Aftermath(2)

In an unknown location, the Hunter sat on top of a hill, a few of the other Rockets down at the bottom. In this area, there was no rain, although it was still mostly cloudy. A few, occasional holes in the clouds made way for the stars in the night sky. The grunts at the bottom of the hill were currently keeping themselves entertained with a game of cards while they awaited further instructions.

The callous woman was currently gazing at a laptop, conversing with the very angry and frustrated figure that was speaking to her from on the other end.

"So this is what I have to expect from the legendary Hunter herself?" Archer snarled at the fairly unintimidated Pokemon Hunter. "Several of my men died because of your own worthless actions, and no moonstone to even speak of it?!" He leaned back in his chair, a look of disgust on his face. "Honestly, I don't even know what to say. Your first mission ended in failure, and first impressions mean a lot when you're a part of Team Rocket. Yours isn't exactly… ideal, I'll have you know."

Hunter J snorted, fairly unimpressed. "And what were you expecting, 'Executive'? That things would go off without a hitch once that dark-type bitch showed up? You of all people would know that there isn't a soul within this group of yours that could stand against the likes of Karen, only me. Most people in the world would have better luck trying to touch the roof of a skyscraper than win against someone like her. The mission was over the moment she showed up." She crossed her arms dismissively. "You run a large scale terrorist organization, for crying out loud. You're one of the smart ones, right? So there's no way you're ignorant enough to deny something like that. Escaping was the only success that we could expect from ourselves at that point."

"That may be true…" Archer's face remained sharp. "But your little escape method sacrificed almost every men in the room with you. And now the rest of our members in the mountain will get rounded up by the League in no time." His glare turned dangerous. "That woman better not have been overselling you, No.1 Hunter, J."

A confident grin spread across Hunter J's sinister face. "Tch, as if, Executive. You've seen the rankings for yourself, haven't you? Besides…" She leaned forward towards the screen. Archer was not intimidated, or even responsive, however, he did revealed a serious look. "Our Hunter Organization are polished, unlike yours. Flaws of any kind are a sinful blemish to us." Her grin widened. "So… knowing that, do you really think that I would be in such high good graces if my reputation was even remotely exaggerated?

"I suppose not." Archer admitted, although his stern facial expression did not change.

A satisfied woman Hunter leaned back away from the screen, not at all fazed as her chest began to stick out, mostly covering the other side's screen. "Really, I'd say that it speaks for itself, so wouldn't you too? Besides, Com, and most of the other grunts at the mountain, at that, were expendable. The majority of the troops that we lost to the League and the cave in are all far from irreplaceable. As were the pokemon that died or were taken by the League's forces. You haven't really been that affected by this defeat. It's just an inconvenience to you. Most of the worthwhile grunts made it out in one piece, and sometimes, a few sacrifices here and there are necessary to ensure that."

"There's no need to lecture me about sacrifice, Hunter." Archer's tone was serious. "I've made more sacrifices in my life than someone in your own line of work could ever hope to comprehend in order to get to where I currently am today. And I will continue to make those sacrifices tenfold, in order to tear down the League and put this era to an end."

Hunter J smirked, moreover, a small part of her smile was actually filled with sarcastic mockery towards his words. "Heh, looking forward to that, Executive. Truth be told, I'm actually quite excited for the show that's to come."

"Only because you have minimal personal stakes in it." Archer snorted. "As long as you just keep on looking out for yourselves and are never caught, you, that clown, and everyone else who was hired by us could just go running right back over to your usual employer if our cause ends up failing. It's not all or nothing for you guys like it is for the rest of us."

Behind her boobs, Hunter J rolled her eyes. "Perhaps you have a point, but that doesn't mean I'm not dedicated. I chose to come here, did I not? The organization's council only recommended me to you. You were the one who took the council's words up on the offer, and I was the one who took you up on yours. And the same goes for everyone else." She crossed her arms with confidence. "We are here to lend our strength to Team Rocket until an outcome is decided. I promise you."

Archer's eyes narrowed. "Very well, but remember that I've got my eye on you. All of you. But for now, report to the nearest base, along with the rest of the men that are currently with you, and remain there until further orders are given to all of you."

Hunter J nodded. "Understood, Team Rocket Executive."

The connection cut off.

...

The rain continued to fall outside of the Pokemon Center. It was now late in the night, and the dark clouds along with the absence of daylight made the area outside practically pitch black as the once modest rain turned into a downpour.

As it was meant for two people, Cinder and Korrina's room was quite spacious, with two beds roughly a couple of meters apart from one another. Korrina had picked the bed that was closer to the window, which provided a somber view of the rain falling outside. They were on the second floor of the Pokemon Center, so the view was fairly good.

The two friends had finished eating before getting their room key from Nurse Joy. Storm and Starly had also finished recovering. Once they had settled into their new room, they had each taken turns taking showers and changing into their pajamas.

The two friends were seated a couple of feet apart on Cinder's bed, Cinder on the very end and Korrina on the side, looking off towards the window. Her blond hair was down, and she looked quite different without her usual side ponytails, and her helmet on.

Their respective teams were currently spread out across the room as well. Each with their own selected spots to spend the night at.

Korrina's Mienfoo had selected her bed as her resting spot, while Starly and Talon were at the windowsill as usual. Storm was lying down next to Cinder on his bed. Hercule sat next to the young sheep, looking off at the pouring rain at outisde the window.

Cinder's Gible had curled up on a pillow near Cinder's bed, with Hero(Hawlucha) choosing to accompany the newborn on a pillow of his own. Alpha had his own respective pillows nearby Korrina's own bed, getting used to his newly evolved body like, his friend, the Poliwhirl.

Despite the sleeping arrangements for the group being in place, everyone was still awake, albeit fairly relaxed for the most part. Korrina's Mienfoo and Hawlucha, had the easiest time settling down, especially Fafnir since he wasn't with them throughout all they experienced, and Storm and Starly were rejuvenated from their treatment. Nevertheless, Cinder's sheep and bird duo were far from mentally relaxed. The healed muscles in their bodies certainly gave them a soothing feeling, but their brains kept flashing back to the ordeal from today.

But it was Cinder, Korrina, Hercule, Alpha, and Talon who were the most affected. All had been present for the cave collapse, which kept replaying through their minds on occasion.

Cinder and Korrina would often remind themselves (and occasionally each other) that they weren't in Mt Moon's caverns anymore. That it was over. They were no longer seemingly trapped within endless caves, with only limited sources of light that almost ironically reminded them of how dark that it actually was, and with rocks surrounding them from every direction, including above and below them. That they were not dealing with Team Rocket anymore. That they were within the safety of the Pokemon Center, with hospitality and luxury to soothe them and help them recover from their traumatic ordeal.

But every now and then, images of the cave in would fill their minds. Even within the security of the Pokemon Center, the trauma of the falling rocks, pursuing Team Rocket soldiers, and towering Salamence would constantly make itself known. It heightened their appreciation for the Pokemon Center's comfort, while simultaneously making it much more difficult for them to actually enjoy it. Every now and then, even during their casual interactions with one another, there was a lingering fear in the back of both trainers' minds that the sound of the raindrops outside would be replaced with shouting Team Rocket soldiers and a roaring Salamence, and that the perfectly normal ceiling above their heads would suddenly be replaced with falling rocks that threatened to end them. Cinder was fairing much better than his female companion, so he comforted her much frequent.

Hercule's absentminded expression told Cinder that he was having the same thoughts, and the young teenager wouldn't be too surprised if the rest of the Pokemon that were present for the cave in were too.

But the growing fatigue thankfully made it a bit more difficult to dwell on such fear and paranoia, although neither trainer was ready to go to sleep just yet. Settling into the Pokemon Center had certainly relaxed their nerves, but their minds still dwelled on the traumatic events of the day, and in general, they still weren't tired enough to hurry under the covers of their respective beds.

They weren't really doing anything at the moment. The television wasn't on, and neither of the young trainers were distracting themselves with any tasks of sorts.

Just enjoying the fact that they were in the Pokemon Center's hotel room, and not the deep caverns of Mt. Moon.

Still, neither of them were quite enjoying the silence anymore, and Cinder broke the ice.

"You know." He said, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "We really are lucky that they apparently used up most of their stronger Pokemon on all of the other Trainers. Can you imagine what would have happened if…" He trailed off knowingly.

"Yeah…" Korrina responded. "Speaking of which… How do you think it's going for the League? Rescuing the other Trainers, I mean?"

"We can always ask Nurse Joy tomorrow, I suppose." Cinder nodded. "I was thinking too, anyway. I'm sure they're all fine, though. The worst is over, right?" It almost sounded like he was trying to convince her of such. "Besides, I'm sure the League has done this plenty of times before, and now they have a member of the Elite Four with them. It should be a piece of cake."

Korrina nodded in response. She really shouldn't be worrying, right? Karen and the rest of the Elite Four were all perfect. And so was Champion Lance. They had never failed before. Retrieving the trainers trapped in the caverns would be effortless for them. Right?

Suddenly, Cinder remembered the conversation they had in the pokemon center situated in Viridian.

Cinder couldn't really fathom why she wouldn't think highly of her own family, but, regardless of whatever issues she might have had with her family, maybe she didn't need them. But then… wouldn't she have any close friends that she was looking forward to seeing again?

Cinder wanted to ask her exactly what problems that she had with her family, but he didn't want to pry. He'd known her for at most over a week. It wasn't his place. That didn't stop his curiosity, however, but he did his best to push that away.

Korrina's personal life was her own. He had no reason to try and barge in. So he would not.

"You know," He perked up at her voice. "A couple of my friends might like to see you. They're both pretty big fans of foreign Pokemon, and one of them is also a pretty big electric-type fan such as your, Flaaffy. Meeting your team would practically guarantee a good day for them."

Cinder turned himself to face the same direction as Korrina so that he could look at her more easily during their conversion.

A small smile made its way to his face as he looked over at her. "Heh, I guess I could do that. Wouldn't hurt. Are they planning to be Pokemon Trainers?"

"Gym Leaders and some are Coordinators, specifically." Korrina responded.

Gym Leaders are self explanatory, they have someone under them that are already set in motion in the future, that would inherit the Gym's responsibilities. Coordinators. They were a different class of Pokemon Trainer who competed in Pokemon Contests. Although not as big as the Conference, they were easily, far and away the second most popular form of Pokemon Training. The world of Pokemon Contests was still fairly young compared to the traditional form of Pokemon Training, but it had quickly become a tradition in its own right.

Although the Sinnoh Region was still very easily the Pokemon Contest Capital of the world (some aspiring Coordinators even heading over to Sinnoh at the start of their respective journeys even if they were not actually from the Region), Kanto and Hoenn had saw great traction over the past decade or so, and Johto was beginning to build a fairly sizable Pokemon Contest scene for itself. Apparently Kalos had also adopted its own profession that had its own similarities to the traditional Pokemon Coordinator sport.

Sometimes, Cinder had entertained the idea of entering a Contest for himself, just to try it out. He wasn't too sure if he would or not, yet, though. It could be an enjoyable distraction to do for fun, but he would need to find the appropriate time to do so. Not to mention, he had never been in front of a very large crowd before, but this was something that he would already need to get used to for the Conference if he wanted to make it to the Indigo Plateau this Season. Perhaps, in that sense, it would be great practice for it?

"That sounds like a fun goal to have." The young boy said. "Probably not as stressful as what traditional Pokemon Training has to offer. But still equally involved and committed."

"Yeah, it has its appeal." Korrina admitted. "I haven't shared my dream yet, I'm going to become the best fighting-type master ever, which meant that I need to focus on the stressful stuff. Those two particular friends of mine are a bit more interested in the flashy, performance-like nature of Pokemon Contests, but I'm planning on mastering some knowledge my grandfather passed on to me, while chasing my dreams" She looked up towards the ceiling in thought. "Obviously I'm not just restricting myself to it, but it's definitely what I want to focus on."

Cinder giggled a bit. "I'm surprised your delving into it so early. It's not usual for a beginner. Because they-"

"Need to have prior experience to cover the weaknesses of the Typing?" Korrina finished for him. She snorted adorably. "Heard that before, buster. Maybe it's the safer option to take, but head starts have their own benefits. You can't reach the top without being fearless."

Cinder blinked. It was… certainly not an incorrect ideology to have.

"You're bold." He blurted out. He chuckled a bit. "It's honestly kind of scary, but... At the same time, I kinda liked it."

Korrina shot him a dirty look. "Oh? So now I'm scary because I have agency? You've got a long way to go if you get intimidated that easily. For your compliment... I'll accept it in stride, Cinder."

Cinder raised his hands defensively. "That's not what I meant! I'm just a bit surprised at how bold you're being. It's not what I'd expect."

Her lips curved upwards slyly. "Well at least my face doesn't turn into a tomato like yours did when you saw Karen."

Cinder froze at the comment, and suddenly, he could practically feel the exaggerated redness on his cheeks as his face grew hot.

Korrina's smirk turned to a mischievous grin as she pointed forward a him teasingly. "Hey, look, it's doing it again! You'll hold still for the camera, right?"

In shame, Cinder's hands shot up to his face, as though it was in a desperate attempt to hide it. A moan escaped from his lips.

Korrina pouted. "Hey! You can't cover your face up like that! That's cheating!"

"Stop it!"

"Nah-ah I won't! Hey Hercule hold your trainer... Faster!"

"Poli?"

"No! Hercule, I'm your trainer, don't listen to her! Ey! Cut it out!"

*Click*

"Y-y-yoooouuuuuu..."

Like that, their evening passed with a positive note.

*Top 48 (2/2), I've now decided to write a Naruto fanfic, also a DBZ fanfic(for passing so it won't be having chapters anytime soon.).*