J-Awesome_One

As soon as I deposited the Shadow Pokemon, I rushed back to the gym and walked inside. For Venam’s Gym, I wasn’t what I expected it to be. It seemed more like some kind of factory than a Gym. As I looked over the place, I saw the thing that Jan showed me when I arrived earlier. I decided to go over and press the button so I could get more info on Venam’s Gym. Jan: Hello there. Ohh! It’s you Matthew. A little late to be at a Gym don’t you think? Matthew: Maybe but… it’s kind of urgent. Jan: Well it’s not like this is the 1st time someone decided to take on a Gym Leader at night. So what you wanna know about? Matthew: What am I allowed to know? Jan: Well, I can tell you about their ace, signature move and field. And by the look of the area you’re in, you’re at Venam’s Gym correct? Matthew: Yep. Not trying to be mean by the way but is there a way you can maybe rapidly tell me? Jan: I’m not sure what’s going on but sure. 1st, I’ll tell you about her ace. Matthew: You mean her Seviper? Jan: Ahh. You know about it then? Matthew: I only saw her use it once. Jan: Well let me give you a little more info on it. That snake of hers has the power to tear away hopes and dreams. While her Seviper may not seem like a massive threat it’s deadly to newcomers. A pleb stomper if you will. Matthew: I’m… not exactly sure what that means but go on. Jan: Not only does it excell offensively, it has a nasty Glare that will cause you some trouble if you’re not prepared. It also has excellent weakness coverage. Don’t be caught off guard! As for Venam’s signature move- Matthew: So like Poison Fang or something like that right? Jan: Ohh. You don’t know? Matthew: Don’t know what? Jan: You don’t know that Gym Leaders have their own signature moves. Venam’s is called well… Venam’s Kiss. Matthew: Venam’s Kiss? I’ve never heard of that move before. Jan: Like I said, every Gym Leader has their own signature move. Anyways, it’s a standard base 75 move. It can’t poison you if that’s what you’re worried about. Matthew: Alright. Now what about the her field? Jan: Ahh right. The Corrosive Field. It boosts the power of Poison Type moves. In addition to that, non Poison Type Pokemon are damaged upon switch in. Please be cautious of that. And that’s pretty much it. Matthew: Alright. I think I’ll be good. Thanks Jan. Jan: No problem Matt. Before I go… Is everything ok? I know we had that thing with the Team Xen Grunts a little bit before but- Matthew: Everything’s… I’m fine. Jan: Well… alright. Good luck in your Gym Battle. With the conversation over, Jan’s hologram vanished. I went back to the main entrance of the building. I saw a graph on the wall and went to look at it. It had a bunch of ways to make different colors. I was very confused. A boy, around the same age as me by the look of himself, called me over and asked me if I had any idea how the puzzle in this gym worked. Matthew: I have no clue. I just saw the chart but I’m just more confused now. Boy: Let me explain it to you. Each room has 4 tanks of highly corrosive poison. Matthew: That sounds dangerous… But that also sounds just like Venam. Boy: Well they are so corrosive that they create different colors. What you gotta do is to mix those poison together and create a new color. Matthew: Ahh. So that’s why there was a chart of how to create different colors. Boy: Correct. Once you mixed the poisons you think are correct, you’ll check by interacting the monitor in the middle. If you create the correct color, then the way to the next room shall open up. Matthew: Good. But… how am I supposed to know what colors to make? Is there a list somewhere or something? Boy: No but it’s simple. The trainers in the Gym will have your answer. Matthew: Ahh. Thanks for the info. See ya. I started to walk up towards the 1st room of this puzzle. Just like the boy said, there were 4 tanks of poison around the room. Standing in the middle was a girl. I walked up to her and started a convo. Matthew: Hey. ???: Hey. Ohh! It’s you! Matthew: Uhh… You remember me? ???: Well of course! Don’t you remember me from the Abandoned Sewers? Matthew: Umm… Kind of? You do seem familiar. Luca: Well my name’s Luca. Remember it! Matthew: Ok. Ok. Sorry I forgot it. Luca: Now, if you beat me, I’ll tell you what poison combinations you’ll need for this room! Matthew: Good. I need to hurry this up. The battle started but I was able to wrap it up pretty quickly just as it started. She told me the color for the room which was magenta. Remembering the chart from the beginning of the building, I mixed in the red and blue corrosives and pressed the button on the computer. When it got done configuring it, a light above me turned on and then a set of stairs appeared. I quickly walked up them and went straight into the next room. I saw 2 trainers in there. I started a battle with the 1st 1 I saw. After their defeat, she told me that this room required 2 colors to go forward and that the 1st color I had to make was orange. The 2nd trainer in there seemed like he had something to say. Lenny: Hey. The name’s Lenny. Matthew: Hey. Lenny: Is everything ok with Venam? She seems… I don’t know. Worried or something like that. Matthew: I mean… there’s something going on but it’ll be ok. Lenny: Ahh. Good. I feel better now. Sorry for holding you up. Matthew: It’s ok. You’re just worried about your friend. But I would like to speed this up if you don’t mind. Lenny: Of course! Beat me and you’ll get the 2nd color you have to make. The 2 of us started the battle but just like the other person, I had finished the battle as soon as it begun. He told me that the 2nd color I had to make was green. Knowing the 2 colors, I started to put in the right colors of corrosion. I mixed in red and yellow for the 1st 1 and then blue and yellow for the 2nd 1. Just like before, stairs appeared and I advanced to the next and final room. There was only 1 trainer in here and she had the colors I had to make in order to get to Venam. After the battle, she told me the colors. I put in the correct colors for the stairs to appear. Red and yellow for orange. Red, blue and green for white. Green and blue for teal. As I was about to head up the stairs though, the trainer girl stopped me. Matthew: What is it? I really have to go. Girl: I’m not sure what’s going on with you. Venam seemed like she was worried about something. You do too. I’m not sure how helpful this will be but… there’s a secret entrance to another part of the gym. I don’t know what’s in there but maybe it’ll help you. Matthew: Well… Ok. Thanks. What are the color combinations? Girl: For the 1st combinations, it’s all of the colors. The 2nd is red, green and then blue. The last 1 is red, green and yellow. Then after you press the button on the computer, the door will be opened up to you. I put in the color combinations as she said to do them in and then pressed the button on the computer. It accepted it and out of nowhere, a door appeared. I walked through it and started to follow wherever the halls took me. When I finally reached the end, I was in an alleyway of sorts. As I walked up the set of stairs though, I heard a voice. It was definitely Venam. Venam: Who the hell found this place?! -walks over to where I am- Ohh. It’s you Matthew. Matthew: Hey… Sorry if I’m not allowed to be here. 1 of your trainers gave me the secret color combo to come here. Venam: Naw. It’s ok. Although, hopefully she hasn’t told that code to everyone. I looked behind me and could see 2 distinctive looking buildings. 1 looked like a Venipede and the other looked like a Seviper but they were both boarded up and looked kind of run down. Matthew: If you don’t mind me asking, what’s with those 2 weird buildings? Venam: Well… since you’re here, I may as well tell you what this place is. This is the graveyard for my past Gyms. Matthew: A graveyard… for your past gyms? Venam: Yea. You don’t think this factory was my 1 and only gym did ya? Matthew: I mean yea… but I guess it doesn’t really totally fit your personality. Venam: Exactly. So for the Venipede 1, it used to be my ace Pokemon for the longest time. So I obviously modeled my 1st Gym after it! It was really cool. I had this indoor waterfall and everything! You had to press these switches in the right order and the waterfall would stop flowing. But soon after that, I started to like my Seviper a ton more and, as you’ve seen when we battled some of the Team Xen Grunts, my Seviper became my ace and I modeled my Gym after that. Matthew: That… honestly sounds pretty badass. Venam: It was… alright. Matthew: Only alright? Venam: Yea. I think it was kind of rushed. Anyways, 1 day Jan and Zumi came to Gearen and vowed to make the city better than it ever was. Jan was interested in researching the Badlands and why it came to be that way. So he built a factory. Matthew: You mean this factory? Venam: Yep… Right over my gym. Matthew: Ouch. That must have sucked. Venam: Ehh. I hated it at 1st but then he was nice enough to give me my own section of the factory. It’s nicely made and I think it has a cool style to it. So it ain’t all that bad. But yea. That’s the story to this place. But hey. I’m gonna go back to my post. As a reward for finding this place, I’ll let you take anything you find lying around here. But please hurry. We need to- Matthew: Don’t worry. I’ll only stay here for a minute. We have to get to Melia as soon as possible. Venam nodded her head and left the area. I quickly looked over the area for anything that was useful to us but I couldn’t find anything. As I was about to leave however, I noticed what seemed to be an egg on the ground. But it wasn’t any kind of egg. It was a Pokemon Egg. I always wanted to hatch a Pokemon Egg before. So I carefully picked it up and put it in my backpack. I then exited the area and went back. When I got back to the room, I walked up the stairs and into the next room. There wasn’t any puzzle in this room. Just seemed like an area before the actual Gym Area. As I was walking up to the door to go into Venam’s Gym Arena, I was starting to feel all excited and giddy. While this was a serious matter, I couldn’t hold back my excitement. As I walked up the room, I could see the battlefield. When I got to where I was supposed to be, I looked across and could see Venam looking at me. Matthew: Well it’s finally come to this Venam! Venam: It has! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to this battle! Although, I wish it was just a normal Gym Battle with nothing but my badge on the line. But you know what I mean. Matthew: Of course I do. I have to win this for not only my own sake but for Melia’s too. Venam: Now don’t get me wrong. I wanna save her and having you along would really help the situation. But don’t think for 1 second that I’m just gonna lose on purpose. I’m a Gym Leader and I have a reputation to uphold! Matthew: I wouldn’t expect anything less from you Venam! Let’s do this! The 2 of us grabbed a PokeBall and the battle started. Maybe my Pokemon were too high of a level or maybe it was something else but this battle was not all that tough. She put up somewhat of a fight but in the end, most of my Pokemon were fine while all 6 of hers were defeated. After the battle was done, I could see that she was a bit down about the devastating loss. She came over to me and handed me my badge. But then she put a smile on. I was a bit worried. Matthew: Uhh… You ok Venam? Venam: I was a bit hurt by being defeated so easily. But then I realized that this is honestly the best outcome. Matthew: Ahh… Look, I didn’t mean to- Venam: It’s ok Matt. Really. I’m fine. We’ll have a rematch someday and that’s when I’ll beat you. Matthew: -chuckles- Alright. It’s a deal. Venam: Anyways, that’s the PoisonHeart Badge. You’ll be able to use Rock Smash now. Matthew: But how do I get Rock Smash? Venam: Don’t worry. I called my friend to come over here to give it to you. Her name’s Karrina. Matthew: Alright. Sweet. Wanna walk out together? Venam: Sure! The 2 of us started to walk back to the entrance of the building. I know she said she was ok with being defeated so easily but I still felt bad about it. I decided to tell her something about me that no 1 here knew about. Matthew: So… did you know that I’m a former champion of the Unova League? Venam: Wait. You’re a former Champion?! Matthew: Yep. Venam: Well geez! No wonder I got my ass whooped like that! Matthew: -nervously chuckles- Maybe. Venam: Wow… I can’t believe I just battled a former champion! Matthew: Hmm… I never thought of it like that before. Champion, in a sense, VS Gym Leader. Sounds pretty cool doesn’t it? Venam: Sounds cool but it’s bad when I lose so easily. Matthew: Ohh yea… Well you’ll get stronger and like you said, you’ll get your rematch. When we finally made it to the entrance, Rousey popped out of her PokeBall. Me and Venam were a bit surprised by this. When I was gonna ask the little monkey Pokemon what was going on, she started to glow. Matthew: What is… Wait… Is she- Venam: I think she’s evolving! Matthew: No way! The 2 of us watched as Rousey evolved into a Monferno. When the glow disappeared, Rousey jumped up and down for joy for evolving. I was really proud of her. She had worked hard for me ever since I chose her to be my starter Pokemon in this region. I patted her on the head. Matthew: Nice job Rousey! You deserve that evolution. Monferno: Monferno Mon! Venam: Well if anything, I’m glad our battle caused her to evolve. Matthew: Yea. Thanks Venam. Venam: No problem. But hey. I’m gonna go down to the train station and see what’s going on with Ren. I thought he’d be back by now. Matthew: Yea. Sounds like a plan. Venam: Try not to take too long alright. Matthew: Alright. I won’t. Venam exited the building. I patted Rousey on the head for a few more seconds before returning her back to her PokeBall. I was glad that I had gotten a badge and now a newly evolved Pokemon. But I knew I had to get my focus back on saving Melia. POKEMON TEAM REJUVENATION CHARACTER RATES TIME SPENT IN AEVIUM QUESTION OF THE THREAD

Melia and I both hopped onto the train to get back to Gearen City. As soon as we arrived and the doors of the cars opened, Melia darted out and raced off to the lab. I followed behind but was a little bit behind since I wasn’t used to running so much. It didn’t take so long for me to get there though. When I made it to the building, I walked inside. I approached the lab door and walked inside there. Before I could step another foot inside, Melia put her finger over her mouth, signaling for me to at least not talk as loud. Matthew: -whispering- What’s going on? Melia: -whispering- Someone’s here with my dad. We should hide ourselves and see what’s going on. I nodded my head in agreement and the 2 of us hid behind to very large bookcases. We could then hear the conversation between the professor and whoever else was there with us. ??? You know I don’t appreciate being hung up on like that. Now only was it rude but it calls for you to being reported for misconduct. I should do it. Prof. Jenner: I apologize Madelis but what did you want me to do? People came walking into the room. Madelis: Could have locked the door. Simple as that. This whole mess would be avoided then. I suppose it doesn’t matter though. Zetta should be picking up Melia up very soon. Prof. Jenner: Yes… Madelis: Why so glum? You knew this was going to happen. From the moment we gave you the job of looking after Melia as she grew up, we made it very clear. Melia was only going to be with you temporarily. Once she grew up, you’d have to return her to us. Prof. Jenner: I… I haven’t forgotten. Madelis: Hmm… Well for your sake, I hope that is the case. I told you that getting attached would ruin you and it looks like it has. Lokk at it like this. It’s like a sacrifice. We’ll have our lives back after this. It’ll all be over… In due time. Before I even knew what was going on, I saw Melia get up from her hiding space and come out into view. I couldn’t stop her. She had spoken, alerting Prof Jenner and the other person called Madelis that she was in the room with them. She walked up to them with such hatred. I could see the shocked expressions on both of their faces. In fact, I had 1 on my face as well. I knew I had to follow her though in case she needed protection. Prof. Jenner: Melia! And Matthew too… I knew it was wise to leave it in- Madelis: Jenner! What is the meaning of this?! What the hell are you playing at?! Melia is supposed to be at Goldenwood Forest! What is she doing here?! Prof. Jenner: She- Melia: Be quiet! The both of you! I knew it… I knew it from the moment I found the Snag Machine in the briefcase… You gave it to me on today of all days! You knew this would happen! Yet… You sent me on my way anyway… And you even got Matthew involved too! Matthew: I got to be honest Professor. That shit isn’t cool. Not that the day with her was bad but… really? This is fucked up. Melia: And to top it off, you’re not even my real father! You never told me the truth! Prof. Jenner: Melia, please list- Melia: NO! I’m done listening to you! Everything you’ve done was to set me up! Madelis: Ugh! Enough of this! I don’t understand what’s going on! Why are you here?! Why didn’t Zetta capture you?! Matthew: Because he couldn’t handle me! Madelis: You… You did this? Matthew: Yea. And the name’s Matthew. Remember it well. Madelis: Ohh I will. But right now, I’m ending this! Come out Houndoom! Madelis threw out her PokeBall and out came the Houndoom. Melia backed up and called out her Togepi. I was kind of surprised that she was prepared to battle. Matthew: Are you sure Melia? Melia: Yes. I’m not scared of her! Matthew: Well alright then. Kick her ass! Madelis: Heh. We’ll see about that. The battle between the 2 started. But in only 2 moves the battle was over. The Houndoom was too powerful for Melia’s Togepi. Melia went to make sure her Pokemon was ok. Madelis stood there smirking at her. Matthew: Don’t you dare- Madelis: Pipe down moron! You were foolish to think that you could even begin to face me. Impudence will get you nowhere if you don’t have the strength and beauty to back it up! Matthew: Beauty? The hell does beauty have to- Madelis: I said to pipe down! Matthew: Why you son of a- Melia: Don’t talk down to me… Madelis: Really? Listen here. Your Pokemon are all weakened. I only used 1 of mine. You think you can take on the rest of my onslaught? Matthew: She might not be able to but I can! Madelis: I’d suggest for you to shut up for real this time or else! As the 2 of us started to bicker back and forth, Melia ordered her Togepi to use Metronome. As weak as it was, it did as it was ordered to do and started to wave its arms back and forth. When it was done, the 2 of them started to glow a weird light blue color. Then, they suddenly disappeared. The 3 of us were shocked at what had just happened. Madelis could be seen getting upset by this. Obviously, this whole thing was not going according to plan. Matthew: That… That must have been Teleport! Madelis: Are you fucking kidding me?! Ugh! This is just fantastic! I’m not going to let her get away! Madelis pulled out what seemed to be a walkie-talkie and started to speak into it. She informed the Team Xen Grunts of what the situation was. She then ordered them to search the whole city to find Melia. In all honesty, it felt like Team Xen had taken over Gearen City which was really a bad thing. She then turned off the walkie-talkie and put it away. She then looked sternly at Prof. Jenner. Madelis: Well Jenner, I’ll give you this. It was a valiant effort. However, I told you to not get attached to her. It seems my words fell on deaf ears however. Now we’re in this mess. Prof. Jenner: So what now?… Madelis: Well it’s just business but I’m going to have to report you to… her. Matthew: Who’s… Who’s her? Madelis: I’d love to stick here and chat some more but I have other duties to attend to. Matthew: Answer me! Madelis: Matthew right? I’m gonna give you 1 chance. Stay out of this. This doesn’t concern you. Matthew: Like hell it doesn’t! Madelis: Do whatever you want to do. But I did warn you. Ta-ta! Madelis walked out of the room. Jenner and I both looked on. We couldn’t believe what just happened. I then turned around to Jenner wanting an explanation for what was going on. Matthew: Alright. What the fuck is going on?! You clearly had me go to Melia so I’d protect her from all of this. So spill it! Prof. Jenner: I… This wasn’t supposed to go down like this at all. If only Madelis didn’t show up here when she did… Matthew, I- ???: Professor! We both heard a voice from the other side of the door. When it opened, Ren came running up to the Professor’s desk. He seemed really frightened by something. Ren: Professor Jenner! Something really terrible is happening! Matthew: Let me guess. Team Xen grunts have taken over the city? Ren: Yes! But… wait. How do you know? Matthew: There’s no time for that right now! We need to figure out what to do now! Ren: Well I got separated from Venam. She was fighting off as many as she could and told me to come here and tell Jenner what was going on. Prof. Jenner: Alright. You 2 need to listen to me very carefully. Team Xen is after Melia. If they find her, it’ll be over for all of us. I need you 2 to leave and find her immediately! Ren: Well where do we even go to look? Prof. Jenner: West Gearen and the forest are off limits. She could’ve only gone in the direction of Route 2. Matthew: Route 2? Prof. Jenner: Yes. The Railnet east of here will be able to take you to Route 2 without any problem- ???: That’ll be enough. Out of nowhere, a weirdly colored Gothitelle popped up in front of Ren and I. I assumed it was a shiny. It wasn’t all purple like some of the Pokemon I saw when the Team Xen Grunts use against me when I was battling them. But then I remembered something. It was back on the boat. There was a lady that had this Gothitelle with her. I looked around the room for her but there was no 1 else in the room. Then, we all started to hear a voice. ???: Do not be alarmed by the Gothitelle. They’re just… a companion. Matthew: Where are you?! ???: You need not worry about that. Ren: Show yourself! ???: And you. I have no business with you. Quiet. Ren: Why you- ???: I must say Professor Jenner. You are a very irresponsible and horrible person for sending children to do your dirty work. It ENRAGES me to even think about what Matthew could’ve gone through if I hadn’t intervened. Ren: Wait. She knows your name? Matthew: What? But… I have no idea who she is. How does she know my name? ???: Because of this, I’m going to place you in time out for a bit. It’ll give you a chance to think about what you’ve done. Out of nowhere, it appeared to be some kind of hole that appeared behind Jenner. He was instantly lifted off of the ground. He held onto his desk as hard as he could so he didn’t get sucked in. It was odd though. It was as if this hole was only affecting Jenner and not me nor Ren. Ren tried to help Jenner but the Gothitelle wouldn’t let him get by. Prof. Jenner: Ren… Matthew… I know this is selfish of me… But please! You have to rescue Melia. If not… If not… Before he could finish his sentence, Jenner was sucked into the hole. It then disappeared. Ren and I were concerned for his safety. The voice then warned us to stay out of this and that pursuing Melia would only lead to despair. After the warning, Gothitelle too disappeared. Ren was clearly upset and confused. He came up to me demanding to know what was going on. I tried my best to explain to him what all happened. When I was finished, Ren seemed dumbfounded. Ren: I… I can’t believe it. All of that happened? Matthew: Yes. And it’s not good. I have no clue why they want Melia but- Ren: Right. A lot of weird things are going on but we can’t sit around and do nothing. Matthew: You’re right. But… I think we should take care of the Team Xen Grunts 1st. Clear the city of them. Ren: Yea. I think you’re right. Come on. I’ll join you. Ren and I exited the lab and we’re running towards the exit of the building. When we got outside, we accidentally ran into Venam, all of us being knocked over. Venam: Ow! That hurt! Watch where you’re going you numbsk- Ohh! It’s you Ren! And Matthew too! Matthew: I already know about the Team Xen takeover. Ren: We’re gonna go kick them out of the city. Wanna join us? Venam: Hell yea! This’ll be easier too. I already fought a couple of them coming here. Matthew: Right. Let’s go then! The 3 of us started to walk the streets of Gearen City. While searching for Team Xen Grunts, we explained to Venam what had happened inside of the lab. Venam: That’s insane! Ren: I thought so too but it’s all true. Matthew: Yea. So after this, we’re gonna- Team Xen Grunt: Hey! You 3! Get out of here! Venam: Well here are some of them. Team Xen Grunt: Why don’t you 3- Matthew: You know what? Screw talking! Send out your Pokemon everyone! All 6 of us threw out our PokeBalls and the battle started. Luckily for us, the grunts didn’t seem to have that many strong Pokemon so the battles didn’t take long. After their defeats, they retreated. We continued our search for more Team Xen Grunts. Ren: I can’t believe this is happening. Matthew: Trust me. I’m just as shocked as you are. Venam: You know Matthew, I don’t mean to pry but ever since you got here, you seemed to have been in a really fake nice bitchy kind of mood. Is everything ok? Matthew: If you really wanna know… My mom was kidnapped by Team Xen while we were coming here on the S.S. Oceana. Venam: What?! Are you serious? Ren: Now that you mention it, I did see reports of the S.S. Oceana going missing. Matthew: It’s probably at the bottom of the ocean right now. Ren: So… they really attacked the ship? Venam: But why? Matthew: I don’t know. They kidnapped everyone on there I think. I’m the only 1 that got away. Ren: Damn man… I’m sorry. I didn’t know that happened. Venam: Yea. I’m sorry too. I probably made your mood worse. Matthew: It’s fine. Really. Yea I’m still in a weird state of mind right now but you 2 and Melia have made me feel better here. That’s why I’m gonna do everything I can to find her. Venam: Well you are pretty cool. Especially that you’re helping us find Melia. Ren: And also- Team Xen Grunt: You get- Matthew: Go Taka! Ren: Let’s make quick work of them Frogadier! Venam: Let’s show ‘em what we’re made of Seviper! The 3 of our Pokemon attacked the Grunts directly. They were thrown so off guard that they didn’t even send out their Pokemon. They just retreated and ran out of the city. The 3 of us recalled our Pokemon and continued our search for more Team Xen Grunts. Venam: I think we’re almost done. I don’t see as much as before. Matthew: Good. We need to finish up quick. Ren: I just realized something. If Melia really did go to Route 2, she’s probably going to try to get to Sheridan Village. Matthew: Sheridan Village? Venam: Yea. You ever see 1 of those movies where people live in a secluded wooded area and are all about that peace and love bullshit? Matthew: Yea. Venam: That’s basically Sheridan Village. Matthew: Ahh. I see. Ren: Yes but if you are going there then you need to- Team Xen Grunt: There are 3 over there! -runs over to us- You 3 better- Matthew: I’m gonna give you 1 chance. Just go retreat and we won’t even follow you. Team Xen Grunt: Retreat?! Are you crazy?! The Team Xen Grunts sent out their Pokemon as did we. Luckily, just like our 1st battle together, it wasn’t very hard and they were defeated. They retreated away. We continued our search for more Team Xen Grunts around the city but we didn’t see any. They were out of the city. The 3 of us then walked up to Venam’s building. I was a little confused as to why we were here. Matthew: Why are we here? We need to go after Melia! Ren: We got interrupted before but let me explain. There is a cave that separates Route 2 from Sheridan Village. In order to get there, you need 2 things. The HM for Rock Smash and a Gym Badge. Venam: And guess who’s badge activates it? Matthew: Alright. Well give me the badge now, we’ll go save Melia and then we can battle for the badge afterwards. Venam: I wish I could do that but it’s against the rules. And Jan would give me an earful if I did that. Matthew: Even with the situation we’re in? Venam: Unfortunately. Matthew: Fine! But we should hurry it up! Ren: Right. You 2 go do that. I’ll go down to the train station and get us train tickets for Route 2. Venam: Right. You go do that! Matt, I’ll be waiting for you in the back of my gym. Ohh. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use any Shadow Pokemon in our battle. I feel as it would be unfair. Matthew: Yea yea. Sure. Fine. Venam: Alright. Let’s go then! Ren went to the train station as Venam entered her Gym and went to her arena. I went to a PC and deposited any Shadow Pokemon I had. While the situation was dire, I couldn’t help but also feel exited about this Gym Battle. It would be my 1st in the Aevium Region. POKEMON TEAM REJUVENATION CHARACTER RATES TIME SPENT IN AEVIUM QUESTION OF THE THREAD

I'm not too sure if this is true or not but a couple of days ago, I saw something that said that we might be getting a Pokemon Direct on the 31st of August. It most likely is unlikely but just thought you all should know.

When I finally got to the other side of the cave and exited, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Some trees were knocked down and smoke was filling the area. Melia and I looked ahead and could see 2 boys a bit from the cave’s entrance. Melia: Hey! You 2! What’s going on?! What happened?! Boy #1: W-We don’t know… Boy #2: We were training inside the cave when we both heard a huge explosion. We came out here and… this is what we’re seeing now… Matthew: This is insane! ???: Ohh please… Some help me! An elderly woman came running up to us. The 4 of us came running up to her. I remembered her being out here before on the bench with her Furfrou but now, it wasn’t with her anymore. Old Lady: Someone… Please help… Matthew: What happened? Are you ok? Old Lady: Ohh! You 2 are the 2 kinds I saw in the forest earlier. Some thugs came and… they took my precious Furfrou from me. Melia: Some thugs? Matthew: Don’t tell me it’s- Old Lady: They were wearing weird black and red uniforms. As soon as she told us what the thugs were wearing, I got angry. I knew who she was talking about. It was none other than Team Xen. Now I could get these bastards to tell me where they had taken my mother. Melia looked up at me and could see the anger in my face. Melia: Well… I’m just gonna leave this here. -sets down the briefcase- Don’t worry Ma’am. We’ll get your Furfrou back for you. Old Lady: You’re so kind. Thank you! ???: This way! The 5 of us looked up ahead and could see a couple of Team Xen grunts running up towards us. I wanted to just run up to the and grabbed them by their necks but I knew I had to remain calm if I wanted to get anything out of them. Team Xen Grunt #1: Hey! Get back here! We weren’t done taking things from you! Old Lady: Ahh! It’s them! Melia: I-I knew it. I didn’t want to believe it but it’s clear now. Matthew: Mother fucking Team Xen. Team Xen Grunt #2: So then you must have heard of us huh? We’re not some joke anymore then? Matthew: Ohh I’ll make you all into jokes! Team Xen Grunt #3: Ha! Don’t make us laugh. Anyways, we’re here for 1 thing and then we’re out of here. Boy #1:: What are you here for? Team Xen Grunt #1: I’m glad you asked… We’re here for the girl! Any form of resistance will be met with our unruly wrath! Old Lady: Wh-What?! You’re here for the girl?!… Ohhhhh myyyyy… All of us, including the grunts, looked on as the lady started to sway her hips as if she thought that Team Xen was here to get her for her… Well I didn’t want to think about that. Luckily, the Team Xen Grunts shut her up about that. Melia: Wait. Are you talking about me? Team Xen Grunt #1: Yes! We are here for you Melia! Matthew: Wait! What do you want Melia for?! Team Xen Grunt #2: We were ordered to kidnap a girl named Melia who would be in this area at this time. And now that we’re here, you’re coming with us! Matthew: Hell no she’s not! Melia: Yea! You guys must be insane if you think I’m going to go with you lot! Team Xen Grunt #3: Heh… They never comply do they? Team Xen Grunt #2: Hey. Show them it. Team Xen Grunt #1: Right! Come on out Meowth! The Xen Grunt threw out his PokeBall and out popped a Meowth but it was different. It was mostly purple. It looked at us as if it really wanted to hurt us. Then I remembered something. A couple of weeks before I was going to leave for here, Taka and I encountered a weirdly colored Bisharp. This Meowth was the same color as that Bisharp. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Matthew: That Meowth… You… Melia: Something’s different about it… Team Xen Grunt #1: Really? Damnit. Madelis said it wouldn’t be noticeable but I guess she was wrong. But you’re right little lady! This Meowth is not a normal 1 at all. This Meowth has been subjected to an experiment thought to be long gone. Shadow Pokemon. The lot of us were shocked. I remembered when I was younger and heard something like that was happening in the Orre Region. Luckily, it was taken care of quickly. But to think that it was back again, I was a little bit worried. Matthew: So then that Bisharp a couple of weeks ago… That was a Shadow Pokemon? Team Xen Grunt #2: Yea but that was in Unova. How do you know about that? Matthew: I was the 1 who stopped it after it… it killed my best friend. Team Xen Grunt #3: What?! You stopped it?! Matthew: Yes… I hated that Pokemon ever since then. It almost made me not even come here… But I’m not mad at it anymore. Whenever I find it, I’m gonna rescue it and find a way to purify its heart! Team Xen Grunt #1: Ha! You don’t even have a way of getting it, let alone this Meowth as well. Matthew: Ugh! Damnit! Melia: Matthew, the code to open the briefcase is 6489! Put that in and open it quickly! I looked out towards Melia and wondered what could be in the briefcase to help us against a Shadow Pokemon. I did as she asked though and entered the code and opened up the briefcase. What I saw inside though shocked me. It was some kind of mechanical glove. But I knew what it was. Melia could see it too and was in complete shock as well. Melia: Is… Is that what I think it is? Matthew: Yes… I’m gonna put it on! I grabbed the glove and carefully put it onto my arm. It fit quite comfortably. Even though this was a serious time, I couldn’t help but feel awesome wearing this. I then went down to where Melia was and stood in front of the Shadow Meowth. Team Xen Grunt #1: What? Seriously? You think you can really beat me? Matthew: Not only that but I’m gonna rescue that Meowth! Melia: So then you know what that thing is then? Matthew: Yea… I do. Melia: Then you know what you have to do. Team Xen Grunt #1: Tch! You think you can beat me!? Bring it on! Tear them up Meowth! I sent out Krep but I didn’t really need to send out any Pokemon. Before any move was given, I grabbed a PokeBall with the Snag Machine Glove and threw it towards the Meowth. The ball jiggled for a couple of seconds and then stopped. Meowth was now mine. Everybody that witnessed it was surprised. Shadow Pokemon were back and so was the Snag Machine. I went over to the PokeBall, picked it up and put it into my pocket. The Team Xen Grunt that initiated the battle seemed upset by the fact that his Meowth was now mine. Team Xen Grunt #1: You… How? How did you snag my Meowth?! Matthew: Wow… So this is a Snag Machine. Melia: Yes but why would it be in the briefcase? Unless… No. I can’t think about that right now. Team Xen Grunt #1: You! Give me back my Meowth now! Matthew: Are you kidding me?! You artificially closed the door to its heart! Team Xen Grunt #1: But I raised it from an egg! Y-You can’t just take it away from me! Melia: You should have thought about that before turning it into a Shadow Pokemon! Team Xen Grunt #2: Grr! You’ll both regret this! This doesn’t end here. Let’s just see you try to escape the forest. You’ll be ours before the end of the day. Melia: Ohh we’ll get out of here alright. And I won’t be going anywhere but home! Matthew: Now scram. The 3 Team Xen grunts then ran off the way they came. Melia and I then told the old lady and the 2 boys to go into the cave and hide in the back where the 2 of us were just a little bit ago. The 2 of us decided we should get through the rest of Team Xen and to try to stop their plan with taking Melia. As we walked back through the forest, I battled a few more Team Xen Grunts. If any of them had a Shadow Pokemon, I caught them. As soon as I seen the Meowth, I decided that I would snag them from any trainer that had them and help them become normal again. As the 2 of us continued to walk through the forest, Melia wanted to know something. Melia: Hey Matt? Matthew: What is it? Melia: Before when we were facing those 3 Xen Grunts before, you said you seen a Shadow Pokemon before coming to Aevium right? Matthew: Yea? What about it? Melia: What happened? Matthew:… A Shadow Bisharp killed a lot of people in Unova in the area where I lived. And the last person it killed was… He was my best friend… His name was Taka… Melia: Ohh! I’m sorry. I didn’t know that happened. Matthew: It’s ok. You know… I hated that Bisharp. So much. I was even gonna kill it if I saw it again. But now that I know it was a Shadow Pokemon, I’m not mad at it now. I wanna help that 1 the most. Melia: I’m sure it’ll like that very much whenever you do get to it. When we finally got to the entrance of the forest, we saw a truck blocking the path. Melia seemed upset but I was kind of happy. Now I could get some info on what happened to my mom. When we looked back at the little hill, we could see 3 people standing on it. We decided to go there and confront the 3. When we got there, the 2 people that were standing in front of the 1 person looked at us. ???: Well well well. They’re here. ???: Ohh! That Melia girl right? Bad girl? We capture her and sell them to high up? ???: Wha- Sell? What are you talking about Eli? We’re not selling anyone. If you mean we’re gonna capture her and give her to our leader, then yea. Eli: Yes yes! That is what Eli mean! I apologize to you Sharon! Matthew: Alright you 2! Just shut up! Where is my mother?! Eli: Mother? We take someone mother? Sharon: I don’t know. Whatever we do is what we do. Whatever someone else does in the team stays with them. Matthew: Liars! Sharon: Look, you can keep shouting all you want. We don’t know anything. And even if we did, we wouldn’t tell you. Eli: Correct. Sharon is tell the truth! Melia: Matt? They took your mother? Is that true? Matthew: Yea. It is. They attacked the S.S. Oceana and took her and I’m pretty sure they took the others as well… I’m the only 1 that escaped. Melia: That’s… How? How did you have any kind of fun today? Matthew: It’s been hard. I may have had to fake a lot of it today but you and Venam and Ren… you all helped. Melia: Matt… Sharon: Enough with the sob stories. We’re taking Melia and that’s that. Melia: No you won’t! I don’t know what your obsession with me is all about but we’re leaving this place! Sharon: But you see, that’s where you’re wrong. Not only are you not getting away, you also won’t be seeing this place ever again. Melia: What?! Matthew: I’ll be damned if I let any of you Team Xen freaks take Melia! Eli: Pointless to resist. Give up your lives now. Sharon: Well that’s a bit much. Giving up would be just fine though. Melia: We’ll never give up! Matt, I don’t have much but I’ll fight with you with my Hapi. Matthew: Are you sure? Melia: Yes. I’m sure. Matthew: Well alright then future Gym Leader. Let’s do this! Sharon: Ugh. You 2 are so annoying. But whatever. Let’s go! The tag team battle started. Shockingly it wasn’t a tough match. Melia’s Togepi survived throughout the whole much as did my Ducklett. Eli seemed frustrated but not Sharon. Matthew: Nothing to say now? Sharon: -sighs- Despite my big talk, this isn’t a surprise. Melia: Then why battle us? Sharon: We get in trouble if we don’t do as we’re told. But that was pretty boring. Having things go exactly the way you predicted? Psh. But I guess it doesn’t really matter. We’re still gonna try to capture you. Eli: Give up don’t we! Matthew: Uhh… What? Sharon: He means we don’t give up. The Team Xen Grunts advanced towards us. Melia threatened them that we’d attack. Even though I had only known her for a short time, I knew she wasn’t someone to do something like that. I was about to step in front of Melia to protect her when we all heard some kind of Pokemon sound. We all turned around to the sound of the noise. Walking up to us was a Garbodor that was a shiny exclusive to Aevium. But then I remembered this Pokemon from somewhere. Matthew: Melia… Isn’t that the Garbodor from… Melia: Wait… It is! It’s the 1 from the sewers! But why is it here? Matthew: I have no clue. Sharon: Damn! Another threat to the mission! Sorry Zetta but we’re going to have to deal with this. Right Eli? Eli: D-Do we? Sharon: Duh! I mean it’s our JOB to take care of threats. Come on. Let’s go. The Garbodor took off running and the strange duo went running after it. Melia and I looked at each other. We figured that the lady of the duo didn’t really want to stay there for long. So she decided to chase the Garbodor instead of trying to get Melia. There was only 1 person left there. Considering that Sharon called out Zetta, I figured she was referring to this person. I had Melia stay on the ground below as I confronted the person. Matthew: Hey. Your name’s Zetta right? Zetta: Ahh. So Sandra and Eli weren’t able to hold you 2 off? Melia: Sandra? But I thought her name was Sharon? Zetta: Sandra? Sharon? Who cares. And yes. My name is Zetta. Matthew: We have some questions for you. Zetta: And I would LOVE to answer them, but I really don’t feel like it right now. Maybe later. I’ll give you props for making it this far though. Nicely done. Matthew: Shut up! I don’t want to be given props from you. Zetta: Too bad. Already gave them to you. What’s your name anyways kid? Matthew: I’m not a kid but if you wanna know, it’s Matthew. Zetta: Matthew? Wow. Your parents must have hated you or something to give you that n- ow! Zetta stumbled back a bit after being hit in the face by my fist. I did not want him talking about my parents. Especially since they had my mother right now. Zetta regained his composure though and looked up at me, smiling. Zetta: Nice punch there. Hmm. Ohh. That girl there. Is that Melia? Hmm… So that’s what you look like. Matthew: That’s kind of creepy dude. Melia: Enough of this. Leave Goldenwood Forest immediately! Why attack this place if I’m the prime target? Zetta: You don’t seem like a bright kid Melia. So I’m just gonna skip it. But what has me interested is that machine your friend Matthew here has. I wonder. Where’d you get that? Matthew: It doesn’t matter where I get it. All that matters is that I have it and that I’m gonna save all those Shadow Pokemon. Melia: Yea! What Matthew said! Zetta: Actually, it does matter. To me at least. That little machine is kind of troublesome. It kind of negates a huge part of what we’re doing. Now hand it over. Matthew: Ha! You think I’d just hand this over?! Just try to take it! Zetta: Ohh I will. Although I knew you wouldn’t just willingly hand it over. That is precisely why I brought a little friend with me. Zetta pointed out on the lake. Melia and I both looked out towards the water and could see something on the surface. We had no idea what it was but it left a bad feeling in our stomachs. Matthew: What the hell is that thing? Zetta: Ohh fantastic! I get to be teacher for the day! So listen up! This, my himble students, is what you would call a Dimensional Rift. Melia: A Dimensional Rift? Zetta: Mhm. They’re breaks in the universe that create portals to other dimensions. They may act as transportation. Teleportation if you will or as… Weapons of mass destruction! Melia: W-Weapons of mass destruction?! Zetta: You see, these portals have no purpose when it’s just out here alone. But if you put something inside of it, particularly a Pokemon… Something very interesting happens. Matthew: You’re… doing even more things to these Pokemon? Team Xen must be stopped. Zetta: -laughs- I’d love to see that. But see, conjuring up 1 of these things takes up a lot of energy. These things are really only used for as a last resort. I would like to not use it unless I totally have to. Ohh! I have a great idea! Let’s play a game! Melia: We don’t have time for games! Zetta: Too bad! I make the rules for right now! Matthew, you and me will battle right now. If I win, I take Melia and the Snag Machine. If you win, I’ll activate the Dimensional Rift. That sounds fair right? Melia: What?! That’s completely unfair! We’re in a bad situation no matter the outcome! Zetta: Ding ding ding! The girl’s smart after all! Too bad that my deals are final and are acted upon immediately! Matthew: Hey Melia! It’ll be ok! I’ll take down both Zetta and the Dimensional Rift! Don’t worry ok! Melia: O-Ok Matthew… I believe in you! I turned back towards Zetta and we both threw out our 1st Pokemon. His 1st Pokemon was actually a Shadow Alolan Grimer. While it did manage to knock out Taka, I was able to catch it from Taka. I was then able to take down the rest of his team. But of course he didn’t seem all that concerned for he had his backup plan. The Dimensional Rift. After a bit more banter between Zetta and Melia, Zetta turned around and activated the Dimensional Rift. Out of it came a Gyarados but it looked different from both its original form and its mega form. It almost looked demonic. Melia and myself couldn’t believe what we were seeing. Matthew: What the fuck is that?! Melia: Is that really a Gyarados?! Zetta: Yes. So before you said you could take on me and the Dimensional Rift Matthew. Do you think you can still do that? Matthew: I… I… Zetta: Because I’d really love to see you try! Well… actually I don’t. Soooo I’m just going to sweep you to the side for now. Melia: What are you talking about? Zetta: Listen here Matthew. That battle was nice and all but you’re just in the way right now. So… Gyarados, devour Matthew! Now! I stared up at the monster, frozen in place. I could hear Melia telling me to start running but I just couldn’t. Before long, I could feel myself starting to get sucked into the Pokemon. That brough me out of my shocked state. I tried to run from the suction. Melia grabbed onto my arm and tried to pull me away from the beast. But thanks to the powerful suction and also Zetta pushing me off the ledge, I was sucked into the Gyarados’ mouth and swallowed. When I came to however, I was on a dock. I looked around the area. It was weird. When I could see grass, I could see red grass. I didn’t know where I was. I walked up and went into a new area. I could see another dock but before that, there was a strange looking PokeBall on the floor. When I got closer to it, my CyberNav was starting to rumble like crazy. I pulled it out and hovered it near the ball. It seemed to shake crazy and then suddenly, I could see the word “Downloading” on the screen. I didn’t know what was going on. When it said “Download Complete,” I opened up the CyberNav and looked on it. A new app had appeared and it was called the Rift Dex. I opened it up and could see a file of some sort on it called Code: Evo. I opened it up and was dumbfounded by what I was reading. Matthew: What the fuck is this? This is… I don’t know what this is. Shadow Pokemon and now this? What’s going on? After reading it, I put my CyberNav away. I looked out on the dock again and noticed a Magikarp flopping around on it. I walked up to it and gently pushed it into the water. It then started to swim up a waterfall and when it made it up to the top, it started to glow. It then fell back down and splashed under the water. I went to the edge of the dock as I could to see what was going on. Almost instantly, the demon Gyarados popped up out of the water and gazed its eyes on me. I jumped back. I grabbed a PokeBall ready for the inevitable battle that would be taking place. Before the Pokemon could attack though, I could hear a voice. ???: Matt! Wait! Matthew: Huh? Who is that?! Show yourself! ???: Matthew! I don’t know where you are or if you can even hear this… But I won’t let you face this alone! Matthew: Wait… That sounds like Melia! Melia: I’ll help you in any way I can! Matthew: Good. Looks like I got some help from outside of this place as well. Alright you beast! It’s time to take you down! The Gyarados roared out a mighty roar and the battle was underway. Luckily for me, Krep was able to take its hits and deal some too and eventually knocked out the Pokemon. I returned Krep back to its ball, happy that the Gyarados was gone now but I had no idea how to get out of this place. Then I could hear a familiar voice once again. I looked up and could see the figure of Melia. Melia: Heh… You did well Matthew! Matthew: Thanks! But… how do I get out of he- Whoa! The ground started to shake and I once again blacked out. When I woke up, I was outside of the Goldenwood Forest back in Route 1. I had no idea what happened. Matthew: Wha… What happened? How did we get here? Melia: I’m so glad you’re awake! Ohh yea. Me and Garbodor attacked the Gyarados but I don’t think we were able to truly defeat it. Matthew: Are you serious? Damn. Melia: At the last second, Zetta was able to save it by turning it back into a Rift. Matthew: Damn him. Next time I see him, I’ll make sure he gets knocked out. Melia: I tried bringing Garbodor with me but it refused to come. Matthew: I think it might be creating a diversion for us to escape. Melia: Yea. I think you’re right… But that doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is getting out of this place. But luckily, the police arrived and they’re taking care of the situation. We need to head back to the lab! Matthew: Right. Let’s go! POKEMON TEAM REJUVENATION CHARACTER RATES TIME SPENT IN AEVIUM QUESTION OF THE THREAD

Interesting. Well that’ll be nice. If you ever need help battling with made up characters or whatever, I’m right here!

As always, it was a great, interesting read. Loving the new character as well! Apparently, it seems we’re leaving the Reborn storyline for a bit to follow this 1. Always making us think what’s gonna happen next. Keep up the good work!

Wow. I didn’t even know a new trailer was out. Idt we ever had a trailer all about new items & abilities before btw. They’re interesting. & I love G.F. Weeding even more now!