You get your first good look at Vinmur from the air, as it sits beside a wide river, at the far end of a bay. It's a surprisingly modern city, with buildings lined up in a regular grid pattern. It's downtown area is composed of skyscraper, none of them looking older than a decade old. The smaller buildings surrounding them also seems quite new, some being under construction right now, in fact. The rocky plains surrounding the town has little vegetation, but you notice that even the trees near the city seems younger than the ones further away.

Looking further away in the bay, you spot a few large islands, with a few low gray buildings on them.

Seymour watched their approach through the window with excitement. The place was all fresh and new, in more way than one! He wondered what sorts of pokemon, trainers, and even stores and restaurants they might encounter here.

As they came in for a landing, he asked Jakey, "What should we do first? Relax a bit, or head straight for the nearest gym?" Either way, he figured they would make a stop at a pokemon center first. Get their pokemon checked out after their recent adventure and make any team swaps they needed.

"Dang, this is bigger than home. I wonder if any Kanto city is this BIG."

Jake then pointed to one of the skyscrapers,
"No way I would jump out of THAT top floor. I bet they used one of the cool glass pokemon they have here to help build it fast."

As for what to do first,
"I want to go to the top of the tallest building. Maybe get our pokemon check-up first, but I want a fetcher-eye view of the city, that would be totally cool!"

Major Kaufman talks with one of his assistants, before turning back to you. "Alright, I got you two a room at a local hotel. Dinner included. After the work you did today, you've earned it. Come back to the gym tomorrow. I'll be waiting for you." With a salute, he heads to a police station that looks reinforced enough to serve as a bunker.

You head out into the city, finding the directions to the hotel with your Pokédex. As you walk down the street, you notice a lot of people are wearing a weird form of Punk fashion, in bright yellow rather than the usual black.

"A hotel room? Awesome!" exclaimed Seymour as they parted ways with Major Kaufman. He was eager to meet up again at the gym the next day, but was also excited to relax in a free hotel room for the night. Seymour wondered if it would be fancy. One where Glumpy and Glade could sun themselves on a balcony, and Marigold and Jett could soak in a jacuzzi. And he and Malley and Locke could channel surf on the couch or something.

Seymour realized his daydreams probably weren't super realistic though. Especially since they likely wouldn't even spend a ton of time awake in the hotel room anyway. They had a whole new city to explore!

After making their quick stop at the local pokecenter, Seymour couldn't help but notice the odd local fashions. "I wonder how that fashion trend started," Seymour wondered to Jakey aloud. He examined the style with curiosity, wondering briefly if it was a style he might like to adopt himself. It would certainly be a stark contrast to his usual attire. "It must be related to something local, because we haven't seen it anywhere else. At least not that I have noticed."

Jake grinned as free lodging was given. It was almost like when he did some unofficial housesitting back in the day, but this time the police were providing rather than chasing him out.
As they walked down the street, Jake did not seem too impressed by the style,
"Posers, the lot of them. Gotta wear something more casual if you are getting up to trouble. These ones just want to look like they are trouble. I mean, imagine raising hell, then the police will take one look at you and know exactly who your mum is."
"I guess it is pretty cool if they aren't up to trouble though. But why bother breaking the laws of style without breaking all the laws too?"

Jake's tone was more jocular than serious. He'd been nothing but a law-abiding citi immig tourist ever since he arrived.

Reaching the hotel, you notice a poster that seems linked to the strange fashion. A poster announces an upcoming concerts by 'The King', who wears a flashy gold/yellow attire that include a weird mask, and who poses with two Gholdengo dancers behind him. You don't recall seeing him before, but it seems he's very popular here.

The hotel isn't a high-end luxury hotel, but it's a pretty classic hotel for tourist and travelers, offering comfortable rooms at affordable price. You have a nice two-bedroom chamber to rest in, with a catering menu if you feel like calling room service.

As you consider what to do, Seymour's Pokédex rings, signaling an incoming call.

Seymour was still deciding whether he wanted to seek tickets to The King's concert or whether to try and avoid it, when his pokedex rang. "I'm... getting a call?" he said to Jakey, surprised. Who would be calling him?

Only one way to find out. He answered his pokedex's call. "Hello? Seymour Mons speaking. Who is this?" He made sure to keep the phone close enough that Jakey could hear too, since he figured his friend might also be curious who was calling. He could always move away later if it ended up being a more private matter.

"Hey! I made it to Vinmur!" Phoebe says on the line. "Took a while to find a place where the river didn't have a giant dinosaur and wasn't so deep that I'd drown trying to cross. So how are you two doing? Did Jake get squished by that thing?"

Jake glanced at the phone in a bit of confusion. He hadn't realized Phoebe had tried to cross the river herself. He kinda had figured she was going to fly with them, but had disappeared after him and Seymour started to focus on the tracking project. In any case, it was not that big of a deal,
"Yeah! We also just made it to Vinmur. We got a room for being cool. We only got two beds, but we can make a pillow fort for you though!"

Maybe he should have consulted with Seymour first...

"Yeah, we'll figure something out for the sleeping arrangements," Seymour agreed. "Let me give you the address and room number. The place they gave us for helping get that big Omistar back in its pokeball is pretty sweet." Seymour relayed the info, then added, "See you in a bit!" before ending the call. He was glad Phoebe was alright.

"Should we go check out the tallest building in the city when she gets here?" he asked Jakey, knowing he had expressed interest in doing that during their flight into town.

It takes half an hour for Pheobe to reach you, and the three of you head out to see the large glass tower you've seen from the helicopter. You see the first floor has a Pokémon Center in it, as well as a pair of express elevators heading for the top floor. The kind that have glass walls to let you see outside on the way up. A pair of trainers, a boy and a girl, step inside the elevator, the boy teasing his companion about winning a bet.

Jake didn't mind sharing the elevator with strangers, but also wouldn't mind getting a separate one. After all, he could release his pokemon and have them be impressed by the ride up if they had an elevator to themselves. Along that same line of thinking, Jake let out fairy, fetcher, and feefee.
"Alright you three. I want to have a contest."

He turned to Seymour,
"Feel free to join in!"

Jake then layed down the law,
"First one to the top of the building wins. Fetcher, you would obviously win if this was a fair contest, so you need to carry fairy... you think you can handle the weight?"
"Fairy, if you evolve into a flying type as a result of this, you get a special prize of ... I'll figure it out!"

"Oh, and also no interference. I don't want to get to the top only to see one of you KO'd back on the ground. Sound good?"

"Oh, a race?" asked Seymour, excitedly. He definitely wanted to join in on the fun. He released three pokemon of his own. His Gogoat, Magikarp, and Ditto.

He had Malley turn into a copy of Fetcher and then gave his own pokemon the same rules. "Malley, you need to carry Marigold to make it fair. Glade, you'll take the stairs since youre an expert mountain climber, I think. Pheobe, are you and Dodrio joining in too? I'm ready when you two are!"

"A race? Sure, sounds fun!" She brings out Trio, and climbs on him. Looking behind you, she pauses for a moment, before grinning. "Ready? Set... go!"

Turning around, you see the reason she delayed a bit. The second express elevator just left on their upward trip, leaving you to either wait for them or run for the regular elevators, as your pokemon run off for their own path. Pheobe herself chose to follow Glade up the stairs.

Malley and Fetcher fly out, carrying their teammate on their way up to the roof, while Feefee has already vanished from sight. So what do you do?

Respect the game. Pheobe may have been played when they first met her, but she was a player for sure in this moment. Of course, respecting the game did not preclude swearing at being played,
"Crap! She's good!"

He had originally envisioned a smooth relaxing ride up the elevator as the pokemon did all the hard work. But desperate times...
"Growler, lets get to the stairs and get to the top!" Jake called as he released the pokemon. He hadn't ridden growler before, but since it had evolved, it was certainly big enough. No time like the present to learn how to ride though!

Seymour stood a bit dumbfounded for a moment when the race had begun unexpectedly, and was soon the only participant left standing at the "starting line." "Whelp, I guess I'm going on the elevator alone then..." he said to nobody. He knew there was no chance of him winning with his own athletics, so he might as well enjoy the view from the express elevator. Since it had just left the ground floor, he walked leisurely over to the elevator alcove to wait for them to return.

If there was room, he would release his Shroomish, Nommlin, and Lapimage in the elevator so that they might enjoy the sights on the way up too. If he was lucky, maybe he would still get to the top first. If not, oh well. At least he wouldn't be exhausted.

The arcanine eagerly runs up the stairs, as Jake holds on for dear life. Glade has taken the lead here, jumping across the flights of stairs thanks to her smaller size. Trio and Phoebe do their best to follow, but they have to follow the normal path, slowing them down at each turn. Growler has to do the same, but it looks like you're gaining on Phoebe. But with the excitement of the race, Growler gives a loud and happy bark, letting out a blast of fire... close to a fire alarm!


Waiting for the elevator to return, Seymour sees the two Farfetch'd flying up outside the building, through the large windows on the entry hall. The only way to tell them apart is their carried passenger. But as they try to climb, a stream of water passes between them. It looks like some trainers outside spotted the teams, and are shouting at them and having their own pokemon aim at them.

"Dangit!" Jake cursed as he released Skipper.

"Skipper, try to stop any fire alarms going off. Don't smash them too hard if they go off, but we don't want to panic the whole building!"

Then again, if the whole building was panicked, everyone would rush downstairs... and the elevators might stop. So that meant the flying pokemon would be first to the top. All in all, it might put Fetcher in an OK position to win, but probably not worth the punishment of purposefully setting off a fire alarm.

When Seymour saw the stream of water pass between his and Jakey's pokemon, he knew for sure he was no longer going to win the race. For him, safety took priority. So he rushed outside to give his pokemon some guidance.

"Marigold, draw their attention! Malley, make some cover with a Sand Attack. We need to let Falkner's pokemon reach a safe distance." Seymour looked for the source of the water stream. If they wanted a battle, Seymour was willing to oblige.

---

Using Magikarp's Decoy ability to draw fire from Jakey's pokemon. Malley is using Sand Attack. Malley will also make use of their Sticky Hold ability to ensure it doesn't drop Marigold, if applicable.

Skipper hangs on for dear life, sniping the fire alarms with blasts of water as you pass, stopping them from ringing. Ahead of you, you hear Trio squawking as a pair of old people shout angrily. Turning the corner, you see Phoebe has been stopped by an old couple, complaining about 'kids these days' and 'letting pokemon run wild' and 'in my days' and so on. The lot of them are doing a good job blocking the path up the stairs.

---

Marigold gives her shiniest display, looking as succulent as a Magikarp can be, causing the some of the trainers to hesitate. It seemed like they wanted to rescue the pokemon being carried, but some seems to suddenly want some sushi... Their salivating gets cut short when Malley rains sand down, making their eyes water as they deal with the dust.

That deals with the trainers on the ground and their partners, but Marigold's display also attracted the plague of any sea-side restaurants: Wingulls. You hear them squawk as they glide toward your pokemon, looking for an opening to swipe the glittering morsel carried my Malley.

"Oh no..." whispered Seymour when the Wingulls began to approach. "Nope! Nuh uh. We forfeit! Marigold, Malley, return! We are NOT on the menu today. No race is worth that." Seymour attempted to return both his pokemon to their pokeballs before the Wingulls could close in completely. If successful, he would return indoors and take the elevator up to the top. If he was lucky, maybe Glade had done better than the rest of Team Seymour.

Jake had a single word solution to his problem,
"Roar!"

Surely if it worked on big scary pokemon, it will also make the old couple run away!

Unfortunately, Malley started panicking as the flying swarm surround them, their evasive maneuvers making it very hard to recall them. However, their squawks of panic also draws the attention of Fetcher, who turns back to assist. The result is a confusing dogfight of Air Cutters and showers of glass shards, pushing back the flock of Wingulls.
If you call out to him, Malley may hear you and come back, though they seem to be holding their ground so far.

---

Growler's roar surprises everyone on the road block... but Trio seems to be the most surprised of the group. With a triple squawk, he jumps in the arm of the closest person. The old man. Who is really too old to hold up a big bird like him. Especially not one with a girl on his back.

As he collapse, you barrel past the old woman, confirming every negative opinion she has about 'kids these days'. (Not that there was much you could have done to change that...) That draws you closer to Glade, as you keep racing up the stairs.

Jake hoots and hollers as he passed Phoebe. He didn't have any plans for passing Glade. Just ride hard. Of course, if there was an opportunity to take advantage of to pass Glade, he'd try to take it... but he didn't want to do anything too underhanded.

"Malley! Furry Cutter yourself a path to me! Swing Marigold around for some Tackles if you need to. Otherwise, Marigold, Splash around as best you can to avoid their pesky beaks!" Seymour continued to try and return his pokemon, hoping he could do so before his precious Magikarp got chomped. He considered releasing more of his pokemon to help out too, but was too focused on what was happening above to come up with a useful strategy for them just yet. He was incredibly thankful for Fetcher's assistance though. He would need to give Jakey's pokemon some extra praises when he got the chance.

You close in on Glade, enough to see him push open the last door at the top of the stairs. Growler passes before it can close, only to suddenly stop. You're not at the roof yet, but you can see signs pointing to the way there. And while Glade seems to have figured out where to go, Growler turns away from it, listening to something.
It takes you a moment, but you can faintly hear the whines of a small puppy somewhere nearby...

---

Hearing your call, Malley makes their way down toward you, followed closely by Fetcher as they fly back down to you, fighting back the circling sea-birds. Most of the other people on the street have decided to scatter, wanting to avoid the water splashes from the horde's missed attack.
As your partners get low enough, the Wingulls keep their distance, probably expecting attacks from more ground bound pokemon should them come closer. Though they still circle, looking for an opening...

Stop for a puppy? It was Jake's turn to growl. But Jake didn't want to ruin growler's day by ignoring its curiosity. Instead, he immediately leaped off of the back of growler and dashed up to the top. He doubted he could beat Glade at this point. The momentary slowdown had broken his momentum... but he was still fresh, only having ridden until this point. Maybe if Glade had fatigued he could eek out a victory,
"Growler, do what you need to do. We'll meet up at the top when you do your thing!"

Hopefully growler could figure out how to get to the top after rescuing/comforting/bulling whatever was whimpering.

As soon as he was able, Seymour returned his pokemon to their pokeballs. That was enough stress for them for the moment. Especially his Magikarp, who seemed to be on the menu for those Wingulls. Once his pokemon were safe, he looked to Jakey's. He would feel bad letting them fly up the tower on their own through the still-present flock of ornery Wingulls. "Care to join me on a ride up the elevator?" he offered. "I'll let you get off at the top first. That way you two will still at least beat me in the race."

Growler runs off to the side, as you follow after Glade. A triple squawk from behind you reveals that Phoebe is catching up, but as you glance back, you see her suddenly break, before turning back to take a smaller corridor. Glade is right ahead of you, climbing a wide set of stairs to the roof.

---

Fetcher and Fairy follow you into the newly arrived elevator, and you're soon on your way to the roof. You see some Wingull still lingering around the tower, but they don't seem to notice you behind the glass. Hopefully, they'll have scattered before you reach the top.

Seymour hummed along to the elevator music as he waited for it to reach the top. He looked with awe out at the city as the elevator got higher and higher. He had already seen it from above, but it just hit differently when you were looking at the city from within the city itself.

Jake had two tricks left. Well, one trick and one resource. For the first he bet on his cunning,
"Yo! Glade, you missed the checkpoint! Pheobe will tell you where growler hit it."
The resource was his final pokeball, the one with Bandy. Bandy was too big to be on a bird, and too awkward to ride, but it was fast, and could even be faster if he gave it a boost by chucking their pokeball up the staircase as far as it could go,
"Bandy! To the roof!"

At your call, Glade pauses for a moment, looking a little confused. Until Bandy appears, and jumps over her. The two of them vanish from sight, but as you get ready to follow, you hear the ding of an arriving elevator behind you.

---

The elevator reaches the top floor. As the door opens, you see a wide set of stairs to reach the roof. And you see Jake about to run up this final obstacle.

Jake hoots as he hears the elevator ding,
"Too slow! Too slow!"
And hoofs it up the stairs in pursuit of the leading pokemons.

When the elevator stopped and Seymour saw that the race hadn't quite ended yet, his first instinct was to bolt toward the finish line. Which surprised Seymour, because he was not very competitive or athletic when it came to games of physical prowess. Regardless, he suppressed that first instinct and allowed Jakey's pokemon to exit the elevator first, as promised. Seymour instead settled on cheering for Glade. "Go Glade go! You can do it! Don't give up!"

Jake runs after Glade, only to be passed by Fetcher and Fairy. Seymour follows as fast as he can, and you finally reach the roof, trying to sort out who arrived when.

Bandy has climbed an antenna, waving her hammer above her head as Glade paces on the roof just below her. Fetcher climbs to fly around Bandy, but it's pretty clear he arrived after the other two pokemon. As you watch your companions sort themselves up, Phoebe turns the corner on Trio, grinning. "What took you so long?"

---

Level up!

Bandy's Speed increases to Super
Fairy's SpA increases to Average
Fetcher's SpD increases to High
Growler's SpA increases to Awesome

Glade's Speed increases to Exceptional
Marigold's Def increases to High, and SpD increases to Below Average
Malley learns the move Copycat
Copycat Normal * Copies the last move that was used in battle

Seymour went over to Glade and gave the Gogoat some relaxing scratches behind the horns and showered her with praises. She may not have won, but she had come real close to doing so. And Seymour was impressed.

"We would have been here sooner, but somebody," he gave Phoebe a knowing look, "just happened to start the race right when the elevator closed. Plus, a bunch of Wingulls thought my Magikarp looked tasty. So I had to deal with that. Your pokemon were a big help with that whole situation too, Falkner. You've got a couple of superheroes there," he said, smiling at the two pokemon who had helped rescue his own. Then he added, "How did the stairway race go?"

Now that he had a moment to catch his breath, Seymour also took a few seconds to more carefully take a look at his surroundings at the top of the tower.

Jake let out a celebratory whoop, but had better things to do than gloat,
"WOOOH! Awesome work everyone and... that includes growler too... who is still downstairs... I'll go get her. I'll be right back! I still want to see the view from the top!"

Jake looked almost a bit mareepish as he descended the stairs again to find what growler had stopped the race for.

It doesn't take long to find the large canine. She's holding a Poochyena by the back of it's neck, offering it to a young boy who looks very happy. "You found my Poochy! Thank you!" Growler pants happily, until she hears Jake calling to her.

Heading back up, you get the chance to fully admire the city view from above. The city is quite clean, with well ordered streets and buildings, a sign of well planned development. "Wow! This place is pretty impressive! Too bad someone went and tagged that tower."

"Way to be the hero, Growler. By the way, we won the race!" Jake then offered a high five to growler and the random kid with the lost poochy. Making it back up the stairs, he admired the view. And grinned when he saw the tagging,
"You think there is a bunch of wild kids running around these streets. Wonder what they are like? Some can be real nasty, but others can be loads of fun."

"Any idea what the tag means?" Seymour asked, looking for the tagged tower in question. Overall, Seymour was quite impressed with the organization and forethought of the city's design. He found it almost soothing.

---

What does the tagged building look like?

The tag is on the tower you're currently on, and Pheobe shows you how it's hidden if your head is not higher than most people. "I don't think I would have seen it if I hadn't been on Trio's back."

With a bit of climbing, you see the... rather weird tag. It's a yellow drawing of a dancing Gholdengo, twisting way. For a tag, it looks pretty basic... but for some reason, it feels... disturbing... wrong.

Seymour craned his neck and looked at the graffiti with curiosity. Why did it feel so... off? Seymour took a picture of it with his pokedex for future reference. Then as he was about to turn away, he paused. On a whim he released Malley. "Hey Malley... Can you transform into that Gholdengo on the wall over there? Is that a thing you can do?" If Malley could, he would either learn that Malley could turn into pictures of pokemon, or he would learn that it wasn't actually a picture at all. Which could help explain why the image disturbed him so much.

Jake blinked a few times after finally catching sight of the tag.
"Too clean. Heck, looks stenciled or huh, I don't think they even used spray paint. Too rich to be a proper tag. I mean, gholdengo is a heckin rich thing anyway, but whoever made this had resources and stuff."

Jake craned his neck to keep looking at it,
"I heard sometimes rich kids do pranks like this, but it could be a corp doing advertisement or another organized group. Doesn't strike me as something team gaia would fuss with."

Jake then called over Fetcher,
"Hey, can you go up and get some of the paint on your stick? I want to get a closer look. Maybe it is a giant sticker...?"

Malley looks at the image, then back at you, confused. It doesn't look like they can change into that drawing.

Fetcher tries scratching the paint, getting a bit of it on his leek. Squinting, he points at the part he scratched, showing a small difference between the outer part of the drawing, and the central core. Looking at the leek, it seems the outer part is just normal paint.

Phoebe climbs up with Trio's help to get a closer look. "Hey... aren't graffiti supposed to be made with spray paint? This looks like it was made with a brush..."

"Huh, either someone covered up a tag with paint OR there is a secret message that is hidden underneath the main image. If it is covered... hmm, I don't know what kind of paint they used, but sometimes one type of paint can get washed away, but the other part sticks on. So long as one goes, we can see what the inner tag is. It just won't have color if only the outside sticks."
Jake's critical thinking was working hard now that he had a problem more in his wheelhouse. He looked to the others,
"Any other ideas? Maybe the inner paint will glow when warm or something funky like that. Would be heckin' expensive paint to do that though."

"I don't think I have any other ideas," Seymour admitted after giving it some thought. "I mean, if I were a detective, I would analyze the paint. Then, if it was as expensive as you think it might be, then I would figure out where you might buy such expensive paints and work backward from there. Of course I would also try to figure out what secret messages might be hidden here too. Maybe with black lights? Or spray water on the image? Fire? Not sure. But I'm not a detective, so..." Seymour wasn't sure if the graffiti was worth more of their time or not. After all, it could just be graffiti and nothing more. He would let Jakey and Phoebe dictate whether or not it was worth more investigation or not.

Phoebe tilts her head. "Gholdengo aren't really common around here... Do you think it could be linked to the King?"

"If Gholdengo are associated with the king, then yeah, I could see that being a likely possibility," admitted Seymour. "But would that mean the message being conveyed is pro-king, or anti-king?" He would guess anti, but didn't want to assume.

Jake gave a shrug. Pro-king, anti-king, slowking, didn't make a difference to him so much. Well, actually they may get in trouble for defacing a pro-king mural.

With no other clues about the drawing, you turn back to admiring the city. It's not as grand a view as when you were on the helicopter, but it lasts longer. Long enough for your stomach to growl, reminding you that despite all the excitement, you haven't had your dinner.

With all the excitement you've gone through, you decide to turn in early after your meal.

You wake up bright and early the next day, and after scarfing down a nice breakfast, you head out to the Vinmur gym. You briefly crossed it when the helicopter landed, but now you can get a better look at it. The first building to greet you looks more like a nice and clean police station. It seems so simple and friendly, that you wonder if it's really a military base.

It's only when you get closer that you see beyond what you first thought was the beach side. With a bit of architectural trickery, the base is hidden away from the rest of the city, giving a nice view of the ocean. But up close, you can see the angled concrete walls turning the beachfront into a long and solid bunker, with a collection of piers for mid-to-low sizes military vessels.

After having a fun evening with both his human friends and his pokemon friends, Seymour was still eager to start the day and try their next gym challenge. He swapped around some of his active team of pokemon, made sure they were all in terrific shape at the pokemon center, then made his way to the gym with the others. He was impressed by the subtlety of the structure.

"You guys ready for this? The urban combat gym?" he asked Jakey and Phoebe. "Were you going to attempt the gym challenge as well?" he asked Phoebe. He knew Jakey would be. Seymour himself was already working on getting his brain into the correct state of mind for what he thought an "urban combat" gym challenge might be like.

"Urban combat gym? Looks more like another water gym to me. Hopefully if it comes to water, Skipper will be enough" Jake considered going back to switch out his team, but it was too much work and he felt confident in the current group.

"Yeah, but I'm ready. Lets rock this town!"

You walk into the station, and are greeted by screeches of an old woman repeating "I DO NOT CONSENT!" as two agents are dragging her away. The guy at the counter, a small man with a balding head and a 'I'm too old for this' face, sighs as he looks at the two of you. "Yes? What do you need kids?"

Seymour was so mesmerized by the spectacle of the distressed woman being dragged away noisily that he had almost missed what the balding man had asked. When he realized he was supposed to answer, Seymour shook his head clear and refocused his attention. "Um, yes. Yeah. We are here to attempt the gym challenge?" He phrased it as a question, since he was starting to wonder if they were even in the correct location.

The man seems to perk up at your answer. "Oh good! Just this way..." He steps away from the counter for a moment, leading your to a side door. "Just take the door with the 'Challenge' sign. Someone will come to see you soon. Feel free to help yourself to the donuts, but leave some for the other trainers that will show up, ya hear?"

Jake had a confused look about the woman being dragged away. While he wondered what it was about, he wasn't about to get involved in an issue with the oldies. While he followed the instructions to go through the challenge door, he also checked out what the other doors were labeled as. Once inside he took a couple of donuts and took a seat.
"I wonder if this is a team work one, or if we fight other trainers in the streets... huh."

"I wonder the same thing," replied Seymour as he grabbed a donut too. "I would say we should talk strategy, but I guess we don't know if we will be teammates or not. I wonder if it will be a large crowd of trainers, or just a couple of others." With nothing else to really do, Seymour waited patiently for the challenge to begin. As other trainers trickled in, he would do his best to learn what he could about them. Their likely strengths and weaknesses, as well as the Pokemon they might have at their disposal. Anything that might give him an edge later.

After a short while, two more trainer show up, one at the time. The first one is accompanied by a light clinging of chains. She's a girl with short black hair, wearing a red vest decorated with a couple of small chains over a yellow blouse. The door barely has time to close before the other one enters, a boy with shoulder-length black hair, and wearing a black jacket over a long-sleeved black shirt.

"So... I guess you're here for the challenge too?" The girl asks you.

Jake waves to the other kids entering,
"For sure, for sure. We are going in kinda blind though. Are you competition or are you the help?" Jake added a sharp smile with the question. He didn't quite look intimidating, but something close to that.

"Yup, here for the challenge," Seymour also confirmed. "This is my first time trying this gym challenge, but definitely not my first gym challenge overall. How about yourselves?" It would be good to know if there were other trainers with a lot of earned badges other than himself and Jakey. As he understood it, Vinmur gym was one of the "starter" gyms of the region.

"Ah, yeah... I live here, so I thought I may as well get started here, instead of running half-way across the country just to get my first badge."

"I got four myself." The guy says. "I'm not sure about the details, but I think the challenge is supposed to be cooperative? Most of them are usually, with the trainers facing off against the local troops."

The girl frowns. "Oh... I hope I don't get in the way then... I don't really have much of a team..."

The door opens again, as Major Kaufman steps in. "That will depends on you." He checks his watch, and nods. "I think that's a good cut-off. A four-men squad is what we usually prefer for our operations."

He moves to a virtual white board on the wall, plugging a USB drive on it's side and loading up a  set of photos. They show a small dinner, with the name 'Slow Tail' on a faded sign. "Your gym challenge is will put you in the shoes of an SPT officer. You'll have to plan and execute an emergency raid in this fictional restaurant. He pulls out a sheet of paper, and starts to read the briefing notes.

"This restaurant had been under strict surveillance because local police has been informed that its owner, Lian Niu, was using this restaurant as cover to make illegal performance enhancing drug. While surveying the place, the police noticed Alex 'The Knife' Jimenez (a wanted underground fight promoter) entering the restaurant. The SPT team has been notified and must attack immediately to arrest Alex 'The Knife' Jimenez. Plus, you must search for the drug lab to use as evidence to support the raid."

He points at some of the photos in turn. "We only have external pictures, and no internal plans. The dining area is seperated from the kitchen by a counter. The door next to the counter opens into a set of corridors leading to the toilets and the kitchen. Undercover agents have been unable to see the stairs to the second floor, so it's assumed to be beyond the kitchen.  And as you can see here, there's a back entrance on the first floor, as well as a set of external stairs leading to the second floor."

The girl looks a bit worried. "So... we're supposed to bust in that restaurant and beat up whoever we see?"

"No, you have to operate in SPT fashion." He opens a closet, and pulls out four familiar suitcases. "You'll each have to command your pokemon remotely. You will have one breach pokemon each, who will form the first team entering. You will also bring a back-up pokemon, should your breach pokemon be incapacitated, or if you need to guard someone. Obviously, you have other limits in what you're allowed to do. You cannot damage external walls, and you cannot use damaging attacks on humans. You need to disable them, and not injure them."

Seymour studied the scenario with interest. It was certainly unlike the other gym challenges he had participated in. There were a lot of different angles they could take in order to complete it. A lot would depend on what team they chose to send in. And so, Seymour decided to start sharing some of his thoughts and what skills he brought to the table.

"Since this challenge is cooperative, let's start by sharing which Pokemon we might send out on this mission and why. I have six with me, and I could potentially fill a lot of roles. I'm also decent at building or deconstructing fortifications." He then began listing his Pokemon team and what roles he could see them filling.

"My team consists of a Gogoat, Ditto, Lapimage, Pinsir, Castform, and a Snom. The Snom is good at making ice walls, and so might be decent as a guardian. The castform can change the weather conditions, which can give us a surprise terrain advantage on the fly. My Pinsir is physically strong, and could be good at busting in, performing feats of strength, or subduing hostiles. My Lapimage has both fire and ice abilities, and is quick. But his hypnosis capabilities might prove to be the most useful in this scenario. My Ditto is a wildcard, and its capabilities would largely depend on what other Pokemon are around. And lastly, my Gogoat is an all-around tough lady."
After sharing what his Pokemon could do, he looked around to see if anyone else wanted to do the same.

Jake considered his pokemon for a moment. Some were not ready for the limelight. Others were not suitable for internal roles.
"I got three that might be good. Skipper, bandy, and growler."

He looked at the other trainers,
"That's a Marshtomp, Wreckoon, and Arcanine. Bandy is fast and sneaky, so she is my top pick. The others would be good as back-up if things go loud."

Jake considered his own experience crime-ing in restaurants. Usually it was just dine-and-dashes, so he couldn't think of anything particularly relevant to this challenge. He did consider Seymour's options too,

"If we wanted to try real stealth, could double Wreckoon with your ditto. Being able to hypnotize sounds good though. Nice way to take care of a human without hurting them."

He did have a question for the major too,
"Do we expect Mr. Knife might flee? If so, can we use the back-up pokemon to rock him?"

Major Kaufman nods. "There's always a risk of someone running, but there is also the risk of innocent civilians on the premise too. That's why you need to stop people from fleeing, without harming them."

The boy thinks for a moment. "My Scorbunny is a bit out of his depth for this, but my Bagon would do a good job shocking the people into compliance, while being tough enough to survive. And I got a Gengar I can send as back up, as well as use to guard one of the exits in secret."

"Ah... I got my Fletchinder. He's good at chasing down things, but... not really at stopping them nicely. I also got a Hitmontop, but he didn't get much training so far... and my Corvisquire is a scrapper too, so I'm not sure how I can help the most..."

Seymour considered what the others had said about their Pokemon and searched his Pokedex for each Pokemon mentioned. That way he would have at least a base level of knowledge about what Pokemon his allies were talking about.

He looked to the other two trainers. "If you two are leaning toward using a Bagon and Gengar, and a Fletcher and Corvisquire, I think we can make that work. Oh, and I am Seymour by the way. I was so focused on the challenge here that I forgot to share names."

After giving other people a chance to share their names as well, Seymour continued with a potential battle strategy. "If you would like to use Fletcher and Corvisquire, I think it makes sense for you to be in charge of aerial surveillance. Fletcher, being a fire type, might even be able to access the building through a chimney or heating vent that would be too hot for other Pokemon. And with Bagon providing firepower and Gengar being a secret door guard, I think that will be extremely useful too."

"I think my Lapimage will be my backup Pokemon, and I'm leaning toward Ditto as my main infiltrator. Especially if we are going with a slightly more stealthy plan. If we were barging in guns blazing I would send Pinsir, but I think if we need more muscle later I will have my Ditto copy Bagon or an enemy Pokemon instead." Seymour looked around to see if anyone had other things to contribute to the plan. Jakey would need to pick a backup Pokemon too, but either of the two he mentioned would be a fantastic choice.

Jake nodded to Seymour's comments. They all made sense,

"Oh, yeah, I am Jake by the way. I'll pick growler as my backup. She is faster than skipper, and I think that is a good thing as a backup."

Jake jostled his backpack a bit,
"So, do we get this show on the road now?"

"I'm Jodie. I guess I'll have Fletchinder keep watch of the windows, and intercept any pokemon getting out. And I'll have Corvisqure stay high, so he can drop on whoever escapes."

"And I'll send Bagon in, and hide Gengar near the back stairs. Oh, and I'm Sidney." The boy says. "So where do we go in? Front? Back? Split?"

"Jodie, Sidney, nice to meet you both," replied Seymour. He then thought about what their strategy should be.

"I think if we do want to use stealth, we sneak in through the back rather than bust in through the front." That much seemed pretty obvious. "Maybe the Bagon should wait near the front door though? In case we need it to barge in as a distraction? Then the Wreckoon and Wreckoon-Ditto can sneak in the back. One on the upper floor and one on the lower. Gengar watches the back stairs, Lapimage hypnotizes anyone escaping from the front, and Growler and Corvisquire chase down anyone else who gets away. Fletchinder can rush in from any side once we know which part of the building requires the most backup. We should try to leave ways for Flechinder to get in if we can. Second story windows should be easy for a bird to get in, but difficult for a person to get out."

Having settled on a plan, you equip your pokemon with their camera and radio, something you're already familiar with. You then take a ride in a police truck, out of town, and to a collection of small city blocks, where no one seems to live.

After a turn, the road is blocked by police cars, and you get a look at the restaurant. The front windows are all covered, not letting you see inside. The second floor windows seems to have drapes, but the windows are blocked by bars on the outside.

You can see the side street, more of a parking alley really, has a van in it. Beyond the van, you see a chain-link fence with an open door, and a metal staircase leading up.

Jodie sends up her Fletchinder to fly over the building, giving you a better look at the rear of the building. You see one metal door on the ground floor, and another on the second floor. You also see three windows on the second floor, one of them without bars.

Jake hmmm'd as he saw the fletchinder's perspective. He was glad that he already had a bit of experience with the camera and radio tech. It was also nice that they were far enough away they could talk strategy without risk of being discovered by the sound of their voices.
"The van is a new bit. Should we cut the tires or post one of the back-ups there?"

After the first sweep of the Fletchinder, Jake figured to ask for another pass,
"Hey, lets get another passover. There might be a camera we missed. Check points of entry, that fence gate, staircase, and front and back doors."

If there were cameras on the points of entry, they could probably bypass a few via wreckoon's sly climbing and such, but if the doors were covered, it might be a bit trickier. Maybe they could get into the unbarred window without making too much noise? Even if it were locked there were ways to jimmy one open.

"With the way the street is blocked, I don't think we have to worry about them leaving by the road."

As Fletchinder makes another pass, Jodie points a few black spots on the walls. "Are those camera? They kinda look like them... And they got three of them in the back. One watching each doors, and one watching the chain-link door."

"From that angle, I don't think the windows are being watched."

You can see the window is closed, with drapes blocking your view. You do see a shadow moving inside, however.

Jake taps his foot in thought, then addresses the on-site officer,
"Do we need to worry about them destroying the evidence in the drug lab?  Maybe we should lay off for a half hour or so if not. Give them a bit of space to relax after the flyover."

He considered how jumpy the people inside were... and what their instructions from the staff were. After all, this was a test, so they may be more likely to trash the 'evidence' than a real world criminal enterprise. Jake grit his teeth,
"Ugh, this is harder than a real world op, they know we will start the op at some point, so they won't ever be not on guard. I bet they have a sentry near that window, even if they don't have cameras."

Jake pondered for another minute, before developing a plan, perhaps not in the spirit of the exam, but the exam had its unrealistic constraints that hopefully he could use against it,
"So, we aren't allowed to damage the external walls? That doesn't mean we can't thump on them pretty hard. Just not breaking anything. Bagon should be able to headbutt a wall for a while to make them think we might be breaking the wall, the rules, and come out to investigate. That should pull the sentry away from the window to allow the Bandies to jimmy the window open and get in. It will almost certainly be a person that comes out, so we could try to have Lapimage to hypnotize them to neutralize a whole team. If we do this, we need to make sure Bagon is captured on camera, but not Lapimage or the bandies."

Jake then glanced to their minder and to the others for any dissent.

"Maybe we should try to cut the power to the building?" suggested Seymour. "That should cut the cameras and make it more difficult for them to do much of anything for a bit while they stumble around in the dark. Malley can go in as a Gengar to slip in and tamper with the breaker box, then he can turn into a Wreckoon and Malley and Bandy can get the doors open. As a bonus, they will likely open some curtains for light, which should give us some better views in through the windows."

"Of course we can have Bagon and Lapimage do their distraction at the same time, adding an extra layer of redundancy to the plan. I think that was a really good idea," he said to Jakey.

If there was no major objections or major changes suggested, Seymour would begin enacting the plan by giving orders to his Pokemon.

"Huh, cut the power, that's smart" Jake remarked, giving his approval.

"Hold on..." Jodie points at a cable connected to the building's roof. "That's connected to the power lines. And the other buildings have their own connection. It should be fine if Corvisquire cuts it." Seeing no objection from the major, she does so, and the building grows dark.

At the same time, Bagon starts hitting the side wall. Hard enough to make noise, but not enough to do serious damage. From Fletchinder's high view, you see the curtains move for a moment, but they stay close.

As soon as the power went out, Seymour mobilized his Ditto. "Alright, that's our cue. Malley, sneak in there as a Gengar or a Wreckoon, then try to get the upper door open as a Wreckoon. Let's get some eyes on the inside."

Seymour's words were calm and level, but internally his heart was pumping like crazy! He was completely unsure about what they should expect when those doors opened.

Jake considered delaying longer. But the power outage was a good time to go in. Even if they had a backup generator, it would take a moment for it to come online.
"Wreckoon, give it a moment, then try to jimmy the window open carefully. We don't want them knowing that you are getting in."

At first, Malley doesn't seem to know how to get in. Bandy, however, knows just what to do. with a few low cries, she points to the window, explaining to the amorphous pokemon out to undo the latch, and open the window.

The two silently slip into the room. An emergency light to your pokemon's right let you see a few things about the room. There's not much in the way of furniture, just an old bed covered in boxes, with a dresser at it's foot. There's a closed door at the far end, toward the front of the building, while to the right is an empty doorway. You can see there's a small room there, with a second doorway right across leading to a corridor, where the emergency light is.

In that small side room, a man calls out his pokemon. A bulky, upright pokemon with large horns on it's head. They don't seem to have noticed your infiltrators.

Jake lowered his voice to a whisper,
"Alright Bandy, snatch and grab. Get the trainer then get out. Ignore the pokemon. Oh, and be gentle, we don't want to hurt the poor guy, just capture him."

Maybe the guy in the room was the target... maybe not. But one fewer trainer was one fewer problem.  As for suggesting Seymour's action,
"Malley could go deeper, or get hidden behind the boxes, so if Bandy's snatch and grab is messed up by the pokemon, we get another chance. Even if they see one bandy, they won't expect another."

"Good idea," Seymour replied to Jakey. Then, to Malley he said, "Get hidden and be ready to act."

To their teammate with the Gengar, he added, "We might have someone coming out the back soon. If there is anything your Gengar can do to help, be ready to do it."

If he got the chance, Seymour would also try to look up in his Pokedex whatever Pokemon it was that had been released by the guy inside the building. He would share the information with his teammates.

Your pokedex can't identify the pokemon through the camera, and it's hard to discern it in the darkness. At best as you can guess, it's either a Machamp, a Pinsir, or maybe an Alolan Golem.

As Malley looks around the bed, they spot an open closet you didn't notice. You can't tell what's inside, because of the darkness. The other door to exit the bedroom is closed.

Bandy jumps on the trainer's back, and the camera turns shaky as they struggle. You do catch a glimpse of a mirror during the fight, but it's too brief to make out much.

"Alright Gengar! Go through the door and help!" You catch a brief glimpse of Gengar moving closer to the door... before it's camera falls to the floor. "...Oh."

"Malley, stay hidden, but try to get eyes on the situation." It was difficult to give instructions or insights when he couldn't really tell what was happening. There was one insight he could share though.

"Jodie, the Pokemon inside might be weak to your fliers. Maybe a Machamp or Pinsir? Although if it is an Alolan Golem, take caution."

Jake just continued to watch his camera and wait until the situation to become more clear. He turned to Seymour,
"Bandy should get it handled, but yeah, a bit of interference to keep the dude's pokemon off Bandy for a moment for extraction would be good. Maybe Gengar could go up and spook. I donno. Bandy should have it. She can make a quick escape carrying cargo."

"Exactly," agreed Seymour. "Plus, if there is interference, Malley will have an easier time sneaking further inside too." After all, there was no guarantee yet that Bandy had grabbed the person they needed. And even if it was, they still needed to finish the rest of the objectives of the gym challenge too.

"Okay, but... aren't we supposed to... not hurt people? How is your Wrekoon going to get the trainer out without hurting him?" Jodie asks, as she sends her pokemon into the window. Through her station, you can see that Bandy is grappling with the man, while Gengar fights against the other pokemon further away.

Meanwhile, Malley seems very focused on the closet.

Jake shrugged to Jodie's concern,
"I mean, the guy can surrender whenever he wants. He probably should surrender. Bandy should be able to get him to the window without any issue. He'll better see he is outnumbered and outmatched. Otherwise he is stupid. But whatever,"

Given it looked like Gengar was fighting the other pokemon, Jake determined to stop hassling the man to get him out the window,
"Bandy, change of plan. Just strip him of his pokeballs and toss them out the window. Try to not have them open when you throw them out though."

Jake then turned to Jodie,
"Maybe your birdie can catch the pokeballs as they fall so they don't open and cause more problems for us."

It sounded like Jakey had a good handle on the rest of the situation, so Seymour decided to let Malley focus on the closet that seemed to capture its attention. "Malley, while everyone is distracted, try rummaging around in the closet a bit to see what you can find. Even close the door and turn on the light if you need to. Just make sure not to lock yourself in." Not that a locked door would be a huge obstacle for a Ditto-Wreckoon.

Bandy has an easier time snatching the pokeball at the man's belt than in wrestling him down. She tosses the ball out of the second story window, and Fletchinder grabs it to bring it back to your station. You got a look at Gengar for a moment, as he hits his foe with a Confuse Ray, the faint glow showing the outline of a Pinsir.

Malley moves closer to the closet, but more cautiously then you expected. You see why when you spot someone moving in the dark shadow. You suppose the Wreckoon has a better night vision than the camera does.

"There is someone hiding in the closet!" Seymour shared with the group. His heart was racing from the discovery more than he would have expected.

"Malley, see if you can snatch away any pokeballs they might have, like Bandy did to the other guy."

Jake grinned as the pokeball went out the window. One less problem to worry about. But now there was the question... to advance or to stay back until the upstairs was less chaotic. After a moment of hesitation, Jake gave an additional order to bandy,
"Keep hassling the dude. Keep him distracted so he can't give good orders to his pokemon. Also, see if he has any comms that you can toss out the window too."

Jake didn't want to get ahead of the rest of the team and get Bandy in a bind. Maybe Malley would need backup if the closet-man created more problems.

He did have one more idea though,
"Hey, can we get corvisquire to start breaking the cameras outside?  We may want to breach in a different point with bandy and malley if too many trainers run upstairs to fight them off."

"Or at least block the cameras," amended Seymour. "I don't think we are allowed to break them. Wouldn't want to fail the gym challenge over something small like that." Seymour was afraid they might already be skirting that line with Bagon headbutting the outer walls and Bandy wrestling with one of the humans.

"Yeaaah, block them would be better. Got any good mud shot skills? Nuts, should have had Skipper as my backup"

"Corvi doesn't have that... but maybe Fletchinder could put some soot on the lense."

"Would it really help? I doubt their system will work with the power cut." Sidney says. "I think I should send Bagon to break open the door. I can't see what Gengar is doing, or tell him what to do..."

Malley slips closer to the person in the closet, trying to check their belt. But they're not discreet enough, and the person starts trying to fight against Malley. They're not calling out any pokemon, though.

Meanwhile, the guy who sent out the Pinsir is trying to make his way past the confused bug and Gengar, as Bandy grabs his belt pouch.

It was looking like Malley might need a bit more bulk to corral the person in the closet to the door. "Malley, transform into that Pinsir and try to corral that person out the door. Lapimage can handle it from there." He then told his Lapimage to be ready near the rear with some hypnosis.

On the subject of the cameras and breaking the door, he said, "Do what you guys feel is right. Just make sure not to break the rules of the challenge. Any notable activity elsewhere in the building?" He had almost forgotten that a couple of their Pokemon had views outside of the current room.

Jake shrugged,
"Don't know if they have a backup generator or somethin. We can ignore the cameras for now, I guess. Yeah, anyone see anything else around the building?"

Thinking for a second, Jake changed up Bandy's orders,
"Toss whatever that is out the window, then get up close by gengar so we can give it orders through your speaker."

Jake then signaled the other trainer over so they could get a view of what gengar was up to.

Sidney has his Bagon break open the door, bringing more light on the fight. You see Gengar and Pinsir have been fighting in a simple corridor, with only the door leading outside, and the one leading into the small bathroom. At your suggestion, Sidney commands his Gengar to Confuse the trainer, giving Locke a chance to hypnotize him. At the same time, Jodie orders her Fletchinder to take out the Pinsir.

Malley transforms into the Pinsir, and easily forces the man in the closet to move toward the exit. But as he heads that way, the other door out of the bedroom cracks open...

While that goes on outside, Jodie has Corvi peek through any cracks. You can just make out a pretty standard diner, though you briefly spot movement behind the serving counter.

"There's movement over there!" Seymour said, noting the other door out of the bedroom. "If Gengar and Bandy want to handle that, I think my Ditto-Pinsir and Locke can handle these other two. Especially since one of them is already hypnotized."

Then, to Locke, he added, "Let's see if we can make that two hypnotized, if you can manage it." If the enemies were both asleep, it would be a lot easier for them to "capture" the pair.

Jake nodded to Seymour,
"You're the boss this time!"

He then commanded Bandy,
"Prepare the ambush whatever comes through that door!"

Malley and Locke quickly disable the guy who was in the closet, leaving both men at the building's door. "I'll have Bagon drag them down here so we can secure them. Jodie, can you have your pokemon give me a hand?"

As they do that, Bandy moves to hides in the closet, ready to wreck whatever comes in. Gengar takes a bit longer to follow, having to be commanded through someone else's comm.

Bandy's camera shows the silhouette of a human beyond the door, but they only open it wide enough to let a big Grubbin through.

"Great job Malley and Locke. Standby while we wait and see how Falkner's team fares." While there was a momentary lull in activity that required his immediate attention, Seymour took a moment to take some deep breaths. He felt things were going well right now. If they weren't, he wouldn't have the time to reflect on such things.

Jake waited a moment as he could see the silhouette.  After a moment of waiting, Jake turned to Gengar's trainer.
"Since Gengar already doesn't have the comms, lets have him go through the wall to flank the person in the room against the door. Then Bandy snatches him from behind."

If successful, that would mean they captured 3 trainers... just how many were holed up in there?

Bandy lands a good two-hit combo on the grubbing, making it flinch, only for the bug to turn around and land a solid X-Scizor on her, causing a one-hit KO. As she falls, you spot Gengar pass through the wall, soon followed by the trainer back into the room, before stumbling on her own Grubbin and falling.

"Nuts", Jake cursed as Bandy fainted. He had hoped bandy would have waiting until after the gengar had startled the trainer through the door, but he hadn't been explicit in his directions. Overall, he still felt optimistic about the challenge though. They had neutralized two trainers and only lost one pokemon in the process. Not as neat and tidy as he had hoped, but acceptable.

"Everyone, try to get that trainer nabbed too. I'll keep growler outside to catch anyone if they try to run. Once you get a moment, gengar can grab Bandy's camera to make things easier to communicate."

He then turned to their minder,
"So, we just leave KO'd pokemon there until the end of the trial?"

When Bandy fainted, Seymour ordered Malley into the fight. "Malley, use your Pinsir pincers to try and Seismic Toss that bug out of the building. Locke, try to hypnotize the trainer if you can. I think everyone would be better off with them asleep like the others."

"Deciding if you evacuate your team or not is part of the challenge..." Kaufman says, as Growler's camera shows the big grub flops hard on the pavement, knocked out. Before it's trainer can get up, Locke hypnotizes her.

Jodie orders his Gengar to pick up Bandy's comm, and with a bit of fiddling on your computers, transfers it's feed back to his console. It gives you your first look beyond the door as well. It looks like a lounge area, with a television and game console against a wall. A wide set of shelves cuts out part of the room, where you see some sort of chemistry lab setup. Two doors lead out of the room, leading into a corridor.

"Malley, bring Bandy outside, for safety. Locke, take Malley's place inside. Your hypnosis is coming in extremely handy right now, and maybe you can help illuminate the dark areas with your natural glow."

Turning to the others, he asked, "What do you suggest for our next course of action? That chemistry equipment is certainly suspicious, but maybe we should focus on clearing out the place before doing examinations?" He didn't have any strong feelings one way or the other though.

---

Locke is going to take Malley's place inside. Malley is still in Pinsir form. Locke is also using its Glow ability to help illuminate dark areas.

Jake nodded to Seymour,
"The chemicals aren't going anywhere... probably."

He figured Bandy would be fine outside for the time being, so didn't organize a rescue. It was relatively tame as far as police raids went... he thought.

"I'll leave Corvi to keep watch on the lab. We still have the first floor to deal with."

"The door leads to a corridor. I think the stairs down are at the end." Sidney says, pointing at Gengar's screen.

You quickly confirm his suspicion, once Locke sheds some light outside the room. Meanwhile, as Malley exits with Bandy, Growler is distracted from the Grubbin as the ground floor back door cracks open.

"Locke, proceed with caution. Illuminate the stairway and keep an eye out for opposition. Malley, standby. Watch for anything notable outside." Seymour had not yet noticed what Jakey's Arcanine had (or perhaps hadn't).

On second thought,
"Growler, keep watch on the chems. Roar if you see anyone come into the room. Heck, roar right now too!"

With a roar, Growler runs to the lab, while Pinsir watches the back exit.

Inside, Locke leads the way into the corridor, finding a staircase going down to a closed door. On Sydney's command, Gengar peeks through the door, being careful not to loose his camera again. Pulling back, the ghost holds a finger up.

"Does that mean there is only one person in there?" Seymour asked when the Gengar held up one finger. "If so, that's great. When you're ready, open the door and Locke can put them to sleep with hypnosis again. Hopefully before they release any pokemon."

Jake takes a break from watching growler's cam to take a peek at Seymour's
"I think there is one more in the building, but yeah, that probably means one down there."

Locke opens the door, and by looking at the combined camera, you see it leads into a T shaped corridor. The right side seems to lead to a room, but the left branch and the one ahead both have a single door on their side, with an EXIT sign above the one in front. You also see the 'one' Gengar noted. One trainer... with one pokemon. A big Shroomish.

Locke quickly hypnotizes the man, but the plant makes a purple cloud in reply. Your team is too far to get caught... but the passed out trainer is directly in the zone of effect...

"Locke, open that exit door. Let some air in." Seymour hoped it would let a breeze in to blow away that cloud of spores. He suspected the cloud could be hazardous to the trainer.

He looked to Jakey and the others. "Anyone got a gust or whirlwind or something to blow away that purple cloud? Quickly?" He figured one of the bird pokemon might have a relevant move. Which was also another reason to open the exit door. To give a pokemon flying outside some quick access to where they were.

Locke jumps toward the door, but not before the Shroomish manages to land a solid headbutt on him. Still, he makes it to the door, and opens it.

While Fletchinder does his best to scatter the cloud, Gengar tries to Hex the Shroomish, to little effect.

"Big mistake, Shroomish," muttered Seymour when it headbutted Locke. Apparently it didn't realize Seymour had been trying to stop the Shroomish from injuring it's own trainer. "Light it up, Locke. Ember that Shroomish!"

Seymour had a Shroomish of his own, so he knew well that both Locke's fire and ice attacks could be super effective against it. But Locke's fire would also provide a bit of a defensive mirage too, and so Seymour decided to add heat to the situation instead of remove it.

"Malley, head to the open exit door. There is a trainer to be pulled outside. And probably a fainted Shroomish soon too."

"Corvi, help him out!" Between bursts of fire, the dark bird swipes at the Shroomish, who quickly pass out from their combined attack.

As Malley grabs both the trainer and his pokemon, the Major signals an emergency team to go in and help.

With the corridor cleared, Sidney sends his Gengar to check the open branch of the corridor. "I found the kitchen and dining room... It doesn't look like there's anyone in it."

"Alright, good," replied Seymour to Sidney. "Let's clear this floor, then move down to the ground level. But make sure to look in every corner, peek in every cupboard, and scan behind any furniture that might be big enough to hide someone. There could potentially even be secret passages." While his pokemon searched the upstairs, Seymour kept an eye on the architecture of the building, just in case there were any wall layouts in the video feed that might suggest a hidden area. It seemed unlikely, but you never knew.

---

What areas are left to look in (that we know of)?

It's a bit hard to judge, but it seems you've gone through every room on the upper floor. Jodie sends her Fletchinder for another sweep, just to be sure, but it seems only the ground floor remains.

"How do we deal with the ground floor? Do we split up, or clear one side together first?"

"Let's start at the back and work our way out toward the customer area," suggested Seymour. "I think it will be harder for people to find hiding spots without getting noticed if we do it that way."

To Malley-Pinsir, he added, "Make sure you are still keeping an eye on the outside exits. We don't want anyone sneaking away."

Malley nods, as your trio heads to the left. Gengar looks through the door, and makes a 2 sign.

"Okay, looks like we have new targets behind the door?" guessed Seymour. He then suggested, "I think we should try to do the same as last time. Locke will try to hypnotize any humans. You guys focus on any Pokemon. Locke will join in if he manages to lull the humans to sleep." If that all sounded good, Seymour was ready to enact the plan immediately.

Jake let Seymour handle completing the rest of the sweep, but with more and more of the building secured, he did offer a bit of assistance,
"If things get dire, we can get growler involved I don't want to leave the evidence unattended for too long in case there are anyone hiding that we missed."

Gengar opens the door, and you spot two guys dressed as cooks crouching in the corner. They hold up their hands as Locke's light exposes them, and it doesn't take long to hypnotize them.

Noticing a corridor on the side, Jodie sends her Corvi to check it out. "It looks like a food storage. Hey Jake, do you want my fletchinder to switch place with your arcanine? She'd be better at sniffing out anyone who's hiding."

Jake nodded to Jodie,
"That checks out. Growler, you may have heard the lady. Odor sleuth identify where people or pokemon are hiding! Don't barge in though, just sniff out their location so we can come up with a strategy for entry and quick victory!"

Jake then turned to Seymour,
"Unless you want help on your room sweep."

"Identifying where people and Pokemon are hiding will be extremely helpful for the room sweeps, so just keep doing what you were planning on doing. Locke, be ready to hypnotize anyone Growler finds. You are doing fantastic."

Seymour kept a close eye on Locke's camera in case any last-second orders were needed. He occasionally glanced at Malley's screen too. "Everything still okay outside too, Malley?"

Malley looks around the court, showing that it's still empty. After switching place, Growler starts sniffing around the storage area. It doesn't take her long before she growls at a large box, with a few rolls of paper towels scattered around it.

After a loud bark, the top of the box opens, and the person inside raises their hands. The moment their head is visible, they're hit by Locke's hypnosis, knocking him out.

With the storage cleared, you go on to check the kitchen, though you only find a few wild Joltik making their way out by the oven's range hood. The dining area is also empty, as are the bathrooms and all the closets you can see.

"It seems like we may have found everyone," Seymour said, hesitantly. "I suggest we double check everywhere first though. And keep an eye out for any attic access, basement stairways, or other hidden compartments."

---

GM, what else do we need to do in order to complete the gym challenge?

Jake nodded,
"Alright, one more sweep for Growler. And Growler can also search for more illicit... chemicals?  Food? Whatever might be suspicious."

Growler finds plenty of food, as expected from a restaurant, but she also digs out a bag of green herbs hidden behind a box of Tamato berries.

Searching a bit more, you find a trapdoor accessing the roof, but no sign of basement. Thanks to Gengar's peeking, you can confirm that there's no hidden compartments in the building. After you've verified every wall, Sidney turns to Kaufman. "That's it, we checked everything we could in there."

"Alright. Call your team back and take a breather while we compile your results."

He walks away from you, Jodie sighs. "Welp, I think that went well... But was the guy really supposed to get poisoned like that?"

After giving Growler her due compliments, Jake shrugged to Jodie's concern,
"Any time you have a human involved directly in a conflict involving pokemon that can happen. Like, bandy could have messed up the guy she was tangling with if she weren't careful. One of my friends back home once got their leg messed up bad by a growler chasing her down."

Jake did his own internal calculus,
"I think we did pretty good. No real structural damage, and the trainer getting caught in his own pokemon's move probably won't count too much against us since you quickly took action to help him. Its not like we smoked the whole joint with poison spores to get them out in the open, and I've heard of cops doing that before. I think we captured everyone and made sure the stuff inside wasn't chucked out or anything."


Given they had used the technology before, Jake didn't learn as much about that as much as how even a relatively harmless takedown of a trainer can still be dangerous during a battle situation. If they had to do anything like this in the future, maybe it would be best to avoid targeting the trainer until their pokemon has been neutralized. Probably in the time between a pokemon's KO and the trainer recalling them into the pokeball. Then again, a pokemon could create a smokescreen to effect an escape from 'authorities' (in this case being himself). Heck, maybe the purple fog was an attempt at exactly that -- blocking view so the trainer could escape. Jake doubted the veracity of that claim, but it was still technically a possibility. After thinking about it in those terms, he felt more comfortable about a pass.

"Yeah, there was very little we could have done to prevent the poison cloud, and we did as much as we could to mitigate it once we saw what was happening. I don't think it would be counted against us, but I guess we will need to wait and see." Seymour thought their team had done pretty well, but he had also never done a challenge like this before. So he was quite nervous as they waited for the results.

He congratulated Malley, Locke, and the other Pokemon on a job well done while they all rested. Even if their team failed to obtain a badge, he felt all of their Pokemon performed fantastically in the challenge.

The Major returns pretty quickly. "Yeah, that poison cloud was a mistake from our guy. The rookie didn't think about how bad ventilation can get inside a tight building." Shaking his head, he opens a metal case, revealing four badges. "Either way, your quick action in securing him earned your the Urban Badge. Good job, deputies."


OOC: Level up time!

Bandy increases her HP to Above Average

Growler increases her Defense to Exceptional

Locke increases his HP to High, and learns Ice Punch
Ice Punch      Ice       P    High     0    Causes Freeze on a 1

Malley increases it's SpD to Exceptional


And the two of you can increase one of your stats by a rank, and pick one of these strengths:

- Parkour: You know the secrets of urban shortcuts. You get a +2 to any chase or race you do in a city.

- Hide and Seek Expert: There are plenty of places to hide in artificial environment, and you know how to find them. You get a +2 to search through a room, or to hide in one.

- Bouncing Bullets: When you're fighting inside buildings, you can have your pokemon bounce their ranged attacks to hit foes behind cover, though at -2 to hit.


This message was last edited by the GM at 18:14, Wed 03 Apr.

Seymour caught himself breathing a sigh of relief when they were all handed their badges. He was pretty sure they would earn them, but also felt like this was the badge where he was the least certain of their success. "Congratulations everyone!" he said to his teammates and their pokemon. "We did it!"

"Sidney, Jodie, if you guys ever want to meet up later and do a bit of training, feel free to get in touch. I'll get you my contact information. You guys are talented trainers. And I can tell that you really care for your pokemon." Seymour looked to Jakey in case Jakey had anything else he would like to add before they continued on. Seymour was excited to tell Phoebe they had gained another badge!

---

I chose to increase Seymour's IQ again, and picked up the "Hide and Seek Expert" strength.

After hearing the news, Jake offered a celebratory high five to all.
"Nailed it!"

Jake nodded as Seymour offered their contact info around. More contacts in his phone was never a bad thing. He then looked to the major with a smarmy smile,
"Is a celebratory meal in order for us fine deputies?"

_________________________________________

Increased strength to high (Flex), and parkour (no surprises there)

The Major grins. "Sure! Hey, turn the power back on!" He shouts to one of his assistant. And with that, he walks into the small restaurant you've explored through your pokemon's cameras, as it's electrical lighting turns back on.

One of the guys you found in the food storage walks past you, saying "It'll take a time to get the oven going, so grab yourselves while you wait. The soda machine has tokens in it's return slot."

Sidney frowns, taking a look at the side of the building. "So... the power cable we cut was a prop?"

"It used to be the power plug for the building, but some of the ways people cut it was pretty messy, and I don't like waiting too long for my burger. So instead we setup an underground connection, and just set a kill-switch through the roof wire."

Seymour listened with interest as the discussion turned to the nitty gritty details behind the scenes of the challenge. He grabbed a few snacks as they waited for things to get cooked, and Seymour absorbed as many scraps of knowledge as he could about the gym challenge. "Were there any parts of the mission that we missed? Or areas where we could have done better?" He didn't want to pester the gym leader, but when else would they get the chance to get this kind of feedback about their strategies and tactics?

"Well, the main thing that hurt you was the lack of moves to disable the trainers. That slowed you down, as well as the technical mistake when Gengar passed through the door. But otherwise, you were very thorough. And you avoided a common mistake by securing the non-trainers on the scene instead of letting them go."

Jake grinned as the power flicked back on. They'd definitely done this sort of drill for a while, so pulling back the curtain to see how he artifice worked was pretty cool. He let Seymour do most of the talking while he helped himself to a soda and waited for the food.
"Mmm, yeah, the Gengar bit was embarrassing. And it was stressful to see Bandy wrapped up with the trainer. Got any favorite moves for taking down trainers without risk of harm?"

He took a sip, then clarified,
"Well, outside of poison-type and psychic type moves. I don't really have a focus on them in my team, but we sometimes run into issues like team friggin gaia and I don't want to rough them up too bad, just lock them down until y'all can show and deal with them for realisies."

"Anything that puts to sleep, like Spore, or that paralyses, like Thunder Wave, are good bets. But for less obvious ones, some of the simplest attacks are handy. Like repeated String Shots, or using Vine Whip or Wrap to hold them in place."

"Those are some good ideas," said Seymour. He would keep those moves in mind if they ever got into a situation where enemies needed to be neutralized but not injured. Which seemed fairly likely to happen at some point considering how many run-ins they have had with Team Gaia.

"Are there any moves you know of that seem like they would be helpful, but actually should be avoided?" Fire Spin was the first one that came to Seymour's mind. At a glance, trapping someone in the middle of a ring of fire might not seem like a bad move, but the potential for serious injury was probably way too high. And using that move indoors would probably be ten times worse, unless you were actively trying to burn the place down.

Jake nodded along to Seymour's question.

"Whirlpool." One of the 'restaurant employees' says, as he brings your food. "Trust me, almost drowning in sink water is NOT fun."

"Never got over that, did you?" The Major shakes his head, trying to hide a smile. "But seriously... fighting moves should be avoided as much as possible. They're all based on raw strength, and pound for pound, pokemons are a lot stronger than humans. Even a well-trained pokemon holding back could end up severely injuring a resisting human."

Jake didn't hesitate to bite down on the burger. Directing pokemon from a distance was hungry work! After digesting both the food and the information, he figured he could ask some additional questions to the major,
"So, any interesting news from around here? Other than giga pokemon rampaging and destroying bridges?"

"Good thinking," Seymour said to Jakey. Then, to to the major he added, "Have you guys been having trouble with Team Gaia in this area as well? My Locke was a rescue from one of their schemes, so seeing their plans thwarted brings me joy."

The Major shakes his head. "Not after that bridge stunt. We learned where one of their camp is from the woman you found, and we'll be raiding it soon. Plus, they wouldn't dare try anything in town these days, we pumped up security a lot because of the concert."

"What about the report from Boonwagen?" One of the other officers says. "Apparently, some trainers spotted hunting parties while crossing the mountains. They kinda stood out because they chose tie-dye instead of camo clothing."

"At least the ones you spotted had tie-dye," Seymour pointed out. "Finding some with tie-dye would probably make it that much more likely to overlook some without tie-dye. Or maybe camo tie-dye? Is that a thing? It seems like it could be a thing." Of course Seymour had zero evidence that anything like that had taken place, but it seemed smart to at least consider the possibility.

"Regardless, what do you think their endgame is? I know Team Gaia's general philosophy, but not their actual specific goals."

The agents look at each others, apparently uncomfortable. "I hate to admit it... but we don't know."

"I mean, we thought they were just rebels without a goal for a while... but then we noticed that the interrogation experts were... not as responsive as they should be."

"Those guys like to keep their cards close to their chest, but they still tell us what we need to know to do our job. But with Team Gaia? It's like a black out. Like they were trying to cover something up."

The major shakes his head. "It's not. I talked to my friends in their service. They don't say anything, because they found nothing. Not 'they don't have a plan or goal' nothing. Just... nothing. Like every member we arrest magically forgets any really useful information on who's in charge, or what they're trying to do."

"I mean, we know they're smuggling in some weird chemicals..."

"And that they want to undermine and destabilize the military. Kinda like that Team Plasma a while back."

"But who's in charge, and what their final goal is? We're in the dark."

Jake slapped a few small denomination bills of currency on the table and made a bold proclamation,
"My money is on them wanting to turn people into pokemon. Any one else willing to put money on the table for their best guess?"


OOC; still on vacation without reliable typing. At least I have data now!

"Now that's just silly!" One of the officers says with a smile... only to hesitate when the other officer gives him a look. "Um... right? That can't happen..."

"There have been reports of things like that happening... The events in Ryme City are unclear... but some of the people involved claimed they got turned into pokemon..."

"Wasn't that from a tabloid reporter?"

"Considering the cops didn't want to talk about it... that one reporter is the only source that was on location."

Ryme City... you remember hearing about that place before. The terrorist attack during a major parade for some confusing news for a few days, but you feel you heard about it more recently than that...

"I'm not ready to place any bets yet, but at this point I'm not sure anything would surprise me. Whether their goal is possible or not." Seymour felt like he had heard a bit more about people becoming Pokemon recently (or maybe vice versa?), but was struggling to remember where. He thought hard to try and recall any details.

As part of his brain searched for specific memories, another part continued speaking. "You mentioned that Team Gaia is smuggling in strange chemicals. Any idea where they are getting them from, or how they are getting them into the region? I only ask because this region has the tightest boarder security I have ever seen. It can't be easy for them."

---

GM, do you have any reminders for us about where we heard about people becoming Pokemon? I seem to recall it being mentioned before, but can't remember which thread to go look back at.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:50, Mon 06 May.

"We got the land access on lockdown, of course. But with all the seacoast we have?" The Major shakes his head. "There's no way the navy can patrol all of it enough to stop everything. Heck, what was it you arrested last month?"

The officer acting as one of the cook looks up from his fries. "You mean the cards smugglers? Those guys had trained Frillish and Jellycent to swim in with the tide, carrying booster packs of Digimon game cards. They've been doing it for a while, too. We only found them because a rival group got involved to steal a limited edition Dali-Agumon card."