Hey guys, what's the perfect way of celebrating Valentine's day? Why Another chapter of newly named story Illusion!
You can find chapter one here Chapter 1 and chapter 2 here Chapter 2
Today's lovely commission to go with the story is a toon commission done by
Immelmann
The story is written by me,
jun365
Word count is 4584
Update 3/11/21: Updated some Grammar and spelling errors, give it another read!
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Jun hadn’t flown on a plane in a long time. He didn’t mind the heights or the long waits. What he had found out is that he now disliked the ‘atmosphere’. His new heightened senses made everything on the plane worse. When Jun first got onto the plane, it was fine, now it smelled so bad. The sweat and odor were starting to slowly build and the recycled air did nothing to keep the stench away. Maybe for a normal person, it would have been fine but now, it was near eye-watering for Jun. All he was thankful for was that there was no one sharing a seat next to him and he had something to distract him from the horridness that was the plane to Unova. The leather-bound book that the mysterious J sent over.
It wasn’t a book per se, more just a well-defined journal. The ‘constellations’ as the little title of the from labeled it as were what looked to be J’s or someone's journal. Whoever wrote it spent a lot of time going over field notes of a whole list of legendaries and myths. Sightings, stories, rumors, everything seemed to be logged in this journal. He flipped through the lists seeing the stories that the author had written down. The author also wrote their musings on the sides with a different color. ‘I agree, why the hell is Regigigas mainly seen in Sinnoh and not with the other Regis in Hoenn, that makes no sense’ As Jun was reading, a ding rang through the cabin. A voice over the intercom announced “ Ladies and Gentlemen, we shall be landing in Virbank city in around thirty minutes, we shall begin our descent so the seatbelt light is now on.” Thirty minutes, perfect timing, he was starting to think that if he was going to be stuck in this gross thing any longer, he would crash the plane. As he was skimming through the book before he put it away, he stumbled upon a legendary that sounded familiar. The name when he read it, gave him a shiver. Mewtwo.
He had heard a few stories about it a few years ago, it had supposedly been caught by a team rocket and a raid by the international police distracted them enough to escape. Some rumors say it got some revenge on the scientists while it escaped. No information was found on it and the police never issued a statement about it. From what little info his sis gave the place looked like a bomb went off. As he turned to the page, he found it sparse, in contrast with everything else in the book. ‘Stay away from him, do not approach in any situation.’ Well, that seems very ominous Jun thought ‘Also what did they expect it to do, hug it? Come on, I have a brain.’ He closed the book and set it on his lap, closing his eyes. He hoped he would calmly deal with the plane for 25 more minutes by then, it would be all over.
Jun was slightly ecstatic when he left the airport. Not only was he happy that he was out of the sensory overload that was the plane and he could now have some fresh air, he hadn’t traveled since he was a child and it always felt cool going somewhere new. As he scooted his pack higher onto his back, he made his way to a small motel which he reserved before the flight. It wouldn’t be the best but Jun was always a bit frivolous when it came to stuff.
As he made his way through the streets of Virbank, his mind focused on the task at hand, finding J. The surrounding area was a perfect area for someone to hide. The coast provided many hidden areas and the route was a watery forest which perfectly matched up with the note. There was also a nearby ranch so people were living out on the fringes of the city. Everything was lining up. Jun held his head up high with determination. ‘Once I make it to the motel, I will finally solve this mystery! Looks like my luck is finally turning around.’
As it turns out, luck was not anywhere near his side. He spent the entire day searching route 20 and found nothing. It had everything, a forest, a waterfall, everything but nothing. He spent hours wading through water and mud and got absolutely nowhere. He looked high and low, even asked people along the trails of anybody suspicious under the guise of an environmental investigator but, nothing. Dejected, wet, and tired Jun made his way back to Virbank City.
“Ugh, you would think that having immediately found it would be too easy.” Jun sighed. He could spend days, even weeks, scouring route 20 alone. He didn’t have the time nor the energy to scour every bit around Virbank. That left Jun with one real option, the underbelly of Virbank. The port town definitely had its fair share of underground activities, concerts, fighting rings, the whole shebang. It also wasn’t really hard to know where it all happened in Virbank, the southern section. Within the southern section laid one Virbank Complex, the heart of the underground scene. Dock by day, nightlife central by...well night. He was a bit worried at first on trying to find out where it was but, it kinda just stuck out like a sore thumb. Welp, he didn’t have any problem with that.
Once dusk had long passed and noises faint noises and music slowly filled the air around the complex, Jun made his move. He took off his human disguise and slinked in the shadows. His clawed hands and feet made it easy to climb up onto the roofs of surrounding warehouses. He surveyed until he found his target. The warehouse looked the same but was bigger than the surrounding houses. The only major thing that was different was the noise coming from it. Through faint, he could still make out the sounds and cheers of a market. Perfect. He quickly climbed down off of the roof using the gutters and made his way to the entrance. He put back on his disguise and approached the warehouse. He made sure that his disguise looked right in place in order not to look suspicious. As he made his way to the entrance, he noticed only one person guarding the whole joint, smoking a cigarette. The guard nods and Jun nods in return. He opens the door and Jun walked straight into the underground market.
The market was abuzz with people moving and traders selling. If it wasn’t in a warehouse somebody could have seen it as a farmers market but the people weren't selling fruits and flowers. Jun walked through the market looking to find what he was looking for. He was looking for information, a valuable commodity in the underworld. He made his way past another group and came across a large ring with people cheering and yelling out bets. If there is someone selling info, it might as well be there. Jun made his way to the fence to see what was happening. It was a pokemon fighting ring. Except it wasn’t only Pokemon fighting. A woman was taking a fistfight with a Machoke and winning convincingly. She threw a punch to the face of the Machoke which quickly acted to block his face. She feigned her punch and went for a hard-hitting kick to the side. The Machoke leaned down slightly to the right and the woman took the opportunity and uppercut the Machoke and knocked the pokemon out. The roar of the crowd drowned out anything else in the market.
“Our street champion is on a streak tonight, that's ten fighters in a row, and she’s not even winded.” An announcer says into a microphone as he walks out into the ring. Both of the competitors nod and leave the arena. As they were leaving, the bell was struck three times. “Now as many of you know, anyone can fight the lady of tonight but right now we have the hourly roulette!” The crowd cheers again but Jun stayed quiet. If what he was thinking is about to happen, he’s screwed. “We’ll get to choose someone from the audience by the light roulette wheel above you” As he says this, lights around the fence flare-up. “One lucky person will get a close up on the action, whether you want to or not” The light starts to spin around the ring gaining speed. Jun closed his eyes. He knew it was going to be him because fate had been hating him today, so why not go all the way. The lights spun around before coming to a stop right in front of him. Dammit. “And our lovely winner is the man in the lab coat! Stay right there son, one of our lovely guards shall escort you to a prep locked and don’t try running. They don’t like cowards!” Great, there went one of the back-up plans. A large man wearing a black tank top, probably to show off his muscle, approached Jun and motioned him to follow him. Jun did so and the man led him over to the left where a thin set of stairs lead to a small locker room that leads to the arena. Behind him, the gate closed, locking. Jun had started to hate his luck today.
He had little time. Jun took off his lab coat and quickly made his way to the locker to find if anything was left for in with hope. All he found was a small roll of boxer tape, a very worn undershirt that somebody probably left, and a bottle of water. Dammit. He picked up the boxer tape and started to unwind it when he came across a serious problem. You can’t put tape on an illusion. Nore does a fist care what's behind the illusion. Should he be discovered, what would happen? Would he get booted or even worse, captured? Jun shook his head to dismiss those thoughts “I can’t think about that right now. I need to focus” he whispered. As he looked down at his illusion he noticed with surprise that it changed a bit. His illusion had changed his shirt to look like the one hanging in the locker. His arms were fully revealed and he even looked a little buffer. Not a lot mind you, but enough not to make him look like a noodle. His arms also had some small scars and wear on them. His hands were wrapped up in boxers tape and looked ready to go. He sighed, now for some reason he was able to change a bit of his illusion almost absentmindedly but not on command. Jun would have loved to theorize but he had no time to think or make theories about it. The roar of the crowd started to grow louder with impatience. He knew he had to go out and face what seemed to be an evident beating. But like hell was he going to go down without a fight. He’ll do what he can, resist and bite.
He walked out past the old iron fence that probably belonged to a ranch for bulls. The lights were burning bright as he walked out into the ring. As he looked around, he could hear the talk of the crowd and the bowing of the chain fence blocking the fight. The girl was nowhere to be seen, probably taking a short break getting ready to beat him into a pulp. The lights suddenly turned off. Spotlights at the top of the ring swung to the opposite side of the ring from where he was. His opponent had finally arrived. With the spotlights on, two fog machines started to create a low fog. Flashy. “Introducing your pit champion with ten victories tonight, here is your champion, Veronica!”
As the now named champion Veronica made her way out into the ring, Jun was able to get a better look at her than before. Her long brown hair was tied into a ponytail that went to her back. She was wearing some tight-looking sports clothes that don’t offer any loose grabbing spots. She had blue eyes and a confident smirk as she made her way in. Her hands were covered in wrapping tape which looked to be the same as his and by the knuckles, looked to be the same ones before the fight, though cleaned up a bit. Jugging by her stance and movement, she didn’t look as tired or beaten as he had hoped for.
“And over to the other side of the ring, you have the challenger, the Mysterious Scientist!” Really, the Mysterious Scientist? He could have asked for his name or something before the start, that could be maybe cool but no, he had to deal with that stupid name. Also, if he were to ever be in that theme, he would've kept the coat! Then at least he could play it up but nope. He had to settle for being a bit generic. The crowd cheered and some scattered boos to the reveal of the ‘Mysterious Scientist’. Jun hoped the boos were due to the stupid name, not him. He loosened up his form and took a look at the finer details of her. Judging by her bandages being a bit bloody and not so much around her legs or knees, she is probably more punch-oriented than full form combat. Though he assumes that most of the attacks would come from punches he didn’t assume that she wasn’t capable of kicks. Hell, he saw her kick her last opponent who wasn’t expecting it. Maybe it was part of her final attack. She didn’t offer any words when she stopped in the ring. Well, at least he doesn’t have to remove any ‘mystery’ from himself. He was going to have to draw everything that his dad taught him and his sister tried to beat into him. He brought up his hands in preparation.
“Who will win this soon-to-be epic bout, let’s find out! Begin!” The bell rang and Jun prepared for the upcoming onslaught.
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Veronica was having a good night tonight. She had been on a streak tonight and she had raked in a lot of money. With her usual ten fights at most now finished after that annoying Machoke, she was happy to call it a night and rest a bit. “Our street champion is on a streak tonight crowd, that’s ten fighters in a row, and she’s not even winded.” Vermouth, the local announcer proclaimed. She personally disliked the small announcer but he brought in the curious which meant more visitors. More visitors meant more money for her. She would call it a night here probably, ten is a reasonable number. Vermouth said she wasn’t winded but, fighting ten opponents takes some gusto out of your step. Her rest was broken when a bell rang off. Hell, it was the top of the hour. That meant that dumb roulette wheel and another fight that the winner of the last fight had to fight in. ‘Damn’ she thought ‘looks like I have one more fight tonight.’ The flashy roulette wheel landed on an unlikely fighter. Hell, he didn’t even look like a fighter, more likely a passerby intrigued by the sounds of battle. Though everyone knows down in the underworld, curiosity kills the cat, it looks like he didn’t learn that lesson. The man of the hour made his way to the other locker room as she made her way back to hers’s.
After the break had ended, she made her way back to the entrance. With her queue, she made her way out into the arena with the roar of the crowd. It wasn’t surprising that the ten streak fighter would be the fan-favorite for tonight. She did some last-minute stretching as her opponent was revealed. ‘’And over to the other side of the ring, you have the challenger, the Mysterious Scientist!” ‘Really, Vermouth forgot to ask the person what their name was again? How in the world did he ever stay afloat?’ Whoever this person was also looked a little upset at the unexpected name as well judging by the twitch of his mouth. He was already in a defensive stance and had taken the tape and wrapped it pretty well. ‘At least this person had some training’ Veronica thought. ‘Who knows, maybe this might be an interesting fight.’ His eyes were also scanning over her, just like she was. The kid also had a brain. Good, he’ll need it.
When the starting bell went off, he didn’t charge her. He took a few shuffles around to gauge her fighting style and make her go on the offense. He would need to probe for info just like her then. The two slowly tested each other's defenses and abilities, seeing what plan they could make. Veronica was impressed by the ‘mysterious scientist’ in being able to dodge or misdirect most of her hits. He liked to try to capitalize on her mistakes after that. Well, she would need to somehow make sure he couldn’t dodge. With a quick plan, she set up her attacks. She would start up a punching train to give her opponent no space to attack before another punch was thrown. She could maybe throw a kick to make sure he didn’t get too comfortable. From there she would back him into the gate fence and capitalize on the limited space that he would have to work with. Then, she would end the fight there. With a quick and decisive plan, all she needed to do was set it in motion. She approached him and with a quick punch blocked by her, she started her flurry of blows. With each punch thrown, her opponents skillfully dodged and moved out of the way. Though he tried to break the onslaught with a few jabs, they were ineffective and weren’t able to land unless he were to take a hit. As she positioned him into the corner, she was confident that she found his weakness, he didn’t want to be hit. The poor man probably couldn’t take a hit. One hit might be all she needs to end it. With each punch and kick, she herds him closer to the wall. With one more punch, he backs up and hits the wall. A shocked look on his face gave away that he had no idea until now that he was cornered. With him shocked, Veronica made to finish the fight with a flying kick. Though he tried to move out of the way, there was no room left to dodge. Even as he tried to move out of the way to limit the blow, it would still be a solid hit. He still threw his body to the side hoping with any luck to avoid it but even then, it would still hit, if not a skim. As the hit came closer to landing, she knew it was all over. In an almost slow-motion fashion, the hit landed right on the side of his gut except, it just skimmed through the air. ‘What!?’ Veronica thought,’ I thought I… oh no.’ As the supposed ending kick missed her opponent, he took the opportunity given to him. Her opponent gave a hard elbow to her sternum and started a train of their own onto the now staggered Veronica. Blow after blow, Veronica was beaten back in the fight. Veronica quickly tried to catch on to his pattern and saw a low kick was coming in and quickly moved to block the attack. However, this was a feint and left her open for the roundhouse that was quickly coming her way. With a smack, the hit knocked her to the ground and with the roar of the crowd, the bell had been rung. The match was over. She had lost. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have your winner defeating the streak of Veronica by TKO, It’s the Mysterious Scientist!” As Veronica laid there, she saw the man once again scrunch his face with the stupid nickname as he made his way to her. Veronica expected the trash talk and goading on about how better they are but she got what she didn't expect, an offer to help her up. Veronica thought about it before refusing the offer with a hand wave. Showing humility or Arceus forbid kindness in the ring, you would be torn apart by the others. Seeing that she didn’t want or need the help, he made his way back to his locker room. Veronica only had more questions than answers about this man and there is only one way to get it. Ask him herself.
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Jun was screaming. Well at least in his head. He wasn’t screaming out loud at the moment because that would make him look like a crazy person. He had to thank his stupid sister for all of the times that she wanted to play poker growing up as a child now, it was the only way he could keep a straight face without having it contort into looks of fear and screaming during the match. Could he even call it a match? He mainly dodged all of her attacks and managed to land a few blows onto her. Hell, she still looked like she could fight and kick his ass but for some reason, they rang the bell early. Maybe some people were tired of all of the dodging that he was doing and once someone was on the floor, they called it. Whatever it was, Jun was thankful that the fight went so well. It could have led to so many problems if it hadn’t gone in his favor. He dropped his disguise around his arms so he could take a little bit of a break. He grabbed a bottle of water and quickly drank half of it. After 2 minutes of break, he put back on the disguise around his hands and put back on his lab coat. Now looking as he looked when he walked in, he left the locker room. He was quickly created by the ringleader from before. After being assaulted with a ton of info and answering some questions, he was left with his earnings from winning and a cut of the bets. After the money was dropped off, the crowd around him quickly vanished leaving him alone and back to the ring for the next fight. Jun sighed with relief, knowing now he can finally go back to the hot- A hand grabbing and pulling him interrupted his monologue. He looks up to see that the person pulling him along over to a secluded corner of the black market was Veronica.
As Veronica pulled Jun into the secluded area Jun said, “Listen, I didn’t want to join the ring, I-” Jun was cut off by Veronica “Yea, I kinda noticed that immediately, I mean you don’t look like you came for a fight tonight unless looking like a lab nerd.”
“Well, I was looking for information on someone,” Jun said matter of factly “And besides, lab coats are comfy.”
“Ooh, mysterious and vague are we? Do you want to give more information on who you are looking for or shall I leave you to grumble and be edgy?” Veronica mocked.
“I’m looking for someone named J, they gave a weird poem as a hint and have left me in a precarious position. I managed to narrow the courier’s route down to Nimbasa City, Castelia City, and here. This J could have dropped off the package at one of those three cities. All I have managed to do today is to search an entire route, get stuck in a mud pit, and get roped into an illegal fighting ring.” Jun pulls out the paper with the hinting poem to show to Veronica.
“I don’t know, maybe the fighting ring sounds fun” Veronica jokes and grabs the poem from Jun’s hand. “Well, I have worked here for around 3 months and haven’t heard of anyone going by J let alone a single letter. I can ask a few people but, Looking at your situation, you probably won’t find this ‘J’ here. With the surrounding ranches and city, anyone trying to hide in the forest would have had to be seen at least a few times. If you stay here, I’ll be back in ten”
Veronica quickly moves out of the secluded area that they were in and quickly disappears into the crowd. After 9 minutes, she returns, spooking a dosing Jun. “Well I talked to my source, which is THE source and they have nothing.”
“Nothing” Jun askes.
“Nada. Well at least in Virbank, this J person either doesn’t exist or is not on their radar.”
Jun curses his luck. Well, It looks like nothing behind door number one. Why couldn’t his luck be a little good? “Well thanks for the help, I’ve got a boat ticket to order.” Before Jun can walk off, Veronica grabs his wrist.
“Wait… I know where we can get some tickets for cheap” Veronica now leads the confused Jun through the market till they reach a stall selling an allotment of tickets.
“Wait, why did you say we?” Jun asks Veronica
“Well because I’m gonna join you! I was starting to get bored of just fighting here anyway. I think I have enough money, so why not continue the adventure called life.”
“What if I said no?” Jun responds
“Then I probably beat you up and force you to accept that I’ll be joining you,” Veronica said knowing that he had little chance of not having her as a new travel companion.
Jun sighed. Well, why not take the devil you sort of know but just met in a shady black market. “Well then, looks like you’ve joined my posse.” Jun looks down to find some nice tickets for a half-decent luxury liner to Castelia City. He picks out two tickets as the man behind the counter rings them up. “We’ll be leaving early so, you better be ready” Jun takes the tickets as he and Veronica move to the exit of the black market.
“Ready, I was born ready” Veronica responds “so, are you staying in a hotel, motel, or what?”
“Why are you asking”
“Free room is a free room. Besides if I don’t get good sleep, I might be extra grouchy tomorrow.”
Jun sightseeing that arguing with her is like trying to convince a brick wall not to impede him, “Follow me” as the two of them make their way through the market. Jun turns his attention to finding the exit and moves through the crowd. When he turned to check on Veronica, he noticed that she had more stuff, including a backpack along with a few other things quickly put together.
Seeing that Jun was giving her a questioning look Veronica says “What, I needed my things before I left. Besides one less night sleeping here, the better.” Jun just shrugged and the two made their way out of the market and into the cold Virbank night.
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Woo Boy. this chapter is nearly twice as long as the first one, so cheers to me I guess. Also, first time writing a fight scene so sorry if it kinda sucks! I've got three other stories floating in my head with 2 of them being either a 2 or 3 shot. Anyway, thanks for reading!
You can find chapter one here Chapter 1 and chapter 2 here Chapter 2
Today's lovely commission to go with the story is a toon commission done by
ImmelmannThe story is written by me,
jun365Word count is 4584
Update 3/11/21: Updated some Grammar and spelling errors, give it another read!
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Jun hadn’t flown on a plane in a long time. He didn’t mind the heights or the long waits. What he had found out is that he now disliked the ‘atmosphere’. His new heightened senses made everything on the plane worse. When Jun first got onto the plane, it was fine, now it smelled so bad. The sweat and odor were starting to slowly build and the recycled air did nothing to keep the stench away. Maybe for a normal person, it would have been fine but now, it was near eye-watering for Jun. All he was thankful for was that there was no one sharing a seat next to him and he had something to distract him from the horridness that was the plane to Unova. The leather-bound book that the mysterious J sent over.
It wasn’t a book per se, more just a well-defined journal. The ‘constellations’ as the little title of the from labeled it as were what looked to be J’s or someone's journal. Whoever wrote it spent a lot of time going over field notes of a whole list of legendaries and myths. Sightings, stories, rumors, everything seemed to be logged in this journal. He flipped through the lists seeing the stories that the author had written down. The author also wrote their musings on the sides with a different color. ‘I agree, why the hell is Regigigas mainly seen in Sinnoh and not with the other Regis in Hoenn, that makes no sense’ As Jun was reading, a ding rang through the cabin. A voice over the intercom announced “ Ladies and Gentlemen, we shall be landing in Virbank city in around thirty minutes, we shall begin our descent so the seatbelt light is now on.” Thirty minutes, perfect timing, he was starting to think that if he was going to be stuck in this gross thing any longer, he would crash the plane. As he was skimming through the book before he put it away, he stumbled upon a legendary that sounded familiar. The name when he read it, gave him a shiver. Mewtwo.
He had heard a few stories about it a few years ago, it had supposedly been caught by a team rocket and a raid by the international police distracted them enough to escape. Some rumors say it got some revenge on the scientists while it escaped. No information was found on it and the police never issued a statement about it. From what little info his sis gave the place looked like a bomb went off. As he turned to the page, he found it sparse, in contrast with everything else in the book. ‘Stay away from him, do not approach in any situation.’ Well, that seems very ominous Jun thought ‘Also what did they expect it to do, hug it? Come on, I have a brain.’ He closed the book and set it on his lap, closing his eyes. He hoped he would calmly deal with the plane for 25 more minutes by then, it would be all over.
Jun was slightly ecstatic when he left the airport. Not only was he happy that he was out of the sensory overload that was the plane and he could now have some fresh air, he hadn’t traveled since he was a child and it always felt cool going somewhere new. As he scooted his pack higher onto his back, he made his way to a small motel which he reserved before the flight. It wouldn’t be the best but Jun was always a bit frivolous when it came to stuff.
As he made his way through the streets of Virbank, his mind focused on the task at hand, finding J. The surrounding area was a perfect area for someone to hide. The coast provided many hidden areas and the route was a watery forest which perfectly matched up with the note. There was also a nearby ranch so people were living out on the fringes of the city. Everything was lining up. Jun held his head up high with determination. ‘Once I make it to the motel, I will finally solve this mystery! Looks like my luck is finally turning around.’
As it turns out, luck was not anywhere near his side. He spent the entire day searching route 20 and found nothing. It had everything, a forest, a waterfall, everything but nothing. He spent hours wading through water and mud and got absolutely nowhere. He looked high and low, even asked people along the trails of anybody suspicious under the guise of an environmental investigator but, nothing. Dejected, wet, and tired Jun made his way back to Virbank City.
“Ugh, you would think that having immediately found it would be too easy.” Jun sighed. He could spend days, even weeks, scouring route 20 alone. He didn’t have the time nor the energy to scour every bit around Virbank. That left Jun with one real option, the underbelly of Virbank. The port town definitely had its fair share of underground activities, concerts, fighting rings, the whole shebang. It also wasn’t really hard to know where it all happened in Virbank, the southern section. Within the southern section laid one Virbank Complex, the heart of the underground scene. Dock by day, nightlife central by...well night. He was a bit worried at first on trying to find out where it was but, it kinda just stuck out like a sore thumb. Welp, he didn’t have any problem with that.
Once dusk had long passed and noises faint noises and music slowly filled the air around the complex, Jun made his move. He took off his human disguise and slinked in the shadows. His clawed hands and feet made it easy to climb up onto the roofs of surrounding warehouses. He surveyed until he found his target. The warehouse looked the same but was bigger than the surrounding houses. The only major thing that was different was the noise coming from it. Through faint, he could still make out the sounds and cheers of a market. Perfect. He quickly climbed down off of the roof using the gutters and made his way to the entrance. He put back on his disguise and approached the warehouse. He made sure that his disguise looked right in place in order not to look suspicious. As he made his way to the entrance, he noticed only one person guarding the whole joint, smoking a cigarette. The guard nods and Jun nods in return. He opens the door and Jun walked straight into the underground market.
The market was abuzz with people moving and traders selling. If it wasn’t in a warehouse somebody could have seen it as a farmers market but the people weren't selling fruits and flowers. Jun walked through the market looking to find what he was looking for. He was looking for information, a valuable commodity in the underworld. He made his way past another group and came across a large ring with people cheering and yelling out bets. If there is someone selling info, it might as well be there. Jun made his way to the fence to see what was happening. It was a pokemon fighting ring. Except it wasn’t only Pokemon fighting. A woman was taking a fistfight with a Machoke and winning convincingly. She threw a punch to the face of the Machoke which quickly acted to block his face. She feigned her punch and went for a hard-hitting kick to the side. The Machoke leaned down slightly to the right and the woman took the opportunity and uppercut the Machoke and knocked the pokemon out. The roar of the crowd drowned out anything else in the market.
“Our street champion is on a streak tonight, that's ten fighters in a row, and she’s not even winded.” An announcer says into a microphone as he walks out into the ring. Both of the competitors nod and leave the arena. As they were leaving, the bell was struck three times. “Now as many of you know, anyone can fight the lady of tonight but right now we have the hourly roulette!” The crowd cheers again but Jun stayed quiet. If what he was thinking is about to happen, he’s screwed. “We’ll get to choose someone from the audience by the light roulette wheel above you” As he says this, lights around the fence flare-up. “One lucky person will get a close up on the action, whether you want to or not” The light starts to spin around the ring gaining speed. Jun closed his eyes. He knew it was going to be him because fate had been hating him today, so why not go all the way. The lights spun around before coming to a stop right in front of him. Dammit. “And our lovely winner is the man in the lab coat! Stay right there son, one of our lovely guards shall escort you to a prep locked and don’t try running. They don’t like cowards!” Great, there went one of the back-up plans. A large man wearing a black tank top, probably to show off his muscle, approached Jun and motioned him to follow him. Jun did so and the man led him over to the left where a thin set of stairs lead to a small locker room that leads to the arena. Behind him, the gate closed, locking. Jun had started to hate his luck today.
He had little time. Jun took off his lab coat and quickly made his way to the locker to find if anything was left for in with hope. All he found was a small roll of boxer tape, a very worn undershirt that somebody probably left, and a bottle of water. Dammit. He picked up the boxer tape and started to unwind it when he came across a serious problem. You can’t put tape on an illusion. Nore does a fist care what's behind the illusion. Should he be discovered, what would happen? Would he get booted or even worse, captured? Jun shook his head to dismiss those thoughts “I can’t think about that right now. I need to focus” he whispered. As he looked down at his illusion he noticed with surprise that it changed a bit. His illusion had changed his shirt to look like the one hanging in the locker. His arms were fully revealed and he even looked a little buffer. Not a lot mind you, but enough not to make him look like a noodle. His arms also had some small scars and wear on them. His hands were wrapped up in boxers tape and looked ready to go. He sighed, now for some reason he was able to change a bit of his illusion almost absentmindedly but not on command. Jun would have loved to theorize but he had no time to think or make theories about it. The roar of the crowd started to grow louder with impatience. He knew he had to go out and face what seemed to be an evident beating. But like hell was he going to go down without a fight. He’ll do what he can, resist and bite.
He walked out past the old iron fence that probably belonged to a ranch for bulls. The lights were burning bright as he walked out into the ring. As he looked around, he could hear the talk of the crowd and the bowing of the chain fence blocking the fight. The girl was nowhere to be seen, probably taking a short break getting ready to beat him into a pulp. The lights suddenly turned off. Spotlights at the top of the ring swung to the opposite side of the ring from where he was. His opponent had finally arrived. With the spotlights on, two fog machines started to create a low fog. Flashy. “Introducing your pit champion with ten victories tonight, here is your champion, Veronica!”
As the now named champion Veronica made her way out into the ring, Jun was able to get a better look at her than before. Her long brown hair was tied into a ponytail that went to her back. She was wearing some tight-looking sports clothes that don’t offer any loose grabbing spots. She had blue eyes and a confident smirk as she made her way in. Her hands were covered in wrapping tape which looked to be the same as his and by the knuckles, looked to be the same ones before the fight, though cleaned up a bit. Jugging by her stance and movement, she didn’t look as tired or beaten as he had hoped for.
“And over to the other side of the ring, you have the challenger, the Mysterious Scientist!” Really, the Mysterious Scientist? He could have asked for his name or something before the start, that could be maybe cool but no, he had to deal with that stupid name. Also, if he were to ever be in that theme, he would've kept the coat! Then at least he could play it up but nope. He had to settle for being a bit generic. The crowd cheered and some scattered boos to the reveal of the ‘Mysterious Scientist’. Jun hoped the boos were due to the stupid name, not him. He loosened up his form and took a look at the finer details of her. Judging by her bandages being a bit bloody and not so much around her legs or knees, she is probably more punch-oriented than full form combat. Though he assumes that most of the attacks would come from punches he didn’t assume that she wasn’t capable of kicks. Hell, he saw her kick her last opponent who wasn’t expecting it. Maybe it was part of her final attack. She didn’t offer any words when she stopped in the ring. Well, at least he doesn’t have to remove any ‘mystery’ from himself. He was going to have to draw everything that his dad taught him and his sister tried to beat into him. He brought up his hands in preparation.
“Who will win this soon-to-be epic bout, let’s find out! Begin!” The bell rang and Jun prepared for the upcoming onslaught.
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Veronica was having a good night tonight. She had been on a streak tonight and she had raked in a lot of money. With her usual ten fights at most now finished after that annoying Machoke, she was happy to call it a night and rest a bit. “Our street champion is on a streak tonight crowd, that’s ten fighters in a row, and she’s not even winded.” Vermouth, the local announcer proclaimed. She personally disliked the small announcer but he brought in the curious which meant more visitors. More visitors meant more money for her. She would call it a night here probably, ten is a reasonable number. Vermouth said she wasn’t winded but, fighting ten opponents takes some gusto out of your step. Her rest was broken when a bell rang off. Hell, it was the top of the hour. That meant that dumb roulette wheel and another fight that the winner of the last fight had to fight in. ‘Damn’ she thought ‘looks like I have one more fight tonight.’ The flashy roulette wheel landed on an unlikely fighter. Hell, he didn’t even look like a fighter, more likely a passerby intrigued by the sounds of battle. Though everyone knows down in the underworld, curiosity kills the cat, it looks like he didn’t learn that lesson. The man of the hour made his way to the other locker room as she made her way back to hers’s.
After the break had ended, she made her way back to the entrance. With her queue, she made her way out into the arena with the roar of the crowd. It wasn’t surprising that the ten streak fighter would be the fan-favorite for tonight. She did some last-minute stretching as her opponent was revealed. ‘’And over to the other side of the ring, you have the challenger, the Mysterious Scientist!” ‘Really, Vermouth forgot to ask the person what their name was again? How in the world did he ever stay afloat?’ Whoever this person was also looked a little upset at the unexpected name as well judging by the twitch of his mouth. He was already in a defensive stance and had taken the tape and wrapped it pretty well. ‘At least this person had some training’ Veronica thought. ‘Who knows, maybe this might be an interesting fight.’ His eyes were also scanning over her, just like she was. The kid also had a brain. Good, he’ll need it.
When the starting bell went off, he didn’t charge her. He took a few shuffles around to gauge her fighting style and make her go on the offense. He would need to probe for info just like her then. The two slowly tested each other's defenses and abilities, seeing what plan they could make. Veronica was impressed by the ‘mysterious scientist’ in being able to dodge or misdirect most of her hits. He liked to try to capitalize on her mistakes after that. Well, she would need to somehow make sure he couldn’t dodge. With a quick plan, she set up her attacks. She would start up a punching train to give her opponent no space to attack before another punch was thrown. She could maybe throw a kick to make sure he didn’t get too comfortable. From there she would back him into the gate fence and capitalize on the limited space that he would have to work with. Then, she would end the fight there. With a quick and decisive plan, all she needed to do was set it in motion. She approached him and with a quick punch blocked by her, she started her flurry of blows. With each punch thrown, her opponents skillfully dodged and moved out of the way. Though he tried to break the onslaught with a few jabs, they were ineffective and weren’t able to land unless he were to take a hit. As she positioned him into the corner, she was confident that she found his weakness, he didn’t want to be hit. The poor man probably couldn’t take a hit. One hit might be all she needs to end it. With each punch and kick, she herds him closer to the wall. With one more punch, he backs up and hits the wall. A shocked look on his face gave away that he had no idea until now that he was cornered. With him shocked, Veronica made to finish the fight with a flying kick. Though he tried to move out of the way, there was no room left to dodge. Even as he tried to move out of the way to limit the blow, it would still be a solid hit. He still threw his body to the side hoping with any luck to avoid it but even then, it would still hit, if not a skim. As the hit came closer to landing, she knew it was all over. In an almost slow-motion fashion, the hit landed right on the side of his gut except, it just skimmed through the air. ‘What!?’ Veronica thought,’ I thought I… oh no.’ As the supposed ending kick missed her opponent, he took the opportunity given to him. Her opponent gave a hard elbow to her sternum and started a train of their own onto the now staggered Veronica. Blow after blow, Veronica was beaten back in the fight. Veronica quickly tried to catch on to his pattern and saw a low kick was coming in and quickly moved to block the attack. However, this was a feint and left her open for the roundhouse that was quickly coming her way. With a smack, the hit knocked her to the ground and with the roar of the crowd, the bell had been rung. The match was over. She had lost. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have your winner defeating the streak of Veronica by TKO, It’s the Mysterious Scientist!” As Veronica laid there, she saw the man once again scrunch his face with the stupid nickname as he made his way to her. Veronica expected the trash talk and goading on about how better they are but she got what she didn't expect, an offer to help her up. Veronica thought about it before refusing the offer with a hand wave. Showing humility or Arceus forbid kindness in the ring, you would be torn apart by the others. Seeing that she didn’t want or need the help, he made his way back to his locker room. Veronica only had more questions than answers about this man and there is only one way to get it. Ask him herself.
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Jun was screaming. Well at least in his head. He wasn’t screaming out loud at the moment because that would make him look like a crazy person. He had to thank his stupid sister for all of the times that she wanted to play poker growing up as a child now, it was the only way he could keep a straight face without having it contort into looks of fear and screaming during the match. Could he even call it a match? He mainly dodged all of her attacks and managed to land a few blows onto her. Hell, she still looked like she could fight and kick his ass but for some reason, they rang the bell early. Maybe some people were tired of all of the dodging that he was doing and once someone was on the floor, they called it. Whatever it was, Jun was thankful that the fight went so well. It could have led to so many problems if it hadn’t gone in his favor. He dropped his disguise around his arms so he could take a little bit of a break. He grabbed a bottle of water and quickly drank half of it. After 2 minutes of break, he put back on the disguise around his hands and put back on his lab coat. Now looking as he looked when he walked in, he left the locker room. He was quickly created by the ringleader from before. After being assaulted with a ton of info and answering some questions, he was left with his earnings from winning and a cut of the bets. After the money was dropped off, the crowd around him quickly vanished leaving him alone and back to the ring for the next fight. Jun sighed with relief, knowing now he can finally go back to the hot- A hand grabbing and pulling him interrupted his monologue. He looks up to see that the person pulling him along over to a secluded corner of the black market was Veronica.
As Veronica pulled Jun into the secluded area Jun said, “Listen, I didn’t want to join the ring, I-” Jun was cut off by Veronica “Yea, I kinda noticed that immediately, I mean you don’t look like you came for a fight tonight unless looking like a lab nerd.”
“Well, I was looking for information on someone,” Jun said matter of factly “And besides, lab coats are comfy.”
“Ooh, mysterious and vague are we? Do you want to give more information on who you are looking for or shall I leave you to grumble and be edgy?” Veronica mocked.
“I’m looking for someone named J, they gave a weird poem as a hint and have left me in a precarious position. I managed to narrow the courier’s route down to Nimbasa City, Castelia City, and here. This J could have dropped off the package at one of those three cities. All I have managed to do today is to search an entire route, get stuck in a mud pit, and get roped into an illegal fighting ring.” Jun pulls out the paper with the hinting poem to show to Veronica.
“I don’t know, maybe the fighting ring sounds fun” Veronica jokes and grabs the poem from Jun’s hand. “Well, I have worked here for around 3 months and haven’t heard of anyone going by J let alone a single letter. I can ask a few people but, Looking at your situation, you probably won’t find this ‘J’ here. With the surrounding ranches and city, anyone trying to hide in the forest would have had to be seen at least a few times. If you stay here, I’ll be back in ten”
Veronica quickly moves out of the secluded area that they were in and quickly disappears into the crowd. After 9 minutes, she returns, spooking a dosing Jun. “Well I talked to my source, which is THE source and they have nothing.”
“Nothing” Jun askes.
“Nada. Well at least in Virbank, this J person either doesn’t exist or is not on their radar.”
Jun curses his luck. Well, It looks like nothing behind door number one. Why couldn’t his luck be a little good? “Well thanks for the help, I’ve got a boat ticket to order.” Before Jun can walk off, Veronica grabs his wrist.
“Wait… I know where we can get some tickets for cheap” Veronica now leads the confused Jun through the market till they reach a stall selling an allotment of tickets.
“Wait, why did you say we?” Jun asks Veronica
“Well because I’m gonna join you! I was starting to get bored of just fighting here anyway. I think I have enough money, so why not continue the adventure called life.”
“What if I said no?” Jun responds
“Then I probably beat you up and force you to accept that I’ll be joining you,” Veronica said knowing that he had little chance of not having her as a new travel companion.
Jun sighed. Well, why not take the devil you sort of know but just met in a shady black market. “Well then, looks like you’ve joined my posse.” Jun looks down to find some nice tickets for a half-decent luxury liner to Castelia City. He picks out two tickets as the man behind the counter rings them up. “We’ll be leaving early so, you better be ready” Jun takes the tickets as he and Veronica move to the exit of the black market.
“Ready, I was born ready” Veronica responds “so, are you staying in a hotel, motel, or what?”
“Why are you asking”
“Free room is a free room. Besides if I don’t get good sleep, I might be extra grouchy tomorrow.”
Jun sightseeing that arguing with her is like trying to convince a brick wall not to impede him, “Follow me” as the two of them make their way through the market. Jun turns his attention to finding the exit and moves through the crowd. When he turned to check on Veronica, he noticed that she had more stuff, including a backpack along with a few other things quickly put together.
Seeing that Jun was giving her a questioning look Veronica says “What, I needed my things before I left. Besides one less night sleeping here, the better.” Jun just shrugged and the two made their way out of the market and into the cold Virbank night.
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Woo Boy. this chapter is nearly twice as long as the first one, so cheers to me I guess. Also, first time writing a fight scene so sorry if it kinda sucks! I've got three other stories floating in my head with 2 of them being either a 2 or 3 shot. Anyway, thanks for reading!
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