Jet awoke to a cool breeze. Union was using icy wind to wake him up, and it worked. "Alright, Union, lay off, I'm awake." Jet said, still tired, as he sat up. He looked around and saw Dawn awake, patting Nei who was still sleeping. Blaze was still asleep, Pyro in his poke ball, while Jirachi and Tipi slept on a cushion.
"Good morning, Jet!" Dawn said as she saw Jet sit up.
"Hey." Jet said, still tired. "How's Nei doing?" he asked. Dawn smiled at her Leafeon.
"She's feeling better. She's just a little tired." She said.
Blaze sat up moments later, yawning and stretching. "Good morning. What's for breakfast?" he said, every bit as tired as Jet was.
"Nurse Joy said she was going to cook something for us. She says we're the first trainers to stay here in a while, because Oldale doesn't have many trainers, so she's happy to do it." Dawn responded. Blaze sent Pyro out from the poke ball.
"Hey, Pyro. Got a good rest? I hope you're hungry!" Blaze said to his Flareon, who leapt up and down yelping happily. Nurse Joy came in minutes later, bringing eggs and bacon for the kids and poffins for the Pokemon.
Jet nudged Jirachi awake, who floated up and sat on Jet's head, which was quickly becoming its favorite spot. Jet handed a pink poffin to Jirachi, who cutely nibbled on it. Union picked out a red poffin with blue sprinkles and sat on his master's lap, eating slowly. Everyone ate for a few minutes until Jet had an idea.
"Hey, you two, let's see what Professor Oak had in his bag." He said, opening the bag. Inside was a pack of thirty poke balls, ten thousand poke dollars, a few potions, a case of revives, a few pens and papers, binoculars, and a camera.
"Wow, Professor Oak sure does like to be prepared." Blaze remarked. Jet nodded with a smirk, and handed out ten poke balls to both his friends, and kept ten for himself.
"If we're gonna be on the run, we might as well get some more Pokemon with us to make all of this easier." Jet said. "There's a good field on the way to Petalburg, which is where we're going next on our way to Rustboro, and that's where dad catches a lot of his Pokemon. Let's go!" he said, and leapt up, Union climbing up to his shoulder and Jirachi holding on tight to his head.
Jet and his two friends left the Pokemon Center after thanking Nurse Joy, and headed west towards Petalburg, down a calm forest road of little activity.
Jet was impressed. He didn't go to Petalburg often, despite his father's occupation, but when he did, he loved the sights and smells of the road. Dawn and Blaze were looking around all over for Pokemon, but Jet just strode on, relaxed. Suddenly, he heard a small 'Pip' sound as he walked near a pool. Union hopped down from his trainer's shoulders and faced the water, crouched and ready to strike.
A shape stirred underneath the water, and then burst forth, splashing the whole group with water to Pyro's discontent. A Piplup fell from midair onto the ground and stared at Union. Union bared his fangs as Jet pulled his Pokedex out of his pocket.
"The Pokedex says this is a Piplup." Jet said. "I've never seen one before. Might as well take advantage of the occasion!" he shouted. "Union! Use quick attack!"
Union sped forward at a high speed and rammed into the Piplup, who fell into the water. It rose again, its head out of the water, and spat a high pressured stream of water with blistering speed at Union. The water attack made Union fall back, but he quickly recovered. "That was a water gun." Dawn said as she watched. "I'm surprised it was fast enough to hit Union before he could dodge it!"
Jet smirked. "His water gun may be quick, but Union's quicker! Union! Use Aqua Tail on the water!" he shouted. Union leapt over the water and slapped it with his glowing tail. The resulting splash threw the Piplup high into the air, while Union swam back to shore. Jet tossed a poke ball at the falling Piplup, and it disappeared into the capsule, which fell into the water. Jet and Union ran to the edge of the pond, looking for a sign of the pokeball.
The buoyant pokeball came out of the water shaking a bit, and then was still. Jet plucked the ball out of the water and tossed it upwards, catching it like a baseball. "That was easy, huh Union?" Jet asked his Glaceon, who shook all the water off his fur onto Jet.
Dawn giggled for a little while at the spectacle, and then looked around. "Hey, where's Blaze?" she asked aloud. Jet looked around as well, and saw no traces of the boy or his Flareon.
"Maybe he went into the forest or something, Dawn. Come on, let's go look." He said. He looked down at the pokeball containing the Piplup. "I think I'll call you Neptune." He said, as he fixed the pokeball onto his belt next to Union's.
Jet and Dawn found an entrance to the forest, but the path was dark and foreboding. "M…Maybe you should go in by yourself, Jet. I'll stay h-here and… wait and see if Blaze comes back." Dawn said. Jet was about to reassure her, when he saw a flash of black and blue in the corner of his eye. He and Union twirled around and saw a black form with shining blue marks leaping away through the forest.
"Glai!" Union shouted while Jet took down the road.
"Dawn, come on! Axis must be nearby, and Blaze might be in trouble!" he shouted as Union took off after him. "Aw, come on!" Dawn shouted as she hesitantly gave chase, Nei on her shoulder.
Jet and Union ran frantically through the forest looking for Oblivix or a sign of Blaze, but found nothing. Eventually, Jet got too tired to keep running, and sat down, Union joining him, as Dawn and Nei caught up. "Can we get out of here, Jet? I think Blaze can handle himself, huh? Please?" Dawn begged. Jet looked up, breathing heavily, at Dawn's begging eyes.
Jet smiled and shook his head. "Alright, alright. We'll go ahead and walk out. Just don't freak out. It's just a forest." Jet said. Dawn nodded and held Tipi close while Jet stood up.
"We went in this way," Jet said, pointing towards Oldale's general direction. "So we'll head the other way. There can't be much forest left." Dawn nodded and followed Jet out the forest, keeping close to him out of fear. They continued on when they saw a flash of light not too far ahead of their location.
"Blaze!" Jet shouted as he ran to the source of the light, Union right behind him.
"Oh, come on!" Dawn yelled as she ran after her friend, Tipi giggling in her arms. The group ran into a clearing amidst the trees, with Blaze and Pyro sitting down in the middle of it. Light bathed the clearing, unlike the rest of the dark forest.
"Hey, guys! What took you so long?" Blaze said. Dawn's face got red, and she scowled at Blaze.
"Don't you know I'm scared of dark places, Blaze? And you left us all alone and Jet and I had to come in here and find you!" she screamed at her friend. Blaze scratched the back of his head.
"You guys were taking forever. I was just trying to catch a Pokemon, that's all." Blaze said, dropping a poke ball to the ground. Out of the ball came the usual flash, and a Pichu materialized at Blaze's feet. "This is Jolt, everyone. Isn't he cool?" Blaze asked. Jolt tilted his head as he stared at Jet and Dawn, and then Union decided to walk forward and inspect their new companion.
Union sniffed the baby Pokemon and backed up to get a better look at him. Jolt sat on the ground, his head still tilted and his hand in his mouth, while Jirachi floated from off of Jet's head and joined Union in inspecting the Pichu. "Well, seems like they're getting along. That's good." Jet said.
Dawn tugged on Jet's arm with her free hand. "Jet? Please? For me?" she asked. Blaze stood up and brought Jolt back into his poke ball.
"Oh, no you don't, Dawn! You think that every time you beg him for something, you'll get anything you want!" Blaze said. "Right, Jet? Come on, we can stay for a little longer."
Jet looked at his two friends, and sighed. "Look, we've gotta keep moving, Blaze. I know this is fun and all, but we've got powerful criminal organizations on our tail. We might be able to hold our own against a few grunts, but if we get in Axis's way again, I don't think our Pokemon alone will be enough." He said. Dawn smiled at Jet, while Blaze frowned and shook his head.
"Alright then, let's get outta here." Blaze said, disappointed. They turned towards a nearby path through the labyrinth of trees and walked away from the clearing.
The group continued walking down the road towards Rustboro, having unintentionally passed by Petalburg City along the way. Jet decided it would be for the best if they saved time and went directly to Rustboro and met Roxanne.
The road was livelier this time around, with wild Oddish running around and groups of Taillow and Swellow flying overhead. There were also a few trainers down the road, all whom which seemed to pay attention to the group due to Jirachi being with them, but Jet, Dawn, and Blaze politely declined all challenges, preferring to hurry to Rustboro.
Blaze tried to keep the trek lively by striking up conversations. "So, Jet, Dawn, what are you guys gonna do once we get all of this out of the way?" he asked.
Jet smiled at Union, who was comfortably riding on his shoulder. "I want to take the League challenge and take down every gym leader in Hoenn, including my dad! After that, I'll probably just travel all over the world, to Sinnoh, Johto, and even Kanto, seeing new places and catching all kinds of Pokemon, to help Professor Oak complete the Pokedex." He said, subconsciously day dreaming as he walked forward. "What about you, Dawn?" he asked.
Dawn put her hand to her chin in thought. "I'm not sure if I'll take the league challenge, or become a coordinator. Either one sounds pretty fun, and later down the line, I'll probably try to become a breeder, like Ms. Elizabeth." She said, Nei listening intently while walking by her trainer's side.
Blaze chuckled. "I'll be the best there ever was! I'll beat every challenge that everyone throws at me, and become the champion! Me, Pyro, and all of my Pokemon to come will take our place in history!" he said, slightly shouting.
Jet smiled at Blaze. "Oh yeah? You'll have to get past me first!" he said to provoke Blaze purposefully.
Blaze grinned anxiously. "Just wait when this is all over! I'll take you down easy!" he said, Pyro leaping and making a growling sound at Blaze's side.
Before Jet and Blaze could continue their argument, Dawn pointed forward. "Look! There's the gate to Rustboro!" she said. Jet and Blaze looked forward, and excitedly ran towards the city. "Hey!" Dawn shouted, trailing behind her two friends.
The three friends awed at the size of Rustboro's buildings and streets while standing at the gate. "How are we going to find the gym in this place?" Jet asked, bewildered.
Dawn shrugged, Tipi sleeping quietly in her arms. "Maybe we can get directions inside the city." She said.
Blaze turned towards Jet. "Maybe you should hide Jirachi somewhere. I don't think a big city like this is the best place for him." He said. Jet nodded and lifted Jirachi from his head to the front of him.
Jet held Jirachi level with his eyes. "Jirachi, I'm sorry, but you've gotta ride in the bag for a little while. You'll be okay, huh?" he asked. Jirachi frowned and sighed, but floated into the bag as Jet opened it. "Don't worry. As soon as we find help, we'll let you out, okay?" he assured Jirachi. Jirachi still frowned, but curled up inside the bag alongside the supplies and fell asleep. Jet gently put the bag over his shoulder and walked on, his friends following him.
The group found a directory soon after entering the city, and made their way to the Rustboro Gym. They entered into the Gym quickly, not wasting any time.
The Rustboro Gym was like a huge lighted cave, with rocky formations all over the place and pillars of stone in several places. The floor, however, was flat and smooth, unlike the rough ceiling and walls. Trainers and their rock Pokemon were scattered across the gym, battling each other or training by themselves.
Jet and his friends walked to the far end of the gym, to a large battle coliseum. A girl no older than sixteen sat on a bench on the side, wearing a short grey dress and pink pants underneath. Her hair was black and was styled in braided orbs.
"Hello." The girl said as the group approached. "I'm Roxanne, the gym leader." She said as she stood up, her Nosepass and Geodude resting on the bench that she was just sitting on. "If you're looking for a gym challenge, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until I get back from the Pokemon Center. My Pokemon aren't in the best shape after our last fight." She said.
Jet shook his head. "We're not here for a fight, Roxanne. My name's Jet Sinclair. I'm Norman's son." He said.
Roxanne smiled immediately at the mention of Norman. "Oh! You're Mr. Norman's son, huh? What brings you here? Your dad need a favor?" she asked.
Jet nodded. "Littleroot was attacked yesterday afternoon by a few criminal gangs. Me, and my friends Dawn and Blaze here, escaped while Dad and a few others held the front. They might have driven them off, or they might have been beaten. Either way, we need some help finding the gangs and driving them off." He explained.
Roxanne frowned. "Why would gangs attack Littleroot? Multiple gangs for that matter?"
Jet sighed. "It's hard to explain, but I'll have to do it anyway…" he said, lowering the bag from his shoulder to the ground and undoing the tie on it. The bag opened, and inside slept Jirachi. "This is Jirachi, Roxanne. It's a Pokemon that can grant wishes. The four gangs: Team Aqua, Magma, Galactic, and Chaos, are all after him." He said, patting the sleeping Pokemon.
Roxanne stared wide eyed at Jirachi. "So he is real, huh? How'd he get to Littleroot?" she asked.
Jet, Dawn, and Blaze explained their situation to Roxanne. After a while, they were done, and Roxanne was still no less amazed.
"Is there anything you can do to help, Roxanne?" Blaze asked the gym leader.
Roxanne nodded. "I've heard of Team Aqua and Team Magma before, but Galactic and Chaos, I've never heard of. If they're as dangerous as the other two, we'll need some serious backup. I think I can get in contact with the other gym leaders in Hoenn, and I'll see if I can get the international police to help too. In the meantime, if what you say about Axis following you is true, you're going to need more Pokemon, and you're going to need training. Do you each have poke balls?"
Jet pointed to the poke balls next to Jirachi. Roxanne nodded and then picked up the town map that was also in the bag. "There are a few areas around here where you can catch a few good Pokemon. We've got a nice beach north of here, a dense forest and a path to the east, and a series of caves even farther east. There are plenty Pokemon to catch over there, so try and find some that suit your tastes." She said.
Blaze nodded. "Now, where do we go once we get a few more Pokemon?" he asked, impatient to catch Pokemon, but understanding the need for plotting their course.
Roxanne pointed to the far northeast part of Hoenn. "I have a relative in Fortree City, named Bach. He's real old, but he's been studying Pokemon for a long time, especially mythical ones like Jirachi here. You should probably learn more about Jirachi if it's going to be staying with you for a while. Bach can tell you much you need to know."
Jet nodded and rounded up the supplies and Jirachi in the bag. "So, we catch a few Pokemon, then head north towards Meteor Falls and into Fallarbor, and then east to Fortree. Sounds about right, Roxanne?" he asked the gym leader, who nodded. Jet stood up, Union on one shoulder and the bag slung over his other. "Alright, then. Let's go, guys!" he said. Before he began walking, he turned back and looked at Roxanne. "Thanks a lot. We owe you." He said.
Dawn and Blaze got up along with him and walked out of the gym, their heads held up high.
They reached the path leading to the forest later that afternoon. Gathering at the entrance, Jet, Dawn, and Blaze gathered and discussed a plan.
"So, how do you two wanna do this? Wanna split up, or stick together?" Jet asked.
Blaze shrugged. "You saw how well sticking together worked earlier. I say we split up." He said. Dawn, however, disagreed.
"But, we should stick together in case one of us gets in trouble, huh? I don't wanna go in some cave by myself!" Dawn said in a worried tone.
Jet shrugged. "Blaze, you can go ahead and do your own thing. Let me talk to Dawn real quick." He said. Blaze looked at the two, cocked an eyebrow and grinned, and then walked off, Pyro and Jolt following him. Jet then looked at Dawn. "Dawn, if you're scared of all of these dark places, you can stay here in the path. They have all kinds of Pokemon here." He said. "And besides, you have Nei and Tipi with you. There's nothing to be afraid of." He continued, sympathetically patting Dawn on the shoulder.
Dawn shook her head. "It doesn't help to have someone with me. When I was little, my parents and I went to Sinnoh on vacation. When we went to bed at the hotel I had a few real bad dreams several nights in a row. I've been scared of the dark ever since." She said, staring downward.
Jet kept a sympathetic attitude. "Were the dreams really that bad?" he asked.
Dawn nodded. "I dreamt that I was alone in a pitch black room, and some ghost-looking thing with one eye just stood there, staring at me. It doesn't sound scary, but it was. Really, it was." She said.
Jet nodded. "Just stay here on the road to the forest, then. We'll meet up here when we're done, alright?" he asked Dawn. Dawn nodded slowly, still sitting in the grass. Jet knelt down and looked at her. "You sure you're gonna be alright?" he asked.
Dawn blushed, and quickly shook her head to hide it. "Yea, Jet. I'll be fine. See you later!" she said, as she leapt up, waking Tipi up and startling Nei. They ran off in search of Pokemon, leaving Jet and Union alone.
Jet pulled out a red poke ball and threw it to the ground. Neptune the Piplup materialized on the ground. "Piplup!" he said as he pointed towards the sky proudly.
Jet smiled. "Hey, Neptune. You ready to have some fun?" he asked, standing up.
Neptune puffed out his chest and proudly exclaimed "Pip!" Jet nodded and motioned for Neptune to follow him. Neptune happily skipped along with his trainer down the road.
As soon as Jet and his Pokemon got near any tall grass that was home to Pokemon, a bug catcher ran up to him and challenged him to a battle.
"When two trainers lock eyes, you have to battle, you know! It's the rules!" the bug catcher shouted. Jet smiled sarcastically and looked at the trainer's belt, which only housed one Pokemon.
Jet figured an easy win wouldn't take up too much time, so he nodded and grabbed a poke ball. "All right, then, let's do it!" Jet shouted. "Go! Neptune!" he said as he threw the poke ball to the ground, revealing Neptune the Piplup.
"Go, Ninjask!" the young boy shouted as he threw a green poke ball to the ground, revealing his lone Ninjask.
Jet grinned and pointed forward. "Neptune! Use Bubble!" Jet shouted. Neptune complied and blew a stream of bubbles at the other trainer's Ninjask. The bubbles burst in the bug Pokemon's face, forcing it back a step.
The young boy was startled by the sight of his Ninjask being hit with such an attack, being unaccustomed to battles so far. He kept his cool and pointed forward, mimicking Jet. "Ninjask, use String Shot!" he shouted. Ninjask leapt forward and spun a thin silk with its mouth, shooting it at Neptune.
Neptune got entangled on the spot and struggled to break free. Jet saw the Ninjask walking forward cautiously, ready to attack the helpless Piplup. "Neptune! Use Peck to get rid of all the string!" Jet shouted.
Neptune responded with a "Pip!" and began furiously pecking at the string. The Ninjask leapt forward and tackled Neptune hard, interrupting his pecking but breaking him out of all the string. Neptune rolled backwards a few feet, and then stood up, shouting a defiant "Piplup!" at his enemy.
Jet lost his smile, getting serious. "Neptune! Use Peck!" he shouted. Neptune ran forward and leapt into the air, diving at the Ninjask beak first. Neptune struck hard and the Ninjask struggled to stand up.
Neptune backed away as the bug catcher commanded the Ninjask to use Poison Sting. A poisonous dart came from the Ninjask's mouth, but Neptune leapt out of the way. "Hurry! Use Bubble before it gets to shoot another one!" Jet shouted. Neptune ran forward and blew a flurry of bubbles that blew the Ninjask away. Jet clenched his fist, and Neptune puffed his chest out in victory.
The bug catcher withdrew his Ninjask and paid Jet the appropriate prize money, and then walked off in disappointment to a Pokemon Center. Jet knelt down and patted Neptune on the head, and then picked him up. "Not bad for your first battle, Neptune!" he said. Neptune squeaked happily, and Jet carried him as they walked into the woods.
Jet let Jirachi out of the bag since there were no trainers in the woods, despite the fact that the woods weren't very thick at all. He looked throughout the forest, but found no Pokemon at all. After about an hour of searching, Neptune was asleep in his arms, Jirachi was asleep on his head, and even the calm Union was bored. Jet turned and left, disappointed.
As Jet turned, something rammed his leg from behind, tripping him and making him drop Neptune. Jirachi and Neptune awoke suddenly, and Union leapt from Jet's shoulder and took a defensive stance.
Jet got to his feet quickly and turned to see a small Poochyena growling at him. "You're a brave little fella, huh?" Jet said, grinning. "Union! Use Icy Wind! Blow as hard as you can!" he shouted. Union sucked in as much air as he could, and blew it all out with his strength.
The Poochyena was startled badly, not expecting such a fierce attack. The Icy Wind hit so hard that the Poochyena was frozen on the spot.
"Nice work, Union." Jet said, tossing a poke ball at the Poochyena, catching it easily. Jet walked over and picked the ball up. "You'll need a name too…" Jet said, pondering until he thought of a good nickname. "Your name is Alturiak. Got it?" he said to the ball, affixing it to his belt. Jet returned Neptune, who was a bit dazed from the fall, back to his poke ball, and he allowed Jirachi to float onto his head once again. Jet walked out of the woods smiling.
Dawn was sitting patiently in the grass with Nei, Tipi, and a Ralts when Jet arrived. "Hey, Dawn." Jet said. "Look like you caught one!" he exclaimed.
Dawn nodded and patted the Ralts on the head. "Her name is Cosmo. She gave Nei a lot of trouble, but eventually she gave in and I caught her." She said. "So, when do you think Blaze is going to get back?" she asked.
Jet heard a loud 'Woo hoo!' in the back of his ear. "Right about now." He said, turning to see Blaze running down the road, followed by Pyro, Jolt, and a Riolu. He reached the group and leaned over, panting. "Hey Blaze. You got a new friend too, huh?"
Blaze nodded, still tired. "Yeah… this… this is Skywalker… he's… Riolu…" Blaze said, gasping.
Jet chuckled. "Walk next time, Blaze." He said. He turned to the way they came. "Let's head back. It's getting late." Jet said. Indeed, the sky was already dark, and stars were appearing.
Dawn looked up in awe at the beauty. "Hey, you two. You know how our parents never let us go camping before?" she asked her two friends.
Jet shrugged. "We never really asked. Why?" he said.
Smiling, Dawn leant back against a tree. "Well, Blaze is tired, so we shouldn't make him walk all the way back, and since we're gonna be on the road for a while, we might as well get used to it, right?" she said.
Blaze sat down to catch his breath, his three Pokemon joining him. "I agree…" he said, still exhausted. Jet nodded as well.
Dawn smiled ecstatically. "Alright! This'll be great!" she said happily.
Later that night, the group had set themselves up a few logs to sit on, and a campfire lit by Pyro. Blaze had fallen asleep, and Jet was getting drowsy, lying against the edge of a log with his hands crossed behind his neck, but Dawn was wide awake. However, even though she was wide awake, Dawn wasn't happy.
Dawn patted Jirachi and Tipi, both whom were in her lap. "Jet," Dawn said, "Do you think we'll be ready when Axis shows up?" she asked.
Jet yawned and stretched. "I dunno. Guess we won't know till it happens, huh?" he responded.
Dawn hung her head down, looking at Jirachi. "So, Jet, what exactly did you wish for to make Jirachi appear?" she asked. Jet's eyes widened and his mind raced to find a lie. "I mean, you said you wished on a star, and that's how Jirachi appeared to you."
"Don't lie. Lying always makes it worse!" Jet told himself, but he made up a lie anyway. "I… uh… wished for… for you to have a good birthday." Jet said, hoping Dawn wouldn't suspect anything.
Dawn smiled. "Awww, thanks! It was a good birthday. Well, besides the whole gang invasion thing and worrying about Nei after that Gyarados hurt her, but besides that, it was great!" she said.
Jet sighed a sigh of relief and closed his eyes. "G-Glad to hear it…" he said nervously, hoping not to give anything away.
Dawn leant back and closed her eyes, but she opened them again, forgetting to say something. "Jet?" she said.
Jet looked at her with half closed eyes. "Yea?"
Dawn blushed slightly and looked at her friend. "I… I'm glad me and Blaze got to come with you. I couldn't imagine a day where one of us was missing. This adventure is probably going to be one of the best things that'll ever happen to us, so, thanks."
Jet nodded and smiled. "It wasn't my idea of a dream vacation, but I'm glad we're all together too." He said, stretching one more time before finally giving in to sleep.
Dawn looked at the two Pokemon in her arms one more time, smiling before she too propped herself against a log and fell asleep.
