A laugh escaped a tall male as a pair of boys walked through Hoenn. They were arriving at Petalburg for certain reasons. A pair of green eyes scanned the area.

"You already got caught." The lead male followed his gaze and groaned.

"Race you to the center." The other boy groaned as he raced after the lead boy.

"Hey!" A voice followed them as they slipped into the center.

"Why couldn't we have stayed in ally territory?" The shorter male asked.

"Because unlike you who has nothing better to do than to just wander Kanto and give people a hard time, these guys said that they were having difficulties." The lead boy replied.

"We're going to get jumped. And I know who it will be." The shorter boy scolded.

"My bad. But we had to re enter here eventually. C'mon..." The doors opened with a growl and the leader sighed. "Never mind. Here comes the jump. Darn it..."

"Well well well... if it isn't Max. What are you doing here?"

He gulped. He still had his jacket and pants. His glasses were slightly dirty, which he was pulling out a cloth to clean. In addition to the waist bag, there was a pack strapped to his back with a binder attached. He now had a pale yellow blanket cape and his left hand was wrapped up. His eyes flashed slightly as he growled. The other three males seemed to have a similar reaction to the person.

The other male had long, blonde hair that reached his waist. His green eyes burned a little as they glared at the person. He had a green shirt with brown pants and white shoes that seemed to be modified. He had two sashes of casings of something. His backpack rested on his shoulders. He had a green scooter that rested beside him with a suitcase attached to the front.

"Who do we got here... hm?" Max sighed calmly.

"Leave us alone May." The older girl chuckled.

"You're not in your domain anymore, Max. What do you have that says otherwise?" Max opened his mouth to counter when someone cut him off.

"There you two are." They turned as a smaller boy went over. His faded lime green hair waved a little as his blue eyes scanned the group. His white outfit with a pale blue jacket easily identified him. His bag rested across his chest. Max smiled.

"Please don't tell me we passed you guys." The boy giggled.

"No. We had you come here because the others are trying to gather. You're just in time. C'mon." Max grinned as he followed him. May grabbed his arm.

"Oh no you don't!"

"May, I have places to be."

"Max, you have questions to answer first!"

"This is important and needed. Will you please let me go?"

"Not your domain anymore, little brother. You're not moving."

"May..." A hand was suddenly between them. May blinked to see the shorter boy.

"Enough. Max, head out to the group. They need your presence now. And if you're not out of town by the time I walk out of this building, we know what'll happen." Max gulped shallowly before taking off outside with the other boy. The short boy looked up at May. "He never left his domain. Technically, you're in our domain. Watch it." He jumped on the scooter and raced after them. She blinked a little at his words.

Their domain? Wasn't that Alola? Or was she missing something? She raced after them as they went into the woods. With expert skills of following, she discovered them walking to Mr. Briney's house. She was able to listen in to the conversation with no problem.

"Here you go! Three freshly fixed communication devices and a com set. This should connect you back to the others." The short boy's voice rang out.

"Thanks Emerald!" The green haired from before exclaimed.

"What exactly struck your comms down?" Max's voice danced slightly, but it seemed focused.

"It wasn't carelessness if that's what you're praying it's not." Mr. Briney answered. "We had gotten attacked in the middle of the night. I was able to wound the attacker and get answers. But by the time I had gotten them, the comms were in no repair for this crew. I'm rather thankful Wally had a backup." The green haired giggle at the sound of his voice. A female voice appeared.

"Hopefully we weren't too much of an obstacle, Alkymist Sirene." Max chuckled.

"One, just Max is alright, Zinnia. Two, not at all. It's always great to go out of Alola to see the other teammates. I'm hoping you are all well."

"We are. Between Emerald's guidance, the Tales coming to give us a challenge, and knowing who's leading; we've been stable." Wally's voice explained, twisting May's mind.

"Good. Then in that case, I'll be heading out. I have to head to the Tales in Unova."

"Ok be honest, you wouldn't." Zinnia said.

"I don't favor them. I'll say that. Don't tell them I said this, but I favor Rumors over them. I just don't show it." Max's voice went soft. "I've gotta go see them anyways. I haven't left the island in a while, so I should visit all the groups and get those meetings done. Can you guys contact the other groups and get a meeting together? I'll get the Unova Tales to do it for their group."

"Copy that!" Max slipped out of the building and started walking away.

May's head was spinning. Rumors? Tales? Meetings with them? What in the world? What was he up to? She slipped over to where he had gone. A Butterfree was drifting around him. A Banette sat on his shoulder, almost talking to him. A Gallade eyed them as a small conversation filled the air.

"A lot has happened, Banette."

"Bane!"

"I wonder if..." Max shook his head. "That's not possible. Not with the current situation."

"Bane?"

"I'm referring to the travel group. I wonder what side they're on. I'm hoping that they're all ok. I'm wondering the same for the others."

His phone buzzed gently. He pulled it out and grinned.

"Ok... meeting next week at Mossdeep. Separate meetings are still being planned. That'll be interesting..."

"Bane!" Max put the phone away and grinned as he glanced at the ghost type.

"Alright! Butterfree! Next stop, Nuvema Town!" He returned Gallade and Banette as Butterfree lowered down to his back. It grabbed him and the duo took off. May eyed him as he vanished into the clouds.

"You might've gotten away this time, but next time I'll get my answers."

~!*!~

Iris spotted the small boy landing in Nuvema Town and instantly went over. Max gently stretched as he went over to one of the small houses and knocked. The door opened and a pair of blue eyes touched his.

"Major Max! Welcome! C'mon in! The others were waiting!" Max giggled.

"Rosa, you don't have to be formal. Just Max is alright." The female sighed.

"I know... but it's hard when..."

"I know I know." He followed her to where the others were. Iris went over to one of the open windows. "Alright. What is it you guys needed?"

"Other than to see your shining face? We might have found more allies." Rosa's voice answered him.

"Really? The four of you successfully found that out?"

"Yep." A proud male voice answered. "We were shocked to find it out."

"Who found it out?" Max asked.

"Me, Hilbert, and Hilda."

"From what it is, it's mostly gym leaders." Another female voice, no doubt Hilda, replied.

"Few trainers, but it's almost like they're battling the turners within." The proud male, Hilbert no doubt, added to Hilda's comment. Max hummed lightly and some shuffling could be heard. Iris paused at the sudden silence that followed. Then another voice spoke.

"What should we do, Max?" A minor scoff came as Max replied to the soft, fragile voice that had pierced the silence.

"Well... I need you guys to do three things. One: I need you to discover the leader of the allies here. They have to answer to someone. Two, I need you guys to reach out to the other Tales and tell them that next week is a full Chain meeting and to plan the Tales' meeting. Three, Nate, I need to speak with you outside before I take off alone. Got it?"

"Copy!"

Iris moved near the front door as two people walked out. Max and a slightly taller male walked out. The other boy, no doubt being Nate, had brown hair that looked unorganized and hazel eyes that were misty, but flashed slightly. His blue short sleeved jacket and white shorts stood out while dark blue and black under armour did its best to stay hidden. His tennis shoes steadied him as he looked at Max.

"Alright... Nate... I have a very special task I need you to do for me." Nate gulped.

"Yes?" Max held out a bag.

"These are for the Darkseid Chain's Sjef and Rådgiver. I would give it to them, but I have to get ready for next week's meeting and I have a lot of work waiting when I go back. And since you haven't done anything since your accident, this will give you something to do. Alright?" Nate's hazel eyes scanned the bag before taking it from Max.

"Alright... Will I have to track them down?"

"Most likely. You know how they work. Almost never resting in the same place." Nate giggled gently.

"In that case, I'll deliver these right away!" Nate went in a salute before stumbling a bit, causing the duo to laugh.

"Don't get yourself hurt. Rosa can't handle those Rumors alone."

"Copy that!" Max smiled as he pulled out the Butterfree and took off. Iris hummed lightly as Nate went inside.

"What are you hiding, Max?"

~!*!~

May hissed slightly as she watched a small group walking towards Mossdeep. It was odd that such a group was with Max. They took a boat over while she and Drew silently flew over. It didn't take long for them to find the meeting place. Max was standing by a decent sized warehouse in the city. Emerald chuckled.

"Are you sure a war can fit in there?" Max scoffed at his remark.

"Watch it, Em. Your height doesn't scare me. Not this time." The shorter boy laughed.

"It will when I kick your butt."

"Hey." They turned to a taller boy with a white hat. He wore a red and black turtleneck shirt with dark shorts and white/green shoes. His green bag was slung over his chest. His blue eyes scanned over them as the girl beside him giggled. "Knock it off."

"This is a short person battle. Keep your tallness outta here, Brendan." Brendan arched an eyebrow.

"Max is way taller than you. How is that fair?"

"This has been going on before Max hit his growth spurt. Leave it."

The girl beside Brendan laughed as confusion hit him. Her hazel hair swayed gently as her faded blue eyes looked at the fighting duo. She wore a red tank top with white shorts. Black under armour could be slightly seen. She had a bright red bandana tied into a bow in her hair and her yellow tennis shoes kept her feet moving. A yellow waist bag was hugging her waist like it should as she spoke.

"Don't pay attention to him. He has been non stop fighting with Zinnia after she remarked he wouldn't be able to beat her. He's a little tired from all of it."

Brendan's eyes drifted over to her and he opened his mouth to make a counter. Nothing came out as he closed his mouth. The female giggled as Max smiled.

"And so you're taking care of him, Haruka?" Max asked calmly.

She nodded as Brendan opened his mouth to object. Again, no sound came out as he closed his mouth. The group laughed as the sound of wings appeared. A Charizard, Garchomp, Swanna, Noctowl and Butterfree flew down with three groups of people.

"Look who the wind dragged in." A bunch of giggles escaped everyone at Max's words. "I know Nate will be late, but is everyone else here?"

"The real question is if the one guy came down from the mountain." A familiar voice snickered before a smack followed. "There he is!" A laugh appeared after that.

May peeked around the corner and froze. Familiar was an understatement. A lot of familiar faces were there. And Max was about to confirm it.

(Slight spoiler alert for people also reading Etta's Rumors of the Pokemon World series. These will list all of the rumors and others)

"Ok... Sinnoh... Is Hikari, Lucas, Cheryl, Mira, Riley, Marley, Buck, and Cynthia here?"

"Nope. Buck went missing." The champion joked as Buck scoffed.

"Ha. Hoenn... Is Brendan, Haruka, Briney, Zinnia, Wally, and Emerald here?"

"Yes!" Haruka beamed.

"Kanto... is Red, Leaf, Green, Yellow, Joey, Fuji, and Joy here?"

"Yes!" Two people called out in unison.

"Johto... is Ethan, Lyra, Kris, Silver, Eusine, Mary, Li, and Kurt here?"

"Sadly..." A male voice answered. May quivered at the darkness of it.

"Kalos... is Calem, Serenus, Shauna, Trevor, Tierno, Emma, Sina, Dexio, AZ, Linnea, Kali, Kathrine, Blossom, Inver, Memory and Phil here?"

"Yes!" The group responded from the back.

"Unova... is Hilda, Hilbert, Rosa, Funnel, Anthea, Concordia, Shoko, Ingo, Emmet, Yancy, Curtis, Roxie and her crew, and Alder here?"

"Nope!" Rosa's voice echoed through the air, causing the group to bust out laughing.

"Ha. No. Alola... is Elio, Selene, Anabel, Mohn, Molayne, Kahili, Phyco, Dulse, Ryuki, Soliera, Zossie, and Lillie here?"

"Yes!" Lillie's voice rang out. May froze upon it.

"Ok... are the following here? Red, Musia, Kimono, Κίλα, Murph and Rhythmi?"

"Yes!" The people called out, yet it sounded like there were more than 6 people. Max nodded and wrote something in the notebook he had before closing it.

"I'm here!" The sound of wings filled the air as a small boy landed. Max grinned.

"Just in time, Nate. Come inside, and no fighting." A groan hit the air as they went in. Max stopped Nate before he went in. "Did you deliver the packages?"

"Yes. All done." Max nodded and let him through. He then stopped another male. The only thing May got of the person before hiding was crimson red eyes. But words were definitely said.

"I'll be talking to you after." There was no answer that filled the air, but soon the door was heard.

The meeting itself was very useful, yet confusing as well. They never went into details as much. But the end said enough.

"Alright. I hope you all got together with your regions, groups and sections to discuss meetings. I'll try to partake in them, so let's sort those out." Silence filled the air before people started saying their times. While they never said the exact locations, Max must've already known as he kept asking if they would be in their usual spot which got a lot of agreement.

"Alright... you're all dismissed unless you are the extras or I told you to stay." Shuffling filled the air as people started leaving. It was quiet afterwards until Max spoke again. "Alright... So let's go over the list again." Then mumbling followed. Was this the quiet crew? She finally was able to hear something that caught her attention.

"I got details about a raid on the chain." Silence followed those words.

"Ok... that's not good. Who's leading?"

"Someone by the name of Amberla. They are stating that the Rumors are too dangerous, the Tales are getting all the glory, the Dexters are too strong and that the Covers are hiding facts from the world. They are threatening that if the chain doesn't break up or get disabled, they'll do it for us."

May froze. This was Max's group! Who could be so brutal? Max stayed quiet before he spoke.

"This is what we'll do. Kimono and Musia, you guys will handle the main strike. They have to get into a meeting, so we'll strike them there. Rhythmi and Murph, you two will coordinate the group. Red and Κίλα, you guys and me will strike the core. That kind of a threat won't be taken lightly. If they want to put that out there, they're going to know who rises after. Rhythmi, could you also send them a friendly message saying that either they pull out or lose they're operation?"

"Of course."

"Great. I want them to know their mistake before they get slapped. Everyone is dismissed except Red."

Shuffling filled the air again as the group went off. Silence filled the air again. May paused as Max's voice filled the air once more.

"I heard what happened. Are you sure you want to keep going with your position?" Silence followed his words until a hum escaped Max. Did he do sign language or something?

"If you want... I can ask the Darkseid Chain's Sjef and look into recovery. But that's if you truly want me to." Silence followed Max's words. May tried to look in, but the windows were boarded up.

"Alright... I'll talk to the Sjef and we'll figure something out. You better contact me if you need a break or something like that. I know you need all the help you can get. I'll see you later."

Shuffling followed as the duo left. May looked over the other guy as they left. His black hair was trapped by a red cap. He wore a red and white jacket with a black t-shirt. A pair of dark jeans and tennis shoes with a small sack finished his looks. He looked thin for who she was thinking it was. But if she was right, this was the infamous Red of Mt Silver and Kanto's Champion. It didn't feel that real, but it was. The duo took off, Max to Alola and Red to Kanto, no doubt.

"Please tell me I'm dreaming." May giggled at Drew's words.

"If you're talking about that final sight, no. Cause I saw it too."

"But that means he's on Ash's side." May pursed her lips. She didn't think about that.

"I quit..." Drew laughed at that.

~!*!~

Max landed at the building he knew well. Next to it was the bridge to the base. How convenient, right? He pulled out his mask and went inside the building.

"Alright! What's next?"

(I hope you guys like that. Again, the top pic is by Etta and practically labels the group. We'll be seeing the Darkseid Chain next. Bye!)