Chapter 22 – Pewter City

The remaining drive to Pewter City was a quiet, somber affair. Lara and I were still mentally working through the events of yesterday and the bombshell that was dropped. We decided to not talk about it and think about it individually for a bit more before we come to any decisions on what we want to do. Life goes on, and so must we. We will have the chance to meet with Jessica again in the future, I am sure. In the meantime, we have a gym to beat and Lara has a new Pokemon to get from the Fossil lab.

We pass lots of sights and Pokemon on the drive, and I do my best to point out cool or interesting things. Lara smiles and makes small comments, but it is obvious she is not feeling it, so I eventually quiet down and put on some PoFi Hip Hop beats as we drive down the highway. They always calm me down when I am stressed. 

That night is spent at another rest stop. I set up the cabin and Lara retires to sleep for the night claiming a bad headache after taking care of her Pokemon. It has been a few days since we have trained, so I take the time to put the Pokemon through the wringer. Speed, endurance, move practices, team formations, and everything. Lara has her way of keeping her mind off troubling things, I have mine. 

Pyra & Grace are truly beasts and they display their talents as we go, instructing and showing the newer Pokemon the ropes. After 2 hours of training, we pack it up for the night. I take a quick shower and pull the still awake and crying Lara into my arms as we pass another restless night.

The next morning we hit the road again and Lara seems to be in a much better mood. We continue to make good time and arrive at the entrance gate to Pewter City shortly before 11 am. I park the car and grab our bags from the back as the gang all gets out and takes a look around. I store the car and walk over to Lara to hand her her backpack. 

Pyra and Grace stay out, but the rest of our little family head into their Pokeballs as we enter the city and flash our Trainer IDs to the gate guards. We make our way to our hotel first to check-in and get the room situated. We will be staying for a week and our Gym battle is tomorrow afternoon. After we get settled, we make some confirmation calls to Rhonda and the League Representatives. I sign Lara and me up for the 3-day Aviation Licence course 3 days from now and we head out to grab some lunch with the gang before heading to the fossil lab.

---

"Are you excited?" I goad Lara after lunch.

"Yes! We are adding a new member to our family, and I will have a flying type! We can head home next week...I could use some time with Mom and Dad...I miss them terribly."

"Of course babe, but remember you have another meet and greet on Saturday."

"Urg...Can I call out sick?" She says with a pout.

I boop her nose and answer, "Nope."

"Brute! Slave Driver! Menace!" She yells dramatically with fake tears in her eyes.

"Cry me a river," I say with a smirk as we reach the fossil lab entrance. 

Pyra and Grace roll their eyes at our antics but follow at our heels anyway.

We enter the facility and see a young man with long black hair tied into a ponytail wearing glasses and a white lab coat. He sits behind a long steel desk reading from a magazine. The entrance room is bare and sterile. Sparkling white tiles reflect our visage and steel furniture as well as a small steel coffee table sit on the right side of the room next to a large window. The desk is to the left and is attached to a steel wall that blocks the way forward. Two large solid steel sliding doors show the entrance further into the facility.

"*Ahem* Good afternoon. Please return your Pokemon to their Pokeballs. We do not allow Pokemon to roam free in this lab. It tends to...agitate the residents." The man behind the desk says as he notices us entering. Lara and I return Pyra and Grace to their Pokeballs and move up to the desk. 

"My name is Fredrick, how may I be of assistance to you? Are you here for a tour perhaps?" Fredrick says, adjusting his wide-rimmed glasses. 

"Ah, Yes. My name is Lara Ketchum and I am here to pick up an Aerodactyl I ordered?" Lara says and finishes with a question in her inflection. 

The man's eyes narrow as he looks at her. "You...ordered one?"

"Yes?" Lara asks, shuffling her feet anxiously. I grab her hand below the desk to show my support and she nods and smiles back at me.

"*Sigh* Rich kids..." Fredrick sighs and starts typing something into the computer. We wait at the desk awkwardly as the seconds drag on. The only sound, his typing. 

Finally, when I was about to speak up about how rude he was being, he looks up again. "I found the...order. Sit over there and a lab representative will be with you shortly." He finishes with a wave of his hands towards the uncomfortable-looking seating on the other side of the room. 

"Is there a problem?" I ask, feeling my temper rising at his attitude.

"Yes." He says plainly matching my gaze and not backing down in the slightest. "These Pokemon are valuable research resources. Why the higher-ups would allow them to be sold is beyond me. But that is not my decision to make. Now, I am very busy, please, sit and wait quietly over there."

I bite back my sharp response at Lara's look. We walk over and take a seat on the cold, uncomfortable chairs...and wait. And wait. 30 minutes turn into an hour. I try and ask how much longer, but am completely ignored. I am just about to tell this ass hat behind the counter to call his fucking manager when the doors slide open and in runs a middle-aged skinny balding man with in an identical lab coat to the man behind the counter. He sees us and slides to a stop on the tiles.

"I am so sorry for the wait, Miss. Ketchum, Mr. Cambridge. Please, if you would head through the doors over there I will be with you in just a moment." He says with a bow and a stiff smile. We get up and walk through the door, irritated at the whole situation, and as we do the balding man spins on the receptionist. 

"What is the meaning of this, Fredrick." He hisses in a whisper that we can clearly hear.

"Don't know what you are talking about, Jason. I put it through the proper channels and followed procedure to a T. It is not my fault if it took you an hour to see the request." Fredrick sneers at the older researcher, not lowering his voice in the least.

"I will discuss this with your superior. This is completely unacceptable." Jason says darkly.

"You do that," Fredrick says with an uncaring wave of his hands in dismissal.

Jason turns and walks through the doors where we are waiting, his face red with suppressed anger. His fist slams into a button by the door, closing it. He lets out a deep sigh and looks up to us with an awkward smile and says, "Sorry again. I would have been here earlier if I was informed..."

"What was that about?" Lara asks with a raised eyebrow. 

"Politics, Miss Ketchum. Arceus awful politics..." He spits the word like it is poison.

"What do you mean? He just seemed like an asshole to me." I say plainly.

"Ha!" Jason barks a laugh and a genuine smile covers his face. The laugh lines on the corner of his eyes are very prominent, so I imagine this is more of his natural disposition. "I'm afraid I cannot agree with you due to company policy. But that is the only thing stopping me, Mr. Cambridge. Fredrick is part of a certain group with...dangerous ideas."

"What kind of ideas?" Lara asks.

"Not here, we can discuss this more in my office," Jason says, looking around quickly. We follow him for a few minutes until we arrive at a large research office. An enormous wooden desk sits in the center of the room with a computer and various other equipment surrounded by filled bookshelves and a giant window directly behind it. Across from the desk are two comfortable-looking wingbacked chairs. Jason gestures to the chairs and we take a seat. He settles himself down in his leather office chair and sighs again before leaning in and linking his fingers together.

"The group is fittingly called Humanity First. They have gained popularity in the scientific world in the last few years due to a number of World Trainers backing them. Bribed or threatened, more like it. Anyway, they believe in the capture, testing, and forced use of Pokemon to further humanity's goals."

"That's horrible! How is such a person be employed here!?" Lara shouts in outrage.

"Indeed it is, Miss Ketchum. Unfortunately, some of the world's top researchers are members of this organization. Their power is not something to scoff at. The organization's ideals have spread like a disease through the scientific community and corrupted the minds of many young researchers. Some have even forsworn owning Pokemon, despite the laws requiring one, and have donated them for testing instead. Fredrick is one of these such brainwashed youths. It is despicable, but they are also backed by large corporations and companies. Lots of money is being invested for recruitment and it is all being done quietly to stay under the Leagues radar."

"This sounds crazy? How can the league not know about this? How can the Rangers permit this-" Lara starts, but I interrupt her with a hand on her shoulder. I feel like I have a more pressing question. My hackles have been raised since we arrived here and nothing about this feels right.

"Why are you telling us this?" I say harshly. One hand calmly on the table, the other on Pyra's Pokeball.

Jayson smiles again and nods to me. "Because you are two of the few people I can talk about this with." He then reaches under his desk and pulls something from his pocket before sliding it on the desk in front of us. A black card with the Pokemon League symbol on it.

"Black Security Clearance...but that means...who are you? Who are you really?" I demand, standing a looming over him.

"Sit, Finn," Jason says with a wave of his hand, "I swear to Arceus I have no intention to harm you. The opposite in fact. I am the one who pushed your little idea through all the red tape. And, may I just say, what a brilliant idea it was. Creating a reserve to save rare Pokemon from extinction! Marvelous. Truly."

Lara and I look at each other then back at him, completely dumbfounded by the situation. 

"Don't worry, this room is safe. I have had it secured by the very best of the League's counter-intelligence department...Ah, but where are my manners." He stands and gives us a bow, "My real name is David Blaine. You are probably familiar with my father, the fire gym leader of Kanto."

"You're...Blaine's son?" Lara asks with wide-eyed amazement. 

"Last I checked," he says with a laugh, "But come, we have much to discuss. First and foremost, please do not tell anyone I am here or that you spoke with me. My cover is Jayson Hoodlin, a failing fossil researcher and I have been stationed here for the last three months specifically for this meeting with you. After that, I will be moving on for another undercover assignment in Galar. Finn, you have not been officially briefed on the mission parameters. The league chose to hold off this briefing to protect you, Lara, and Professor Oak, and your families from suspicion. I won't sugar coat this, the situation is much worse than it appears on the surface."

My mind is completely blown. He has been here for three months...just to meet us? What if we didn't come? What if Lara didn't decide on buying an Aerodactyl? 

"How did you know we would come here?" Lara asks the question I was thinking.

"Even if you were not here to purchase an Aerodactyl, we were reasonably certain you would have at least visited for a tour. This is one of the reasons we had you confirm the route you wished to take. The gym battles are good for publicity, but our true goal was to make sure our agents were close at hand if you need us. You decided on this city long ago, and only the last gym was up in the air. We were able to make arrangements based on that. If you had not purchased an Aerodactyl, I would have just called you here for some silly reason or another....speaking of which." David pulls an Ultraball out from the desk and passes it over to Lara. "I am very happy you are taking her, Lara. I wish to save as many Pokemon as I can from these monsters. I have personally seen to her safety and care while I have been here and I think she will be an excellent member of your team."

"Can...Can I open the ball and say hello?" Lara asks timidly.

"Ha! Of course! She is a bundle of energy and loves to cuddle. Be prepared to be covered in her wings. Just release her at the other end of the room. There should be more than enough space for her in here." David says with a fatherly smile.

Lara nods and presses the button on the ball. With a flash of red light, out pops a 5 foot tall, 11-foot wingspan Aerodactyl. She looks at Lara and me sheepishly, but spots David and squeaks a "Dactyl!" before flapping her wings and flying quickly towards the desk. 

Faster than I would have imagined the older man capable, David vaults over his desk and catches the Pokemon as it slams into him. He lets out a light, "Oof." Before laughing and petting the ancient Pokemon's head crest. 

"Howdy girl, I am glad you missed me, but I am here to introduce you to the trainer I told you about," David says with a smile at the big bird. 

"Aero?" The Aerodactyl says and tilts its head cutely before turning its large eyes to look at Lara and me. Lara holds out her hand with the Pokeball in it and smiles beautifully at the Pokemon. 

"Hi! Oh my Arceus! You are so pretty! My name is Lara and this big brute next to me is Finn. I am really excited to get to know you. Would you like to join our family?"

"Aero! Aerodactyl!" She says and hops her way over to Lara before engulfing her in the large wings. 

My fiance is completely covered and it looks like I am staring at a cocoon made of bat wings rather than a Pokemon and her trainer. I hear Lara's laugh from inside as well as some soft cooing from the Pokemon.

"It seems she likes you just fine. That's wonderful!" David says with a small laugh and a smile. 

"I'm going to call you Rebecca!" The muffled voice of Lara says with a giggle. "Do you like that name, Rebecca?" Another set of happy chirps greet this declaration. I facepalm. 

"Any reason on the name, love?" I ask my silly fiancé. 

Lara's head pops out from under a wing, her hair mussed, followed by the happy, smiling face of the Aerodactyl. "Because she totally looks like a Rebecca, duh!" She says and nods seriously. To add finality to the statement, the Aerodactyl, no, I guess Rebecca would be correct now, closes its eyes and also nods seriously.

"Well then, welcome to the family Rebecca. My name is Finn. I am Lara's fiancé. We have a ton of other family members for you to meet, but you will have to wait until we leave the lab for that." I say and hold out my hand for her to smell.

Lara whispers something in Rebecca's earholes with a smirk and the Pokemon snaps its head towards me. 

'Uh oh.'

Her wings spread as she hops out of the way of Lara as she flaps them once, twice, three times, then flies straight into me with a shout of "Dactyl!"

I brace myself with one leg back and open my arms to accept the giant ancient Pokemon. And, holy shit, she is fuckin fast! Despite this, the collision is much less than what I expected. She must have flapped her wings in a counter-motion before she hit me, holding back as to not hurt me. I am engulfed in warm leathery wings and a giant head nuzzles into my neck. 

'Loves to cuddle indeed!'

I pet her and laugh at the giant Pokemon.

"Pyra is going to love you." I say with a smile, "She is my Charizard and she just learned how to fly. I bet she will be thrilled to have someone to race with!"

"Aero!" Rebecca coos and nuzzles me a few more times before hopping back over to Lara. 

David laughs again and claps. "Alright, you can get to know each other better later. We have some serious things we must discuss for now. Rebecca, I am glad you found a loving family."

Rebecca hops over to David one last time to nuzzle him, before turning and nodding at Lara, who clicks the button on the Ultraball and returns her to it. We return to our seats and we all take a second to fix our messed up hair.

"Now, first things first. This is for you two."

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out two red cards that have matching logos to his black one. "Can't have you just telling people you have Red Level Clearance without proof, can we?"

We both take our cards and see our names monogrammed in gold at the bottom. Other than that and the Pokemon League Symbol the cards are blank. 

David leans forward again and takes on a much more serious air. "Now. It is time for us to discuss the three greatest threats to the league, your mission, and our very way of life. Finn, Lara, our world is on the verge of war."