WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE – SEASON 2: A LOSER'S LOG
On the outskirts of the Hoenn region, on a remote location known as 'Southern Island', an explosion destroyed a chunk of a hidden Team Galactic base. The grunts alerted to the scene quickly fled when they saw the crimson and white beast propel itself into the air, firing another Mist Ball to obliterate a watchtower that was the only thing standing between it and freedom.
The facility's lead scientist, Charon, was soon alerted to the location, followed by Commander Saturn, but the two were only met with a horde of panicking grunts fleeing in the other direction and signs of destruction and carnage. Saturn yelled orders and insults at the fleeing grunts, using everything in his repertoire to questioning their masculinity and making disparaging comments about their mothers' appearances, but nothing worked – whatever they had seen had horrified them beyond reason.
"Are you done yelling yet, Saturn?" Charon asked calmly, having knelt closer to the ground and observed a large puddle of sticky, jet black liquid on the floor.
"What do you think the boss pays me for?!" Saturn snapped at Charon, but recoiled in disgust as he noticed the liquid. "Wha – the hell is that?"
"She was still hooked in machinery before she fled," Charon said as he touched the liquid with the tip of his finger, bringing it closer to his face and smelling it, causing Saturn to grimace. "Even a Pokémon like that can't get very far in her condition."
"Lord Cyrus has poured millions of poké-dollars on that thing, and now you're telling us to waste more to look for it?!" Saturn yelled. "I'm sick of this region already – do you know what this heat does to my beautiful hair? And there's not a decent brunch place to be found."
"I sometimes wonder why he keeps a whiner like you around," Charon said. "We're scuttling this place and returning to Sinnoh. Lord Cyrus needs us for the promised day. As for Latias – we'll use one of our local allies to help us."
"You mean...?" Saturn said and cringed. "I don't want Archie near this project. He's a psychopath!"
"Just the kind of person we need then," Charon remarked and grabbed some of Latias' black blood with him, putting into a test tube. "And besides – it looks like the experiment worked."
~o~O~o~
Chapter One: Welcome to Hoenn
Location: S.S. Anne, en route to the Hoenn region
"You don't happen to have a plan?" Kris asked.
"If you can stall them long enough for me to think one up... probably not," Iris muttered.
Two sailors along with two Machoke had the short, black-haired Kris and the even shorter, purple-haired Iris cornered in one of the ship's utility rooms. Kris' Sandshrew and Iris' Fraxure were by their trainers' side, all participants assuming a fighting stance. As they backed into the utility room, however, what little room they had to escape was blocked by the beret-wearing waiter.
"Il est bien fait, mes amis!" the waiter said in a thick, Kalosian accent. "But this is where your running ends."
Kris and Iris backed against each other, Kris and her Sandshrew facing the waiter while Iris facing off against the two sailors.
"No one has yet faced mon chaton Pokémon and won," the waiter bragged. "Come out!"
Kris was expecting something horrifying, but what hovered towards her instead was just a little lilac Pokémon about a foot in height. And yet, Sandshrew started to shiver, as did Kris as she looked into the Pokémon's large, purple, unblinking eyes.
"Kris, what kind of Pokémon is he using?" Iris whispered.
"Um... it's kind of feline-ish," Kris mumbled. "Do you expect me to memorize them all?"
"Can you give me anything else?" Iris asked.
"Well, the look on its face makes it look like it's seen some serious sh-"
"It's Espurr," Iris said immediately. "Psychic-type Pokémon native to the Kalos region, weighs around 7.7 pounds."
"You need a hobby," Kris grunted.
"Whatever we do, we must not upset it," Iris said. "If it loses control of its powers, the result may be a shock wave up to 300 meters in diameter. So, I recommend we do this carefully and-"
"Shrew, Slash!" Kris yelled quickly.
Kris' Sandshrew leaped at the Espurr, but a psychic shield it had erected bounced the little ground-type backwards. Iris ordered Fraxure to use Dragon Pulse on the Machoke, then charge at them with its tusks. Iris herself jumped on the back of the other sailor, putting her hands over his eyes.
"Guess who?" she asked playfully.
"Stay still, I've got this!" the other sailor yelled and raised his fist.
But Iris jumped out of the way, leading the sailor to punch and knock out his buddy. Iris then tripped the other one and put her foot in his neck, holding him still and watching her Fraxure deal with the Machoke.
Meawhile, Espurr was just yawning as it easily kept Sandshrew at bay, blocking every single one of its attacks with its psychic powers as the waiter laughed maniacally.
"Céder, Kris, and surrender to your fate!" he yelled. "You can't escape it much longer."
"You know, you have no idea how often I heard that back in Johto," Kris remarked. "There was a guy who could transform into my mirror image in a second, a ninja girl who could kill you before you drew a breath and an old man who could manipulate ice. I survived them all – what chance do you have? Shrew, Defense Curl!"
Shrew stopped attacking the Espurr and backed a few feet away from it, curling itself into a ball, hiding its soft, white underbelly. The waiter and his Espurr watched in confusion.
"Now, Rollout!" Kris ordered.
Its tough hide shining as the Sandshrew strengthened itself, the Pokémon started spinning and launched itself at the Espurr, breaking through its psychic barrier and knocking the psychic-type out. Gaining more momentum, Shrew spun away from Espurr and circled around the room before striking the waiter next, hitting him square in the face and knocking him out, the waiter uttering a muffled 'Merde!' before falling.
"Yes!" Kris and Iris both yelled and attempted to high-five each other, only to miss and jab each other in the eye instead.
"Ow!" Kris wailed as she rubbed her sore, watered eye. "We need to work on that a bit more."
"Yeah," Iris grumbled. "You really need to work on your hand-eye coordination."
"Hey, I'm not the one with their nose stuck in a book all the time!"
But the two stopped their arguing and frightfully hugged each other as the door of the utility room was punched open by a sailor even larger than the two they fought before. Seeing him emerging into the room made Shrew and Fraxure do the same, the enormous sailor observing the chaos in the room.
"H-Huey," Kris and Iris stuttered simultaneously.
"I've been looking for you, Kris and Iris," the first mate said threateningly. "You had to know this was coming, there's no reason to hide any longer."
Kris let go of Iris and threw herself at Huey's feet.
"Is there no other way?" she pleaded. "Can't you find it in your heart to let this one slide?"
"Nice try, but unless you come with me now, I'll have to talk to Captain Cutter personally," sailor Huey said.
"It's over, Kris," Iris said, sighing in resignation. "We should at least do it with dignity."
"But why?!" Kris screamed, her hand in the air in a theatrical manner. "What did we do to deserve this?!"
Huey shoved a sheet of paper in front of Kris' face. "Your names are on the list, Kris," he said. "All employees of the ship have to do it when their turn comes, and it's almost ten PM: the kitchen has to be cleaned!"
"Damn you all!" Kris wailed dramatically.
Soon enough, Kris, Iris, Shrew and Fraxure were wearing aprons, rubber gloves and hairnets, scrubbing the grubby, food-stained floors, walls and other surfaces of the luxury liner S.S. Anne's kitchen. To maintain the high quality of the ship's food and service, cooks and other kitchen staff had to put all their effort and focus on their work, leaving the employees at the bottom of the totem pole to clean up after them every evening. Kris would have scrubbed the deck, cleaned the bathrooms, given the Captain a massage, anything to get out of the most disgusting work detail on the ship.
The other employees knew it as well, and had used every trick they had to give Kris and Iris the crappy assignments when they had come on board. Spontaneous battles had often erupted when it came to solving who got the worst jobs. Worse yet, Captain Cutter, a devout Pokémon-lover, had forbidden employees from overusing their Pokémon for straining work, though he allowed Shrew and Fraxure to roam free as the crew had taken a liking to them.
"How long do we have to stay on this stinking ship?" Kris complained as she poured something extremely potent and smelly to unclog the drain. "How long have we been here, anyway?"
"Three months," Iris said while scrubbing a particularly nasty stain on the floor. "But come on, Kris, you can't tell me you haven't enjoyed this on some level! Think about all those people and Pokémon from all around the world we've gotten to see! How many people can say they've experienced the same?"
"If its gets us to Hoenn, it's worth it," Kris grumbled. "But how many places have been through already? We left here from Vermilion City, went through the Johto coastline, the Sevii Islands, some place called Oblivia and some strange ports and islands I haven't even heard of!"
"You know, the captain could have easily turned us down," Iris said. "But he gave us these jobs and allowed us to earn our way – we might even get a big bonus when all this is over!"
"And in the meantime, I have to deal with unimaginable filth gathering up under my nails," Kris grunted as she started to scrub the drain clean – she wondered if last week's crew had done it at all.
Iris couldn't think of a bright side about that, but she didn't have to, as an announcement through the ship's PA system soon answered their prayers:
"Attention passengers. We will arrive in Petalburg City in twenty minutes. We'll make a forty-five minute stop before heading to our next destination, Slateport City."
"Petalburg," Kris muttered, her face slowly lighting up as she realized what was happening. "Hoenn! We've made it! Shrew, get a move on! We have to get this done quickly!"
"I think I'm almost done here," Iris said. "Do you want me to bring the hose?"
"Don't bother," Kris said, smiling mischievously as she opened one of the Poké Ball on her belt.
Kris' main fighting Pokémon, her Feraligatr, emerged from it, roaring and stretching its bulky limbs as it got out after a long while. It was a large, blue, bipedal crocodile-like Pokémon with strong jaws and plenty of sharp teeth, as well as even sharper red spikes coming out of its head, back and tail.
"Kris," Iris said quietly, gazing out of the kitchen's small, grubby window in thought, even though it was too dark outside to see a thing. "Do you think we'll find what we're looking for from here?"
Kris tensed up after hearing the question. The honest answer was something she didn't want to say. But she had worked her fingers to the bone just to get this far – the answers they were looking for just had to be there.
"I have a feeling we will," Kris said and forced on a smile. "After all, we have at least one lead: that Steven guy. We should find him from Rustboro City."
Iris nodded and smiled weakly before resuming her cleaning. Kris shifted her focus on her Feraligatr.
"All right, Croc," she told it. "This place needs to be spotless before the ship reaches Petalburg. How about you give it a try?"
Croc nodded and opened its mouth. Hearing what Kris said, Iris almost jumped up, eyes widened in terror.
"Kris, wait!" she yelled. "M-maybe I should just get the h-"
"Hydro Pump!"
~o~O~o~
Location: Route 101, Hoenn
Brendan Ruby, a short, 17-year old boy with brown eyes and black hair mostly covered by a white beanie was cycling towards Littleroot, a quiet little backwater in southwestern Hoenn. It was where he and his family had originally moved to from the Johto region before moving again to Petalburg City. At the moment, he had two important reasons to visit the place. One was finally getting himself a Pokémon, something he had yearned for ever since he first made a dazzling outfit for his father's Vigoroth – something his father didn't quite appreciate.
Another reason was a person who had lived in Littleroot Town all her life. She was the one who had befriended Brendan when he was new in town, and someone whom Brendan hadn't seen in two years. Getting a Pokémon was nerve-wrecking, enough; having to figure out what to talk about with her made his heart beat rapidly.
What's more, it was past ten PM, Brendan having put off leaving Petalburg City until he had polished his bicycle and decorated with some cut accessories. It was dark outside and many of the lampposts on the quiet sand road he cycled on had burnt out. Quite honestly, Brendan would rather be home sewing and asking the Pokémon to be delivered it to him. The sounds of the Hoothoot and Poochyena were clearly audible, but Brendan was sure they'd leave him alone if he stayed on the path.
Fairly sure. About 42% sure, maybe.
As he passed a sign indicating Littleroot Town was just a hundred yards away, something moved in the bushes.
He was now 37% sure nothing would attack him.
Brendan stopped his bike and let out a high-pitched squeal as something emerged from the woods and stepped directly on his path.
"Don't hurt me!" he wailed and covered his head with his hands. "I'm too pretty to die!"
"Well, you certainly haven't changed," a familiar voice remarked and stepped into the light.
Brendan moved his hands away to look at the arrival. "Muh... May?" he stuttered.
May Birch, a girl taller than him with chin-length brown hair and blue eyes who wore a bandanna and a tattered red outfit smiled at him. An overpowering sense of awkwardness filled Brendan – for two years, the two had been apart, and now that they finally met, he had no idea what to say. And he was mildly ashamed of his pathetic screaming earlier.
"It was about time you showed up," May remarked. "My dad said he called you early this afternoon. How did it take you this long to get here?"
"May..." Brendan said quietly. "There's... something I want to ask you."
May raised her eyebrows, clasping her hands expectantly. "W-what is it?" she whispered.
"What happened to your clothes?!" Brendan wailed.
May blinked and stared at him. "What?"
"That's the outfit I made for you!" Brendan cried as he stepped closer to inspect the many tears and stains on May's shirt. "How did it get in such condition?"
May groaned, her eye twitching. "Who cares about that?!" she snapped at Brendan and grabbed him by his arm. "If you must know, I've been looking around for you around Route 101 for hours, having to fight off wild Pokémon with a stick!"
"This just won't do," Brendan said, shaking his head. "Wait here, I have supplies in my bike's basket. We need emergency patching, stat!"
"I said forget it!" May shouted. "Come on, we need to get to my dad's lab!"
Brendan's weak protests faded as May dragged him to Littleroot Town and to Professor Birch's lab, where the professor, May's father, greeted the duo. Though Brendan had been intimidated by this large man at first, he had eventually come to learn that the professor was a kind, relaxed person. Brendan still couldn't understand why someone with such a spotless, expensive laboratory setup would spend his time wandering around the dirty outdoors – and wear such tacky shorts.
"Ah, Brendan, you've made it!" Birch said. "I was about to close up shop for the day. May was worried sick about you over here!"
"I was not!" May protested. "I just want my Pokémon quickly!"
"Yes, the two of you will finally begin your journeys into adulthood," Birch said emotionally. "There's something so... beautiful about that."
"For Arceus' sake, dad," May snapped when Birch sniffed. "Don't get all weepy."
"I'm sorry, May," Birch said and blew his nose loudly, prompting Brendan to take a step away from him. "You were just such an invaluable help around here, helping me observe wild Pokémon behavior. And Brendan, why, without those pastries you and your mother baked for me, I would have passed out many times during my all-nighters."
Brendan grinned. "Happy to help, prof," he said. "But I'm with May – I can't wait to see my Pokémon. Just so you know, May, I want the cutest one!"
May scoffed. "It's all yours," she smirked. "I want one that will kick yours to the curb."
"Eugh, you don't want to battle straight away, do you?" Brendan said, recoiling. "How barbaric! I want my Pokémon to look the best it can first."
May shook her head. "With that attitude, you won't defeat a single gym leader."
Brendan crossed his arms and turned away from May. "Who says I want to?"
"But... what will you do, then?"
To answer, Brendan climbed on one of professor Birch's desks and raised his finger dramatically in the air, though the effect would be bigger were he at least a little taller.
"This region is home to some of the greatest Pokémon Coordinators in the world," Brendan announced. "Their mission: to spread the message of beauty across the world. To compete in Pokémon Contests and earn ribbons until they're qualified to compete in the Grand Festival and test their skills against the Top Coordinator – in the case of this region: Wallace! And I, Brendan Ruby, am going to become one of them!"
Brendan spontaneously pulled a poster of the man in question from his jacket, showing a picture of a pretty, turquoise-haired man wearing a white beret and wrapped in a white cape. Professor Birch just stared, while May hid her snickering by covering her mouth with her gloved hand.
Brendan felt his face getting red as May quietly laughed at him. "What's so funny?"
"A Pokémon Coordinator?" she laughed. "You? Well, they are a prissy bunch, but I doubt you'll want to get your pwecious Pokémon dirty by traveling around and entering Contests. You've never went beyond Petalburg – there's no way you'll win even one ribbon. And besides, Wallace? You know he's also the Pokémon League Champion, right?"
"What?!" Brendan gasped and jumped off the table. "Since when?"
"Last year already, that Stone guy wanted to resign," May said. "Didn't you watch the tournaments?"
Brendan stared at May. "Is that a rhetorical question?"
"Well, personally, I think it's great to follow your dreams," said Professor Birch, whose presence May and Brendan had almost forgotten. "But I'm a bit curious, Brendan. I would have thought Norman would have wanted you to train at his gym."
The mere mention of his father's name made Brendan's shoulder slump and his face fall. He turned away theatrically and made a speech that he had probably rehearsed earlier.
"Yes, 'tis true," he said, prompting May to roll her eyes. "I have been planning this for months now, but my father would not approve. He would say it's a waste of time, that I need to become a brutish battler like him to 'defend the region' from something. Like what? Tourists? Sunshine? How can he be so blind? It is a tragic tale of a man overcoming his final obstacle: his own father, who-"
"Okay, take it easy, I didn't mean to incite you," Professor Birch said awkwardly. "I'm sure you'll work things out. You're family, after all. I'm not particularly keen on sending May out on the world either, but she's almost an adult and I can't stop her. Now then, would you like to choose your Pokémon? Unfortunately, I already gave the Treecko to a promising young man who had just moved to the region and desperately needed a Pokémon, but you still have two to choose from."
Professor Birch led May and Brendan to a table with two Poké Balls on them. Using a handheld device, he scanned the Poké Balls, their contents showing up on screen and allowing May and Brendan to look.
The first one was Torchic, a little orange chick-like Pokémon that was a fire-type. The second one was Mudkip, an equally tiny blue water-type with a large fin sticking out of its head.
"Neither of them look very strong," May lamented – based on what she remembered, the Treecko had at least a little more intimidating look to it.
"But both of them are super-cute!" Brendan squeed. "Oh, I don't even care! You go first, May!"
May's face hardened. This was it – if she would choose the Mudkip, she would have an immediate type advantage. But that wasn't what she wanted. When the time came, she wanted to utterly destroy Brendan, and what better way to do it than to trounce him even with a type disadvantage. After some more consideration, May finally grabbed Torchic's Poké Ball.
"All right," Brendan said and grabbed Mudkip. "My very own Pokémon! Wait 'till you see the outfit I'll make you!"
"Come over here," Birch said.
The professor showed May and Brendan a map of the Hoenn region. The geography of this tropical place was very varied, with mountains and deserts to the north and lush green forests to the east. The eastern part of Hoenn was almost entirely ocean, with islands scattered all over the place. The Pokémon League was in Ever Grande City, a metropolis on an island in the southeastern corner of the region.
"I recommend you two stick together until Oldale Town at least," Birch said, pointing at the town directly to the north from Littleroot. "From there, Brendan can cross the swampland and head to Slateport City to get his Contest Pass. May, you can head to Petalburg and try for a gym badge, though I'd recommend skipping that gym entirely and moving on to Rustboro. I'm sure you know that Norman has a reputation of being the strongest leader in the region."
"And I don't care!" May boasted. "I'm not afraid of him. In fact, me and Torchic can beat him all by our lonesome."
Brendan scoffed. "Ordinarily I wouldn't care, as I'm sure you two brutes will get along just fine. But are you seriously going to strain that poor baby so early? At least let me trim its feathers!"
"You doll up your own Pokémon!" May protested and put Torchic's Poké Ball on her belt.
Looking at the map, though, May got an idea. The map had the locations of Hoenn's gyms and Contest Halls marked on them, and May had already figured herself a good route. They said going through the entire region to get all eight gym badges would last about 4-6 months. The famous Red from Kanto did his in a few days over three months. May was confident she'd do even better.
"Say, Brendan," she said cockily, hands on her hips. "You think you've got what it takes to take on the Coordinators of Hoenn?"
"Of course," Brendan said proudly. "With Mudkip and the other Pokémon I'm going to get, we'll be the most beautiful team in all the region!"
"Then we'll make a deal," May said. "A bet, if you will. You know Phileas Fogg?"
"...no," Brendan said.
"Well, it doesn't matter. We'll make a bet: we will reach our respective goals in eighty days. Eight badges and championship for me, four ribbons and Top Coordinator status for you. Whoever gets there first, wins. What do you say?"
Brendan grinned.
"You're on," he said. "But first we have to go to... Oldale Town, was it? Hmm..."
"What?"
"Just thinking that, if you really want to win... you have to catch up to me first! Sucker!"
Pocketing Mudkip's Poké Ball, Brendan dashed out of the lab, May quickly giving chase to him, moving faster than even her father thought was humanly possible. Birch looked out of his lab's window and saw May tackling Brendan to the ground before getting up and running away, Brendan being unhurt by outraged by dirt getting on his clothes, giving chase to May.
Looking at the sight, Birch sighed. "Just what will those two get themselves into..."
His musings were interrupted by his phone ringing. Wondering who would have something urgent to talk about this late, knowing that it couldn't be his wife, seeing as his house was only a few minutes worth of walking away. Birch picked up the phone.
"Hello?" he said. "Um, who? Wha – really? Lance? From the Indigo League? Well, this is quite an honor, I don't think we've met before. How can I..."
Birch frowned, suddenly gripping the phone tightly.
"Team Aqua?"
~o~O~o~
Location: S.S. Anne, Petalburg City Harbor, Hoenn
Kris and Iris stood before the S.S. Anne's captain, their hair and clothes soaking wet and dripping water all over the captain's office. The old Captain Cutter raised an eyebrow at that, but the two girls refused to divulge what had happened, though Iris gave a few pointed glares in Kris' directions.
"All finished in the kitchen, then?" Cutter asked, and the two nodded sternly. "Very good. A promise is a promise, and you two have done more than enough to earn your keep. In fact, you've done so well that I've taken the liberty of giving you two a little bonus each."
Cutter handed Kris and Iris an envelope each. Iris opened it carefully while Kris practically ripped hers apart opening it. Inside both was a cheque with the same sum written on both.
"Five thousand poké-dollars?!" Kris yelled out. "Captain, this is really-"
Cutter raised his hand to silence Kris. "You're welcome," he said simply. "From what I've heard, most of your money was spent just getting to Vermilion City. I know what it's like to set foot in a strange land, so I hope this will get you started. Really, it's practically nothing, considering our clientele. It seems we've arrived in Petalburg City, just like you wanted."
"Thank you, captain," Iris said formally and bowed, Kris doing the same a bit half-assedly. "I never thought I'd even see the famous luxury liner."
The captain just seemed bothered by the excessive politeness. "Really, you deserve it. I respect that you wished to earn your way to your goal."
Kris nodded, though it was not like she had any other options. She was too poor for a plane ticket, anyway, and few direct ferry trips left for Hoenn. The luxury liner S.S. Anne was their only choice, but that had meant having to wait until the ship finally made a stop in Hoenn.
Cutter stood up and walked over to one of the many swords he had hanging on his wall, brushing his finger over it.
"You know, this ship has cruised around the world endlessly for over a decade," Cutter mused as he inspected the dusty sword. "I've gotten to meet people from all over the world and have no regrets over taking his job, but I do wonder if I could still experience the same adventures when I was young had I chosen a different path."
"Captain?" Kris asked in concern – though Cutter had been friendly to them, he hadn't exactly exchanged much dialogue with her and Iris and he certainly hadn't talked about his personal life, though the rest of the crew talked about him as if they revered him.
The captain smiled at Kris and Iris. "From what you told me when you first came on board, this isn't a mere backpacking trip you two are on. Why don't you tell me where you're from and why you came all this way?"
Kris and Iris glanced at each other uncertainly. Their reasons for being there weren't exactly secrets, but talking about them to random people didn't feel like a good idea.
"I'll tell you what," Cutter continued when Kris and Iris stayed quiet. "You tell me at least the basics of why you're here, and I'll do you a favor that might help you get around. Hoenn is a big place, after all."
Kris glanced at Iris again, and Iris just shrugged, smiling slightly.
"I guess there's no harm," she told Kris and faced Cutter. "Captain, I'm from the Village of Dragons, which is on the outskirts of Unova. My home will most likely be destroyed and my family and friends will be forced to abandon their way of life. I'm here to get stronger, find a way to prevent that and find a way to carry on the dragon clan's legacy if that fails."
Cutter nodded. "A respectable goal," he said. "I had completely underestimated today's youth. What about you, Kris?"
Kris looked at Cutter in the eyes. "I'm from New Bark Town, and as for why I'm here - many reasons. To become stronger and to study some ancient writings we were unable to translate. But most importantly, we have reason to believe that... um..."
"We can trust him," Iris said cheerfully, and Cutter nodded encouragingly.
"Well, you know of Red?" she asked, and Cutter nodded again. "Yeah, I don't think there's anyone in this nation who doesn't. We want to find out how and why he disappeared three years ago, and our investigation has led us to believe that he may be in Hoenn."
"Well, that wasn't too hard, was it?" Cutter said and returned behind his desk. He wrote something on a piece of paper which he handed over to Iris. "If you two need to get farther than Petalburg or Rustboro, visit an old friend of mine from my Navy days. He's called Mr. Briney and he lives near Petalburg, if I recall. Just show him that paper and tell him that it's a favor for me, and he'll do what you ask. But I recommend you spend the night in Petalburg – it's getting a bit late."
"Thank you, captain," Kris said, and she and Iris saluted Cutter, even if it was a civilian ship and they were no longer his employees anyway.
As Kris and Iris left the ship, many members of the crew were there to see them off. The Kalosian waiter had recovered and Kris and Iris were apologizing him profusely, though he assured he got slapped around a lot anyway. Sailor Huey was particularly emotional, grabbing Kris and Iris in a suffocating hug with his muscular arms and bawling his eyes out about how they were one of the finest crew members he ever had the pleasure to serve with. The girls were eventually able to stop his crying by assuring him they'd write.
Eventually, Kris and Iris had to wave their goodbyes and headed for the Petalburg Pokémon Center, where they planned to spend the night, aiming to start their trip towards Rustboro early in the morning. Kris was writing something on his journal, which she refused to call a 'diary' despite Iris' insistence and preferred 'a chronicling of her journey for the future generations to find'.
"Kris' log, day 1 in Hoenn. Though getting here was a worse ordeal than training for the Silver Conference had been, we've finally made it, and our journey couldn't have started better. Captain Cutter promised to help us and we seemed to make a good impression on the crew. Well, Iris did anyway – I didn't talk to them much, just used my free time to train and occasionally challenge passengers to battles whenever the captain or Huey weren't around. Iris seemed to think it was a valuable experience – personally, I can't wait to shower and get the smell of saltwater out of me. Dry land, I could kiss you if you weren't so polluted!"
"I may not be much of a trainer yet, but I can at least say I keep my promises: I will find Red, and I will bring him back. And when I do, he's gonna tell me the secret to becoming the very best – like no one ever was!"
"Ehh, that sounds stupid," Kris muttered and erased the last sentence.
~o~O~o¨
Location: Unknown, Hoenn
Latias had hidden herself in a cave somewhere in the Hoenn region, using the cover of darkness to get around. She had no idea how many miles she had flown, as every movement caused her agony, the numerous wounds she got from her experiments still bleeding. But more than the pain, her judgment was clouded by her unrelenting rage and lust for vengeance. She would never forget the face of the human who had wronged her – and after him, the rest would have their turn. As soon as she would recover from her wounds, it was time to go on the hunt.
"I wouldn't do it if I were you."
A voice echoed all over the cave – no, in Latias' mind. This made Latias certain that whoever it was, it was not a human. But the only Pokémon who had communicated with her like that was her brother. Could it be...
"I just… I just want this to end," Latias said as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I want to be with my brother again."
"You and I both know he wouldn't want that to happen just yet," the man continued relentlessly. "And we both know he wouldn't want you obsessing about him. As for the first part… it can be arranged. You can end it all, and you can honor your brother by finishing the work he started. Save our kind from the humans and all Pokémon who stand by their side. If we succeed… both you and your brother can finally be at peace."
"But how? I'm stuck in this place!"
"You are only limited by your will to survive. In this case, a little luck helps too. I've given you a little push, as you can see. The rest is up to you."
No. It was not him. Latias had to accept that Latios was gone, and that she couldn't follow him. Not yet anyway. Not before his will would be done.
But then, who was it?
"You have to learn to control that power of yours," the Pokémon continued, contacting her telepathically.
Latias was too wounded to properly survey the area, and whoever was talking was shielding themselves from Latias' powers.
"And you were captured by them – you're clearly not invincible," the Pokémon said again. "They will throw everything they have against you if you attack them blindly, and all you'll get is a couple of dozen, maybe a hundred victims. Why not search for a way that will get rid of an entire region at once?"
Latias was amused. This was more relevant to her interests.
"You know of something like that?" she asked.
"I might."
Though the cave had been completely dark before, it was suddenly filled with intense blue light emanating from a purple, bipedal Pokémon with strong feline traits, enveloped in a bright blue aura. It was a psychic-type, Latias knew that. It was also powerful, even if it was smaller and most likely weaker than Latias herself. Either way, its offer intrigued her.
"My name is Mewtwo," the Pokémon said. "You and I have a lot in common."
"For instance?" Latias asked weakly – if the Pokémon had come there to kill her, it would have done it already, she believed.
"We both suffered at the hands of humans," Mewtwo said slyly, prompting Latias to look at it, staring straight into its eyes that glowed bright blue. "We both have a desire to pay back that suffering. And I believe we both have a common benefactor – Giratina, I believe its name was?"
"The Devil?" the man laughed again, catching Latias off-guard. "Oh, no. Although I must admit that there are humans and Pokémon out there who often like to imagine me as such. I guess I should be flattered. The Beast is more accurate, I suppose, but I'm not here to take your soul, Latias. I'm here to help you find it. To help you uncover your trueself. I'm your friend, Latias, and you can call me Giratina."
"How about it, Latias?" Mewtwo asked. "Can I join you?"
Author's Notes (you won't be seeing these much later on): Why are the protagonists 17 years old? It seems arbitrary, but I figured 10 was unrealistic and too young for the story I had planned. They were initially going to be 18-22, but I was told that the characters acted a bit too childishly for that, so I chose 17.
Anyway, welcome to the story. Though it says that this is a sequel to my story 'When Worlds Collide', it's self-contained almost entirely. This first chapter is a little taste for what's to come and will be updated once I finish the 'Worlds Collide', which is only four chapters away from conclusion. Latias' story is chronicled in more detailed in my oneshot 'The Instrument of Evil', but again, all necessary detail is given here. I hope you enjoy this, and all feedback, positive or negative, is appreciated. And just reading this is appreciated - I will avoid these author notes in the future.
The world in this story is based on the games, but goes off the rails in a bit of an AU way, and elements of the PokéSpe manga (the best Pokémon manga, IMO) and even some parts of the anime (but not many). Especially May and Brendan are sort of based on Sapphire and Ruby from that manga. I hope I can deliver what I promise: an epic adventure filled with conspiracies, character development, action and stupid jokes. And no OC's, even.