216 A broken promise leads to a broken nose

AN: sorry for not being able to upload; I had a cousin die recently. I don't want to get into it, but I thought you guys deserved to know. No promises about a consistent upload schedule, but I will try my best!

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BZZZ

Green and black smoke began to emerge from the concrete floor in an obscure alley tucked away between the many folds of buildings littering the cityscape of Viridian City. Slowly, the gaseous substance swirled with intensifying vigour, promptly forming a whirlpool from which a white hand pierced through.

Following this, a handsome man in a suit walked out, his white hair fluttering slightly from the gust of wind created by the gate behind him. A subsequent blurry figure crawled out and connected to Rex's shadow soon after, which caused the gate to instantly dissolve, the smoke instantly dissipating into the surrounding atmosphere as If nothing had happened.

"This is the closest we can get since Mordred has never been to Mt Moon," Rex mumbled as he tightened his tie and fixed his cuffs before proceeding to walk out into the busy street with a calm expression. Beside him, a blacked-out motorcycle had appeared at some point.

Like a nimble cat, he hoped on it in one fluid motion before zooming off into the distance. The flurry of people flitting past was reflected through his mirrored visor. Within minutes he had already found himself outside of the city, with the buildings shrinking ever smaller through his rearview mirror.

"What were the preliminary conclusions?" Rex asked as the engine roared past a few pedestrians, startling them.

[My drones have been able to make some basic scans. I already have a comprehensive geological map of the mountain which has allowed me to pinpoint the archeology site. Located near the back of the mountain several hundred meters underground, it seems that it is a rather untouched area that hasn't been excavated much yet. The source of the report said that they had tried to break through it at first with their tools. But much to their shock, they discovered that their tools were not only unable to break through, but their tools even sustained damage. Considering that they needed their tools to get out, they stopped and retreated. The league team on site has already begun to conduct some tests and has verified these claims.]

"So, a man-made wall, or at least partially tampered with by humans, was discovered deep beneath a mountain. Not only that, but conventional tools do not work. Have they tried to use Pokémon?" He asked.

[The reports said that they would begin Pokémon excavation tomorrow after gathering enough samples.]

Rex nodded, "lucky we decided to come beforehand. Who knows what these people would get up to, not to mention discover? I mean, the soup should be shared, right? I'm feeling rather hungry, so I'll be taking all the meat for myself," Rex said with a grin.

[Why do I find it hard to believe that you would leave anything for them in the first place?] Gaia asked sceptically.

"I would never!" he said, feigning an aggrieved tone, "I still need to leave some things behind, or it would look too suspicious if they cracked it open and found the whole place ransacked, right?" he said with a toothy smile.

Meanwhile…

Ash, Misty and Brock stared at the concluding battle in shock. Two battles back to back, both tremendously impactful to the trio.

"Not only has Rex gotten strong since last time, but there are even monsters like Alex running around. It seems like the promotional video wasn't just for show. They really are the most favoured to win this year's league tournament," Brock said as he cupped his chin. highlights of the battle between Alex and Blossom were being shown on the screens as the battlefield was being fixed up.

"Right, I mean, I can't even begin to imagine how strong his Machamp has become," Misty mumbled, causing both her and Brock to instantly shiver.

'A talking Machamp!' They both shouted in their heads as they looked at each other. They recalled the entire battle. If you could even call it that. The sheer power behind his every move was suffocating. Looking at the typhlosion on the screen, they had no doubt that the Rex from back then would have flattened Alex in an instant.

"He's like a freight train with immense speed, dexterity and technique. Even Scizor would probably crumble in an instant," Brock said pensively.

Ash watched as their faces changed from pale white to black and then back to pale on repeat with a confused expression.

"What are you both worried about? pikachu and I have an unfinished battle with Rex. I cannot let myself lose until I battle him again!" Ash said as he clenched his fist with determination.

Brock and Misty's mouth's twitched furiously before sighing in defeat. Yet they did have to admit, although Ash was an absolute dunce, he had grown much stronger after his battle with Rex. Although he didn't seem to be phased at all by it, they knew that some part of him still took it to heart.

They just hoped that he wouldn't face Rex too early on and end Ash's league challenge so soon.

In an empty room, a lone figure sat, the chill from the concrete seeping into their body.

Alex watched the reply of the battle through the monitor and recalled Elesa's words. The image of that silent Scizor occupying a large amount of room in his mind.

"There's no way that he has Pokémon even more powerful than Scizor, right?" he asked himself. "He might have some on similar levels, which is acceptable, but if he does have a Pokémon that's even stronger than I truly cannot win."

He was perfectly clear on the power his Pokémon had. While he still had some confidence in being able to beat Scizor, taking out several similarly powerful opponents would be troublesome. His rational and logical mind forced him to look at it from a realistic point of view.

"Training pokemon to that level is extremely time consume. I have never seen him in any other league and have never heard of his name before the promotional video, which means he's either a new trainer or… it doesn't matter, I will face him head-on when the time comes." He said before pushing off his knees to get up.

"That is sound judgement," a rough voice echoed through the room. It seemed to be filled with power and wisdom.

"Teacher!" Alex said, looking up at the man standing by the door. Behind him was a woman grabbing onto his arm with her head down. Her pink hair covered her face. Alex's eyes constricted at the sight and recalled Ferligatr's loss.

"I-I can expla-"

"YOU-YOU," her body was shaking as her fingers curled into a fist before springing into action. Her explosive movements were surprisingly fast, so fast that Alex barely had time to react.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU PROMISED!" She bellowed and swung her fist forward with her full weight behind it towards Alex's face. The latter instantly paled and dodged by a hair's length.