Velis carefully stepped through the doorway and found herself in what seemed to be some sort of tunnel leading to steel covered door. It looked to be heavily reinforced. Was she supposed to knock? Was she supposed to try and break the door down? She looked down at Quilava and Croconaw and shrugged her shoulders as she thought about what to do.

"What do you guys think?" She asked the two Pokemon as she looked back at the door. The flames on Quilava's back shot up as the locking devices on the door began to click and retract as it began to open and Croconaw let out a growl. The door continued to click as more and more locks were unlocked and finally the door swung open.

"You may come in." A voice called from the inside of the dim room. Velis cautiously walked in with her two Pokemon following close behind her. She saw three men leaning over a table and on that table was a peculiar looking device.

"- You think the new machine is ready? All the bugs have been worked out?" A large heavily muscled man asked. Velis could have sworn she had seen his face somewhere before but she couldn't place it. Another heavily muscled man looked over at the other man. This one had a mustache and was wearing battered red clothing.

"I don't see how we have much of a choice. Cipher is most likely planning another move as we speak. For all we know they could be preparing to crack down on what few spies we have left in their organization. Besides, I can't wait for some payback. Cipher used my gang and then tried getting rid of us when we served out purpose."

"Enough you two." Another voice cut through the other two voices as a leaner man with grey hair slowly rose to his feet and turned to look at Velis. "It appears our guest is here."

The two other men stood up straight and looked at Velis as the man with the grey hair stepped forward. "Greetings trainer. It looks like Fateen managed to come through for us once again. She always did have a good sense of someone's personality. I am Professor Krane."

"The name's Duking. I used to keep order in this town" The heavily muscled man said as he extended a hand which Velis hesitantly shook. The man with the mustache who was almost as heavily muscled as Duking also extended his hand. "My name is Gonzap. And I used to run Team Snagem." He muttered as Velis let go of Duking's hand and shook Gonzap's.

Professor Krane looked over Velis and her Pokemon. "What are Pokemon to you?" He asked bluntly. "Allies? Fighters? Means to an end?"

Velis looked at him and shook her head. "None of those things." She said quietly. "They're my best friends. When Cipher attacked my home, I lost my family. These two look after me as much as I look after them. I'd be lost without them." She said honestly. Krane smiled. 

"That is the correct answer. I'm glad Fateen brought you to us. There are others in this town that have potential, but you seem to have a good heart and your Pokemon seem to trust you as much as you trust them. Please, have a seat on the bench over there."

Velis was a bit confused but she complied and sat down on the nearby bench.

[b]Pyrite Town[/b]

Fateen took a deep breath of the cool evening air and smiled as she saw a small group of young trainers walk by. Fateen had learned to trust her feelings about people after experiencing them for many years and her feelings were telling her that these trainers had potential for what needed to be done.

"Pardon me, she said with a gentle smile on her face. "But do you young ones need a place to stay for the night?" She asked. "That dreadful hotel up the street is usually crowded and often has Cipher personal checking the rooms for rare Pokemon. And the Pokemon center is always crowded."