The Mask Maker

All Her Fault

"Lord Ghetsis. '003' is en route to the Battle Subway. It is a Gyarados." Three shadowy figures stood concealed in the darkness of the doorway. 

"Very good," Ghetsis replied, swiveling his cane in his hand. "Keep watching the girl, and we'll let Team Rocket do our work for us."

"Yes, my lord." The three bowed out of the room, and disappeared as if they had just vanished into thin air. 

"Watch out for its tail!" Ingo yelled over the sound of the chaos ensuing once again in the main hub of the station. "We must subdue it as quickly as possible, before it destroys the station!" 

Morai ran forward, dodging both the furious thrashing of the Gyarados and the Depot Agents trying to neutralize the giant, angry beast. A path to its head had appeared, but it would take some work to get there, and she would have to move fast. The trainer jumped atop her own Corviknight, launched herself forward, grabbed onto Ingo's Chandelure, and swung herself into the air. She managed to grab onto Gyarados's large dorsal fin as it spun around to attack some of the rail staff's Pokémon. It took all of Morai's strength to keep from getting violently slung off its back before she could anchor her feet. 

The Mask Maker managed to take hold of the crest on Gyarados's forehead and swing herself around, right in front of its eyes. She whispered another utterance of sympathy for the creature, and placed a finger on its forehead. It tried to fling her off again, and with only one arm for support, it almost managed the task before it fell to the grown in a stupor. Morai quickly collected the '003' tag from one of its scales and pocketed it. 

After the Pokémon had been cleared from the area and passengers were cleared to return, news reporters were among the first to rush in. 

I'd better leave, Morai thought. She swiftly walked toward the train for Anville's platform, trying not to draw too much attention to herself. 

"It's because of her!," someone yelled out, pointing right at her. Morai paused, not sure of what to do. The entire station fell silent, and it sent a chill down her spine. "This has only been happening in the time she's been here! They hired a criminal, Arceus knows why, and she's brought chaos with her!" 

Morai found the source of the voice. It was a scruffy-looking young man with basketball shorts and a cap pressing his blonde hair to his forehead, almost over his eyes. The bulky cameras resting on the shoulders of the various cameramen all turned from him to her. 

Well, it's too late to run now. 

The trainer walked back toward the crowd of people with a slight limp. Her ankle was still hurting from the Dragonite attack a few days prior, and jumping around hadn't helped. Many people gasped and backed away from her as she approached, her inhuman two-faced mask staring at them all with cold, unmoving expressions. She put her hands up in front of her chest in an attempt to seem unthreatening. Ingo and Emmet looked at her, giving silent warnings not to speak to the news crew. Morai considered them a moment, but sighed and continued. 

"It's true that these attacks have only occurred in the time that I've been here," she said. "I don't know why that is, but I can assure you that I'm doing my best to help solve this issue, and—"

"How do we know you're not controlling the Pokémon with your mind powers and making them go rogue?" another woman yelled accusatorially. 

"I-I'm not doing that. I wouldn't do anything to hurt—"

"It's not like anyone could tell, you keep your face hidden with that terrible mask!" another bystander shouted. 

"Yeah, why don't you take it off and prove it!"