Capture the Shiny Victini! V1 - Fleeting Victory

[Rainami]

Spoiler

Eden hands Mega the Quick Ball Clyde is contained in.

"Mega, please don't hurt Ditto-nator. I need him for a bit." I say, glaring at Mega.

"Ah, Naya. It's been a while, madam." says Willow, his Gothorita walking next to him. He's munching on a Rage Candy Bar, while his goth pokemon is sipping a soda pop. Clearly her health has been restored by now. "You guys responsible for knocking that dude with the Articuno senseless? Thanks for that. Just got an easy Articuno from that thug." Willow grins as he tosses and catches articuno's premier ball with his left hand.

"Willow? Uh, what are you doing here in Pyrite Cave?" I ask.

"I'll tell you later, naya. Please be patient while I steal that man's...Genesect, is it?" he asks, looking at his Pokegear. "That talking Ditto looks pretty rare too. I'll take both of those, I guess." He shrugs.

"Um, I know I work for you sometimes, but can you please not steal stuff from my acquaintances? Isn't that Articuno enough for you?" I scold.

"Tch...assertive as usual, Naya." Willow complains. "Gothorita, put a hold on this group. Now." Gothorita steps forward, and after channeling a surge of dark energy through her body, thrusts her palm forward as she casts a dark curse on Eden, Ariel, Gate, Naya, and Megapod. Purple psychic chains are wrapped tightly around our bodies...we can walk, but we can not move our arms, let alone reach into our bags to heal our pokemon...

"Heh. See, I know you guys are worn out from the fight with those jokes. Thanks to Rita's Embargo, there's no hope for you to heal your Pokemon." he grins slightly for a moment.

"Why, you..." Ariel complains as they try in vain to untrap themselves. Walking towards Willow and Gothorita, the Manipulate Pokemon proceeds towards Ariel as well.

"Untangle me from these damn chains, right now! I'll kick you if I have to!" shouts ariel as they proceed forward. "Wait, what's this? Why can't I move...?" Looking down, ariel sees an eerie shadow connecting them to...gothorita. The shadow is not a normal shadow, and is emitting a faint purple light. Gothorita looks at ariel trying in vain to escape from her, and giggles.

"Shadow Tag. Rare abilities such as this are what you get when you work for a business such as mine." Willow shrugs. Surskit, freeing herself from her Dive Ball, attempts to attack the duo, but Gothorita quickly faints the previously weakened water strider with a Psybeam.

"...hey, now my henchmen are saying the camera picked up a Dhelmise and Golisopod. I wouldn't mind those for my collection, either..." states Willow.

"I am not losing any of my Pokemon again...." states Mega. Glowing with strange flame-like energy, the chain shackles around Mega suddenly explode.

"...oh? Not just rare pokemon, but a rare human? Too bad there's less of a market for that." shrugs willow. "Look, you wanna fight me, boy? This isn't the place. One sec." Snapping his fingers, willow grins as a pink orb of psychic energy forms in front of him. Walking towards it, the orb expands into a dome of pink psychic energy that surrounds all of us.

"Oooh, how mysterious! What might be happening?" says an excited Eden

"Good, we're in radius after all...." mumbles willow

Suddenly, a flash, and a bizarre feeling as if we're warping through space....

......

...we're....here....I knew this place still existed, but I had no idea Willow had a way to warp to it.

"Deep Colosseum! It's been too long since I've been here!" I exclaim, looking around me at the underground colosseum and all the pipes that go through the edges of the arena. "They buried the rest of the Under, but Ozwald made a deal that left this place intact. There's a secret path in Pyrite Cave that was dug that leads here, too." I try to move, but remember that I am all wrapped up by gothorita's embargo.

"Slowbro, come out." says willow loudly. After a moment, a pink salamander like creature with a bivalve on its tail emerges from behind a pipe. "This guy is how I warp here. Using Teleport -- which, you guessed it, a rare move on that species -- my slowbro can warp anything within a certain radius to and from this forgotten place...with my order, at least. Even people on the surface, as long as they're directly above this colosseum. Comes in handy when smuggling pokemon, I assure you. He lives here in this cave, and warps into the colosseum when he wants to sleep. Works out for everyone."

"This region sure seems to have a lot of weird things about it...." states Mega, being the only one of us not captured.

"You could say that. I'm sure it'll be even weirder when you're laying unconscious on the floor of a colosseum you didn't even know existed. Laying on the cold hard floor. Tough, huh?" he shrugs. "I have some pokemon to steal from all of you, I think. Besides you, Naya. I wouldn't dare steal from a loyal customer. Even I wouldn't sink that low."

"You little prick..." I groan

"Ahem. Let's get this on with, shall we?" states Willow, looking at mega. Reaching into his bag, he pulls out a Moon Ball. Tossing it in the air, a dark creature with a large flower cap comes out. Vileplume. It taps its foot as it waits for orders from its trainer.

"Heal your pokemon if you wish....Megapod, was it? Just don't keep me waiting long." moans willow. The slowbro and gothorita watch on the sidelines, the slowbro not being much of a battler and the gothorita being occupied keeping the others imprisoned.

OOC: I had willow steal the commander's articuno (a ball wasn't specified iirc, so I went with premier), and assumed based on context that eden was fine returning golisopod. I hope both of those were okay for me to do.

 

[Maniacal Engineer]

Just as the tensions rise to their maximum, an interdimensional portal appears, and out steps a slightly disheveled Officer ME, as well as a veritable army of Pokémon and officers, who immediately arrest everyone in the vicinity, and take away their Pokémon to prevent their escape.

"I've been tracking you guys down for quite a while," says ME, tipping his fedora, "but now, at last, that Shiny Victini will be entered into evidence where it belongs."

 

[MegaPod]

"Here, let me pour you a drink." Kornelius Ozwald pours a beverage of Willow's choosing into a glass over some ice and hands it over. "I don't know how familiar you are with me, mister Willow," states Ozwald, "but I run a company specializing in enhancing Pokémon's battling capabilities. I've pushed the envelope when it comes to putting Pokémon at their peak performance! However, there's only so far you can push it before the enhancements become considered..." The magnate makes a pause to chuckle. "...illegal. But, what the public doesn't know, right? So, I sell my generally acceptable merchandise in my stores, but I keep the real goods exclusively available to special customers only. I'll tell you, I've unlocked the power of Pokémon beyond my clients' wildest dreams!" Kornelius sips his iced tea before resuming his speech. "But I've found the business of hosting underground fighting matches to be especially lucrative. Why, there's even betting booths and everything! You might be surprised to know just how many people would pay to see illegally improved Pokémon duking it out, if you're not already familiar with what Cipher had planned to do with the colosseum on Realgam Tower, that is. You see, the Under Colosseum is where I host most of these spectacles...and I have a feeling that you could be one of the competitors. You just have to agree to keep my...trade secret exactly that, and not only will you have your Pokémon boosted immensely, you'll be paid quite handsomely, especially if you're a real winner on the battlefield. So, what do you say?" Ozwald concludes, extending his right hand for a handshake.

-

Meanwhile, I decide to go inside the volcano to continue training my team. Without looking, I pick up the now empty carrier and take it inside the dark caverns with me.

 

[Rainami]

Spoiler

This...this confounded SHINY_VICTINI that MASTER_NAYA sent me after. Where is it? Where has it gotten off to now?

It's been exactly 203 minutes since I've wandered into that DIMENSIONAL_WORMHOLE. The portal was created somewhere off the shores of SINNOH_REGION, and the SHINY_VICTINI wandered into it after. My sensors inform me that the portal is still open, should I want to flee with the creature. Delightful.

"Psst...hey. Hey."

My sensors are picking up vocal signals now. Where is it coming from? I flash my core around, being met with water on all sides. Wait, is this a dock? What's this standing there? Scanning...

> PINK CREATURE WITH TWO LARGE EAR-LIKE EXTENSIONS ON ITS HEAD
> STRANGE VOCAL QUALITIES DETECTED WITHIN CREATURE
> TRACES OF ELEMENTS THAT SUGGEST IT IS NOT NATIVE TO THIS DIMENSION
> DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE A SERIOUS THREAT

"Hey! Hey! You LISTENING!?" yells the creature I have dubbed PINK_STAR. I respond with telepathy.

> HELLO PINK_STAR
> DO YOU LIVE HERE?
> WHERE IS SHINY_VICTINI? TELL ME THE CREATURE'S COORDINATES

"Woah...what even, star thing? Do....do I look like a star....to you..." whispers the creature. "You only got the pink part yet...what...why must you confound me with such questions...what...what's a 'Victini', anyway?"

> MY SPECIES NAME IS STARMIE
> I APOLOGIZE
> WHERE ARE WE?

"Psst...buddy....you're on the docks of Nowhere Town. Buddy, you see. Buddy, us Nowhere Town folk, we'll help you out real good, see?" responds the creature. "By the way, you can call me Whispul. I'm a bit of a...big deal here..."

Indeed, looking forward, I can see a faint light. We must be close to some sort of city or town. WHISPUL makes a brief whispering noise as she escorts me there.

Spoiler

View: https://youtu.be/dTBNuKyGKnk?t=1

Levitating into town, I see quite a few black and brown brick buildings. They all look like they're run down, and there are huge empty wooden creates scattered everywhere. Looking around, we are indeed in a cave area, as I had suspected. There are only a few streams of light that have made their way in from above, and the town has settled on a gigantic rock slab next to an underground lake or ocean.

> THIS IS NOWHERE_TOWN?

"Yeah, buddy...it's a town made of us who got lost through those portals...psst...see that tower over there?" WHISPUL motions to a large metal tower on the end of town. Following her there, I notice some other POKEMON wandering the streets. I quickly scan the area with a red light.

> CREATURE IS NOCTURNAL
> DOES NOT APPEAR TO HAVE MANY SPECIAL ABILITIES OUTSIDE OF BRUTE FORCE
> DO NOT ENGAGE

> AQUATIC CREATURE DETECTED
> WELL SUITED TO THE ECOSYSTEM OF THIS HABITAT
> POSES LITTLE THREAT

> TELEKINETIC CREATURE DETECTED
> SLIGHTLY STRANGE SOUNDWAVES DETECTED EMITTING FROM CREATURE
> POSES LITTLE THREAT

The three of the creatures depart after being scanned by me, seemingly worried.

"Psst...buddy...can you not do that? You're scaring off the passersby..." whispers WHISPUL.

> ME?
> FOOLISH WHISPUL
> DID YOU NOT SEE THEM SHAKE THEIR HEADS IN CONTEMPT AFTER THEY LOOKED DIRECTLY AT YOU?

"HEY!" shouts WHISPUL. "Don't piss me off, buddy. I may be willing to help you, but don't call into question my...um...status around here. Kekeke..."

> WHATEVER PINK_STAR
> DO YOU HAVE ANY LEADS FOR SHINY_VICTINI?

"Ah, that. I don't...but I know a guy who might." responds WHISPUL. "That tower we're goin'...my friend lives there, and he knows a lot about what happens 'round these parts. Hey, let's go already, right, buddy?" WHISPUL starts walking off towards the tower, me hovering behind her.

 

[Max1996]

OOC: There is a timeskip of a few hours between this post and my previous one.

IC:
"A...Metapod?" Max thought to himself, upon seeing the crashed airship on Newmoon Island. "It can't be..."
As he walked inside the ship, looking around, he came across MegaPod, sleeping in the cockpit area. Leaving him alone to explore further, Max eventually made his way into another section of the airship, where he found a silver and ourple chamber-like device.
"What is this thing?" he asked himself, before he started examining the device.
---
"So that's it..." he muttered, after an hour of looking over the machine. "I do kinda miss my old powers from that other world. Let's try it."
After typing in the dates and details into the device, he entered the chamber, before turning it on.
As the needles inside the chamber pressed against Max, made noise and gave off blue light, an alarm began ringing inside the cockpit.

 

[Rainami]

-About three hours earlier-

"Wow, we're finally here, Spire!" I say, looking up at the night sky. We're sitting on the deck of cargo ship, the S.S. Libra. Shadow Lugia accidentally dropped it in the middle of the desert years ago, where it broke in half.

"It sure did take a while, huh, Naya?" says Spire. "I felt like I was in a daze for half of that trip...almost like I stopped existing for a while, or something surreal like that. You know what I mean?"

"Oddly enough, yes." I respond. "What do you think, Eden?"

"...ah, I was just having fun playing Smash Bros 4 with the others." they say. "Hey, Naya, you wanna communicate with your Staryu yet?"

"Sure, I'm ready." I say. "Gate, turn your damn laptop off, the light doesn't help."

"Tch...fine." responds Gate as he reluctantly closes his laptop, putting it into sleep mode. "I want to go back to sleep after this. I'm exhausted."

Eden sends out their shiny Starmie, which stands on its legs and looks at us.

"Hello, Kaiwan. Think ya can pick up any messages from Ms. Naya's Staryu? It's lookin' for that shiny Victini right now!" beams Eden. Kaiwan obliges and lays on the ground, flashing its core towards the sky, in a morse code-like fashion.

"I wonder where Staryu's at right now, anyway..." I wonder.

meanwhile....

Spoiler

Spoiler

View: https://youtu.be/pQXMVdTMMOc?t=4

"Finally back in Sinnoh, Starmie!" beams VICTINI as it levitates next to me, both us us hovering over the ocean.

> FINALLY INDEED
> SO...WE'RE NEARBY CANALAVE_CITY?

"Yeah, I'm gonna go there and look for some food or something." it says. "I'll be there later if you want to chill or something. I don't know why you're stalking me, but after dealing with it for so long, you kinda get used to it...."

.....

"Hey, everything okay?" it asks.

> UM
> IT IS JUST THAT...

"...are you talking 'bout how you just ditched that Whismur in...where?" asks VICTINI.

> NOWHERE

"But we couldn't have been nowhere! Are you saying that was all a nightmare created by Darkrai!?" asks VICTINI.

> IT WAS NO NIGHTMARE
> THE NAME OF THE LOCATION IS NOWHERE_TOWN

"Ah, gotcha." responds a happy VICTINI. "Wasn't she gonna check out an ice-type Ninetales or somethin'? And you just ditched her? That's kinda low. But hey, I won't judge. Not after what I've experienced in that dimension. See you later, Star." VICTINI floats off towards CANALAVE_CITY.

I aim myself skyward, beeping and sending signals of light into the beautiful night sky. It's extremely refreshing to see the stars above.

...was I really in the wrong? No, of course not. WHISPUL'S quest to check out NINETALES was her quest and hers alone. Participating in needless quests such as hers would have merely endangered me and the SHINY_VICTINI. It would have also inconvenienced MASTER_NAYA.

Yet the fact remains that she said she was "tired of being taken advantage of". She personally told me she would fulfill the quest SURIA gave to her, whether or not I was "enough of a real buddy to come along"...

....

> .....
> I CAN NOT LEAVE PINK_STAR TO ENGAGE NINETALES ALONE
> I HAVE ALREADY RETRIEVED VICTINI AND SUBMITTED TONIGHT'S LOG

Flying back towards the portal, I intend to make sure my ally finishes her objective successfully. Whether or not I end up trapped on GENIDRASCA with her.

 

[TouyaShiro]

This post is very large, so I've divided it into three scenes!

Spoiler: Scene 1: Arrival at the ship

Spoiler: Arrival.

Town - The King Forgotten By Time / Yuzo Koshiro
Sekaiju no MeiQ³ seikai no raihousya Original Soundtrack

We're here.
Shadow Mewtwo signals for the two of them to stop when he notices the ruins of the S.S. Libra approaching their view. And it seems that this turned from a duel to a Mêlée à Trois. How dishonourable.
Does it matter? If the duel's over, then we should step in and raze them all to the ground before everyone else notices we're here! Lunala's contempt for her opponents leads her to make a rash decision...
Wait. I'm better off leading the charge.
No. I will go. With bold words and a reckless charge, Lunala flies straight ahead.
Sigh... I guess I'll have to let her go this time. Show me your strength, Lunala. Don't do anything reckless...

Spoiler: Scene 2: Separation of belief

Spoiler: Solo time!

Labyrinth VI - The Vengeful God in the Dark Ocean Abyss / Yuzo Koshiro
Sekaiju no MeiQ³ seikai no raihousya Original Soundtrack

I can't see any of them from here. Lunala scans for a way to draw out her foe, and ultimately decides to attack the deck of the S.S. Libra. "Disappear!" Glowing as bright as the moon, the Moone Pokémon launches Moongeist Beam, causing a divide on the S.S. Libra that catches on ghostly fire and causes a major disturbance to everyone currently inside from the impact.

The tremors cause Cola to try and maintain its foothold and balance, but as a result, it is hit with several of the Water Shuriken. Wolfrick, displeased by the disturbance, expresses his disgruntlement. "Tch. Would have been an easy job to dodge all that if the damn ship weren't shaking like a rocking Tauros!"
"Is that Lunala!?" "No way..." Being one of the few to have faced her wrath, Max and Mick recognise Lunala's voice echoing... and the type of power that struck the deck. But why did she attack the whole ship instead of waiting for someone to come out? Do those two really want to take Victini after all? Argh, who's the bigger threat here!?
After a moment of inner conflict to decide who his enemies were, Max grabs Mick by the hand before dashing to the entrance of the S.S. Libra. "Hey, aren't we gonna fight for the Victini?"
"Of course we will. They'll be out before long." Mick nods at Max's reassurance before the latter announces an attack. "Greninja, push Lycanroc outside with Double Team and Water Shuriken!" Taking a cue from one of his previous encounters, the shadow clones of Greninja mark a relentless assault against Cola, intending to lead them to the outside where they could meet with the adversary waiting for them outside.
"O-oi! Don't just go in on me like that! Damn..." With no room to make a move of their own, Wolfrick and his Lycanroc reluctantly double back outside, fending off the projectiles along the way. "Well, I certainly don't want to stick around this crumbling wreck any longer... not that I'd be in danger with Cola to protect me over here."

"What the--!?" Eden's carefree attitude causes them to meet the ground as the beam hits the ship. "Owie..."
"Huh? Oh, geez." Grabbing onto the nearest support to straighten themself, Ariel hardens their expression before making an announcement. "Eden, Spire, Gate, we need to get outta here, now! I think we have bigger problems on our hands than all of the other Deerlin' over here!"
"You're one to talk! Ya told me to ignore that loomin' presence in the first place! ...Ah, whatevs." Getting up with a slightly annoyed expression, Eden straightens up and the four of them follow the others outside, with Victini and the rest of their Pokémon in tow.

Outside the S.S. Libra, the Moone Pokémon shines once more, eclipsing the sun above the Orre Region as its skies burn a bright orange.
"Hey! What bastard decided it was a good idea to turn this place into scrap metal?" Ariel screams out in annoyance as their group exits the S.S. Libra. "It's a historical artifact, y'know!"
"Lunala!" Max's voice echoes out as if to come to blows with the ethereal echo of the Moone Pokémon.
"Eh? You know this guy?"
"It's a long story. Probably."
"What are you doing!? You said you would accompany us before, didn't you? What happened to that promise?"
"That black cat said so, not I, young trainer of blue." Lunala's expression narrows before it focuses on the Victini, now with a nervous look on its face. "I came here so that I may send the apple-shaped Pokémon back to where it came from... and all of you with it!"
Everyone below hears Lunala's voice loud and clear, and collectively gasp at her intentions - some of the younger trainers choking on sand as a result. The only one who didn't flinch at the threat...
"Oh, just shut up already and get the hell outta here!" A rock speeds past as Cola lunges to catch it in midair, crunching the rock in between its jaw as it rushes towards Lunala with Accelerock. Its Shadow Shield mist activates, but despite that, Lunala is knocked off balance. "Learn your place, you oversized bat."
Observing the battle from above, Shadow Mewtwo realises this is the Pokémon that knocked them out in the last battle. I see. Why... How could such a Pokémon with a stature like that be so powerful? Noting its abnormal state of power, he shifts his focus into intercepting the attacks from the rest of the group and informs his partner of his plan. Lunala, I'll keep them off you. So don't hold back!
Acknowledging his words with an aside glance, the Moone Pokémon recovers its stance and prepares a strange attack, the likes of which nobody witnessing it has seen before. One, two, three... Six orbs start to form around Lunala as it glows in and out of its Full Moon Phase.
"Don't get so full of yourself. The name is Max! And this is my partner, Greninja! We'll show you our power right now!" Max instructs his trusted Ninja Pokémon to use Water Shuriken, which takes on the form of two wakizashi as it charges forward towards Lunala. With a swift and straightforward movement, Greninja leans in for the attack, but is interrupted by a strike of Thunder coming from above. "Ngh, Mewtwo's here as well?"
I am sorry, Max... But I, too, have my own sense of justice. And I intend to stick by it. With those words echoing through his own mind, he continues the assault, keeping the rest of the Pokémon at bay.
"Dang... We can't just rush in like that, now can we? Any bright ideas?"
"Beats me. I'm not sure I can do it alone."
"Alrighty, if ya don't have da guts, then I'mma take the baton 'ere! Well then, Orthrus, Knock Off!" With their team ready to go, Eden sends out their Mawile and rushes forward. Noticing an opportunity, Max has Greninja move forward to divert Shadow Mewtwo's attention towards it while Orthrus closes in on Lunala. However, before it can lunge in for the deadly blow...
"Trainer named Max... That power that you possess, the one that consumed me before..." As Lunala utters these words, an Ultra Wormhole appears near Orthrus. "You are not the only one who possesses it!"

Spoiler: Scene 3: A certain brand of justice

Spoiler: And now, it gets real.

Unrest - Calling That Detestable Name / Yuzo Koshiro
Sekaiju no MeiQ³ seikai no raihousya Original Soundtrack

"Don't tell me..." "Z-Power!?"
!? The Genetic Pokémon is momentarily shocked as he hears those words, now putting everything into place in his mind about their encounter with Max and Mick. The force of the Ultra Wormhole suddenly sucks in Lunala's unfortunate adversary, and the Mawile is sent through dimensions with the Moone Pokémon giving chase... The wormhole then closes right as Max realises what just happened. "Curse you, Mewtwo... Just what are you two trying to accomplish!?"

Inside the Ultra Wormhole, the Mawile finds itself floating in the middle of space. Frantically observing its surroundings and wondering what was going on, Orthrus suddenly notices the sight of the Moone Pokémon shining brightly in front of itself.
"You will be the first to bear witness to my new power. Burn it into your memory as you disappear into oblivion!"

Spoiler: ULTRA SUN/ULTRA MOON SPOILERS! BE WARNED! I linked this video in particular because I timestamped this specific move animation.

From the six glowing purple orbs come six rays of shadow, and Mawile is blasted with a concentrated dimensional blast which consumes it almost completely. Then, back in the original dimension, a ghostly mist appears in the middle of the desert, and the unfortunate victim is seen lying in the middle as Lunala reappears from another Ultra Wormhole.
The trainers, as well as Shadow Mewtwo, are left speechless at the sight before them, nobody daring to move or talk... except for a few words from Spire and a worried expression from her Pokémon and Victini. "What... what's going on!?"

---

Spoiler: Actual cutscene music!

EV19 Something Unsettling... / Norihiko Hibino
BAYONETTA 2 ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

This power... Lunala's Z-Power... Was it born from her own brand of justice? Or something else entirely?
The Shadow Mewtwo was floating alone and in bewilderment of the sight before him. Lost in his own thoughts, he failed to notice the creeping presence approaching from behind...

OOC:
Heh, I guess I couldn't help but go all Knight of Cerebus in this post. I have to give my thanks to everyone who helped me with the dialogue in various places for this post - I wasn't expecting to write as much as I did, but I hope the effort was worth it!

 

[MegaPod]

"Now, Gate, are you really still upset with my wanting to liberate myself of this wretched contraption? Should I have asked to pretty please go to Ozwald with Cherubi on top?"
Before the wheelchair-bound hacker can process the conflicting arguments and make a decision, an unfamiliar shiny Victini captor swipes the mythical creature from his very lap at lightning speed. "What the...?" Gate is dumbfounded for a moment as Ariel deals with the newcomer the first time around. Gate is more prepared next time around, and sends out his Golurk and Poygon-Z after the airship upon the rival's return. While the ancient automaton and living computer program fly off, a sly smile slowly washes over Ditto-nator's face. Golurk seizes the tapered back end of the familiar airship and holds it, allowing Porygon-Z to infiltrate it easily before the mysterious pilot can teleport it. Gate's twitchy Porygon-Z sneakily exits with the shiny Victini just in time, and the two Pokémon return to their trainer. "Thanks, you two. Return." Gate puts his Pokémon away. "That ship was MegaPod's..." Gate adds, still rather confused.
"Ya think so?" Eden asked, puzzled.
"I know so. I've tracked it to get after Victini in the past. The question is, why is someone else using it?"
"Maybe he's up ta somethin'," Ariel suggests.

-

I casually stroll across the beachfront of Hau'oli City, my Braixen and Alolan Muk in tow. Alolan Muk slops himself against a wall, shoveling a whole cluster of obsolete "lost Golisopod" posters into his mouth. Through my artificially regained perception of Pokémon language, I hear him analyzing the pungent, inky flavor with subtle papery undertones like some kind of garbage connoisseur. Braixen burns another group of posters off the wall, and I pluck one off before breathing a few embers onto it and watching it fizzle away myself. "I'm glad to have a nice vacation from that stressful shiny hunt," I remark. "No worries, no airship, just the chance to relax and grow stronger before pursuing Victini again."
"What did that old friend of yours want to borrow the airship for, anyways?" Braixen asks me, tilting her head.
"Beats me," I reply, accidentally using Pokéspeak myself. "I'm not too worried about the ship, though. It’s in capable hands." My unique blend of Fennekin yips and Cofagrigus moans draws some confused glances from passing beachgoers as I walk with my Pokémon.

-

"Gate," Ditto-nator suddenly announces. "I thank you for helping a Ditto out, even if unwittingly. I have been exposed to just enough power to break free of my restraint, and I fully intend to hold up my end of the bargain as promised.
"Um... you're... w-welcome?" stammers the hacker as the Ditto begins pulsating and expanding in size, morphing into the form of a Golurk. The Black Mareep Corporation's device detects the usage of the move Transform, and Ditto-nator can be seen convulsing and grunting painfully as he tries to resist the electrical shocks now coursing through his body. Ditto-nator manages to dig his Golurk fingers into his chest and tug at the stubborn contraption. Finally, the device becomes dislodged, but not without a sizable chunk of Ditto-nator's Golurk chest as well. Gate and company look on in disgust as pink goo begins to profusely spill out of the resulting wound. However, Ditto-nator seems to have planned for this. His complexion and one of his eyes change to match a Porygon-Z, and he uses Recover, causing red and blue pixels to materialize over the gap in his chest, sealing it up. Dropping the goopy device to the ground, the Golurk/Porygon-Z fusion lets out a loud sigh and stretches.
"Good to be making a comeback," booms Ditto-nator in his Russian accent. Beholding the shapeshifter, the shiny Victini nervously squeezes Gate's arm in silence.

 

[Chidamari Sketch]

The Metapod Airship has its invisibility cloak activated as it begins for take-off in autopilot. "Alright, so we've moved into this archipelago called the Sevii Islands, which is kinda close to Kanto. In the fifth island, there's a warehouse that Team Rocket used to own that we renovated for our own purposes. I heard that there's a bunch of Legendaries there, but we'll deal with that in another day. For now, just focus on getting to that island." As the airship flew away from Alola, the plumber looked around the hallway of the airship, only to find a bizarre, Cofagrigus-like contraption. "....What the fuck? Why is there a Shiny Cofagrigus coffin here? Did you miss being my pet or something?" ".....In a reeaallly loose way to put it, yeah." MegaPod stated while cringing from awkward memories, "What this thingy actually does is revert certain parts of your body to certain points, allowing you to regain Pokemon abilities if you wish. Go ahead and try it if you want." "Uh, okay..." muttered the plumber as he fiddles around with the controls. After a while, the machine opened, and being somewhat intimidated by the amount of needles within the device, the plumber hesitantly stepped in, only for the machine to slam him inside. The coffin then made a whirring sound as blue light emanates from the device while a gruff scream of pain blares from the devolution device. After a while, the plumber punched open out of the chamber, panting hoarsely, before examining his body. His round body, aside from a slight yellowish skin color change and a few barely visible holes on the back of his hoodie, didn't look all that different. The plumber then wagged his index finger as a test to see if what MegaPod said was true. Suddenly, the plumber sneezed, spewing out a manifestation in the form of a angel that then fluttered around the area. MegaPod quickly dodged out of the way before the angel could've touched him, causing the angel to strike the wall harmlessly, bursting into a small pile of pinkish energy in the form of cartoonish hearts before vanishing entirely. "Well, are you satisfied?" asked MegaPod. "Ahh...... I have an idea." said the plumber. Pulling out a giant pile of cologne from his hammerspace backpack, he practically bathed himself entirely in cologne, filling the ship with the aroma, which, after a while, ended up making everyone except the plumber nauseated. After this, the plumber popped a Rare Candy into his mouth. His irises shrunk briefly before he was coated in a white aura, glowing while he roars in what can be described as a combination between the shriek of a bird of prey and a man's war cry. A bunch of sickening bone-like cracking noises was heard before a giant pair of cherubic wings painfully bursted out of his back, spewing out both blood, feathers, and fairy dust around the area. "Hohoho...... Nice." the plumber grinned.

 

[MegaPod]

At that moment, Ozwald’s Incineroar shoots back up, awake and with a furious look in its blue eyes. What it fails to notice as it lumbers towards the fairy plumber is a gigantic orb of purple energy forming behind it. I finish charging the enormous Shadow Ball, then fire it square in the enhanced Pokémon’s back, causing it to tumble once more, fainted. “You know, it’s silly to leave the essence of victory just laying around in a broken fridge,” I chuckle, flaunting the remaining Project V syringes, now empty. “Too easy for someone to use it against you, Mr. Ozwald.” The enraged and defeated businessman attempts to crawl away, only to be tied up and shocked by an Electroweb from Gate’s Galvantula.
Meanwhile, the plumber pulls the trigger on his gadget, enveloping the liquefied shapeshifter in the Wonder Orb’s energy. The entire splatter of sentient pink goo converges into a round ball, pulsating a bit before solidifying into a new shape. Lying amongst some shattered needles that had dropped to the battered floor, what once was the terrifying Ditto-nator is now no more than a translucent green chunk of mineral glistening prettily from the inside.
Dr. Turner hobbles down the stairs at about that time and takes in the scene. “Well, I suppose it’s about time I retired,” the balding man sighs in an almost relieved manner.
“Hey...we did it, didn’t we?” laughs Wolfrick. “We stopped Ozwald and that crazy Ditto.”
“We are getting that cure for our Pokémon, right?” Boris asks Max.
“You can relax,” Max nods. “A colleague of mine is bringing it by helicopter as we speak.”
“Hey, is that them now??” Wolfrick blurts, hearing the putter of a helicopter rotor outside of the building. He shoves past the plumber’s cronies and bolts out the door, only to find a helicopter and vans belonging to a news crew instead.
“Hello, sir! A few questions if you don’t mind!” squawks an eager journalist as he shoves a microphone into Wolfrick’s face. “As the truth behind the rumors of illegally enhanced Pokémon at KO Industries come to light, we’re left wondering how it was discovered it went all the way up to Ozwald, and how you were all able to take him down!”
“Uhhh...” Wolfrick glances around at the video cameras aimed at him with a blank expression on his face, then snaps out of his trance and starts rattling off his version of the story. “Well, it was all because I decided to investigate Ozwald under covers,” gloats Wolfrick with his most charming yellowed smile. “I figured he was up to something, so I decided I’d pose as one of his enhanced Pokémon trainer lackeys to get proof. That’s why I did the whole, uh, ‘raiding his building’ thing before, haha. Had to build up the bad guy credo to infiltrate Ozwald’s ranks, y’know. Then I turned around an’ beat him with his own invention! It was pretty much all thanks to me he lost, really.”
While Wolfrick spins his yarn for national television, Mick comes across something in Ozwald’s pockets while confiscating the tycoon’s Pokéballs. “Hey, Max...what do you think’s on this thumb drive?”

 

[Chidamari Sketch]

"Oh. I see. It's a challenge. Well then..." The plumber dropped the Victini before gently standing up and backing off a bit gracefully. "Fine. I'll play along with your game. I already had that pink freak and their dumb crippled friend to deal with, but you still want to get in my way. Alright. I'll just leave then..." The plumber went for the elevator and left the room. Max, clearly sensing something wrong, decided to ran all the way to the stairs, back at the lobby, just as the plumber had already entered the lobby. Suddenly, the policeman was ambushed by a set of dark chains striking him thanks to the Shiny Duskull, encasing him in a dark aura that rendered him unable to use the ray gun as one of the gang members snatched it off his hands. "Alright, kids! It's been a real slice, playing this stupid flag game of taking the Victini. I guess all we have to do now is to establish the real winners here." Just as the gang suddenly ran off, the plumber took out a strange looking Poke Ball that suspiciously has the Black Mareep logo on front. The ball shook vigorously as the plumber held it. The plumber then merely dropped the Ball, causing it to blow up, unleashing its contents. Ariel stared in shock as they seem to realize what is going, before quickly shouting at everyone. "GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE, QUICKLY!!!" Everyone that was within the lobby quickly evacuated as a gigantic entity proceeds to materialize and destroy the entire building. The Shiny Victini quickly jumped away from Max's arms and tried to fly away, only to end up grabbed by one of the gang members. A demonic entity reveals itself from the destroyed remains of the KO building, one that was very familiar looking. As everyone within the vicinity either runs in horror or stares in shock at this bizarre aberration, Ariel's memories begin to jog as they soon began to remember a certain incident.

Spoiler: Flashback

After sneaking away from their jail cell, Ariel was quietly tiptoeing their way through the mysterious Black Mareep facility. After a while, they were about to head to the lobby by the stairs, until they noticed a group of people, some of which were hastily putting on uniforms, quietly whispering to themselves as they go through a door named "Forbidden Zone. Only use for safekeeping. HIGH-CLASS PERSONNEL ONLY" "....I knew there's somethin' shady goin' on 'ere..." muttered Ariel "Those creeps don't seem 'high-class' to me...." They entered the room quietly, hoping to eventually expose whatever's going on. They found themselves in a room filled with bizarre machinery, all of which were covered in cloaks, restrained in yellow tape, and had signs stating "DON'T TOUCH" or "CLASSIFIED" The security cameras were disabled for some reason, and thus any possible alarms were unable to be used. They approached a certain machine and took off the cloak and yellow tape surrounding it, revealing it to be a strange trade machine with a slot where a Poke Ball would fit in. The 'employees' conversed to themselves. "So... That's a Time Capsule?" "Yup. Many many years ago, there was a campaign about 'trading with people in alternate past timelines' and some other weird shit, but they had to completely discontinue it after an entire month of weird incidents where over millions of non-Kantonian Pokemon began to......change.. Everyone who was campaigning that disaster even tried to erase any documented existence of this facility; no matter what. But believe it or not, even after it was discontinued and forgotten by force, some people kept them going underground, apparently because some wackos called these mutant things 'PokeGods' or something." ".....A-and what the hell do you want do to with it t-t-then...?" muttered the curious employee, terrified. ".....Heheh, We're gonna get ourselves one of these freaks. Our boss, once he feels like returning to the Victini hunt, would definitely want one of those~" muttered the creepy employee as they placed a Poke Ball into the slot before fiddling with the controls. "It'll be the perfect tool for us to-" "S-STOP! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" cried Ariel in horror as they realized what is going on. "....Ugh..... A spy got in here!" the supposed employee shouted in their walkie-talkie, "Code K190! Code K190! We need Prison Balls!" Ariel was about to run after the group, until they were knocked unconscious by a Sleep Powder attack.

"....S-So that was what's going on back at Black Mareep!! Y-YOU BASTARDS!! TH-THAT WAS YOUR WHOLE PLAN?!" shouted Ariel. "A kid who's only recently joined this game like you wouldn't understand my plight," grumbled the plumber, "From being perpetually harassed by that spoiled brat of a musician celebrity, to having to deal with stupid police dogs like him, to deal with those Black Mareep oafs, and having to be trapped in multiple dimensions...." The plumber shrugged smugly once more. "It's a reeeeaaal hassle. I'm just doing what I can to fulfill my goal in a pristine and wholly reliable way. Anyhow..." The plumber issues an order to his gang members. The members then summoned a few Porygon2, a few Rotom, and a Porygon Z that then infiltrated the Metapod Airship. "...We're taking this piece of junk as a memento for this dumb game. I owe it all to you, cocoon freak, for at least cleaning up some of these messes." As the gang entered the hijacked vehicle, the plumber decided to make one last taunt before flying away alongside his new airship. "Enjoy your battle!"

...

...

"....I......I guess I have no choice...."

Ariel throws out their Premier Ball, revealing their Nihilego, A Bao A Qu. The Nihilego, apparently sensing Ariel's intentions, floated onto their head, knocking off their hood, before...

...

The cnidarian ends up merging with Ariel, turning into a blackish monstrosity with eyes on its tentacles. Ariel, who now rests in the bell of the now-large entity, was dazed upon merging, but immediately focused their attention on the other entity next to them. "Ah..... Eh....heheheh......eheheh..... Alrighty.... I'll take you on, ya bloody demon.... I wouldn't need that bat bitch's help........Heheh...." muttered Ariel whilst blushing eerily as they then sent out their Cloyster, Tahi, who was now covered in a yellowish aura and dons an almost predatory expression on its face. "A.....Ariel...? Are ya sure you're okay?" "Yes, yes.... We... We'll be alright...... Let's have fun destroying this thing...."

 

[MegaPod]

Clyde and I bound over the plumber’s unconscious Heatran and back into the control room. While Clyde resuscitates my Magnezone, I try to steer my airship away from the Ultra Wormhole.

No luck.

“Damn it, the steering is broken! We have to get out of here!” I return my Pokémon and dash back out of the control room, looking for Mick. I find him amongst some of the plumber’s knocked-out guards, holding the shiny Victini he had apparently fought away from them.
“I take it those alarms aren’t a good sign,” remarks Mick.
“I can’t save the ship,” I explain to him, fishing all six of my party Pokémon’s Pokéballs out of my pockets. “Here,” I say, thrusting them at Mick. “Take my Pokémon and evacuate!”
“Wait a minute, what about you??” Mick asks me with concern.
“I’ll be out real quick, just go!” I shout insistently.
Mick nods, and we both run in opposite directions. Mick exits out of the same hatch we came through, hopping onto his Salamence with the shiny Victini and my Pokéballs in his care.
Meanwhile, I clamber down the airship corridor and into the room housing the cellular reversion chamber. In a hurried craze, I throw open the lid to the machine, unzip a pocket of my bag, and dump a bunch of miscellaneous items into the chamber. “This better work,” I mutter, shutting the lid and rapidly punching the controls.

-

The giant metal chrysalis flies headfirst into the Ultra Wormhole as Max, Mick, Gate, and Eden all look on. “Where is he?” Mick wonders out loud.
Then, moments before the exit hatch disappears with the rest of the ship, I emerge with a sizable flock of Hoppip hoisting me through the air. “Flying” whimsically towards the others, I turn and salute the Metapod airship as the interdimensional portal swallows it up. “Thanks for a great ride, my trusty airship.”
“Well, we did it,” Gate sighs with relief. “That horrid plumber and his stooges are gone for good.”
“Hey, Mick,” I call out, drifting over to him with my dozen or so Hoppip. “Got my Pokéballs?”
“Right here,” he answers, holding all six of them out. I dispatch some Hoppip to retrieve them for me, and they cutely scoop the capsules out of Mick’s hands.
“Let’s go check on how Ariel’s doin’,” Eden says to the group. Gate nods in agreement and follows them and Tricycle on his Golurk to the Aether Foundation helicopter.
“Let’s go, Mick,” Max says. “You’ve got the Victini, right?”
“Yeah, I...
...did? Wait a minute, where’d it-?” Mick looks around until he finally sees that my Hoppip entourage has begun carrying away not only me, but the shiny Victini as well. Lying back with my head on one hand in a relaxed pose, I wave goodbye to Mick and Max with my other hand while smiling teasingly. “Seriously?” Mick exclaims.

 

[MegaPod]

Once their helicopter had arrived at Aether Paradise hours before my infiltration, Mel and the agent escorting him began sifting through the sea of partygoers, stopping for an occasional beverage before ultimately finding Blaze Austen amongst the crowd. “Yo, what do you need?” Blaze asked casually as the officer approached him with the young scientist in tow.
“Hello, Mr. Austen. It’s come to our attention that you’re one of the trainers who were wrapped up in Kornelius Ozwald’s enhancement scheme,” the agent states, getting right down to business.
“...You’re not in trouble or anything like that,” Mel quickly cuts in before Blaze can react. “We just need to cure your Charizard of the enhancements before the adverse effects set in. It was just your Charizard you had enhanced, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right...now that you mention it, Charizard hasn’t been acting completely like normal. Is this what Ozwald meant when he suggested ‘life without KO Industries would get complicated?’” Blaze sends out Charizard and allows Mel to administer the injection to counteract the enhancements.

-

I slowly pick myself up off of my collapsed Dhelmise, then return it into its Pokéball while I hold onto Victini with one arm. “Heh, nope, not giving up...” I chuckle in response to Max’s question. “I thought I’d swing by here for the little guy as long as I was coming back to Alola. Just got a little sidetracked on my search was all.”
“You know, there’s got to be a better way of looking after this shiny Victini than our constant game of keep-away,” Max tells me.
“I guess you’re right...” I concede. “But what are we gonna do with the little cutie?” I ask, stroking one of Victini’s pointy ears. Victini coos curiosity at us, apparently aware it’s being discussed.
One of the Aether Foundation employees approaches us, having heard our conversation. “Maybe there’s something we could do to keep that Victini safe,” he suggests.
“You’re not thinking of holding it here?” Max asks. “It’s a nice idea, but something tells me that people after Victini will find a way.”
I just chuckle awkwardly.
“Well, we could relocate it,” the employee states.
“You mean like to some top secret facility or something?” I ask him.
“No, not exactly...”
While we converse, Max’s Xtransceiver rings. “Hello?” he answers. “...Yes, I’ll head over there right away.” He hangs up. “Apparently, the Goldenrod City Gym in Johto was set on fire,” he explains to me and the employee. “I’ve been called to investigate.” I quickly fill Max in on the part of the conversation he missed. “Hmm...that could work nicely, actually.”
“So it’s settled!” the eager employee exclaims, clapping his hands together. “While you go to Johto, I’ll ask Lusamine to make arrangements.”
As the Aether Foundation employee walks off, Mick joins his cousin, having recovered from getting whirled around inside Stakataka. “I’ll come with you, Max.”
“Great. MegaPod, do you want to come along and bring Victini?”
“Oh...okay!” I join Max and Mick as they head outside. They send out their Hydreigon and Salamence respectively and climb on. Still holding onto the shiny Victini, I have my Vikavolt lift me up. “I’m ready.”
“Let’s go, then.” With Max and Hydreigon leading the way, we all fly off towards Johto.
Victini seems to enjoy it as Vikavolt cruises through the air alongside Salamence. Vikavolt maneuvers over a group of wild Drifblim in our path, and I let the shiny Victini bounce off the heads of a few Blimp Pokémon before catching it in my arms again.
“What are you doing over there?” Mick calls out to me.
“Nothing,~♪” I reply.
Finally, we touch down in Goldenrod City. The gym fire had been put out, but not before the smoking building had sustained serious damage. "Oh man..." Max says to himself, looking at the Gym in its current state. He is silent for a moment before he turns to Mick. “Can you ask around if anyone saw the culprit?"
"You got it!" Mick nods.
As his cousin runs off, Max enters the burnt Gym. Gonna be a bit difficult to find clues in here... Max thinks to himself. The moment he looks down to the floor, he notices a small tile that seems to be relatively undamaged. He picks it up and examines it closely, noticing an “@” symbol imprinted on one side. Those guys, huh...?
At that moment, Mick calls out to him. "What is it, Mick?" Max asks as he walks back outside.
"Someone saw the culprit walk off as they disposed of some kind of disguise. Here, have a look."
The moment Max sees the clothes, his eyes widen in surprise.
These clothes...So that's it.
"So..." Mick asks, "Do you have an idea of who's behind this, Max?"
Max nods. "I do, but it's a long story. I'll tell you later. Right now, we should check back with Aether Foundation."
Just then, I notice what appears to be an Ultra Wormhole opening up in the sky. “Hey, Max...” I call out. “...I think it’s time.” We watch as two silhouettes emerge from the distant portal, traveling parallel to each other at a downward angle as they approach. As the two figures come into view, we can see they are a Solgaleo and Lunala, each ferrying on their backs a pair of people donning futuristic gear. Solgaleo and Lunala land, and the riders all dismount.
“Greetings!” exclaims one of the two people who had arrived on Lunala. “Allow me to introduce the Ultra Recon Squad. Beside me is my associate, Soliera. There with Solgaleo are Dulse and Zossie. And I am Phyco, the captain of the Ultra Recon Squad.”
“Hello, I’m Max, and this is my cousin, Mick.”
“And I’m MegaPod,” I tell Phyco.
“Ah, just the humans we were asked to meet!” Phyco exclaims, twirling his blue mustache.
“We understand you have a Pokémon for us to relocate,” states Dulse. “Could it be the red and white one you are holding?”
“Yeah...” I answer, still holding onto the shiny Victory Pokémon.
“Wow, it’s actually kind of cute!” Zossie chimes.
“Hmm, Victini, was it? Fascinating creature!” Phyco remarks as he leans to get a better look at the Pokémon. “We shall now be taking you back to our corner of the universe via the Ultra Warp Ride, if you will so kindly allow it, Victini.”
A bit reluctantly, I set Victini down in front of Phyco. “Go on, now,” I tell the shiny Victini. “They’ll take care of you.” Victini, however, seems hesitant to go, eyeing the Ultra Recon Squad, Solgaleo, and especially Lunala with suspicion.
“The Pokémon appears to be nervous,” Soliera notes, crouching down to Victini’s level.
“My subordinate has a point...” Phyco says. “Does it not wish to go? We can assure the Victini a life of complete security if only it can be persuaded to accompany us.” The Ultra Recon Squad ponder the situation for a moment.
“What if it were to meet Poipole?” Dulse suggests.
“Aha! Excellent idea, Dulse. If you would please...” Upon Phyco’s request, Dulse opens a Beast Ball, releasing from it a small, purplish alien being. The Poipole carefully floats over to Victini, both Pokémon apparently curious about each other. Poipole utters some noises at Victini, prompting it to squeak back.
“Aww, they’re warming up to each other already!” Zossie cheers. “Isn’t that the greatest?” After some conversing, Victini hovers around excitedly, landing on top of Dulse’s helmet. Smiling brightly, the shiny Victini floats back to me, Max, and Mick, giving each of us a hug before returning to the Ultra Recon Squad.
“Goodbye, Victini,” I tell the mythical creature.
“Have a safe trip,” Max wishes to Victini.
“Excellent,” Phyco declares. “Perhaps our paths will cross some time in the future, but until then...we bid you farewell.”
Victini clings onto the back of Solgaleo with Dulse and Zossie, while Poipole joins Phyco and Soliera upon their Lunala. Max, Mick and I wave to the group as they all depart. Finally, we watch as they disappear into a new Ultra Wormhole. Max then breaks the silence. “Say, MegaPod, Mick, would a vacation to the Alola region sound good to you guys?”
“Of course!” I answer.
Mick, however, shakes his head. “Sorry, but I’m gonna have to pass. I’m going to oversee the distribution of the enhancement cure.”
“I understand,” Max nods. “Good luck with that. Well then, MegaPod, shall we fly there now?”
I nod. “Let’s go.”

Capture the Shiny Victini - END

———

Well, that wraps up this thread. I want to thank everyone who participated and made CtSV become all that it did, as well as @Greninjaman for inspiring the game with his own series of similar threads on another forum, and a special thanks to @Max1996 for helping me write this ending post! Additionally, I am pleased to announce that Max1996 will next be carrying the torch, as he’ll soon be hosting the sequel version...so stay tuned.

I certainly enjoyed hosting this game, and while the story did become somewhat over-complicated for potential new players to jump in, I still look forward to seeing the role-playing aspect in future versions. I’m confident that we can find the proper balance of story elements and the game’s main purpose in V2, so that it’s not so exclusive to just the same handful of players. After all, it’s more fun the more shiny Pokémon-snatchers there are to compete with!

~MegaPod