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Galar (Sword & Shield)

Marlon grinned at Marilyn's attempts to be subtle at flirting. After he realized her intentions, she somehow looked prettier to him than before, as if he only noticed her now. However, they had to focus on the task ahead of them. This Hop boy seemed to be the brother of someone important in this region. It could never hurt to have him on his good side.

When Cedric explained his plan, Marlon looked at Magnezone. "What do you say? Up for some fun?" Magnezone buzzed. Marlon turned to Cedric and said "That was a yes."

Just like Glaceon, Magnezone was ready to follow Cedric's instructions.

Dark new world (a post-apocalyptic Pokémon story)

The quest in Goldenrod had not been as easy as Khelfin expected. There had been obstacles and he had lost Sabrina along the way, leaving him to be all alone for now (if you dont count his pokemon). Khelfin had made his way to the Goldenrod radio tower but found it abandoned. Searching his phone for any update, he could not get any wifi reception. Ever since the world nearly ended, it was quite rare to find a reception at all.

Khelfin wasn't sure what to do next. Aro and Maya were busy doing their parts of the mission, Sabrina was who-knows-where and Meredith had clearly left the radio tower. His best bet was to go to the meeting point, the old dojo at Saffron.

As expected, the magnet train was not operational at all. While he walked over the rails, he came across several wild pokemon and several hostile surviving humans. Porygon and Grimer fought hard and could definitely use some recover time. By the time Khelfin arrived at Saffron, he had battled and caught a Duskull, adding a third pokemon on his team.

Galar (Sword & Shield)

Marlon found himself in the company of a stunning young lady with her Glaceon, some kid who was chasing his Wooloo apparently and some guy who looked oddly familiar to him somehow and his Lucario.

There was little time to appreciate the girl's beauty or even to figure where he knew the Lucario-trainer from, as all the attention went towards the running Wooloo.

"If you want, Magnezone can paralyze him?" Marlon asked Hop.

The boy widened his eyes.
"No, I don't want him to be hurt!"

Galar (Sword & Shield)

Wedgehurst was the name of the town Marlon arrived at. It wasn't very big but somehow it felt exiting to visit it.

When entering, something big and round passed them in a hurry. "Wooloo, stop!" a boy shouted while chasing it.

Marlon looked at the thing that had passed them. Was that a pokemon? Oh yea, now he could see, it seemed to be rolled all rolled up in order to flee the situation. It appeared to be fluffy. The boy chasing it had an olive skin tone and amber eyes.

"Lets check it out, Magnezone" Marlon said to his partner.

Dark new world (a post-apocalyptic Pokémon story)

When Maya suggested finding the fossil hunters, Khelfin frowned.

"I bet every single one of them went undercover when Miss Amy got murdered. They are no fools, their first priority is vanishing from the radar."

Next up, Aro suggested that he and Maya would investigate at the old Genesect HQ.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea. A dangerous one but it could actually work."

Khelfin looked over to Sabrina, seemed to hesitate for a split second but then nodded as he made up his mind.

"Creepy Sabriny and myself will go to Goldenrod city. If we can get the media on our side, we can find us some allies. When both of our missions are done, we should meet up at the old dojo of Saffron City in Kanto. It's the easiest to reach from both our locations and has a high chance of being a Cooper-free area. The train will probably not be functional, but we'll walk."

Before they all started their quests, Khelfin adressed Aro and Maya once more.

"Oh and mates. Plant a bomb at those HQ while you are there anyway."

His laugh could mean that he was joking but he might just as well be serious about it, given the circumstances.

Dark new world (a post-apocalyptic Pokémon story)

Khelfin had to admitt to himself that Aro's speech did not leave him untouched. In a way, he could really understand what he was saying and it were the first deep emotions he felt after losing everyone he loved. When Sabrina jumped right in to Aro's plan with an innocent enthousiasm after only just meeting him, Khelfin realized these people where the closest thing to friends now.

"Fine, I will join your stupid crusade. Without me, you'd get eaten by a Tyranitar anyway."

Galar (Sword & Shield)

Upon arrival in Galar, Marlon and Magnezone both liked the view.

Marlon took out the letter he got and read it once more.

"Oleana says right here that Chairman Rose advises me to start this journey the same way as the local trainers do. I guess we go find Professor Magnolia then."

Not far from where they were, a helicopter arrived and a ship docked in. More travellers?

Dark new world (a post-apocalyptic Pokémon story)

Khelfin frowned at Aro's idea. He sighed deeply and chose his words carefully. "Actually... why should we stop him? I mean, I understand he might be dangerous but what I mean is... and I know at least two of you will judge me for asking this.. but what is in it for us?"

He looked straight at Aro before continueing. "Why should we risk our lives? To be the heroes of the day in a world that isn't even a world anymore?"

There used to be a time when Khelfin would have suggested the exact same thing that Aro did now. But everything was different now. Hé was different now.

Dark new world (a post-apocalyptic Pokémon story)

Khelfin watched Aro going into a fiery rage. He remembered when he himself used to be so full of emotion and it made him realize how cold he had actually gotten. In fact, the news of the murder did not even devestate him. Tho he did feel some sort of sadness.

When asked about Cooper's intentions, Khelfin felt like he could wage in on the matter.

"My mission was to find upgrade items for his artificial pokemon and boycot the fossil hunters while I was at it so they could not grow more powerful faster than he did. If you ask me, he is after power and control. His intentions were pure at first, he wants to rebuild our world. However, the power he tasted seems to be leaving him in a spot where he keeps wanting more and more. Im not sure if he is capable of murder but he is extremely motivated to lead this new world. I think he is also recruiting others to form sort of gyms. Bottom line is that he will control everyone if he gets his way."

Dark new world (a post-apocalyptic Pokémon story)

Khelfin analysed the girl and noticed how she seemed broken justnas much by the Apocalyps as they all did, but in a different way. Then again, she was a stranger, for all he knew she had always been strange. "Well, Sabrina, my name is Khelfin. I have a Porygon and an Alolan Grimer with me."

When she mentioned the murder of Amy, Khelfin widened his eyes. "She was what?!" The fact that the girl stayed so calm about it gave him goosebumps. Khelfin immediatly wondered what could have happened. Would Cooper...? Not even he would go that far, would he? With caution, Khelfin tried to get more information. "Are you 100% sure? What happened?"

Every now and then he looked at Aro and Maya, as if mentally communicating with them. He didn't know any of them for long, but those two had a few hours head start compared to the new girl.