Pokémon Fool's Gold | Orre & Galar Fanfiction

Chapter 70: Father Figure

'It was about four years ago,' Archie began, 'When that scamp showed up at our HQ in Lilycove. Your average mindless tourist doesn't ask for a guided tour – our HQ's impossible to reach without a boat or Pokémon that knows Surf, unless you're a mighty strong swimmer. My bro, Admin Matt, was impressed with this lad. He swam all the way out – an' he knew his stuff. See, I have to admit... not everyone trusts us after we...'

'Tried to awaken Kyogre and flood the world,' Maxie interjected in case it wasn't obvious, 'Of course, I was equally misguided and pursued a similar disaster with Groudon.'

'Yeah... so whenever someone showed up claiming to be interested in our honest work... we got kinda excited, y'know? Matt even challenged him to a battle – an' the little lad won! I had to personally greet him after that. We talked about the weather an' natural disasters for hours! He even got talking to Shelly, my wife, about her Aqua Suit an' some o' the inventions I don't really get. Then we went for a few drinks.'

'You were utterly intoxicated.'

'OK, more than a few drinks. Now, y'see, I don't remember this but I told my bro, Maxie here...'

'Archie answered every question the boy asked about Kyogre and Primal Reversion.'

He sighed. 'I am also at fault. When Archie introduced me to the boy, who had similar questions for Team Magma, he seemed innocent.'

'Yeah... we even challenged the Battle Tower together. We were bros. Well... I thought he was my bro...'

'I admit I came to dislike him and asked Archie to keep him away from me, but not because I was suspicious...'

Jovi and Hop waited expectantly, but Maxie's voice trailed off and didn't return. Archie explained for him.

'He took a lady to a dance... a lady Maxie could've married if he wasn't so damn shy. Courtney got tired of waiting for him an' went out with Don.'

'This brings us to a blank in our knowledge. We don't know what Courtney told him. She refuses to share any details of their relationship with me... except that Lyndon was eventually unable to move on from his late ex. This leads me to wonder if she shared things she shouldn't have.'

'What could she have told him?' Hop asked, 'And what exactly did you lot tell him? What could he have done with the information? I'm a bit lost here, I have to say.'

'Well, we told him everything he'd need to know to awaken a Super-Ancient Pokémon, but that's not what he's up to. Kyogre an' Groudon are safe in Hoenn. We taught him to manipulate the weather... the climate...'

'So... to reproduce the powers of Kyogre and Groudon...?'

'Yeah... if you wanna put it that way. We haven't produced or even simulated anything that powerful... but what we have built is stuff strong enough to withstand that kinda power. So if he was to build on what he learned from Shelly – or Courtney, whatever she told him – along those lines...'

'What concerns me is that Courtney has previously expressed desires similar to Lyndon's. After our plan to create a better world using Groudon was rightfully stopped... she felt she was a failure and believed the only way to redeem herself was to destroy this world. She swore never to do such a thing again and I trust her completely. Though I hate to admit it, I don't believe Lyndon coerced her... but their worst intentions might have collided and resulted in them encouraging each other.'

'I still don't think he's actually evil, y'know? I know what it's like to passionately believe you're doing the right thing when you're actually being destructive... an'...'

It was Archie's turn to shuffle uncomfortably. 'When someone fails you... an' no-one's there to steer you in the right direction... you can do some crazy shit. Matt, my best bro, acted up just like Courtney because I wasn't good enough as a leader... an' I guess for Don that was his dad. I feel like I could've stopped him, though. He looked up to me as a father figure. But I was too stupid to figure him out... an' I failed him like I failed Matt...'

Scarlet shook her head. 'Not your fault, man. You didn't know.'

'I want to help him! He isn't a bad guy, I'm telling you. I want to stop Cipher. I'll send as many of my Grunts as I have to after them. But I just want to help Don!'

Like Hop, Jovi was getting lost. What she needed to understand about the scientific knowledge shared with Lyndon was lost in emotional rambling... but she returned to her consideration of whether battling was truly necessary, or if Lyndon simply needed the right person to shake him awake.

'Are Lyndon and Courtney still in touch, or...?'

'I believe so,' Maxie replied, 'After the break-up, their friendship grew over anger at the world they felt had already punished them, then didn't allow their relationship to succeed.'

'I'm just wondering if she could talk sense into him. Maybe you could help, Archie?'

'Aye, I can try... but I doubt he still trusts me. I didn't just fuck up sharing all that stuff with him... I kept fucking up. When I got suspicious, I was a coward... I didn't want to get into any more trouble, so I distanced myself instead of trying to help. I've gotta put it right...'

'Do you have any idea, at all, what he might have applied this knowledge to, or when and how he might use it?'

'Well, if we're talking along the lines of Kyogre an' Groudon, Orre's got the sea... an' a volcano. Mt. Battle.'

'You think he'll cause floods and an eruption...?'

'I know it sounds crazy, but I'm serious... there was a time we believed that would solve the world's problems.'

'A flood would be dangerous, but if Mt. Battle erupts... it won't just affect Orre. It'll affect the whole continent! The whole world!'

Hop grimaced. 'But how the hell will he manage that? You lot are gonna have to give me a guided tour of this. I don't get it. Shadow Pokémon aren't that strong.'

Jovi was equally exasperated. 'Is that why he stole the Robo Pokémon?'

'That was what prompted our journey,' Maxie replied, 'Once we saw the burglary on the news... we knew we had to make up for our part in this.'

'But they're useless! They could never cause such destruction! Could they...?'

'That's what we've been tryin' to work out,' Scarlet said, 'But Shelly's the only one who has a clue. Courtney just zones out.'

'Sorry, Chobin, if you ever find out I said this, but maybe we should just go and destroy those robots now, just in case.'

'It may be too late... and it may be bigger than anything we have any knowledge of by now.'

Maxie stared at the table. 'I believe this ties in to why Cipher detained and tortured an aerospace engineer.'

Jovi groaned. Hop removed his glasses to rub his eyes.

'This just gets worse...'