Jaune moved through the forest toward Lake Verity, his senses on high alert. The six grunts he'd taken down earlier were probably still there, maybe conscious by now.
His aura was at full capacity. The earlier fight hadn't drained him much at all.
[Optional Objective: Investigate Team Galactic operations at Lake Verity]
[Estimated hostile forces: 15-20 operatives, 1 Commander]
[Recommendation: Reconnaissance only. Avoid direct engagement until reinforcements arrive.]
"Yeah, we'll see about that," Jaune muttered.
He approached the lake from a different angle, using the dense forest as cover. Voices carried across the water. He crept closer until he had a clear view.
The scene made him tense.
At least twenty Team Galactic grunts were positioned around the shore. In the center of the lake, a strange machine floated on the water, metallic and humming with energy. And standing on a platform near the machine was a woman with bright red hair styled in points, wearing a commander's uniform.
Mars. One of Team Galactic's three commanders.
She was speaking into a communicator. "The lake is secured. Beginning extraction sequence for Mesprit."
Extraction? They were actually trying to capture the legendary Pokemon right now?
"Commander," one of the grunts called out. "We're missing six units. They were clearing the east shore."
"Missing how?"
"No communication. Just went silent."
Mars frowned. "Find them. And find out what happened."
'That would be me. Whoops.'
Jaune scanned the area, counting enemies and positions. Twenty visible grunts, all with Pokeballs. Mars with her team. The machine in the lake doing something to draw out Mesprit.
This was a lot of enemies. Even with six months of training, fighting this many opponents with Pokemon would be risky. But not impossible.
His father had drilled fighting multiple opponents for months. He could handle this if he was smart about it.
But he couldn't just leave either. If they captured Mesprit, that would advance their plan—Red Chain, summoning Dialga or Palkia, remaking the world. A lot of people would die.
He needed to stall. Disrupt the operation. Buy time for reinforcements.
A distraction then.
Jaune moved along the tree line until he found what he was looking for. A cluster of Pokeballs sitting unattended near an equipment cache.
'Unattended Pokeballs. That's just bad operational security.'
He grabbed three Pokeballs and threw them hard into the forest away from the lake.
The Pokeballs burst open, releasing three very confused Pokemon. A Zubat, a Wurmple, and a Stunky. They immediately started making noise, screeching and chattering.
"What was that?" a grunt shouted.
"Something in the forest! Check it out!"
Five grunts ran toward the noise, leaving their positions.
Good. Five down, fifteen to go.
Mars remained focused on the machine. "Ignore the distraction. Continue the operation."
The machine's humming increased in pitch. The water in the center of the lake started glowing.
Jaune needed a better distraction.
He spotted another equipment cache. This one had what looked like communication devices and some kind of power cells. He drew his sword and drove it through the power cells.
They exploded in a shower of sparks, the noise echoing across the lake.
"What the hell?!" Mars spun around. "Someone's sabotaging the equipment! Find them!"
Ten more grunts fanned out, searching the forest.
Better odds. Still not great, but manageable.
[Warning: You have been detected]
[Mission complication: Enemy forces alerted to your presence]
"Yeah, I noticed," Jaune muttered.
A grunt burst through the trees to his left. "There! Someone's—"
Jaune's pommel caught him in the temple. The man dropped.
"Intruder on the north shore!" someone shouted.
More grunts converged on his position. Jaune moved, staying in the forest, using trees as cover. A Golbat swooped at him. His aura deflected its Wing Attack easily. He kept moving.
"Stop running and fight!" a grunt yelled, releasing a Croagunk.
The poison frog Pokemon launched a Poison Sting attack. The needles bounced off Jaune's aura without even making him slow down. These attacks were weak. Nothing compared to his father's dust rounds or real blade strikes.
The grunts were spreading out, trying to surround him. And Mars was still at the machine, which meant the mission was still progressing.
Time to go loud.
Jaune burst from the tree line, running straight toward the lake shore. His aura flared brighter, making him visible to everyone.
"There!" Mars spotted him immediately. "All units, capture the intruder!"
Pokeballs opened across the shore. Twenty Pokemon materialized. Zubats, Stunky, Glameow, Bronzor, Croagunk. All focused on him.
This was going to be interesting.
"Poison Sting barrage!" Mars commanded.
A wave of poisonous needles flew at him. Jaune's aura absorbed them without issue. Maybe cost him five percent of his reserves total. He kept running, angling toward the machine in the lake.
A blast of fire cut off his path. A large cat Pokemon with flame patterns materialized in front of him. Purugly, Mars's signature Pokemon.
"You're not getting near that machine," Mars said, walking toward him calmly. "I don't know who you are or what organization sent you, but you picked the wrong operation to interfere with."
Jaune stopped, assessing the situation. His aura was still at about ninety percent. Twenty hostile Pokemon surrounded him, but most were weak. Mars and her Purugly were the real threats.
"I'm not with any organization," he said. "I'm just someone who doesn't like terrorists kidnapping legendary Pokemon."
Mars smiled coldly. "Terrorist. We're visionaries. Commander Cyrus will remake this flawed world into something perfect. And Mesprit is necessary for that vision."
"Yeah, I've heard the speech. Emotions are bad, spirit is weakness, all that. Your boss is insane."
"He's a genius."
Behind Mars, the machine's glow intensified. The water began to ripple unnaturally.
They were close. Whatever they were doing, it was almost done.
"Here's a counterpoint," Jaune said, raising his sword. "How about I break your fancy machine and you all go home?"
Mars laughed. "With what? You're surrounded. One boy with a sword against twenty trained Pokemon and their handlers. Surrender now and we might let you live."
"Yeah, I'm not really the surrendering type."
His aura flared brighter.
"Last warning," Mars said. "Stand down."
Jaune's grip tightened on Crocea Mors. "No."
"Your funeral. All units, attack!"
Twenty Pokemon surged forward.
Jaune moved.
His body flowed through the combat forms his father had drilled into him. A Golbat dove at his face. His sword swatted it aside. Two Zubats tried to Wing Attack from both sides. His aura didn't even flicker as he spun between them.
A Stunky sprayed Poison Gas. Jaune's aura filtered most of it. His eyes watered slightly but he kept moving, his boot catching the skunk Pokemon and sending it tumbling.
Three Glameow coordinated an attack. Fast, aggressive, claws extended. Jaune deflected the first with his blade, dodged the second, and caught the third with his pommel. All three went down.
The attacks were hitting him constantly now. Scratches, poison stings, confusion waves from the Bronzor. But his aura held easily. Each attack drained maybe one or two percent at most. Nothing like the sustained punishment his father had put him through.
A Croagunk's Poison Jab actually got through his guard, hitting his shoulder. That one stung. Maybe cost him five percent.
Okay, the evolved ones were slightly more dangerous. Noted.
He disabled the Croagunk with a quick strike, then moved toward the machine. Half the Pokemon were down or scattered. His aura was at maybe seventy-five percent.
"Impressive," Mars said. "But let's see how you handle this. Purugly, Body Slam!"
The large cat Pokemon moved fast. It slammed into Jaune with significant force, actually driving him back several feet.
That cost him about ten percent of his aura.
Jaune regained his footing as Purugly circled him. This was Mars's main Pokemon. Probably trained for years, much stronger than the grunt's teams.
"Again!" Mars commanded.
Purugly charged. Jaune sidestepped this time, letting the Pokemon's momentum carry it past him. His sword came down on its back with the flat of the blade.
The Purugly yowled and spun, swiping with Shadow Claw. Dark energy extended from its claws. Jaune's aura absorbed the hit but he felt the drain. Another ten percent.
Sixty-five percent remaining. Still good. He'd fought his father for thirty minutes straight at this level.
The remaining grunts' Pokemon were regrouping. Mars was directing them.
"Pin him down!" she ordered. "All ranged attacks, now!"
A barrage of attacks came at him. Poison Sting, Psybeam, Swift stars, elemental attacks. Jaune's aura flared brighter as he blocked and dodged.
Fifty-five percent aura.
He needed to end this soon. Not because he was in danger, but because the machine was almost done.
Jaune pushed forward aggressively. His father had taught him to control the pace of combat. He closed the distance to a cluster of grunts, disabling their Pokemon in quick succession.
The grunts panicked and recalled their Pokemon, backing away.
Mars's expression shifted from confident to concerned. "What are you?"
"Someone who trained really hard," Jaune said, moving toward the machine.
"Purugly, stop him!"
The cat Pokemon intercepted him with another Body Slam. This time Jaune was ready. He braced himself, let his aura take the impact, and used the momentum to redirect Purugly into three other Pokemon.
They went down in a tangle of limbs and angry screeching.
Forty-five percent aura. Still nowhere near critical.
Jaune reached the water's edge. The machine was maybe thirty feet out on a floating platform.
Behind him, Mars shouted orders. "All units, full assault! Don't let him near the machine!"
Ten Pokemon charged him at once. Jaune set his stance, aura blazing.
This was what his father had trained him for. Multiple opponents, overwhelming numbers.
Then someone yelled, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
A massive bolt of lightning crashed into the group of Pokemon, scattering them instantly.
'Backup! Finally!'
A woman with blue hair in a police uniform stood at the tree line. Officer Jenny. Behind her, at least a dozen officers with their own Pokemon.
And next to Jenny was an older man in a lab coat with a Staraptor on his shoulder. Professor Rowan.
"Team Galactic!" Jenny shouted. "You're all under arrest for illegal Pokemon experimentation and assault!"
Mars's expression darkened. "Retreat! All units, fall back to the machine!"
The grunts recalled their Pokemon and ran toward the lake. Mars reached the platform just as the machine completed its sequence.
The water exploded upward in a column of light. And floating in that light was a small, fairy-like Pokemon with two tails and a pink jewel on its forehead.
Mesprit. The Being of Emotion.
"We have it!" Mars said triumphantly. "Capture sequence!"
Mechanical arms extended from the machine, reaching for Mesprit. But the legendary Pokemon's eyes glowed, and suddenly every Team Galactic grunt froze in place, clutching their heads.
"What—" Mars staggered. "An emotion attack—"
Mesprit's power was affecting them all. The machine sparked and shorted out. Mesprit floated free, looking at the scene below with ancient, knowing eyes.
Then it vanished. Just disappeared, teleporting away to safety.
Mars screamed in frustration. "Retreat! All units, emergency extraction!"
Smoke bombs detonated across the shore. When the smoke cleared, Team Galactic was gone.
Officer Jenny and her team secured the area. Professor Rowan walked over to Jaune, who was still standing by the water, aura at about forty percent and slowly regenerating.
"Young man," Rowan said. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Jaune sheathed his sword. "Little tired, but fine."
"What's your name?"
"Jaune Arc."
"Well, Jaune Arc, you're either very brave or very foolish. Fighting Team Galactic alone like that."
"Little bit of both," Jaune said with a tired smile.
Rowan studied him with sharp, analytical eyes. "That energy around you. I've never seen anything quite like it. Similar to aura in theory, but the execution is different. Where are you from?"
"Far away," Jaune said carefully. "Really far away."
Officer Jenny approached. "I need a statement from you. Everything that happened here."
Jaune gave her the edited version. Hiking, ran into Dawn, Team Galactic attacked, fought them off, came back to stop the operation.
Jenny looked skeptical but nodded. "You're lucky you didn't get seriously hurt. Team Galactic doesn't mess around."
"I noticed. But I've had good training."
She radioed something to her team, then looked at him. "We'll need you to come to the station later for a full report. But for now, you should rest. That was an impressive display, but you look exhausted."
Jaune was tired, but not critically so. His aura was already regenerating.
"I'll be fine. Just need to check on Dawn, make sure she's okay."
Professor Rowan nodded approvingly. "That's commendable. Johanna's house is in town. I'm sure they'll be glad to see you."
[Mission Status: SUCCESS]
[Primary Objective Complete: Dawn protected and safe]
[Optional Objective Complete: Disrupted Team Galactic operation]
[Bonus Objective Complete: Prevented Mesprit capture]
[Additional Bonus: Minimal resource expenditure, combat efficiency high]
[Calculating rewards...]
[Quest completion: Day 1 of 3]
Day one down. Two more days in this world, then home.
And he'd handled it well. Better than expected for a tutorial mission.
His training had paid off.
Jaune let Professor Rowan guide him back toward Twinleaf Town, his body tired but satisfied.
He'd survived his first real interdimensional fight.
And he hadn't even needed to go all out.
That was a good sign.