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

a call to arms!

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"A-loooo-laaaa!"

The voice on the video post made to the Rotom-Net is surprisingly perky, given how dire the circumstances are here. It's a bright, energetic female's voice, spoken with a slight buzz that clearly indicates its artificial origins.

"Annoyed with the uninvited guests that have settled down here? Gotten chased down by totally incompetent but suuuuper bothersome armored goons lately? Really want some peace and quiet around here without some old goose telling you what to do with your life? Well, we have the solution for you!"

The screen pans over the secret lab, zooming in on a rack of seemingly innocuous belt buckles as the voice continues to ramble incessantly.

"Join the Ultra Riders! A new, totally elite branch of the Ultra Guardians, organized by Lusamine to explore the Ultra Holes! Travel across the multiverse, gain incredible experiences, and show those Overwatch nincompoops that we can do whatever they can, but better! You'll get a sweet armored outfit and everything - hey, Seeenaaaaa!"

Where's Sen-ah, there he is. Looks like he's reading up on something using one of the many monitors in the room, something rather complicated if his tired expression means anything. He perks up in alarm when Rotom calls him.

"Rotom? Wait, what do you want?"

"Neh, neh, why don't you show everybody your super cool Ultra Rider suit, and the transformation, it'll get them hyped up and everything!"

"HUH?!" Sena reels back in his chair, face red with embarrassment. "I-It's not cool, it's ridiculous, and the energy on it is limited so we shouldn't just play with it, and - what do you mean show everybody."

"Everybody watching, duh! I'm recording an advert to help you recruit people to Ultra Ride with you, you two did say that you couldn't do this by yourselves! Lusamine did tell you to make a team, after all!"

"Yeah, I did, but we don't need to do it like this - watching?! As in, right now?!"

"Ooobviously! It's live-streamed, after all!"

"LIVESTREAMED?!"

Sena's voice squeaks in his panic as he jumps out of his seat. Not a second later, he darts for the Rotomdex, and the video shakes as he manages to grab her.

"Sorry about that! I don't know what she told you, but she probably just exaggerated things - I-I-I mean we'd like the help, but it's definitely dangerous, so you should be careful thinking about whether you'd like to join or not, uhm, uh, anyways! Rotom! Turn it off!"

"Aww, but you didn't even show them all the cool parts about being an Ultra Rider, like the transform-"

"TURN IT OFF, ROTOM!"

[shadowslipping]

Hahahaaaaa...

Too late. You have a call, Sena. "Haaah, you're a Kamen Rider now? Like TV then?"

What's with this dry tone...

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"No!!!!!"

Absolutely not, complete denial, that is totally embarrassing and attention-grabbing and he is not doing the secret hero identity thing again, he is not

"Yeees~!!!!"

And then his Rotom chimes in, far too cheerfully. Sena groans and puts a hand over his eyes in resignation.

"...yes..."

[shadowslipping]

"Hehhh? It's for real then?" Well. Shit. "But if you have all of that there, did Lusamine intend to recruit the rest of us then? I'm rather surprised, I would have thought with all the emphasis on pokemon that this sort of thing be frowned on... ...then again things have gotten fairly violent..."

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"Er, well...It's not really meant to fight crime or anything, more like for research. It's just that exploring the Ultra Holes could get dangerous, so we need that kind of protection."

Sena sighs.

"It's just that this Overwatch stuff came at a really bad time..."

[fallers_npcs]

"That is correct." Another face appeared, this one projecting separately from each side of the Rotomcall. "Greetings. I am I.Z.U. I am the AI meant to oversee this system. I can help answer your questions."

She bowed. "Please ask Zero One and I questions. We can answer them."

[shadowslipping]

"Ah-" oh hey...

Holograms...

"...She called the exploration team that huh..." Ahaha...oh...Lusamine...

"Exploration does seem like the next step in helping everyone home at least- especially with how inconsistent progress between them seems to be..."

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"Um...yeah..."

lets not tell her that Zero-One is his specific designation that'd be extra embarrassing...

"That was the idea...They thought maybe they could find something to help connect us to other worlds more consistently. I think that's the information that Overwatch is after, too..."

Which makes it all the more important that they protect themselves.

[fallers_npcs]

"The process was being prepared long before the Fallers first arrived. Now that there was a need to explore the worlds beyond the Ultra Holes, Commander Lusamine has re-activated the information." said I.Z.U.

"Zero-One has been tasked to form a team to begin exploring the worlds outside our world, and protect the Arceus Plates from misuse. Unfortunately, a plate has been stolen by an outside force recently. The plates have been moved to a secure location, and one has been distributed to a third party on Ula'Ula Island. For now, please assist Zero-One in locating a team to operate the Ultra Base."

[blue_ice]

Some time later, Kaiba tap-taps away at his Rotomdex and sends an encrypted message.

Look, do you want some help with security?

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

Oh! That's actually a decent response. And it's coming from one of the developers, too...

Actually, yeah! I know the Overwatch guys are banned from this place, but that's definitely not gonna keep them out for long...

[blue_ice]

I'm on my way to the stadium. The last thing I want is our work going to waste because they sniped you.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

...Ah.

That wasn't something he'd considered.

The level of the attacks they can use now...I don't think I could get sniped by that, but they'll definitely raise their game later, right?

Sena.

You underestimate the absolute douchebaggery of Glomgold.

[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.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

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

[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."

It’s okay here we go!

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

Hey you have another call, Sena. The video has Wes and his bike in a nearby forest.

“Where are you?” Wes gruffly says. “I want to talk. Securely.”

Koffing shifts a little from the camera view and chuckles, revealing two armoured Overwatch goons hanging from the the trees. Someone also has been harassed and had enough.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

Well. Someone's been having a hard time.

"The Stadium. Those guys aren't allowed in there, so if you can get there without getting caught, you should be fine."

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

Thankfully it hasn’t been him.

Wes nods. His glasses slide over his face and he hops on his bike.

“Give me fifteen minutes. I’ll meet you in there.” And without waiting, he returns his koffing, throws his Rotomdex into the side car and drives off.

“Seriously? Treat me with more respect!” Wes’ Rotomdex yells over the roar of the hoverbike. Better have the door ready and open for him, Sena.

[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.”

[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.

[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]

"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