Holon City, Somewhere

Ren hands over the invitations to Silent, pointing out they are for PEFE staff and two of their mons each. Silent looks positively pleased, as does Sol.

"Allright, I'll make sure at least three of them get them."

Shahinne: <...Oh! I know!> -- chirps a happy note -- <I could send some [Notifica-]>

Harriet and Copahue: <No!!>

Shahinne just stays there, dumbfounded.

Copahue looks embarrassed and turns to Ren.

Copahue: <Uhm... t-thanks for this food but, to be honest... I didn't like it.> -- feels more embarrassed -- <I've grown to like fish more…>

Shahinne: <...I liked it!> -- flies over to Ren's shoulder again -- <I can take much time to eat it and no mon bothers me.> ^.^

-to Ren-

"If this is in Goldenrod it should be easy for me to be there. I'll do what I can to bring some of my mons to the presentation."

Sol -tail twirling: <I could [help]~>

Holon City, With Ren

"...Fulmen? You mean that Jolteon that barked [a lot] and went away some time ago?" -- turns to Sol -- "You could make friends, Sol."

Sol -remembers her headache, looks away shiftly: <...Perhaps.>

(reserved for a post in the works)

Silent and the Eeveelutions are invited in to see the hatching.

To Ammy:

"Oh? A new Pokémon of yours?"

Sol obediently sits near the egg and watches eagerly, tail twirling; Ichtacya looks less tired now and watches also with interest.

-Silent notices Tagg is also around-

"Hey, Tagg! Hadn't seen you since... well since pretty much the Alakagross Ruins."

Sol -points to the egg: <...What is it?>

EGG HATCH!!!! :3

Ichtacya and Sol look amazed, squee internally.

Sol: <Oooh little creature it's very beautiful...> -- swings a paw at the Larvesta playfully.

"Awww, a Larvesta! How convenient..." -- notices the pieces of the egg -- "Gee, good thing Dintel wasn't here..." -- to Ammy -- "Well, congratulations~"

-to Tagg-

"I see... well, I think things did not turn out very well after that... I'm here for a quick check, see if I can help gathering some intelligence." -- points to some nearby houses -- "There's an officer that commented to me that they've got [tips] about that area."

Sol -turns to Tagg as well: <Oh, Shahinne was left at home. No way we were gonna bring her around here...>

Yesterday, in Agate

Silent enters the local post office, with Dintel and Maekrite in tow. He goes to the counter and is greeted by the local clerk.

"Hey, how much to send some documents to somewhere south of Hoenn?"

Clerk: "…Hoenn? Not much, actually. Here lemme show you our prices..."

The clerk then shows Silent some charts and Silent starts picking some [envelopes] from his bag. He then writes a note, photocopies the handwriting and attaches one to each envelope, finally wrapping everything in a package.

"There... I guess that's out of the picture" -- and goes sit with his team outside -- "How long would it take for the package to arrive to PEFE?"

Maekrite: <Hmmm... are they sending it by plane or perhaps to the coast then by Wailord?>

"Hmm... I'd say by plane. Though I can't think of how many messages do come out of here."

-The two look around while Dintel goes to the tall grass to talk with some of the very few wild mons around-

(Reflected here by Umbra)

[spoiler]Thanks (errr... to a point, Maekrite says :p ) to Every for spagging this with me, and apologies for taking too long to get to it.

Some place in the outskirts of Agate - at a fuzzy timecoordinate around now

Silent is making a round across town, accompanied by a couple of police offifers as they search for some hints of Cipher activity. The two officers in [fire-engine red shirts] (and you can already guess where this is going) comment on some hot line calls the  police have been getting about Cipher operatives having been seen around the area.

After a moment they reach an old storage building stylized after a church.

Emergency Officer #A: "We have been tipped a couple of times to search this area, but it never amounts to anything."

Emergency Officer #1: "Well, that's good, you know. I join the [Retirement Protection Room Program] tomorrow!"

Maekrite and Ichtacya are tailing Silent and looking around, with the Leafeon taking some interest in the buildings.

Ichtacya♀: <...Reminds me of my one trip to Angela...>

Maekrite♂ -raises a figurative eyebrow: <...Wasn't that place a hellhole worse than this?>

As Silent and the two officers enter the building, they continue talking.

Emergency Officer #A: "...Oh? That's good news! How did your [wife and kid] take it?"

Emergency Officer #1 -smirks: "They are very happy. We plan to go on vacation to Phenac next week and I'll spend all my time with them."

The two officers and Silent start looking around and searching through the storage house. After a couple of minutes of not finding anything plot-relevant, those present may detect the click of armored boots. Maekrite, possessed of good hearing, picks the sound of expanding Pokeballs as well. His ears flicker and he seems tense.

Ichtacya -stops: <...Someone's here!>

Officer #A -glares: "Should tell your dog to remain silent, just in case we-"

-And there's some more noise-

Silent: "...Uh, apparently there's someone else here."

-Ichtacya and Maekrite move slowly in the direction of the sound, while the two redshirts argue about taking their chances or not; in the end, they follow with a camera and a Pokéball on hand-

???: "H...ello, Nidor...an scienti...st."

-A Cipher Peon steps out of the shadows. Unusually for a Cipher Peon, he's wearing no helmet, marking him fairly instantly recognizable as "Every"-

Maekrite♂: <...Huh?> -- listens carefully from the back.

-This "Every" is flanked by another two Peons, both holding Pokeballs-

-The two police officers walk in with Silent, while Ichtacya takes the front; she sniffs in Every's general direction and growls, sensing something is amiss-

Maekrite♂ -walks from behind: <...E-every? Is that Every?>

Officer #1 -notices, steps in: "Hold it, criminal scum! You're coming with us!"

Silent: "...Cipher?" -- and sees what looks like Every -- "T-this a setup? What kind of trickery is this?"

Ichtacya turns to Maekrite: <I don't know...>

-One of the officers steps in, Pokéball in hand-

Officer #A: "Hah, Cipher! Those tips did amount to something. Now you, criminals, stay put there."

Every: "No...trickery here. Had...change of h...eart."

-Then he sends out a Reuniclus (Blobble) and Leavanny (Nylon), as the other two Peons each send out a Watchog (yes, with EVIL tags, you know how Watchog are). The Leavanny dares to move closer to Silent's group, while Ichtacya assumes an offensive stance.-

Nylon: <That guy looks familiar...>

Blobble: <Who cares? We've finally got a fight.> -- floats higher.

-Silent sees the two Pokémon sent out; at this, Maekrite jumps ahead before Ichtacya or Silent can intervene, and glares at the Leavanny-

Ichtacya: <Rrrrrr... those guys...> -- growls at the two Ciphers.

Officer #A: "Damn it... y-you guys resisting arrest? Though luck!" -- and sends out a Pokéball that opens to reveal a Vibrava.

-The other officer meanwhile stays close to the door, in case the Ciphers try to leave; secretly hopes that they surrender peacefully and he can at least retire with the keys of the city or something-

Nylon: <Er… I don't really want to hurt  you...>

Blobble: <Fortunately, I do!> --and quickly fires a Psychic at Maekrite.

Peon #1: "Resisting arrest, huh?" -- steps back -- "You could definitively call it that. Watchog, Super Fang!"

-The Watchog leaps at the Vibrava, jaws wide; the Vibrava buzzes as he is bit by the Watchog and suffers a good deal of damage; without waiting for imput she attempts to shake the Watchog off with an Air Cutter.-

-Maekrite meanwhile is hit by the Psychic attack, sent off a fair distance back; this prompts Ichtacya to respond-

Ichtacya: <…Hey! Knock it off!> -- and Swords Dances into a Quick Attack on Blobble.

Officer #1: "I think we should call for backup!"

Silent -curses: "Wait... these are not Every's Pokémon…"  -- moves closer to Maekrite -- "You think those mind games work on me?"

-And instructs Maekrite to fire a Sludge Bomb at Nylon; he does with a degree of pleasure; Nylon yelps as the attack connects, soaking the Pokémon in venom and taking a moderate toll on her health.-

Meanwhile the first Watchog is easily knocked away by the Air Cutter, but the second one leaps in for another Super Fang-

Every: "N...o...mind games." -motions for Blobble and Nylon to continue -- "New...times, new te...am."

-Nylon takes the hint and responds to Maekrite's attack with a String Shot-

(reflection here)

[spoiler]Spagged in conjunction with Every

(Continuing from the above...)

Ichtacya: <....G-gah!> -- tries to leap past the Psychic attack, but is hit by it and knocked down.

-Silent calls Ichtacya's name, decides he has to use his opening so sends out Dintel's ball; the Sandshrew materializes by one of the room's pillars, already aware to a certain degree of the seriousness of the situation going on.

Silent -notices the fire: "...Damn, this is not good... Dintel, smack those Watchog out!"

-And Dintel instantly Brick Breaks the pillar's base, then grabs it and dislodges it from the ceiling to lob it at the two Pokémon while they are busying themselves with the Vibrava-

Watchog: <Awww phooey...> o_o's slowly as the shadow of the pillar looms above him.

-Maekrite meanwhile, retreats behind some benches to try and make time for a Morning Sun.-

There's a loud noise and some rubble flying in all directions; both Watchog are quickly knocked out by the pillar shot. Blobble, however, manages to stay out of the way of both it and the fire spreading around-

Blobble: <I told you you'd pay, Nidorino. Now you will.> -aims another Psychic.

The Vibrava manages to escape the rubble, but looks obviously hurt. She then notices the fire then hears some voices...-

Officer #1: "...my spleen!"

Officer #A: "S-sorry! Wrong arm!" -- then there's the sound of a punch landing on someone else's torso. Likely a Cipher Peon this time.

Vibrava: <O-Oh... boss? Boss?> -- starts dragging herself towards her trainers.

-Dintel circles around, but has to evade some of the fire before attacking Blobble. Meanwhile Maekrite charges to meet the Psychic and is knocked by the attack, but the sash absorbs part of the energy and helps Maekrite regain some health. He then turns and prepares to aim a Sludge Bomb at Blobbles…

Peon 1: "Oh my goodness! You appear to have punched the unkindness out of me! I believe I shall go found an orphana-" -thwack- "Never mind, there it is again." >_>

-Every, meanwhile, waits until Maekrite is occupied with Blobble...-

-And throws an [Ultra Ball] at him-

Some time later, outside of Agate…

At a small fenced park outside of town, there is a group of 10 to 15 police officers in formal clothes, and some other random people sitting among them; Silent is one of them, more or less lot in thought back in the third row. While the rest of the people are listening to an orator commenting on some recent events, Silent is still remembering the events at the storage house: the two police officers accompanying trying to hold off some Cipher Peons; Maekrite being snagged by Every of all people; the screams of the two police officers trying to escape the all-consuming fire; Dintel returning empty-handed to break him free from some heavy boxes that had collapsed around him.

The orator stands on a small platform, before a couple of big rectangular boxes covered in black drapes, he says something to which the rest of the people present respond by murmuring something. The orator then rests his hands on one of the drapes, softly drags his hand across the surface of the box, its path ending at the edge where a fine police officer cap and a police badge rest; the other box has similar decorations.

Dintel, sitting on the grass at Silent's side, looks at the officer caps with eyes half-shut, probably remembering his own involvement in the events at the storage house.

The orator continues to talk gently. About the recent history of Orre, about the fear many people lived in, about the commitment of some people -- their people -- to make things better.

Silent meanwhile grasps his Pokégear and thinks to the events of the last few days… but can't fight against his heart and his mind going further and further back, until something inside him tires out and lets the weight of his life come to assault his imagination.

A long time ago...

A somewhat younger Silent is inside an old-looking building, sitting at a desk, trying to find a specific report in a relatively small. There is a noise and then a small box full of papers collapses at the corner of the room. Then some meeps can he heard coming from the corner.

Silent turns around and takes a look, sighing... he observes with a mixture of d'awwwness and annoyance how a Nidorino goes to the corner and digs around for a moment, finally releasing a [kit] from his paper prison; then the male picks the offspring up and carries him around to another large box.

«Burrows! Toys! Is it lunch time yet?»

Some four years ago...

Silent is standing in a forest clearing, looking at what used to be his Starter with growing confusion on his face. The Nidorina stands roughly atop a broken trunk, ears up and leering at him with an obvious expression of mistrust, like any of the other wild, untame Pokémon around her do. Silent shifts his sight slightly to focus on the young, obviously recently evolved [Nidorino] standing on the grass right before him, and asks something.

There is a lot of noise and activity in response to the question, and when Silent readies his sight all of the wild Pokémon around them are fleeing away, back to their business; only the young Nidorino remains, his ears defiantly checking him but his eyes diverted to watch with sadness as his family, colleagues, his one love… all leave him behind.

And Silent stays there, pondering if using the Moon Ball on his hand is the right thing to do.

«Must I go? Do I have anything else? Can I follow you anywhere you go and keep you safe?»

About two years ago…

Silent is at a beach, arguing with Copahue about flying to a nearby island on a Zeppelin instead of allowing the larger bird to carry him around. Not far from there Maekrite is resting against some rocks, ears flattened. At some point Silent turns to look at Maekrite to call him, but the Nidorino avoids eye contact and leans the other way.

Back in the corner of Silent's mind he knows the Nidorino is ashamed because of something he did and now it is his fault that, once Silent departs from the island be it by bird or machine, he won't be able to come back.

«Am I a good Pokémon? Am I what he needs? Where can I go if I'm not?»

Shortly ago…

Silent sees the Pokéball going for its target, but he doesn't have the time to do anything about it. The ball strikes Maekrite as he is about to attack and he and Silent share one. single. look., before the Nidorino is forcibly beamed into the device.

Silent always knew that look. It was something that he had in common with many Pokémon that Silent had met in his stay with PEFE and the J-Team. Those eyes were devoid of blame or anger, and at least to some degree, of fealty or compassion; all those sentiments masked by years of duty to the eye of the untrained.

«Are you hurt? Are you all right? Was I able to prote-»

Back in the present time

The orator finishes talking and makes a solemn gesture as he steps away from the two rectangular, drape-covered boxes. In response to the gesture, Silent and the rest of the people present all stand up and stay in silence.

They observe how a special mon-operated machine lowers the draped boxes, still covered with the officer caps and other ornaments, into a deep hole in the ground. The process is not slow, but it does take its sweet time during which noone says a thing and no phone rings. Once the process is finished and the two assisting Pokémon remove themselves from the scene, two people from the first row of seats stand up and approach the hole; Dintel also walks in with a hint of curiosity, but feeling the ambience around him he just decides to sit on the ground by the first row of seats.

Silent can't help but feel ill at the sight of them shovelling some sand and dirt into the hole, until it is completely covered, all while the orator puts on his own police officer cap and stands before the hole with utmost solemnity.

Some minutes later, outside

Silent walks away from the park in silence, feeling angry with himself. He is flanked by Dintel, who follows him looking up at all times, yet not expressing his concerns. The two walk among the group of people leaving the park but quickly take a detour to a small mount by the road, where Sol and a bandaged Ichtacya are waiting.

Sol -frowns: <...Sorry, we didn't want to go inside.>

"Okay, Sol. I guess I can understand. How are you feeling, Ichtacya?"

The Leafeon doesn't answer verbally, but she does lie on the ground and gaze at the horizon, her snout to the ground and her tail still.

"Still that annoyed, huh?"

Silent sighs as he pats Ichtacya's shoulder slightly; then he picks Dintel up and produces his Pokégear again to check something on his new travel plan. Meanwhile, Sol and Ichtacya converse for a moment.

Sol the Espeon♀: <...What eats you?>

Ichtacya the Leafeon♀: <…I'm just disliking all about this place, I guess...> -- sighs.

Sol the Espeon♀: <...You did what you could.>

Ichtacya the Leafeon♀ -frowns: <That's not it...> -- turns to Sol and barks -- <This place feels alien. The people... the desert...  every thing seems to only care about itself.>

Sol the Espeon♀ -tilts head: <And since when would you notice?> -- ignores Ichtacya's glare -- <You're missing the forest by the trees, literally...>

-and points in a specific direction while Silent notices someone in uniform approaching-

Ichtacya the Leafeon♀: <...forest there? Really?> -- and continues conversation.

Silent instructs his mons to stay put and orderly when a voice speaks to him.

????: "…Ah, here you are, Dr. Silent."

He turns around to see a police officer standing before him, with a bandaged leg and walking on a crutch. The officer wipes some sweat off his face, moving around still hard to do for him.

Officer #1: "I didn't expect you would be coming to the ceremony."

Silent -turns sight away: "I didn't really feel like it, but… I guess I…" -- waves hand and looks at the officer up down for a moment -- "Nevermind. How are you doing?"

Officer #1: "I'm perfectly fine." -- he pulls a face at his own state -- "The force was so kind to delay my [retirement] just long enough so that I could attend the ceremony in official capacity, you know?"

Silent sighs, a moment that Dintel takes advantage of to escape his Trainer's clutch and climb to his head.

Silent -absent-mindedly: "That's nice of them, I guess..."

Sol fixates her eyes on Silent for a moment, internally noticing how his thoughts are about to drift away towards a flashback again. Having a feeling that the moment is inopportune she leans in…

Some years ago, in Ho-

Silent: "...Oh?"

Back in the present

Silent notices Sol is gently rubbing herself against him. He pets her on the head then returns his attention to the officer before him, and notices the rest of the people are already walking past them.

Officer #1: "…well-behaved.  I remember this guy who has an Espeon as well. And an Umbreon. But they were more of a fighting kind..." -- smiles at Sol.

Sol the Espeon♀ -to Ichtacya: <Shame you are not an Umbreon~> -- and shows her tongue out.

Ichtacya the Leafeon♀: <…At this point I'd settle for being a Jolteon...> -- sighs.

Silent -nods: "Well, Sol here is more of a bookworm herself."

The officer blinks and stays in silence for a moment, then walks just a bit closer, as another officer appears and remains a short distance from them.

Officer #1: "And here we have the little Sandshrew..." -- gently raises an arm to reach for Dintel.

The Sandshrew just stays there, looking down at the officer and awaiting without response. Then when the officer's hand reaches for Dintel's hindleg and gently hugs it, he lets go a content growl and rocks back and forth.

Dintel the Sandshrew♂: <I liked to see you again.>

Officer #1 -only hears a growl: "There, little pal. I really should say thank you for saving me and my partner... I didn't expect that a Sandshrew could move that much weight..."

Silent -smiles: "He has his share of stout strength, yes... and is a very reliable Pokémon."

Officer #1 -pets Dintel's chest on the Pokémon's request: "Yeah. Was fun to see those peons being so glad that he pulled them out."

Silent thinks back for a moment to the storage house on fire, where after a moment of complaining at Silent's requests, Dintel went into a nearby room and pulled a stack of four people out of the building, while Silent reached for Ichtacya to recall her. Seeing as the Sandshrew seemed to be having a good time, Silent made a mental note to be more thankful to him later - despite his earlier failure.

Dintel: <Picking people up is silly... they don't stop yelling...> -- looks down at the officer -- <When I can has see friend Vibrava?>

And Silent adds another mental note to go to the station and ask around for the Vibrava later.

Silent: "Ah, that reminds me... have those peons said anything?"

Officer #1: "Well, not much while I was there. And since I left..." -- retreats from petting Dintel and moves back -- "Uhm… I'm sorry that you lost your Pokémon, sir."

Sol's ears perk up and she looks at Silent, ready to nuzzle, but refrains from it when she sees that Silent's eyes do not reflect the anger and shame that he felt the first few days after the fateful encounter. Instead she focuses on the groups of people walking past them.

Silent: "I'm…" -- he looks up at Dintel rocking back and forth -- "It's fine. I am... we are going to get him back... I hope..."

Officer #1: "I really hope so, sir. Well... thanks again, little Sandshrew..."

And the officer salutes in capacity for probably the last time. Then he turns around and meets his partner in the force who assists him to move back to a group of parked cars nearby.

Silent looks up to Dintel then calls to the officers again.

"Hey... I was wondering if my Sandshrew can go visit your Vibrava sometime?"

Officer #A -turns around: "Police mons are busy, but if he is not... I don't see why not. Thanks and bye, sir."

And the two officers walk away with the rest of the group.

Silent remains there for a moment thinking of what to do, until Sol pulls him out of recursive planning with a well-timed purr. After that Silent mentions something about a lot of work to do and he walks away as well, accompanied by Sol and Ichtacya.

All that remains behind in the part is the orator from before, talking to an interviewer on camera.

«…and with this gesture we hope to leave a clear sign to the people to come. I know that most people around see Orre as a kind of hellhole like Angela, or perhaps even worse. We are working on it and we hope that eventually this will become a lush and tranquil place. But we can not let future generations forget the pain and the struggle that it costs to achieve a happy life, and that is why the Municipality today has decided to bury these [Time Capsules] with archives of recent Orre history and pictures of all of our officers engaged in making of this a better place to live.»

Very close to Resources HQ

Silent and team arrive in their Totally Not a Hyundai Eggcar™, and they look around.

"Apparently the others also got the memo..."

-Dintel and Ichtacya go around-

Ichtacya -notices Ammy: <...Oh, hey~> -- waves her leaf.

Sol: <...I'll go ask around if anymon has heard about Maekrite.> -- and darts away towards any random poster.

Silent meanwhile checks the most recent messages.

-hears Sparkers and looks very disgusted-

"...Way to kill any surprise element. Not to mention that's totally not the public image we need."

(Reflect)

Sol applauds at Alduin blowing a hole in the HQ walls; so does Dintel who is just sitting nearby.

Ichtacya -to Ammy: <...Well... Every stole Maekrite some time ago...>

-Sol notices something-

Sol: <...Oh! Good! Tagg just arrived!> -- waves a hi.

-Silent packs some of his things-

"Okay, Sol, Ichtacya, you stay close to the hole and make sure everyone can get in SAFELY. Dintel?" -- calls the Sandshrew -- "You take care of us."

-turns to Dune-

"Good luck."

-Meanwhile Sol runs to the wall and casts a [Light Screen] on the mons of the [next three] posters to go through the wall.-

Dintel goes away while Ammy's team and Dune's team engage Odin.

"Ichtacya, Sol, stand ready in case anything evil happens."

Sol -frowns: <...I could just boost->

"No, let's not intervene yet... it's better if they're the ones to break the rules first. Gives an excuse for us to punch them.>

Ichtacya -growls: <...Okay, I can take that.>

While Selene supports Cambria's attack, Sol stands besides Dune to keep guard against any human-targetting attacks. Meanwhile, Silent produces his lappy and pays attention to some of the movements of the rest of the group.