"Dude, how did you do that?" I turned around and flinched back in shock, pressing myself up against the side of the jet plane when the other three grunts that had been sent as backup surrounded me. Even one of the undercover security guards was crowding me. My eyes flicked across the room but I didn't see Celeste, the other security guard, or the researcher I had just helped kidnap.

"Man you had some serious skills! The way you flipped that guy over your back?!"

"And your Pikachu went total beast-mode on that Empoleon!"

"Satoshi!"

The flow of questions and compliments instantly stopped as I looked over at Celeste, who had just reentered our section of the jet. Her eyes were narrowed slits and the grunts immediately parted as she stomped over to me and glared up into my face.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" she snapped in a demanding tone. Swallowing quickly I was briefly grateful that I was prepared for this question.

"I grew up in a fighting pokemon dojo. I've been training in martial arts since I was a boy," I responded, recalling all of the little details about Satoshi's past that the IIA had painstakingly put together. Celeste's eyes narrowed even further until they looked like little slits. She turned her gaze on Pikachu and I felt him stiffen under the angry glare.

"And since when can your Pikachu use Volt Tackle and Electro Ball? I've seen you in training battles before," Celeste spat out with obvious suspicion. Forcing out an awkward laugh I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Well, they were training battles. I didn't think my opponent would get much out of a battle where Pikachu beat it with one move." Slowly I bowed my head, trying to look penitent. "Was that wrong?"

Celeste stared at us for several seconds before she let out an explosive "Hmph" through her nose. Her arms unfolded and she placed them on her hips in an obviously unhappy gesture, but she didn't seem completely furious anymore.

"If you had shown us your skills we would have made better use of you."

Her words sounded like they were supposed to be a compliment, but the way she said them made me feel like I was the biggest idiot in the world. I was okay with that though since Satoshi was supposed to be seen as less than intelligent. People usually trusted someone they thought wasn't too smart.

"Sorry, Captain," I apologized with a small bow. 

I could hear the crackle of electricity coming from Pikachu, signaling that he was not happy with our pint-sized leader's scolding, but he held onto my shoulder and bowed his head as well. Honestly, sometimes I thought Pikachu was better at this secret agent thing than I was.

"Good job today." Celeste's voice sounded pinched as if she could hardly believe she was giving someone a compliment. "When we land, you will come with me to debrief with Neptune."

I blinked in shock at this unexpected order but quickly bowed again in silent agreement. My insides were still churning with guilt about having helped Team Galactic kidnap an innocent man to further their goals, but it seemed that it had the desired effect. Director Falon would be happy to hear that.

After the short flight back to Mt. Coronet, I followed Celeste as she expertly led me through several tunnels I had never been in before. It had taken all of my self-control not to go talk to the researcher as one of the security guard grunts dragged him out and began taking him in the direction of the laboratory. I wanted to give him some kind of message to let him know I was going to get him out of this as soon as I could... but I knew that would be too risky.

My internal discomfort was actually helpful to my character as I used it to seem nervous while following after Celeste. After a longer than expected walk, Celeste finally stood in front of a room with not only a keypad but also a palm scanner. I frowned deeply, once again wondering where Team Galactic could get the money to have built this secret hideout with all its security measures.

Once the door was unlocked, I was surprised when Celeste reached up and knocked loudly. A muffled voice responded and then Celeste opened the door, not bothering to hold it wide enough for me to enter. I quickly snagged the closing door and slipped inside as well, copying Celeste and standing at attention along the wall.

"Mission successful, Neptune," Celeste reported firmly.

My eyes slid over to the huge table that seemed to be covered in papers, blueprints, and probably everything I could ever want to know about Team Galactic. It took a lot of self-control not to just run over and scoop all of it up before making a run for it back to the IIA. But there were innocent people trapped here, and I knew that if I did that then Team Galactic would probably just find a new base of operations and disappear.

"Well done, Celeste. I trust there were no setbacks?" Neptune commented lazily as she slowly looked up from the paper she had been studying. As she looked up, I was surprised when her lavender eyes met mine and did not waver.

"Actually, Neptune, someone tried to rescue the researcher. An alarm was tripped by our inside men and this guy was incredibly skilled. However, thanks to Satoshi holding off both the would-be-hero and his pokemon, we were able to safely exit with the researcher in hand."

I blinked and looked down at Celeste, shocked that she was giving me the credit. I mean, it was true, but I thought that leaders in an evil team were supposed to be cutthroat and try to take credit for everything their subordinates did.

"Is that so?" Neptune asked, sliding her gaze between Celeste and me as a small smile spread across her lips. "How fortunate that he was assigned to the mission, then."

Celeste stiffened at this comment and I wondered if she had been against having me come along. But then, why would Neptune have wanted me to go?

"It appears you deserve to be rewarded, Satoshi." Neptune's voice snapped me out of my inner musings and I looked over at her to meet her calculating and slightly amused expression. "What would you like as a reward for completing this mission?"

I glanced down at Celeste by my elbow, who was looking resolutely forward, and then back up at Neptune. She was once again wearing her black pantsuit with the large G for team Galactic over her breast pocket. I didn't like the look of amusement in her eyes though. It looked like a sadistic Glameow had just caught sight of a Starly that it was planning to torment.

"Could I get a tour of headquarters?" I heard myself ask.

Neptune blinked rapidly, her expression changing into one of pure surprise and I heard Celeste let out an offended squeak. Wondering if I had just made a huge mistake, Neptune suddenly burst out laughing. She set down the paper she had been studying and walked around the table so she could lean against it and look at me with a large smile filled with amusement.

"Cheeky little thing, aren't you? Unfortunately, only I and my captains have access to headquarters, Satoshi. However, I like your ambition. Perhaps one day you will be able to go into Headquarters," Neptune remarked with a large grin, her lavender eyes flashing with amusement. Glancing down at Celeste I saw that she was glaring at Neptune with a look of annoyance and I wondered what relationship these two women had.

"Why don't you try again," Neptune prompted, folding her arms against her stomach and quirking one eyebrow up as if she couldn't wait to hear what I would say next. I glanced over at Pikachu, who was sitting silently on my shoulder, observing the scene with a look of slight confusion.

If I'm not allowed into headquarters what should I ask for? Should I ask to see what she was looking at? Or to be promoted? Or... The pokemon contest calendar that I had memorized flashed in my head and I blinked. It seemed pretty obvious that Neptune wasn't ready to show me her plans and if I kept asking then she might get suspicious... but...

"Could I... get a day off?" I asked hesitantly. Neptune's face slackened in surprise again but this time it was Celeste who responded first.

"What could you possibly want to do with a day off?" she asked in a disgruntled tone.

"Well, there's a pokemon contest in Jubilife in a few days..." I started to explain and Celeste groaned.

"Oh no. Don't tell me you're a crazy fan of that Kiara girl?" she asked with obvious disgust. I blinked in confusion and quickly shook my head.

"No. I'm just a fan of pokemon," I replied truthfully. A quiet chuckle caught my attention and I turned to see Neptune giving me a strange look.

"Very well. You can have your day off," Neptune agreed after her chuckle had stopped.

"Neptune! He..." Celeste began to argue and Neptune raised a challenging eyebrow at her.

"Is the one who saved the mission. Isn't that what you said?" she asked with a small frown.

Celeste stiffened and then inclined her head in silent agreement. Neptune turned her attention back to me and I felt a shiver go down my spine.

"I'll even send you in one of our jets so you can get there in time," she offered with a cruel smile. "However. While you are in Jubilife I want you to figure out who was this 'guy' that came to the researcher's rescue. Get me a name, Satoshi, and I MIGHT not charge you for the jet fuel you use."

I swallowed hard as Neptune's eyes turned hard, even as her smile remained intact. I quickly bowed to her and I heard Celeste scoff quietly beside me. Once I had straightened Neptune dismissed me and I quickly left the room.

Taking the rare opportunity, I wandered the halls of this section of Mt Coronet I hadn't been to, mentally connecting it to my inner map. Later that day, I added the new tunnels to my rough map for the IIA and sorted through the events of the day in my head. Once my bunkmates had all come in and fallen asleep, Pikachu slipped off my top bunk with a package of earplugs in his mouth. I waited until he returned with the empty package and a silent nod to show that everyone was asleep before opening my backpack and lifting the false bottom to retrieve my communication device.

After inputting my passwords, it took less than a second for my call to be accepted and I was soon saluting Director Falon. As always, her red hair was pulled back in a severe bun and, even though she was indoors, she was still wearing her sunglasses.

"Good evening, Agent. Your report, please."

Wasting no time, I explained everything that happened today. Director Falon listened carefully to my play-by-play of the researcher's kidnapping and how someone had tried to stop us. To my slight discomfort, she praised me for a job well done. She was disappointed to hear that my request to see headquarters had been denied and one of her eyebrows shot up almost to her hairline when I explained I had chosen a day off as my reward.

"Why didn't you ask to be promoted, Agent?" she asked in a disapproving tone.

"Her reaction to my request for seeing Headquarters confused me. It was the first thing that popped into my head. But she did say that while I was in Jubilife she wanted me to find out who attacked us while we were kidnapping the Poketch researcher."

Director Falon sighed and then nodded her head.

"Very well, Agent Ketchum. I'll have my analysts look into who attacked you. We will have a name to give to Neptune by the time you get back from Jubilife City."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Director? What if she plans to take him out of the picture?" I asked, feeling guilty just thinking about it. Whoever that guy had been, he hadn't been afraid to take on five people from Team Galactic with just himself and two pokemon. If I hadn't been undercover, I would have wanted to back him up.

"Gaining Neptune's trust is your most important objective, Agent. Leave everything else to us," Director Falon said with a serious tone. I nodded sadly at her image on my communicator and she returned the gesture.

"Keep up the good work, Agent. We're all counting on you." Without bothering to say goodbye, Director Falon disconnected our call and my screen once again went black. I slipped the device into my backpack's false bottom as Pikachu snuck down and removed the earplugs from the other grunts in the room.

When he got back, I lay underneath the blankets staring up at the ceiling above me. Being an undercover agent was not as fun as I had thought it would be. Not that I was expecting things to be a piece of cake, but I hadn't thought I would be kidnapping an innocent man with a family, or potentially setting a crazy lady on an innocent guy trying to do the right thing.

With a sigh, I turned around, laying a hand on Pikachu's soft back. An image of Serena smiling happily as she named Roisel came into my mind. I felt a small smile spread across my lips as I thought of her and the normal world that she represented.

"I hope you're at the contest, Serena," I whispered under my breath.

A/N Sorry this chapter is kind of short :S If you have any requests for a pokemon you would like to see in the upcoming contest please let me know!