Chapter 59.2- Oak

My father - the one from my first life, and if we were being realistic, the only one I've ever known - had a saying: "A good night will always be followed by a bad morning." Sounds pessimistic, right? Well, it wasn't. It was a saying about alcohol consumption and hangovers. Of course, I've since turned it into a guiding dictum for my life. I had an amazing night. The best night of my life - both lives, maybe. So the morning was bound to be something else. That's why I wasn't even surprised when Ino literally forced me into wakefulness.

"What's happening? What's wrong?" I asked her as I watched Alakazam do the same to Sabrina, who lay in bed next to me. My psychic just pointed at the door and fed me a stream of thoughts. ACE trainers. Fucking ACE trainers. A lot of them. I jumped out of bed without a second thought, stretching my hands out and melding my mind with Ino's, like a hand entering a glove. I quickly dressed in a bathrobe, and my Pokébelt was wrapped around my waist almost instantly. Not that the belt itself was going to be of much use. It was mostly empty. Ino had released most of the team and was ready to teleport them in at the slightest sign of violence. I was hopeful it wouldn't come to that, though. After the night I just had, I was in an especially positive mood and would be willing to let them leave with just an apology for their rudeness.

I walked out of the room and made my way to the gym's reception. It was quite a distance away, but it gave me time to put on my slippers and some underwear underneath the robe. I wasn't dressed for a fight, but I also wasn't going to be the one fighting - if a fight did indeed break out.

As I walked in, I stared at the team of ACE trainers. There were five of them, mostly presenting as male, with one visibly female. I smiled genially as I stepped closer to them. When they noticed me, they snapped to attention and turned away from the secretary, who was doing a fantastic job of delaying them by insisting they provide evidence that they complied with every bit of procedure.

"Donnell Oak, you are under arrest," one of them shouted, pointing a Pokéball at me. The rest followed suit.

"What am I being arrested for?" I asked, legitimately curious about what was happening. To the best of my knowledge, I hadn't done anything illegal in a while, and Kanto still needed trainers to represent her in the Tournament of Power.

"The murder of Agatha of the Elite Four. I advise you to return your Pokémon and come quietly," the first one spoke again. I silently named him Pink for the garish lapel pin he had on his trench coat. A trench coat over the ACE uniform was already a bit strange, but the lapel pin made it a million times worse. It took a few seconds for their words to sink in, and when they finally did, a chuckle managed to slip through my best attempts to maintain a serious façade.

Stepping even closer to them, I asked again, "Is there any evidence? Can I see a warrant?" I was reluctant to volunteer any information at this point. I never graduated uni, but I knew enough that all evidence was best saved for the courtroom. No need to give them details of my defense before I needed to.

One of them tried stepping forward to hand it to me, but Ino appeared between us and took the piece of paper from his hand before he could move more than a step. She appeared right where she left, with no fan

fare, and handed over the piece of paper to me. I could see the looks on the trainers' faces as they realized exactly where they were and who they stood before. Ino's display had reminded them that I was a trainer with the power to level a city, and I could see it in the way their postures shifted. The way their hands itched to grab extra Pokéballs, and the way the hands already on their balls seemed to hover over the release buttons. I guess they were still hoping this could be resolved peacefully.

Turning to the piece of paper in my hand, trusting Ino to prevent any misbehavior, I read the warrant and scowled as I realized it was valid. "My love?" Sabrina's voice rang out in my head. 'I'll have to be seeing you later, sweetheart. Don't interfere. One of us must remain free to act. I apologize, but I will be leaving you with much of the burden of proving my innocence,' I spoke to her with my thoughts. She retreated for a bit, and I straightened my back, turning to face the ACE trainers.

"Unfortunately, I won't," I said, and one of them was stupid enough to actually ask, "Won't what?"

"Won't come quietly, of course. If you want me, you'll have to take me. But trust me, it won't be quiet," I said, picking up the only occupied Pokéball on my belt. My smile made a few of them flinch, but showing the training they'd endured, their Pokémon were out before mine. But it didn't matter. Their blasts of red light mattered little, and the challenging roars their Pokémon let out were drowned out by Snorlax's own roar of challenge. He'd been asleep when Ino released the rest of the team, but since then, he'd communed with Ino through the Pokéball and was well aware of what was going to happen. One Primeape jumped right at him, hoping to overpower my monster with its glowing fists. Snorlax paid it little attention, snatching it out of the air and hurling it right out of the gym in the same motion. The other trainers and their Pokémon showed some hesitance after that exchange but still approached nonetheless. I approved of their bravery and stretched my hands, silently inviting the challenge. I didn't want a fight, but since it was inevitable, I might as well enjoy it.

The first ACE trainer signaled to the others, and Pink moved first. His Magmar unleashed a massive flamethrower from its arm cannons, but Ino appeared right in front of it and trapped the attack in a cage of reflections. The attack didn't succeed in breaking through, and Ino removed the shields before appearing right within its guard, the aura of Psycho Cut surrounding her spoon. I turned to Snorlax and watched him wrestle his way through three fighting-type Pokémon.

A/N: Let's see how the new chapter develops.