Pokémon Fool's Gold | Orre & Galar Fanfiction

Chapter 115: Cipher's Remains

West of Gateon Port, the Orrean sun baked a run-down trailer park. Wingull shrieked above. Wind whistled. The mismatched trailers, fashioned from ships discarded at Gateon Harbour, were so bogged down by dirt and sand it appeared they could never move again. Rattata and Bidoof scuttled between them. A lone Rockruff chased a nervous mailman. Grumbling that he hated Pokémon, he sprayed Repel, but Rockruff was undaunted.

Creeping through bushes was a hooded figure with a Gengar. The mailman shuddered when he saw them. He left his last parcel on a doorstep and hastily exited after knocking. The hooded man replaced him. There was a muffled murmur of voices. Someone said 'mailman.' Bolts scraped. The key turned. A weary, dishevelled and familiar face pulled the door open. He reached to retrieve the parcel, but recoiled.

'I want nothing to do with you!'

The hooded man's foot blocked the door. 'I'm afraid you don't have a choice, Verzant.'

'Get fucked, Ardos. I'm not a member of Cipher anymore. Cipher doesn't exist anymore.'

'Cipher exists in me.'

'Look at me. I can't help you. I don't want to help you.'

A door slammed. Ardos flinched.

'Let me in! I cannot be seen!'

'No! Turn yourself in if you need a place to go. My taxes will feed you. Good riddance.'

Verzant stamped on his foot and shut the door. Before he could slide the only open window shut, Ardos peered in.

'You pledged allegiance to Cipher's cause!'

'We pledge allegiance to the flag every morning in school, too! Didn't stop you, or me for that matter. I would've been the greatest governor this shithole's ever had, but I'm not, because that pledge didn't mean shit when I was a member of Cipher. I've had plenty of your "cause." I don't want anymore. Fuck off.'

He reached to wrestle Ardos from the window, but the old man was surprisingly strong. There was a muffled, high-pitched cry. Glaring, Verzant snatched his P★DA from the threadbare couch.

'I'm calling the cops!'

Shoes clattered. Ardos was already inside, climbing down from the sink. Another voice yelled.

'Verzant! Come help me!'

'One moment!'

He frantically dialled 911. There was barely time. Ardos commanded Gengar to send Verzant to sleep. He called his Sableye to throw it back.

'What are you doing?!'

The bedroom door creaked open. Jazlyn, holding a screaming baby, peered out. She shrieked.

'Are you Cipher-ing again?! You moron!'

'I didn't invite him! Call the cops already!'

'Hm... you have a child.'

Ardos folded his arms. 'Interesting.'

'And I don't want a psychopath anywhere near her!'

Jazlyn's Lopunny leapt over their heads. Ardos was spread-eagled on the floor. Gengar's attacks didn't affect Lopunny. It pinned his arms before he could send out another Pokémon.

'Get your own shithole, you creep!'

His nose was bleeding when they threw him out onto the steps. Sirens blared in the distance. There was no sign of Ardos by the time the police arrived. They thought Verzant was mad, or feebly attempting to get back at Cipher for ruining his political career.

'I'm telling you!' he yelled after them, 'He's here in this trailer park – and you'll have a Cipher revival on your hands if you won't listen!'

It was no use. The cars screeched away. Ardos took Jazlyn's advice. With Verzant's passport he snatched from a bookcase, he moved into his own trailer with dyed-black hair. Verzant applied for a second job, taking their daughter Lyric to work with him, to save enough money to move away, far away where Ardos couldn't reach them... but Ardos never took rejection lightly. No-one connected to Orre had seen the back of that troubled land. Verzant hadn't seen the back of Ardos.