Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Digimon. If I did, I would be quite rich and I'd hire someone else to write this. In all seriousness, I make nothing off of this. I just want to tell a story.
Digicross Advanced Alpha is based off of Digicross, written by Patrick O'Shea. The characters of Josh and Kyle belong to their appropriate authors.
The Pokemon World has always been a mysterious place full of unknown danger. Facing that danger was part of a coming of age ritual called the Pokémon journey. At the cusp of their teens, new trainers would leave home to make a name for themselves, taking off into the unknown and learning how to stand on their own two feet. Last year, a young trainer named Kyle Ellison accidentally made more of a name for himself than he could ever want when he made the accidental discovery of another world, the Digital World.
The discovery of the Digital World tangentially introduced a second world, known simply as the Human World, as well as a shadow war perpetuated by an as yet unknown third world: the Dark Ocean. Its leader, Demon, was finally defeated atop the Indigo Plateau after he set his sights on conquering all three worlds.
While his destruction signaled the end of the imminent threat of the Dark Ocean, everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before another threat arose- from the Digital World or elsewhere. No one knew who it would be or how much destruction it would cause; however, this did not stop four people from climbing aboard a ferry bound for a new region, Hoenn.
Each of them had their own reasons for departing home for the distant region, but each would find that fate had brought them to this location for a common reason…
Digicross Advanced Alpha Chapter 1: "A New Beginning"
Aboard the SS Tidal sat a sandwich staring out of a window. Or at least it would if it had eyes. Next to it was a man about to eat said sandwich. Ever since the boat took off from Cinnabar Island, he had sat alone in his cabin. He wanted it that way. He wanted to take in everything.
As he sat there, watching out of the window, the man thought to himself, This is finally my chance to get away from that past. To get away from all of them… He reached for the back of his neck, a slight pain there forcing him to rub it. His name was Josh and the journey he was on was, in many ways, an escape: from ordinary life; from the tiny island he and his family had been living on for the past few months; and from things he thought he'd long since gotten away from.
His stomach growled. Perhaps this journey would be better on a less than empty stomach. Josh picked up his sandwich and took a bite, savoring the peace, the quiet, and the tasty Reuben on rye.
Down the hall, the door to Cabin 108 closed behind a young man with a concerned look on his face. He was focused on the backpack carefully placed on the bed. "Did I remember to pack everything? I suppose I could check again…"
From across the room, a medium-sized lizard blew out a puff of smoke. "You're worrying too much, Ryo. You checked your equipment several times before we left this morning."
He chuckled and said, "You can never be too sure, Charmeleon." His name was Ryo Akiyama, a trainer famous for winning the solo battle competition in the Kanto region several years running.
"Do you really think we'll be able to find answers?" Charmeleon asked. "It seems like a wild goose chase to me."
"It might be, but we can't sit back and ignore the possibility that he might be right," Ryo observed. "I'd rather deal in a wild goose chase then sit back and watch the potential destruction of our home."
Charmeleon snorted. "Much as I'd like to, I can't find fault with that logic." He sat back and rested while Ryo busied himself with what, to his reptilian mind, was make-work. It was going to be a long night if his partner kept this up. He sighed; at least it was quiet.
On the other side of the ship, it was not quiet. The door to cabin 131 was ajar, and shouting was coming from within. A peculiarly purple-haired young woman stood, hands on her hips as she glared at a slouched and obviously uncaring young man. "You didn't have to leave without me!" She shouted.
The man rolled his eyes and muttered, "And you wonder why I tried to leave you in Olivine City…"
The girl's eyes got a nasty glint in them. "So you admit to trying to leave me behind!"
The boy turned away and purposely picked up a convenient magazine, giving the impression of not caring one iota. "Think whatever you want," he said.
This bickering couple are called Kyle Evanick and Casey Sparks. Believe it or not, they were capable of getting along… sometimes. This wasn't one of those times because Casey was insulted that he would try to go off on a brand new adventure without her. "Do you think that makes me feel good, knowing that?" Casey asked with a bit of a snarl in her voice.
"You didn't have to come. You could have stayed back in Johto and enjoyed the rest of your vacation with Kunemon," Kyle said calmly, looking her straight in the eye.
The look in Casey's eye went from angry to mischievous. "If I had done that, I wouldn't have been able to stay on vacation for much longer, you know."
Kyle nodded his head. "Yeah, I know. Normally, a trainer receives only one year to try and make a mark in the world of training before they have to return to finish school."
"But thanks to my parents' permission and a new league to conquer, I can extend that period outward to an additional year!" Casey finished with a large grin on her face.
Kyle sat back in his chair. "Of course, having to do it without our Digimon is a bit disappointing, but it would have been disastrous if we'd have brought them and they died."
Casey, having finally tired of pacing around, sat in a chair directly across from Kyle. "I wonder why no Digimon have ever been spotted in Hoenn? Wouldn't the contact with the Digital World have affected the entire planet?"
Kyle put his hand on his chin and thought for a moment before responding. "You'd think so, but that's clearly not the case. Tsukaimon and Kunemon might have been okay, but it's better that we were cautious about this. Besides, there is one upside if there really is a problem…"
Casey tilted her head. "And what exactly is that?"
"That's simple. Over in Hoenn, we shouldn't have to worry about the Digital World and evil Digimon interfering with our journey. It'll be as close as you can get to a pure Pokemon journey now that the two worlds are linked," he said as he began to smile. "It'll be exciting to try and work out Pokemon training in its purest form."
Casey nodded her head in agreement and the two sat in silence for awhile. Now, they could actually enjoy each other's company… for now.
The passage between Hoenn and Kanto took a full day to complete. During the night, Josh tossed and turned in bed, barely hanging right on the edge of sleep. He kept having a dream where his old foe, Murmuxmon, devoured everything he held dear. All he could do was stand by and watch as they were all destroyed. He came to Hoenn, hoping to get away from that nightmare.
Later that night, something happened to all four of them. As they crossed some kind of invisible threshold, their Digivices all got out of range of the dome of digital energy around the mainland. They all made an incredibly obnoxious whine and shut down.
Even though he was hanging on the edge of sleep, Josh still managed to sleep through this.
Ryo had an idea this was going to happen thanks to Izzy Izumi's hypothesis that he had been briefed on prior to setting off. When it did, he looked over to Charmeleon and nodded his head. "Now we know he's right about why we were sent here. Something's going on."
Charmeleon let out a puff of smoke. "It's a good thing that, as a Pokémon first and a Digimon second, I can survive just fine without the need for Digital energy to constantly enter my body."
"While true, I'm not going to attempt Digivolution while we're here. That would probably be a bad idea," Ryo noted. "For now, we need to make sure to get some sleep. Tomorrow, we begin to look for exactly why Hoenn is cut off from the rest of the Digital World."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Charmeleon groaned. "We need to be in top form."
As Ryo and Charmeleon were heading to sleep, Casey and Kyle were just waking up. The noise caused by the Digivice shutdown freaked Casey out, causing her to jump out of her bed. Doing this shook Kyle out of his sleep as well. The noise didn't help, either. He stared at Casey and suggested, "Go back to bed and get some sleep."
"What was that?" she asked, her voice still sounding quite spooked.
Kyle reached over to the table nearby and fiddled with his Digivice. When it did nothing no matter what button he pressed, he surmised, "We must be out of range. The Digivices are no good anymore."
Casey then yelled out, "Why did they have to make that kind of noise?!" The walls dividing their room from the others were thumped on from all three sides.
Kyle facepalmed and told her, "Keep it down… Believe it or not, some people are actually trying to get some sleep…"
Realizing this, she quieted down and re-asked her question. Kyle then answered, "I don't know, but it's not going to help to dwell on it. Just be glad that Tsukaimon and Kunemon are back home."
They could both agree on that and decided to get some sleep. Casey wouldn't get a ton of it. At times, she thought she could hear that noise ringing through her head.
The following morning, at Littleroot Harbor, the ferry from the mainland came into shore as the sun rose over Littleroot Town. It was a lovely, green town nestled in the west side of the Hoenn region. As with Kanto and Johto's Pallet and New Bark Town, respectively, Littleroot was home to Hoenn's Pokemon laboratory. Located on the east side of town, with a straight path to the port, it served as a welcoming beacon to new trainers from near and far.
The ship docked in the harbor and a number of workers began to unload what cargo there was from the mainland within the hulls of the ship. Meanwhile, people began streaming off the ship with Josh at the front of the line. He was so anxious to begin his journey that he wanted off the boat as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, in Cabin 108, Ryo was going back over his pack and his things, making absolutely certain that everything was there. He checked and double checked again. "Spare Poké Balls, Pokédex…"
Charmeleon rolled his eyes and asked, "Is that entirely necessary? I can almost guarantee you that nothing in that pack went missing since you last checked. Last night. Before we went to sleep."
"If I'm missing even one thing, it could jeopardize the entire mission," Ryo said in a very matter-of-fact sense. In response, Charmeleon facepalmed. "Do that as much as you want, but when we come up short on supplies… Well, I would never say 'I told you so', but…"
Charmeleon snorted. "I would like to leave this ship sometime today."
Ryo retorted, "And I say we'll leave when we're good and ready to do so!"
"You do realize that if you've left something behind, there's no way to go back and get it, right?" Charmeleon asked, starting to sound impatient.
Ryo didn't dignify that with a response and kept checking, at a slower pace..
They remained in the cabin for an extra two hours.
Inside the Pokémon Lab, a relatively young man in beach wear, a lab coat sloppily worn over, sat sprawled at a desk, writing down observations from the previous night's work. He yawned loudly. "Fieldwork is so tiring sometimes, but it's so rewarding." Then, he heard a knock at the front door. "Come in," he said.
The door opened and in walked Josh. Birch stood up and asked a simple question. "Come here to start a new life as a Trainer?" Birch walked over toward the young man.
Josh nodded his head. "That's correct, Professor. My name is Josh." He held out his hand and subsequently shook the professor's. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Birch smiled back. "Ah, you're the young man that Professor Oak said would be showing up today." Josh nodded his head in agreement with that statement. "Now, do you have your License?" Josh reached into his pack and presented a card with all of his vital information on it. Birch looked it over and nodded his head. "Yeah, everything seems to be in order. Now, let's see about getting you a Pokémon…"
Josh shook his head and said, "That won't be necessary, Professor."
This genuinely surprised the Professor for a few moments. "What do you mean?"
Josh reached for his belt and pulled out a single Pokémon. "Go, Blade!" From inside came a green lizard. Birch recognized it immediately as a Treecko. "I obtained this Pokémon quite some time ago."
"Wait a second…" Birch said. He walked back to his desk and scanned some notes. "You're one of three people who obtained a Pokémon that day, weren't you? Three Pokémon went missing from my Lab that day."
Josh nodded again and said, "That's right. I got it from Mewtwo. I had no idea that they came from here."
Birch walked back over and looked at Treecko from several different angles. "You seem to have taken care of this one quite well." Blade took on a prideful pose, as if showing off to Birch.
"I certainly have tried to take care of it," Josh answered, petting Blade.
Birch looked up at Josh and smiled. "Well done. I couldn't have taken care of this one any better than you have. I have no problem continuing to trust its care to you." He stood and wandered back over to the desk and opened a drawer. As he dug around, he said, "Before you go, there is one other piece of equipment considered standard by trainers that you should have." After digging for another minute, he found it and pulled it out. It was a small device which could be held in one hand. "I don't think I need to tell you this, but this is the local version of the Pokédex. This device can give you information about any Pokémon living within our region."
Josh took it with a smile and placed it in his backpack. "Thank you, Professor." He turned toward the door. "Well, I'm off. Hopefully, next time you see me, it'll be at the Hoenn League Championships."
"If you're taking the League challenge, I might suggest either Petalburg or Rustboro for your first destination. Go north to find Oldale Town. From there, head west and you should find Petalburg easily. Rustboro is northwest of there," Birch finished.
Josh responded with a wave as he headed out the door. Birch sighed loudly. "Doesn't have the best social skills, but he should make a good trainer. The way he took care of his Treecko suggests as such."
He walked back over to his desk and sat down, looking back over what he was doing. "Well, thankfully, that was the last distraction of the day. Now, I can work the rest of the day away." And he did indeed get to work for about 45 minutes. Sadly, it wouldn't last forever. Another knock came at his door. "Come in," Birch said.
Two people walked in continuing an argument they had began outside. Physically, the most remarkable thing Birch saw was the young lady decked in yellow and black. But, this only caught his attention for a minute before the argument forced it elsewhere.
"If you hadn't started arguing about whether Electric-types are better then Fire-types, we might have gotten here a lot sooner," Kyle pointed out.
Casey snorted a bit. "Whatever. You know that's why the Electabuzz are the best team around."
"Yeah… Just ask their 15-52 record…" Kyle muttered.
"Their opponents got lucky! That's all!" Casey shouted. She was about to break out into a rendition of the Electabuzz Fight Song when Birch got involved.
He cleared his throat and asked, "Can I help you? If all you did was come in here to argue, I would prefer it if you took that outside."
Both of them sweatdropped and looked at the professor. "I'm sorry about her, Professor. She gets rather… heated sometimes."
"It's not exactly like you weren't arguing with me, you know!" Casey shouted back.
"Enough!" Birch shouted in as irritated a voice as he ever used. "Are you here for something or just to argue?"
With both of them now red with embarrassment, Casey quietly said, "We came to sign up for the Hoenn League and obtain our Pokédexes…"
Birch cleared his throat again. "That's better. Now, let me see your Trainer's Licenses and we can get this all squared away." Both of them did so. When Birch saw Casey's license, he asked, "Can I see your form granting you permission to enter a second league, Casey?" Casey reached into her pack and grabbed that, handing it over as well. Birch looked over everything and nodded. He handed back the documents and walked over to his desk. "I wish I would have known more people were coming today. Now I need to make sure I have enough 'Dexes for more trainers…"
"We're not the first people to come by today?" Kyle asked, finally breaking the silence coming from the two of them.
Birch shook his head. "There was someone here earlier. They're probably already on their way out of town."
"Maybe if we hurry, we can catch up with them!" Casey suggested.
"I don't think I'd recommend that course of action," Birch said solemnly. "He wanted to make a fresh start of things, and I don't think he wants any extra company."
Casey frowned lightly. "Who wouldn't want extra company on their journey? Doesn't he know that to be a successful Trainer you have to have, by definition, company?"
Kyle sighed loudly. "While I agree with you, that's not what he meant and you know it…"
Birch brought up the information screen and reiterated, "I wouldn't suggest pursuing him, but obviously I can't make that decision for you. Now... " Something occurred to him just then and he asked a seemingly random question. "Do either of you need Pokémon?"
The two of them looked at each other and Kyle responded, "No, we don't."
The professor nodded knowingly. "That's what I thought. Let me take another wild guess… One of you has a Torchic and the other has a Mudkip?"
Both of them stared on in surprise. "How did you…?" Casey asked.
"Call it a hunch…" Birch said as he dug into his desk once more. "Either that or call it connecting the dots."
The statement made little sense to the two of them, but as Birch pulled out a pair of extra Pokédexes, he turned back to them. "Now, can I see your Pokémon?"
Both trainers obliged him and released their Pokémon. Kyle had a Torchic in front of him and Casey, a Mudkip. Upon seeing Mudkip again, Casey kneeled down and hugged her. "Ooh, she's still so cute!"
Birch blinked a few times and then asked, "So I take it that you like Mudkips, huh?"
Casey nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! Who couldn't love a Pokémon like this? She's cute, she's strong..."
"It's just odd that someone who is so enthralled with Electric-types would love someone like Mudkip…" Kyle observed.
"Hey, I have a Meganium as well! It's not as though I'm Lieutenant Surge or something!" Casey shouted, turning toward him.
Birch grabbed the bridge of his nose and groaned, "Enough… both of you." Both of them stopped their argument… for now, at least. He then turned his attention to Torchic. She looked quite healthy and had a shiny set of feathers. "Do you groom her a lot?"
"I do," Kyle said. "I'm practicing for something I'd heard exists in this region, Pokémon contests."
Birch nodded a few times. "Very different requirements for success versus the Hoenn League. Are you sure you're ready for the extra work you're going to have to put in?"
Kyle patted Torchic on the head. "I'm definitely ready to give it my best shot." Torchic chirped in agreement.
"Excellent. I take it, then, that you got the best end of the deal?" Birch asked.
"I wouldn't exactly say that I'm unhappy with the way things turned out," Kyle admitted.
Birch then handed over his two extra Pokédexes to the two of them. "Please continue to take care of them. I don't want to find out that you've slacked off now that you're on a proper journey."
"I don't think you have to worry about us," Kyle said with a smile. "Casey, in spite of her hyperactivity, has been doing this for awhile. We should both be fine."
Casey was about to take it as a backhanded compliment, but she wisely just decided to let it be. Birch, meanwhile, dug out two more Pokédexes and handed them to the two of them. "I'll wish you both the best of luck. As I told the young man earlier, if you're seeking to take on the League challenge, head west from Oldale Town, which is north of here, and go to Petalburg City or northwest of there to Rustboro."
Both of them thanked the professor and hurried out to try and find this mysterious young man who had arrived at the lab before them. The clues to his identity had been left by Birch, but there weren't enough pieces to put things together yet.
At the north end of Littleroot sat a small restaurant. Ryo ate breakfast there, savoring it, as this was going to be the last time for awhile that he'd be able to enjoy something like this. Washing down a bite with a gulp of juice, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and sat back, thinking about the mission he had to accomplish while he was here. "What could possibly cause something like this to happen?" he asked himself. Charmeleon was currently sleeping in his Poké Ball and couldn't rightly provide an answer to that question.
Of course, it wasn't as though any of Ryo's thoughts were providing any real answers, either. Nothing made any sense at all to him. You would have thought that when the events brought this world and the Digital World together, everyone would have seen the effects of that. But, clearly, our Digivices won't work here. So, something else must be going on that I can't figure out.
He finished eating about 5 minutes later, paid the bill and got up to leave. He walked out and headed for the exit. Well, there's no time like the present to get started. He headed north straight toward Oldale Town.
Ryo passed a sign noting the distance to Oldale, twenty-two kilometers, and nodded to himself. Based on his normal gait, he should make it to Oldale in roughly six hours. Even with his late morning start, he would still have daylight when he arrived.
About an hour ahead of Ryo, about two-thirds the way up Route 101, stood Josh. He had moved quickly the entire way, switching between running and walking to cover the distance. His body was still full of adrenaline from the rush he felt earlier when he received Pokédex from Professor Birch. Forget resting in Oldale Town. I want to go straight to Petalburg City right now and see about talking with the Gym Leader there.
The few trainers on Route 101 observed this relatively old trainer and his visible excitement. But, outside of noting how unusual he was, they paid little mind to him and kept to themselves.
Eighteen minutes later, Josh saw a sign noting that it was one kilometer to Oldale Town.
Fourteen minutes after that, he arrived in Oldale Town for the first time. Josh observed a sign stating that it was twenty-two kilometers to Littleroot, meaning that he'd come a long way already. The only stop Josh made in town was to the local Poké Mart to pick up some Poké Balls, Antidotes and a couple of Potions. While he had been given a bit of cash, it was not so much that he could spend freely. Once he'd paid for everything, he shot out from Oldale Town toward Petalburg City. The goal was to be there before midnight if at all possible.
Back on Route 101, Kyle and Casey had not been quite as successful in catching up with the mysterious trainer, as Josh was at staying relatively quick. Both of them had tired out a lot sooner and slowed down to a walking pace after a brisk 20 minute run. Casey was panting loudly and looked at Kyle. "How fast could that guy have been?"
Kyle shook his head, "To be fair, we don't even know how much of a head start he had on us."
They continued north toward Oldale Town, at a reduced pace. In large part, they avoided the areas where wild Pokémon could appear. After all, both Kyle and Casey had a pair of Pokémon to their names. Additionally, thanks to prior experience with their Pokémon, they were trained up to levels which would mean that any fighting they could do here wouldn't result in much benefit at all.
So, neither one of them felt inclined to train at all on this route. They could just walk all the way to Oldale and then rest for the night there. "Did you really come all the way to Hoenn just to follow me?" Kyle asked randomly.
"Mostly to follow you," Casey said honestly. "Of course, I've never actually been to Hoenn, so it would be a nice little adventure to have as well. I suppose you came for the adventure?"
"Exactly," he said with a nod. "This land is supposed to be far different than what we're used to in Johto or even Kanto. I am really looking forward to it."
About thirty minutes later, they actually received another surprise. From behind them came a familiar voice. "Hey!"
Kyle and Casey turned around to see a young man approaching from behind them. It didn't take long for Casey to recognize who it was. "Ryo?" she asked, sounding surprised.
"Didn't think I'd see the two of you here," Ryo said with a small smile as he finished approaching. "How are you two doing?"
"We're doing all right," Kyle responded. "We're just beginning our journey north toward Oldale Town.
"That's not all we're doing," Casey interjected. "We're looking for the third trainer who stopped in to see Professor Birch!"
When Ryo's face turned from confused to inquisical, Kyle stepped in to explain. "Professor Birch told us that someone had gotten there ahead of us and taken a Pokédex. He also said that person wanted to be alone, which made Casey go nuts because she doesn't believe any trainer should be alone."
"That's right! The more the merrier!" she said with great energy.
Ryo didn't answer this right away. He had a few thoughts running through his head. Someone who wants to stay alone… Nothing wrong with that. Why does Casey even care?
After another moment, Ryo had one other thought. "Did the Professor mention if the other trainer took a Pokémon of their own?"
Casey was about to say something, but stopped herself last-minute. "I don't think we asked," Kyle answered.
"That's what I thought," Ryo said. "It would have seemed odd to ask that question." He then turned his attention to another subject. "Are you two here on an extended date or something?"
Both of them immediately responded, "No!" They faced away from one another, both faces turning a rather pronounced shade of red.
"Guess that answers my question," Ryo said with a laugh.
After Ryo laughed for a few moments, Kyle asked the question on both his and Casey's minds: "What are you doing all the way out here in Hoenn?"
Ryo looked around, as though expecting to see someone trying to listen in on their conversation. Much to no one's surprise, the path, and the field around them were empty. "I'm here on official business from Mewtwo."
"The Guardian Mewtwo?" Casey asked, her voice betraying a sense of surprise.
Ryo nodded his head. "One and the same." He paused to collect his thoughts and then asked them, "Tell me, did your Digivices turn off last night?"
Before Casey could say anything, Kyle blurted out, "They sure did... she panicked when they made that shut down shriek."
Casey reached over her shoulder and then swung at Kyle's head, a hard foam baseball bat appearing just in time to smash Kyle sideways. It disappeared as fast as it had appeared, leaving Ryo to wonder if his eyes were playing tricks on him.. "And who asked for your opinion anyway?!" Casey yelled at Kyle, who was just now trying to figure out why he was on the ground, and what had she hit him with.
Ryo sweatdropped and quickly changed the subject back to himself. "Mewtwo tasked me with figuring out exactly why this region is cut off from the Digital World."
"You mean he doesn't know either?" Casey asked. "He's one of the Guardians of the Digital World now! You would think if anyone had an answer, he or one of the other Guardians would have it."
Ryo nodded in confirmation. "You would think so, yes. But, he has no more of an answer to this puzzle than the three of us do. That's why I'm here. Because Chameleon is both a Digimon and a Pokémon..."
In spite of his headache, Kyle caught on immediately. "He can survive here without needing digital energy to do so."
"Exactly!" Ryo said with a smile. "Since the both of you are asking, I presume that you want to come with me?"
Both of them nodded their heads quickly. "Then why don't we head north into Oldale? We're going to rest there ahead of heading onto Petalburg tomorrow."
Several hours later, a trio of red-clad people exited the trees on the east side of Route 103 and looked around. The leader oriented himself while the other two looked around. To the left was a sign noting the town of Oldale 2 kilometers further south, and to the north a sign noting a kilometer before the route crossed the bayou ("Pole Boat Ferrying Available: Mon-Sat, 0700-1000, 1700-2000. All Other Times, Please Make Your Own Way Across"). "Are you certain that it's around here?" a female voice asked.
The leader sighed resignedly, lowered the map, turned around and answered in a husky voice, "Are you questioning the wisdom of the Boss?"
"No, no! Of course not!" she responded quickly.
"Then stop asking such silly questions," the husky one said before turning around. "The Boss told us that there's some ancient sealed chamber near here and inside is some sort of hint which will allow us to achieve our ultimate goal."
The third member of the trio, whose voice also sounded male, spoke up. "Didn't the boss also say something about needing some kind of key to get inside of there?"
"He did, yes. But, I believe that has already been taken care of," the leader said with a smirk. He turned south and started walking, letting the others catch up. "All we'll need to do is wait for a little while…"
Ryo, Kyle and Casey entered Oldale and made a beeline for the Pokémon Center and their very comfortable chairs. Casey laid out in a chair and said, "I'm so ready to go to sleep tonight!"
Kyle rubbed the lump on his head and said, "I just hope the throbbing goes away by tomorrow…"
Ryo made a sound of agreement but remained mostly silent. His mind was processing possibilities of all sorts.
At the desk talking to Nurse Joy was a man with large round glasses, dressed in an outfit which would immediately remind someone of stuff a stereotypical archaeologist would wear. "Do you know anyone who could help me?" he asked.
Nurse Joy shook her head. "I'm sorry, but most of the trainers around here wouldn't have the desire or the experience to help out. I might try Petalburg City. Maybe you could get their Gym Leader to suggest someone."
The man sighed loudly. "Thanks anyway." As he walked back toward the entrance of the Pokémon Center, Casey got up.
"Excuse me, but why are you trying to find experienced trainers?" She asked. "I mean, I doubt you will find many around this part of Hoenn."
He chuckled weakly and adjusted his glasses. "You're probably right. I just wanted to have some extra protection for some fieldwork I'm on. I'm here on behalf of the museum in Slateport City."
Ryo was shaken out of his stupor and asked, "What sort of fieldwork would require protection?"
"Well, in truth, I'm not much of a trainer, so I don't have much in the way of protection from wild Pokémon. Besides, it's not every day that fieldwork requires you to carry rare gemstones from all over the region," the archaeologist said with some amount of pride.
Ryo continued his line of questioning. "So it's not just wild Pokémon, but thieves, too. What kind of fieldwork are you doing?"
The man chuckled to himself. "I'm here because there is a sealed chamber nearby that was recently discovered. We had found writings talking about it and how to open it, but it's location was lost until two weeks ago.."
"This close to the Pokémon Lab?" Kyle asked. "I would have thought that it would have been discovered by Professor Birch by now."
"Birch is a biologist studying how our modern Pokémon have adapted and evolved. He's less concerned with some archaeological site than with the Pokémon that might be making it a home.," he responded factually. "That said, as he has been here for years, one would think he would have be the one to discover it. Oh well, something to tease him about, next science conference we have." He laughed.
Kyle asked, "How did you find out about it, then?"
"A report from another agency which detected its presence," he said. "They used some kind of technological imagery to detect it and apparently they still walked right past it several times before they located it. Two weeks of research showed it was likely to be the missing chamber written about, so the gems were gathered, and now here I am."
Before the conversation could go any further, Casey began to grin. "I think we've found something to do tonight."
"I thought you said you were looking forward to sleep…" Kyle noted.
"Well… that was before this happened!" Casey said after a moment's hesitation.
Kyle sighed and stood up. "Well, I guess I'd better go with you, just in case you decide to shout and bring the place down on your head…"
Casey turned a bright shade of red and shouted, "Thanks a lot!"
Prove my point, why don't you…? Kyle thought as he stood up. He looked back to Ryo. "Are you coming along as well?"
Ryo shook his head lightly. "I've got other things I need to do here before I go to sleep. So, the three of you be careful out there."
Casey grinned, "You've got it!"
The archaeologist blinked several times at the sequence of events. But, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If there was someone willing to go with him, he needed to take the opportunity and ride it. "Thank you, kids. By the way, I'm George."
Kyle and Casey introduced themselves to George before they walked out of the Pokémon Center for their nighttime excursion.
Ryo chose now to stand up and speak with Nurse Joy. "Excuse me. Would you mind if I used the PC?"
The nurse nodded her head. "Sure thing. Go right on ahead."
Ryo stepped in front of the console and reached into his pocket. What he pulled out what his digivice. Nurse Joy didn't recognize it at all and watched him. Ryo then put the device up to the computer screen, attempting to open a digiport to this region.
"Digiport, open."
The attempt ended in failure. The computer did nothing at all. He turned around to see Nurse Joy looking at him strangely. He blushed. "Ah, yes, I should probably explain," he chuckled sheepishly, "I don't know if you've heard, but a while back, Kanto and Johto were opened up to a parallel world, the Digital world-"
Nurse Joy interrupted him, "Oh yes, I remember one of my cousins telling me about that. People hopping out of the computers and Pokémon that could evolve and devolve at command, or something like that."
Ryo nodded. "That's the basics, yes."
"So you were trying to do that, just now?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am. But the problem is, there is no connection here in Hoenn. From what I've been told, it extends out about fifty miles out from the region all around," he took a breath, "I'm here to try to establish why this is, and if possible, resolve the problem."
Nurse Joy asked, "Do you have any idea what you're looking for?"
Ryo was distracted from answering as the television chose that moment to play a louder than usual commercial from 'PokéChow: Now With Oran Berries!' He stared for a moment before turning back. "Actually, I might." He started, thoughtfully. "How do the televisions receive their signal?"
"By cable. I think that's how it's always been. Internet too, come to think of it. Why?"
Ryo pushed on without answering, "What about wireless? Are there radio stations?"
Nurse Joy looked confused, "We have internet radio, but that's by cable, too. Actually, I can't think of anything wireless."
Ryo nodded. "Well Nurse Joy, I think I may have a suspicion that this problem with the Digital world might be affecting more than just things for people like me. I think I'm going to need to get word to some friends on the outside; let them know what I've found and see if they have any ideas."
Nurse Joy nodded. "If you don't mind, I'll pass on your suspicions and if any word of anything strange happens, we'll get word to you."
He blinked, surprised at the generosity. "Thank you, Nurse Joy. I'll leave my contact information so that you, or anyone else can get in touch with me."
She nodded and moved on to her duties leaving Ryo to his thoughts. If it wasn't clear before, it certainly was now. Something had happened around here to block off access to the Digital Plane, and might possibly be affecting wireless communication, too. The real questions now were what happened and why. But, that was why he was brought here: to investigate and find the reason. And I will find that reason. I will find out why, no matter what it takes.
Twenty minutes after leaving the Pokemon Center George, Kyle and Casey were nearing their destination just off of Route 103. At least, that's what George kept saying. As far as the two digidestined could tell, everything was still far too plain and way, way too flat.
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Kyle asked, sounding worried about this whole affair being nothing more than a wild goose chase.
"Absolutely positive!" George shouted back. He muttered to himself, "I can't wait for this... To think, a sealed chamber, over 2,000 years old, right under our very noses! Actually, right under our feet!"
That last phrase didn't get by Casey at all. "Wait a second. Did you say this chamber is underground?"
George grinned and replied, "That's right! It's right off of Route 103 and possibly goes directly under it, depending on how expansive it is."
Casey and Kyle shared a glance and subtly began to limber up, adjusting their Pokeballs to a better position. This was looking more and more like a trap. After all, how likely was it that a mysterious chamber right off a main route could be hidden in plain sight for so long?
Minutes later, the three of them came upon a sight which, admittedly, was completely out of place here: to the west of the road, some ten meters off, was a cleared area with an angled stone set in the ground. As they approached, they could see a rectangular groove in the face, like a door, with a smaller circular groove and three identically shaped indentions. Kyle and Casey looked at each other for a few moments. Whatever they had thought moments before, it appeared that they were wrong.
George, meanwhile, was grinning like a cat that just got a pesky mouse. "This is exactly as they described in the notes!" He shouted.
Kyle, looking at the pillar, asked a perfectly fair question. "What goes inside those holes in the pillar?"
A glint reflected off of George's glasses as the moon hit them. "As I said before, it's not just wild Pokémon I was concerned about, but thieves." He dug into his pockets and pulled out three gems. Each was brilliant and a different color. One was sapphire blue, another was ruby red and the third was emerald green. "These gems are the key to getting inside the ruin."
The three gems sparkled in the pale moonlight above. "They're quite pretty," Casey said, smiling.
Kyle had a thought he was surprised he didn't have before. "If these gems are as valuable as you say they are, why would any thief wait to grab them?"
Before either George or Casey could come up with an answer, three people dressed in red garb jumped down from a tree to their left and confronted them. They said nothing for the first few seconds, as though they were assessing the odds that they would emerge victorious from this conflict. Before long, the man in front spoke in a husky voice. "Because it's not the gems we're after, but the knowledge locked within that chamber."
Casey asked, "Who are you?" Her voice sounded upset, but lack of knowledge couldn't tell her why to be upset.
The less husky male spoke up this time. "We're Team Magma, activists who use Pokémon to expand the world's landmass!"
"Activists is a rather strong term," the female said. "We're nothing more than trainers seeking the best path for this world."
"You're no better than Team Rocket!" Casey shouted back.
This drew an unexpected response from the squad leader. He snarled and stepped forward in anger. "Don't you ever compare us to those mainland thugs again, little girl. The only 'good' they ever did was when they finally folded and went under after their boss was arrested."
Casey was miffed at being called a little girl, but didn't respond.
"You have two choices: surrender the gems to us or prepare to fight," the female said.
For Kyle and Casey, the choice was easy. Both reached for their belts and pulled two Pokémon each. "Go, Toaster and Noble!"
"Go, Aquaria and Meganium!"
Four Pokémon materialized before Kyle and Casey. In front of Kyle, Torchic and Pikachu. Casey had Mudkip and Meganium in front of her.
The three Team Magma grunts responded by throwing out two Balls each. Before them stood three Mightyena, a Torkoal, a Camerupt and a Sableye.
Kyle gulped quietly. The scale of the battle in front of them was daunting. Every single one of their Pokémon was fully evolved. Only one of theirs was fully evolved. But, that was the least of their problems.
"Launch a Shadow Ball barrage now!" The three Mightyena and single Sableye launched a projectile of darkness. But, they all missed the Pokémon. Instead, Sableye's Shadow Ball hit the ground in front of the three humans. The remaining three hit the humans directly. They were flung back and knocked out.
The Pokémon looked back, incredibly concerned about their trainers. "Finish the job, " the leader commanded. Torkoal used Heat Wave while Camerupt used Flamethrower to finish off Meganium. With the biggest threat out, a bunch of Shadow Ball attacks finished off the rest.
The Magma members worked quickly. They knew the effects of Shadow Ball wouldn't last long. They relieved Kyle and Casey of their Poké Balls and sent their fainted Pokémon back inside. They then dropped the Balls not far away from the children. It wasn't their business to steal Pokémon, after all.
Before they went for the gems, the female member spoke up. "We don't know how the gems interact with that pillar. We also don't know if there is some kind of trap if we get it wrong."
The leader turned around and then nodded. "Good point. The Slateport museum would have studied it."
The grunts changed plans and waited for a short period of time.
It took about twenty minutes for Kyle and Casey to regain consciousness from the assault. They woke up laying on the ground. While this fact wasn't particularly surprising, the fact their arms were bound to their sides, their hands bound behind their backs and their feet tied together. Standing over them was one of the three grunts, specifically the female one. "So sorry about this, but it has to be done."
Both children glared at the grunt. "Yeah, right!" Casey shouted, pulling against the ropes unsuccessfully.
Kyle looked around and found George standing near the other two grunts. The leader of the grunts smirked. "Like I said before, we don't really care about the gems themselves. We care about the chamber and what's inside. If you will cooperate with us, we'll let you loose and we can all go in there and look around. After we've recovered the data we're after, we'll leave and you all can go on your own way."
"Don't give them what they want!" Kyle yelled, sounding much more angry than he usually does.
The female grunt grabbed Kyle and made him look at her. "You and your girlfriend might want to shut your big mouths before I shut them for you."
"Hey!" The grunt walked over to Casey and grabbed her before smacking her upside the head.
"Enough!" The other male grunt yelled. "Team Magma isn't the type to get physically violent, but we can get there really fast if you don't cooperate. Besides..." He looked at George and said, "Deep down, you just want to see what's inside, too. Just let us partake of your thrill of discovery and everything will be okay."
"You can't let them win!" Casey yelled back at George.
The archeologist shook his head. "I can't risk your lives over this. Besides, they do have one thing right. I do want to see what's going on in there as much as they do."
The leader nodded. "Then let's go." Before they walked off, the two male grunts each dropped a Pokémon onto the field to guard the two children: One of their Mightyena and Torkoal.
"Don't go anywhere," the female taunted before walking off. Kyle and Casey both growled in their general direction. Mightyena growled back at them.
At Oldale Pokémon Center, Ryo laid on a bed having since retired to a back room for the night. All he could do was stare at the ceiling. "It sure is taking those three a long time to get back."
"Maybe the chamber is exceptionally large?" Charmeleon suggested, laying at the foot of Ryo's bed.
"... No," he responded. "If the only problem was the size, George wouldn't have asked for an experienced trainer to go with him. He thought something... or someone... was going to intercept him. And if that happened..."
Ryo didn't need to finish the thought for both of them to get the exact same idea. He got up and pulled on his shoes quickly before bringing Charmeleon back to his Poke Ball.
Following this, he ran out and went north. In his head, he was hoping that he was wrong about all of this and that things were going all right.
Back at the site of the ruins, George was walked up to the spot that he had been just 25 minutes earlier. The lead grunt asked, "How do we arrange these gems to gain entry into the ruin?"
He responded, "Place the red gem in the right slot, facing the west; place the blue gem in the left slot, facing the east and place the green gem in the top slot." The other two grunts followed these instructions to the letter.
Moments later, the circular cut rotated halfway around and then sunk in. There was a loud grating sound and then the square incision began to rise, tilting up to be a cover over the now opened passageway. The three grunts smirked. "Please, lead the way," the leader insisted. They each pulled out flashlights and began underground.
For the next fifteen minutes, Kyle and Casey stared as their two guards, and they returned the favor. Whenever one of them tried to escape their bonds, they would receive a shot of Smog in their faces, courtesy of Torkoal. They weren't worried about themselves; they were worried about George.
Charmeleon then entered the picture to rescue them. He first sent Mightyena to the ground with a slash to the back of the neck. Torkoal didn't have time to react before a Mud Shot from a Swinub hit the Fire-type. Charmeleon finished the job with another slash.
Kyle and Casey both looked over and saw Ryo standing there. "Are you two okay?" He asked.
"We're fine, but George…" Kyle said, his voice trailing off.
Ryo walked over, pulling out a knife and cutting the ropes which bound his friends. "We're going in after them."
Both of them nodded in agreement, picking up their dropped Poké Balls. Ryo ran with Charmeleon and Swinub still running in front of him. All of them descended into the chamber, Charmeleon's flame lighting the way.
Down below, the three grunts had been taking numerous pictures of the walls, gathering every piece of information that they could. "I still don't understand what the Boss thinks we're going to find in this place," the female noted.
"It's not your place to question his authority. He thinks there is something in here, and we're going to figure out what that something is," the husky-voiced leader said.
George was looking around at everything with a great deal of awe. "This is absolutely amazing… To think that such a place would exist right under our feet."
The other male chose to respond to this, "It is incredible that it went hidden for so long, isn't it?" George nodded in agreement.
The discussion was cut short when Casey yelled out, "You're going to pay for leaving us tied up out there!" The attention of the four adults turned to the door. They saw Kyle and Casey and a third youth that the three grunts hadn't seen before now.
They frowned and the leader uttered, "Well, it looks like we're done here for today. We got what we came for, so we're out." The leader threw down a smoke bomb, filling the room with smoke instantly. Ryo, Kyle and Casey covered their mouths and all of them coughed. When the smoke cleared, the three grunts were long gone.
"Dang it!" Casey yelled. "They got away!"
Ryo walked over to the archaeologist and cut away his bindings as well. "Did they harm you?" he asked.
"No," George said. "They didn't even harm the ruins themselves. All they were interested in was taking pictures of these wall murals scattered around this room."
Kyle frowned. "I wonder why that would be…"
Ryo took a more proactive approach and walked over to the murals, bringing Charmeleon with him. As Charmeleon's tail flame provided a natural light, it was easy to see part of why they had come here. There was a picture of a gigantic creature being worshipped by, apparently, some ancient humans. Around it were some mountains and an erupting volcano, or at least that's what Ryo could make out.
"Do you think that's why they came here?" Kyle asked, pointing to the giant creature.
"There's a really good chance," Ryo surmised. "But, perhaps there's more to this." He and Charmeleon moved over to the other murals. And while there was a picture of some kind of nondescript round object having something to do with the gigantic creature, one other picture caught his attention a lot more.
The gigantic creature was taking on something which didn't look like anything he'd ever seen on this planet before. It looked kind of like some sort of machine creature. "Hey, Kyle. Could you take a picture of this for later?"
Kyle walked over and pulled out his digital camera. "Sure. What's up?" He pointed it right at where Ryo was and took a picture.
"I want to have a closer look at this picture later on. Something doesn't quite sit right with me," Ryo said.
After taking a few pictures, Casey made a good suggestion, "Let's get out of here. We'll retrieve the gems on the way out of here, if those Team Magma goons weren't lying, that is."
"Team Magma?" Ryo asked. "Is that who those guys were associated with?"
Casey yelled, "They had the gall to attack us directly!"
Ryo shook his head. "Some people don't really have a problem with attacking humans directly. The good news is that it looks like they really didn't harm you."
After agreeing on that point, they all left and returned to Oldale Town.
It took them about twenty-five minutes to return to Oldale Pokémon Center. They had successfully closed the entrance and collected the gems.. They chose a slower pace to avoid being jumped again, even though Team Magma had already abandoned the site.
When they got back, George smiled and said to Kyle and Casey, "Thank you both for coming with me."
"You're quite welcome," Casey said with a smile. "I wish it would have gone smoother, but I suppose everyone did get what they wanted in the end… Even those Team Magma goons."
"Don't worry about it too much," Kyle suggested. "If all they wanted were a bunch of pictures… Yes, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense the extent to which they went to get those pictures, but it ended up relatively harmless in the end."
"Indeed... I'm sorry that you ended up getting involved in something like that with those Team Magma people," George said, his head hanging low.
"I'm just glad that you didn't try to go alone," Kyle said. "Who knows what they would have done to you if we hadn't been there? They didn't seem like the nicest bunch."
Ryo nodded and turned to Kyle. "I have to wonder if they're any better than Team Rocket was back home?"
"Who's Team Rocket?" George asked. "I remember Casey mentioning them earlier, during our fight."
"They're a criminal syndicate from back where we come from, the 'mainland' as they called it," Kyle responded. "They exploit Pokémon from all over for their own personal gain."
"They might claim to be doing this for the good of Pokémon, but their methods…" George said, his voice trailing off at the end.
Casey decided to jump in before they spent the rest of the night contemplating Magma versus Rocket. "Just relax and head back to Slateport. Tell your colleagues about what you found here!"
George bowed to them both. "Thank you very much. Maybe we'll see each other again!" With that, he walked out of the Pokémon Center to begin the trek back to Slateport.
Ryo, meanwhile, turned to stare at the picture taken by Kyle. The odd creature that the giant was taking on looked like nothing he could see on his Pokédex. None of the entries looked anything like that. What could it possibly mean? He wondered.
The answers certainly wouldn't come tonight, nor would they likely come from this picture. Instead, they went to bed and finally received some well-deserved sleep.
Next chapter: Josh makes it to Petalburg City and meets with the local Gym Leader. And, another team gets its start in Hoenn.