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She really did have a cute smile, girlish and playful. And this time, her entire expression seemed genuine: the way she surveyed the glittering crystals like they were truly something special. She was probably right to covet them - after all, League scientists were keen on this place precisely because of how dense the Tera crystals were, whispering of this being the "epicenter" of the Tera caves that had cropped up all across the region.[break][break]
"Fragile?" He laughed. "Far from it, actually." He sobered. "Doesn't mean you should explore alone, though."[break][break]
He had a feeling she could handle herself just fine. Her Girafarig looked pretty capable, as well. This was place was volatile, however...and if she wasn't Rocket, then she'd have to contend with them too. And those DRK Triad agents, he remembered. Another layer to consider.[break][break]
Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she spun, her tone taking on a teasing quality. He flashed her a lop-sided grin in return.[break][break]
"I plan on following this girl around until I figure out what she's up to. It'll make for a good distraction."[break][break]
He winked. He didn't actually plan to do that, but now it was his turn to see how she would react.[break][break]

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Her unwillingness to provide a last name was not lost on him. He filed that detail away rather than make a stink of it, however. Secrets were best uncovered with subtle tactics, rather than obvious demands. He'd been a criminal once, too.[break][break]
The more he talked to this woman, the more he started to suspect she was up to something. She might not be Rocket, but there were plenty of ways to break the law besides join a terrorist organization. No matter her motives, if she was just entering the area for the first time, she might not be fully aware of the dangers below.[break][break]
She might be a cheeky flirt - might even be a smuggler or something - but he didn't want to see her get hurt.[break][break]
"Region's got plenty of places you could be exploring. Why here? Surely you've seen the news - this place is crawling with feral beasts."[break][break]
He watched her switch tactics like a pretty little bird abruptly changing direction mid-flight.[break][break]
"Eh, not really in a hurry. Someone pissed me off, though, and I'd rather put that behind me."[break][break]
He shrugged. It was the truth, after all.[break][break]

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"I hate it too," he murmured, following Jack's gaze down to the fainted Unown. Rocket had a tendency to do the same: use Pokemon like tools. It was disgusting. As Zuri and Comet returned to him, he felt grateful for their help. They were his partners not his servants.[break][break]
Caleb returned the fist bump, adrenaline keeping him alert despite the apparent end of the fight. He flashed Jack a tired grin. "You did great," he complimented, meaning it. Jack had more grit than he'd originally thought.[break][break]
Need to get him involved in the Amnesty Program, Caleb reminded himself. Jack had the motivation and the right attitude to help rehabilitate former Rockets, and wouldn't back down if and when things became difficult. Having someone like that involved could make a real difference.[break][break]
"Yep, time to go," he agreed, eager to get as far away as they could from the DRK Triad camp.[break][break]

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Shit, there were more of them? How the HELL did this one guy piss off so many thugs?[break][break]
Caleb could hear the slight tremor in the man's voice, the fear of death...and yet, he seemed steadfast in his determination to get free of his assailants - or die trying.[break][break]
Defector. They were calling him a defector.[break][break]
Well, that explained a lot. And it also instantly changed Caleb's mind about the man.[break][break]
"Here's what we're going to do," Caleb told him, and now his tone had shifted - authoritative, the voice of the League Amnesty Program: Follow my lead and I'll make sure you get that second chance.[break][break]
"We're going to fight."[break][break]
He stood, stepped out into the dark field, unsheathing his knife and whistling for Zero and Umi. The Zoroark and Umbreon were at his side in an instant. Then he launched a third Pokeball behind him, and Daisy appeared.[break][break]
The Dragonite shook herself, then raised up to her full height. She opened her mouth and began to charge a HYPER BEAM. Caleb glanced over his shoulder, expression hard and unrelenting. No longer the startled Ranger caught in the crossfire, here was the king that had lead armies into battle in a faraway dream of Galar.[break][break]
"Don't shoot to kill. Your new life starts now, got it?"[break][break]
Then he and his Pokemon began to run towards the small army, a SAFEGUARD covering them.[break][break]

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Caleb's brow furrowed slightly, but a blush colored his cheeks as she batted pretty eyelashes at him, cocking her head with an exaggerated curiosity. A coy smile graced her lips, and he couldn't help but admire the slender curve of her jaw, the way her short hair perfectly framed her face. His hand flexed, fingers suddenly itching to cup her cheek.[break][break]
Her saccharine greeting reeked of subterfuge, but perhaps he was just paranoid. Whatever the case, her appreciative scrutiny seemed genuine. He wasn't immune to the serotonin boost of feeling attractive, but he wasn't stupid, either. Seduction was a common enough Rocket tactic.[break][break]
"Caleb Harcourt," he answered promptly, keeping his expression pleasant. "Elite Ranger out of Slateport. Here on League business. And you are?"[break][break]

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Caleb was still fuming from his frustrating conversation with annalise henderson when he stumbled right into a different woman, one he didn't recognize. She had come from the direction he was heading - out. He regarded her, trying to asses whether she was with the League government or not. No mask, so she wasn't a Rocket - well, not an obvious one, anyway. Upon initial appearances, she seemed like just a regular civilian. A cute one, he realized.[break][break]
Nobody gets here by mistake, a voice in the back of his mind cautioned.[break][break]
So what was she up to?[break][break]
"Hey there!" He greeted, holding up a hand, not wanting to startle her too badly. Beside him, Comet sniffed, ears twitching as he sized up the woman's Girafarig. His stance wasn't aggressive, but it wasn't overly friendly either. The Lucario had encountered too many dangers in the twisting cave network to write off even a seemingly harmless-looking young lady and her companion Pokemon.[break][break]
"You heading in?"[break][break]

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Once, Caleb would, indeed, have been packing. But he didn't live that life anymore so all he had now was his Pokemon and a fancy knife Aurelie Lefevre had made him - only useful in hand-to-hand combat.[break][break]
"No I'm - what!? - hold on - "[break][break]
The Ranger groped for a Pokeball, then released Umi. The shadowy Umbreon shook herself, then regarded Caleb with a critical eye.[break][break]
"Go! Cover Zero."[break][break]
She dashed into the fray, summoning a SHADOW SKY to fill the space between Caleb and the - what was he, a fugitive? Just an unlucky bastard? - and the men that had taken cover to avoid returned fire. Darkness descended around the forest, hopefully blinding any of the thugs hiding within the underbrush.[break][break]
In the meantime, the Hisuian Zoroark conjured a Will-O'-Wisp, hurling it at the closest armed man still visible, fire sprouting from the ground beneath the man's feet. It immediately caught on one of his pant legs, eagerly eating up the fabric, much to the man's horror. He dropped his machine gun and started screaming in pain.[break][break]
"Those two can hold them off, but we need to get out of here. You have any Pokemon that can teleport or fly?" Caleb barked at the masked man.[break][break]

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Comet's attack did manage to graze the Unown-A, and it spun in the air, clearly disoriented. This gave the Lucario the opening he needed to pounce on top of it, wrestling the little letter to the ground. A THUNDER PUNCH directly to its singular eyeball was enough to knock out the creature, and Caleb heard a voice yell in shocked surprise as a black-clad DRK Traid agent burst forth from the research camp towards him.[break][break]
Caleb glanced at Jack just in time to see him punch a different member of the Triad square in the jaw.[break][break]
"Nice," he grinned, pleased to see that Jack was perfectly capable of holding his own in a fist fight. Turning back to his own adversary, Caleb rushed forward, tackling the man before he had a chance to grope for a weapon or Pokeball. They rolled around in the dirt, but Caleb's superior combat training as a former Kanto Rocket seemed to give him an edge. Perhaps this man was merely a researcher, and not actually one of the mysterious organization's assassins.[break][break]
Once the man had been dealt with - passed out on the ground with a lump on his head - Caleb picked himself back up, dusting off his trousers and checking once more to make sure Jack had made it out of his own scuffle. Zuri flanked the Unown-M opposite Jack's Iron Moth, and together, electricity surged with fire as they attempted to deter it.[break][break]

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Caleb was getting real fucking tired of this goddamn chasm.[break][break]
He'd discarded his uniform jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and slicked back his sweat-soaked hair. How was it this humid underground? Had they passed the point of no sunlight and circled around to core of the earth? It was supposed to be really hot in there, right? Like, a ball of magma or something.[break][break]
"Can you get us out of here?" He pleaded, turning to face the Hisuian Zoroark. Zero cocked his head, mane of ghostly white fur floating in the non-existence breeze. Arceus, if only there was a breeze - [break][break]
A figure burst out of the underbrush, running like he was being chased by an army from hell. Which could be true down here - Caleb had just caught some kind of ancient feral twisted Suicune-look-alike, after all. And it had put up a nasty fight.[break][break]
The Ranger might have just let this dude go, but then bullets started firing from the trees, and Caleb scampered back, alarmed.[break][break]
"HEY!" He yelled after the runner. "What the fuck, man!?"[break][break]
More men came into view, huffing and puffing and carrying some serious-looking weaponry. Zero immediately PHANTOM FORCED Caleb further ahead, to where the first guy was starting to slow - probably from exhaustion - and out of range of the guns (hopefully). They'd catch up sooner or later, though. Poor guy had run himself right into a dead end, nothing but sheer rock faces in that direction.[break][break]
It was then that Caleb noticed the mask. A clown mask? Was he...Rocket?[break][break]

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Denial was a tricky thing, the way it wormed its way into the heart and whispered "what ifs" like they were sweet nothings.[break][break]
But he knew. He knew. Kyurem had created this new hellscape, hadn't it? Dialga and Palkia had nearly destroyed Littleroot and Mt. Pyre. Caleb had led people to their deaths against the Black Knight and the Skeleton, or so he had dreamed.[break][break]
He was asking the wrong question. Hands shaking, he fell to his knees beside her, the impact causing the small pool of water to ripple. Sharp gravel bit into his jeans, making tiny divots in the denim.[break][break]
All Gods were dangerous, but their powers alone weren't the greatest threat. It was the people they chose to wield them. Caleb had seen firsthand, in Kanto, what terrible atrocities humanity could commit - Gods or no Gods.[break][break]
"If there's a legendary out there willing to bond with my brother," he murmured, watching side-long as too-wide jaws snapped against Lyra's shell, sparks flying. "Then it is an enemy to us all."[break][break]

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Avatar.[break][break]
This was uncharted territory. Caleb did not know many of the God-blessed. He still found it hard to believe Isaac Merlo had joined their ranks: not because the younger man was undeserving of the power, but because he was still so...well, himself. Besides some aesthetic alterations, he hadn't changed at all. If anything, the qualities that had always made him Isaac felt amplified now: liberated from the invisible chains Rocket had wrapped around his fate.[break][break]
But Zev...? Some legendary deity had chosen him?[break][break]
"What the fuck kind of Pokemon can do that?" He blurted out, eyes wild with a sudden untethered anxiety. "Turn a man into a crystal void? Shoot a giant death beam out of his chest?"[break][break]
As if in answer, a roar sounded, echoing from beyond the mouth of the cave. Caleb turned, startled. He grabbed a Pokeball without thinking, releasing Lyra onto the grass. The Lapras lowered her head, keen eyes glittering in the sun.[break][break]
A creature Caleb did not recognize stepped forth from the darkness, wicked claws bone-white and razor-tipped. A purple mane surrounded a lean bipedal body, its form familiar in a warped way.[break][break]

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MADE BY GUNSMILE