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

[fallers_npcs]

As if on cue, the woman pushed her head through the door. "Zero-One, please enter the room. I have been waiting, and there is much to discuss."

As if on cue, the doors opened once more, revealing the rest of her body as she stepped back, holding out her hand as if she was a tour guide.

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]

Through the door. Literally through the door. Like a ghost.

"HIEEE!"

The fact that Adora is right next to him is the only reason he hasn't fled the scene yet.

And then the door opens again.

"Uh-ah-who are you?! And h-how'd you know about-" that totally embarrassing title that lusamine gave him and he spoke to nobody about because this is humiliating, oh my god

[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..."

on the streets

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

After that totally embarrassing live-stream that exposed him, Adora got the brilliant (as in, he couldn't say no to it) idea to go around and actually speak to people about the Ultra Riders! Which, he was planning to do anyway! But now that Overwatch people are on the streets, they've obviously gotta sneak around in the shadows, like a resistance organization, and -

Anyways, this just means that Adora and Sena are both skulking around, trying to get people's attention in a non-attention grabbing way.

Or bailing them out of tough-slash-inconvenient spots the Overwatch goons are putting them in. That's probably more likely.

[fallers_npcs]

"Sena Kobayakawa, registered user for Ultra Rider Zero-One," replied the woman as she gestured Adora and Sena inside, Adora glancing around the room as she had to nudge Sena into the room lest he flees.

"You are the main registered user of the primary device holder of the Zero-One Buckle. And thus, the main team leader of Commander Lusamine's Ultra Riders. I am Integrated Z-Systems Universe. I.Z.U. for short as I have been designated."

She gave a short bow as she gestured towards the table for Sena and Adora to sit down.

"Wow," said Adora. "This is nice. Wait, are you a hologram? Are you like Light Hope?" A pause. "You're not made by the First Ones are you?"

"My manufacturer is Stark Industries," replied I.Z.U. calmly. "Please sit."

[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]

"I-Izu...okay...?"

Sena blinks as he's pushed inside, but he relaxes a little once he hears that she's something designed by Tony. He knew that the man had been working with Lusamine a lot these days, so...it was on something like this?

"Um, alright..." He sits down as she asked. "Izu, you were already updated with information about me...? Even though this is so recent...was it before all this stuff with Overwatch?"

[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]

"Yes. Once you were chosen, my data was automatically updated to the database upon the activation of the Zero-One Buckle. When you were first admitted to administration, your profile was added to the Aether Foundations own personal files, as well as your Pokemon Team."

I.Z.U. gestured and a list of everyone's Pokemon appeared in screens around the room, each showcasing their different battles, Pokemon and teammates. "Aether Foundation has been preparing for gathering a group of members to ferry and explore the lands beyond their home for quite some time, but it was shelved before the Championship Tournament. Events had caused Commander Lusamine to rethink her options of exploration."

A screen enlarged, showing multiple instances of a massive Ultra Beast emerging from a Ultra Hole: huge, ugly, enormous mouth with enormous claws. "Ultra Beast designation Guzzlord. Capable of destroying entire Islands, Cities, and Nations. Four of them emerged onto the Championship after Champion Ash was declared the winner of the tournament. With the aid of the Ultra Guardians, the Kahuna, Royal Mask, Champion Ash, and Team Rocket, we were able to send all four of them back."

[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."

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"N...no way..." There's...a lot of information there. Isn't that what Overwatch wants them to hand over? Sena's not sure how to feel about those guys getting their information on him...

"Th-there's an Ultra Beast that powerful?!" Multiple ones?! It doesn't even look like a Pokemon, more like some kind of Godzilla-esque monster from a horror flick...

Sena had a hard enough time capturing Taka, he can't imagine fighting against something that could level a city. That's on par with a legendary Pokemon...

"So, because there are things like Guzzlord out there, she didn't want to explore without some kinda protection?"

[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."

[fallers_npcs]

"That is correct. To explore out beyond the world would be dangerous, and we would be without safety. That is why Commander Lusamine was planning on abandoning the mission, and instead searching for her lost husband."

"But times change. She didn't, because we appeared." said Adora. "I get it now. If we didn't appear, then Lusamine would have to do all this. For us..."

I.Z.U. nodded. "To do this, she reactivated my systems, and had Tony Stark build me from a rudimentary cataloging system to a fully functional AI, capable of assisting the Ultra Riders. New Powered Armor, developed by Mr. Stark, Mr. Kaiba and Faba of the Aether Foundation was created. The buckle you wear. Without access to Solgaleo and Lunala, we are unable to travel on a regular basis though the Ultra Holes. So we needed extra protection from a forced entry."

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"I...I see..."

Because of them...because they showed up...Lusamine had to abandon her plans. Had to do all this extra work. Had to deal with Overwatch nudging into her business...

"If that's the case...then that means we only have more reasons to help her out."

Sena frowns determinedly, the alarm from earlier all but gone.

"What do we need to do...?"

[fallers_npcs]

I.Z.U. gestured to the images that were shown of the various people on the island, Fallers and natives alike. "Assemble your team first and foremost. Ultra Guardians are under scrutiny, yes, that is the case. However, there is no reason not to approach them as well as other Fallers."

Turning to Adora, she added, "Guzma has been informed that the detainees have been shunted off world. He is also preparing to launch some sort of defense against the soldiers that were deployed."

Adora frowned. "I noticed Guzma seemed pretty agitated. I didn't know he was going to incite open native rebellion."

"It is why he was unwilling to compromise his position at this time." said I.Z.U. "Zero-One, choose your team, and inform me. We will familiarize you and your team with the Buckle System, for travel once we retrieve the missing Draco Plate."

[shadowslipping]

"Heh?" What. "H...heh?" What wh-

"Zero... ...Sena, is that you?" oh god "...Hold on, you're looking for a team? Not that it's something to jump after, but just what kind of help do you need?"

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"Erm, alright! I'll look into the system more, and come up with a way to call out for others..."

He clenches a fist. "We won't let them get away with this...!"

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"N...o...?" He's not looking directly at her face...

"I am...basically, since we'll be travelling to Ultra Holes...I'm looking for skilled fighters, or at least people who can handle space. It's too much to expect them to be skilled Pokemon Battlers given how long we've all been here, but if they can protect themselves or are good with this kind of thing, then..."

He clenches a fist and smiles softly, actually looking like the team captain he used to be.

"We can make it a team."

[fallers_npcs]

"Please note that the system is not designed for combat, but for exploration." said I.Z.U., gesturing to a schematic that appeared. "The Z-Power Arc that was designed by the three project leaders has a 30 minute time limit while exploring and traveling, or a 3 minute time limit while in combat. This is meant to maximize the exploration system. However, problems arose when replicating the Stark Industries power supply known as the Arc Reactor, as certain elements were absent from the periodic table in our world."

More and more things appeared, showing off the things that were required, many of them weren't even existing in Sena's world or Adora's world.

"To complete it, we would require an evolutionary period of 2,343 natural years." added I.Z.U. "This was something Tony Stark could not take and thus, decided on a different source of power. The Z-Energy. With it, it would allow one to draw on the Z-Power naturally flowing through Alola, and passively charge the Arc charging in your buckle until you can utilize it for travel. Please be aware that your system again, is not meant for combat at an extended interval until upgrades are performed."

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"Ahm, alright..."

So, if they'd want to be able to fight...they'd need to do so without the Z-Power Arc. That would help narrow down possibilities to ask...

That being said...is it really okay for someone like him to lead the Ultra Riders, then? He's just a football player that happens to have experience in training Pokemon...could he really just travel to other worlds like that, fight alongside people?

...Well, there's no point in wondering if he can. He'd have to. Lusamine was counting on him.

"Okay. I'll keep that in mind when selecting my team."

[shadowslipping]

Ahah.

"....Are you sure then..?" She's calling him out!

Ah, but that said. "Hmmm...a lot of the people here have been teenagers to be frank..." It's concerning. More concerning is the understanding that they may well jump at the chance. Sena would probably turn them down if he didn't think they had what it took but...

"...How many slots do you have?"