ride on

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

Finding the place hadn't been easy. Guzma had been reluctant to tell Sena or Adora anything about it, and they couldn't go to Lusamine to ask, what with Overwatch keeping tabs on her. But Kukui, on the other hand, had been surprisingly forthcoming, although all he'd given them was a vague hint about a hidden door somewhere in the new Stadium. 

That had been enough. Searching around the base had netted them a secret door at the seemingly empty end of a hallway, and taking it leads to an elevator down into the depths of the stadium. And that led them to another door...one completely locked up with no visible keypad or lock. The only thing there is an odd camera-like device, and a speaker...the light above it a bright red. They're stumped.

"How're we supposed to get in? Did Lusamine give you some kinda secret key or something?"

"Eh?! W-W-Why would she give me anything like th-"

As if responding to his voice, the light suddenly flashes green, and a neutral female voice sounds through the speaker.

"Ultra Rider Zero-One, confirmed."

"...Eh?"

The door unlocks and allows Sena to pull it open, revealing a room very similar to the secret lab that Lusamine had shown Sena some time prior, equipped with multiple buckles and other equipment for additional Ultra Riders. Before Sena and Adora can step inside to get a better look, however, a hologram boots up in front of them. It's a young female with bob-cut hair, dressed in a white and green suit dress over black. She speaks in the same neutral voice from before, making it evident that she's related to whatever computer system just recognized Sena as the first Ultra Rider.

"Greetings, Ultra Rider Zero-One. I have been awaiting your-"

SLAM.
...
...
...

"...Sena, why'd you shut the door?"

"...No, I was just surprised..."

Comments

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"I'll meet you in the lobby, then!"

And just as he said, Sena's ready and waiting for him.

"You made it here with no problems?"

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

Wes hops off his bike and his glasses slide up. He gives a small nod as he goes to pick the Rotomdex up.

“Don’t you nod at him! The problem is your driving! It’s crazy!” The dex beeped.

Wes ignores the Pokémon and looks at Sena. Now that he was in full view, the arm he had been wearing before was gone, replaced with the old snag machine once again.

“No one stopped me. I was too fast.” Wes looked around the stadium. “So fill me in on anything your dex didn’t in your livestream.”

[blue_ice]

It's never too soon to prepare. And I'm an expert at paranoia, so I should be able to cover the bases. Let me know when you're ready for me.

[sinnohcoordinated]

"Oh, no, I'm not worried about using it. As long as Piplup is fine with it." Dawn said.

"Pip!" the penguin chirped, pumping its wing.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

By the time you get there, I can be waiting for you in the lobby.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

Sena nods and gestures for Wes to follow him, speaking as he goes.

"Well, I should tell you that she definitely overexaggerated. The Ultra Riders were originally created for research purposes...It's just that we need to be protected while we go through Ultra Holes."

He smiles a little wryly as they enter the elevator.

"At least, though, the armor is much better quality than whatever Overwatch is using."

It can actually take an attack or two, for one thing.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"Ahaha...so, Piplup..." Aren't you a confident fella...

"You in for teaching these guys a lesson?"

[blue_ice]

All right. On my way.

It's a long trip. Kaiba walks to the stadium, because riding on his Stoutland would attract too much attention. He also spends long periods hiding in the bushes and fending off wild Pokémon, so his hair and coat are full of leaves and branches by the time he arrives.

He spots Sena and approaches with a nod.

"Where are we in the process? Did anyone come find you?"

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

Sena's a little stiff, a little haggard, but otherwise manages to nod back at Kaiba before turning to head back towards the lab.

"Izu briefed me on the origins and status of all this...I'm in the middle of going over the data she has, trying to pick out my Away Team. It's what Lusamine asked me to do before all..." he motions with a hand- "this stuff, with Overwatch, happened."

[blue_ice]

"All right."

Kaiba's careful not to say much until they're in a secure area, and he immediately inspects the lab for symptoms of tampering. He adds a few more security screens, then begins to speak in a hushed tone.

"Of course. Their timing couldn't be better. All right. You want trainers who know what they're doing, obviously. The actual Rider suits are as self-explanatory as we could make them, and there's a data link they can access if they get confused. Ideally we'd practice using them before sending the team out, but I don't know if we have the power or the time."

He's continuing his inspection of the lab systems. "I'm not seeing signs of internal tampering, at least."

[sinnohcoordinated]

"Piplup!" The penguin said, nodding, reaching around to hold up his Ball.

"Hope this works..."

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

Sena sighs in relief.

"That's good. This lab is in such a public place, and the fact that Overwatch goons are banned from going inside...someone would have to try something out of curiosity sooner or later..."

He nods at the rest of Kaiba's explanation. "Given how long we've been here, experienced trainers might be a tough call...but at least skilled fighters, people who can handle space travel. That kind of thing."

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"Hah..."

He straightens himself, grinning a bit.

"Well, I don't plan to use that quite yet, but..." Sena smiles, soft and secretive. It's not quite a Hiruma-style grin, but it's close enough.

"The fact that there's three people who've managed to capture an Ultra Beast already, while Overwatch has nothing to their name...Isn't that a fun trump card to hold?"

There's you, and Champion Ash, but...three?

[sinnohcoordinated]

"Three?" Dawn thinks that over herself. "Wait, who's the third? Did I miss one?"

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"No, no..." Sena scratches his ear sheepishly, laughing a little.

"It's just that it happened recently, so not that many people know about it..."

[devilish_chrysanthemum]

Adaptive God Eater.

"I'm Phym! I don't have a last name!"

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

Gods can be eaten???!??!

"Phym! Good to meet you too!"

Ahaha.

"So what do you plan on doing now, anyway?"

[devilish_chrysanthemum]

If you ask Phym, she will tell you they are delicious.

When you consider that Phym also eats things like crayons, toy cars, and clocks, you might take her words with a grain of salt, however.

"Is there anywhere you need me to pick a fight?"

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

So would they taste...divine?

"Er...not yet. For now, I'm just trying to keep the streets safe while I build a team...ah! Did you see that post my Rotomdex made earlier? It's about that!"

[devilish_chrysanthemum]

"Perfect, I'm in. Also, just because I'm older than you, please don't put me in charge, I have no impulse control."

Phym chimes in at this.

"Hugo is Mommy's impulse control!"

If you knew Hugo you would understand exactly how terrifying that statement is.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"Um...it's fine. I've already been put in charge."

He's not normally one to flaunt authority, but he feels a very strange need to assure this woman that she will, in fact, not be in charge of anything.

[devilish_chrysanthemum]

"Oh good. I'm better as a follower, honestly. You just saw what happens when I get to make my own decisions."

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

Wes follows quietly and listens. He gives a small nod to each statement.

"Ultra Holes... So we're going to be traveling through them. I see. Why are we doing this again?"

Besides yeeting the Overwatch bastards out of here.

"Their armour crumples under Pokemon attacks. It's not optimal," Wes mutters, flexing his Snag Machine arm.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"Um..."

How to put this...

"Sometimes, a full-out offense isn't bad..."

sena this isn't football

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"Well, it was originally to find anything that could help us find a way home, you know?"

Sena shrugs a bit. "You know, since we can't really predict anything about Ultra Holes to begin with...so if we could learn a bit more about how they worked, we could open up Ultra Holes to anywhere!"

And then he laughs a bit.

"It's...It's not very sturdy. I'm pretty sure I was able to dent it when I tackled a person myself..."

And he's just a football player! shhh nobody tell him about the effects travelling to a pokemon world for three years has on the human body