The local law enforcement caught up to us just about fifteen minutes later. I had expected them to arrive earlier since it's hard to miss a commotion on such a large scale. I fully understand that they have a job to do, so I intended to cooperate and was expecting to just give my testimony and then be on my merry way.
Now, I'm just getting incredibly annoyed.
"And I'm telling you for the fifth time, you are catching the wrong person. I'm the victim here."
My impression of the Unova police was that they just wanted to pin the blame on somebody and call it a day and since they weren't able to catch the perpetrator, they tried to shift the blame towards me. It's getting very late into the night. I had tried to be cooperative but they just snubbed the goodwill that I'm showing them in my face and I really don't have the patience for this. I even tried getting this to be over and done with by revealing my identity as an interpol agent working for the PWL but they just ignored it.
So, I simply tried calling for Vance's number through my x-transceiver since the communication jamming is now gone. However, I was interrupted by the police officer doing the interrogation even before I could do a single thing. Oh how I miss Sebastian, but sadly he was led away to a separate room when the police stated that they wanted to take our testimony. Maybe they are underestimating me because of my age, but it's just me alone with this annoying officer in the interrogation room now.
"Excuse me, miss, but we are in the middle of an interrogation here."
"Excuse me, Mr Officer, but my brother would be worried that I am not yet home at this time, I have the right to be allowed to at least make a call and tell him that I'm alright."
"Now look here-"
"No, you look here," I slammed my hand on the metal table as darkness burst out of my shadows, my patience now fully and utterly spent. Wacky emerged and pinned the annoying officer against the wall, and a part of me felt some sort of vindictive pleasure in seeing him shiver at the mercy of a pissed off ghost. "You will let me make the call, or I will let you let me make the call. Are we in agreement?"
"Y-You can't j-just-"
"I can," I snapped back as Wacky's disturbing long tongue started to slowly lick the side of the officer's face, causing him to tremble uncontrollably. I paid him no mind, however, as I was too tired and frustrated to care but I did take a pause when I was about to dial Vance's number.
Come to think about it, dialling her number instead would probably get me out of this mess a lot quicker.
"Alright, I have spoken to them. You can go now."
"You are a lifesaver," I thanked Elesa as we walked out of the police station together. As I had thought, getting the local Gym Leader to bail me out is the fastest ticket out of my predicament.
"I just want to get back to my beauty sleep," Elesa yawned with a hand over her mouth. "And it's not exactly a secret that half of the police force is made up of inept fools. Those kinds you see there? They hate dealing with trouble, and will do what they can to push the blame to someone else so that they can wrap up the case as soon as possible. I'm not saying that there aren't any who are worthy to wear that uniform because there are, but most of those you see manning the front desks? Those are just slackers who want nothing more than a steady nine to five job."
"Is it really okay to have your law enforcement like this?" I asked, knowing very well that this is not how Hoenn's LSDF works since I had been one myself, even if it was only just for a short while.
"I am supposed to work with the police as a Gym Leader, but I don't have any authority when it comes to how they run things," Elesa shrugged, conveying the what-can-I-do meaning perfectly. "Anyway, do you need a lift? I might as well drop you and your butler off since it's on the way."
I looked at Sebastian, who merely nodded his head in agreement.
"That will be nice."
"Alright, follow me. You might as well tell me all about your meeting with Leticia while we are at it."
I wasted no time heading back up to my room after Elesa dropped us off with her fancy luxurious sports car. I'm dying to get myself a shower as soon as possible and change out of this dress. It's torn in several places thanks to me trying to run for my life earlier and I'm not sure if it can ever be repaired, but that is not my foremost concern.
"Yes, I'm fine," I repeated back those same words to Vance for what seems to be the umpteenth time while trying to dry my hair with the hairdryer. He had come knocking on my door when I was almost done with my shower, no doubt Sebastian had already briefed him on what had happened earlier.
"I should have tagged along."
"You couldn't have foreseen that, we don't even know who wanted me dead."
"And that's the problem. We've only been here for a week or two, who could we have possibly offended?"
"Maybe it's just our status as Veras. We draw attention just by being us," I suggested, "but I just confirmed with my ghosts through Rena that we had tagged the attacker. The next time we see him or her, we will know."
"Tag?"
"A little trick Agatha taught me, something that can only be done if a trainer has command over a certain number of ghosts. It does have its limitations, but it works well under certain circumstances. Basically, what I've done is to instruct one of the ghosts to seek out the attacker while we were on the run and sneak into their shadow. That ghost will hide itself there, and when the attacker is in our vicinity once more, the ghost will alert us and we will know that the attacker is nearby."
"Is it… reliable? For all we know we may never bump into that bastard again."
"They are out for our heads and they failed on their first attempt, it's likely that there will be a second attempt."
"I mean, having a ghost to hide in the shadow part."
"Ghosts are patient creatures, brother dear, especially when it comes to taking their sweet revenge. Ghosts are immortal, and when you have an immortal body you can afford to waste a lot of time, which they don't mind doing if it means getting to see something interesting. The only drawback is that communication between the ghost I sent and those still with me is impossible until we are within a certain radius of each other, but since I'm certain that there will be a round two with our attacker, meeting them again is only just a matter of time."
"Where did my cute and innocent baby sister go? Who are you and what did you do to her?"
"Quit being dramatic," I sighed. "Is there anything else? Cos I'm really tired and want nothing but to knock myself out. Can I leave it to you to tell Dad and Mum that I have struck a verbal agreement with Leticia to deal business with her family instead? She will be contacting our company directly, so get our compliance and finance team prepared. She will also be looking to rope in a few other Unova breeding farms to work with us so it is probably going to be a joint venture or sorts. In any case, working with Brilliance Group is a no go, not with how the way they do things goes against our family's teachings."
"Alright, leave it to me, you go catch some sleep," Vance's big hand ruffled my hair and since I am too tired to do anything else or resist, I settled for giving him the death glare which did absolutely nothing.
"Stop, touching, my, hair."
That irritating brother of mine knows how much touching my hair without my permission irritates me and he knows it.
I was about to lie down on my bed and go straight to sleep after shooing Vance out of my room when I decided to first walk over to my dressing table, rummage through the top drawer, and dig out the bottle of sleeping pills that I haven't been relying on for a long time. I have a feeling that I might need it, tonight's close brush with death still made me shudder when I remembered just how close that car managed to crash into us and killed me if it wasn't for Dolly. I had chosen to forget many things from my past life in order to live my new life as Velda Vera, but dying from a car crash in my past life is not something that I can easily forget.
It really was too close for comfort.
I popped a pill into my mouth despite Rena's disapproving frown. I know she has my best interests at heart, but I'm really just too tired and just not ready to face my inner demons at this moment.
"Scold me all you want tomorrow, just let me sleep first," I murmured as I lay on the bed and pulled the covers over myself. Rena jumped and curled herself up beside me, nuzzling her face close to mine. Not a single word was exchanged, but that is all the support I need.
It was a dreamless night.
"It's rare for you to sleep in," Vance commented the moment I made my appearance in the common area where we usually have our breakfast late next morning. I simply shrugged my shoulders in response.
"Had to use sleeping pills."
That comment made Vance's eyebrows raise a little higher. I can hear his silent question of "Are you alright?" but a slight shake of my head reassured him that it is nothing for him to concern himself about. Ever since my experience at Lilycove Vance had learnt when to not push for an answer, and I am grateful that he had caught the hint and changed the topic of conversation.
"I had already fed your pokemon, other than the ones who were in your room," he said as I took out the huge jar of pokemon food from the kitchen. These are specially made by us for our pokemon and according to what they had feedback to us, is a lot more delicious than the commonly bought factory-processed variant.
"Thanks," I replied as I filled up the bowls of the pokemon who usually slept in my room to keep me company.
"Sleeping pills? What happened?"
It was then I realised that we were not alone. Mary and Akamu are also having their breakfast with us and I could also see them trying to feed baby Silver.
"Had a rough night," I gave a vague answer to Mary's question before deciding that I shouldn't just dismiss her like that when all she did was to show concern. "I sometimes have to rely on those ever since the Lilycove Invasion."
"Ah," Mary seemingly understood the words I had left unsaid. "Still, try not to rely on those too much. It's not healthy, I'm speaking from experience."
"I will keep that in mind. Thanks," I replied with a small smile and took my seat beside Vance, who had helpfully passed over some toast and a cup of warm milk. Breakfast was a lot more silent as we focused on eating our meals.
"Looker will be calling for a meeting later," Akamu spoke up, catching my attention.
"You are staying to help?" I asked, surprised that the couple are actually going for an interpol meeting.
"There had been some... changes to the circumstances," Akamu explained. "In any case, Mary and I will be staying in Unova for quite a while, so we might as well help Looker while we are at it. We owe him a favour for helping us leave Indigo as soon as we did."
"As long as you know what you are getting involved in, I guess?" I replied, knowing that the couple has a better understanding of Looker than I do. If they think it is worth staying to help, then I'm not in a position to say otherwise.
"So anything you want to do until the meeting?" Vance asked in between mouthfuls of food. I took a few moments to think about it before giving my answer.
"Try to see if I can put what I learnt into practice? Mainly focusing on trying to achieve "teamwork" for my dark types, whatever that really means, and helping Dolly with Shadow Sneak and see if we can unlock a new skill or two. I'm starting to think that I might need to revisit a few other ghost type moves and see if we can create anything special from it."
In regards to dark types, I'm starting to give up trying altogether at this point. Everything is just so vague about "teamwork" and "cheating". Sidney told me it's all about the mindset and that if I cannot understand it, then it's best if I abandon it entirely. I don't think I have reached the point of abandoning any further attempts to learn more about dark types, but I am probably close to doing so.
It's just so frustrating.
"And if time permits, walk around and explore the city," I added, remembering that my first and foremost concern is to fulfil my dream of travelling the world and that my job as an interpol agent is merely secondary. I should visit Elesa's gym someday and see for myself what her legendary catwalks are like.
"You free tonight?" I turned to ask my brother, who simply nodded his head and sent me a silent look to ask me about why I'm asking him that question in the first place.
"Elesa's famous walks, the one she does on the catwalk in her gym, it's one of the main attractions in Nimbasa. Don't you just want to see for yourself what it really is like?"
"I have a feeling that Flannery will put me into a steamer if she knows about it."
"Just say that I am the one who wanted to watch it and that you are accompanying me out of concern for my safety. Last night, remember?"
"You won't sell me out, right?"
"Why would I? I'm your dear little sister."
"That's exactly why I'm worried, sister dear."
I had nothing to do after the meeting, so Vance and I decided to visit the Nimbasa City Gym as per what we had discussed earlier that morning. As I soon learnt, the way Elesa conducted her gym challenges are a little different from what I was familiar with the ones I had experienced in Hoenn.
For Elesa's gym challenge, the challenger will have to first defeat four of her gym trainers consecutively in one sitting. After that, the challenger will then be granted the right to challenge Elesa. However, the challenger will not be able to battle her right away. Elesa is an extremely busy woman, so scheduling the battles of every single challenger who had earned the right to face her for her Bolt Badge to accommodate her own busy schedule is necessary. These battles usually take place in the evening and usually, her gym trainers will try to cram as many of these battles into a single night for Elesa's convenience.
The Nimbasa Gym consists of two different buildings for that very purpose. One of those is where the challengers get to challenge four different gym trainers to earn their right to challenge for the Bolt Badge. The other building is where those who succeeded in the first part of her challenge gets to challenge Elesa herself, right under the eyes of everyone who will be watching the battle play out. That building is where Elesa does her legendary walk that the whole of Unova is crazy for and if I do say so, people from other regions as well where she is also as popular.
The building where Elesa holds these battles has a big stage and also a long catwalk to allow Elesa to strut her stuff. The spectators will be spectating from below. Elesa does not require anyone to pay any entrance fee for spectating these battles and so anyone from the public can come in at any time to view those battles when it is being held. From what I know, whenever Elesa is here to battle her challengers it is almost always full house in this building. Spectating Elesa doing her walks and battling her challengers is one of the main attractions for tourists and also a favourite sport for the locals.
So that is where Vance and I are now at. We turned up at the gym at an earlier time to beat the crowd, find ourselves a good spot, and waited until everything began. It was then I realised just how crazy Unovans are over their supermodel and Gym Leader. You wouldn't believe how loud the cheers and screams were the moment Elesa made her appearance in her signature yellow and black getup. The way she walked along the catwalk was so good that hoots and whistles could be heard loud and clear and not just from perverted men too, even the ladies were doing it just as enthusiastically.
That also includes that brother of mine, who had truly been converted into an Elesa fan the moment she did her famous walk.
"What did someone mention in the morning? Something about… not wanting to be put into a steamer?"
"It's Elesa, Vel! ELESA! WHOOOO!" Vance let out a loud cheer as well when the crowd started cheering once more. Somehow or another, he managed to find himself a board with a picture of Elesa printed on it, waving it frantically in the air like how many of her devout fans are currently doing, screaming their lungs out for their favourite idol.
"Here, take it!" The person sitting beside me on the other side very generously passed over to me one of those boards as she too, began to wave her own board just as crazy as everyone else around us are doing. I took a look at the board in my hand, before deciding to just half-heartedly wave it in the air like everyone else so as not to appear as the odd one out. Gotta bask in the mood and all that to relieve the true Unovan experience. When in Unova, do what the Unovans do, yeah?
"ELESA! ELESA! ELESA!"
The crowd began to chant in unison when Elesa took her spot on the stage, beckoning for the first challenger of the night to release his pokemon. Elesa's gym is the fourth in the Unova circuit, so the battles we will be witnessing are Intermediate level ones. She does get Elite level challenges from time to time, but those are much rarer because nobody really wants to go up against a Gym Leader at their full power. It's near impossible to beat someone who is acknowledged by the League as one of their thirteen strongest trainers in the region.
Of course, similar to my experiences in participating in Hoenn's gym circuit, the pokemon Elesa uses at this current level to battle her challengers are also not from her main team. Still, that does not hinder her at all because watching how she commanded her pokemon is like watching a masterful piece of art. Even I learned a thing or two just by watching her.
"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" I asked softly, knowing that Dolly could hear me from where she was currently hiding in my shadow. She's one of the earliest pokemon to join my team and had been with me since the Dewford Gym challenge. Looking back, we have already been through so much. I can still remember when Dolly was a small little adorable shuppet and how we first met when she pulled that prank on me in the pokemon centre.
The challenger lost in no time at all. Elesa's gym challenge is known by many to be one of the hardest for its recommended skill level alongside Clay's. Drayden's was said to be equally notorious as well, but that is to be expected from the final gym in the circuit. This is so different from my very own experiences because in Hoenn, gym challenges are very rarely a public affair. Usually, these battles are private and only the challenger, Gym Leader, and gym trainers will be involved and spectate the battles.
A crowd as huge as this spectating the challenges I had been through? Never experienced it before until I competed in the Ever Grande League. There was never an audience for my challenges until then; that's just how different Unova and Hoenn conduct their gym circuit.
Elesa judged that the challenger was worthy enough to receive her Bolt Badge, and the crowd cheered wildly once more when she presented her badge to the challenger.
There were quite a few other challengers that stepped up after that. Somehow or another, I soon found myself gradually cheering alongside the crowd whenever they started to cheer as well. The atmosphere here was just that infectious. Some of the battles were subpar and not every challenger was rewarded with a badge, but there were a few battles that were extremely exciting to watch for an Intermediate level challenge. They were so close in defeating Elesa.
Was this how the Gym Leaders felt when they watched my battles when I was going about challenging the Hoenn circuit? I think I can start to understand the excitement they felt.
"You are going to get a sore throat tomorrow morning," I helpfully reminded my older brother who had not stopped cheering at the top of his lungs the moment this started.
"But she did another walk, Vel! LOOK! ELESA! ELESA! ELESA!"
Just what kind of charm did Elesa subject my older brother to? She converted him to be her diehard number one fan in just a single night and she wasn't even trying.
"Look, if you really want to get up close to her that badly, why not try completing her gym challenge on the Elite level and battle her for real?"
"Are you serious? Have you ever seen how nasty those Thunder Waves are? And those pokemon are only of the Intermediate level, I don't want to imagine the kind of things the pokemon on her main team can do with Thunder Wave. Come on, Vel, it would be too cruel to subject my pokemon to such torture just to fulfil my selfish desires. Oh look, she's doing another walk! ELESA! ELESA! ELESA!"
I simply whispered to my trusty porygon-z hiding in my x-transceiver.
"Jarvis? You'd better be recording this."
Now, potentially another blackmail material was acquired. Wonder what kind of price Vance is willing to pay for to ensure that this video does not accidentally find its way to Flannery?
Oh dear, I'm so evil. Whatever sin did Vance commit in his previous life to get himself such an evil little sister?
"ELESA! ELESA! ELESA!"
He's still chanting her name. Probably will be for the rest of the night.
Character and pokemon list:
Velda Vera, Age: 13, Female, Pokemon Trainer, Member of the International Police
Pokemon on hand:
1) Rapidash (Flamel), male
2) Swampert (Bigblue), male
3) Banette (Dolly), female
4) Flygon (Snap), male
5) Absol (Kelsa), female
6) Charizard (Toothless), male
7) Cradily (Lily), female
8) Espeon (Rena), female
9) Pachirisu (Fuzzy), male
10) Tyranitar (Kratos), male
11) Clefairy (Joy), female
12) Nidoqueen (Ness), female
13) Pangoro (Hulk), male
14) Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless
15) Scizor (Archer), male
16) Lapras (Chill), female
17) Gengar (Wacky), male
66
The meeting that Looker wanted us interpol agents to attend that day was to brief us on our own individual assignments. The assignment Looker gave me was simple. I am to use my connections as a Vera to get myself acquainted with influential people, families, or organisations in order to find out more about Team Plasma and what they are up to.
That brings me to where I am now at Floccesy Town, a small town situated in the southwestern part of the Unova region. From what I heard it is also Champion Alder's hometown. Word has it that a long time ago, the town used to be a grassy meadow and was populated by people in search of pokemon. Eventually both humans and pokemon started living together right here and this was how Floccesy Town came to be.
The person I am going to meet is Myles Aguirre, the head of the Aguirre family who is part of Unova's Twenty Assisting Houses. Among the Twenty Assisting Houses, the Aguirre family has the closest working relationship to the Dandolos and has been supporting them ever since the end of the Culture Purge.
I've decided to meet the Aguirres for several reasons. One, Elesa and Leticia had recommended that getting to know the Aguirres will be a good place to start due to the close relationship between the Dandolos and Aguirre family. Secondly, the Aguirre family is one of the partners that Leticia had convinced to join in the partnership between my family and Leticia's. Thirdly, like my family, the Aguirres have been involved in the business of pokemon breeding for a long time and possess one of Unova's largest pokemon farms, which was one reason why Leticia felt that they are the most suitable candidate to be one of our business partners.
The place where the Aguirre family set up their farm is located north of Route 20 near where Floccesy Town is. That place is known as the Floccesy Ranch and to my knowledge, has a great track record for producing pokemon with exceptional pedigree for specialised fields, the most common ones being pokemon bred for battle, transport, or other utility uses that might be useful for other situations for whatever organisations might need pokemon for. While our family's farm does breed and produce pokemon with exceptional pedigree as well, the focus of our business has always been more of being able to provide a larger variety of species of pokemon for our buyers rather than the pokemon's pedigree itself.
"Really quiet and peaceful, isn't it?"
Flamel agreed with my statement with a soft snort as he slowly trotted along the roads of Floccesy Town. The size restrictions regarding the kind of pokemon allowed to roam within human settlements are not as strict in Floccesy, so Flamel is able to accompany me on my journey as I rode on his back, just like how I always did when we were on our journey in Hoenn.
Sure does bring back memories.
Floccesy Town reminds me a lot of Verdanturf Town in Hoenn, mainly because both towns have an abundance of flora and greenery. However, while Verdanturf is a town surrounded by flowers, Floccesy is situated within a vast meadow with huge trees growing around the town's perimeter. I guess Floccesy does look a little like Fortree City as well, but Fortree city is a city where huge trees like these are grown within the city itself and where its residents built their homes within them and is thus, fundamentally different.
Nothing can ever quite beat the unique sight of Fortree City, in my opinion. I had never seen or heard any other city quite like it.
We arrived at Floccesy Town much earlier than the agreed time with Myles Aguirre. This was done on purpose, so that I will have the chance to do my own sightseeing in this remote yet beautiful town. This town doesn't seem very much affected by whatever schemes the Plasmas are cooking up which again, is mainly attributed to its remote location.
"We should go and see the Old Clock Tower and the Pledge Grove. It shouldn't be too hard to spot the clock tower… Ah, there it is. Let's go, Flamel."
The clock tower of Floccesy is a must-see for any tourists who went out of their way to visit this remote location of Unova and I will admit, the Old Clock Tower is nothing special when I finally see it for myself. It's just a battered looking old clock tower with a light purple roof and a huge bell. In fact, it looks abandoned judging from how vines are growing around the base of it and the hands of the clock are missing. However, the clock tower has been here since the town's beginnings and is said to have witnessed the entire history of Floccesy Town. Despite the clock tower being in a state of disrepair, there is a unique charm to it as well.
"Maybe it's time for me to change my profile picture, and maybe we can take a team picture while we are at it too. The last one we had was the one we took as Sootopolis and our team had grown so much since then. Heh, Kratos was still a pupitar back then. Look at him now."
I decided to indulge in my own rare bouts of vanity and took several pictures of myself and the clock tower. It was a little hard to get the right angle but with Jarvis' help, I managed to snap a profile picture worthy shot of me riding on Flamel's back with the Old Clock Tower as the background. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to release so many pokemon within the town and especially not pokemon like charizard or tyranitar, who are well known for their destructive tendencies. Fortunately, the Pledge Grove that we are intending to visit does not have such restrictions. According to what I heard from a local, hardly anybody visits that place.
The Pledge Grove is located at the north of the town and is fairly easy to spot the route leading to it, a long stretch of grassy path that leads out of the town and it took a while to traverse even with Flamel galloping at an average pace. Nevertheless, we reached the grove, a small secluded area hidden by the tall lush trees around it. Right at the very end of the grove, a huge rock with three deep cuts carved into it can be seen. If the folktales passed down in Floccesy are to be believed, these cuts are left behind by the Unova's Swords of Justice, namely Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion, as a form of pledge. As to what the pledge is about, for whom and for what, nobody knows.
The perfect spot to take a team picture.
"Alright guys, arrange yourselves. Small ones at the front, bigger ones at the back- Kratos, you are no longer a small little pupitar, have some self-awareness and move yourself to the back. Fuzzy, stop flying around for a moment and find yourself a spot in the photo. Toothless, you join Kratos at the back too."
After rearranging ourselves so that we can all be seen in the photo, including the huge rock with three deep cuts as our backdrop, Jarvis levitated my camera to the appropriate height with Psychic and remotely activated the shutter, capturing this moment into a photograph and marking our trip to Unova. Even some of the ghosts that were usually hiding in my shadows had made an appearance to join in the photo as well.
"Good job, Jarvis. This looks good," I praised my porygon-z as it made a whirring sound in reply, sounding pleased at itself. Some of my pokemon crowded around me as well, curious to see how the photo turned out.
"Kratos, can you stop thinking of destroying things for a second? That rock belongs to Unova's Swords of Justice, they are Legendary Pokemon. So unless you want to get your ass whipped to oblivion, don't touch that rock."
Kratos let out a dissatisfied rumble for being disallowed to chew on the huge rock that is even bigger than him in size. Toothless and Snap are simply outright laughing at him for being scolded by me once more.
"You want a solo picture of yourself?" I asked Fuzzy when he squeaked very loudly to catch my attention from where he was standing on the top of the rock, waving with excited gestures and doing hilarious poses while he was at it. I don't see why I couldn't indulge him, so I took a few pictures of Fuzzy too.
My x-transceiver rang at that moment, so I picked up the call.
"Hello?"
"Vel! I saw it! Your new profile picture, gosh, it's so goooood! So pretty! Where are you right now?"
"Hi Liza. I'm at Unova, Floccesy Town. That tower you see in the background is their town's Old Clock Tower."
"Oh yes, that building is so profile pic worthy. I'm jealous now, Vel. I want to take pictures at places like that too but I have work! WORK! AHHHHH! I NEED MY VACATION!"
"If you were jealous about that, how about this?" I replied with an evil smirk as I turned on the video function and showed Liza the tranquil and picturesque view of the Pledge Grove.
"This is the Pledge Grove, a place where Unova's Swords of Justice was said to have once appeared. See that huge rock where my tyranitar is? The cuts carved on it were said to- KRATOS! I told you to stop trying to chew on that rock!"
"That rock belongs to Unova's legends?! But your tyranitar…"
"Sadly. Let's hope that they do not find out about us being the culprit," I sighed when I spotted the noticeable chew mark on the side of the huge rock that looked like something had taken a bite out of it. Ness and Rena are now reprimanding a not so repentant Kratos.
If the Swords of Justice are anywhere as powerful as Zapmolcuno… Nope, I don't want to think about it.
"Anyway, I think this place is a good place to take profile pics too. If the angle is just right…" I shifted myself and the camera's position, getting myself a good angle and showing Liza how I could possibly take another perfect profile pic worthy shot with that huge majestic looking rock and Liza started to scream in jealousy.
"I want to go there too! I WANT TO GO THERE TOO!"
"Too bad," I stuck my tongue out childishly and had Jarvis take another shot for me. Huh, this one looks even better than the one I took at the Clock Tower, maybe I should just use this photo as my new profile pic instead.
"You are evil, Vel. Evil! You were not like this before!"
"I just never had a chance to show you my dark side. By the way, where's Tate?"
"Eh, he's out doing Gym Leader things while I'm stuck in the gym entertaining challengers. The Gym Circuit season is going to end very soon so we suddenly have an influx of challengers who procrastinated for too long and only start trying to get our badge and Juan's to qualify for the upcoming League Tournament. Good luck to them though, cos this is the last week before the season officially ends. At least, nobody has managed to defeat all of my gym trainers today to reach me, so I can still relax a little. That said, hey, when are you coming back to Hoenn to rechallenge the circuit on the Elite level? We should have a rematch!"
"I'm not suicidal enough to face your main team in battle, thank you very much."
"It's just a friendly rematch, rematch!"
"More like a one-sided massacre on your part, and you said I am the evil one."
"I'm not the evil one. The evil one is you! You!"
"A pleasure doing business with you, Ms Vera."
"Likewise, Mr Aguirre."
After much negotiations and agreeing to the details of the contract, our deal was concluded with a handshake. Like this, the partnership between my family, the Dandolos, and the Aguirres is almost set in stone and what's left would be the official signing of the contract. There may be another party or two who might join us, but at this point it doesn't really matter if they do or not because just the Vera, Dandolos, and Aguirre families cooperating with each other will be enough to kickstart this project.
"Seeing you handling yourself so well at your age makes me think that maybe it's really time for old timers like me to step down," Myles Aguirre let out a hearty laugh once the deal was concluded as he began to show me the Floccesy Ranch. It's huge, but not on the scale of what my family had done in Hoenn. Nevertheless, it's still very impressive in terms of scale and size.
"You jest, Mr Aguirre. You still look young."
The portly middle-aged man let out another laugh as we both observed the pokemon roaming about the ranch in a private corner that Myles Aguirre had led me to, somewhere away from prying eyes and ears. While the business deal between our families has been concluded, the other reason why I'm here hasn't been addressed.
The moment Myles Aguirre was certain that whatever we will be saying next will not be overheard, he handed over a leaflet to me.
"I'm unable to verify the exact details but as far as my family can dig into it, Team Plasma will be involved in this upcoming event."
I took a closer look at the leaflet Myles Aguirre had passed over to me to scrutinise the details.
"An auction?"
"An underground auction," Myles Aguirre corrected. "The leaflet you see here, this is not something anybody can get their hands upon. This leaflet is an invitation to that auction, and is something only influential people with the right connections to the underworld will ever receive. As it happens, I do have these connections. What I overheard was that the featured item of this auction is what Team Plasma will be trying to get their hands on and it is rumoured to be something relating to Ability Holders. This is all I can find out."
"Something relating to Ability Holders? And Team Plasma is interested in it?" I wondered out loud as I tried to make the connection. "For them to express such a huge interest in it, whatever that item may be must be very valuable, or very dangerous. I wasn't aware that Team Plasma has a vested interest in Ability Holders, so are Ability Holders going to be their focus in the foreseeable future?"
"I'm afraid that's most likely the case," Myles Aguirre agreed with a nod of his head. "This auction will be held masquerade style, where all attending participants will be required to wear a mask to disguise their identities. It is a precaution undertaken by the auction house to ensure the confidentiality of the attending bidders in order to safeguard their reputation as the best underground auction house in the underworld. I believe that works in your favour, Ms Vera, as it would be detrimental to you if people were to know that the heiress of the Vera family were to make an appearance in an underground auction house as infamous as this. In any case, if you want to make further investigations into the Plasma problem, this auction should be the perfect chance to do so without drawing attention to yourself or the interpol."
"I understand. Thank you," I thanked Myles Aguirre with a smile, to which he waved it off with a smile and a casual wave of his hand,
"Don't think too much about it. I'm just playing my part as a member of the Assisting Houses to help protect Unova. Unfortunately, unlike the families that make up the Five Weapons, my family has neither influence nor power comparable to theirs in order to investigate this matter in greater detail. Information gathering is the only thing my family is capable of in fulfilling our duties to protect Unova. The timely arrival of the interpol is just what we need to put this gathered information to good use."
"We will not disappoint," I assured Myles Aguirre. I'm grateful for his help, because this is the first real lead the interpol managed to come across regarding the Plasma problem and if all goes well, we might be able to make some headway into getting rid of this fanatic cult. At the very least, right now, we have just managed to learn that Team Plasma has a vested interest in Ability Holders.
"I'm certain you won't, but do prioritise your own well-being above all else. Like I had reiterated before, this is an underground auction held in the black market. All sorts of people will be flocking to that place on that day. Walking into there will be like walking into a tank filled with sharpedos, you will never know who is going to be who's prey. Even if you have no wish to be a predator, at least ensure that you will not be anyone's prey before heading there."
An underground auction, the black market. Truthfully, I had never been to such places before but I guess paying those places a visit will be inevitable as long as I'm involved in this line of work. Myles is right, there is a need to exercise caution when heading there to conduct further investigations about Team Plasma.
"I will keep that in mind."
Character and pokemon list:
Velda Vera, Age: 13, Female, Pokemon Trainer, Member of the International Police
Pokemon on hand:
1) Rapidash (Flamel), male
2) Swampert (Bigblue), male
3) Banette (Dolly), female
4) Flygon (Snap), male
5) Absol (Kelsa), female
6) Charizard (Toothless), male
7) Cradily (Lily), female
8) Espeon (Rena), female
9) Pachirisu (Fuzzy), male
10) Tyranitar (Kratos), male
11) Clefairy (Joy), female
12) Nidoqueen (Ness), female
13) Pangoro (Hulk), male
14) Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless
15) Scizor (Archer), male
16) Lapras (Chill), female
17) Gengar (Wacky), male
67
Looker had agreed that the information Myles Aguirre provided to us is worth investigating into and in the end, I was the one sent for the job. We have no idea just what the featured item of this auction is but if it is indeed so valuable that even Team Plasma want to get their hands on it, then we might need to prepare for the outcome where we have to actually actively bid for that item to prevent it from falling into Team Plasma's hands. In that case, my family's wealth will be needed because the price for that featured and final item will definitely be in the millions.
Of course, I'm fully intending for the PWL to foot the bill and pay us back the money owed if it comes to that, but for now my family is willing to spare the cash if we indeed need to urgently buy off whatever item it is from that auction house. For all we know our interference might not be even necessary and that the featured item was merely all hype and no substance. Our main focus is to investigate and find clues regarding the Plasmas and their current objectives. We only participate in the bid only if I deem it necessary.
Like Myles Aguirre had shared, this auction is held in the form of a masquerade where every participant has to attend the auction with a mask over their face to protect the identities of their customers and ensure confidentiality for as much as possible. It works well for my cause as well, so I'm not complaining. Vance had also volunteered to tag along for this trip since he has experience in this sort of thing from his days working as an ACE operative, and also because he's too worried about me to send me off alone to that kind of place.
The auction is being held in the evening. Since we are going there masked and our identities obscured, Looker has gone to the trouble of crafting the profiles of the fake identities he wants us to act under the guise of while we are at the auction. I will play the role of a rich little girl with too much money to know what to do with, attending the auction for the fun of it. I don't need to play the stereotypical role of a spoiled rich brat since my non-existent acting skills will probably not fool anybody anyway, but I do need to give off the feeling of harsh aloofness, confidence, and authority that someone of my upbringing will naturally exude. I need to act as if I belong among the high elites of the upper class society all along. Vance will act the role of being my bodyguard.
I would never have known that such a big underground auction could possibly take place right under everyone's noses until I attended it myself. The place itself is situated quite close to the edge of the district where only the truly rich and influential will live and frequent, and bordering just right next to it are the dark alleys that lead to the slums located beside this bustling district. A stark contrast of rich-poor disparity, but I guess this contrast is what allows such underground dealings to fester.
Rena walked by my side as we entered the grand and luxurious building where tonight's auction will take place. Participants are allowed to have one pokemon out to accompany them within the building's premises but said pokemon cannot exceed a certain size. Rena is the best choice since her abilities allow her to detect dangers before it happens. Not only that, Dolly and Wacky and my little ghostly companions are able to conceal their presence in my shadow, so my personal safety is already being taken care of. Vance chose to let his weavile out with Macky hiding in his own shadow. I can see other participants sneaking glances in our direction the moment we enter. They are curious about the identity of this obviously young girl, which family or who she might be affiliated with to be able to receive an invitation as well, and her purpose for being here. This was what I was warned about by Looker before coming over, that I am going to attract attention for being there just on virtue of being my age. It was why he asked me to just act the part of a rich little heiress, because it is indeed what I really am so it will not be difficult for me to play that role well. Furthermore, anyone who could possibly receive an invitation from this auction house has to have some respectable degree of influence or wealth, so the only reason why a girl my age could be invited is due to my background. Being a little girl that comes from an incredibly rich family will tick all the right boxes such that nobody will be overly suspicious of who I truly am and try to pry into my true identity.
"Relax, look confident. People can innately sense fear and uncertainty so you need to be sure that you do not project any of those things."
Vance's soft reminder kept me on my toes. I kept my head high and my back poised, just as how I was taught and had practised before coming over to this underground auction. We were here early and the venue had not truly opened yet, so we were directed by the ushers to wait in the foyer. There were already a number of guests here. Some were alone and keeping to themselves, some were socialising despite not knowing who each other were, and some obviously knew each other with the way they were conversing.
As for Vance and I, we simply kept to ourselves in a corner of the foyer. I am simply sitting down on a posh looking chair as Vance stood behind me. Our foreign accents will immediately expose that we are not from Unova so we make it a point to not converse with others unless strictly necessary. Waiters are walking around serving drinks and when I was offered a drink by a passing waiter, I accepted it with a nod of my head. Vance did not accept any drinks to play a more convincing role of acting as my bodyguard.
"You picked wine," I heard Vance softly accusing me from where he was standing behind me. I simply took a small sip from the wine glass to savour the taste, glad that I had picked a mask that only obscured the top half of my face, allowing me the freedom to eat or drink even with a mask on.
"It's really good. You don't want any?"
"You are underage."
"This is an underground auction taking place in the black market, and you are talking to me about being underage?"
"I'm so going to tell Mum about this."
"I'm doing this for work. It'll be weird if I ask for orange juice now, won't it?"
"I'm still going to tell Mum."
"Do that and I'm going to tell Flannery about your newfound obsession with Elesa. So, let's try this again, what am I drinking right now, brother dear?"
"... Grape juice."
I pretended not to hear how Vance was grinding his teeth for being blackmailed by me once again.
Our conversation was cut short as several unknown masked individuals made their way over at this moment, clearly intending to make acquaintances with us. However, neither Vance nor I want to engage anyone in conversation because this will reveal our foreign Hoenn accent immediately. Once people figure out that we are from Hoenn, then it isn't difficult to piece out my identity because unlike Unova, there aren't too many rich and influential families within my region that have enough influence to be offered an invitation to such an auction.
This is when being a child has its perks as well. I am allowed to act rich and spoiled without raising any eyebrows. All I did was to lazily gesture to Vance as though I am ordering my bodyguard around. Vance simply stood in front of me, his imposing figure blocking anyone's view of me and preventing anyone from getting close to me with how he positioned himself. Meanwhile, I simply angled my body away from those people to continue sipping on my glass of fine wine, idly stroking Rena's sleek and smooth fur from where she is sitting and resting on my lap.
The message was loud and clear. I have no interest in socialising with anyone present.
As expected, those individuals simply walked away with grumbles under their breath after I just snubbed them in their faces.
"Good acting," Vance complimented me when he retook his position behind me, continuing to act the role of my bodyguard.
"You are not half bad either. Did this in ACE before?" I softly replied without looking back while lazily swirling the contents in my glass. If I didn't know this masked person was my brother I would have mistaken him to be a professional bodyguard.
"It's not often that I was assigned on bodyguard missions, but enough."
"Oh? You had guarded other rich ladies before?"
"Nah, it was always stinky old men. Rich little girls? You are the first, sister dear."
"Why, I'm honoured, brother dear," I took another sip from my glass as I carefully observed the foyer. More and more guests are filling up the room and it wouldn't be long before the organiser opens up the main hall where we will be ushered to for the auction that will be taking place.
"You know what? After what happened just now, I can see why people like the idea of having a full-time bodyguard. The feeling of ordering someone around at your whim… Hmm, splendid."
"You want one? I'm sure Dad and I can arrange something for you if you really want one, but it definitely will have to be a female bodyguard."
"I'm just joking," I quickly changed my tune when I realised that my older brother definitely will not hesitate to search for a bodyguard for me if I ever opened my mouth to ask. Once again, I have severely underestimated what my family can really do and how protective my brother can be for me.
"No, on the contrary, I think this might be a good idea."
"You are the walking disaster of Petalburg. Every single time you think something was a good idea, an accident will happen. So thanks, but no thanks."
"You wound me."
"It will heal," I flippantly waved a hand while keeping my eyes looking forward the entire time, ignoring the existence of my "bodyguard" as what I think most spoiled brats my age will do if they were raised with this type of treatment ever since they were born. My eyes caught sight of movements as things finally progressed into the next stage.
"Oh look, they are finally opening up the main hall."
"The auction hall can be viewed from the ground floor and also from the gallery on the second floor. But the ground floor prohibits guests from releasing their pokemon, so if we want to keep our pokemon around at our side we can only go up to the gallery," Vance helpfully informed me as we watched the other guests slowly making their way into the auction hall.
"That's fine. Let's go to the gallery then," I replied as I stood up, taking great care to not wrinkle the expensive dress that I'm wearing today as Rena helpfully picked up my handbag with her psychic powers and passed it over into my hands. I left my wine glass onto the tray held by a nearby waiter as Vance and I walked up the stairs to reach the gallery. I soon found out that unlike the ground floor which is filled with rows of luxurious cushioned seats, the gallery has no seats available in order to make room for the pokemon companions that guests like me are bringing into the auction hall.
Vance and I found a good spot in the gallery where we could comfortably lean against the railings to observe the auction that will be taking place below. Not many people chose to come up here like Vance and I did because of the fact that there were no seats available and we can only stand, but it is also precisely because of this that the gallery felt a lot more spacious in comparison. Also, like this, there will be way less prying eyes looking our way and that is something Vance and I would prefer.
"This is really grand," Vance remarked as we observed just how impressive and magnificent the venue looked like. This auction house is the best underground auction house in the whole of Unova and their reputation really isn't for show. This is a part of the world that I wouldn't have known of or interacted with if it wasn't for the nature of my job.
"Can't act like a country bumpkin now or our carefully maintained cover will be for naught. You need to act indifferent to such things, brother dear," I teased as Vance and I spoke to each other in a volume where we wouldn't be overheard by others. Everyone here at the gallery was keeping their distance from everyone else. The closest person to us, as far as I could see, was another man standing near the corner of the gallery. Like us, he was leaning against the railings to get a better look of the auction that will be taking place down below. He also has a weavile, who was trying to wave to Vance's weavile in greeting only to be interrupted by its trainer when he grabbed it by the back of its red feathered crown and got it to sit down obediently on the railings, much to my hidden amusement.
Our gazes met for a short moment as we both exchanged silent nods of acknowledgement before we both turned our attention back to the ground floor. The auction will be starting soon.
I had never been to an auction before so I don't really know what to expect, much less an underground auction held in the black market on such a scale. The first few items to be put up on auction were illegal drugs. Other than the usual drugs for human consumption, there are also those to be consumed by pokemon which provide them some dangerous boosts to their capabilities at the cost of their health, the very reason why they were labelled as illegal in the first place.
The next items that were put up for auction were pokemon themselves, and I had to make an effort to not let my disgust show when I saw just how the pokemon that were being auctioned off were being mistreated. These pokemon are being auctioned off for a high price due to a variety of reasons; their pedigree, strength, unique colouration, and other reasons. While such things can also be seen in legal auction houses all around the world where people will auction off any rare catch they might have gotten their hands on, it is mandated by law for these pokemon to be handled and treated with extreme care. Here, however, is an area where the laws could not reach.
Following that, there were other items that I would have never imagined to be auctioned but upon careful consideration, could understand why they were being valued so highly in the black market. The values of passports on the black market especially, made a lot of sense. There are those of more commercial value, like stolen data from so and so famous company groups. Then there are also the more gruesome and bloodied items. Harvested organs, items made from harvested pokemon parts, most notably the ivory ornaments made from mamoswine tusks. Even evolutionary stones can be auctioned off here if their rarity and size makes it valuable enough to be auctioned off in such a high end place. Then there are also fossils, some of which were so very well-preserved that I have no doubt researchers like Shannon will not hesitate to sell their kidney just to get their hands on one of those.
Following that, it took a lot of self-control on my part to not outwardly show my disgust at the kind of things that appeared thereafter which people auctioned off on the black market. Nevertheless, after a long time we finally waited until only one item was left: the featured item that Myles Aguirre informed us that Team Plasma has a vested interest in getting their hands on and is something relating to Ability Holders themselves.
I wasn't expecting the featured item to be what it is. Nobody expected the featured item to be what it is.
The curtains opened, revealing a large cage that even Kratos could easily fit in. However, what was in the said cage barely took up any space. A little girl that was only around five years of age by my estimate sits with her knees hugged to her chest in a timid gesture within the cage. She was so small and malnourished, wearing nothing better than rags on that small frame of hers. Her skin is dark tanned, a skin colour not native to the Unova region. Her dark bushy purple hair is so long, thick, and unkempt that it doesn't seem like she ever had a chance to cut her hair before.
The featured item is a child. These sick bastards are selling children on the black market.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Presenting to you the star of tonight's auction, a descendant of our very own First Champion, the Mad Conqueror Nicholas Harlow!"
Even when the crowd went wild with shouts of disbelief or cheers of excitement it was like I wasn't able to hear anything. My focus was on the child trapped within that large cage on stage, my thoughts whirling at overdrive while somehow going still at the same time. I knew from the very start that I would be witnessing unsavoury things the moment I decided to attend this underground auction in order to search for clues about Team Plasma, but in the end it turned out that I had still underestimated just how dark the underworld can be.
I never thought that slavery still exists in this day and age.
Perhaps it was because I was lucky enough to be born into a family that is the near equivalent of modern royalty, perhaps a large part of me is still seeing the world through rose-tinted lenses despite knowing that the world isn't as glamorous as it seems. Knowing that such things still exist is one thing, but it will never compare to the impact you will feel when you truly understand and see it with your own eyes.
That was what I was feeling right then.
I was snapped back into reality when a loud angry roar could be heard. To my surprise and disbelief, a group of sawks and throhs pulled out a haxorus up on stage using thick large chains. The haxorus was obviously weakened, as could be seen from the countless wounds that it was sporting and thus, unable to properly resist the combined strength of the sawks and throhs. The haxorus' appearance gave the audience at the front rows quite a huge scare and most had stood up and fled towards the back almost immediately. They are not willing to risk their lives if the haxorus somehow managed to break free of its constraints.
What happened next showed me the extent of human cruelty.
It was sudden. The sawks and throhs had obviously received instructions from their handlers prior to this, for they shoved the haxorus into the cage with no hesitation. The haxorus was still in a blind rage, too angry to care about anything and lunged at the first thing it spotted in the cage to vent its anger: the little girl.
The realisation hit me. In this world, there still exist people who hold very little regard to the lives of others. People had shoved an angry dragon and a helpless little girl into the same cage for sport.
My hand had already reached out towards where I kept my pokeballs, almost on the verge of calling out my team to save the little girl, consequences be damned, and I would have done so if it wasn't for Vance stopping me in time. His hand had tightly gripped onto my wrist and gave me a slight pull backwards, jerking me out of my thought processes and effectively halting whatever I was planning to do.
"Something's not right. Watch."
Vance had probably picked up on a few details I had missed thanks to his experience as an ex Ace operative. In any case, he was proven to be right. The little girl had stood up and took a step forward towards the haxorus which had lunged at her. The crowd had collectively screamed when that happened. Everyone expected to be the witnesses to a gruesome scene where a little girl got mauled to death by the haxorus.
It did not happen.
All the girl did was to raise her hands as though she wanted to try touching the rampaging haxorus. She succeeded, but what got everyone tongue-tied and silenced the entire auction hall was how the haxorus had suddenly froze before becoming docile almost immediately, lowering its head to gently nuzzle its snout against the girl. The little girl stroked the dragon as though haxorus was some common pet she had raised within her own home.
It was impossible, yet this was indeed what happened.
I recalled Myles' words with great clarity. The featured item of this auction is what Team Plasma will be trying to obtain, something rumoured to be related to Ability Holders. I had assumed it to be an object, the fact that the item could possibly be a living breathing human just never crossed my mind. Now, however, all the dots are finally connected after I realised that there is only one explanation how and why the little girl was able to calm the rampaging haxorus with such ease.
She is an Ability Holder. She's not only an Ability Holder with a powerful ability at her disposal, she's also definitely a descendant of the Mad Conqueror as the ability she displayed is just too strikingly similar to what historical records had documented about what the Mad Conqueror had achieved more than 500 years ago. His ability was so terrifying that he conquered the entire region almost without much support from anyone else other than a ragtag army of Ability Holders that were almost always outnumbered by their opposition. The Mad Conqueror had so few allies, yet was still able to become Unova's first Champion all because of his ability to command dragons with unbelievable ease.
For Ability Holders, abilities can only be passed down through inheritance of blood. The Mad Conqueror was the only known Ability Holder whose ability relates to dragon types and hence this makes dragon-related abilities the rarest type of ability in the world. Now, it had finally made its reappearance in the little girl trapped within that large cage, which would mean that the girl has to be his descendant. I wasn't the only one to make that connection, the crowd had also obviously come to the same conclusion I did from how they had gone crazy over the performance the girl displayed earlier.
What I am concerned about was something else entirely. Team Plasma is here for the girl. She's so young, so impressionable and easy to influence. If Team Plasma were to sink their hands onto the girl and train her to be the next coming of the Mad Conqueror to fight for their cause…
The very thought of that is terrifying. That situation must be prevented at all costs.
"What you saw speaks for itself! No more words are needed, nothing else needs to be said, the starting bid starts at twenty million!"
Knowing that this is the climax of the auction for tonight, the host began to hype the crowd and the crowd responded. The bids climbed to forty million almost immediately, then sixty, then it kept on increasing and increasing. Eventually, more and more bidders dropped out of the competition until the bid started to bounce back and forth within the hands of a small handful of bidders who were still trying to outdo each other.
I could understand why these bidders were willing to bid such a high price for one little girl. An ability to tame dragon types with immediate effect is a priceless one, simply because it is a very powerful ability that has not been seen in anyone else other than the Mad Conqueror.
However, I plan to put a stop to things here. These people obviously wanted to groom her to be their personal hunting hound, to direct her to attack wherever they point their finger to. She deserves a fate better than that. I looked back at Vance, and while I couldn't see the expression on his face thanks to the mask he was wearing, he gave me a small nod.
Never before was I so glad that I was born into the Vera family.
The increments of the bid were getting smaller and smaller now that only a few bidders remained in the competition, only starting to inch towards the seventy million mark. I plan to win this bid and end this inhumane act entirely, so I quickly wrote down my bid on the bid card and raised it into the air for the host to see.
"EIGHTY MILLION!"
The crowd turned towards the gallery the moment the host announced my bid and I could feel the attention of the entire auction house on me. I suppose my actions would lead to such an outcome. My height was a dead giveaway to the fact that I'm obviously not yet of legal age, but I am somehow able to easily part with eighty million. Nobody would ever expect that.
The few bidders who were trying to outbid each other dropped out of the competition after I came into the picture, which was the outcome I wanted to see the moment I raised my bid card.
"And in a surprising turn of development, eighty million! Descendent of the Mad Conqueror, with the same ability to tame dragons, now worth eighty million! Eighty million calling once! Calling twice! Calling-"
Knowing that I already have this bid in the bag, my mind started to plan about what I am going to do with the girl. For her safety, it would probably be best to send her out of Unova where Team Plasma cannot reach her. Looker and Sebastian would probably be able to help out with that. Who knows, maybe Dad and Mum wouldn't mind adopting her into the family as well. I wouldn't trust anyone else to be able to raise the girl without any thoughts about abusing her ability for their own gains.
Then, I was violently derailed from my thoughts by the most ear grating screech I had ever heard.
"NINETY MILLION! Ninety million, folks, from that gentleman over there by the gallery! Ninety million! Any other takers?!"
It's the man who was standing closest to us near the corner of the gallery, the man with the mischievous weavile. The uncomfortable screech was the weavile's doing in order to promptly interrupt the host so that its trainer's bid will be noticed by him.
Ninety freaking million. How on earth can somebody easily part with ninety million? Does he own a bloody country or something? Not like I'm one to say this, but I was able to halt the bid at eighty million earlier thanks to my family accumulating wealth for more than half a millennium and families like mine are rare and few in between even across the entire world.
So, how on earth was this man able to easily bid ninety million without a damn care in the world? Does he also belong to a family with a similar standing to mine? The chances of that happening is so astronomically low that it's not even funny.
The man's head turned slightly towards my direction, probably aware that I was staring at him. His weavile laughed at us in a taunting manner, its hostility and mocking towards us plain for everyone to see that even a fool can easily pick up on it.
Is he the representative Team Plasma had sent to retrieve this little girl from the auction? That is the most likely explanation. I wouldn't be surprised if an organisation like Team Plasma can easily part with ninety million just to get their hands on her. After all, the girl's talent will definitely be a great boost to whatever nefarious plans they are hatching deep within the underworld.
"CALLING ONCE!"
To make things more infuriating than it already is, the man actually jerked his head towards the direction of the stage. He was gesturing for me to hurry up and come to a decision whether to continue with my bid and not waste his time any further. It's both a taunt and to mock me, I know that, but there's nothing I can do about it.
"CALLING TWICE!"
The booming voice of the host of this auction reminded me that I do not have much time left. I quickly scribbled something down on my bid card and raised it up once more.
"NINETY FIVE MILLION! Holy- LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, NINETY FIVE MILLION!"
Dad will definitely be asking questions after he learnt of this. To be fair, it will be a justified price to pay in order to prevent Team Plasma from getting their hands on the little girl, and I'm definitely going to get Looker to help my family get some form of compensation from the Unova League once this is all over. The size of my family's wealth might be unfathomable, but it wouldn't be fair to us to keep forking out the money needed to keep this world-saving gig going.
I turned to look at the only bidder left that was competing with me. He picked up his bid card once more and in an infuriatingly slow manner, wrote down his new bid without a shred of urgency, slowly and mockingly flipped his card that purposely allowed me to catch a glimpse of his new bid before raising it up high so that the auctioneer is able to register his bid. His action is a taunt, it is a challenge, it is to mock me because he knows that I will have to pay a very hefty price in order to outbid him.
"ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY MILLION!"
One hundred and twenty million. The things you can do with a hundred and twenty million; buy an entire island, create a huge leap in helping to solve poverty and food scarcity problems in certain rural areas of the world, buy you a trip to space at Mossdeep Space Center. Even governments would not carelessly spend such a huge amount and yet, right here, is a man who callously bidded a hundred and twenty million and looks as if he can still raise the bid far higher than it already is.
The man mockingly bowed in my direction, his arm gesturing towards the stage to signal to me to continue with our bids -if I still want to try and outbid him- and never in my life had I wanted to strangle somebody as much as I do now.
"CALLING ONCE!"
The voice of the auctioneer reminded me that I don't have much time left. My hand reached out to my bid card once more, only for someone to grab onto my wrist. I gave Vance an annoyed glare, but I immediately swallowed any discontentment I had when I saw him shaking his head.
"CALLING TWICE!"
The only thing I could do was to glare at the man and his weavile, which was already doing some sort of celebratory dance on the railings in its excitement.
"CALLING THRICE!"
The Plasma representative had won the bid and he knew it. He even mockingly tilted his cap in my direction as a show of farewell before turning and walking away, presumably to collect his prize, and there's absolutely nothing that I can do about it.
I don't know why, but never had I felt so defeated and helpless. The only thing I can do now is to watch as an innocent child falls into the grasp of an unscrupulous Plasma villain and there's nothing I can do to help her.
That feeling really sucks. I joined the interpol to help save the world, yet I couldn't even save a single child.
"SOLD!"