EDIT 1/8/17: NEW CHAPTER UP! However, be warned that it has been five years since I began this story and that my writing style has shifted significantly since then.

Summary: A look at what might have happened had the Pokedex owners not been able to defeat Archie in the final battle at Hoenn's Battle Frontier. Post-apocalyptic PokéSpe AU after the Emerald chapter.

Length: An old outline had this story at 40 chapters, but since then I've made the decision to merge the PAST and FUTURE halves for a total of 20 chapters. That's why, if you read the reviews, there seem to be reviews for chapters that don't exist yet.

Warnings:
- Rated T for violence - not the cartoon type, with maybe a little blood... but no gore or sexual scenes.
- This follows the original Japanese manga in which Green is Red's male rival and Blue is the female trickster.

PRESENT

Brilliant sunshine. Soft summer breezes. Pidgeys chirping.

Oh yeah, and the blazing inferno of the Team Rocket airship that Red just crashed.

All in a day's work of Kanto's Pokedex owners: Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow. Teaming up with Mewtwo, saving Silver, Professor Oak, and Blue's parents from Team Rocket, pushing a dysfunctional airship out of Vermillion City into a deserted grass field using Pokemon attacks, defeating the Rocket team, "the Three Beasts", and effectively ending the criminal gang of Team Rocket forever.

Blue's happy—her parents are safe, Silver escaped from Giovanni's grasp (and, after finding out Giovanni was his father, eventually came to accept the fact with Green's help), Green trusted and worked with her, and Deoxys teleported Red out of the airship before it crashed.

Speaking of Red… why isn't he wearing a shirt?

Blue decides not to amusingly question Red about his shirtless state, even as he scoops the napping Yellow into his arms. Instead, glancing at her friends, she exclaims, "It's like a reunion of Pokedex holders!"

Red, Silver, even Green grins back at her. As Red gets to his feet with some psychic assistance from Mewtwo, he glances up into the sky. Blue follows his gaze—above them, Deoxys, the DNA Pokemon, rises slowly into the air. Team Rocket had manipulated it since it came to life; now that Red and Mewtwo have ended Team Rocket, Red's given Deoxys the freedom to seek its own kind.

Yet another Pokedex owner adventure completed.

"Looks like this entire fiasco is over," Professor Oak sighs in relief. Despite the fiery crash of the Team Rocket airship, Red's and Yellow's Pikachus had scampered over the hill and greeted him cheerfully; it was hardly likely that their owners were injured.

"Not yet," Kanto's Icy leader, Lorelei, shouts. "My device is reacting… that means Sird of the Three Beasts is nearby!"

Kimberly, the elderly lady who taught ultimate moves to starter Pokemon, freezes in her tracks at the mention of the cunning Team Rocket lieutenant; she, along with two other two men, were the catalysts of this whole mess to begin with. "What? Are you absolutely sure, Lorelei?"

Lorelei grins foxily as her Jynx psychically cuts into a ball of ice, forming a doll-like figure. "Don't worry; if Sird's this close, I can pay her back for the destruction she caused on my hometown."

Her Jynx holds up an icy voodoo doll of Sird. With a delighted smirk, it waves a dark hand over the doll's leg, encasing it in rings of ice.

Red beams at his friends as he shifts Yellow's position in his arms. Another crazy adventure, and they're all still alive.

"You're all still alive… Pokedex owners…"

Red's joyful spirits evaporate instantly as a raspy and unnervingly familiar voice floats over them.

"I'm surprised you're all perfectly fine," Sird says as she limps past the crashed airship, smoke rising from her burnt clothes. She looks like she's about to collapse, yet a dark energy burns around her and maintains her posture. Red is instantly on guard; Green and Blue are suspicious as well. "You all have my admiration," Sird continues, swaying unstably. "You're all so strong, to overcome my plans for Deoxys…" Her eyes focus on Red. "That's why it's too dangerous to let you run around free."

Green's shoulders tense, and he steps in front of Blue defensively. Red turns slightly, hiding Yellow behind his torso. Purple psychic power swirls around the both of them as Mewtwo prepares to fight. Before they can do anything else, though, ice crystalizes around Sird's entire leg instantly.

Sird shivers in pain. "Lorelei…" she mutters to herself. "It's going to take all of my strength just to escape…" She glances up into the sky, where Deoxys still hovers, and smirks. "But I don't plan on escaping empty-handed. Deoxys, the Pokemon we worked so hard to capture… and you're letting it go free?!" Within seconds, she's withdrawn a round device from her pocket, aiming it at Deoxys.

"No!" Red shouts. "It wasn't easy for Deoxys to regain its freedom!"

Blue steps forward. "We won't let you manipulate Deoxys again!"

You will never capture the one who also seeks his origin—the one who shares my sentiments, Mewtwo growls, leaping into the sky to block Deoxys from Sird's sight. When a beam of dark energy blasts out of Sird's device, Mewtwo raises a psychic Barrier; the Barrier absorbs the dark energy, allowing Deoxys to zoom out of sight.

Seconds later, Sird's attack shatters Mewtwo's purple shield and rebounds off his body, landing straight on top of Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Silver. Fragments of psychic energy are carried by the darkness; each brilliant purple fragment pierces their bodies, allowing the dark energy to seep inside and consume them. To Red's right, Green chokes; his brown hair turns grey and ceases its constant waver. Yellow's weight triples in Red's arms but he can't move them. His vision blurs as Silver's movement towards Blue slows, then stops. Red's heart thuds and he can't think and he can't move—

Professor Oak and Lorelei jump in shock as an explosion sounds behind the hill and waves of dark powder roll towards them. Lorelei squawks, tugging her Jynx and its icy voodoo doll of Sird away from the damage; but a look of panicked dread leaps over the elderly Kimberly's face. She grabs Oak's arm and pulls him towards the waves of dark dust.

When they arrive to the front of the airship, Oak's heart stops briefly.

His grandson, Green the Trainer. Red the energetic Fighter. Blue the cheerful Evolver, and Silver the quiet Exchanger. Yellow, the calm Healer. All stone statues.

Tears stream down the Professor's face as he touches his grandson's petrified arm.

Warmth.

Professor Oak has aged.

When Emerald first contacted the Pokemon Professor two years ago to apply for a Pokedex, the man acted half his age, with the energy and exuberance of a young adult and the experience and wisdom of an elder.

Now, Professor Oak just looks… old. His eyes are red, his face is covered in wrinkles, and his once-gray hair is now so white, it outshines his lab coat.

"Emerald—my lab assistant, Crystal, recommended you. She said that you are able to instantly recognize the origin of Pokemon, as well as behaviors."

"Yeah, I do that," Emerald frowns and shakes his head, leaning towards the communication screen, "But only at a price."

"Name any price, it doesn't matter to me," Oak murmurs. "Jirachi, the Wish Pokemon, will appear in two weeks. It only wakes every 1000 years for 7 days before it becomes invisible again, and it only grants three wishes. I need you to catch that Pokemon for me. Please."

Emerald raises an eyebrow. "I only know the behavior of Pokemon I see often. So maybe if I saw this one every day for five days… but what do you need so badly that you need a Wish Pokemon for?"

"My… my grandson…"

(Sixteen days later)

A small Pokemon drifts over the Battle Frontier, its star-shaped body floating silently. Emerald's eyes widen as it becomes invisible again, but he knows that was the Wish Pokemon Professor Oak told him about. Professor Oak needs that Pokemon to de-petrify five teenagers… and Emerald will catch it.

Red. Yellow. Green. Blue. Silver. All petrified. I cannot feel the life of their spirits.

A glass container. So similar to the Team Rocket cage that imprisoned Mewtwo during his first couple hours of life.

The teenagers who freed me from my genetic disability. The ones who fought for my freedom from Team Rocket.

But this time, he is caged by Team Galactic—the criminal organization that plans on rising to power now that Team Rocket has ended.

Sird. From Rocket to Galactic—always searching for power. Manipulating first Deoxys, and now me.

Mewtwo cannot move. Since Sird petrified him two weeks ago, he has been unable to release energy that will not damage his petrified body. Already, his stone covering is cracked, allowing Team Galactic to sap even more energy from his system.

I… I cannot live like this. I cannot live as a simple tool of energy.

"Unfortunately, that's pretty much all you're useful for anymore, Mewtwo."

Mewtwo grunts in pain as Sird's voice floats past him. Release me, Mewtwo snarls.

Sird laughs. "Not happening. You teamed with Red to work directly against Team Rocket, the organization that brought you to life. Your betrayal to those who gave you such powerful energy… this is your punishment. You're an incredible power source, and I personally enjoy pulling life energy straight out of your body."

Red. Release him from his petrification.

"Again, not possible... because we actually don't know how to."

Liar.

"Listen: the petrification should only work on Pokemon. As long as we know your genetic information, the petrification protein is able to attack your DNA. But humans are much more complex; human DNA has multiple repair functions that prevent the petrification protein from harming it."

Liar, growls Mewtwo. Red and Yellow were still petrified. You petrified all five of them. You knew how to modify their DNA and attack it.

Sird chuckles. "No, Mewtwo—you were the one who petrified them. The sharp edges of your shattered psychic Barrier damaged their tissue enough for the harmful protein to easily petrify them."

No.

"Yes, Mewtwo. They didn't stand a chance after your damage. You were the one who petrified them for us."

Pain courses through Mewtwo. It can't be… he caused their misery? After their sacrifices in freeing him, in helping him, he was ultimately the reason for their petrification?

You must release them. They do not deserve such punishment.

"Oh, but they do. They are the strongest barrier to Team Galactic's plans, but fortunately, you've already eliminated them."

Eliminate?

Sird laughs again. "Yes—within a couple weeks, Red, Yellow, Green, Blue and Silver—they will die. Their bodies will starve and collapse, leaving empty stone statues. Team Galactic's greatest competition will be gone for good." Sird's laughter cackles around him, driving him insane with its tormenting pressure. "And it's all thanks to you."

Sird. You do not deserve to kill the world's greatest Pokemon trainers. I will kill you before you can.

"Yeah, just do that. Damage your stone body; give us more energy so we can eliminate the remaining five Pokedex trainers. Then we shall truly rule the world."

No. I realize that my escape is not possible. I will never escape with my life intact, but if you are unwilling to cooperate, then so be it. No matter what, I will not let you harm Red and his friends.

Mewtwo realized that long ago. Team Galactic's power is too supreme; if he uses any power, it'll overwhelm and destroy his petrified body.

He'll die.

But in a few weeks, Red will die. Red, Green, Blue… even Yellow. They will perish before he can be released. And then Team Galactic will kill him as well and use his power to kill even more. The world's greatest heroes will all die because of Mewtwo, as long as he continues living.

He has no purpose to life and he cannot let others use him to destroy more lives. Especially the lives of the ones who had saved him before.

He can control his final moments.

Sird almost wants to pat herself on the back as she leaves Mewtwo's cell. So maybe the petrification wasn't all Mewtwo's fault… the dark power of her recently captured Darkrai, enhanced by Galactic machinery, was enough to end the Pokedex owners' lives. But breaking the indestructible will of the Genetic Pokemon Mewtwo was fun enough.

"Captain Sird?" a technician calls as she passes by. "I'm detecting unusually high levels of energy from Mewtwo."

"Great. Absorb it," she snaps. Stupid technicians; why can't they just—

"Captain Sird," another one calls. "Absorbance levels are already maxed. We can input three other extracting tubes—"

"Then do it!" she screams.

"That will take about ten minutes—"

"The power levels are increasing!"

"Our system can't handle it!"

"Impossible!" Sird shouts. "His petrified body can't handle that much power. It'll shatter before he can use it, and he'll die. If that's what he wants, then I want you guys to absorb the mess he leaves behind."

"Yes ma'am," they all reply.

"I'm a captain, dammit!"

Intimidated silence reigns for a couple seconds… until an assistant foolishly stammers, "Captain, his power is—"

"You useless idiots, why do I even bother hiring broke college students?" In three swift movements, Sird throws one technician to the floor, punches another in the face, and knees a third in the crotch. With people effectively cleared away from the machinery, Sird glances at the monitor's readings in peace.

Her heart stops momentarily before resuming frantically. The technicians were right to freak out—the psychic power that Mewtwo is currently exhibiting has increased exponentially. It's a crapload of power that Team Galactic had hoped to absorb over the course of five weeks… and Mewtwo's going to release it in five minutes! Sird can see it—it's condensing into a concentrated ball of energy at his core. He's going to kill himself, yet still maintain a core of energy with his thoughts and a single purpose: kill them all.

Okay, time to leave without telling anyone. Mewtwo's basic energy won't miss the absence of one life, right?

Before Sird can take a step towards freedom, purple energy knocks her flat on her stomach. The second psychic wave drives all the air in her lungs out in a wheezy scream. Machinery around her explodes; technicians scream; fiery explosions are extinguished by increasing waves of power. Concrete walls collapse, electric lights flash and dim; the floor collapses.

By the fifth wave, Sird is dead.

By the tenth wave, the entire Team Galactic building located in Hoenn has collapsed, killing all inside.

A stream of purple energy darts out from the ruins into the night sky after the tenth wave, hovering in the dust clouds before shooting south. Many people report purple dust floating down from an intensely bright purple orb; psychic Pokemon detect thoughts of anguished pain yet solid determination from the purple dust.

At one point, the purple comet emits several small spikes, which fly out in different directions and disappear soon afterwards. The main comet continues southward, passing over the ocean; its disappearance from areas populated by large amounts of people ends the reports for the night.

In Hoenn's Battle Frontier, Emerald has just completed his third challenge and is resting outside when he spots the Wish Pokemon, Jirachi. His excitement is quickly doused when a flash of purple light causes Jirachi to become invisible again; he doesn't notice the purple streak continue into the Battle Tower, where it illuminates the entire top floor.

Hoenn's dual battle gym leader Liza notices the famous "purple powder" arriving at Mossdeep City on ocean tides the next morning. She calls out her Lunatone to read it, and within two minutes, her identical twin Tate and his Solrock appear next to them. Together, they focus on the powder and pick up the strongest thought:

Save them all.

PRESENT

"What the heck are you doing?" Crystal cries as Gold drags her across Hoenn's Battle Frontier. The Battle Tower looms over them—and light flashes out of the top floor, where Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald have been engaged in a vicious Pokemon fight for (according to the Frontier Brains) a full hour. Their opponent is a corrupted man in armor who caught Jirachi, and Emerald is attempting to reclaim the Wish Pokemon for Professor Oak.

"No time to take the stairs," Gold smirks; a flash of light bursts out of a Pokeball on his belt, materializing into his huge Mantine… with all thirty of Crystal's Remoraids latched onto the bottom of its wings.

"You can't be serious!" Crystal interjects. Fireballs, ice crystals, and chunks of earth explode around them as enraged rental Pokemon tear up the land. It's all the Frontier Brains can do to keep them from knocking the tiny island to pieces. "They'll hit us!"

"Not if you tell your Mr. Mime to create that invisible barrier around us." Gold leaps into a hang glider strapped to Mantine's stomach. "You know, the barrier that he can make whole houses with?"

"This is insane," Crystal mutters, but she calls Mr. Mime out anyways and leaps in next to Gold. Within minutes, Mr. Mime has boxed them inside an invisible room; the missing wall in the back allows the Remoraids to fire, propelling Mantine forward at an abnormally swift pace. On top of Mantine, Mr. Mime keeps the barrier room suspended around them.

It's the most terrifying ride of her life—Mantine can't ascend vertically, so it flies above the Battle Frontier in an ascending spiral, catching the attention of all infuriated rental Pokemon below. "Incoming instant death!" Gold yells at Mr. Mime when icy spears and spheres of darkness explode against the barrier two feet beneath them.

The invisible room flashes as Mr. Mime layers Barrier on top of Barrier, creating a partially translucent psychic shield. Crystal still screams when a ball of fire breaks against the shield two feet below her; the heat tingles on her skin as the blue flames roll around the walls. Blue electricity crackles along the edges; the air warps as psychic power tries to telepathically pull them downwards. Mantine moans as its flight is halted to a simple horizontal glide.

"We need to attack the psychic ones!" Gold barks. "They're not killing us, but we're not going anywhere either!"

"Remoraid!" Crystal shouts; she captured the entire herd when they threatened to sink Yellow's boat last year, so technically she is their trainer. She points to the ones located closest to Mantine's torso, then to the ones on the tips of Mantine's wings. "You guys, keep propelling Mantine into the air! The other half, I want you to send back interference water—drench the entire area! Rainy Day, anything!"

Gold catches on, releasing his Pichu. "Kill them all!" he roars as he Pichu leaps out of the box. The Tiny Mouse Pokemon speeds away from them, waiting until Mantine is safely away before flooding the entire area with Thunder.

Mantine roars as the psychic connection holding them back slips. Within seconds, they're gaining height again. From her position squeezed next to Gold, Crystal catches sight of the battle on the Tower's top floor. Walls have been blasted apart, windows smashed open, and curtains flash with fire and smoke.

"What are you doing?" Crystal yells as Mantine continues to rise beyond the top floor. "Emerald's fighting in there! Tell Mantine to drop us off on the balcony."

"We can't just waltz in through a broken window; they'll be expecting us," Gold smirks. "Mantine! Take Down that wall!"

"That's not possible! There's reinforced—" Crystal chokes back a scream as Mantine folds its wings underneath its torso and dives head-first. "Mr. Mime, break the wall!"

Mr. Mime focuses and reforms their barrier, forming a gigantic spear. Multiple layers shatter on impact with the reinforced steel, but psychic power swirls around them and bends the wall open, allowing them to crash through the solid wall and into the destroyed ballroom. Crystal bites back a yelp as shattered pieces of Mr. Mime's barrier scratch her skin; crumbled cement bounces off her face.

Up ahead, Emerald, Ruby, and Sapphire surround a man wearing a suit of armor. Despite her and Gold's flashy, destructive entrance via Mantine, none of their friends are distracted; the armored man, however, looks at them, his head covered by a steel visor. He takes a step towards their flying Mantine, heaving a huge purple sword into the air—but then Ruby's Swampert belches up a projectile of thick mud, and the armored man whirls around and swings his sword at the Mud Fish Pokemon.

Crystal's jaw drops as the mud missile changes its flight path in midair. It's almost as if the Mud Shot bounced off an invisible barrier, choosing to splatter the floor instead of the Man in Armor.

Emerald and Ruby's parties begin to execute flashy, distracting attacks towards the Man in Armor as, on the ceiling, Sapphire swings from ceiling light fixtures and wires. Once she is directly above the armored man, she flips into the air and releases three huge Pokemon—the steel-plated Aggron, a combative Blaziken, and the heavyweight Donphan.

The Man in Armor leaps to the side and rolls away as the Aggron and Donphan make dents in the floor. The Blaziken rushes for the armored man immediately, who swings his purple sword at it. Despite being several feet away, Sapphire's Blaziken twists and dodges the swings as if the sword was right next to it—then an invisible barrier smashes into its torso as the man slashes the sword through the air in front of it, and Blaziken is thrown across the room.

Invisible barriers. Just like Mr. Mime. But this man only has a sword—a weapon with supernatural properties…

"Gold!" Crystal yells as Mantine barrels towards the Man in Armor. "His sword has dangerous—"

They never get that far. Without pausing, the Man in Armor swings his sword towards them. With a deafening crash, an invisible force shatters Mr. Mime's remaining barriers and shoves Mantine to the ground. Crystal loops her arms around Gold's shoulders and yanks him out of the hang glider, right before Mantine's full weight crushes the metal framework. She flips around in midair, landing on her feet; Gold squeaks as butt hits the ground next to her.

"Crystal!" Emerald shouts from across the room. "His sword has Barriers in it! He's been forcing our attacks back at us this entire time—we're basically fighting ourselves!"

"So we shouldn't attack with small objects," Crystal realizes. "We need to be able to dodge if he reflects them back!"

Emerald's Sceptile unleashes a flood of Razor Leaves that travel together in a tight group. "Be careful! He can still stab you—he hit Sudowoodo and the Barriers cracked his trunk!"

"Who is he?" Crystal asks. "And where'd he get that sword?"

Before, Emerald can answer, tiny balls begin flying everywhere—billiard balls so fast that the man doesn't even notice until they begin denting his chestplate. Gold whoops in triumph as the Man in Armor audibly gasps for breath.

"Gold, watch it!" Emerald screeches. "We can't—"

His voice is drowned out when Sapphire roars, "Who are you?"

"And what do you want with Jirachi?" Ruby follows.

The Man in Armor chuckles in between ragged breaths, and Gold's not sure whether victory has really arrived yet. Their attacks halt as the man plants his sword into the broken floor and leans against it. "It's been quite a while," the Man in Armor laughs, lifting two fingers to point at Ruby and Sapphire. "But we've met before. Since you're all so curious to know…" He places a hand on the metal visor covering his face and removes it, "I'm the leader of Team Aqua."

Sapphire almost chokes. "Archie?!"

"But… but you died!" Ruby shouts. "Wallace found his car crashed into Sootopolis City's mountainside—and your and Maxie's burnt bodies inside!"

"So I did leave my body in that flying car," Archie grins. "No matter; my spirit continues to live within this armor, Eternity. And this sword, Instant, allows me to deflect all threats endangering my last connection to this world. With Eternity and Instant giving me life and Jirachi under my command, nobody will be able to stop me in my ultimate purpose to rule the world!" With a flash of light, Jirachi appears before them.

"Jirachi!" Emerald shouts. He darts forward, but is immediately thrown backwards when Archie deflects him with Instant.

"This world is too beautiful to let such an ugly bastard to rule it!" Gold bellows, releasing his Typhlosion and Aipom. "We won't let you!"

"Jirachi!" Archie shouts as he skillfully reflects all their attacks back at them. "Open your third eye—your true eye—and grant me my wish! Raise Kyogre to control the sea and flood the world!"

Gold's running out of billiard balls to shoot at Archie. It's near impossible to hit the man, even with Typhlosion lifting waves of fire for Aipom to direct at Archie with wind fans; instead, Gold's aiming at Jirachi now, trying to knock it to the ground—and away from Archie. He even begins to fire his billiard balls in seemingly random directions; they bounce off various surfaces at least three times before zipping straight for the Wish Pokemon.

"Gold! You freakin' idiot!" Ruby screams as two of Gold's redirected balls slam into Sapphire's forehead. She collapses on the spot, and Ruby barely slides behind her in time to pull her head away from burning rubble. "What—"

The rest of his sentence is drowned out by a sudden earthquake. Gold glances out the window, and the sight makes his heart stop briefly.

A huge sphere of water hovers over the ocean in front of Hoenn's Battle Frontier. Waves of liquid cascade into the settled territory, flooding the island, and the oceans churn as a violent storm brews over its surface. The sides of the water sphere explode as fins push their way out, forming a copy of Kyogre. Not the true god of the sea, but a water and energy copy with just as much power over the ocean.

"Emergency! The Kyogre copy's here!" Gold shouts, dragging Crystal out of the way of a collapsing wall. She screams as concrete scrapes her legs, but her flexibility allows her to somersault away from danger. Gold grabs her shoulders and swivels her around. "Crystal, Professor Oak told me you're the best Pokemon Catcher in the world. You need to capture Jirachi!"

Crystal shakes her head. "I can't! It's not possible to catch other people's Pokemon. Jirachi's already submitted to Archie; it won't listen to anybody else unless Archie frees it!"

Gold smirks at her. "Then make up a way! I've got to check up on Silver—you're in control of things till I get back."

Crystal nods firmly. "Bring him back," she whispers, and Gold winks before running up the stairs towards the top floor of the Battle Tower.

Crystal pulls her bag away from her waist, revealing her collection of specialized Pokeballs. She doesn't have to time to choose, though; Archie has Instant out and is already advancing towards Emerald and his Sceptile. Behind the tiny boy, his Dusclops and Sudowoodo prepare for battle.

Screaming desperately, Crystal tosses the first wave of Pokeballs into the air. She lifts her right leg and, with confident precision, kicks every ball towards Jirachi. With every stroke, her leg muscles work to spin her foot slightly, which in turn rotates the ball and curves the ball's path. Within seconds, Crystal has thrown at least fifteen Pokeballs directly at Jirachi.

None of them actually make it far enough; Archie pauses his attack on Emerald and, with one swing, deflects all of Crystal's balls with Instant. Crystal doesn't even blink; as all her balls fly in various directions, she flips into the air and kicks each one back. For a few minutes, she plays a modified version of Pokeball tennis with Archie, leaping and twirling in midair to knock Pokeballs back at Jirachi as Emerald and Ruby attack and distract Archie.

"Enough!" Archie finally screams, swinging Instant so violently that all 30 of Crystal's Pokeballs shatter on the floor. Crystal is about to launch her remaining 20 balls at him when Archie shouts, "Jirachi! Grant me my second wish!"

The Wish Pokemon opens all three of its eyes and regards Archie woefully. Still, its third eye shines, and Crystal's heart drops in dread.

"It appears that Instant may not be enough," Archie smiles. "For that, you have my admiration. But I do not have the time to deal with you—I have goals to accomplish. I have a greater purpose—"

"So do we!" Ruby retorts, standing in front of Sapphire's unconscious body defensively. "We're going to save the world from bastards like you! Zuzu! Mud Shot!"

Ruby's Swampert coughs up a disgusting amount of mud and launches it at Archie, but a sudden wall of water rises in front of Archie and deflects it to the side. Archie's face glows in satisfaction as he raises his arms—and walls of water stream around him. "Jirachi has given me control over water. Just try to attack me, and I swear I'll drown you."

Crystal is literally frozen in fear as she watches increasing amounts of water swirl around Archie, driven by the movement of his arms. Outside, the Energy Kyogre copy continues to flood the Battle Frontier with water; the Battle Tower shakes as whitecaps crash against its foundation, and Crystal notices that their entire floor is soaked. There is water everywhere.

Sapphire's unconscious; Ruby's shielding her. Emerald looks exhausted. Crystal's the oldest child in the room and she knows they don't stand a chance. If Archie can suspend water in midair like that, who's to say that he won't shove it down their throats? Or just hold it over their faces till they suffocate…

They can't fight him. They need to retreat, recuperate, and fight back at a later time. Never mind that the world's about to collapse around them. She risked her life once before to save the Johto region—but she'd done it of her own will. This time around, somebody else is threatening her life, as well as Emerald's—and it's absolutely terrifying.

Crystal slowly raises her hands in the air in surrender. "Archie," she almost begs. "We'll… we'll leave. We won't fight you."

The man in armor grins; concentric ripples of water fluctuate around him. "Is that right?"

"Crystal!" Emerald shouts, shocked. "We can't—"

"We need to," Ruby answers roughly, still crouched in front of Sapphire. "We don't have a choice."

"That's right," Archie laughs. "I'm the one making the decisions now. And I've got to say, I regret not experiencing this rush of power sooner." He thrusts his palm towards Emerald, and an intense beam of water smashes the younger boy through a plaster wall.

"Emerald!" Crystal screams, running towards her unconscious friend—but the force of a waterfall slams her into the soggy carpet.

"Wait a minute, there," Archie scolds. "I haven't finished explaining yet. That boy and his party delayed my wish to Jirachi by fighting me for the past hour. That's why he will die."

Crystal grips the wet carpet with her fingers. Emerald fought to protect the world.

"And that unconscious girl? She's probably close to death anyways. Ironic, isn't it—killed by one of her own team members."

Crystal almost pulls fibers of the carpet. No, Gold did not kill Sapphire. It may have been Gold's billiard balls, but Archie deflected them at her on purpose.

"Her boyfriend, though… he's still very much alive."

Crystal looks up at this, just in time to see a blob of water attach itself to Ruby's face. He gasps, trying to splash the liquid off his skin—but then, with a flick of his hand, Archie forces the water into Ruby's nose. The boy clutches his throat as the water finds its way into his windpipe.

"You," Archie sneers at her, pushing away a Swampert's blast of muddy water. "You didn't really do anything other than break a wall open while flying in on a Mantine. I'm not offended by you—so go. Run away. Save your pathetic little life."

Crystal squeezes her eyes shut, trying to trap weak little tears behind her eyelids. She is not pathetic. She is not weak. She will not run away. Emerald's hurt, Sapphire's head is injured, and Ruby is drowning, right in front of her.

With a cry of rage, Crystal releases her entire party and launches herself at Archie.

Tate is motionless. As Liza approaches him, she can feel the panic rising in his mind—and then she feels the source of it as well: something powerful disrupts the balance of the world. She notices the change in the ocean tides; the waves are growing stronger, washing further up the sandy beaches of Mossdeep City. Something bad is happening. The ocean is reacting to strange psychic powers. Liza recalls that the same thing happened a year ago, when Team Aqua called Kyogre to increase the amount of water in the world. Only Groudon had countered it by creating more land, until Rayquaza returned them to their states of peaceful rest.

But this time, Liza can feel only one power. And it's not natural. It is not the true Kyogre.

"Liza," Tate speaks. "Hoenn is in trouble."

"It will drown soon," she murmurs. "We must contact the gym leaders."

"Code Blue," they say together.

The ocean will cover them all.

Every window shows more signs of destruction: the ocean roils with huge waves and the gigantic Kyogre copy floats around the Battle Frontier, belching up enormous amounts of water while expanding all the time. It now encompasses over half the Battle Frontier.

But Gold's reached the exhibition center below the top floor, and the petrified forms of Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Silver stand in front of him. His closest friend is currently frozen in a crouching position behind Blue—the girl Silver considers to be his older sister.

Interestingly, all the statues appear to be stained purple—as if purple dust was scattered all over them after they were petrified. Gold rubs his finger on Silver's shoulder; a little bit of dust rubs off, but not much. Maybe it's an identification thing Professor Oak put on to verify the statues. Gold sniffs it; it smells like death. Death, dried blood, salty tears. In disgust, Gold rubs the residue on his finger into the carpet.

Gold fingers the bangle in his hand; the old lady Kimberly gave him and Crystal similar bangles, which taught his Typhlosion and her Meganium the ultimate moves Blast Burn and Frenzy Plant. This bangle will teach Hydro Cannon to Silver's Feraligatr—if Silver is conscious enough. According to Professor Oak, the statues are warm—which means that the teenagers inside are still partially conscious. Silver was reported to be warmer—and thus more conscious—than all the others, so Kimberly believes that, if Silver concentrates on the bangle, he'll be able to learn and teach the technique to his Pokemon.

Gold's not so sure. Hey, it took him two months to master the technique and teach it to Exbo, his Typhlosion. There's no way Silver's going to learn it in ten minutes. Hopefully by then, Crystal will have captured Jirachi and wished for Red's, Yellow's, Green's, Blue's, and Silver's de-petrification.

Gold slips the golden bangle on his friend's warm stone wrist and uses a special glue to secure it to Silver's petrified clothes—that way no cheap tourists can steal it. Oak was right; Silver is rather warm.

Experimentally, Gold touches Blue, then Green next. Blue is cooler than Silver, but she's hotter than Green or Red and Yellow. It's an interesting pattern—a lot like Pokemon eggs. Pokemon eggs that are warmer usually hatch sooner, or at least age faster.

The bangle around Silver's wrist begins to glow.

Gold's eyes almost bulge out of his skull, and he grabs his friend's stone hand. No way. Is Silver actually—

His train of thought is interrupted as the entire Battle Tower rumbles. The floor beneath him shakes and cracks appear in the concrete walls. The moment Gold regains his balance, though, another powerful blow trembles the building. The cracks widen; the floor groans. Water begins to spurt and dribble from the walls, but none of that matters when the fin of the Energy Kyogre copy explodes through the window, spraying Gold with a wave of dirty water that knocks him away from the statues. Before he can stand up, the floor beneath him cracks, and then he's falling through empty space.

Ruby's vision is so blurry. The horrifying sensation of water actively trying to push its way into his lungs stopped a couple minutes ago, when Crystal roared and attacked Archie—but Ruby still feels like he's drowning. There's a lot of water in his mouth and he doesn't have the strength to cough it out—

Zuzu suddenly appears in front of him, and then it feels like water is being pulled out his body. Ruby coughs; water dribbles out of his nostrils and his vision is suddenly clear and sharp as his Swampert continues to draw excess water from him. The entire floor is drenched in water and some walls have collapsed. There's a body trapped under one concrete slab—Crystal! Crystal's trapped… Ruby tries to pull himself to his feet, but he's still too weak. Zuzu's arms reach under his arms, supporting him gently.

Ruby coughs again. "Thanks, Zuzu. But Crystal…"

"I'm pretty sure she's dead."

Anger explodes in Ruby's mind as he glances at Archie, but defeat immediately follows it. Archie is floating in a pillar of water three feet tall, and even more water surges around him in waves. And then his heart stops: Sapphire's limp, unconscious body floats in another pillar of water two feet away.

"This one's been sleeping for a while," Archie chuckles. "Two billiard balls to the forehead—she must have permanent brain damage or something. I don't think she'll live much longer. How to dispose of her body…?"

"No," Ruby chokes. "Please. Give her to me."

Archie smirks. "Why? Dead bodies are such a hassle—they're too incriminating. Much better to make their death look like an accident… like accidently falling out of the window, perhaps?" Archie pushes Sapphire's pillar of water towards the broken window. "A fall from 50 floors will definitely break her neck, I think."

"No!" Ruby cries. "Please… you can't! I…" He hasn't even told her…

Archie laughs. "You want to tell her something?"

Speechless, Ruby can only nod.

"Well, too late," Archie snickers. "Now she'll never know." He promptly tosses Sapphire out the window.

Ruby doesn't think. He just gets up and runs. He's still weak and his legs are going to give out any minute. The wall of water rushing towards him from Archie is going to knock him flat, and he won't be able to get up again. But Sapphire's going to die and dammit he will not let that happen.

Water blasts into his back—a concentrated blast of Surf from Zuzu, one that launches him out the window before Archie's water can knock him down. It's a risky move and Ruby almost wants to scream at the Swampert in surprise, but then he spots Sapphire's limp form and dives at her.

At which point, Ruby realizes he doesn't have any flying Pokemon.

But as he crashes into Sapphire's body, he pulls her entire belt of Pokemon loose and screams, "Pilo, help us!"

Only one ball explodes open, and with a rush of air, Sapphire's Tropius slows their descent significantly. Still, it's not enough; they've fallen too far. Ruby just cradles Sapphire in his arms as Pilo ploughs into the flooded courtyard in front of the Battle Tower; he tries to shield her body as they're thrown into a foot of water.

On one side, the Energy Kyogre copy unleashes enormous Water Pulses out to sea. On the other, the Battle Tower shakes as Archie continues to blast it with his watery attacks.

They're trapped on a tiny island with no escape.

The tides are much larger than normal. Large waves are endangering Pallet Town houses that are located next to the beach, and half the town has evacuated to higher grounds already. After Hoenn's emergency warning, Kanto and Johto have responded with similar caution.

But Professor Oak is still worried.

His grandson is still in Hoenn. Green. And Red and Yellow, Blue, and Silver. He learned that Jirachi would appear on a certain island in Hoenn, so he sent his friend Scott to build a settlement there—the Battle Frontier. Then, with Crystal's help, he recruited Emerald, an orphan boy who could easily recognize and exploit Pokemon behaviors, to capture Jirachi. It was the only way to de-petrify the teenagers that Oak could think of.

Unfortunately, Crystal hasn't reported back to him about their current situation. Oak can only hope that she will call within the next couple hours with tales of success. Time and time again, Pokedex owners have saved the world; Oak doesn't doubt them now.

But he's still worried. With aquatic areas increasing exponentially and sightings of some large water-based creature, communication between regions has become limited as the gym leaders scramble to secure their areas.

Pallet Town has evacuated. Places like Mt. Silver have opened as refugee camps for citizens from Kanto and Johto. Misty and Brock, the two closest gym leaders to Pallet Town, are currently shipping citizens towards higher grounds with their massive mobile Pokemon.

All Oak can really think about, though, is Green's safety. Green, Red, and Blue—the three trainers from Pallet Town. He's known them for ten years, seen them grown up… seen them petrified. All he wants is to see them alive again.

"Please, Jirachi," Oak murmurs, tears dripping down his weathered face. "Save them. Save them all."

With a final shudder, the Battle Tower begins to disintegrate. The entire top half tilts forward as the center of the tower dissolves into dust and muddy water. Archie and Jirachi float in the sky hundreds of feet above Ruby and Sapphire, and Archie continues to blast the crumbling building with concentrated beams of water.

Crystal. Gold. Emerald.

Sapphire.

Her face is soft and relaxed. She's still unconscious; there are two bruises on her forehead, made by billiard balls Archie had bounced towards her. When she's awake, she's strong and determined—as much as he is, but with a fiery desire to battle. But when she's… asleep… like this, she's so beautiful.

She can't die. She won't. Ruby won't let her.

"JIRACHI!" he screams, releasing his Delcatty, Coco. Her Cute Charm immediately spreads, attracting the attention of the male Wish Pokemon. With a mournful sigh, Jirachi glances down at Ruby.

"Jirachi! Please! Fulfill my wish!"

Archie's hand clamps down on the Wish Pokemon's star shaped head—but Jirachi continues to look at Ruby.

"Save us!" Ruby begs. "Save us all, please."

Seconds of silence. Water splashes around them, but all Ruby can do is stare at Jirachi as tears stream down his face, as he clutches Sapphire even closer to his body.

Then, slowly, Jirachi nods. Crystal ribbons wrap around its body as it fulfills its third wish. The last ribbon on its star-shaped head glows and dissolves into dust. More ribbons wrap around Jirachi, hiding it from sight, until only a large crystal egg is left.

The building above them explodes, and large slabs on concrete begin to fall directly above them. Ruby waits; Jirachi will save them. They're going to be safe. Sapphire will live. Red will de-petrify, Crystal will come back to life, Gold will be fine, Jirachi will shield him and Sapphire from harm.

Ruby closes his eyes. Jirachi will save them.

They're safe.