"Attention!"
The woman in black commanded. Her suit has a large "X" symbol on its back, catching the attention of the trainee behind her.
In front of her, several grunts stood straight. Their faces devoid of emotions. They were the grunts that is accepted to join Team Xycle officially.
The woman in black approached each and everyone of them, fixing their suits, assessing their posture. She stopped in front of a young man, staring at his white hair. It seemed to stand out the most from this wave of blackness that is the suit of the grunts. His eyes were staring far away even though the woman was in front of him.
"Rookie. State your name." The woman said, her voice echoing at the silence of the room.
The young man finally looked at her, his expression never changing from its blankness.
"Elias." He simply said.
The woman in black lifted a finger to her chin as if thinking, then, after a moment, her lips formed a sharp smile.
"You are the little one, hmm? I hope he didn't made a mistake taking you in that burning building."
Elias didn't replied. He continued to stare at her until the woman finally turned around.
"Listen, all of you! We at Team Xycle are doing whatever we can to make the world a better place for both humans and pokemons. It doesn't matter who stands in our way. As long as we don't get sidetracked from our goal, we can make sure that anyone will be at peace!"
The woman's voice rose filling the cold room with grandeur.
"The cycle will break. Peace will be with us!"
The grunts echoed the final phrase, their voices a unified chorus. Then, on her cue, they turned as one and began filing out of the room, their boots clicking softly against the floor.
Elias moved with them, but as he passed the podium, a gloved hand shot out, gripping his forearm with surprising strength.
"Not you." The woman murmured. "Follow me."
Without waiting for a reply, she turned down a side corridor, her own steps decisive. The hallway was sleek and sterile, leading to a heavy door marked with a simple, green 'X'. She pressed her palm against a scanner; it blinked green, and the door hissed open.
Her office was unexpectedly warm, lined with shelves containing thick binders and datachips. A large window offered a stark, panoramic view of the city they secretly operated within.
She went to a closet, retrieved something, and turned, holding it out to him.
It was a trench coat, longer and of finer material than the standard grunt uniform. But what defined it was the symbol emblazoned across its back: a large, vivid green 'X'.
"Put it on." She said, her eyes studying him intently.
Elias slid his arms into the coat. It fit as if tailored for him.
The woman's sharp smile returned. She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper:
"The standard issue is for standard grunt." She said, straightening the coat's collar. "However, you Elias… you are special. The boss picked you himself. He could've let you burn along with that building, but he didn't. He saved you because he saw potential. A potential that will help us reach our goal."
She stepped back, her gaze sweeping over him, from his stark white hair to the reflection of the green symbol on his back from the mirror.
"But I want to know... you saw how we treated trainers all across the region. You saw how the boss crushed the dreams of those trainers. What made you stay on his side after all that?"
Elias stayed silent. For a moment he thinks about those events from before. The way the boss insulted those trainers' dreams. How the grunts treated those trainers like some lowly beings. He couldn't quite understand it.
But he want to understand. Not just Team Xycle, but every trainer across the region. Why are they fighting for their dreams?
Finally, he looked at the woman with the same blank expression that he always had.
"I want to understand... everyone."
The woman watched him, her sharp smile softening into something more genuine. She let out a short, quiet chuckle.
"To understand everyone." She repeated, shaking her head slightly. "That's a far heavier burden than our goal, Elias. We just want to fix the world. Understanding it? That's… much harder."
She held his gaze for a long moment, then seemed to decide something. She gave a slight shrug, the conversation clearly dismissed.
"But I won't stand in your way. See where that path takes you."
She turned and walked to her desk. On it sat a slim, matte-black suitcase. She pressed a button on its side, and the lid sprang open silently. Inside, nestled in gray foam, were three pokeballs, each gleaming under the office lights.
"Every grunt needs a partner. A tool. A companion. You may choose."
Elias approached the desk. His eyes moved over the three pokeballs.
The first ball was holding something common. A Zubat. Useful for surveying, for silent operations. The choice of a cautious grunt.
The second ball hummed with a tense, fighting energy. A Tyrogue. Unpredictable, evolving based on its training. The choice of an ambitious grunt, one looking to shape raw power.
His hand hovered over them before stopping at the third ball. It felt warm to the touch, even through the foam. A Sandile.
He saw it in his mind's eye—not just the small, crocodilian pokemon, but what it could become. A creature of the desert, of relentless pressure and crushing jaws. A pokemon with devastating force if train well.
After a moment of silence, he picked up the third pokeball. Its weight felt right in his palm.
The woman's sharp smile returned, full of approval.
"The desert's patient wrath." She noted. "An interesting choice. It suits you, I think. It knows how to wait, and it knows how to bury things."
She closed the suitcase with another soft click.
"Report to Meeting Room for your first assignment briefing. Your Sandile will be your key to everything here. Use it to understand, if that's still your goal. But remember, above all, use it to serve Xycle."
***
The door to the Meeting Room hissed shut behind Elias, sealing him in a room that was a stark contrast to the commander's office. It was a utilitarian meeting room with gray walls and a metal table bolted to the floor.
Two figures were already there, lounging in boredom.
One was a girl with twin, pink pigtails. She was leaning against the wall, idly spinning a pokeball on her fingertip, her expression one of detached curiosity.
The other was a boy with spiked, brown hair. He had his boots propped up on the table. He was tapping an impatient rhythm with his fingers, his jaw tight.
The moment Elias entered, both pairs of eyes locked onto him, and more specifically, onto the long, distinctive trench coat of.
The boy let out a low, derisive whistle. He swung his legs down and stood up in one aggressive motion.
"Here comes our golden boy." He said, his voice carrying a tone of annoyance. "Got yourself a fancy new coat, I see."
He stopped directly in front of Elias, close enough to be confrontational. His gray eyes scanned Elias from his white hair down to his boots.
"We all stood in that same line. We all got the same speech..." He jerked a thumb towards the girl, who was watching silently, her head tilted. "So, what's the deal with you? Why do you get the special treatment the second you walk in the door? What's so damn special about you?"
The air in the room grew thick. The girl pushed off the wall, her curiosity now tinged with interest.
Elias met the boy's stare with his own blankness. He understood the anger. It was simple reaction to unfairness. It was easier to comprehend than the boss's grand philosophy or his own nebulous desire for understanding.
He considered the question. What was so special about him? The boss had pulled him from a fire. The commander had spoken of potential. He had a coat that marked him as different. But at his core, he was just someone who wanted to see the blueprint of the world, to understand why every piece was fighting to be somewhere else.
He didn't have a satisfying answer for the angry boy. So, he gave the only one he had.
"I don't know." Elias said, his voice flat and calm, utterly devoid of defiance or fear.
The answer seemed to infuriate the boy even more.
"You don't know? You think you can just—"
"Interesting..." The girl interrupted. She moved from the wall towards the two, her gaze never leaving Elias. "You are devoid of emotions. You are Elias, right? My name is Anne Maria. It's a pleasure to meet you."
She raised a hand towards him for a handshake which she didn't know if he will take.
Elias stared at it for a few moments before raising his own hand to shake hers.
Anne smiled. Elias didn't know what this handshake was about. Is it the start of a friendship? Is it only for show? But it doesn't matter. All that matters is that he managed not to anger the girl.
Before Elias could release Anne's hand, the wall opposite the door shimmered. A section of the gray paneling dissolved into a cascade of light, resolving into a large holographic screen.
The image of the woman from earlier appeared.
"Team Xycle's new members." Her voice boom, clear and amplified through speakers. "All of you must be seeing this in your own Meeting Room. I will speak of your mission shortly. But first, a fundamental point of protocol. You are not three individuals in a room. You are a team."
"Team Xycle's strength is not in individual glory. It is in teamwork. Each member covers the weaknesses of the others. Each pokemon partner complements the others. This is not a suggestion. It is the core of our methodology."
"You will fight together. You will succeed together. And if you fail... you will answer for it together too. Your first mission is in Deviel Cave. There, you grunts will enter that cave while some of you will surround it from the outside. Prevent any officials from coming in and anyone who's trying to be a hero. We will retrieve a special item from there. Get ready."
The hologram dissolved into static, then winked out, leaving the wall blank once more.
The boy was the first to move. Without looking at Elias or Anne, he shoved his hands in his pockets and strode out of the room, the door hissing shut behind him.
Anne watched him go. She walked to a locker in the corner, retrieved a small, black duffel bag, and slung it over her shoulder.
"Come along, Elias." She said, her tone light but carrying an undeniable command.
Elias followed. They navigated a series of identical hallways before emerging through a discreet side exit into the Metrolink City. The contrast was jarring. The silent, controlled environment of the Xycle base was replaced by the roar of traffic, the chatter of crowds, and the glare of neon signs advertising everything from Poke Marts to luxury boutiques. Elias's green X-marked coat drew a few curious glances, but in a city this size, eccentricity was commonplace.
They traveled by a crowded subway to the city's eastern edge, then continued on foot as the landscape gradually gave way to rocky foothills.
After an hour's hike, they arrived at their destination: the mouth of Deviel Cave.
It was a jagged maw of rock set into a cliff face. The noise of the city was a distant memory here. A few other grunts were already visible, taking up discreet positions in the surrounding rocks, securing the perimeter.
Anne stopped at the edge of a small clearing before the cave entrance. She dropped her duffel bag and turned to face Elias, her previous pleasantness replaced by a look of intensity.
"Before we go in, I want to battle you." She said, her voice clear in the quiet.
Elias looked at her, his head tilting a fraction.
"Rein wants to know what's so special about you because he feels threatened." She explained, pulling her pokeball from her belt. "I want to know because I'm curious. The commander said to learn our teammates. A battle is the fastest way to learn a trainer's heart. So please, show me what the boss saw in you."