Pokemon Freelancer (Part 2, Episodic Story)

[Orderneri]

1: Family Life​

On a cool weekday morning, Laurence stirred. He leaned over to his girlfriend and brushed her long ginger hair out of the way. He kissed her forehead and saw her smile in her sleep, satisfied. They'd both been woken up in the middle of the night by their son, and Sonia had insisted on handling it, causing Laurence to fall asleep sooner. Now it was her turn to sleep in.

Laurence spun and put a foot on the floor. He grabbed his sleek dark grey prosthetic and put it on. It'd replaced his right leg ever since he ran out of luck in Saffron. He got up and put some clothes on as his trusted partner, Absol, stretched. A special bond between the two of them caused them to understand each other's thoughts, so she woke up alongside Laurence. She could feel the cold laminate floor as if she were on it, despite being comfortably curled up on a large rug.

Absol used her one remaining eye to watch her Trainer. Like Laurence, she had bitten off more than she could chew, but instead of losing a limb, she had lost an eye and damaged her horn. She didn't regret her decision. What she had done was for the family. People she had grown to love. She had long since dropped the facade of a lone wolf, openly displaying anger at the loss of a family member and pushing herself beyond her limits, expending all her defensive energy but continuing to fight regardless.

As Laurence approached the door with Absol by his side, he heard soft footsteps approaching. A very young boy, a toddler, was waddling towards his parent's bedroom. Laurence moved into the hallway. The boy looked up at his giant of a father with a grin, holding his plush Charizard close.

Laurence put a finger to his lips as he crouched. "Shh. Mommy's still asleep."

Andrew, his and Sonia's son, nodded as he put a hand over his mouth. Laurence picked his son up and moved through the large estate as he poked and prodded the boy to make him laugh. The name Andrew simply came from the fact that Sonia liked the name for some reason.

As he walked through his home, Laurence caught glimpses of Pokemon. His chubby Raichu sleeping on the sofa. An ageing Arcanine with unkempt fur in the corner, an eye open and eyes twitching. The perfect guard dog.

Gardevoir was having an animated conversation with Sonia's Appletun. Gardevoir's blue hue reminiscent of a shiny was a reminder. She wasn't like that when Laurence first earned the favour of Ralts. When faced with a massive threat, Gardevoir expended all her psychic power to protect the people she loved. She sent both herself and her enemies to another dimension, and while there she mutated, changing colours. This was the same event that resulted in Absol losing an eye. Laurence had, quite literally, ventured through Hell and back to bring Gardevoir to the realm she belonged to. It would not happen again. Gardevoir had been scolded accordingly, too. There would be no self-sacrificial behaviour in this household. Laurence refused to lose anyone.

Laurence ventured outside and took a seat in a wooden rocking chair resting on a wide deck, overlooking massive fields and a large lake on the edge of the property. He'd apparently woken up with the sun as it hadn't separated from the horizon yet.

A bipedal cat, Meowscarada, noticed the moment her beloved Trainer exited the house. She bounded up to Laurence and rubbed her cheek against his, a deep purr rumbling through her body and being transferred to Laurence. He stroked her head in return, giving attention to the needy cat.

With Absol lying on one side of his chair and Meowscarada curled up on the other, Laurence settled into a gentle rocking motion and watched as animals started to wake up. Some of the Pokemon were his, some belonged to the women in his life, and some were wild, simply choosing this land to be their grazing grounds for a time.

Typhlosion and Pangoro roared at each other and immediately got into a fight, as per usual. Laurence stopped counting wins after the number reached triple digits, and that was a couple of years ago. Ever since their bout near Pallet, they'd had a score to settle and fought nearly every day.

Two sword masters meditated. The fire encased in purple armour, Ceruledge, was more casual about it considering he was a ghost. He'd already reached enlightenment and mastery of the sword. He was more so encouraging Dewott, a once wandering samurai that was drawn to Laurence's fighting spirit and good heart.

Laurence instinctively felt the thigh compartment of his prosthetic leg as he looked at Ceruledge. The one-armed knight had given Laurence a gauntlet capable of spawning a sword of ghostly fire. It rested in Laurence's thigh, custom made springs ready to throw it up into Laurence's grip if he twisted his ankle a certain way. Laurence had lost track at the number of jeans he'd ruined due to summoning his sword in a fight.

Speaking of ghosts, Gengar lingered around the property, no longer attached to Laurence's shadow. He'd been kicked out, replaced by a different ghost who commanded golden rings that created portals.

On his way outside, Laurence had stopped by the kitchen, allowing him to sip on a coffee as he rocked. Relaxing here with his son and Pokemon was pretty much the life he wanted. All he was missing in this very moment was one of his women sitting beside him. Sonia wasn't the only one. He'd become famous, or perhaps infamous, for the amount of women in his life. He couldn't help it. He had a big heart and a lot of love to share. Some called him greedy, but whatever.

Some of his partners were no doubt sound asleep in the house, as they had rooms. The estate was huge for his ever-growing family. Over forty rooms. Even so, he might have to hire construction to build another forty-room building soon.

"Daddy, I'm hungry." Andrew eventually reached up and pulled his father's cheek. For some reason he liked the feeling of Laurence's short, boxed beard, a feature Laurence adopted from grandad Rose.

Without Laurence realising, the sun had risen a good amount. Perhaps an hour had passed. Now that he paid attention, he could feel his own stomach demanding sustenance. "All right, let's get you fed."

Laurence went inside and sat his son in a raised chair at the dining room table. He ate toast while watching Andrew use a backwards grip on a spoon, shovelling cereal into his mouth and spilling half the milk.

Laurence grinned as he used a towel to clean up his son. He was content. Happy. He'd earned the life he wanted. Sometimes he got the fidgets and his women noticed, telling him to go to work, but otherwise Laurence was content to stay at home as much as possible. He could afford to because his job wasn't safe or easy. He'd made a reputation for himself, mainly through arresting criminals, and had been generously rewarded because of it. Work took him away from home for a few days, maybe a week if it was a particularly big problem, but he needed the outlet. It was satisfying to clean up the world for his children's future, and he had to admit that cracking some skulls in the process was good stress relief.

Absol, like Laurence, also felt the call to fight sometimes. And due to the special connection, the feeling was amplified as it was shared between them.

Sonia soon came downstairs. She saw that Andrew had just finished breakfast so picked him up and started repeatedly kissing his ginger hair to the point where he got annoyed and tried to push away.

"Aw, don't be like that. Mommy just wants a kiss."

"You already had one!"

Sonia settled with a smile and turned to Laurence as she hugged Andrew. "Hear that? He's gettin' smart, just like his mom."

Laurence raised an eyebrow. "If you're so smart then where's the results of all this research you're supposed to be doing?"

"Soon, soon! But speakin' of me bein' smart, don't think I haven't noticed. Ya doin' it again. Gettin' antsy. This is the fourth mornin' in a row ya've woken up early."

Laurence agreed. It had become obvious not long after buying this home that he couldn't sit still. He had a strong work ethic and hated letting his hands be idle for too long. At first he tried to fight it and stay with his family all day every day, but this quickly devolved into him being more of a nuisance than normal, so he was kicked out of the house until he sorted himself out.

He stood up and kissed Andrew on the head. "Time for dad to go to work, buddy. Are you ready to hold down the fort while I'm gone?" Andrew gave a thumbs up which caused Laurence to chuckle and ruffle his son's hair. "Good lad."

Sonia put Andrew down and the boy went into the living room to play with his toys. "And what about me?" She pouted, looking up at Laurence with puppy eyes.

He couldn't resist. A brief kiss turned into a deep, passionate thirty second one as their embrace tightened with the passage of time. Ever since they'd gotten together they'd been like this. Couldn't keep their hands off each other. If they weren't careful, they might have another child soon. It'd been years since they'd become gotten together but time hadn't dulled their passion.

They were interrupted by Absol jabbing the inside of Laurence's left knee. He got the hint and disengaged with Sonia. He laughed down at Absol as he walked upstairs to get ready. "Just wait until you get yourself a boyfriend. Then you'll understand."

Absol huffed. She wasn't interested. Relationships weren't for her. She had her hands full looking after the family she currently had.

Laurence got into a basic outfit and went for a run around his property, along a fence he'd begun constructing in his downtime. He had the urge to finish a bit more before looking for a job.

Some of his Pokemon joined him on his run. Typhlosion bounded along on all fours. Omastar somehow kept up, his writhing tentacles rushing over each other to move. Flygon flew overhead, and because of how fast she was she repeatedly overtook Laurence, the wind she created making good resistance training.

Laurence went to work out in a room he'd converted into a home gym and then finished off with a shower. His daily routine.

As he was about to leave, he looked through to the living room. He saw Melony with a baby boy in her arms, Andrew showing his favourite toy to his brother. Gordie, named after his late grandfather.

"Dad's going to work on the fence for a bit."

At that, Andrew dropped his toy and ran to Laurence. The boy seemed to be interested in getting his hands dirty with physical labour, but for now he just watched and prepared to replicate in the future.

Laurence made his way to a shed that looked like someone's first building project. Because it was. The poorly put together structure was one of Laurence's outlets, and looked awful in comparison to his pristine brick ranch house.

"Wait here a second, buddy." Laurence said, opening a door that was uneven and scraped the dirt floor inside. He should sort that out soon. It's not that hard to adjust the hinges.

He exited with a toolbelt strapped to him and a pile of wooden planks on a shoulder. Absol was using her body to block Andrew from getting close to the shed. He ruffled her head. "Good girl."

Absol bit back a response and put herself on the other side of Andrew so the boy was between his father and a trusted Pokemon as they walked. She had an instinct to protect.

At the fence, Laurence jammed a long piece of wood into the ground roughly a metre from the last post. It was bad etiquette, but he didn't bother measuring. He just eyeballed it. He hammered it deeper and then lined up a wooden plank. Like Professor Elm in New Bark, Laurence favoured a basic fence with two horizontal planks. It wasn't keeping anything in or out, but that wasn't the point. It was simply marking territory.

The fence had to be massive to cover the property. Laurence owned multiple fields around his home. It was nice and peaceful. If he ever heard a vehicle, it had to be directed at his home. There were no other roads around. At first glance it seemed like he picked a home in the middle of nowhere, but they were actually on the edge of a city. The nearest grocery store was a five-minute drive away, and there were schools nearby. That was a compromise. Laurence essentially wanted a cabin in the woods, but his partners put their feet down and made him pick a place close to conveniences. Sure, they could hire a tutor to come out here, but children needed socialising, and they didn't want to travel an hour to get food.

Laurence used the edge of his palm to keep the wood in place while using the same hand to line up a nail. He looked around and then to Andrew who watched with sparkling eyes. He was a curious boy, just like his father. He liked seeing things in action. He'd also watched Sonia take apart her phone to repair it recently. Laurence wouldn't be surprised if, soon, he learned that Andrew took apart his own toys to figure out how they worked.

"Come here, buddy." Laurence said, changing his grip on the hammer and allowing the excited toddler to squirm into him. "You've seen me do it enough so you probably know, but hold the grip tightly, okay?"

Andrew did so, using both hands to grab the handle of the hammer. Laurence put his hand over top of his son's and then started hitting the nail. Andrew laughed the entire time, until the nail had been thoroughly hammered home.

"Good boy. Just don't tell your mom, okay?" Laurence rustled his son's hair.

They moved to a post Laurence had previously planted and lined up the other end of the plank. All in all, father and son planted a dozen more posts and secured them to the rest of the line before they paused construction. They headed back to the house a mile away, Sonia visible on the deck.

When he was close enough, Laurence opened his mouth to speak, but he felt something in his bones. From the ground. It could be Steelix waking up, but… No, this was a different rumble.

It had been a while since trouble came to Laurence.

In just seconds, multiple events occurred. A gold ring appeared behind Laurence, linking the porch to his back. A portal. Sonia instinctively reached through and grabbed Andrew, pulling him to the house. Gardevoir appeared via Teleport as the ring closed. She used Protect to create a large green barrier to cover the house and everyone inside.

Laurence spun in time to see the ground burst open, different coloured beams working to create a large hole before shooting pointlessly into the sky. Chunks of dirt and stone rained down. Laurence saw sparkling pink mixed into the falling debris. He assumed it to be an animal. He rushed forward and caught the pink mass with one arm. Its weight was enough to drop him to his right knee, mainly due to gravity. He noticed quickly that the Pokemon itself was quite light.

He dug his foot in and twisted, causing a compartment to whip out. Springs thrust the gauntlet out and onto his hand. Using Aura, Laurence ignited the weapon and cut through a white Hyper Beam, hearing it slam into Protect behind him.

Laurence rose, sword across his body in a defensive position, pink Pokemon in his other arm. He eyed three particularly strong Pokemon. A Tyranitar covered in thick green armour, a Scolipede with poison dripping from its mouth, and a Probopass ready to unleash more beams.

Unfortunately for these attackers, they picked the wrong land to trespass upon. Laurence's Pokemon all started roaring and showing they were prepared to fight. Typhlosion unleashed immense fire from his back, Nidoking punched his fists together, Corviknight descended from his roost atop the mansion's roof and landed with a heavy thud, Steelix burst out of the ground nearby, Klawf snapped his claws together, Delphox flew in on her broom and pointed her wand forward. More than fifty Pokemon aimed their hostility towards the intruders.

The attackers were visibly shaken, sweating under the pressure, but it wasn't enough to make them stand down. They could still fight. But they had been doomed from the start. To prove it a white dragon roared and flew over the house, hovering above her Trainer, sharp blue eyes aimed at the enemies and fire burning from her tail. The Legendary Reshiram did not take kindly to her peace and quiet being disturbed.

Reshiram appearing cemented the continuation of the fight as a fool's errand. She exuded a powerful aura so everyone knew just how powerful she was. The trio turned tail, rushing back into the hole they'd made. The heavy footsteps of Tyranitar was the only sound, so once they faded out it signalled the end of the threat.

Laurence let out a sigh and straightened up, twisting his foot to open the compartment and putting the gauntlet back into his thigh. He was a little disappointed. He would've liked a proper fight. He looked up as Reshiram's shadow shifted across the field. He gave a thumbs up. Reshiram growled gently and flew off behind the house.

He looked down at the pink mass in his arm, simply knowing it was the victim and the attackers were the bad guys. He had a sense for these things. "Are you okay?"

The Pokemon was startled to the present. It'd spent the entire time looking up at Laurence and knew this was the knight in shining armour it needed.

 

[Orderneri]

2: Crystal Princess​

The pink Pokemon floated out of Laurence's arms and hovered before him. Its lower body was that of a rock, it almost seemed to wear a white dress on its torso, and half a dozen small, shining pink crystals spawned from its head. Some were raised, but two in particular were angled in a way that made the Pokemon look like it had twintail hair.

Laurence's phone exited his pocket. It was possessed by a Rotom and was always ready to inform its Trainer.

"Diancie, the Jewel Pokemon. It is said to be a ruler of Pokemon. They tend to live deep underground, so one appearing here is an oddity." A robotic voice came from the phone's speaker. Rotom moved closer to Laurence and showed him a picture. It was a Diancie with a key difference. "This Diancie appears to be missing her crown."

Diancie repeatedly pointed at the floating phone and nodded along with what it said, using big red eyes to look between the big human and Rotom. She let out a noise almost like a squeak, not unlike a lot of other animals. Diancie tilted her head, seemingly unsatisfied with this outcome. It put a grey hand to it's throat and suddenly the air was filled with the sound of chimes, Diancie's crystals sparkling brighter due to energy running through them. After the pitch and frequency of the chiming was altered enough, a new sound appeared. That of a voice.

"Rotom is right. I am princess Diancie."

"Huh, that's neat…"

Laurence had seen many unique aspects of Pokemon, but he was still surprised and impressed by their capabilities. His best guess was that Diancie created etchings in her crystals and then ran sound through them. He'd seen something like it before, with Kali. She used sound to create a song via gemstones which she used to wake a horde of Unown. Because the etchings were theoretically infinite, there would be a combination that could mimic human speech.

He was correct. After the fact, the crystals would naturally regenerate, allowing Diancie to create a new etching and speak new words.

"Ah, thank you…" Diancie rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment at the praise for her power. Then she realised something. "Right, um, sorry to intrude."

Laurence waved away her concern. "Don't worry about that now. So, your crown was taken? Is that why you were attacked?"

Getting a good look at her, Laurence felt like Diancie was incomplete without the crown. Seeing the picture compared to the real thing, it just looked wrong. The crystals currently on her head were much shorter than the picture, suggesting the backline was extended by the crown, either through natural growth or because the crown was more than the circle headpiece.

Diancie was silent for a moment before explaining. "My ceremony to become Queen is approaching. My steward went to secure the crown from our vault and saw that it was gone. It… started an uprising. My subjects lost faith in me because I couldn't even safeguard the crown. Some stayed loyal and they urged me to leave when a fight started. But those three that followed me, they were some of my strongest soldiers. Now I have no one… I fled this way because I was hoping you'd be able to help me. You are Laurence, correct?"

Laurence raised an eyebrow. This wasn't the first time a Pokemon had come to him seeking help. His actions had been so grand over the years that even animals spread rumours of his deeds.

But more importantly, Diancie was cut off from her loyal subjects. If she was going to bring peace to her people, she needed that crown back.

There was no harm in playing along. Laurence knelt before the Jewel Pokemon. From the back it looked normal. Despite hovering, Diancie was still half of Laurence's size, so it seemed like he was simply putting himself at her eye level.

"I pledge my services to you, Princess Diancie."

"Ah, thank you, thank you!" Diancie chose to grab Laurence's hand and shake it vigorously.

Laurence stood. "I've got to get ready, so give me a minute, but-" While he got ready, he'd like to think, so he had a question. "-Any idea where your crown might be?"

"No." Diancie shook her head. "All I remember was that there was a hole in the vault."

Diancie knew what to do when she got her crown back. She would reinforce the vault. Being a dweller of the great caverns underground, her castle was etched into rock. That included the vault room. A lot of Pokemon, or even people with equipment, had the power to tunnel through rock.

"Okay, so someone or something dug into your vault. How much did you investigate? Was it a precise tunnel, like they knew where it was?"

Diancie tilted her head with a hand gently touching her chin. "Yes, I believe so… It was right above the crown's pedestal."

That was certainly a clue. He had nothing to justify his opinion other than experience. He had a feeling he knew what'd happened. "Got it. I'll give someone a call. Feel free to relax for a bit, you're safe here."

Laurence covered the remaining distance to his home and checked on his family. Thanks to Gardevoir and the new ghost in his shadow, everyone was fine. He went upstairs and got ready, donning his red shirt and black jacket. He tied a green bandana to his sleeve, dangling from it a colourful clear stone with a pattern like DNA imprinted inside. He took his phone out of his pocket and called a friend.

"Laurence, it's been longer than normal. I wondered when I'd be hearing from you." An ageing feminine voice came through the speaker. "How's life treating you?"

"Hi, Argenta. Not too bad. I hope you're doing good."

"That I am, boy. So, what do you have for me this time?"

In his travels, Laurence had used the services of Argenta numerous times. She was a useful friend to have. The old woman was an information broker. She had sources all over the world. Many people listened for anything of interest, and they were ready to share their knowledge with Argenta. Someone heard a rumour at a bar. A receptionist overheard coworkers discussing something criminal. There was no end to the information Argenta received.

"Heard anything about a Diancie crown recently?"

"So that's what you're getting dragged into. I should've known. I've been hearing rumblings about it for a few weeks now. I wrote it off. Looking into them, they're a group of amateurs that haven't succeeded in any of their schemes. I didn't think they'd pull it off. Honestly, I'm impressed. That's quite the heist."

Laurence's hunch was correct. In his time as a freelancer, he'd come across a lot of people who were motivated by money. A Diancie crown was no doubt valuable. If he'd been wrong, then Laurence would've assumed a rival Pokemon kingdom. It was the only other option, in his mind.

"Maybe they hired an expert without you knowing. You're slipping, Argenta."

"If I were with you right now I'd give you a good walloping. Speak to your elders with respect, boy."

Laurence continued after suppressing a laugh. "They dug into some underground vault and took the crown right before the… What's it called?"

"Inauguration? And here I was thinking you were smart. Apparently I'm not the only one slipping."

Laurence grinned. He deserved that one.

"Regardless, you're in luck, boy. I have an address for this gang. That should be all you need."

"That'll do nicely, thanks. I'll deal with the rest."

Argenta cackled from her seat overseeing a horde of screens. "Just another gang that messed with the wrong man. But keep an eye out. If something really did slip by me then they hired a competent professional."

She was right. Laurence had encountered a few mercenaries over the years. The typical gangs could be seen as mere bandits. Hunters were a step above, skilled fighters who would do anything for money. Then far above them were mercenaries. They were a nightmare to deal with. Some of the strongest Trainers around, and they had no problem with personally fighting, like Laurence did with his Ceruledge sword. This request might turn out to be harder than he first thought.

He hung up after saying goodbye and immediately saw a text appear, followed by an invoice. Argenta had to fund her operation somehow. She didn't work for free. She paid for information and needed to be paid for information.

Laurence moved through hallways to the other end of the house and went down a different stairway. He came to a storeroom mainly for the large amount of food his family needed, but he had other items here too. He rummaged around a bottom drawer until he pulled out a handful of Pokeballs. He had an impressive roster already, but he never refused a Pokemon that wanted to come with him. Who knew when his next teammate would appear. He pocketed the balls and left.

After some walking, Laurence reached the living room. He saw Diancie enjoying the soft sofa, gently bouncing on the edge while Andrew showed off toys to her. She leaned forward heavily at every new item she was shown, intently observing the toys. It seemed like she wanted to engage fully by playing with Andrew, but she was reluctant to do so. Maybe she thought it was unbecoming of her position, or maybe she was just shy. When she saw Laurence, she jumped into the air and hovered over to him.

"I've got to put a team together, but otherwise we're good to go. I think I might know where your crown is."

Diancie's red eyes sparkled as brightly as her crystals did under direct sunlight. She watched Laurence say goodbye to his family, giving them kisses and hugs. She stuck to him as they exited the house.

Outside, Laurence called out to the big metal bird sitting on the roof. "Corviknight!"

Corviknight, when resting and comfortable, looked like a sphere of fluff. It was his plumage, not the fact that he hadn't gotten any good exercise recently. He rose and spread his wings with a hefty caw. He dropped down next to his Trainer, standing a couple of feet taller than the tall man. He leaned over and let Laurence ruffle the feathers on his neck.

Laurence could ask the master of portals in his shadow for help. Hoopa could get Laurence anywhere in an instant. But the Pokemon wasn't formally his. Hoopa hung around because it was fun and he liked to help. Hoopa occasionally acted on his own, causing problems that Laurence had to clean up, but his actions came from a good heart. Laurence had no problem cleaning up Hoopa's messes because it always led to bad people being punished.

"You up for some flying? We have a job."

Corviknight was always ready. He considered himself to be the hero's trusty steed. Whenever he was needed, he would be there.

Laurence turned to some of his Pokemon who had approached sensing it was time to work. From the small but mighty Maractus to the heavy Aggron, Laurence had attracted many good Pokemon over the years that were more than happy to put their skills to use if it meant helping someone.

As per usual, Laurence picked a team of six. Five, really, since Absol was mandatory. There was no real limit though. It was easy for Rotom to swap his current team members with his Pokemon at home with the use of teleportation. Laurence had access to everyone all at once. He just had to call a Pokemon's name and Rotom would bring them to him.

Even so, because Laurence enjoyed the sport so much, he put effort into sticking with a team that fit into his belt holster. He only used more if he needed to. Bad guys didn't play by the rules, so Laurence didn't either.

"...We should enter a League again soon." Laurence spoke quietly to himself, but a few Pokemon with good hearing picked up on what he said and agreed, nodding and chirping happily. "Well, for now we've got a job to do. So..."

Laurence looked around, briefly catching a glimpse of the ground. Someone had filled in the hole created when Diancie showed up. It was a patch of dirt on the otherwise pristine lawn, but eventually grass would spread to it.

Since she was here, jumping about with a stern expression like she was ready for a fight, Laurence picked on the bunny cactus. "Maractus, are you up for it? I don't know what kind of trouble we'll find, but I need a hero with me."

Maractus hopped a dance while shaking her hands, creating a pleasing sound like beads in a bottle. When she calmed, she flourished an arm and created a cape using Cotton Guard. She was ready to go.

Laurence nodded, being given her ball by Rotom. On one part of the house was an external, sheltered shelving unit similar to what Gyms used. Whenever Laurence needed them, his Pokemon would go into their Pokeballs so they could be teleported to their Trainer. And they knew to expect a fight immediately.

The rest of the team came easily. Absol, Maractus, Typhlosion, Dragapult, Omastar, and Aggron. He didn't know what threats he'd be facing, but he didn't want to underestimate his opponent, so he took some heavy hitters. And while he had some Legendary tier Pokemon, he didn't like to use them unless it was absolutely necessary. He wasn't against calling them in to make sure a bad guy didn't get away, but it felt unfair to rely on them so heavily. Plus he didn't want his regular roster of Pokemon to slack off and become weak.

Another Pokemon passed through his mind, but he left her alone for now. She was quite a diva that would gladly cause problems for her own satisfaction to show how she was superior to others, and because of that she only listened to Laurence, someone she saw as better than her. Leaving her with the family could cause problems, but Laurence had spoken to her multiple times about this issue. He hoped she finally took what he said to heart and calmed down around others.

Despite her cute appearance, Maractus had proven to be a fighter time and time again. Her weapon was Wood Hammer, and she moved her Cotton Guard cape around like a shield so she could stay in battle longer than expected.

Typhlosion was one of Laurence's strongest. Especially because he had undergone a Strength Evolution. Pokemon with exceptionally strong desires could evolve in a way that benefited their dream. Because of this Laurence's Typhlosion had way more fire pads than normal, allowing him access to greater amounts of power. He kept the mohawk from Quilava. It stretched down his back and split to either side of his tail. There were also pads around his wrists.

Omastar had been with Laurence since Kanto and, while he hadn't fought much recently, he was instrumental in Laurence getting as far as he did in the Kanto Regional League. And to think he was once a sickly little Pokemon.

Dragapult had been continuously growing in power since being caught by Laurence years ago, when she was just a little Dreepy. She had been abandoned by her family for being the weakest of the species. It'd taken her a long time to earn her strength, but now she was unstoppable. She took pride her in power and the new family that showered her with love. She would do anything for Laurence.

And then there was Aggron. Whenever the aggressive mother was around, Laurence's side burned, because she was the very same Aggron that scarred him before he became a Trainer. Their reunion had been unexpected, but a welcome surprise. Laurence was in a heated battle against a strong foe. Out of nowhere a rock taller than Laurence barrelled through the air and struck his foe. Aggron had sensed a familiar presence and felt she owed him, so came to help. With her child having grown up and left home, she didn't have much else to do so she ended up sticking with Laurence.

As for Corviknight, because he was outside of the six, it was dependant on the situation. Sometimes he came home via Rotom's teleport, but other times he flew above the clouds and waited to be needed. Depending how this job went, it could be handy to have the bird stick around. Corviknight was a great lookout on the estate, but Laurence had other Pokemon at home that could keep the peace.

Laurence put Absol away and climbed aboard the metal bird. Diancie sat in front of him like a child, nestled into his body. The stone dangling from Laurence's arm bandana lit up as he grabbed it, infusing Corviknight with enough power to create Mega Corviknight. A twelve-foot beast that could manipulate the wind in a way that gave him a massive speed boost. They'd reach their destination in no time. He also gained new combat abilities, like being able to detach metal feathers from his body and control them at range.

"Let's get going, Corviknight."