Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Eventually, you calm down enough that Hideo can guide you to a nearby WcDonald's. You get nary a glance as you hang out in a booth half hanging out of your costumes; you've long abandoned your masks, and you're peeling the jumpsuits down to your waists while you eat a value meal.

You start with the only thing you're capable of in this state: weak pedantry.

"How come you were okay with taking off the scarf for the disguise?" comes out of your mouth, the first thing to do so since a world-renowned terrorist personally threatened your life's work. Hideo blinks.

"It's a disguise," he says, as though it's obvious. "Tell me something more ninja than that."

"And your normal walking around clothes aren't?"

"That's different." He wrinkles his nose.

You laugh, helplessly, letting your forehead thunk onto the table. Oh man, there are a lot of mystery crumbs here. You don't even care.

"I'm so fucked," you say. There's a hesitating moment before Hideo puts a hand on your shoulder and squeezes.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I... if I'd been able to pick the lock, or..."

You wave him off, drawing a breath and yourself up with it.

"It's my fault," you say. "You wanted to leave when it was sensible to. I asked you not to."

He sips at his drink, worrying at the straw.

"I could have, like, carried you out," he tries.

"Like the football?" you ask, unable to get up the energy to act scandalized for the bit.

"Like the football," he says, cracking a smile. It doesn't last long. "... I understand how this feels, though."

And that's the thing, isn't it. He does. What you're facing now is no more and no less than the stakes that Hideo put himself into from the very beginning by joining you. You asked it of him so lightly, you think, now. Now that Aaron is on the line... you, him, your parents. You feel cornered. Just thinking about it prompts Magikarp to jump in to calm you once more.

"Yeah," you say, letting out a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry."

"No, really," he says. "It's understandable. Especially, since, uh. I think it's been mentioned that you had something like this happen before."

(Heart: Success) A gentle touch on the subject of being doxxed. Man, he clearly doesn't even blame you for freaking out like he didn't. Maybe a person with lesser insight would interpret that as just a kindness, but really, you know him better than that by now. He just places his own suffering below others'.

You take a deep breath. (Calm Mind: Success) Okay. Okay. You can do this. You whip out your phone and stare at it. Thanks to being considerably calmer, something important occurs to you.

"We need to have an in-person meeting about this, don't we?" you say.

"That sounds like a good idea," Hideo says, around a fry. "This is a lot to drop over text."

"Okay," you say, running a hand through your hair and then reaching over to pet your perfect baby Abra on his perfect baby ears. One-handed, you start texting instructions. "Okay. We'll meet at my apartment... and then we'll go over everything with everyone. Get us all on the same page." You pause. "Or... shit, we were supposed to go to the tourney next. Derek is probably gearing up for that now."

"Right, but given what we just found out... wouldn't that, er. Sort of affect how we approach some of the trainers there? Juuuuust a bit?" Hideo points out.

You sigh and ruffle your own hair, scratching your head. It figures that even something as simple as the order of events would be thrown into question. Truthfully, you think you remember that the practice today only runs until the afternoon, so you may miss out on a good opportunity - one you sunk a lot into preparing for - until tomorrow if you bail for having a meeting instead. You could just ask everyone to make it to your apartment by evening and get filled in then. You might have more context to go over having scoped out the field there.

On the other hand, getting everyone together and coming up with a cohesive group opinion on what to do next seems like the right thing to do as a leader. And with how much it takes out of Goemon to protect against the enemy's eye, you might be better off asking him to do it for this and then to make the judgement on if it's worth it to stop Team Smoke from knowing you had contact with the leaguers tomorrow.

"Given what we just found out?" you say, coming to a decision. "I'd say we're on a tight timeline to make connections with those trainers and figure out exactly what they have that could justify a plot like this to take it."

"He did say something about Legendary Pokémon," Hideo says, frowning. "That's a starting point."

(Research: Critical Hit) "Right," you say, leaning back and closing your eyes. "Presumably, he was talking about the dragon he encountered personally, but almost every region has legends of one sort or another. Creation myths, ancient tales of powerful Pokémon with unique and terrible abilities, great cataclysms... usually they're just stories. But in some places, Pokémon of this power level are present and active. Take Alola, for example. The great Tapus still cast down an eternal rainstorm every once in a while. As a treat."

He frowns ever deeper, reaching over to pet Hayakawa absently as he considers this.

"Even one of those would be worth all the effort they've gone to," he says. "But that guy..." he grits out 'that guy' like it's acid on his tongue, "... and what you put together would mean there'd have to be a lot of them there, right?"

You nod, grim, and flip out your phone.

"I'm going to tell the others to go to the apartment for an emergency meeting this evening," you say.

"Poor Aaron," Hideo mumbles. You wince.

"I'm going to tell the others to go to the apartment for an emergency meeting this evening," you say, "and bring something to eat. Potluck."

Hideo snorts.

"That's not really the issue here."

"I know," you say, gripping your phone a little too hard. Magikarp sends a questioning psychic nudge your way, and you force yourself to soften your hold on it. "But it's the least I can do considering what I'm about to drop on him."

Hideo gives you a sympathetic look, and nods.

"... What about Ursula?" he asks. "Is she coming too?"

You blink. You'd forgotten he didn't know.

"No," you say. "Uh... shit, that is awkward, isn't it. But she's in Unova. Has been this whole time, that is."

"Oh!"

"Yeah, she lives in Black City," you say, starting to type into the group chat. You hit send on the message asking everyone to group up in a few hours and the responses in the affirmative start pouring in. "We've only ever met in person once. We met up at, like, a movie con in Virbank City. It was really fun."

Hideo makes an acknowledging noise, and you look up at him.

"Hey," you say. "How are you doing?"

"Me?" he asks. (Heart: Success) He's not surprised you asked, but he's still unused to being asked at all. "... Terribly. Seems like the deeper we go, the worse it looks... You?"

"Terribly," you answer, without hesitation. "Next time I see that guy I'm going to let you stab him."

Hideo laughs, caught off guard, and you allow yourself a chuckle too before finishing your burger and getting up to go get things done.

"Right," you say. "To the stadium, then."

Hideo opens his mouth to reply, but (Goemon's Future Sight: Critical Hit!) Goemon pops out of his ball, squeaking up a storm. You both startle as Hayakawa and Goemon have a brief squeak-off, perched on opposite shoulders.

Then, in concert, they start tugging at Hideo's scarf.

Yeah, you've been through this song and dance before. You don't need a Pokémon-to-human dictionary to get what they're getting at.

"Hideo," you say, giving him a look.

"Robin," he replies, stone-faced and stone-still as his bats attempt to save him.

"Hideo."

"Robin."

"Hideo."

"Robin."

"Hideo..." you groan, putting your head in your hands. "Please work with me here. What if, uh, we disguised you as a normie?"

"We've been through this," he huffs, and you can just about hear him avert his eyes.

"No, really," you say, shifting to lean your chin on one hand. As he comes back into sight, you can see Goemon and Hayakawa continuing to pull on his scarf, this way and that. "You know, historically, the ninja's most common costume was that of the commoner. Servants, farmers, anything inconspicuous. There's literally nothing more ninja than going undercover."

(Hideo's Hindrance: Quirky) Hideo holds on to the part wrapped around his collar like a lifeline.

"We could... cover it up? with another scarf?"

He gives you a look like he can't quite tell if you're joking or not. Hayakawa sits on his head and buffets his hair with his wings.

"A hoodie? Maybe with a stylish set of headphones?" You grasp. "You could be serving JRPG. I know you could do that The World Ends With You look."

Finally, Hideo cracks, laughing and moving to scoop up his irate Pokémon from the air. They sit in his hands and lecture him; he is assaulted on three sides and you can see his will crumbling under the ministrations of the cute bat squadron.

(Heart: Success)

You lean forward, wiggling your eyebrows.

"If it's a good luck charm," you say, "You could just wear it wrapped around your arm or something under your sleeves. Like a knight wearing his paramour's favour into battle."

"It's not your -" Hideo protests, turning red. He cuts himself off, (Heart: Success) presumably realizing he was about to call you his paramour, and shakes his head. "Alright, okay! I'll put it somewhere else, you win!"

"Go, my knight," you say, not breaking eye contact. He lets out a shrill laugh. "To yonder bathroom to change. I shall wait here for you, ever loyalmppgh!!"

He's shoved a fry in your mouth and is gone in a flash. You chew on it and, for the first time since you left that horrible basement, grin like an idiot.

The two of you meet Derek outside of the stadium, spotting him with his back to you. It's good, honestly. Even with how trainer-typical his garb is, you still have an easier time picking his backpack out of the crowd than his face. After all, you are pretty damn faceblind, and you'd only really met him in person once before this.

As you go to walk to him, you take in the sights. Cyber City's stadium is a far cry from the Pokémon Leagues in other regions, but at least they had the sense to put it in the city proper. You have a script in your back pocket about the inaccessible nature of the traditional Victory Road gauntlet and a very reluctant W to give Wyndon. The walls loom over you and while the crowd for the main events isn't here today, there are still a lot of trainers and their Pokémon in this area, either on break and hitting the street vendors or just watching some of the sparring matches on the screens outside the entrance.

"Derek!" you call, and he turns around to greet you.

(Research: Critical Hit) Maybe it's that the light was bad before. Maybe it's that the memory had happened at this exact spot. Whatever it is, recognition suddenly floods you and Magikarp both - a boy saying goodbye to his Furret, promising her that he would be back soon.

Oh. Oh, it was Derek all along. That fact that all the Pokémon were stolen from trainers in the tournament, "Stripey" - Fuck! It had been staring you in the face, hadn't it? You just assumed that the odds were too low, or that you would have recognized him, forgetting to account for the fact that you're fucking faceblind!

You must have frozen, because Hideo has you by the shoulder.

"Robin?" he asks. "Are you okay?"

Okay, well the first thing to do regardless of anything is to get Hideo on the same page.

"I just recognized him," you say, quickly. "He's - Hideo, the Furret. She's his."

There's a moment where he looks confused before he connects the dots and his eyes widen.

"Wh- and you just now realized that?" he asks, sharply looking towards Derek, who's crossing the crowd to you guys. Still out of earshot.

"I'm faceblind!" you hiss back. Hideo looks at you blankly. Sometimes you forget, with how nice he is about it, that he doesn't really know about the specifics of your limitations. "Without Magikarp's help, and sometimes even with it, I don't recognize people I don't know well by their faces! And he must have been wearing something different when the psychic impression I got was made."

"Well, shit," he says, running a hand down his face. "What do we do now?"

"We tell him."

"Is that a good idea?"

"No," you say, grim-faced. "But it's the right thing to do."

"What's the right thing to do?" Derek asks, and you realize that he's right there. His face is as neutral as ever, but he's looking between the two of you. (Heart: Failure) You have no idea what he's thinking about your little huddle.

"I need to tell you something before we go in," you say. Derek blinks at you.

"About the meeting later?"

"No," you say, scanning around for somewhere that isn't crowded. "It's actually just something I realized right now that you need to know. Is there somewhere we can talk privately?"

He sizes you up.

"There's a locker room," he says, finally, and waves you to follow. "It should be empty, even with what happened a little bit ago."

"What happened a little bit ago?" you ask, starting to walk after him.

"About a half hour ago, someone tipped off the league that Team Smoke planned on attacking the celebrity trainers today," Derek says. "So they're still out practicing, but their supporters had to go to the stands and there's tons of security around now."

(Research: Success with a +1) COLRESS. The absolute fucker. He must have headed off the obvious action of going and making contact with his intended research subjects. (Heart: Success) This is as much a warning to you as it is a preventative measure. And by the look Hideo is giving you, he's glad that you convinced him to not wear the scarf to the stadium, too.

You breathe out an irritated sigh and follow Derek inside to the locker rooms.

(Research: Opposed failure against ???)

"I want to start this out by saying that I'm faceblind and I told you the moment I figured it out," you say, seated on one of those wooden slatted benches endemic to locker rooms everywhere.

"Oh," Derek says. "Me too."

(Research: Success) Yeah, you'd figured he was some flavour of neurodivergent. His flat affect and fixation on battling is definitely giving you a familiar vibe. You'd had some of the former in elementary school, even.

Time to rip off the band-aid.

"Derek," you ask, "is Stripey a Furret?"

"Yes," he says, and stiffens. "Why? Did you find her?"

"Fuck," you hear Hideo say behind you. You rub your temple.

"I know where she is," you say. "Specifically, that is. She was the Pokémon I failed to get out when we had to withdraw from the arcade. I'm sorry."

Derek goes quiet and still.

"Robin literally tried to pull her out while under ninja attack," Hideo adds. "They tried as hard as they could."

"You stopped them?" Derek asks him, sharply. It's the most tone you've heard in his voice so far.

"It wouldn't have mattered if he did or not," you put in, quickly. "I wasn't able to crack their hardware with my phone. They have locks on the machines."

He's sitting very still, (Heart: Success) but his fists are clenched and his teeth are gritted. He's about to have a meltdown. And you can't blame him at all.

> Looks like Derek is about to have a meltdown. This is a disaster-social encounter, albeit a simple one, and as such I am leaving the approach to deal with it as a write-in.

You've been through this song and dance yourself, so you act quickly.

"Hideo," you say, urgently. "Make sure no one comes in. We need privacy."

He doesn't question you, just turns and goes to secure the door with a concerned glance at Derek. You turn to the kid.

"What do you need right now?" you ask.

"Stripey," he says, voice cracking. He brings his balled fists to sit on his lap, and his fingers flex as though reaching for the place where his Pokémon should be.

(Heart: Critical Hit) It hits you then - she may not be registered or trained specifically, but why would Derek, the battle-obsessed teambuilder, carry a Furret that he treasures but nonetheless didn't take into team registration? She's a support Pokémon. He's not saying he wants her back in general, he's saying he needs her right now to calm him down. (Research: Success) Furret are soft and warm and have an instinct to curl around their young to soothe them.

You do have a Pokémon on hand that might be a worthy substitute, at least for as long as it takes to let Derek ride this out.

"I have an Eevee," you say. "His name is Casey. Do you want to hold him for a little while? I know he's not Stripey, but he's very soft."

(Heart: Success) Derek nods. (Heart: Success) There's pain in his eyes as he looks up at you, lip curling slightly. He knows your tone and he's heard it a lot before. (Counsellors telling you calmly that you overreacted while anger burns in your stomach. Forced apologies that you didn't really mean. Being pulled aside with tears stinging your eyes and being intimately aware of the other kids are watching. Yeah, you can relate.)

But you could have beefed it worse than this, because he allows you to release Casey and mumble your request that he go sit on Derek's lap.

(Heart: Success with a -2 for multi-Pokémon drifting) Casey is, luckily, a naturally empathetic sort. He seems to grasp the situation right away, and, hopping on Derek's lap, he lets Derek massage his fur and even licks at his forearm.

It takes a few minutes, but the tension eventually drains from Derek's shoulders. When he looks up at you again, he looks drained.

> (You've successfully averted Derek's meltdown.)

"I want to go get her," he says, around a swallow.

"Me too," you say, wearily. You sit down next to him. "But there's no way to..."

It occurs to you that there is a way to. You tapped the siphon. Hypothetically, while it would bust your cover completely, you could steal all the Pokémon back with one well-timed macro. But then... you'd have no way of finding their base again, assuming that was the second mystery location. And you have no idea how Colress would react to that move. But maybe doing this strategically...

The question is, do you tell Derek about this now? Or save it for the meeting later?

(Hideo's Research vs. ???: Automatic Failure due to lack of fulfilled Quirk)

"There... is a way," you say, and Derek's head snaps up. "We hadn't told anyone yet, but we managed to find how they were stealing the Pokémon through the PC. Ursula installed a backdoor. I was going to bring it up at the meeting."

"You could take them back," he says, grip tightening on Casey (thankfully, it seems he's being careful not to hurt your Eevee; he only looks startled at the sudden change in pressure, not hurt). "Why didn't you already?"

Derek's a smart kid - he put that together instantly.

"Because there's another location they had available to send them to," you say, counting off on your fingers as each new reason occurs to you. "Because we could find out where they're going and also pull them out at a more strategic time. Because we don't know how long each transfer takes, and it could take seconds or hours for each Pokémon, so we could be stopped midway. Because we don't know how long it might take for them to notice once we use it. Because Colress Terroristguy personally threatened me and my family if I interfere in a way he doesn't like so I want to find a way around that before tipping our hand."

You take a shaky breath, gripping the fabric of your jeans. (Calm Mind: Success) Magikarp is calming the edges of your emotions, filing away the sharp edges so that you don't head towards a meltdown of your own in front of the kid.

Derek takes a long, silent moment to process this.

"Do you know what a mixup is?" he asks, finally.

"Uh..." You didn't expect that question. "Like when you jump over someone to mess up their inputs?"

"Kind of," he says. Explaining this, he seems immediately calmer somehow. (Heart: Failure) It's a sharp contrast from mere second ago and it sort of leaves you reeling. "The most important aspect of outplaying an opponent is knowing what they're going to do. In any metagame, there are a set of optimal options that are currently agreed upon. But if you bring something totally unexpected, that's a counter-meta pick. A mixup to their predictions for your set."

"O... kay," you say, not sure where he's going with this.

"Another way to mix someone up is to make an intentionally suboptimal play when you have better options," he says. "If an opponent expects that by the current meta I would only have First Impression or Leech Seed, and I'm packing Leech Seed and First Impression, and I use Leech Seed, then they won't expect the First Impression later."

You raise an eyebrow and let him finish.

"If I go to the arcade and save her," he says, "they would never think we had another way."

(Heart: Success) He's coming up with a plan entirely to justify what he already wants to do. He knows you'll try and stop him if he doesn't. And he knows it will be harder if you do.

"Derek..." You sigh, running a hand down your face. Oh, damn it. You smudged your lenses. "This isn't something you can just run into. It's not a bad plan, but if you just pitch it through the rest of the group -"

"NO! I'm going to go," he says, standing up to face you. "I'm tired of waiting. It just keeps getting worse and if you'd just let me go in the first place Team Smoke would be -"

"Hey," an unknown voice says. You and Derek both startle, shooting up, and Hideo is there in a flash looking just as surprised as you when a blonde man walks into view from behind some lockers. "This all sounds pretty serious."

You exchange a look with Hideo, who gives you a deerling-in-the-headlights look. The guy must have gotten past him somehow, or maybe he was here all along.

Oh well, nothing to do about it now. Hideo isn't perfect.

The man is wearing Unovan-style clothes. (Research: Success) He's unfashionable, with sunglasses propped on top of an old sports team cap and clothes that are both utterly unremarkable and too baggy on him. Still, you can see evidence that he wears makeup in the way his cheeks are contoured expertly. Carefully unfashionable, then.

It occurs to you that he just heard a lot of suspicious shit out of context if he's been here the whole time.

(Heart: Critical Hit) Oh, he definitely heard everything. He introduced himself casually and with an easy smile (a fake one, for sure), but he's looking all of you over with tension in his shoulders. Something you said really shook him up, and he wants answers very badly.

> What do, gamers?

You suddenly recognize the man - and it clicks into place why you even knew he was a guy in the first place, an assumption you don't usually make. This is MOTHER FUCKING Christoph. He's a popular streamer and idol that debuted about thirteen years ago in Unova. His current content is mostly music and music commentary, and he's worked bit parts in Pokestar productions here and there, too. He was famous for being one of the first big e-celebs, and has done collabs with people like Iono.

Ursula is going to flip her shit. You just met her Beyonce in the locker room.

(Pokémon Researcher used!)

Actually, thinking about Ursula reminds you of another *very* pertinent piece of information, one that only a Mewtuber would be privy to.

Funnily enough, you were at the convention in Viribank with Ursula when you heard the tea. Christoph is notoriously private about his personal life, and you're not exactly the type to watch tabloids, but you do have a lot of contacts among the Mewtuber sphere that your content nebulously drifts in. You know, the kind of people you'd get together with at a movie con and gossip with a bit while Ursula downs a concerning amount of Watermelon Vodka in the background.

You know three things, in order from least important to most important:

• Watermelon vodka is REALLY easy to overdrink, and it will make you regret it, especially on an empty stomach.
• His real name is Curtis.
• Perhaps more pressingly, those in the know know that Christoph is married to famous Pokémon Champion and movie star Rosa White. They apparently met by chance over some lost phone and had some kind of fanfic-worthy getting together arc about it.

You are

VERY sure actually that that means that he has been told about Rosa's incident with Colress. Oh dear.

> You may now assume that Robin knows anything about Curtis that would reasonably be considered public info from his wiki page.

You manage not to say "CHRISTOPH!?!??!" and point like an idiot. Barely. Seems your brain cells are really on the Wheaties today.

Instead, you take a steadying breath. While Christoph's appearance is a dizzying opportunity and risk all rolled into one, you have a more pressing emergency in front of you. You address him.

"Excuse me," you say. "I can talk later, but we're in the middle of something here."

He doesn't seem terribly surprised by the brush-off. You turn to Derek and place Magikarp delicately on the bench next to him.

"If it were Magikarp," you start, "nobody would have been able to stop me."

Derek looks up at you (Heart: Failure) with his usual hard-to-read expression. He's still absently petting Casey, who looks up at you as well.

"It's a stupid idea to go in there," you continue. "Especially because I'm not a hotshot trainer. But I would have gone, if it was Magikarp. Nobody would have been able to stop me. I'd have found a way in to try. Slipped away when someone wasn't looking or something and headed straight there. I'd've been captured within an hour."

"Then why are you asking me to wait?" Derek says, guarded. "You're being a hypocrite."

(Heart: Critical Hit!) Oh, he hates hypocrisy. There's a subtle strain on the word that he's trying to dial back that breaks through his usual flat tone, and his grip on Casey tightens again.

"I can't stop you, actually," you say, tired. "In fact, if you go right now, I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure you don't get captured, up to and including sending Batman to your location. I wouldn't blame you, Derek."

(Heart: Success) He's listening intently. You're on a better track than before.

"I know what it's like to be a kid and to constantly, constantly be told by adults that I'm doing the wrong thing, that how I want to react isn't right, that I should do this or should do that," you say. You feel Magikarp reaching out, and, for the first time in a long time, you give him the signal to stop using Calm Mind.

It all floods you, and you let it. The old resentment. The frustration. The injustice of it all. There's something that feels right about continuing with that burden on your back right now when Derek is doing the same.

(Heart: Success) You keep talking.

"There's a lot at stake," you say, voice wobbling. "Like, way more than any kid your age should ever be expected to have to weigh in on. But you're here anyway, and you deserve a say. I'm not trying to strongarm you. I'm not your mom, I'm not your teachers, I'm not in charge of you. I'm a Mewtuber, for fuck's sake."

You pause to collect yourself as (Research: Success) Christoph makes a noise that sounds remarkably like "wait..." under his breath.

"... But I really want to get Stripey back, too. And I know you're smarter than me. I know you can do both," you say. "Off the cuff, you came up with a plan that could really work. With everyone behind you, don't you think we can do even better?"

Derek is quiet.

(Heart: Critical Hit with a +2 for targeting Derek's trait of Feels Like No One Cares What He's Going Through)

"... Okay," he says. You slump. You feel like you've very narrowly avoided a terrible spiral of events. "But if they don't want to go, I'm doing it myself."

"That's fair," you say, and then you reach for Magikarp and give him the signal to let him do his thing again. (Calm Mind: Critical Hit. No further rolls required to control meltdowns for the rest of this scene.) It's instant relief. You feel the edges wash away and you stand up to look at the two other adults in the room. Hideo appears to have gone back to his post as a lookout, which was smart of him. Christoph is giving you a measuring look.

"You're wondering what the fuck is going on," you say. It's not a question. He nods.

"Yeah," he says. "You could say that."

"I can tell you," Derek says, standing up. Looks like he caught his second wind. He hands Casey back to you, resulting in an armful of two Pokémon. This is awesome, but also you can't use your hands now.

"In private," you add hastily. "Seriously, it needs to be in private. And please don't contact anyone else just yet."

Especially not his wife PLEASE not his wife. You are so fucked if he calls his wife.

"Great start," Christoph says, but he waves you along. "I know a place. Come on."

> Write-in: How are we going to approach this conversation?

"A Place" is an empty VIP box. Knowing what you know, it's not surprising, but you catch Hideo raising an eyebrow as the three of you are led into the room. It has a big window overlooking the stadium and a really good angle on one of the bigass screens that broadcast the fight from up close. Derek seems enthralled by one of the practice matches taking place down in the stadium, quickly flocking to the window to watch it. He's not not listening, you think. Just not facing you.

"Okay," you say, sinking into one of the seats. You could sit, nay, nap happily for a hundred years at this point. "The first thing I have to say is that a thing that very much happened is that Colress directly threatened me and my family if I went to anyone important about this, so what I can tell you is very limited."

"I'm not really anyone important," Christoph says, shrugging. If you didn't already know he was lying, he's be tough to read. But there's also -

"This is a VIP box," Hideo counters. "How did you have access to it if you're not important?"

- Yeah, Hideo hit the nail on the head.

"I know who you are," you say, taking off your glasses and rubbing your eye. "And more importantly, I know that the person you are going to go straight to to tell about this is literally exactly the person that Dr. Warcrimes would doxx me or worse over contacting, so please. Understand why I'm not being the most forthcoming about this."

(Heart: Critical Hit!) Christoph straightens. He did not expect to be recognized, but you think he appreciates you not outing him to your companions just yet, because his expression mellows out into thoughtful. He, of all people, understands the position you're in as a web creator with your personal information. Hideo is giving you the "did I miss something?" look, though, and you try to communicate to him with your eyes that you'll tell him later.

"Alright," Christoph says, after a moment. "But you have to give me something. Everyone is on edge right now and no one knows what's going on. I'm worried about my wife - she's competing."

"That's fair," you say. "The basic summary of the situation is that a group called Team Smoke, which has Colress working for them, has stolen a lot of Pokémon from a lot of people."

"From me," Derek puts in, still facing the glass. "And all from tournament participants from out of region."

"Yeah," you say, running a hand through your hair. "I'm caught up in it because I uncovered something they didn't want me to, and we - a group I will not name for safety reasons - been on their trail trying to figure out what's going on for days now."

"Have you succeeded?" Christoph asks.

"Yes," you say. "We did figure out what's going on."

"And the police? Why didn't you just give them your information and let them handle it?"

"Compromised," Hideo says, darkly. You notice he doesn't mention Jenny Dreadful. Probably a smart call.

"... Can you stop them?" Christoph says, looking at the three of you skeptically.

"We're working on it," you say. "Team Smoke is a highly paranoid organization with a ton of failsafes. On top of that, Colress has complicated things. We think he plans to backstab them, but not until they've done considerably more damage. And he wants that damage done at all costs for his 'experiments'. But they're not invincible."

Christoph makes a face. Yes, you can relate. He's probably heard a lot about Rosa's encounters with the man.

"I'm going to be real with you," he says. "I'm not sure I want to put the fate of the tournament in the hands of a video essayist and an... unspecified ragtag team of trainers."

You open your mouth to try and find any rational counter to that. One is not coming to mind.

"You should," Derek says, instead.

The three of you all turn to him. Hideo sends you a sidelong glance that you return, but you both let the kid speak.

"Robin's Pokémon team composition is horrible," he says. Oh, great start, but he keeps going. "They have an Abra and an Eevee. Neither of them know any good attacking moves. They'd lose against just about any trainer one on one."

"Thanks," you grumble, and you see Christoph open his mouth to say something, but Derek keeps going.

"But their human team composition is great. Each member of the team has a specific niche and ability, and even though Robin them, uh, self, is vulnerable to a wide variety of counterplay, they've mitigated their losses and won several battles by knowing what person's kit is the best play to utilize at any given point." He looks at Hideo. "They don't need Pokeballs to capture people and add them to the roster. They've made several crucial reads on our opponent and by how many times they've tried to shut them down, it's clear that Team Smoke considers them a major threat."

(Heart: Critical Hit) He really believes what he's saying. It takes a second to translate the tactical-speak, but you think Derek might be calling you a good leader. You don't know if you actually are, mind, but the way he speaks - clearly, concisely, vehemently - you think he was offended on your behalf. Maybe he, too, is used to not having his talents understood.

"Derek," you say. You're not gonna cry you're not gonna cry you're not gonna cry. Magikarp's got you. "Thank you. Really. I... yeah. He's right. We have a good team. We're going to get them."

(Derek's Heart: Success with aid from Robin.)

Christoph looks between the two of you and sighs, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well..." he says. "I'll trust you for now. But you're asking me to lie to my wife."

"No," you say, shaking your head. You're gaining your footing back. "I'm asking you to tell your wife not to act on the information you've received here, and to understand that we can't tell you everything but that contact with you is important. I highly doubt that Colress runs in our circles to know who you are, so you're someone who can be our contact to the big leaguers without scrutiny."

"Who exactly is he married to?" Hideo asks, seemingly done with being out of the loop.

"Ah... well, that cat's out of the bag," Christoph sighs, and puts out a hand. "Hello, name's Curtis. I'm married to a beautiful, insane woman named Rosa."

Hideo takes his hand.

"Oh."

"Yeah," you say. "Oh."

"And, well," he says. "What can I do to help keep her safe?"

> Scene end!

> You've successfully secured a covert (safe from Colress's prying) contact to the big time Leaguers. You may direct Connected questions to Curtis, but he will expect you to be transparent with him when you are able and is not a full member of the team.

> You have committed to putting forward Derek's idea of hitting the arcade during the meeting. If you do not do so, your relationship with him will take a major hit.