "Aghostina. Are you sure is the right one this time? Your song of yesterday was meant for this, right? I hope you deeply reflected before it, I really hope."

She kissed his cheek, and dismissed again on his doubts: "Hope this is the right one for you, dad. I'd like to have a mother." The host sighed and reassured her with a cuddle. Lester arrived directly from the kitchen.

"Victini accepted?! Then there's no more need of undercover. Drifblim, operation infiltration cancelled. Stop cooking the Old Chateau Gateau."

"Better, because I had forgotten the recipe for turning everyone into ghosts. Ah, nevermind!" Drifblim turned on the metagrecorder: "Log 666: bake the pastry at 666° and mix it left a number of times the same of Spiritomb's soul. Appendix log: 108. Oooh, then there's what I did wrong: cooked at 108° and mixed 666 times."

"By the way, I have a date now...See you tomorrow, okay?"

"A date? With whom??"

"Bye, Drifblim."

"Uhm, there's something I forgot about the whole situation..."

"Agent Dory, can you hear me?"

"Who you aaa..aaaaaah! I remember. Castform!"

"Nope. But we already talked today and that's all you need to remember. Meet me at the restaurant, oh you're there already, then I'll wait you at table 51." the voice in her brain muted off then. The balloon girl rushed indoor again: she was genuinely excited to finally (?) meet her mysterious supervisor (?). "Table fifteen-one! Oh, you are...you were...?"

"Beep Mouth, but you always called me The Supervisor." Beheeyem put off the sunshades. "Excellent job today, you sabotaged them like a perfect counterspy." Drifblim blushed in amusement. "Now that's exactly when the new mission started. I have involved you in a very delicate situation, Dory, hope you will forgive me."

"Oh, forget that, boss. What's the target this time?" Drifblim opened her portable vanity and did herself a makeover. Beheeyem lunged closer to her and whispered. "Be my partner tonight. See that chandelier? Doesn't remind you anything?"

"No, not at the moment. Should? My head is pretty messed up."

"Alright, I still remember that terrible accident. I almost lost my best spy out there but then I found you back."

"Aww! Get it easy on me. Which accident?"

"I'll tell you. The day you will be ready. For me, now, it's perfect the way you are." Beheeyem smirked enigmatically. "See her partner on sight, too? Those are the targets. I need to study their reactions."

"Scientific subjects, then! I love science and knowledge."

"Then take seat, I ordered already for both." whispered jokingly "Save the gateau for another occasion."

Finally Shaymin. Victini almost had a stroke and strangled his neck by tightening the bow too much, he saved the situation only burning it down. "Sorry for the late, dear, but the ungrateful nature gave me this stumpy short legs that it took me half an hour to just walk the route."

"It's fine! But why you didn't fly from the garden to here?"

"I thought Sky Form doesn't work in night hours...?"

"Vapid me. Of course, ahahahahah!" the V-Host looked down in shame. "Sorry, I'm just a little nervous. I'm glad you gave me a second chance. Just this."

"Aww. Shaymin appreciates your appreciation." the hedgehog gave him a charming look. "Consider it my first gift for the engagement."

"A-Already?" Victini brain melted. "Here's the menu. What do you want? I'll gladly have a *legendary salad.*" Facepalmed himself upon realizing the gaffe. "I was joking. Oh no....no...."

"*That could be the dessert at the end*." Shaymin hold one of his paws tightly doing a wink. Victini's body heat increased dramatically making the air warm and steamy.

The heat of the father was absorbed by the daughter: Chandelure was sweating black wax all over the floor. Lester decided to break the ice focusing on the menu "The spaghetti with Melos Berry sauce are my forte. They're overwhelming like an hot Latias! I recommend it for sure. Otherwise there's the special of Sinnoh overall: the Will o' Wisp Giratine of Time and Space. What do you think?! Order?"

"Reading,.. I see it's a simple gratin of berries at the end of the day." Chandelure came back to reality and focused dissimulating her usual old habits of shrug n' stuff.

"Simple? Oh, then let's go for something way more elaborate!"

"No, Lester, I want to try the gratin actually, and spaghetti. Both your favorites."

"Ah! Okay! Done." the poltergeist was getting more and more crept by that mood of her. Chandelure was so unpredictable. How was the song? "*Then now I can see who my heart has mown..."* Mow like lawn mower? So him?

"You're still humming it." Chandelure dropped down the mask for a second, and behind that mask there was a pair of melting eyes.

Gasped. "I was thinking it loud again? Ehm, by the way, yes, it's like an earworm! I mean, *it still storms in my mind* after 24 hours. Quirky beautiful lyrics..."

"Quirky indeed, I was inspired by you and all the crazy experiences we did together...even the diary." Chandelure repeated with a serious intense vibe. "Mostly the diary. It occurred to me someone able to completely dig my past from the graveyard and slap it on my face, to stop the fear and the mistrust. It hurt and still does but it's the wound for living again."

Lester twitched several times. "You have forgiven me for that episode? W-Wow! I would have not in your place, I confess."

Chandelure looked straight into his eyes. "By the way you have still the diary with yourself. Alright?"

"Your order is ready, dear customers."

Lester promptly sucked up the spaghetti stuffing his mouth. "Munch...ch..ch...mmmh! Mh MH! Sssssuuuuurrrrp."

That bumbling reaction actually entertained a side of her: the dark side. Her mind associated those moans to unholy scenarios... Blushed all over. Then her attention drifted away on another different scenario: table 51. "*Drifblim? With..."*

"She's looking at us. Make your move." Drifblim sucked on the spaghetti with berries directly from the mouth of the alien with an intense ominous wind breathing. "Eeeh nough. It's supereffective." However, Drifblim didn't stop. "Mmmpfff!"

"Meh." Chandelure shrugged at this pathetic attempt to make her jealous. Then sucked on the spaghetti until meeting lip to lip with Rotom, and kissed him until his soul left off the body! Victini almost had an heart attack but held himself from doing anything crazy, striving to focus on Shaymin only. Afterall, Aghostina needed a mother figure in her life...Shaymin certainly qualified: kind, caring, sweet and generous and more so. The two ghost girls stopped only when their dishes were empty. They exchanged a challenging look before they crossed over the tables on their respective partners.

"Argh, this is too much for noooowmwmmmmmmmhhh.. There was a plan B, too, rememmmmh...mhhhh!" Drifblim wrapped her prey in trap and took the exit away in the sky. Seeing this, Chandelure returned in herself right in time. She stood up from her partner and sat again, half ashamed half excited and also satisfied of that flavor of dominance just tasted. "Sorry, yet, did you like it this quirky by the way?"

"Glom. Totally."

Then came Shaymin's initiative. "Let's skip to the salad, victory boy. This Shaymin prescribed you a vegan diet for tonight."

In this awkward time Anorith looked at Aurorus in relief and both left the restaurant. "I'm actually glad you ordered only water."

(wip: Dewott calls back Victini to his duty but this one will making a shocking unexpected decision for the elimination...)

"Did you manage to engage him?"

"Yes, I'm conquering his trust, don't worry. I will make a good world for you soon, or cancel his memory as you asked me, dear Ji." Shaymin interrupted the telepathy link for that night. "I have an incoming call, we'll talk again another time, darling. Goodnight." Walked away from unwanted eyes to the cockpit, where a different pokémon answered at that phone. "Here's my true client. How's going? I'm finally getting to the point. Overpricing? No, no, you don't understand me. I'm going to bring you a plane that collects the secrets of Victory and Wish personified. Mine is a high quality service and thus have to be payed high. A small price, though, in exchange of eternal victory and the slavery of an infinite wishmaker. When? Start raising on the money, I'll do the rest at the first best occasion. Deal? Better to end the call now, I have only two hours before Victini's massage. I could actually do it when I am Shaymin, uhm. Anyway, we'll update again in the next days. Bye."