//------------------------------// // Snakeskin Boots on a Saturday Night // Story: Pokemon: World of Remnants // by Metroid Prime //------------------------------// Opening Theme Las Pegasus The Dropship flew through the air as the city came into view, the passengers inside all waiting for the transport to make landing. “Sir, shall I drop you off outside of town?” The pilot said. Tabitha looked out the window, the city was large. If they landed inside the city it may cause a commotion since ponies have never seen a human airship before. Plus the fact that the Team Magma logo was plastered on the side of the ship meant that Pokemon and former humans would instantly recognize them. “Yes, drop us off outside, we shall do this discreetly.” The pilot acknowledged and set the dropship on the grass near the pathway that led into the city. The passengers exited the ship one after the other. For this mission Brandon had assigned him Silver, the Dynomons and for some reason, Dr. Brainstorm’s semi sentient robot, “Reaper.” According to the doctor, he wanted his creation to get some “Social interaction” with others. But considering that ponies had never seen an real life autonomous robot, he’d assume they would mistake him as an unknown Pokemon. “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” “Alright Tabitha what exactly are we doing here again?” Slug said. The Dynomon was not exactly happy to hear that they were going back to the place where they were known for causing trouble “Well apologies Slug, but Brandon wants us to promote this competition and the only way we can do that is by spreading the word ourselves. Plus we have to get people to sign up so they can compete, right?” “Yeah, but why do you need us?” Swoop asked “Considering the many things that have been happening in this city, from gangs and Phantom Thieves hitting it once a week, you're here to make sure nothing happens to us during our brief stay.” “...Very, well but don’t expect us to clean house if things go to hell.” “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it my friend.” As the group walked into the city, Silver looked around as the various mons and ponies already began to give the group some weird looks. Being the son of Giovanni, leader of the original gang Team Rocket that sparked others like them, Silver had picked up as few things from seeing his father work. So it was only logical that Silver was picked for this group since his knowledge on street gangs and the criminal life would give them a better understanding should things go south. “So exactly how long are we going to be staying here?” Silver asked “Three days, at least.” “Alright, well where do we start?” “I’d assume we should ask the person in charge to set up shop somewhere” Tabitha thought for a moment and then turned to the Dynomons. “Slug, where is the Mayor's office?” “It's in the City Hall at the center of town.” “Very well so here’s the plan.” Tabitha stopped to turn around and faced the group. “Since we’re going to be here for a while, Silver, you take Reaper and the Dynomons and look for a place for us to stay for the next few days, a hotel or Inn whichever floats your boat. Slug, you come with me and we'll talk to the Mayor about getting permission to promote the Tournament.” The group was in agreement and then went their separate ways. Unity Building Lala turned the page of her book, grateful for the calm days they’d been experiencing. She’d known that being a security guard for this place would be interesting at times, but those times seemed to come hard and fast as of late. Fortunately, she was still a Bishop of Checkmate. She could handle a little bit of interesting. Then there was a knock on the door. She looked at the monitor and saw...well, she wasn’t sure what the camera was seeing. Standing outside the door, was a Aerodactyl, an Aurorus, a Rhydon, something that appeared to be a robot of some kind, and... a human. This day had officially become either more interesting, or more weird. “Come in,” she said to herself as she pushed the button to open the door. “Let’s see how you all change my day.” The door opened and the group walked in, the Leavanny never taking her eyes off of the human, she didn’t know why but the red hair and the dark blue shirt seemed familiar somehow. “Hello my name is Silver, and me and my friends would like to rent a couple of rooms for a few days.” “Hmm,” Lala said as she pulled up the registry. “We have a few on the sixth floor open at the moment,” she said. “The rent is approximately ten bits a night. Less if you stay for longer and go for a package deal, or if you just ask your friend there to help with the AC.” The Leavanny nodded at the Aurorus as she said the last part, to indicate who she was talking about. “We will be staying for 3 days at least, longer if needed, there are 7 members in our group, the other two are out on business and will be here later.” “Do you just want the one room, or will you be needing both?” Lala asked. “Both please, one for the Rock Types, the other for me, my other friend, and the robot.” “Two rooms, three nights, that comes to sixty bits,” Lala said. “Not covering damages or expenses, of course. Less if you can contribute to the continued running of the house.” “Reaper” Silver said motioning. The robot stepped forward, its eyes staring into Lala’s as if it was examining the bug type. Then the robot reached for something on his leg and came up with a small box, which he set down upon the table. “This small monetary container should contain the necessary fund to meet the required debt.” Lala was surprised when she heard the robot's voice for the first time, unlike Bit, it was low and devoid of all emotion, more akin to a true machine. She opened the box and did a quick scan, seeing what looked to be the right amount. And if there was less or more, then she could always bring it up with them before they left. “That it does,” she agreed, before reaching under her desk and coming up with two keys. “601 and 602. Yours for three nights.” “Thank you ma’am” Silver then took the keys and the group walked towards the stairs. The Leavanny was then left alone with her thoughts once more. “Silver, Silver, where have I heard that name before?” City Hall “So is this the place?” Tabitha asked Slug looked at the large building they were in front of, and then back to the former human. “Yep this is the place.” “Okay, here it goes.” The two walked inside and saw a few mons and ponies at work, Tabitha walked up to the receptionist and waited for her to look up to acknowledge them. “Welcome to Las Pegasus City Hall how may I help you?” “I wish to speak with your Mayor about being able to promote a competition that will be in Vale City. With your permission I would like to set up a place so that we may promote this event” “Very well, you’re behind two other people, please take a seat until your turn.” After 30 minutes of waiting, Tabitha went inside to see a earth pony waiting on the other side of the desk. “Greetings, my name is Mayor Caesar.” “Hello there good sir, my name is Tabitha and I am here on behalf of the Magma Corporation.” “Well then Tabitha, my assistant tells me you are from Vale, what business do you have in my fair city?” “Well you see mister Mayor, my employers wish to promote a Tournament that will be held in Vale at the start of next month.” “Oh, what exactly is this Tournament about?” “It will be a Pokemon Tournament in which Pokemon and their Trainers can compete in a friendly competition.” “You mean like that Contest that was held in Canterlot? I heard that was a big success” “Well sir, unlike the event that was held by Mister Crescent, this Pokemon Tournament will be solely about trainers battling each other to prove who is the strongest. A contest is about showing of a Pokemon’s beauty, a battle is about strength.” “I see, and just how will you promote this in my city?” “Me and my comrades will set up a stand in which trainers who want to compete may sign up them and their Pokemon, once we have received any and all willing trainers, then we shall take our leave.” “I see, well then looks like there is nothing wrong with your little event mister Tabitha. I will allow you to set up your stand in the north section of the city plaza; as long as you don’t cause any trouble, you can stay for as long as you like.” Tabitha smiled and nodded. “Thank you Mayor Ceaser, you won’t regret this” When Reaper was created, Dr. Brainstorm had built in many things for the robot to use, one of those things was currently in use. You see, Reaper had something that Brainstorm called a D.N.I. or Direct Neural Interface, this allowed the robot to hack into and control any simple piece of technology. Right now Reaper could see that this building was more advanced than the ones ponies should normally have. Various things that powered the building, such as a heater and A.C. were also able to be powered by certain Pokemon moves, a generator in the basement, was powered by electric type moves, while a sprinkler system could be sensed on the rooftop. There was even a camera security system. It would take Reaper no less than 5 seconds to control all the tech in the building if needed, but that was not why he was here. His creator had given him clear instructions to observe and report. His built in Pokedex had allowed him to unknowingly scan the Leavanny known as Lala and get a good profile of all her moves and stats. Now it was time to to get info on the other so called “Experiments” of Doctor Nurem. Silver opened the door to the room and set down his things, once he was done he turned to see Reaper standing in the middle of the room, as if waiting for instructions. “So….are you just gonna stay here?” “This Unit is programmed to to enter a rest cycle for 10 minutes, it will resume its mission once that cycle is complete.” “Right, and what exactly is that mission?” “Classified.” Silver could only stare as the robot talked no more and just stood there like a statue. “Oookay. I’m gonna go the to rooftop.” Silver then left the room, leaving a very strange, and very creepy robot all alone. Unity Building Rooftop James looked over the budding plant, the latest in his long line of cross-breeding experiments to bring new flavors of berries to the ‘mon of the building. “Jessie, could you bring me my watering can? I seem to have misplaced it again.” The Pyroar walked around the nearby corner, said can gripped in her mouth as she put it nearby. “Honestly James, do you need a belt to hang this off of?” “That might not be a bad idea,” the Roserade mused. The pair didn’t even notice when a red haired human come onto the rooftop, his eyes eyeing the many different berries that adorned the place. “Nice setup you got here.” “That voice,” James said, gasping as he turned around. Jessie caught sight of their guest and started to growl. “I recognize you,” she said. Silver kept his poker face as he pretended to not know the infamous pair. “Oh really, well I don’t recognize you since you're not human anymore, or are you some Pokemon that I have met before?” “Oh please stop pretending,” Jessie said. “I don’t know how you’re a human, but I’d recognize Giovanni’s son anywhere.” “And if you’ve come to try and take us back into the fold, well, all we’d have to do is think about it, and you’d find that a difficult task,” James said. Silver then let out a low chuckle as the expected reaction left the former Team Rocket's grunt mouths. “Oh, please Jessie and James, like you I am no longer affiliated with my father's Team, plus if I was trying to reform the Team as you're implying, Arceus would have my head and soul faster than you would get blasted off.” The two ‘mon slowly stood down from the slight stances they’d taken unconsciously. “Yes, well, I suppose we did rather forget about that,” James said with a chuckle. “I’m still keeping my eye on you,” Jessie said. “You just happening to show up is more coincidence than I feel ready for.” “Heh, honestly I don’t know why my dad didn’t fire you guys a long time ago, the way you two and Meowth racked up the bills for Team Rocket with all those mechs you let get destroyed. And all for trying to catch a single Pikachu.” “True,” Jessie said. “But now we belong to a house of ‘mon that make the Pikachu look like an overspecialized rodent. So, like he normally is.” “Though I don’t think Vincent would say no to another Pikachu helping to keep the lights on,” James said. “Well, I’m not here to try and coax you guys into anything again, I’m not my father.” “Then why are you here?” James asked “I have joined a new Team, one with a cause that I’m sure will tick off Arceus, but will be good for those who throw their support behind it.” Silver then tapped a green gem on his neck, then the form of Silver faded to reveal a smiling Weavile. “So that explains it,” Jessie said. “You used magic.” “I still don’t understand how that works,” James said. “Like we’re any better,” the Pyroar said. “I’m sure we’re just as strange to them as they are to us.” “The people who I have joined agree that Arceus turning us all into mons is just another form of oppression. He brought us to Equus to eliminate the oppression that humanity forced upon all Pokemon kind, but is either too stupid or too egotistical to realize that by bringing us here without our consent, he has oppressed us.” Somewhere, Arceus felt like someone was talking about him. “So that is why my new friends are gonna change that, we will make ourselves human again, and we will try to find a way to save our home planet of Earth.” The Pyroar and Roserade looked at each other before looking back at the son of their former boss. “And just who is this team that you're talking about?” “Team Magma.” “You do realize how, well, ludicrous this all sounds, yes?” James pointed out. “I’m fairly certain the only one who would know exactly how to get back to Earth is the very god you’re trying to defy.” “This isn’t like the old days, when you could just throw a Pokeball at him either,” Jessie said. “He’s very much capable of doing whatever he wishes while you’re trying to figure out how to talk to him.” “In short,” James summed up, “This sounds like a doomed endeavor from the start.” “Well, as far as I know, dimensional travel was something the people in Mossdeep spaceport were very close to achieving.” “..What are talking about?” James asked “Well the rumor went around that the geeks there were very close to completing a device capable of opening a portal to another world, while no one knows if it was ever completed or not, Magma Admin Courtney was able to get a quick look at it when she was storming the place.” “And what if it turns out that you’re trying to pilot a plane without a pilot’s license, should you actually get such a device up and running?” James asked. “You could end up anywhere.” Silver once again let out a low chuckle. “Well, we shall cross that bridge when it comes, but for now I just thought I’d let you know.” “And why are you telling us this?” Jessie said This time Silver’s face became serious. “Because I want to give you a choice, free will is something that should never be taken away from anyone, something Arceus clearly didn’t take into account or didn’t care when bringing us here.” The two became silent as they saw the logic behind Silver’s words. “I don’t intend to spend the rest of my life in ponyland, it’s too bright and friendly here, besides someone’s gotta stand up to the big guy and tell him to get his head out of his butt.” Once again Arceus felt like someone was talking about him, and in a blasphemous manner. “If you want to join us you're more than welcome” Silver then turned around and walked to the stairs” “Or if you want to be like everyone else and just accept that god can do anything he wants to us, then be my guests.” The rooftop then only had two occupants, ones who began to think over what they had just been told. Unity Building Lobby Lala once again heard a knock on the door, looking through the monitor, she saw a Rhyperior and….Team Magma Admin Tabitha… Well, this house was open to all, though she would be keeping a close eye on that one. She buzzed the door open and waited. The “human” and the Rhyperior came in and looked around, that large man then set his eyes on the Leavanny and gave her his trademark grin. “Hello, my name is Tabitha, I believe a man by the name of Silver was here earlier? We are with him.” “Floor six, rooms 601 and 602,” she said with a curt nod. So, was Silver associated with Magma then? That could prove...interesting. Especially if these ‘humans’ were up to anything under Vincent’s roof. “Thank you miss” And with that the two left the lobby, and Lala thought about it for a moment. She could tell Vincent. Then again, they hadn’t done anything yet. And he’d likely not appreciate having to watch them on suspicion if it turned out to be wrong. Another point in their favor was the mere fact that they were here in the first place. The fact that they still clung to the Teams was troubling, but they clearly weren’t all bad. As well, nobody was ever turned down for sanctuary. She might as well have told Vincent about Jessie and James when she first brought them here, and he still might have taken them in. Perhaps. In the end, she decided to wait and see.