DPA: Rivals

Chapter 35: M Hex And Fat Checks

"Good Morning Sinnoh! I'm Kinsey, coming to you live from our studio in Jubilife City, here to talk to you about the biggest news from Oblivia to Alola, and everywhere in between. For our first segment, we continue our investigative report on the mysterious M Hex', the unidentified individual who, with the assistance of a single Alakazam, managed to successfully stop an entire organized crime syndicate from taking control of the Silph Company Headquarters in Saffron City.

"M Hex's attack on this crime syndicate, which the local authorities have confirmed to be Team Rocket, has caused a ripple effect throughout the region of Kanto, as authorities in every city and town crack down on crime. While over a hundred low level grunts have been taken into custody, the Kanto authorities have unfortunately been unable to identify any of the individuals at the top level.

"As for the identity of the mysterious M Hex, no solid evidence has been found to confirm any individual. Popular theories among citizens include such legendary trainers as former Pokémon League Champion Blue, Battle Frontier Leader Anabel, and even Sinnoh's own Lucian, a member of the Sinnoh branch of the Elite 4, an exclusive branch of top tier trainers.

"Of course, we will keep you updated on all things M Hex as we learn more. Until then, this has been Kinsey with Good Morning Sinnoh, signing out!"

Daryon's traveling group left the Cerulean inn, fully packed and ready to go. Cameron, clearly still upset by whatever it was he experienced in the Cerulean Cave, stuck to himself. Daryon and the others did their best to give him some space to figure things out.

"I have a surprise for all of you," Ero said as the group reached the outskirts of Cerulean City. As if on cue, a postman, similar to the one that delivered Cameron and Daryon their running shoes, approached, carrying a canvas bag over his shoulder.

"Q. Ero?" asked the postman.

"That would be me," Ero replied. He signed for the delivery, taking the canvas bag off the postman's hands. His load lightened, the postman ran off to continue the rest of his deliveries for the day.

Reaching into the bag, Ero removed a small metal tube, not much larger than the size of his own fist. Clicking on a small latch on its side, the cube unfolded into a full sized bicycle, fully functional. Everyone jumped back in surprise, eyes widened.

"That's so cool!" Daryon exclaimed. Ero laughed, rolling the bike over to Daryon. He then reached back into the bag, removing several more of these cubes, and handing them out to the various members of the group, eliciting excited reactions from all of them, and even a smile from Cameron.

"This was from that errand I was talking about," Ero said. "What you are holding right now is called the Mach Pro Folding Bike. Capable of fitting inside your backpack, and yet fully ride able. It even collects a charge as you ride it, allowing you to speed up after a minute or so of riding."

"Wait a minute," Skye said, looking up from her gift. "I remember seeing these in the Bike Shop. These things cost about a million yen a piece."

"And?" Ero replied nonchalantly, immediately grabbing the attention of every member of the group.

"And?!" Daryon shouted. "There are five of us! That's five million yen! How did you afford all of this?!"

"Simple," Ero shrugged. "My grandfather invented the Technical Machine, or TM. My father invented the Hidden Machine, or HM. When they died, I inherited their wealth, as well as their assets. Money is no concern of mine."

"You're a multi-millionaire?" Daryon struggled to make sense of this.

"I don't see why this is a problem," Ero said, confused.

"Problem?" Daryon replied. "This is awesome! Cameron and I are basically being sponsored by the richest man in Kanto-"

"Fifth richest," Ero corrected him.

"-the fifth richest man in Kanto!" Daryon cheered.

"Yeah, pretty much," Ero said, looking up at the sky. "We should probably get moving if we want to make it to the Underground Path by nightfall."