Elite Frontier: Corona's Crusade

This one definitely needed the reboot. It may not be terribly old (comparatively speaking) but a few years of inactivity did wonders for its development.

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The sun shines over a cloudless sky as a warm breeze rushes past an old, ornate mansion. A young, tan-skinned woman with black hair tied into a ponytail wearing purple overalls stands behind a purple Braixen and a Mawile with a yellow bow tied to the stem of her second mouth. 

On the other end of the dirt-laced battlefield is a fair-skinned young man with brown hair that has a distinctive orange highlight, a blue jacket and gray shorts. He stands behind a Greninja and a Lucario in their mega state.

[Bustin Up On the Beach Dual Mix]

"Use Flamethrower, Dan!" - She yells.

The Braixen generates a ball of fire at the end of a wooden stick. He raises it up and brings down a beam of fire strong enough to scorch the ground below it. 

"Stop it with Mat Block, Julian!" - The young man yells.

The Greninja kicks up a wide mat that dusts away the flamethrower. The Lucario rushes in at a blistering speed but is intercepted by the Mawile throwing up a large green barrier.

The Lucario slams the barrier full-force with both his fists, cracking it. The Mawile lets down her barrier and smashes her forehead against his, throwing him back a few paces. He claws at the ground to get his footing and rubs his own forehead.

"Luna, you and your guys never cease to amaze me. You're the only other person I'd worry about fighting at the Frontier." - The man remarks with a smile.

"I'm flattered you think so highly of me, but don't expect us to hold back when it's for real!" - The woman remarks with both arms crossed.

"Now that'd just be insulting." - Allen chuckles as he cracks his knuckles.

Dwight sighed and stuck his key into the small metal box surrounded by countless other metal boxes aligned on the wall. The island was going to get busy with the tournament and yet he still had to come to work. Working for Team Corona was such a bore. Not only was he disinterested in their work - glad they did it but still found the development dull - but it honestly felt like they were simply giving him busywork that amounted to nothing. He would have quit a long time ago if he wasn't indebted to them.

He reached inside his mailbox to find a single sheet of paper, folded in thirds. He read the brief instructions.

Dwight

Take a week off and participate in the tournament. Have a nice vacation!

"Vacation?" Dwight spoke aloud. Well that was new. His boss never gave him vacation time. A big grin crawled onto Dwight's face and he fist pumped the air. 

"Here that El? Vacation! This job is the best!" Well at least for the next week. The Beheeyem wordlessly floated by his head, reading the slip of paper over his shoulder.

Dwight folded his instructions a few more times and slipped it into his pocket. He then turned on his heels and walked away from Corona Headquarters.

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Sam and Macario stepped onto the docks in the main port. Macario's feet wobbled now that he was on solid ground once again.

"W-wow, don't know how you're acting like this isn't a big deal," he said. Sam just shrugged.

"Look at all these people here! How big is this tournament?"

"Probably the biggest one we've been in so far," Sam said. "Might be hard."

"I'm sure you'll at least get past the qualifiers. They sound pretty interesting." Macario began counting on his fingers. "A charnel, temple, castle... You haven't fought in anything more than just a straight battle, have you?"

"Nope."

Macario nodded. "Well this is going to be interesting."

Felix leaned against a lamppost, furiously tapping away on a cell phone.

Yo, Abraham, I've arrived at the Frontier. Any places you need me to scout out or anything?

---

Meanwhile, a small stage was being set up near the center of the frontier. A blonde wiped the sweat off her brow, as her phone began to ring. She immediately answered it.

"Um, hey, Amber. It's Jason. Just got by work done, so I'm gunna be down there in like an hour or so." the voice on the other end said.

"That's great!" Amber shouted, a bit too loudly into the phone.

"Jeez, man. Warn me next time." Jason winced.

"Eh, sorry about that."  Amber laughed nervously, glancing towards the benches for what must have been the millionth time that day.

Good. Her guitar was still there. Still in its case. She moved towards the case. Things were just about set up, so surely she could sit down and keep an eye on her guitar.

---

Pyra had already squirreled herself away in the Battle Arcade, an Incineroar beside her.

"Zed, dude." Pyra said. "I'm gonna get the high score on Immortal Kombat and Zor won't be able to stop me! I've trained for this day."

"You sure, yeah? Zor's one badass so it's not a question she'd win. I mean, you'll try, but no goings."  the Incineroar replied.

"You didn't have to tell the truth..."

Of course, summoning a Zor is like invoking Beetlejuice. All you have to do is say her name three times, and she appears, riding her Garchomp. And so it was said, and so she appeared, sipping on a juicebox and tapping on a bright gold phone. How gaudy. A very, one might almost say excessively large Lycanroc followed them, wearing a little vest with patches reading 'service Pokemon' and 'Pet me, I'm friendly!'.

"Pyra! My dude!" Zora greeted. "Glad to see you here.... at the Immortal Kombat Machine..." She squinted at her. "...Trying to get good. My dude. My scro. You're already good."

"But ya keep beatin' her high scores-"

"Kali shh. Yeah I keep beating the scores but like, that's incentive to get better. Anyway, are you here for this tournament too? I don't even need the million bucks. I just want the master ball. You know how rare those are?"

---

Somewhere off of a more remote coast, a black, unmarked vessel pulled up to the shoreline and disgorged an azure haired woman and her Gardevoir companion, who quickly ducked into the shade of a rocky outcropping and seemed to vanish to the naked eye.

"When you all hear this, we will have arrived safely on the shores of Aurum Island." The woman mumbled into a small tape recorder in her hand. No way she could issue live commands now. "Investigation of the Battle Frontier Tournament and all Corona-related activity commences now. If we're lucky, all they really are is a pharmaceutical company. Stay alert and wait for another report, and continue all daily activities. I'll be in touch."

"Are you sure this is really necessary?" The Gardevoir asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm officially signed up for the tournament. That cool million will help in the efforts back home immensely... and, you know, we could always use more master balls."

"And what of this Corona organization?"

"Investigating their business records, trying to locate any under the table deals or shady practices. You know how we do. It's like what happened with Aether. Do you remember what happened when we thought it was fine and didn't look into that?"

"The president got knocked into a coma and now her daughter is trying for a cure, I know."

"We want to prevent another Lillie, right? Girlie didn't deserve that."

"Right."

A white-haired man in a brown suit stands in the center of a large office. Men and women wearing black clothes with blue tassels walk by while various Steel-type Pokemon carry their documents for them.

The man walks over to a large glass window that gives him an overhead view of the streets below, where even the tallest building pales in comparison to where he's standing. He stares at the ocean in the distance but a ringing sound effect catches his attention.

He pulls out a black phone with a notification that reads:

"Yo, Abraham, I've arrived at the Frontier. Any places you need me to scout out or anything?"


"Actually, I want you to report to me in private. You have gotten the plate we needed, yes?" - He types back.

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A young blonde woman accompanied by a red-haired, blue-horned Gardevoir wearing blue tassels and a Mimikyu hop off one of the ships on the dock. She crosses her arms with a confused pout.

"Well, we're finally here. I wonder what was so important that papa wanted us to come to his job?" - She says as she tilts her head.

"It must be important if we have to slide through the common folk..." - The Gardevoir mutters under his breath.

"Don't be mean, Vesper." - The woman says as she pokes him.

They walk forward only to bump into a younger girl with brown hair tied into braids wearing brown overalls. She is accompanied by a Plusle and Minun. 

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't see where I was go--" - The brown-haired girl states with a sweat.

The blonde girl gives her a sharp stare complete with an angered frown. Her Mimikyu hops in front and raises a claw against the Plusle and Minun with glowing eyes. The two bunny Pokemon cower at the Mimikyu's attack but she stops her claw before it hits them.

The blonde girl's grimace turns into a smile complete with a mocking laugh.

"You should have seen your face! Haha!"

She walks past the braided girl, now shaking in fear alongside her Plusle and Minun. The Mimikyu waves back with glowing eyes.

"W-what's her problem? Jeez..." - The braided girl remarks with an uneasy tone.

Not a moment later, the third my dude, my bro came stumbling in to the arcade, beaten and worn. A badge with his name hastily written on it hung askew from his shirt.

"You would not believe the bullshit I just went through," Teruchi grumbled. "Apparently just riding on in on the back of a Pidgeot isn't acceptable around here. Come on, I couldn't have been the only one! I mean, I just fly on in everywhere else!"

He sighed and slouched over a Street Brawler machine. With a tap of a small metal ball inside his pocket, a small Raichu formed next to him.

"About time!" he said. "Here I thought I was going to have to wait all day!"

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Dwight walked into an alleyway, his previous glee flattened. He silently pulled out the slip of paper he previously pocketed and grabbed a seemingly innocuous pen. With a twist of back end, the pen popped in two revealing a small blacklight. Dwight scanned the blacklight over the paper.

Dwight,

There have been rumors that a Legendary Pokemon egg has been found on the island. Investigate the whereabouts of this egg and retrieve it if you can.

Wordlessly, Dwight reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pokeball for his Magmortar. Upon release, he handed the large fire Pokemon his paper. Without instruction, the Magmortar took the paper and incinerated it completely. Dwight recalled his Pokemon and walked out of the alleyway to rejoin the crowd.

Yeah, I got it. Where should we meet then? Back at HQ?


Felix sent the message and glanced around, towards the dock. Cerise was terrifying some poor girl.

"Jeez, I swear that girl needs therapy." she thought to herself.

-----

"Man, that's kinda sorta dumb, bro." Pyra said.

"Whatever. Rules were made to be broken, yeah?" Zed said. "Welcome to the party, then."

"So we gonna game or what, my hoes." Pyra asked.

"Yes. I'll send you the coordinates of how to get there." - Abraham types back.

He attaches a map image to the message. A fair-skinned woman with long white hair, black clothes and glasses walks up to him. She raises a hand to catch his attention.

"Mr. Abraham, the boss wants to see you."

"I see. Tell him I'll be with him in a second. Felix brought back what we needed." - He states.

The woman bows and walks in the other direction.

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Cerise and her Pokemon walk up to Felix, with Cerise giving her a beaming smile. Vesper keeps his unamused stare while the Mimikyu bounces back and forth with happy eyes.

"Wow, you're here too, Felix? How's it been?" - She asks.

("Hey, did you see what we did back there...? It was a riot, huh?") - The Mimikyu softly remarks.

As the two were walking along, a Froslass broke out of her Pokeball. She stretched her arms out and yawned, the bright sun glistening off her frozen body.

"Saaaaam, we arrived and you didn't let me out!" she pouted. "This place is beautiful! Please tell me you remembered to save time for relaxing."

"We're here for the tournament," Sam said plainly.

"But the beach!"

"Well, there is some time before the tournament starts," Macario said. "And we really should study ahead of time."

"Aw come on. You two don't know how to have any fun."

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Dwight stretched. Living on a resort island definitely had its perks. What should he do for his first day of the week off? Go to the beach? Take a hike through the mountains? Spend all his cash at the arcade? His boss suggested participating in the tournament. It had been a while since Dwight had a real Pokemon battle though.

A realization entered Dwight's mind. He turned to his Beeheeyem.

"Hey El, do you battle?"

"I can battle in cases of emergency, but otherwise my services are not meant for sport."

"Oh, I guess that figures." Dwight scratched at his chin. "But I only have five Pokemon, not counting you. Where am I even going to get a sixth in time?"

"Yeah, I saw alright." Felix sighed. "That was several layers of fucked up."

She shifted slightly.

"But yeah, I've been doing good." she dropped her voice to a whisper. "Need to get this plate over to Abraham, so I actually need to go now, Don't want to keep him waiting, y'know?"

She waved goodbye to Cerise and headed towards HQ.

A Mega-evolved Banette lies unconscious on the ground while a red Aegislash stops the Lucario's Shadow Claw with her shield. She pushes him back and swings her body at him, smashing him face-first against the dirt. He reverts to his normal form in a flash of light.

"... Wow. That was a real close match." - Allen remarks.

"Not to sound cocky, Allen, but you're going to have to step up your game if you want to do this for real later on." - Luna says with her arms crossed.

"I know, I know. But hey, thanks for getting me prepared." - He says with a nod.

"You're welcome... but jeez, we sure did a number on our poor Pokemon." - Luna says with a concerned look on her face.

The two return the Pokemon into their balls and walk towards the mansion but are stopped by a tan-skinned, mustachioed man wearing a red suit accompanied by a Zoroark.

"Oh hey, mister Teracruz." - Allen says.

"Hi, dad! Did you see the fight we had?" - Luna remarks with a smile.

"Yes I did. Both of you were very good, although you might have to play a bit smarter if you plan on going against me or your mother." - He says with a chuckle.

"Oh, dad. So is lunch ready?" - Luna giggles.

"Yes. I should mention that it's your mother's famous pumpkin pie, so you better get it before it's gone." - He states.

"Awww yeah." - Luna states.

She gives him a hug and runs inside with a spring in her step. George looks to Allen and they shake each other's hands.

"Allen, you've improved quite a bit." - He remarks.

"I sort of have to keep up with your family, sir." - Allen nods.

"Oh, I see... Luna does more than just motivate you, huh?" - George says with a snicker.

"... What?" - Allen remarks with a sweat.

George pats him on the back hard enough to nearly topple him over.

"It's a joke, son. Mostly - I can understand wanting to chase amazons." - George remarks.

"... Isn't that how you met your wife?" - Allen chuckles.

"Haha! You're completely right. Now come on, you gotta go eat too."

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("It was funny to me though...") - The Mimikyu remarks.

Cerise skips towards Felix and follows her.

"My papa actually wanted me to come too, so I don't think it'd hurt if I go with you." - She says with a smile.

Dwight sighed. What was he going to do, catch a wild Pokemon, earn its trust, and train it to a competitive skill level in... what, one day? He'd be better off making a deal with Elysium to be his backup. He mindlessly wandered toward Drasil Forest, though the forest was so large that any direction he picked that wasn't toward the nearest coast technically counted as "towards" the forest.

He passed some Spearow on the roads and Ratattas near the edge of the forest. No. Even only having five Pokemon counted as less of a laughing stock than catching street rats and scavenger birds. In fact anything he could feasibly catch in a day would be embarrassing. Catching something that he'd feel proud showing off in a tournament would be like winning the lottery. Still, Dwight felt compelled to at least try. What else was he going to do? Sit around and eat marshmallows straight from the bag.

...Actually that did sound pretty good.

Dwight snapped himself out of it and continued his search, reaching the forest's edge. He could cut west and make his way toward the mountains. But search the forest first.

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Sam and Macario found a spot underneath an umbrella at the beach. Macario had a flyer from the event and a marker to scribble notes. Fross was busy dancing in the sun, watching her frozen skin sparkle.

"Battle Stage," Macario read aloud. "Where people go to see trainers get fabulous with their battles."

"Don't say that too loud or else Fross will make me do it."

Macario chuckled. "So maybe not for you. Battle Temple, filled with puzzles and lore."

"I'm good at puzzles."

"Still though, puzzles in a temple?" Macario mused. "Definitely one to consider. Battle Castle, just a normal tournament... oh, with costumes."

Sam turned to his brother with his best "really?" face.

"Er, Battle Arcade, VR fights. Actually sounds pretty neat, but I bet there'll be a lot of crowds. Maybe later in the tournament. Battle Charnel... a haunted house? Yeah that won't be a problem. Advertises hoard encounters though. Those are always fun... And then just a normal Battle Dome, but that's after we get a win."

"So, the temple or the charnel."

"I think that would be our best bet."

Felix sighed.

"Sure, you can come with." Felix deadpanned. "But please don't freak out any more people on the way. Don't want to draw any unnecessary attention to ourselves, am I right?"  

Felix casually checked her bag, making sure the plate was still secure.

"Alright then, let's go."

[Current OST: The Magic Mirror]

Allen walks into a kitchen adorned with a purple carpets and a black metal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. A rectangular table stretches across the room, with a thin purplish mist permeating the area.

"... You know, I don't know what kind of ghost magic you use to pull this off, but this is still super cool." - Allen remarks.

A slender, pale-skinned woman in a black dress with long black hair hands a piece of pumpkin pie to Luna. She grabs it with a gleeful look on her face and stuffs it into her face.

"I'll never get tired of eating these." - She says with her mouth full.

Allen chuckles and walks over to the woman in black.

"Hey, miss Mercedes, can I get a slice of th--" 

The woman slams the knife against the pie in an audible fashion, causing Allen to jump. She turns around and goes up to his face while holding the knife in front of him.

"A slice, you say?" - She remarks with a low purr.

"Y-Yeah? I would like a slice of the pie, please." - He says with a sweat.

She dangles the knife in front of him with a sly grin before warmly handing him a pie slice on a plate.

"Why do you always do that with me?" - Allen groans.

"It's fun to see the look on your face, sweetie." - Mercedes giggles.

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"Alright, we'll behave." - Cerise pouts.

She skips alongside Felix as they walk to the headquarters.

Dwight sighed, suddenly feeling very unmotivated. As expected, his search through the forest for a rare, powerful, immediately useful Pokemon was going nowhere.

"Come on El, can't you just do this one thing for me? I promise not to use you in battle unless it's like super necessary."

"Again, that would be unwise. What if you had a seizure while I was fainted?"

"Come on, I can survive an hour without you." Dwight crossed his arms and pouted. But when Elysium didn't give in, he gave up and fumbled with a Pokeball in his pocket. "Man I haven't caught a fresh Pokemon in years... How do you even do it again?"

Something made a large crashing noise behind him, causing Dwight to nearly jump out of his skin. The Pokeball flew out of his hand, and hit... something. Dwight waited for the Pokemon to break out... and it never did.

"...That's how."

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"So what's our competition look like?" Sam asked.

"Typical." Macario leaned back in the shade. "Mega Gardevoirs, Mega Garchomps, Mega Charizards..."

"I can take them!" Fross said. "No sweat! Easy! Let me at 'em!"

"Fross, we talked about this," Sam said. "Type advantage over... this."

"Nothing beats the Power of Love!"

"Flames do. And Dark types. Sharp rocks."