Chapter 81: On the Wind, Past the Stars

Entry 3451
Just seeing Mewtwo again stirred up old wounds I thought had long healed. The cruelty of Team Rocket’s boss. Mewtwo’s betrayal of my trust. How he hurt me. Broke off a piece of my face.

The crystal was still there in his shoulder. Taunting me.

Chiron hid him from me this entire time. She wouldn’t trust me. Only said to trust that type: full anomaly.

And now she’s gone.

I won’t forgive them. Both these creatures are affronts to nature. I will destroy them along with Eternatus. I just need more power.

Seifer didn’t enjoy feeling like a sitting ducklett. No matter how much Cyril assured the keldeo his illusory veil was holding up, his gut squirmed with each human officer and sniffing dog that walked past. Surely, one of the arcanine or houndoom would pick up their scent eventually.

“Are you sure we’re safe this close to the rift?” Seifer still had no idea why the police were patrolling this place so relentlessly. The anomaly was plain as day. It wasn’t as if they had the personnel to stop someone from approaching it entirely.

“Am I sure? Pssht.” The cosmic zoroark’s hair rippled into a black hood. “Only a sith deals in absolutes, young keldewan.”

Seifer tilted his head. The heck was Cyril doing?

“Seriously?” Cyril did his best to keep his voice a whisper. “You never saw Space Wars? The hero’s a keldeo like you.”

Seifer stared back blankly. Was that… a piece of Radiance or Eternatus media?

“For crying out loud.” The dark hood disappeared, leaving Cyril scratching his starry mane. “What movies have you seen?”

The keldeo squinted in thought. “Uhh…” He frowned. Nothing was springing to mind right away. “Do educational pictures from back in my Horizon Academy days count?”

Cyril facepalmed. “Welp. Guess I know what we’re doing for a date night.”

He couldn’t be serious. “I’m sorry?” Seifer raised a brow. As much as he wanted to get back to the original question, Seifer couldn’t let that go. “Are you going to drag me to a Radiance movie theater?”

“Nah.” Cyril waved him off. “Veg on a couch with the first three Space Wars.” His smirk faded slightly. “No need for the prequel or sequel trilogy. Pure trash right there.” He sounded deathly serious.

“I was not… aware people got that passionate about movies,” Seifer muttered. A policewoman and her two growlithe strutted past without even gazing in their direction. The two dogs were sniffing around, yet neither of them paid much mind to the two resistance members.

That was enough impetus for Seifer to steer the conversation back to its intended purpose. “Seriously, this is creeping me out,” the keldeo whispered. “Why aren’t they on to us?”

“You can thank our skorp recruits for that one.” Cyril reached into his mane and produced some sort of spray can. It was completely black. “Essence of tar pit. Sprayed it all around the area. Everything smells like tar.”

“But isn’t that more suspicious?” Seifer said. Cyril then knelt down and gently tilted the keldeo’s head toward the staircase leading up to Indigo Plateau’s stadium. There was construction equipment sitting off to the side.

“Not unreasonable,” Cyril said, smirking slightly.

Seifer was going to respond, but the cosmic zoroark put a yellow claw to his snout. “Ah, ah.” Cyril’s smirk grew. “If you say too much, you’ll jinx us.”

Seriously? He didn’t peg Cyril as the superstitious type.

Cyril shook his head in disbelief. “I’m flirting with you, dumbass.”

“Oh.” Seifer’s cheeks reddened. He sat down and stared intently at the rift. “W-Well, we’re on the job. We have to get Widget to the rift. Save it for later.”

“That’s our consummate professional.” Cyril hip-checked the keldeo, then tapped where his X-transceiver was in his right ear. “Yo, Boss Kitty, how goes it on your end? Got any leads or what? Not sure how much longer this tar pit spray will keep the dogs’ noses off our scents.”

“We’ve got a lead.”

Gene’s arms were firmly crossed. He floated on a metal rooftop beside Cid, looking out over the river and the reflections from the drone light show still going on around the stadium. Yuna, Leo, and Nikki were behind him. The girls were talking amongst themselves about whatever. Gene didn’t care.

“You don’t sound happy,” Cyril pointed out.

The shadowy mewtwo pinched his brow. “I’m not. Because it’s…” He couldn’t even put into words how stupid Cid’s findings were. Better to let the orbeetle handle it. “You tell ’em.”

“It would appear Team Rocket exists in this world,” Cid said, eyeing Gene nervously. “Although my Dynascan suggests they’re… a far cry from what Gene’s described.”

“It’s just three of them!” Nikki said, mohawk rippling. “How big of a deal can it be? You said it yourself, dude.” She smacked her fist into an open palm. “If we’re going to cause trouble, we go to local troublemakers. That’s just maths.”

“I know that!” Gene snapped, yellowing tail lashing at the air. He dropped down on the roof, flinching from the cold stone under his toes. “It’s not… an easy thing for me to do without seeing these people for myself.”

Nikki put her hands on her hips. “Then let one of us talk to ’em.” She jabbed a thumb against a chest gill. “I speak fluent skullduggery.”

Gene turned away from them. “These aren’t petty graffiti artists.” He shook his head. “Forget it. I’m worrying over nothing. If it can’t work out, I’ll fling ’em into the river and we’ll just do things ourselves.”

“You’ll what?!” Widget squawked through the comm line.

“Oi, keep quiet while we’re walking!” Cyril growled.

Shaking his head, the shadowy mewtwo hovered into the air. “Down, boy.” He chuckled. “They’re crooks.“

“That doesn’t mean you fling them into a river! What if they can’t swim?!”

Gene rolled his eyes. Annoying do-gooder birddogfish. “Fiiiine, I’ll toss ’em in with some water floaties. Will that work?”

He didn’t wait for Widget’s inevitably irritable response. Cid pointed him in the direction of the three Rocket operatives.

“Keep a low profile in the meantime.” Gene saluted the others and shot off into the night sky.

“What the hell do you think we’re doing?!” Nikki shouted after him. Smirking, Gene pressed on, flying over a steel bridge with a few slow moving vehicles. The people clustered on the sidewalks were nothing but blurry specks under the night sky. Gene fixed his gaze ahead of him. The road split off in a few directions, with the northeast branch heading toward a very large roundabout where each offroad headed for a big, square building.

Even from this distance, all the signs suggested these were hotels. Which fit with Cid’s description.

Gene assumed all the Malice flowing through him was what let him read these signs. Didn’t account for the others on Team Bastion. He suspected that was a combination of Yuna and the little godbutt.

Let’s see… second one. Gene headed for the second offroad. The Grand Wyndon Hotel was the smallest of those clustered by the roundabout. Definitely the oldest, judging by its blurry brick composition. Not so grand anymore, are ya?

He stopped and hovered over the building. Gene’s chest rose and fell — well, the parts without the Malice Crystal did — as he mentally prepped himself. It was only three Rockets. They couldn’t be that high on the totem pole. Otherwise, Cid would have senses an abundance of Rockets scattered around.

At least, if it’s anything like the Team Rocket I knew.

Gene slowly descended. He positioned himself between windows as he passed by the top floors. Gene pressed himself against the building wall. Cool bricks brushed against his fingers and his left side.

Sixth floor. Fifth floor. Here.

The shadowy mewtwo stopped. He inched closer to the lit window in midair, then noted the curtains were drawn and stopped. Gene couldn’t get closer without whoever was inside spotting him. If only he could get a glimpse… or even hear something. This building was old. Surely it wasn’t that good at filtering out noise.

“… Da same wit’out a twerp to tail.”

Gene’s smirk returned. Bingo. That accent was atrocious, but at least Gene could understand it.

“Oh, listen to yourselves!” It was a new, female voice. “I didn’t spend eight hours cramped in coach to lay around here watching you two mope like a pair of sad, sorry shroomish!”

“WOOOOOBBBBAAAAAFEEET!”

“Easy to say when you’re not the one who had to drain his bottle cap collection just to cover the air and hotel fare!” a third— no, wait, fourth voice interjected. “We came here with the promise of Monarch pikachu pilfering for the boss. And instead all we have are empty hopes and dashed dreams!”

Gene had heard enough. These didn’t sound like high-level Rockets. Or even competent ones, for that matter. But hearing “Monarch” and “disappeared” got the gears in his head turning. Hadn’t Yuna brought that up when she was explaining the situation? Gene kind of tuned that part out.

Cupping his right hand over his face, he whispered. “Hey, Princess. What was that you mentioned about some missing trainer?”

“The guy who was supposed to defend his title here disappeared,” Yuna replied, somewhat hesitantly. “And he might be stuck inside the anomaly core.”

Theeeere it was. All the ammunition Gene needed. He cracked his knuckles. Showtime.

The shadowy mewtwo backed away from the wall. Gene scrutinized the window once more. Not the opening type. Typical stingy hotel.

Phantom Warp it is, then. Gene focused on his Malice Crystal. Next thing he knew, he was inside the modest hotel room, glancing at the meowth face down on one bed and the red and blue-haired people recoiling from the sight of him.

“Good news, plebs.” Gene snapped his fingers. “The powers that be have heard your pleas. You want answers to your ‘twerp’ troubles? Well, I’ve got ’em.”

Wobbuffet screamed and jumped for the red-haired lady, who displayed surprising strength in actually catching and hanging onto him.

“Ayy, what’s da big idea?” Meowth sat up and shook his fist at Gene. “We didn’t order no room service. Scram!”

“Hang on.” The blue-haired man tilted his head. “Weren’t you listening. It sounds like this eggplant pokémon might know where the twerp is!”

Gene quirked a brow at that comment. And at the fact that Meowth was speaking like a human. Or like any of the resistance. That would’ve been curious, but these Rockets neither attacked him nor chucked poké balls.

He wasn’t going to draw any conclusions about whether this world had its own mewtwo, but Gene could say with certainty these three were total idiots. Were they representative of what Team Rocket was like in this direction? How was it still alive employing people like this?

Never mind that. Gene was on a timetable. “That’s right.” He lifted his right hand. A few throw pillows levitated over to him. Gene idly twirled them around their hand. “Team Rocket, yeah?”

The woman’s eyes sparkled. She unceremoniously dropped Wobbuffet to the ground. “Did you hear that, James?” She dashed to Gene’s side. “Word of our dastardly deeds has spread!” The sparkles turned to fire in the lady’s eyes. “Or perhaps you recognize a certain dazzling enchantress of the stage?”

Rolling his eyes, Gene flicked his tail left. A little telekinesis was all he needed to push the lady back toward the wall by the thermostat. “Don’t flatter yourselves.” Gene let a throw pillow drift onto his finger and spun it around like it was a basketball. “Your jumpsuits have giant red Rs on ’em.”

He tapped his right temple. “Also, powerful psychic. Able to read your minds so smoothly you wouldn’t even know I was there.”

Meowth’s fur stood on end. “Sheesh, dis guy do impressions of da boss or sometin’? He loves dat tick!”

“Eggplant color and physique aside, the resemblance is uncanny,” James added. “Just who are you, Eggplant?”

“Yeah!” Meowth crossed his arms and nodded. “And what kinda tricks are you playin’ at? You wanna help us wit’ our twerp troubles or not?”

“Oh, I do.” Gene landed on the brown carpet. He tossed the throw pillows to the far bed one at a time. “Just had to make a point. If you get I’m strong, then you get I’ve got the power to find your twerp for you.”

Meowth stroked his chin. “Dat’s a bold claim for a complete stranger to make.”

“Quit being sticks in the mud.” The woman stomped a foot on the ground. “How often do we rely on the twerp trusting strangers for pika procurement opportunities, hmm?”

The other two were silent. Gene leaned back against the window. “If you want more transparency, the reason I found you guys is because I need your help as much as you need mine.” The shadowy mewtwo looked at his hand, turning it back and forth like he was admiring a manicure he could never get.

“Our help?”

“Wobba?”

Even Wobbuffet sat up at that. The quartet shared astonished looks. Gene took that as his cue to continue.

“Your precious ‘twerp’ is in Wyndon Stadium.” He pushed himself off the window so he could gesture toward it. The drone show had finished, but the stadium remained lit, projecting into the night sky. “He’s trapped with something dangerous my team is here to get rid of.”

“Da twerp around sometin’ dangerous, huh?” Meowth shook his head. “Dat’s as classic as peanut butter and jelly.”

“Mmmhmm.” The woman nodded along. “Or hot fudge and whipped cream.”

“Or pineapple on pizza!” James added.

“You take that back!” Meowth and the woman shouted in unison. Wobbuffet mimicked them, though he could still only say his name for some strange reason.

“Come on, Jessie, it’s not that bad.” James held his hands up by his face.

“Focus!” Gene’s tail lashed at the air. His eyes and Malice Crystal flickered. The quartet went stiff as boards. Stars, they were a handful.

“Let me repeat myself: there’s something dangerous at the stadium.” Gene gestured to the window with both arms this time. “The stadium full of people here for the big event.” He thrust his arms at the window a second time after the Rockets didn’t respond to him. “Is it sinking in yet?”

The four of them huddled amongst one another briefly, before Jessie and James nudged Meowth forward to the edge of the bed. “You want us around to get da twerp outta danger!”

Gene levitated up a throw pillow and bapped Meowth’s head with it. “Hey!” He rubbed his slightly messy fur.

“I need you guys to do your jobs,” Gene growled, tail twitching in irritation. “And help me cause a scene in the stadium that’ll force everyone to leave.” He walked his fingers across the air. “Once the stadium’s empty, we can safely deal with the threat and get you your twerp back.”

“Causing a scene?” Jessie’s eyes sparkled. “Do you think we can—”

“By doing Team Rocket stuff,” Gene cut in. “C’mon, what kind of grunts are you? Think of all the pokémon there ripe for stealing.” He hated floating that idea out there. But with the way these three acted, they couldn’t swipe a ‘mon if their lives depended on it. And if they somehow did, Gene had little doubt he could stop them from getting away.

Again, the quartet huddled up. Gene could have listened in. He doubted anything they were saying was a big deal. Maybe scheming up some sort of idea on how to cause a scene. Not that there was much to think about. They just had to send out their pokémon and let them go to town.

Unless this wobbuffet and meowth are all they have…

“We’ve got it!” Jessie declared, raising her right arm triumphantly. “One dynamic Team Rocket display for the ages, coming up!”

James flopped against the bed. “And one rainy day bottle cap collection down the Wyndon drain.”

Gene quirked a brow. Though he was tempted to press for details, he opted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Not that they’d earned it. “How much time do you need?”

“Heh heh.” Meowth’s head coin glistened under the dim yellow hotel room light. “You just leave dat part to ol’ Meowth! We’ll be ready to rock and roggenrola dat stadium before you can down a Wyndon tea and biscuit!”

The shadowy mewtwo casually threw up his hands. “Fine. Then I’ll tell my teammates to get ready while you do your thing. As soon as you’re ready, shoot a Pay Day into the air. That’ll be our signal.”

The three Rockets shared unimpressed looks. “And just where will you be to even see a signal like that?” James wondered.

Smirking, Gene leaned against the window. “I’ve got my ways.” He Phantom Warped through the window. Once he was on the other side, he pointed two fingers at his eyes, then back at the Rockets. They silently nodded that they got the memo.

Gene flew up to the hotel roof and perched atop it on his right foot. Whatever trepidation he had with turning to the organization that birthed him was gone. Instead, all he could wonder is whether those goofballs could get him what he was looking for. Otherwise, Team Bastion would be stuck on fake demolition duty.

He tapped a finger against his right horn. “Attention, resistance. This is Gene. I’ve gotten us our backup for Operation Gone With the Wyndon.”

Several groans crackled through his X-transceiver. “Puh-lease tell me you didn’t have that one pre-prepared,” Artemis said.

The broad strokes of Gene’s horrendously named operation were simple, if revolting to Seifer. Gene, Quetzal, and Jade would act as big, scary pokémon under Team Rocket’s control and “attack” the stadium. Assorted monks and dragons would help steer people away from the stadium. Noctum was on standby with rift generation while Vegna and Valkyrie were reserves to call on in an emergency.

Not an elegant plan, in the keldeo’s opinion. His stomach twisted at the notion of his teammates acting the part of criminals. At least Seifer wasn’t being asked to take part in that ridiculous ruse. Probably on purpose, knowing Gene.

That left him and Cyril to continue slowly and invisibly ferrying people across Indigo Plateau to the anomaly. Cyril deployed some fresh tar essence to keep the police dogs from catching literal whiff of them. Then it was a matter of walking back and forth across the same grass and tiles behind the outer rim of the Pokémon League building.

On the walk back toward the forest for their final pickup, Seifer decided to break up the monotony. “So, um, you and Gene were together once?”

Cyril’s cosmic fur frazzled ever so slightly. “Wouldn’t call it that.”

The keldeo wasn’t buying it. “Then why did Gene tell me you’re pretty mind-blowing once you get going?”

“Course he’d say that.” Cyril rolled his eyes, yet quickened his pace. “We were never together, per se. Friends with benefits. Nothing more.”

Seifer followed Cyril, raising a brow. “Benefits? Like you gave each other insurance? And vacation days?”

He wasn’t expecting Cyril to stumble. Seifer’s tail scrunched. He feared the illusion dropping. But no cops looked in their direction. Cyril must’ve kept it up.

“Was it something I said?” Seifer whispered.

“Uh, yeeeaaaah?” Cyril ran yellow claws through his cosmic mane. He left the stone pathway and headed onto the grass. “There’s no way you’re that sheltered.”

“Meaning?”

“Any sane adult knows what ‘friends with benefits’ means, dude.”

Seifer frowned. “Well, I don’t.” He also stepped onto the grass. They both headed toward the tree line.

Cyril sighed, then chuckled. “It means you sleep with your buddy from time to time.” He paused. “Or often.” Cyril shrugged. “Different strokes for different folks.”

“Oh.” Seifer looked down, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. “Is that… something you still do?”

“Hell nah.” Cyril waved him off. “We stopped doing that when I started working with the Ryujin. You’re the first guy I’ve been with in quite a while.”

Seifer wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Cyril stopped and looked over his shoulder. “That’s a good thing, y’know.”

“R-Right.” The keldeo quickened his pace until he was at Cyril’s side. He was putting his hoof in his mouth. Seifer had to salvage this somehow. “Sorry. I guess I—” He cut himself off, but made sure to keep walking.

“You had assumptions based on how you were raised.” Cyril rested his hands inside his starry mane. “I get it.”

Now it was Seifer’s turn to stumble. How was Cyril always able to read him so effortlessly? He quickly collected himself. The forest line wasn’t far off now. “I was taught that courting meant fancy dinners or outings to entertainment venues. And things like… intimacy came after marriage.”

A snrk made the keldeo’s ears flick. “What?”

“Nothing. Unintentional wordplay.” Cyril waved him off. “Point is, there are different ways of dating. If you want to stick to the fancier stuff, well…” The cosmic zoroark looked down at his wispy, jewel encrusted legs. “Not my forte. But I’d give it my best for you.”

Seifer shook his head. “Honestly? No. I don’t want that stuffiness.” Certainly not while trying to save the omniverse or whatever. “What we have is… not what I was expecting. But it’s a pleasant surprise.”

Smirking, Cyril bowed despite not facing Seifer. “Happy to be of service~”

He’s doing that on purpose. Seifer turned away while continuing forward. “Come on. We ought to focus. We’re almost done here.”

“We’re ready to go on our end,” Quetzal said through the X-transceiver. “What’s the hold up?”

“Nothing.” Cyril approached the tree line and stood at attention. Though the smirk on his face betrayed his attempt at seriousness. “The veil’s up whenever you’re ready.”

Blue light crackled in front of the trees, then split apart into a rift. Jade, Quetzal, Yiazmat, and Calcifer stepped through. Noctum followed, with the rift closing behind him.

“You’re sure you can keep everyone hidden, Zoroark?” Yiazmat mainly looked at Jade.

“What’s with the side eye?” Jade pouted. “So, I had a second helping of chocolate cake last night.” She put her right wing on her right hip. “The salazzle part’s got curves for days. That ain’t changing.”

Cyril held his hands up. “It’ll go better if you keep quiet and stick close to me.” He glanced at Jade. “Or reasonably close, in your case.”

Jade’s tail flaps bristled. “This is salugia bias! I’m—”

Yiazmat harshly shushed Jade, who looked down guiltily. “Let’s get going. Quickly.”

The group headed along the grass. Unlike the way back, Cyril and Seifer kept them further from the stone path around the League building and closer to the trees. The keldeo trained his gaze on every police officer and dog in the area. They remained at a distance, which was good.

… Except they were getting further from the team. Heck, it was like they were gathering in another spot. Was this a shift change or something? Seifer didn’t like this. He quickened his pace.

“Move faster,” he whispered. “I think the police are up to some—”

His eyes widened. Seifer lunged for Jade and managed to shove the large salugia out of the way before multiple Focus Blasts whizzed by, leaving streaks of red behind.

“What the—” Jade squawked, dousing the grass beneath her in pink-purple vapors.

Seifer looked up. Three Eternatus Bombardiers had their large blasters pointed right at them. And more Focus Blasts were charging in the barrels!

“Ah-ha! Illusion detected!” one Bombardier declared. “Authorization granted for full anti-zoroark excessive force!”

“How splendid!” another Bombardier cheered. “I bet fifty eternabucks I’ll bag the furball!”

“We’re found out!” Cyril waved them in the direction of the rift. “Move, move, m— shit!“

The cosmic zoroark dove to the ground. Focus Blasts rained down on where he was standing, kicking up chunks of dirt and mud.

“You don’t need to tell me twice! Ladies first!” Jade squawked, awkwardly rolling to her feet. A couple of Focus Blasts knocked her back on her rear, though she didn’t look all that harmed by them.

“The empire’s here!” An Aura Sphere whizzed up from Seifer’s prosthetic horn. The Bombardiers scattered, revealing even more Bombardiers and Gunners descending from higher in the sky. “And they’ve got reinforcements! We have to leave!“

“No! Get Drumstick and Birdbrain through the rift first!” Gene barked. “That’s an order!”

The first Bombardier was already prepping its next Focus Blast barrage. “I spy loitering rebels in need of some attitude adjustments!”

A gray metallic burst struck it from below, then a pair of dreepy-shaped blue bolts hit its right arm, destroying the blaster.

“Hurry!” Yiazmat cried.

“We’ll cover for you!” Calcifer opened his metallic mouth and spat another Flash Cannon skyward. The Bombardier trying to retaliate was forced to fly out of the way, letting Noctum strike it with a well-aimed Flamethrower and shatter its cockpit. The explosion caught the Bombardier that lost a blaster, destroying it as well.

“Quetzal, grab Jade! Her waddling’s too slow,” Seifer ordered.

“On it!” The orange zapdos zipped to Jade’s side and kicked her into the air.

“Waah! Hey!” Jade flailed around before landing on Quetzal’s back. Despite the size difference, Quetzal managed to carry her on his back. He darted toward the rift, orange sparks trailing behind him. Seifer reared up and shot Hydro Pumps to Quetzal’s right, snuffing out the Focus Blasts trying to get in the way.

Cyril directed the two toward the rift and the dove inside without a second thought. “All right, they’re in! We’re getting out.”

“Not a chance!” Gene cut in. “If they head through the rift, they’ll screw everything up! You have to keep them at bay.”

Seifer dropped down to all fours and galloped toward Cyril. “Are you mad?! We can’t handle this many!” Focus Blasts whizzed by, fortunately missing the keldeo.

“It worked with the pirates,” Gene said. “And you can actually get reinforcements this time. So, whatever you do, defend the damn rift!”

Seifer skidded to a halt, barely avoiding two Thunderbolts intercepting his path. He shot an Aura Sphere straight up without looking. A mechanical cry followed by a shower of sparks and metal parts told him he’d gotten the Eternatus Gunner responsible.

Sighing, he glanced at Cyril. The cosmic zoroark was a bit shaken, but managed to gather up a Shadow Ball and toss it at a Bombardier focusing on Yiazmat and Calcifer. The ectoplasm got the Bombardier in the back, knocking its cockpit out of its body. Calcifer easily finished it off with a small Flash Cannon.

“You heard him,” Cyril said. “All hands on deck, I guess.” He jumped away from Seifer, gathering ectoplasm into another Shadow Ball.

Right. Orders were orders. They had to stand their ground. He scanned the singed and scorched ground and spotted Noctum spitting fireballs airborne.

“Noctum, what are you waiting for?” Seifer called. “Get some distance and bring us backup now!“

The black charizard scrambled away while Yiazmat and Calcifer covered with Dragon Darts and Flash Cannons. Seifer glanced at the approaching clusters of Troopers, then back at the roof. Even with reinforcements, keeping them away from the rift was going to be a tall order.

With a shaky breath, Seifer charged an Aura Sphere in preparation for the oncoming onslaught.

CDL-091: Indigo Plateau, Planet Earth
The main headquarters of the Pokémon League for both Kanto and Johto. Honestly? It’s not that impressive. Not a lot of imperial tech around the area. Though I want to say part of that is because Paradox has his own Pokémon League in Planet Axiom, the center of his empire. I guess he just… lets Earth’s Leagues do their own thing. They’re so steeped in tradition anyway, that he figures Earth’s inhabitants are the only ones who’ll care about these places.

Sad thing is? Paradox is probably right.