I Know I Can't Replace Your Brother

Information Gathering

Chapter 4: Information Gathering 

The founder and self-proclaimed leader of Team Phreatic, Shelly, sat at her desk, pouring over a variety of reports. Once an admin for Team Aqua, as well as a stout believer in Archie's goal, Shelly had found herself without a life's purpose when Team Aqua disbanded. She had found that she was the only Admin from either group who was still in the area, the others apparently having flown the coop before they could be apprehended by Hoenn Law Enforcement. It was a cowardly ploy, but Shelly couldn't bring herself to blame her former cohorts and rivals for taking such actions. 

Despite everything that happened, Shelly didn't want to completely abandon everything Team Aqua stood for. She had stayed in Hoenn to at least see if there was something she could salvage from the organization's ruins. It had taken a while to regain what was left, and despite that, she was less than pleased with what she was left with.

All that remained of the once proud organization were some straggling grunts, their Pokemon teams, some equipment and supplies, and Team Aqua's submarine. It was all piteous compared to the power once held by one of Hoenn's most notorious criminal groups, but Shelly still saw opportunity. If she could play her cards right, she would be able to build up a new organization from Team Aqua's remains. Despite the disastrous conclusion of Team Aqua's ultimate goal, they had been successful as an organization, and Shelly could rebuild that power. 

But simply following where Team Aqua left off wasn't an appealing thought. Shelly wanted to avoid a repeat of Archie’s mistakes. 

After Shelly finished gathering what she could; which included the remaining members and equipment of Team Magma, the newly christened “Team Phreatic” had fled Hoennian waters in their now redecorated submarine, bearing a new “P” insignia of white steam. However, their finances had begun to dwindle, forcing Shelly to seek out a new source of funding before anything else. After going through some old files, however, it didn't take long to come up with a solution. 

Several reports had come in from other regions over the course of Team Aqua's history, one describing a concerning incident in the Johtonian city of Alto Mare some time ago. The city's ancient defense mechanism had gone awry and wreaked havoc, and according to reports, it seemed that the machine could control water to a degree. Because of this, Archie had taken an interest in the DMA, but the Blue Orb’s discovery not long after led to the reports on the DMA being buried and forgotten.

But Shelly saw potential for the DMA now that Archie was no longer in charge. Such advanced technology would be extremely valuable to those who could make use of it. Citywide reconfiguration, hydrokinesis… Shelly could think of several wealthy individuals who would flock at the opportunity of obtaining a machine with such abilities. Reviving Team Aqua’s ambitions with it right off the bat was a tempting prospect, but there was so much more potential that lay in the DMA. So much more… 

Shelly rummaged through some old Team Aqua data on the DMA, as well as other resources "obtained" from other parties. If they were to succeed, they would first need to procure the device.

"Team Rocket…" she mumbled to herself sourly, powering on a laptop. "What a bunch of idiots." 

The laptop screen displayed the interior of Alto Mare, a live feed from the drone they had deployed. 

"All these gizmos and they have a success ratio lower than Team Magma's, even now that they're gone."

Team Phreatic had done extensive research on the last time the DMA was accessed, including on the perpetrators responsible. The laptop Shelly was utilizing had once been owned by the Team Rocket member Oakley, though she had remodeled it into something more… visually appealing before repurposing it.