-The Dragon King-

  -Shock and Awe: Ch 4-

  “Ow.” Marcus eloquently enunciated, displaying the deep breadth of his mastery of this world's language.

  “Shellll…” His partner groaned.

  “You said it, buddy. We really have to stop ending up like this.”

  Mark let out a long sigh as he sank further into the chair in the breakroom. Even after getting some healing from the nurse and her Chansey (but mainly the Chansey) that Mr Croft had employed, he was still sore all over from the fight.The ice pack he was holding to his forehead was the only thing keeping his headache from getting worse.

  His team wasn’t doing much better. His Pokemon were sprawled out around the break room looking decidedly under the weather.

  “...What we really need is to keep upgrading our move pool. Flamethrower is great, amazing even, but it’s not as good as it should be because you’re a physical attacker. Actually, you’re still using Bite, aren’t you? We need to turn that into Crunch, and then into Fire Fang. That will really help you shut down any Ice types.”

  Mark drummed his fingers on the armrest.

  “But that doesn’t solve our Fairy problem. We need to get you Iron Head, but I don’t have the slightest idea where to start training for that, besides just giving in and buying a TM. You don’t exactly have any Steel moves to start with.”

  Shelgon perked up at the mention of something to help counter his most hated kind of enemy.

  Mark turned to his flyer, who was grumpily drinking from a “Capoké-Sun” pack on the table.

  “Now Noibat, you did amazing. You’ve only been with the team for a quarter of the time that Shelgon has, but you’re already starting to catch up to him.”

  Noibat puffed up at the praise, and stuck her tongue out at Shelgon who narrowed his eyes and ran one of his stubby short legs over his neck, clearly in disagreement with Mark’s opinion.

  “Your major weakness is that you’re a glass cannon, and can’t take many hits, but I think trying to fix your defense would be a waste of time. Instead we lean into your strengths, I want to get you Tailwind, and Roost. Boost your speed, get better at dodging, mitigate what you can’t avoid.”

  Noibat nodded, just as eager as Shelgon at the prospect of getting stronger.

  “Now, Bidoof1…”

  Mark turned to the final of the three Pokemon he had used in the tournament, who was flopped over on her side, completely unconscious, and limp on the floor.

  Mark may have forgotten to have the nurse heal her.

  “...Why do I even have you out?” He asked himself.

  Bidoof1 did not answer, because Bidoof1 was quite possibly just fucking dead.

  “Well you’re doing your part perfectly, and I see no possible need for improvement.” Mark nodded sagely as he returned his KOed monster.

  Not a second after Bidoof1 disappeared, the door to the room creaked open, and a familiar smarmy grin walked in.

  “Thank you for waiting so patiently, Mr Cross.” Norvin Croft said as he closed the door behind him. “It took some time to smooth out all the problems you and your little grunts caused with your stunt.”

  Mark put on his best politician smile and leaned forward. “To be fair, Ve was the one to send his bodyguards after me. They threw the first punch, I was just acting in self defense.”

  “That is a bold face lie.” Norvin snorted. “I have you on camera, throwing the first punch clear as day. You jumped into the ring first, and yes they did run at you, but you charged them back and bashed the first chump over the head with a metal bat.”

  Mark winced.

  “You, Ve, and everyone else who decided to jump into that brawl have all been disqualified. And since half the fucking audience decided to dogpile in, that includes all the competitors.” Norvin paused to take a slow drag of his cigar. “Which means that there are no first, second, or third place winners, so the house will veeeery unfortunately not be able to distribute any prizes.”

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Before Mark could protest, Norvin dropped a briefcase onto the table and slid it over to the Dragon specialist.

  “What’s this?” Mark cracked it open, and his eyebrows raised to his hairline when he saw rows of neatly stacked bills.

  “Half of what you saved me from having to pay out in winnings.” The old man said with a vicious tobacco stained grin. “As a tip for breaking that little brat’s nose.” He let out a wheezy cackle as he pulled out a chair and sat across from Mark.

  “Mr Croft, I am always happy to help such a good businessman. Call anytime you need any services.” Marcus matched Norvin’s grin with one even more predatory as he eagerly grabbed the case and pulled it out of reach. He put it on the ground, next to his feet, and let Shelgon sniff at it.

  “That’s exactly what I’m here to discuss.”

  “Oh? What problem can Icronclad Solution take care of for you?”

  “No, nothing of that sort.” Norvin waved him off. “It’s come to my attention that you lack a sponsor, and that just won’t do. As one of the four founding partners, and a permanent chairmember, of the Veilstone gambling district, I would like to offer you a sponsorship on behalf of the game corner. We would cover Gym fees, licensing fees, any travel expenses, a generous monthly stipend, and unlike a traditional sponsor we would also be willing to negotiate subsidies to get your side business off the ground.” Norvin puffed a cloud of smoke. “As well as a gold membership to the game corner, or course.”

  Mark hummed and turned the offer over in his head. It was exactly what he had been looking for when he first started out, and even more if they were willing to subsidize Ironclad Solutions.

  “It’s tempting, but I have to pass. I’ve managed to get this far on my own, and now I’ve started building the beginnings of a solid income. I’m not gonna sell away my ability to do and say whatever the fuck I want, and stamp your logo on my forehead, just for some cash.”

  “Ah, you seem to have the wrong impression. Allow me to clarify.” Norvin leaned across the table, and lowered his voice just a touch. “I’m looking for something more… off the books. This would all be under the table. I don’t want you to advertise us, our name will be kept off your papers, and we will put no restrictions on you whatsoever. You can say and do whatever you want, and continue your deals with Team Rocket, because we will not be linked to you in any official way. You could even quit the Gym Circuit tomorrow, and it wouldn’t change anything.”

  “That sounds too good to be true, and there’s nothing in it for you.” Mark narrowed his eyes. "What's the real deal?”

  “I want you to continue your hunts. The gambling district has occasionally offered live prizes for our big winners, exotic pieces that turn heads and sell us out of tickets. But procuring through official breeders is expensive, and J is getting away with robbery for her prices, because she keeps muscling out any competition. We’ve had to cut back on some of our best Jackpots.”

  Norvin pointed a bony finger at Marcus. “You are going to solve that problem. I’m not offering a charity, I want a partnership that we both profit from. You bring me goods in usable condition, I give you the means to grow your project, you’re then able to bring me even better goods, and it repeats.”

  Norvin held out his hand with cruel eyes, a yellow smile, and the likeness of a devil.

  “Do we have a deal?”

  Mark eyed the hand for a few seconds, and glanced at Shelgon and Noibat who were staring up at him expectantly. Then he grinned and grabbed Norvin’s hand with his own.

  “That’s a damn good deal.”

  -The Dragon King-

  Helena wandered aimlessly down the back hallways of the underground facility. She didn’t have a set destination in mind, nor felt the need for one.

  “What are you doing?” Terra snapped as she followed closely behind the Hex Maniac. “The Commander said we all need to be ready to leave at a moment's notice in case the owners try to fine us for damages!”

  “I won’t be long, you can go on without me.” Hellena mumbled

  “You’ve been walking around in circles for half an hour! The commander promoted me to be his Sergeant, it’s my job to stop problems from happening before they get in his way. You’re his second in command, do you know how bad it would be if we had to escape in a rush, and accidentally left you behind?”

  Hellena stopped at an intersection, took a moment to look around, then chose a direction seemingly at random.

  “Don’t worry I could handle myself.”

  “That’s not- grrr!” Terra pulled at her hair. “We’re all in this together. Team members don’t leave Team members behind!”

  If Mark were here he would have violently objected to Ironclad Solutions being a “Team” but he wasn’t here, so he couldn’t. Instead Hellena just continued down the hallways.

  “Just give me a few minutes, they’re here, I can feel it.”

  “Feel what?! At least tell me what you’re doing so I can try to help- Oof!”

  Terra grunted as she walked into Hellena’s back. The Ghost trainer had stopped in the middle of the hallway, and was just standing silently.

  “Uhm. Hello? Admin?”

  Hellena suddenly turned on a dime and lunged at the ex-Magma grunt.

  Terra shrieked as the Hex Manic flew at her with a wide grin, and reached for her belt, but Hellena went right past her and kicked a side door open.

  Inside was… nothing. Just a disorganized broom closet.

  Hellena deflated, seemingly defeated.

  “I could have sworn that I felt a really strong Ghost type…”

  “D-Do you want me to help look, Admin Hellena?” Terra asked hesitantly, still calming down from the jump scare.

  “No.” Hellena sighed. “If that strong of a ghost doesn’t want to be found, we won’t be able to find it.”

  Terra did her duty as a loyal member and comforted her Admin as she led her back to the rest of the group.

  Meanwhile two red eyes peaked out from the broom closet and watched them go.

  -End Chapter-