Pokemon: Radical Redux-Chapter 361: In the water

In the deep waters near the coast of Blue Point Isle, within a small island formation called Ogi Isle, Lugia rested, hidden and weary after everything that had happened.

After helping the legendary birds, Lugia had used a great deal of its energy. It went into hiding to recover, and during that time, something unexpected occurred.

You see, a Legendary making a clone is one thing. They split their power to create another version of themselves, think of it like shadow clones from Naruto. It leaves them tired, but eventually, they return to full strength.

This, however, was different. Legendaries usually didn't have a gender, and the big hitters, like Ho-Oh and Lugia, or say, Groudon and Kyogre, couldn't risk cloning themselves. The danger was that the clones might turn and betray the original. Yes, clones were weaker, but not as much as you'd think. Take Zapdos, about three of its clones could take down a full-powered Zapdos. And at any given time, there's at least one Zapdos clone in every region to help control the storms.

It was a kind of failsafe Arceus and Mew had built in. The B-tier Legendaries were weaker, eight Zapdos couldn't possibly beat a full-powered Lugia, and that was the difference between A-tier and B-tier Legendaries. So letting the stronger ones clone themselves was a risk Arceus didn't take.

Instead, for them, reproduction was asexual. A true child, one that starts out as a baby and grows. And that's what happened now, because resting on Lugia's belly was a pale blue egg.

Or at least, there was, because on the 33rd day, the egg began to glow.

From it, a baby Lugia popped its head out. Its first thought was that it wanted to play.

It nuzzled its parent, but Lugia was still so tired. Still, it was happy, its child was born and joyful. Lugia gently patted its baby's head with a wing and decided to take a short nap. A week should do. After all, when you're immortal, a week is nothing.

The baby Lugia pouted but then smiled and swam toward the surface, looking for friends to play with, completely unaware of what was about to happen in the coming week.

—-

Deep beneath the waves, in a submarine, some members of Team Rocket lurked. The one in charge was Dr. Namba, assigned to this mission by the Masked Man.

Much like Sebastian, Dr. Namba didn't care who gave him orders, only who paid him. And right now, he had his own goal: to capture Lugia.

Of course, he wasn't stupid. Neither was the Masked Man. In a fair battle, they could never defeat a full-powered Lugia. But that's the key word, 'full power'. Over the years, both Namba and the Masked Man had tracked Lugia's patterns meticulously.

From how often Lugia appeared, to how many times it flapped its wings, everything was recorded. They concluded that the pattern matched: sometime this month, Lugia would give birth. That gave them a five-day window to strike. They had even designed a special containment cell just for Lugia.

Everything had been accounted for. This wasn't a snap decision. The Masked Man had been planning this since the failure of LugiaTwo and Ho-OhTwo four years ago. Dr. Namba had been stationed here for three months, just to avoid missing their chance or alerting Giovanni. This entire plan had been orchestrated from the shadows. Even the attack on Olivine? Just a distraction.

Other missions were similarly staged. Team Rocket activity was at an all-time high while the world focused on the aftermath of Olivine City. And if you're wondering how Archer, of all people, allowed this, after all, he wasn't one to be bought, he was Giovanni's right-hand man. There's no way he would let this happen behind Giovanni's back.

That's the fun part. You're right, he wouldn't. That's why the Masked Man took care of him.

He won't be a problem anymore, in fact he was all in with all of this

How? Well... you don't need to know the details.

So Namba had no worries. Most of the grunts assigned to him were part of the Masked Man's personal squad, if you know what I mean, but the rest were just standard grunts and scientists.

Currently, Namba was working on something he called the Rage Crown, a device designed to induce a berserk state in any Pokémon that wore it. It was still a prototype, but that didn't matter to him. He didn't care about long-term consequences.

Just then, Butch and Cassidy burst into the lab, saluting.

"Dr. Number, there's an unidentified energy signature approaching fast!" Butch announced.

Namba's eye twitched as he gritted his teeth. "My name is not Dr. Number! It's Namba!" freёnovelkiss.com

He took a breath and then smirked. "But that would be our target's offspring. Lucky us."

"Sir, should we engage?" Cassidy asked.

Namba didn't respond right away. He stared at the monitor showing the baby Lugia approaching, so small, so new, so... useful.

"No. Not yet. Let it lead us to its mother. We have five days until Lugia is at her most vulnerable after giving birth. For now, follow and monitor the baby," Dr. Namba said with a smirk.

Cassidy nodded. "Very well, Dr. Samba, it shall be done!" she said as she and Butch rushed out of the lab.

"IT'S NAMBA!" he shouted after them, but they were already gone.

Namba sighed and turned his attention back to the screen, watching the movements closely. Soon, everything would fall into place. They had their goal, but capturing Lugia would be a nice bonus.

-----

On a boat sailing in from the sea, there were people from all over the world, Kanto, Johto, even as far as Galar and Paldea. The Whirl Cup was famous, only held once every three years. Not only was the beautiful Maya participating this year, but also something even more exciting, Wallace was coming.

You see, Wallace, the Champion of Hoenn, holds his own annual tournament: the Wallace Cup. It's different, it takes place in various locations around the world and is usually for Coordinators. But this year, since the Wallace Cup and the Whirl Cup coincided, the format was changed to allow broader participation.

This year, Wallace, widely considered the strongest Water-type Master, would be present and judging the battles. That made things extra exciting. It's sort of an unwritten rule that all Water-type Gym Leaders participate in the Whirl Cup at least once. Wallace himself had won it three separate times.

So Water-type specialists from across the regions were gathered. Most on the ship weren't official Gym Leaders, just aspiring ones or strong trainers hoping to prove themselves.

Well... except for Misty. And one other.

At the front of the ship stood a young woman, probably around fifteen, maybe a bit older or younger. Dark-skinned, with a slender frame, long blue-and-black striped hair, and striking blue eyes: Nessa.

She was here for two reasons. Neither thrilled her.

As she sat on the railings, gazing into the water, she heard footsteps. People were looking her way. Of course they were. Along with being a Gym Leader, she was also a famous model. The moment she stepped onto the ship, everyone wanted her autograph.

The one who pushed past her entourage was the lead photographer from her modeling team. He nodded to her.

"Hey, so this is where you went. Good idea, Nessa, this would be a great spot for a few shots. Ready?"

Nessa gave a small nod and struck a few simple poses as the camera clicked. The crowd loved it, even though it was just basic stuff.

Her team beamed. "Okay, good! You really are a natural at this, Nessa!" they said before walking off to edit the photos. Around her, the murmurs of admiration kept growing.

"I wish I was as perfect as Nessa..."

"So Nessa's participating? I guess that means I have no shot."

"Man, Nessa's amazing. She has everything."

"She's so confident, she's got the looks, the talent, the potential..."

"I wish I could be like her."

More and more voices reached her ears as she stared into the sea. But the longer she listened, the more hollow it all felt.

Because the truth was, she couldn't have felt less in control of her life.

She didn't even want to be here.

She was told to be.

{One Week Earlier}

Nessa sat in her locker room, staring down at a Poké Ball resting in her hand. She'd just come back from another loss, this time against one of the other Gym Leaders. Normally, it wouldn't have been such a big deal. But lately... she'd been on a losing streak.

Everyone else chalked it up to inexperience. Fair enough, she'd only been a Gym Leader for less than a year.

But Rose had a different idea.

She crushed a paper cup in frustration, only to hear the door open. Rose let himself in, smooth as ever.

"Well, today's match was so close too," he said. His words were polite, but his tone carried a condescending undercurrent.

He reached into his bag and pulled out a few magazines, courtesy of Oleana, no doubt.

"By the way, we found these. Looks like your modeling career's going well," he said, holding them up like a prize.

Nessa nodded stiffly. "Thank you very much."

Rose set the magazines down with an almost lazy gesture. "Still... being a Gym Leader and a popular model must keep you very busy."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "What do you mean by that, Chairman?"

Rose smiled and waved his hands dismissively, as if her concerns were silly. "Oh, nothing really," he said. Then he leaned in, close enough that she could smell the expensive cologne clinging to his suit. "It's just... how far you go is entirely up to you... hmm? Don't you agree~?"

The implication was crystal clear.

Rose didn't like her modeling. He wanted her to drop it and focus solely on being a Gym Leader.

It was no secret that Rose had ambitions. He wanted to turn Galar into the world's dominant region. And he never missed a chance to inch toward that goal.

Kanto was the current powerhouse, it had produced the most Champion-ranked trainers in history. But when crises like the Team Rocket attacks happened, most other regions stayed neutral.

Rose, however, had been the first to speak out. Loudly.

He slandered Kanto and any region that wasn't Galar, proclaiming that his region was the safest, after all, no evil teams plagued it. And of course, he took credit for that.

He'd been trying to poach powerful trainers from other regions for years.

Lets take Sabrina. When she became a Gym Leader, Rose offered her money, her own Gym, and more. She refused.

Or maybe something more recent, Flannery. After she inherited the Gym from her grandfather, Rose tried offering her Kabu's position, claiming Kabu was getting old and should "retire gracefully." Another rejection.

But he never stopped trying, he even refused to work with Mr. Goodshow to create a League, claiming that Galar had the resources to make a league with no support from him like every other region, like that somehow made Galar better.

And let's not even talk about the Leon situation, Rose has pushed the agenda of an undefeatable champion, when Rose has been selecting which fights he takes.

Sure Leon was strong, stronger than Lance, but he wasn't the strongest, and conveniently when people ask him about challenging legendary trainers like Blue or Red, he says that he has no idea where they are, that he has sent invitations, but they never responded.

But of course that didn't stop him from running his mouth, saying Leon could beat them, especially Blue afterall Blue has the shortest reign of champion in history, a whole 5 hours, and then he used the fact that Blue and Red where comparable to one and other for a long time as 'evidence' that Red was also weak.

Rose straightened up and reached into his pocket. "Anyway, I should get going, but I have something for you."

He pulled out a ticket and a filled-out application form, "For the Whirl Cup. I took the liberty of signing you up."

Nessa stared at it, stunned. "You... what?"

"You can even bring your team," Rose said with a bright smile, "do some more photo shoots, maybe catch Wallace's attention. He'll be judging this year."

Nessa wanted to snap at him. She wanted to tear up the ticket and throw it in his smug face. But she didn't. One wrong word, and her career, everything, could vanish.

She took a slow breath to steady herself. "With all due respect, you can't do this. I don't want to participate."

"Oh? But why not? This is such a great opportunity," Rose said. "The great Champion Wallace will be watching."

But Nessa could see right through him.

This wasn't about her. It was about Rose using her. If she won, Galar's name would rise in prestige. Wallace might even visit. And then Rose could work his charm, draw more eyes to his region.

She stared down at the form, already filled out in her name, She was already being used, whether she wanted to be or not.

"I... but how do you know I'll even win?" Nessa challenged.

Rose just chuckled and leaned in close. "Oh, I know you'll win. I sent a few messages to all the Water-type Gym Leaders and told them not to come. It took a pretty penny, but you'll be the only official Gym Leader there. It should be easy, right~?"

"S-So you rigged it," Nessa said, barely believing what she was hearing.

"Rigged is a strong word. I prefer selective challenging," Rose said, like that somehow made it better.

"N-No... if I win, it's going to be an empty win. I won't do it." Nessa shook her head.

"My dear Nessa, I'm afraid you can't say no. I've already informed everyone you'll be participating. You wouldn't want to disappoint your fans... and you wouldn't want to disappoint me either, would you?" Rose said.

But Nessa understood that tone.

He wasn't asking.

So as Rose turned and walked away, she could only sit there and bite her tongue.

—-

And that was how she got here, forced to participate in the Whirl Cup.

She didn't want to, but she had no choice.

As the island came into view in the distance, all she could do was sigh.

Because she didn't have control.

She didn't feel like a Gym Leader anymore.

She felt like a puppet. A pretty little badge-holder used for Galar's politics.

She liked being a model, loved it, even, but not when it was to push someone else's agenda. And especially not when Rose was the one telling her to give up on her dreams of modeling and focus only on being a Gym Leader.

Because she didn't have control.

She didn't have a choice. And the worst part? Everyone thought she did.

Everyone looked at her and thought she had everything.

When that couldn't be further from the truth.

Right now, she had nothing. No one to talk to. No one to lean on. No one to even ask what she wanted to do.

Sure, she had friends, like Sonia. They were good friends. But she hadn't had time to reach out, to hang out, to ask for advice like she usually did.

Not like she could, anyway. Sonia was off on a week-long trip to study some ruins in Galar. Nessa couldn't even call her.

As the boat docked at Blue Point Isle, the crowd began to disembark. Nessa stayed behind just a moment longer. Her team had already rushed out, eagerly discussing the best spots for her next photo shoot.

She just sighed, and hoped, that things would be better soon

She looked down at her wrist. Her Dynamax Band was still there, it was useless here. There was nowhere on the island to charge it. It wasn't a tool anymore. Just a mark. A symbol to remind everyone that she was part of Galar.

She looked out at the ocean one last time, then turned and stepped off the ship.

Off to do more modeling, usually, she'd be happy. But right now? She couldn't feel more tired.

----

Here is your extra Chapter, and you have another one guaranteed now that we hit 1500 stones