[IC] Pokemon Colosseum: Lesser of Two Evils

[Chev]

Pyrite Town

- In other news, rumors of figures dressed in what appear to be suits favored by Cipher continue to trouble residents of Orre. Duking, the man in charge of the Pyrite Town Colosseum is warning Pokemon trainers to avoid traveling alone when traveling between towns in the event Cipher may be planning a return. We have also received reports of black suited men appearing near Phenac City, attempting to shake down travelers. Local law enforcement is looking into these reports. The ONBS will keep all citizens apprised of events as we get more reports. This is-"

Shawn sighed heavily and he picked up the remote and turned off the television. "Figures Cipher would show their ugly faces around here again, doesn't it?" He asked as he reached down and and scratched his Houndour's ears. The canine Pokemon looked up at him and whined inquisitively, as though it could sense it's owner's disgust towards Cipher. Shawn smiled slightly as he looked down at Houndour before turning to look at his Beldum which was hovering over the TV. Just the thought of Cipher was enough to get him angry, the thought of what Cipher would do to his Pokemon if they got their hands on them was enough to make him even angrier. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before standing up. "Well, it Cipher really is back, I guess it wouldn't hurt to head out to Duel Square and see if anyone heard anything about this other group. C'mon you two, time to get going." Houndour let out a yawn as he rose to his feet and followed Shawn out the door with his Beldum floating directly above him.

[NobodiesHero]

There was another who had just watched the news. In his hotel room in Pyrite was Dilan, one of the members of Team Rocket who were in charge of Orre takeover. He wore the uniform of a grunt, but was in fact one of Giovanni's right hand men. He scoffed as he turned off the TV. "Those idiots didn't take long, did they?" He muttered to himself. Already it was going to be dangerous to the wear the uniform that he loved so much. With a shake of his head, he stripped off the uniform and began donning his disguise.

When he was finished, Dilan looked like a simple trainer, not a criminal. He tied his long pink locks back in a ponytail. With that finished, Dilan pulled out his phone and dialed a number. The call was picked up quickly. "Reporting already?" Giovanni said on the other end.

"Unfortunately, those idiots you sent with me have already begun to reveal our presence. I give it two days, max, before the authorities know who we are."

Giovanni sighed angrily. "Those idiots are necessary, but expendable. Let them take the heat and do your work in the shadows. This isn't like Silph where all you have to deal with is a bunch of cowards, this is another criminal organization, you need backup."

"I know. I'll stick with the plan. Tear Cipher apart from the inside, and get my hands on a Shadow Pokemon, so I can send it to you and we start working on producing them ourselves."

"...Get two. Consider it your bonus for a job well done."

Dilan smiled, not his usual devilish smile, but a genuine one. "Sure thing boss."

With that, Dilan hung up. The criminal grabbed the last of what he needed and headed out the door of his room. Today, he'd scout the area, get a lay of the land and gather information on the enemy. Tomorrow, he'd become a member of Cipher and work on getting his hands on one, or two, of their Shadow Pokemon. That was the one thing the idiot grunts were good for, causing panic. Cipher would no doubt want to be arming themselves again.

[Bigg Slamm]

Aboard the S.S.Libra en route to Gateon Port

A young man sits on the deck of a ship bound for the shores of the Orre region. The salty sea air, the warm ocean breeze, and the crowing of the Seagull Pokemon as the ship cruises the waves. Thoughts of home and the past cross the young man's mind. How hard he worked to prove he was responsible for a pokemon. His parents and his mentor. His thoughts were quickly brought back to the present when the ship's horn blew indicating they were close to shore. Standing the young man walked to the edge of the ship and looked toward the horizon. There it was. His future. The future of Ray Jenkins from Mauville City. A bark could be heard and a tug at his pants could be felt. It was an Electrike. Ray's partner Trina asking to see the view. Picking up the Lightning Pokemon Ray stroked it's mane. "See that, girl?" Ask the trainer pointing to the shoreline. "Our first foray into Orre, Gateon Port." Ray explained. Trina barked happily and licked her master's face lovingly.

About an hour later Ray and Trina were making their way down the pier into town. It didn't seem to awfully big, but a few buildings stood out among the others. Like one shaped like a Krabby and the beautiful lighthouse. As the pair walked through the bustling port town they looked for a place to stop and ask for directions. Ray didn't want to disturb the working sailors, and didn't want to chance talking to random locals. He had heard the rumors of thugs from a group called Cipher. If they were anything like Team Aqua or Team Magma he wanted to steer clear. After a few minutes of searching Ray spotted a small nondescript shop with a sign depicting a caduceus. Ray entered with the thought that an apothecary wouldn't be any trouble. Inside the walls were lined with bottles of all kinds of natural remedies. The air had a musty earthy smell. Like dried mud and wet leaves. At the back of the store behind the counter was an old man with a large grey beard sipping on tea reading a book.

"Welcome young man! Thank you for coming. If there is anything you need just ask." Said the elderly gentleman without looking up from his book. Ray was a bit surprised the man could tell his gender without looking up, but he just chocked it up to experience. As Ray stepped deeper into the store Trina sniffed at the herbs and medicines on the shelves. Smelling a particular nasty one she sneezed and knocked it off the shelf breaking the jar.

"Trina! Be careful. Come here." He ordered bending down to pick up his pokemon. "Sorry about that sir I'll pay for that." Ray apologized.

"No need sonny. It was an accident." Assured the man finally looking up from his book. A quizzical brow raised itself when he set eyes on Ray. "Ah, I see now. Not from around here are you? You look at bit lost." The man asked standing from his stool behind the counter.

Ray was going to insist on paying for the broken product, but was stopped by the gentleman changing the subject. Ray flushed a bit at being called lost, but it was true. He had came to Orre with the intent of participating in the Colosseum, but he had been so excited to see the sights he had forgot to ask for a map. "No, I'm from Hoenn. I'm traveling to battle at the Colosseum, but I don't know my way around." Ray explained.

"The Colosseum? There are multiple colosseums in Orre, but if you're looking for THE Colosseum you're probably want to head for Pyrite Town. However, there is a problem. Duking has just recently issued a warning for trainers that they shouldn't travel alone because there has been increased reports of activity from Cipher and an unknown rival group. It could be dangerous for a tourist." Revealed the old man.

"I can take care of myself. I have Trina and my other pokemon. We've worked hard for this opportunity. We can't back down just because of some thugs. Please. I just need a map or directions to the nearest bus or train depot." Ray begged, with Trina adding in a whine of her own along with her puppy eyes.

"No trains, not anymore, and the desert is to treacherous for buses. People travel by truck or motorcycle. I suppose I could give you a ride. You seem like a nice enough kid." Offered the old man.

"Thank you sir. That's very kind of you."

"No problem. I was about to close up shop anyway."

Ray followed the old man out the back door to an alleyway. Parked next to the adjacent building was the gentleman's motorcycle. A trike with all terrain wheels and a four cylinder engine. Reaching into a compartment the old man tossed a helmet to Ray before slipping one on himself. Tossing a leg over the machine he gestured for Ray to hop on. Ray returned Trina to her pokeball and hopped on. The motorcycle roared to life before rolling out of the alley and finally out of town toward Pyrite.

[Chev]

"I keep telling you, I'm trying to warn you! Team Rocket is as bad as Cipher, maybe even worse!" Daniel Cross couldn't believe that this counted as law enforcement here in Orre. She had managed to track down the deputy and had spent the last nine minutes trying to tell the idiotic fool about Team Rocket. But he was refusing to listen, passing it off as just rumors. She looked helplessly at some of the passing townspeople who seemed to be ignoring the conversation. However, one of them was watching the conversation with great interest. He was standing at the entrance to the town. "I don't know what kind of criminals you have out here, but they can't be as bad as Team Rocket!"

The deputy gave her a sharp look. "You might want to rephrase that. A lot of people have had their Pokemon stolen by Cipher before we drove them out. No matter how bad this, "Team Rocket" is, they can't be worse than Cipher. I suggest you move along before I put you away for disturbing the peace." The deputy moved along without a second look and Daniel sat down on the stairs of an old building and resisted the urge to pull out her hair. No one was listening. She didn't even look up at the sound of someone approaching her. "Just go away." She muttered.

"I believe you." A male voice said quietly. Daniel looked up at the figure who was wearing black and orange clothes. He extended his hand towards Daniel who took it and rose to her feet. "The name is Cail. And I think you and I need to have a chat."

Cail took a deep breath. "I have friend all over Orre and even a friend who used to work for Cipher. More and more of these guys in the black suits are showing up nearly every day. A few of them told me that not only are people getting shaken down for money, but it looks like Cipher and this "Team Rocket" are fighting it out all over." Daniel's eyes narrowed for a moment. "Have any of your friends had their Pokemon stolen?"

"Not yet. But I have a feeling that that's gonna change real soon. C'mon, I think you need to talk to the man in charge around here. His name is Duking and he has experience with this kind of stuff." Cail pointed towards a building nearby.

[Cerces22]

Circe had finally made it to the Orre region. Her father was here somewhere, she would finally be able to find him and turn him into the police. Her mother told her stories of Team Rocket when they were working in the Kanto region, the horrible things they tried to do.

"Come on Ghastly, let's put a stop to my father and whatever else the rest of Team Rocket is doing." Her shadow shook and have her an unnatural thumbs up.

"Ghast, ghastly." Her shadow said to her as a spherical shaped pokemon rose out of it. The Ghastly squinted in the sun light as it floated lazily by Liz. The two walked towards the center of town.

[Todd Howard]

An Undisclosed Location - One Month Ago

Cough...

Eyes slowly managing to open, Desmond felt sick to his stomach as he sat up on the bed he was in. The area around him... It was dark; Dimly lit by dull lights above, and the whole place had a metallic appearance to it. What was this? Some sort of jail? He couldn't remember doing any sort of crime...

Actually, now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember much at all. Who was he, exactly? And what had he been doing here? The lack of information in his head was startling; Honestly scaring him a bit. What had he gotten himself into? He was a bit worried, though there was also an odd feeling of annoyance in his head as well. He took a moment to simply contemplate his situation, before hearing something to his left.

Turning his head, Desmond witnessed an automatic door opening. He stood up as a tall individual stepped through the doorway, cloaked in blue and wearing shades. Why would you wear shades in the dark like this? No-- There wasn't time to think about stupid things; He needed answers. Now.

"Who are you?" Desmond questioned, tone marking how startled he was.

For a moment, the man in blue simply stared. This was unnerving for Desmond, who simply glared at the man as he approached. Desmond tensed up as a hand was placed on his shoulder, the man in blue having a grin across his face.

"It's good to see you have recovered." The man said, in a monotone voice. Throwing Desmond for a loop, honestly; He was safe here? This guy knew him? This place didn't give him any good vibes, but he had nothing else to go on at the moment.

"That doesn't answer my question." Desmond spoke, eyes narrowing.

Hand leaving Desmond's shoulder, the man took a step back. "You honestly do not remember?"

Desmond shook his head.

"I see..." The man in blue said, sounding displeased. "How very unfortunate. A side effect of the incident, I suppose."

"Incident?" Desmond questioned.

The man nodded. "You had taken a rather heavy blow to the back of your head. I never expected amnesia from that injury." The man sighed, sounding defeated. He turned, walking towards the door. He gestured for Desmond to follow. "Come with me. Perhaps I can help you remember, if I explain it fully..."

Desmond rubbed the back of his head, wincing from the pain. He had been hit pretty hard... What the hell happened? He had to get answers, and this man seemed to be the only one able to offer him anything. Without hesitation, Desmond followed the man out into a hallway; Noting the screens on the walls, the men and women in odd uniforms running back and forth. This was a busy place.

He could hear people behind them; Not much before they left earshot,

"Hey, look! He's awake...!"

"After his injury, he got back up!"

Were they talking about him? He assumed so. Was he known here? Everything was so confusing.

"You were injured in a rather large battle." The man in blue explained, as they walked along. "As hard as you fought for me, it unfortunately had not been enough. We recovered as many of you as we could after the events. You're lucky they hadn't finished you off before we arrived."

"A large battle? What were we fighting for?" Desmond asked.

The man waved a hand, a door in front of them opening. Once they passed through, he stopped; Looking ahead quietly. They seemed to be in an office of some kind, though Desmond didn't have much time to look before the man started speaking again. "Science. Money. Power." He explained truthfully, turning to look down at the boy. "Our organization seeks to care for itself, and only itself. The residents of the Orre region, followed by the rest of this world, are all inferior to our organization."

The man raised his arms, looking up towards the ceiling. "We are Cipher. The rightful masters of this world. And we will prove it through any means necessary. Do you still sense the pride in your superiority?"

Desmond was taken aback by it all; He was apart of a big organization like that? One that used power, and science, to overcome all to prove their superiority...? This was the cause he supported?

No way--

At that moment, Desmond clutched his chest. Sweat slowly poured down his face as he felt a pain inside; Something abnormal, he could tell that much. He hissed from the pain, and took a moment to regain himself. Though, when he did...

"If I'm superior, I'd want to prove it." Desmond replied, firmly. Being powerful, superior; A strong kick of pride motivated him to say those words, and any concern he had seemed to fade away deep inside. He stared firmly at the man in front of him, standing straight.

"Wonderful..." The man said, lowing his arms. He extended a hand out to Desmond; Grin remaining. "It's good to have you back. If you require it, feel free to take some time to regain yourself here. Though, when you're able... There's much work to be done for the sake of our organization."

Staring at the hand in front of him, Desmond took a moment to actually extend his own hand to shake. "I will require a bit of time, I'm sorry. This is a lot to take in, sir-"

"Ardos." The man in blue introduced himself, firming gripping the boy's hand. "If you need any assistance, do let me know. Our organization does look after our own. Do not be afraid to require assistance."

Ardos... Desmond would keep that name in mind. The boy nodded.

"Yes... Thank you, Ardos."

Pyrite Town - Present

What a mess of a town.

Hands in his pockets, and shades over his eyes to block out the sun; It had been nice to be given that Hover Moped to get around this desert without stressing. Now that he was here, it was time to commence his first operation: One that wouldn't be easy, by his assumption. The Under... A lawless town buried under Pyrite. The idiots here didn't think to scavenge anything before blocking out the entrances; Apparently there was valuable information for Cipher left there as operatives fled in order to not be buried alive; And now Desmond was supposed to find a way down there to get the disks inside the hotel below.

It sounded overly difficult... But he was going to try his best. No point in going back empty handed at this point, right?

That scientist back at the base had given Desmond what little information on the town he could. Thankfully he had a fairly detailed map of the area for Desmond to reference. The boy was heading towards the residence of Duking, the apparent head-honcho of Pyrite. If anyone could get him into The Under at this point, it'd be him. And if that failed... Well, it was back to the drawing board to try and figure out what to do to get down there.

As he walked, he stepped past the slower people without much concern, trying to keep himself on track with his map. This caused him to unintentionally shoulder-bump a red-haired girl, though he didn't stop because of it. Rather, she just got a muttered "Pardon me." As he kept going, having no time to waste.

[Chev]

"Pardon me."

Daniel barely paid the person who had bumped into her any notice. Instead she was focused on what Cail was telling her about the Shadow Pokemon incidents. "- Still don't know exactly how they created their Shadow Pokemon but the things were vicious, they would attack other Pokemon, trainers, sometimes when their emotions got screwed up enough, they would injure themselves. One of their bosses set up shop here in Pyrite at one point and managed to take the town from Duking. But we had help in driving them out. The one that was here was called Miror. B. He looked like a clown but his battling was all business. Last time we saw him was during the second shadow Pokemon incident but by then he was out of Cipher."

Daniel shook her head. Cipher sounded like they were almost as bad as Team Rocket. "Who helped you drive Miror. B out of town?" Cail grinned at the question. "One of the toughest trainers I've ever met. He used to be a member of a minor gang here on Orre, but he turned on them and managed to save all the shadow Pokemon during Cipher's first attack. We haven't seen him in years, but they still talk about him and the girl that traveled with him who could see which Pokemon were shadow Pokemon."

Cail stopped and motioned at the door to the building she had seen earlier. "Let me introduce you to the man in charge." Cail rapped on the door for a moment before it opened. Sitting at a desk was one of the biggest men Daniel had ever seen. "Yo, Duking, this girl says she has info on those idiots in the black suits that are brawling with Cipher." Cail said as he sat down in a chair. Duking motioned for Daniel to have a seat and for her to close the door, after closing the door, Daniel sat down directly in front of Duking. "Sir, I-," Duking interrupted her. "You can just call me Duking, no sir required." He said with a large smile. "So, Cail said you had information on the people in the black suits."

Daniel took a deep breath and began to speak.

Duel Square

"What do you mean I owe you?!" The bodybuilder in front of him sounded outraged. Shawn simply smiled as he leaned against a building with a lazy smile. "Last two times we battled, I won. I didn't take any cash from you or anything. I figured you've been traveling around, maybe you heard something about Cipher."

"Shhhhh!" The bodybuilder hissed in panic. "Don't even say that name. You never know if they have eyes around here. Listen, the only thing I heard was from a couple weeks back. Some of those guys in black were battling with some goons from Cipher near one of the entrances to the Under."

Shawn simply stared at him for a moment. "I think your lying. The entrances to the Under have been sealed off for years. No one is getting in there." The bodybuilder shook his head. "You're wrong. I've seen people coming out from the entrance on a few occasions. I don't bother them and they don't bother me, if you have any common sense you'll stay away from the Under."

[Todd Howard]

"-Still don't know exactly how they created their Shadow Pokemon"

"...!"

While Desmond had been walking fast as to get to Duking's residence as fast as he could, the conversation happening behind him caught his interest. He slowed a bit, as to not get far enough away to be unable to hear them. He kept his face to his map, not wanting to look suspicious either; Though he wasn't really focusing on it. He knew Pyrite had dealt with Cipher before, but the details were sketchy to him. There was a strong trainer able to crush whatever foothold Cipher had here? He must've been tough...

Desmond thought he could take him, though. Well, maybe. Possibly.

...

Probably not.

Whatever. He hadn't been around for years, apparently. So he probably wasn't an issue anyways. What -was- an issue however, was the fact that during Desmond's non suspicious walking, he actually walked past Duking's residence; Only noticing as the voices started fading behind him. He heard loud knocks, causing him to turn his head and realize that the lady he had bumped was also heading for Duking's house... Was this something about Cipher? He unfortunately couldn't hear any talk at the door, as he was waiting for them to go inside before approaching.

Once the door shut, he quickly made his way over; Putting the map away in the process. Leaning up against the wall beside the door, he carefully began to listen. As an act of not drawing attention, he pulled a Pokeball off of his belt and began to wipe it with his jacket; Eyes focused on the ball, ears focused on the conversation happening within. He had to wait for his chance to talk to Duking anyways... No issue with trying to pick up a little information if possible.

'Would've been bad to end up inside with them, I suppose...' He thought to himself.

[NobodiesHero]

When Dilan stepped out of his hotel room, gone was the man that had been there before. Rather than cold, calculating, confidence in each step. The disguised Dilan had his hands stuffed in his pockets, his posture was slightly hunched, and he walked with his head down. A lowly trainer, not a criminal powerhouse. He attention was almost immediately caught by the older man who ran the front desk, who was subtling motioning for Dilan to come over. Curious, he did.

The older man glanced around for a moment, making sure that nobody was around. He then spoke in a low, quiet, voice. "I just wanted to say, it's nice to see the big red R again. Everyone knows that half of Kanto benefited from you guys ruling from the shadows. Orre could really use some of that. Pyrite's leader, Duking, cares more about bringing back the wild Pokemon than he does actually leading, and the mayors of Phenac have recently either been lawless, or spineless. You have supporters, at least in those two places."

Dilan filed away the information he had just received for later. He offered the man a sinister smile, shifting from lowly trainer to proud member of Team Rocket briefly. "If you aid us, I'm sure we can make it worth your while. This place could use a nice remodel, couldn't it?"

After taking more time that he would have hoped to get out of the hotel, the reasons though being pleasant, Dilan was finally on the streets of Pyrite. He started off in a random direction, before pausing suddenly. Reaching onto his belt, he took off one of the Pokeballs attached to it, held it out in front of him, and pressed the button. In a flash of red light, standing before him was his longest, and most loyal, Pokemon, Aqua. The Vaporeon briefly rubbed up against his leg before the two set off again. It had been some time since he had the chance to walk around with Aqua like this, it was nice.

He found himself in some sort of gathering area. People milled about, some battling, some not. Two people stood nearby having some sort of argument. There was a large circle painted on the ground in the center of the area. He approached the nearest person, a woman with a pink shirt and a bandana on her head. "Excuse me, what is this place?"

The woman eyed him, and then his Pokemon, for a brief moment. "This is Duel Square, where all trainers go to test their skills. You're clearly a trainer, what do you say? Wanna battle?"

Irritated by the woman, Dilan flashed her one of his fake, but extremely believable, warm smiles. "No thanks. I just into to town, I'd like to get my bearings before getting into any battles."

The woman grabbed hold of his arm in a tight grip that she clearly thought was threatening. "Aw, come on. What better way to get used to a new place than to see what it's trainers have to offer."

With his free arm, Dilan flashed a subtle sign at Aqua, who sat down next to Dilan, her sign that she had understood him. "I said, no thanks." Slightly louder than before, trying to draw attention to the situation, he even added a few hints of fear that wasn't really there to his voice. As annoying as this woman was, it would be a good chance to see what kind of people lived in Pyrite. Would they turn a blind eye to trouble? Or help out?

[Bigg Slamm]

Pyrite Town

The ride from Gateon port was uneventful, a bit rough, but uneventful. Rolling into town the old man parked in front of the Pokemon Center. The old man stood from his bike followed by Ray. Taking off his helmet Ray spoke first. "Thank you again for the ride. It's really helped out a ton." Ray said as he handed over the helmet. The ride really did save him a great amount of time. Although the journey is just as fun as the destination sometimes if the journey is treacherous it is smart to take precautions.

The old man took the helmet with a smile. "You're quite welcome sonny. I hope you have fun at the Colosseum. I wish you luck." He said as he stowed away the helmets. He then turned back to Ray. "Well then, if you ever make your way back to Gateon and in need of some medicine feel free to pop into the shop, but for now I must be on my way. Got a delivery to make." The old man added offering a hand to shake.

Ray took the hand with a grin. "Thank you, and I will. Safe travels to you as well." He wished patting the old man on the shoulder. Taking their separate ways Ray walked north and the old man walked west. Ray looked around as he walked and he smiled with anticipation when he saw the dome of the Colosseum towering overhead on the northernmost side of town. As Ray continued to walk he saw more and more people walking around with their pokemon. He released Trina from her pokeball to walk too. As they entered an area where people were battling Ray and Trina's anticipation was palpable on their faces. They were itching for some action.

"I said, no thanks."

Ray turned hearing the anxiety in someone's voice. Some roughneck looking woman looked like she was threatening some quiet looking guy. Ray could see a pokeball in her free hand and put two and two together. "Hey lady! Leave the guy alone! He said no. If you wanna battle someone battle me. I've got an itch to scratch too." Ray challenged the rude woman. Following her Trainer Trina lowered herself into a threatening pose and growled deeply bearing her teeth.

[Chev]

Duking nodded his head repeatedly as Daniel told him of the crimes that Team Rocket had committed in Kanto and Johto. When she was finished, Duking simply stared at her as Cail stood next to the door. After a few moments of silence he finally spoke up. "This..Team Rocket, they sound like they're almost as bad as Cipher. Stealing Pokemon from trainers, stealing valuables and shaking down travelers..." He paused for a moment. "It looks like whoever drove Team Rocket out of Kanto and Johto didn't think they would keep moving on. Probably assumed they would either tear themselves apart or disband like the first time. We assumed the same with Cipher, but they ended up regrouping over the years."

Cail shook his head. "I already told the girl here about the rumors of men in black battling it out with Cipher. If we have to deal with another organization that's almost as bad as Cipher we don't have the manpower to take them both down."

Duking nodded his head in agreement. "What we need to do is get the word out to everyone. I'll have to get a hold of my friends in ONBS and have them get everyone on alert." Duking sighed. "Hopefully this is the last time. Maybe we can finally get rid of Cipher once and for all this time." He looked at Daniel. "You said this...Giovanni was the leader of Team Rocket, Any chance he's still the one calling the shots or do we have to deal with someone new?"

Daniel shook her head. "I have no idea. I heard rumors that he'd been seen over the years a number of times but we don't know if he's still head of Team Rocket."

[Todd Howard]

Desmond listened to the conversation inside, not finding a whole lot of interesting information. Team Rocket honestly sounded like a bunch of chumps, more than ever to him. The one interesting thing he overheard was that they had been fighting with Cipher, which Desmond had been informed of as well, at least in general. If they had been fighting around here, the specifics on that would've been nice. Though most of the people back at HQ were quite incompetent, so he didn't expect more from them.

Adjusting his shades, Desmond scanned the area. There was something going on in the town square, but he couldn't care less about it. People could solve their own problems; He was much too busy to be jumping into something petty. Well, now he had a few options. He could go find whatever idiots from Cipher were crawling around, or he could proceed to talk to Duking. After what he heard, he wasn't certain of sticking around and being curious anymore; They seemed a bit too on alert for his tastes and he didn't want to be called out on listening in on their conversation.

He kicked off the wall, deciding to go find some grunts in the area instead. Maybe they knew something HQ didn't? He wasn't sure, but all he knew was that he wasn't as informed as he could have been for this, and he'd have a few words to say back at base when this mission was done. He walked through the Duel Square, trying to figure out a place where he could find any Cipher grunts around here. They weren't great at keeping their identities secrets due to their usually obvious uniforms, so they probably wouldn't be difficult to point out once Desmond caught view of them.

He sighed to himself. "Good grief, this is going to be annoying... Where would they be, I wonder?"

[Chev]

Outskirts of Pyrite Town

The two figures watching Shawn and the Bodybuilder couldn't help but admire Shawn's persistence. He had been pressuring the bodybuilder for information on how to get into the Under for around ten minutes now. Despite not wearing the uniforms that Cipher traditionally gave their goons, the arrogance of the two of them let them stand out in a crowd. "I'll take care of this." The female said to the taller male as she sauntered forward towards Shawn and the Bodybuilder. A few moments later, she was apparently suddenly interested in the graffiti on one of the buildings. She wasn't close enough to intervene but she could overhear part of the conversation between the two.

"- don't want Cipher going after me!"

"Cipher won't know. Besides, you have Pokemon to look after you. Now, tell me where the entrance to the Under is, or would you like me to start talking to that deputy about who grabbed a few items from the Pyrite Super Grand hotel a few days back?" The Bodybuilder sighed heavily and glanced from side to side to make sure no one was listening. "Listen, the main entrances have been sealed, but there are two ways in: One is outside Pyrite, in the desert. Look for a huge red rock south of the entrance of Pyrite town, there's a small hatch and ladder under it. It should lead you down next to where the main elevator entrance used to be. The second entrance is in the old abandoned Shadow Pokemon lab. It takes a LOT longer to get there since the train isn't running, but there are a few pathways that should let you in. Now get lost."

Shawn smiled lazily at the Bodybuilder and headed back to his house. He had to pick up a few items. The Bodybuilder shook his head but his eyes widened in fear as he saw a woman smiling a rather vicious smile at him before making a shushing motion. "You have one day to leave Pyrite, and three days to get out of Orre. Welcome to Cipher's target list." She said softly as she turned away and headed back to her male companion. "Let's go. We need to talk to the Boss." She said in a soft voice.

[Todd Howard]

Walking along, Desmond casually checked behind him on occasion to ensure nobody in Duking's house had saw him leave and decided to follow; Luckily, he got out of that easily. Heading towards the outskirts of town, Desmond's eyes locked onto two individuals walking his way; Yes, disguises that'd fool the masses, sure... But they were a bit clean. Too clean for trash that walked around in this dirty town all day. The male kicked a can out of his path, and within a few moments, the duo passed him.

But all three of them stopped.

"Heard anything?" Desmond questioned curiously, slowly turning to look at them.

The duo turned to face him, the female speaking up: "Indeed. Something quite valuable," She teased, a smile crossing her face as she continued. "There's apparently an entrance close by. From what we've gathered, there's a large red rock south of the entrance to town. We'll be able to get into the Under from a hatch hidden under it. Alternatively, that old Cipher lab that got trashed? We could possibly find a way in there, as well."

Desmond blinked. "Well, the hidden entrance is the obvious choice. It's close by." He said, figuring that was the route to take. "However, if there really are entrances in that old lab... It might be wise to send a team over there. It might not be safe to pop our heads back out here in Pyrite by the time this is over; So securing those routes would be ideal."

"Shall I inform HQ?" The male questioned, flatly.

"Once we're outside town. We don't need to risk any open ears overhearing anything." Desmond replied, as he walked past them. He adjusted his shades, smiling. "Let's move."

The two started following, though the female spoke up again. "There was a man that was looking for that information. Looking for Cipher. He's just one man, but some caution would be a wise idea."

Those words made Desmond remember what he had heard on the way to Duking's house. Just one man...? It couldn't be that trainer from before that stomped Cipher, could it? They said he'd been missing for a long time. Regardless, they had to go down there. Even if they had to fight a powerful trainer to do so. And besides... This was -one- guy. He couldn't take them all on.

"Noted," Desmond responded, nonchalantly. "The faster we move, the less likely he is to get there before us. Keep up a good pace."

The trio began moving towards the entrance of town, to hurry over to that large red rock to the south of the town's entrance. Desmond hoped to get in there before that man showed up; If he was gonna show up at all.

[NobodiesHero]

At first, it looked as if no one was going to help him. That was a good thing for Team Rocket, the people in this lawless town didn't care about trouble. It was probably why Cipher liked it so much. But then, somebody did. Some blonde haired guy with a Pokemon that was unfamiliar to Dilan stepped up, and rather aggressively offered to battle the rude woman in his place. He could practically feel Aqua's excitement at the sight of the unfamiliar Pokemon. She wanted to go make friends, being far friendlier than her trainer was.

Unfortunately for her, right now that wouldn't be a good idea. The unfamiliar Pokemon looked like it was itching for a fight. It also looked like an Electric type, not a good matchup for Aqua. The rude woman seemed to completely ignore Dilan now, having set her sights on the new trainer. "Bring it on!" She said, with a devilish grin.

Dilan turned to the trainer as well, offering him another of his extremely convincing fake smiles. "Thank you." He said, with a small bow of his head. Aqua was still very interested in the unfamiliar Pokemon, but now was not the time. Maybe after the battle. Dilan took a few steps back to give the two trainers space to battle. "It would be rude of me to leave, so how about I judge the match? You know, just in case."

[Bigg Slamm]

Ray shivered in anticipation when the rude woman accepted his challenge. He smiled brightly as he replied with, "It's on then!" Turning to the pink haired guy Ray nodded. "You're welcome. I can't stand clingy girls." He added with a wink. He then gave a thumbs up when the guy offers to referee. "Sounds good to me. What about you?" Ray asked the woman.

"I don't give a Rattata's ass! I'll show you tourists how it's done in the Orre region! Let's go!" Shouted the woman as she stepped further into the square. Ray followed her step for step until they were squaring off just feet from an old useless dried up fountain. The woman was first to move. "Ledyba, Shuppet, it's showtime ladies!" She ordered with a flourish of her arm tossing her pokeballs onto the battlefield.

Ray followed suit by extending an arm revealing a pokeball in hand. "Ping, come on out bud and give Trina a hand!" He shouted. With a flash of red light Ray's Plusle, Ping, appeared from his pokeball. Ping skipped and cried out happily as he saw his friend Trina and their trainer. The happy reunion was cut short when it noticed the opposing pokemon causing the little electric pokemon to go to all fours and scowl at them. He gave an as threatening as a cry coming from a cute little rodent can get and sparked up his cheek pouches. Trina joined Ping on the battlefield and also assumed a threatening demeanor. "Alright how about ladies first?" Ray offered politely. It way have been a serious moment, but Ray was still a gentleman.

"How nice of you. Quite the gentleman. You may come to regret it!" She said pointing menacingly at Ray. "Ledyba, Supersonic! Shuppet, Will'o'wisp!" She ordered with a wide grin of confidence. Without skipping a beat the bug type and ghost type took off after Trina and Ping. First to act was Ledyba. It cried out and beat its wings furiously building up the air wave fluctuations before launching them towards Trina the Electrike. Next was Shuppet. It's eyes glowed blue as haunting blue flames materialized in front of it before launching them towards Ping the Plusle.

However, Ray was just as quick to order his pokemon and they were even quicker to act. "Dodge it and let's finish this quick! Ping, Helping Hand! Trina, Discharge!" Commanded Ray. Following orders Ping jumps out of the way and in one fluid motion goes into a happy dance clapping his hands and cheering brightly. Around his body a ring of blue electricity builds. At the same time Trina dodges the Supersonic another blue ring builds around her. Feeling the power she is receiving from Ping, Trina races towards Ledyba and Shuppet as more electricity builds around her body as she charges her attack. Leaping into the air towards her opponents Trina releases the all encompassing electrical attack onto the battlefield. Being electric type himself Ping is barely affected, but the huge blast knocks the rude woman's pokemon to her feet. Looking to the impromptu referee, Ray waited for his call.

[Chev]

Pyrite Town

Duking shook his head and sighed heavily. "Looks like we need to get the word out to see if we can find out who's leading Team Rocket these days and try to find out who's in charge of Cipher as well. If we're lucky, maybe these two groups will take each other out. If we're really unlucky, It's possible that one of the two groups will take the other out and absorb their members and grow even larger. At this point, I don't know what's worse, from what you told me, Team Rocket is already almost as bad as Cipher, if they win and absorb the members of Cipher, we'll be in trouble, especially if they get their hands on a Snag Machine. If Cipher wins and absorbs the members of Team Rocket, we'll be facing an even larger and more dangerous version of the Cipher we know and hate."

Daniel shook her head. "I'm sorry that the news is bad, but I felt I had to warn you all. I came here to warn everyone about Team Rocket but I'm willing offer my help if you need help taking down both Cipher and Team Rocket." Duking nodded. "We'll take any help we can get." He rose to his feet and extended his hand towards Daniel.

"Welcome to Orre."

As Daniel shook his hand, the door to his home slid open and a younger man wearing a grey over shirt and shorts ran in. "Duking! I think we might have a problem." The young man gave Daniel a look over with a suspicious eye before turning back to Duking. "That big body-builder, Donovan just left town in a hurry. He said something about leaving Orre. I've never seen terror like that on someone's face before." Silva was almost out of breath. Duking swore angrily. "This isn't good. Donovan was one of the folks who helped us seal off The Under, one of Cipher's old hideouts."

Duking swore again. "I don't know what's going on now, but I think it's a safe bet that either Team Rocket or Cipher just got info on how to get into the Under. I don't know what either team may want down there but whatever it is most likely won't be good for us."

[Todd Howard]

Outside Pyrite Town ~ Southward

Desmond's trip out of Pyrite was quick; He and the two grunts behind him intended to get their search started before anyone else got down there. If they were lucky, that curious individual wouldn't get down there in time to interrupt. Or any of those Team Rocket goons, for that matter. The operation was going fairly smooth now... Slipping up would be a bad idea.

"Yes, sir." The male grunt said, his call finished. He looked straight ahead, keeping his eyes open for that rock. "They are deploying Cipher grunts to the old lab." He stated plainly. "Hopefully they don't run into any trouble."

"Please," The female spoke up: "All that's over there is a bunch of scrappers and wannabe trainers. None of them'll be a threat to us."

"True..." The male replied, nodding.

Slowly, the three came to a stop as they reached what appeared to be their destination: A large, red rock. It was just sort of... There, not suspicious in the slightest. Nobody would have found this on their own, that's for sure. Now for the important part.

"I don't suppose either of you have physically strong Pokemon, do you?" Desmond questioned, as the two grunts glanced at eachother, before looking back and shaking their heads.

"Tch. I prefer speed." The female used as an excuse.

"And I prefer strategy..." The male added, as his own excuse.

Desmond sighed. "Good grief..." He muttered, before clicking a Pokeball off of his belt: It expanded in his hand, and soon popped open, releasing a Pokemon that stood tall and proud; His Ampharos.

"Ampharos," Desmond called, and the Pokemon looked his way. "Push that rock."

Staring for a moment as if it's talents were being wasted, the Ampharos nodded and approached the large rock. It pushed up against it, as it began attempting to push it to the side. Desmond stepped back as the rock began to shift; Sliding along as Ampharos pushed it. Oddly enough, it didn't seem as heavy as it ought to have been. Perhaps it was some sort of prop? Ampharos still had to work towards pushing it, so it must've still been heavy despite being used to cover up the entrance. A lot of effort was put into hiding this.

"Shame somebody else got a hold of this information. Keeping the Under to ourselves would have been nice." The female commented.

"But if it is just one person, it's not difficult to make that information disappear again." The male said in response.

As Ampharos finished, Desmond could see it: A hatch. He approached it, and managed to pull it open; Only to be granted with the sight of a dark black abyss down below. Why couldn't there be any lights? It really had to be pitch black? Good grief....

"Judging by this, we'll be lucky if we even live to keep the information." Desmond said, as the grunts followed up and looked down, not exactly liking the sight.

Just when things looked alright.... Maybe if they were lucky that trainer would fall off the ladder and save them the trouble.

"I'd... Rather not go down there." The male grunt admitted, stepping back.

"Then get behind the rock and wait for that trainer, you coward." Desmond hissed irritably, as he didn't want to go down there either. But he wasn't about to let this get screwed up now.

"No worries," The female grunt said, as she began lowering herself to climb down. "I'm not afraid of the dark."

"Piss off." The male grunt spat, taking position behind the rock.

Desmond sighed, returning Ampharos while waiting for the female grunt to get low enough on the ladder for him to follow. Once there was room, he lowered himself down and began the climb himself. Into the darkness.