Aryan's POV

I kept my expression blank as I looked at the injured boy in front of me. His arm was wrapped and set into a standard white cast and I had listened to him complaining vocally throughout his story that he had repeated to me three times now and my inner lie detector was pinging so loud inside my head I was surprised he couldn't hear it. If I hadn't just heard the story from Bree and Serena about a group of boys ganging up on an Absol in the woods and described in detail the exact boy who was laying in the hospital bed near me then maybe I wouldn't have felt so annoyed... but the more the windbag talked the more I wanted to shove a sock in his mouth and leave.

Pulling myself together though, I let out a calming breath and held up my hand, signaling for the idiot to shut up. To my relief, he obeyed my silent command and I leaned back, pulling out a small notebook from the inner pocket of my jacket and clicking on my pen to release the tip.

"Alright then, let's make sure I got the whole story," I said, keeping my voice professional but letting a hint of annoyance slip out, which I could see was making the boy uncomfortable. "You say you and your friends were in the forest hunting pokemon when a strange boy with spiky hair attacked you all. You left your unconscious friends to fight against the attacker, but then you lost consciousness and found yourself in the hospital. Is that right?"

"It's not like I just randomly fainted! I'm not a wuss!" the boy argued angrily, sitting up agitatedly and then yelping in pain as he banged his casted arm against the sidebar of his hospital bed. I rolled my eyes at the jerk, glancing from his curly black hair to the freckle-filled face that Serena had described in detail with loathing in her usually kind expression and I felt no sympathy for the moron.

"Then explain yourself better," I barked at him, losing patience. "All you've given me is that you 'think' this guy had a letter G stitched to his outfit and that he messed up you and your friends. What pokemon did he use? How did it get so bad that you broke your arm? Stop trying to make out like your some hero and tell me the truth or I'm leaving," I growled while glaring straight at him. The boy's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment and he looked off to the side, unable to hold my angry glare.

"Stupid idiot and his dumb Pikachu," the boy muttered under his breath and I felt my entire body stiffen.

"Did you just say Pikachu?" I asked, recalling the day back in Jubilife City where I had tried to stop Team Galactic from kidnapping a researcher and a grunt I had never seen before and his Pikachu ended up beating me back.

The boy flushed even deeper red as he turned to look at me with panic in his eyes. "It wasn't a normal Pikachu, man! That thing must have been mutated or something. No way a Pikachu could be that strong!"

My jaw clenched as I lowered a hard glare at the boy, causing him to jerk back with a look of fear for a moment. Bringing up every detail of that battle I had with the unknown trainer I slowly leaned forward, placing my pen against my notebook, and stared pointedly at the idiot in front of me.

"I think you better tell me EXACTLY what happened, now," I recommended through clenched teeth.

The boy awkwardly began to tell me what happened. As he described how the guy's Pikachu stopped his friends from ganging up on a wild Aggron, and then how it was able to knock out his friend Crobat in one hit and sent him and his Drapion flying, which was the real reason for him breaking his arm, I found myself frowning slightly. Leaning back I glanced at the notes I had taken and my frown deepened.

This doesn't sound like he was attacking the boys at all, I thought to myself. It sounds like he was trying to get them to leave Aggron alone then just defended himself from their attacks... but... why would a Team Galactic grunt care about some random Aggron? Was he hoping to catch it himself?

"How did you get to the hospital?" I asked, pushing aside my other questions for now as I refocused on the youth in front of me. The guy shrugged his shoulder, patting his arm wrapped in a cast.

"I dunno, man. One second me and Drapion are crashing through the forest and the next I'm here in the hospital. My friends probably brought me here," he said with another shrug of his shoulder.

Highly unlikely since they haven't come to visit you... I thought to myself and then stood up.

"You're going to go and get that ***, right?" the boy asked me. I glowered down at him and he clamped his mouth shut.

"I'll call you if I have any further questions," I responded cooly, turning my back on him and walking swiftly out of his hospital room.

There were too many unanswered questions going through my mind right now, so I turned towards the information desk, flashed my badge, and politely requested that I be granted access to the security room. After introducing myself to the security guard on duty in the room, I explained what I needed and he quickly pulled up the video footage from when a nurse had discovered the idiot I had been talking to.

He excused himself to go about his duties and I pulled up a seat and began pouring over the footage. It didn't take long before I saw what I had been looking for. Freezing the video I leaned back in my chair, steepling my fingers and resting them against the tip of my nose as I glared at the image in front of me.

It was definitely him. I could never forget that black and blue spiky hair or the determined expression on his tan face. Turning the video onto .5 speed, I watched as the grunt that had distracted me long enough to let his team force the researcher onto their jet slowly walked up to the side of the hospital. He glanced several times towards the chaos of people rushing to and from the ambulance that had just pulled up. My eyes narrowed even further as I watched him walk up to a stretcher with the jerk I had just talked to slung on his back while his Pikachu walked along next to him. The grunt deposited the injured boy on the empty stretcher and then casually pushed him closer to the entrance while the flurry of activity continued. Without a backward glance, the grunt turned and began running away from the hospital and out of sight of the security camera.

"What kind of evil organization member are you, Pikachu boy?" I growled under my breath as I rewatched him depositing the injured boy on the stretcher.

"You say something, Detective?" The security guard asked over his shoulder. I glanced over at him and shook my head.

"Just talking to myself. Is there a way I can make a copy of this?" I asked, pausing the video again to turn my attention to the security guard. He kindly offered me a disc I could record the section I wanted onto and I once again stared at the first guy that had beaten me in both a pokemon battle and hand-to-hand combat in a long time.

"What kind of grunt risks exposure to bring a jerk to the hospital?" I muttered to myself.

I wasn't sure what to make of this new information, but I knew one thing. Whoever Pikachu boy was, he was going to lead me right to the Team Galactic hideout. I would make sure of it.

Ash's POV

"Okay, everybody gather around so we can get started!" I called out to the group of twenty grunts that were here for pokemon battle training. It was my first day leading this particular class and I could feel Celeste's reproachful glare burning into the back of my head as she observed from the side of the large room.

I did my best to ignore her and instead focused on the group of male and female grunts in front of me. Deciding that it would be a waste of time to keep training as they had been before (blindly throwing out attacks and trying to overpower their opponent without any kind of plan in mind), I found a whiteboard and some markers. I was going to try and teach them the basics that I had spent years studying as an IIA trainee.

"Keep it down, guys, this is going to be fun, I promise!" I called out, pumping my fists encouragingly as the grunts all grumbled and sat down cross-legged around me and the whiteboard.

"What's going on, Killian? I thought we were supposed to be battle training," a girl called out from the middle of the group and I nodded towards her. I recognized her from when we had had cleaning duty together a few days ago, but we hadn't really had much of a conversation.

"Before we can be effective in battle you need to understand at the very least what typings your pokemon are weak and strong against. So today we're going to do a quiz. Ellen," I called, pointing to the girl who had spoken to me. "What kind of pokemon is your partner?"

"I usually battle with a Zubat. He's super weak though," Ellen huffed with an unsatisfied frown.

"We'll talk about how to strengthen your pokemon later," I promised, glancing around at several grunts who were sniggering at her. "For now, can anyone tell me what typing a Zubat is?"

"Poison, duh," a grunt I didn't know called out. I nodded over at him but didn't give anyone else time to speak before continuing.

"That's one of its typings, what is the other?" I called out. A muffled "flying" was shouted from somewhere in the group and I nodded.

"Good. So what type of pokemon is a Poison/Flying type effective against?" I asked.

There was a pause this time before a few people called out random answers. Raising an eyebrow in surprise I glanced at the whiteboard and wrote down four columns, one that said "Super Effective," then "Effective, then "Not Effective", and finally "No effect". Slowly and painfully I eventually dragged the answers out of the crowd of grunts and I was shocked at how many people didn't know that poison had no effect against steel type pokemon.

"Okay. most of you have at least one pokemon that is either a flying or poison type so let's do a quiz," I said, erasing everything on the board. 

My first few questions were answered with half-hearted or sarcastic answers and I could feel my patience thinning. I never knew how difficult teaching a class was. I actually feel sorry for my instructors now, I thought to myself, mentally apologizing to all of the instructors I had disrespected back when I first started out as a trainee.

"Fine. Since this isn't sticking, let's change the rules," I announced, thinking back to when I had been desperate to pass my battle theory class and had come up with a drastic motivation tactic. "Every time you can't answer my question or answer incorrectly, Pikachu is going to give you a shock," I declared. 

Instantly the entire group stiffened and glanced over at Pikachu, who at first looked surprised but was now grinning gleefully at the assembled grunts.

"Y-you're not serious..." Ellen squeaked out, scooting slightly back as she flicked her eyes between Pikachu and me. Even though I hadn't meant for this to happen, Pikachu had developed quite the reputation for being way stronger than he looked, and I could tell that most of the group in front of me was legitimately terrified.

"I'm completely serious. First question: How many weaknesses does a poison/flying type pokemon have?"

Several shouts of various answers suddenly rang out from the group. Glancing over at Pikachu, I nodded and he grinned. Scrunching up his little arms against his chest, he released a weak but incredibly accurate Discharge attack that shocked every grunt that either gave the wrong answer or didn't answer at all. Several yelps of pain and surprise rang out in the underground battle caves and once Pikachu's electricity stopped several people flopped over, their hair standing up on end.

"Good try, guys. The answer was 4," I said, feeling amusement at watching someone other than myself get shocked by Pikachu for once. "Next question: Name two of the four weaknesses."

Again shouts rang out as the grunts desperately raced to answer the question. Whenever I heard a wrong answer I pointed at them. Several of the grunts jumped up and tried to run away, but Pikachu's electricity was faster than they were, and they received their shock of punishment anyways.

"Stop this, how is this going to help anything?" Celeste called out, startling me into jumping. I honestly had forgotten that she was watching and I gave her an awkward smile.

"I'm just trying to motivate them. Pikachu won't actually hurt them too bad," I assured the pint-sized drill sergeant. Celeste opened her mouth, getting ready to scold me soundly, but the cool, commanding voice of Neptune floated through the room instead.

"Leave him be, Celeste."

Celeste stiffened, turning around to see that Neptune and Proteus were both standing up on the balcony of the observation section of the cave. My eyes met her lavender-colored irises and I felt a shiver go down my spine as she smiled coldly down at me.

"Satoshi is teaching them to take this seriously. If we want to have a chance at creating our new world, we need everyone to be prepared to fight against those who oppose us," Neptune said, her dry voice echoing strangely through the cave. I heard several grunts gulp audibly as her gaze passed over them and then returned to me before landing on Celeste's unhappy expression.

"Come, Celeste. Proteus has something to show us," Neptune commanded in a tone that broached no disagreement.

Celeste frowned but bowed her head slightly and turned on her heels, her newly evolved Skuntank following after her as she made her way to the staircase. I could feel a familiar chill at the back of my neck and I glanced back up where Neptune and Proteus were both looking at me; although Neptune was lacking the murderous intent radiating from Proteus's eyes.

"Please continue, Satoshi. I expect good results," she stated, before turning and continuing on her way. I watched them go, trying to decide whether I should be grateful or concerned that Neptune just approved my style of teaching.

After several groups of grunts came for their hour of scheduled battle training time, rumors began to fly and I was pleased that there were hardly any grunts that needed to be shocked by the end of the day. At least when I quizzed them about poison or flying types. In the back of my head, I knew what I was doing was going to make things even more difficult for the IIA when Director Falon decided we had enough information to move in and put a stop to Team Galactic for good... but I reported my new position to Director Falon just last night and she encouraged me to do a proper job of my assignment so I could be promoted to a captain and gain access to all of the sensitive details of Neptune's plan.

After a week of "Shock Therapy," as I heard the grunts call my training sessions in the hallways, I was finally satisfied that the majority of the grunts understood and had memorized at least the main weaknesses and advantages that their individual pokemon had. Next step, making sure they were creating bonds with their pokemon so they could battle effectively with them.

"A field trip, you say?" Neptune asked in shock, glancing over at me with one thin eyebrow raised at me. 

After my classes had finished for the day I had been startled to turn and find Neptune watching me intently up from the balcony. She had motioned for me to follow her and once again I found myself alone with Neptune on her secret ledge overlooking a sheer drop down the side of Mount Coronet.

"A lot of the grunts have never caught a pokemon for themselves; they were either given a pokemon or... they stole it," I began, pausing as I tried to keep the distaste from my voice, although I doubted I was successful. Neptune watched me silently, apparently waiting for me to elaborate more. "For them to properly understand the importance of a pokemon battle, I think it would be best for them to train a pokemon from the very moment they capture one themselves and then work together to create a move pool that will work best for their own style. If they feel a bond with their pokemon then they will be more effective in giving out commands because they will know exactly the result they will get with every command. And the pokemon will be less likely to ignore them since they have developed a bond."

"Hmmmm," Neptune hummed noncommittally after my explanation.

"Pika...." Pikachu whispered from my shoulder and shifted nervously on my shoulder.

"You weren't planning to use this as an excuse to go see another contest, were you, Satoshi?" Neptune finally asked, surprising me into slackening my jaw and dropping my mouth open.

"Uhh, no, Neptune. I'm going to be busy helping them capture their own pokemon, I wouldn't have time to catch a contest," I countered carefully, wondering why Neptune would have mentioned that possibility. Is she testing to see if I'm loyal to her? I wondered to myself as a slow smile spread across Neptune's lips.

"Very well, Satoshi. For the next week, you may take out a group of grunts for a half-day to go capture their own pokemon. Celeste will equip you with all the pokeballs you will be needing."

Half a day, huh? I guess she doesn't want me taking them anyplace far then, I thought with a brief flash of disappointment, but I quickly sloughed that off and bowed awkwardly towards her in the cramped space.

"Thank you, Neptune."

"I'll look forward to seeing what pokemon my grunts will catch," Neptune said with a sarcastic half-grin before she turned her gaze to look at me fully. "If you miss me from being gone too much, just let me know. I'll always be happy to give my perfect soldier some extra attention."

I felt a chill go up my spine. I glanced over at Neptune and saw her looking at me as if she were a pyroar sizing up a skiddo to make sure it had enough meat on its bones to satisfy its hunger. Swallowing with difficulty I forced a laugh and waved my hand awkwardly.

"You already treat me so kindly, Neptune. I would never complain about being lonely," I said, wincing inwardly at how pinched my tone sounded. Neptune isn't actually hitting on me... right? That's not possible. I must be imagining it, I thought to myself firmly.

One of the weirdest courses that I had ever taken during my IIA training was a section in our Behavioral Psychology classes where our instructors had taught us the ins and outs of romantic relationships. From the non-verbal signals to different types of flirting, they said it was imperative for an agent to know how to flirt in certain undercover situations and how it was even more important to recognize when someone found you attractive so we could either encourage or put a stop to the extra attention. I had hated every moment of that month-long unit, not at all interested in flirting when I knew that most missions had the fate of the region on the line. But now that I was in such a strange situation with the slightly psychotic leader of Team Galactic I was beginning to wish I had paid more attention to those lessons on the body language of a woman when she was flirting.

Neptune did not join in my laughter, and her appraising expression never left her face. I couldn't stop myself from jerking back, smacking my head against the rock wall next to me as Neptune slowly moved her face a little closer to mine. I recognized a glint of mirth pass through her eyes and a chuckle that made my blood run cold escaped her lips.

"I could be even kinder if you would like me to, Satoshi," she whispered, her words seeming to spill from her lips like silk and wrapping around me as if she were trying to envelop me in a cocoon or something.

"Pichegh," Pikachu muttered, pretending to gag. I quickly clapped a hand over his little mouth, earning a small shock from my irritated partner, but I was more concerned by Neptune, whose canine teeth seemed to be growing right in front of my eyes. Blinking rapidly, the strange vision went away and I cleared my throat.

"As I said, I would never complain, Neptune. I am just happy to be of some use to you," I reiterated, trying to play it cool. To my relief, Neptune's expression relaxed into her usual look of superiority and she leaned away from me.

"I suppose that is how a true soldier would respond," Neptune responded, letting out an overly dramatic sigh, and then she waved her hand dismissively at me. "You may go now, Satoshi. I look forward to good results," she said with an imperious expression.

I quickly bowed to her, glad that she had ended this weird conversation. Then began scooting towards the back of the tiny cave and the beginning of the metal ladder rungs that would lead me down to the lower levels of the secret base.

"Oh, and Satoshi." My body froze mid-step and I slowly peeked over the lip of the cave floor to see that Neptune was leaning back and looking at me over her shoulder. "I've been meaning to train a new pokemon for a while. Won't you catch me one that you think would suit me?"

I cocked my head to the side, puzzled by the strange weight that seemed to be hidden in the seemingly innocent request. Is this some kind of test? I wondered to myself before slowly nodding.

"It would be an honor, Neptune," I responded formally.

I saw the corner of her lips lift slightly before she turned her back on me once again without a word. Frowning heavily, I descended the seemingly endless metal rungs as I puzzled over this new assignment as well as Neptune's strange offer to treat me "even kinder". I could feel a shudder go through my entire body as I tried to convince myself that a ruthless psycho bent on destroying the entire world had not just made a pass at me.

A/N *Shudder* Blech I hate writing the Neptune and Ash parts. Yuck, it just makes me feel all slimy and gross :P Hopefully you enjoyed the small Aryan portion! I won't be doing that very often, but as I have said, Aryan is an important character for the plotline, so there are some times when we will need to see things from his perspective. Thanks for reading and commenting!!