Unbroken Disguise

The rain was annoying, but Lucas wasn’t the type to let a little bit of water deter him. Maybe if he had gone with Chimchar back when Professor Rowan offered him a starter, but with Torterra and Bibarel on his team? Maybe he should learn to love this kind of weather.

He didn’t think that N and Mimikyu would be joining him in that, though. He glanced over his shoulder, back at the rest of his travelling companions, and found that N’s ninja friends were trying to help get all the mud off of the two of them. N wasn’t too bad, though he’d need to wash his clothes at the next Pokemon Center. Mimikyu, though… well, it wasn’t a pretty sight.

Could they throw Mimikyu in a washing machine?

…something to look into later.

Returning his focus to his usual treasure hunt, Lucas kept his eyes peeled. The weather reduced his visibility, but if he missed out on something awesome just because of some stupid rain, it would haunt him.

Like that revive! It had been hidden away in a little divot in the ground between two bridges, and Lucas had almost walked right past it! His keen eye might end up making a huge difference later on down the line. Not that his Pokemon fainted often or anything, he still had his win streak going and really they only went down to Gym Leaders and during intense training-

His eye caught on something orange.

Treasure!

Lucas ran right up to it, scooping it off the ground before anyone else got any bright ideas… but he wasn’t very impressed with his find. It was just another of those stupid plates. What was this, the fourth, maybe fifth one he’d stumbled across? Each one seemed to be a different color, this one being a sort of rusty looking orange, and had an inscription on it.

Two make matter and three make spirit, shaping the world.

Meaningless!

Not a single one of the inscriptions he’d read so far made any sense at all. It frustrated him to no end. And yet, at the same time, it left him curious. Clearly they were meant to tell you something, otherwise there would be no point in carving the words out at all. Was it something that would only make sense if you had the whole collection? Would he have to bring them to the professor so he could study them? He didn’t really like the idea of letting someone take his treasure, so selling them was out… Maybe N or Mimikyu would know something?

With a sigh, he found a small bit of cover from the rain and opened up his bag so he could shove the plate inside.

But, as he was stuffing it into the correct pouch, something felt… odd.

It was a feeling he couldn’t quite describe. Something hot and yet cold, exciting yet calming, sending a shiver down his spine and yet making him feel powerful.

It ended as soon as it started, though the feeling of strength lingered just a tad longer than the rest of it.

“Bzzrt! What was that?!”

Lucas startled as his bag suddenly spoke! Or, no, that was just Rotom wasn’t it? He had forgotten that the annoying Ghost was in his bag again. He had been understanding of not wanting N’s phone to get soaked, but Lucas swore that if Rotom had used this opportunity to sneak back into his Pokedex…

“You felt it too, right?” Rotom asked him as the flip phone floated out of his bag, flitting around and inspecting the plate that wasn’t quite submerged into the depths of his bag just yet.

Curious to see if Rotom might have some of the answers he was after, he nodded in agreement, sliding the plate back out for the Pokemon to see.

“Bzzrt, some sort of weird rock? But why would-” Rotom’s levitation stuttered for a brief moment. “...you collect such a dumb rock? You sure are strange!”

Lucas’ eyes narrowed. Rotom had definitely recognized the plate after a moment, and then lied. Why, though?

Lucas wasn’t like N. Talking to Pokemon was still new to him, and it was only possible with Rotom since the Electric type did all of the work for him. So knowing why a Pokemon would lie… it was hard to guess at the reasoning.

Pokemon were all unique, just like humans, sure. They all had their own goals, their likes and dislikes, thoughts and opinions. That was true of his team at the very least, though Bibarel might be lacking in the thoughts and opinions department, and he figured it was true for all Pokemon. Mimikyu seemed to be proof enough of that.

But he’d never really thought about why a Pokemon might lie before now.

If Togepi was hungry, he whined and cried. If Eevee wanted to play, he’d dart back and forth. If Torterra was grumpy, he’d give Lucas that look, the one that was practically always on his face.

…or maybe that was just how his face looked? Or maybe he was always grumpy… hmmm…

But whatever the case, having to communicate through gestures kept things simple. It was hard to deceive someone with your words when there were no words.

Lucas would need to work on his communication skills… and maybe start looking into these plates.

Clearly there was something interesting about them, even if he couldn’t for the life of him come up with a guess.

Veilstone was a large city. Not quite as large as Jubilife had been, but probably around the same size as Hearthome. It was built along the coast, or at least it was if you were being generous. Most people heard “coastal city” and thought of sandy beaches, but Veilstone seemed to be built at the bottom portion of a mountain, the buildings slowly sloping down it until they met a cliff edge which dropped off a few hundred feet into the water. Which, if you were being technical about it, made it a coast. Right? Now that N was thinking about it he wasn’t actually too certain on the matter…

The city seemed to feature a warehouse district, large shopping centers around a towering department store, and… well, N assumed that there was plenty more, given the city’s size, but he had sort of been in a rush to get to the Pokemon Center. Route 215 had had plenty of water, but it didn’t compare to a proper warm shower and being able to change into dry, clean clothes. N felt ready to explore the city properly now.

Though not everyone was on the same page.

Lucas was sitting on the bed he had claimed, scrolling through his Pokedex with a look of concentration on his face. Rotom was floating around the room inspecting every inch of it. The shadows were out in the open for once, gathered around a certain fae.

“I fear that your… disguise may be on its last legs, Mimikyu,” one of the shadows gently said. “Perhaps it is time to look into a replacement.”

It was easy to forget sometimes, given the fact that Mimikyu never went anywhere without it, but the Pikachu disguise that his friend wore was not part of his body. It was just a clothing article. That was more obvious now, with its current state.

Mimikyu had managed to remove the mud and dirt and general grime from the cloth, and sewed up any rips and tears he’d accumulated along the way, but there was only so much you could do for cloth that was worn and exposed to the elements day after day. The colors were starting to fade in a few spots, the drawn on face was smeared, and the fibers of the cloth were frayed and falling apart. It was still serviceable, but for how long?

“Replace it with what?” Mimikyu grumbled as stood on a countertop in front of a mirror, his shadowy hands constantly making small adjustments to the disguise, trying to make it look right. “This is what a Mimikyu is, I can’t jus’ go ‘n’ get somethin’ else ta cover up with!”

“Bzzrt!” Rotom chimed, floating up over to Mimikyu to inspect the fabric. “Veilstone Department Store has just about anything that’s for sale in Sinnoh. Rotom recalls that they have a large selection of Pokemon dolls, but whether there is a Pikachu doll specifically…”

“It’s at least something we can check out,” N agreed. Mimikyu’s current disguise seemed more improvised than an actual doll, but maybe something like that would hold up better? He would have no issue with paying for one if it made Mimikyu happy, though that may require convincing the little ghost that it was necessary to get something new in the first place…

“Rotom wishes you luck in your search, then!”

N frowned. “You’re not coming with us?”

Lucas looked up from his Pokedex, stuffing it away into his bag once more.

N’s flip phone flitted over to him. “Rotom has personal matters to attend to! Rotom will return here by nightfall.”

That was mildly concerning, but far be it from N to deny a Pokemon something so simple. “Alright then, but if you’re taking my phone with you, keep it safe, please?”

“Bzzrt! Of course! Will one of you get the door for Rotom?”

N took a step towards it, but Lucas quickly shot past him, opening the door and allowing Rotom to escape. Before N could comment on that, the boy waved to him with a small smile, and slipped out the door as well, shutting it behind him.

“What is he in such a rush for?” N muttered.

“Prob’bly off ta walk into ev’ry unlocked door in Veilstone and take anythin’ not bolted down,” Mimikyu supplied as he continued fussing with his disguise.

He had better not. If N got word of Lucas doing something stupid again they would be having words.

Shaking his head, N turned towards the Shadow Triad. “I don’t suppose you three suddenly have things to take care of as well?”

The three of them shared a look, before the one on the right spoke up. “Could you repeat that in Unovan for us, please?”

Ah. Right. Language barriers. His brain must have switched to League after Rotom started speaking in it…

“I was simply asking if the three of you had any other matters to attend to, since everyone seems to be doing their own thing today.”

“That ain’ how I remember ya phrasin’ it…”

N ignored Mimikyu’s comment as the Triad shared another look. “Now that you mention it… there are a few things we need to look into.”

“We are not as familiar with Sinnoh as we would like to be,” another continued, “it would not hurt to use this opportunity to investigate.”

“Rest assured,” the final finished, “we will not be far away. Should you need us, we will arrive shortly.”

Before N could even blink, they’d vanished into the shadows.

“...I suppose it’s just you and I, then, Mimikyu. Shall we?”

It was a bit strange, to just be a duo once more, but it’s not like they needed such a large entourage to go shopping of all things.

“Jus’ like ol’ times, eh?” Mimikyu joked as he clambered up onto N’s shoulder.

“Can you really call them old times? We haven’t known each other for that long.”

“It’s jus’ a turn of phrase, N, ya need ta…”

Lucas’ ever vigilant search for treasure meant that not much got past him.

So when two Galactic grunts were walking around town in uniform when he and his friends arrived, of course he had noticed them. It also meant he noticed the large building peeking out over the roofs of the warehouse district with the giant G on it.

That was concerning.

The only other place he’d seen where Galactic had such a foothold was Eterna City, and they’d had a bunch of kidnapped Pokemon in there!

He wanted to think that Cynthia and the League were handling Galactic now after that mess, but if their grunts were just strolling around in broad daylight… he might need to check in with the local Gym Leader. He’d gotten through the Eterna building, but this one was much bigger and almost definitely had more, and stronger, members inside. Rushing in seemed like a bad idea.

So first, he needed to look for clues and gossip around the city. He definitely hadn’t used Rotom slipping out as an excuse to treasure hunt without N supervision. No, this was important recon for his mission!

Like this building in front of him! Sure, it looked like a normal house. And as he slipped inside, sure, it looked like a normal old couple. But they would definitely have information on Team Galactic’s recent crimes!

The man noticed him first, his eyes drifting to Lucas’ pokeballs. “You’re a trainer, aren’t you?” he asked, his tone hopeful. When Lucas nodded, he continued. “You see, there’s this Pokemon I’d like someone to look after. It’s a Pokemon called Porygon, I found it near Team Galactic’s building. I’m no trainer, so can you take it off my hands?”

…so maybe he wouldn’t be getting the latest scoop on Galactic. But there was no way he was turning down a free Pokemon! He excitedly nodded in agreement,

“Excellent!” The old man smiled. “Thanks! That’ll make the Porygon happy, too. I suspect it ran away from those Team Galactic goons.”

…or maybe this was the jackpot! A free Pokemon and info on Galactic!

The man’s wife scoffed. “That Team Galactic… have you seen their building? Those thorny things on the building… the way it moves meaninglessly… I don’t understand their idea of “awesomely fashionable” at all. Still, Team Galactic does seem to have a huge supply of energy.”

Lucas just nodded along as he accepted the pokeball offered to him by the husband, encouraging them to spill everything they knew.

“Oh, don’t I know it! That building of theirs bugs me so much, I can’t sleep well…”

Draped in shadow and distortion, hidden from sight, they observed. Not within the depths of the building, mind you, they knew not of what might lurk away from the public eye, but in a dark corner where they could see enough.

“Impressive numbers. Could this be their main base?”

“Unlikely, to operate in the open like this would be foolish, especially when they are a known entity.”

“And yet that would mean that their numbers are even more impressive.”

“The numbers may be impressive, but what of the quality? The boy is impressive for his age, but not of particular note. Yet, if what we heard was true, he was able to defeat more than one of their so-called commanders.”

“We know not of their organizational structure. It is possible that ‘commander’ is not actually as high ranking as the title suggests.”

“Do you truly believe someone who constructs a base like this so openly in such a large city is capable of strategic thinking like that?”

“I did not say that it was likely, only that it was possible. We must not make assumptions in this matter.”

The distortion around them shuddered.

The three of them tensed.

“Is there a problem, Banette?”

Though they did not possess the gift of communication that their Lord held, a trainer could not get very far without having some level of understanding with their Pokemon.

And yet, before Banette could communicate anything at all, they heard the horrible sound of claws scraping against metal, saw a brief flicker of red, and a feeling of dread poured over them as-

The feeling abated as Banette transported them to an alleyway between two warehouses.

“Thank you, Banette,” The Pokemon’s trainer acknowledged the timely save.

“Were we found? Or was that coincidence? It can be difficult to tell with Dark types.”

“I am unsure. Did either of you recognize the Pokemon? Obviously it must be a Dark type, but I did not get a good look.”

“No, it was small and agile. If not for whatever the red was, I doubt I would have seen it at all.”

“We shall look into local Dark types later. The Mimikyu may be of some use in that regard. But for now, we must operate under the assumption that we were found.”

“They are on the League’s radar, and there is a notable Ghost master not too far away. The reasonable conclusion for them to reach is that they are under investigation.

“Perhaps…”

“Regardless, that means the end of our investigation while we’re here. They will be on high alert.”

“Not necessarily, a Dark type might seek to play with us, treat us like prey, rather than report anything it noticed.”

“The Dark type itself being on alert is enough of an issue.”

“True….”

“Enough for now. We should put more distance between us and start drafting our report.”

“Of course.”

The trio sank back into the fourth’s shadow, vanishing from sight once more.

Abandoning N’s phone would have been suspicious, but it made things tricky for Rotom. Veilstone was a nice enough city, but Rotom didn’t have enough trust in the residents to just leave the phone laying around, and yet staying in it meant Rotom had to be wary of being caught on camera.

A cursory check showed that all of the security was just the same as Rotom remembered it, but that was just what was obvious. What if they had added more, better hidden security? It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, and not even all that unlikely.

But Rotom couldn’t just call it a day and go back to N without properly investigating, either. Things may not have ended on a high note, but Rotom owed it to an old friend to check in on things like this every once in a while.

So Rotom avoided the security Rotom knew about, considered the most likely locations for more to have been added, and avoided those as well. If Rotom was spotted, then Rotom was spotted. Hopefully whoever was on the security detail would think nothing of it, or assume their eyes were playing tricks on them.

Eventually, Rotom slipped in through a carelessly left open window.

“Did you hear that Kenji lost to some little kid?”

Rotom pressed the phone flush into a corner, hoping the building’s occupants were too caught up in their conversation to notice.

“Dude, everyone heard about that. Did you hear how they punished him?”

“Isn’t losing to some brat punishment enough? I’d be ashamed to show my face if I were him.”

“Well, yeah, but he also made us look bad! Image is important, and the higher ups weren’t too happy with him.”

“Hold on, didn’t one of the Commanders recently lose to a brat as well?”

“That’s different, you see-”

The two grunts walked through a doorway, and it shut automatically behind them.

It pained Rotom a little bit to see that Team Galactic grunts were still as stupid as when Rotom left.

But perhaps that would work in Rotom’s favor, this once.

Now, did they still have the same passwords for administrator access?