Chapter 3: The Heat of Passion
Early in the morning comes in the remote area of Johto, just South of Ruins of Alph. A small tent is stationed next to the large machine Haruka has been hard at work on. She and Ryoko both crawl out and stretch a bit.
"Isn't that thing fixed yet?" A very annoyed Ryoko asks not really thinking the machine won't fix itself.
"Be patient, I'll start working on it working as fast as I can. Not my fault this thing hasn't been through much testing yet." She straights her uniform and pats down her hair before resuming her work.
"While you're doing that I'm going to check the surrounding area. Make sure we haven't been compromised." He grumbles and cracks his neck. It's at this point he wishes he'd gotten more sleep the night before. Haruka herself looked a bit fatigued too. Cipher had kept them busy recently so they took the night to make up for lost time.
Ryoko heads into the brush with a Pokeball in hand. He's not calling out his Pokemon just yet, but he's ever vigilant. In the corner of his eye he sees some rustling in the bushes. He slowly looks towards it expecting a Pokemon, but it's not quite what he had expected.
A man in all black is standing there looking at him with an all-white mask covering his face sans for his left, golden eye. "We know what you are doing." His distorted voice doesn't seem to shake Ryoko's steeled confidence.
"Good for you mister weird masked man." Ryoko only offers biting sarcasm in return.
"I am Epoch. I am one of many who oversee the legendary Pokemon." He is very blunt and intimidating, but Ryoko isn't scared for a second.
"Oh so you're here to stop us then? You know giving up the element of surprise is an amateur mistake." Ryoko continues to condescend him.
"No, more to observe. If the legendary Pokemon fall into the wrong hands Master may have us take action." Epoch stands like a statue with his strangely neutral stance on the situation.
"Well look at all the damns I give." Ryoko shrugs and walks right past him. "You know with Moltres's power I could probably burn any city that opposes Cipher to the ground. Starting with Agate Village. Plus, Zapdos is basically an infinite power supply." He thinks over his master plan more and more. "You know what? Screw Team Rocket we should keep these Pokemon for ourselves and turn them into Shadow Pokemon." Ryoko gets a twisted grin on his face. "We'll pretend to hand over the Pokemon and once we get our pay we stab them right in the back." Ryoko lets out a maniacal laugh.
"It's a shame," Epoch speaks up.
Ryoko stop to take note of this. "You say something?" His face becomes quite cross.
"It's a shame that such a strong trainer would take such a dark path." For once Epoch seems to be speaking not as an observer, but speaking his own mind.
"I was born in Orre. An already terrible place. If it weren't for Cipher Haruka and I would still be stuck in the cesspool of The Under dying. This world is all about survival. I will crush anyone who tries to crush me. No matter the cost." Ryoko shows his true colors. Hatred runs deep in his blood and he would be the first to admit he's a bad man.
"Even at the cost of her life?" Epoch manages to completely derail Ryoko's line of thinking. As evil as he is to lose Haruka is to lose all reason for living.
Ryoko snaps back to reality when he sees a couple Pokemon flying overhead. "A Braviary and Tropius? Those aren't indigenous to Johto? That can't be good." He runs back to the camp with Epoch standing like a statue still.
"One can hope he may someday understand or the world will be in serious danger."
He runs back to the camp in a hurry. "Ryoko is there a problem?"
"Yeah…" He points up at the Pokémon flying overhead. "That doesn't look good
"It's just wild Pokémon I'm sure." She dismisses this instantly.
"I doubt it, I've never heard of a wild Tropius or Braviary in Johto before. Come on out Metagross." He calls out his own Pokémon to fight.
Falkner and Winona look down from their Pokémon. "You never told me you had a Braviary" Winona pointed out.
"I caught him back in Unova, but more importantly that looks like the place." Falkner points down to the large device.
They swoop down ready for a fight, but approach cautiously.
"Who the hell are you?" The Ryoko demands with his large, shiny Metagross.
"My name's Falkner. I'm the Violet City gym leader. Better question is who are you and what are you doing here?" He scowls.
"We're just tourist, we stopped for a nice picnic." He says sarcastically.
"Are you with Team Rocket?" Falkner looks at the menacing device.
"Oh no, we're here because they hired us. You see with a much bigger organization. Team Cipher of Orre." He boldly declares.
"Ryoko that was supposed to be a secret." Haruka complains.
"Not like it matters Haruka, we'll just take care of these two and get the legends. Even if that means snagging them with shadow balls." Ryoko smiles grimly. Metagross steps forward. "Time to discipline them Metagross." Ryoko says excited to get into a flight.
The shiny Pokémon lunges forward and attacks with a powerful Meteor Mash. Braviary was taken surprise, but the attack was not enough to fell this Flying type. "Brave Bird!" Falkner says with a certain determination in his voice. Falkner's Pokémon happily complies and charges after the shiny Metagross with its mighty beak and powerful wings.
While the guys are fighting Winona seizes the chance to attack the machine Haruka is working on. "Tropius use Air Slash on the machine!" She commands.
As Tropius mighty wings flapped and shot off blades of wind as an Electrode jump in the middle of the attack and takes the hit. "Nice try, but you're not ruining our plans that easily." Haruka gloats. "Electrode, be a dear and eliminate that Tropius. Electro Ball!" Haruka says all this while continuing to fix the machine. Electrode retaliates with a powerful ball of electricity the Tropius easily avoid only to get surprised by another one. Haruka laughs, "Your Tropius could never match the speed of my Pokemon. Shadow Pokémon are ten times stronger than any normal Pokémon." She continues her gloating.
"Stronger or not, you can't stand up to the strength of a gym leader! Leaf Storm!" A powerful wind kicks up and whirls leaves all around and surrounds Electrode.
"Eerie Pulse," Haruka orders as a wave of electricity disrupts the attack and hits Tropius shaking it up a bit. "Okay another Electro Ball!" Haruka shouts. Electrode begins to fire off another attack when it's suddenly interrupted by a burst of electricity. The sharp cry of Zapdos rips through the air and the two legends descend locked in combat.
"There they are, get them Metagross!" Ryoko points to the two legends instructing his Pokémon to take the initiative and ignores the Braviary. The two Pokémon break from their fight to fight off the Pokémon around so they would not be interrupted. Zapdos eliminates Electrode in a second taking Tropius with it. Metagross took the brunt of a Flamethrower. Next, the Pokémon set their sights on the evil machine. "Oh damn, Metagross I need you to use Protect." Ryoko panics and watches his Pokémon stagger to its feet. "Metagross now!" He shouts fiercely. Metagross with the last of its energy runs forward and uses Protect.
The hit connects and blows up the machine. "Looks like your Metagross was too late." Falkner says victoriously sporting a cocky grin. The smoke clears and notices the Metagross wasn't protecting the machine. Falkner looks confused at his opponent who charges forward.
"Haruka!" He exclaims running over to her. "Haruka, please tell me you're alright." Forgetting everything her embraces her.
She nods, "I'm fine, but the machine was destroyed." She looks disappointed.
He scowls at her, "Forget the machine! You're safety is what's important." He calls back his severely weaken Metagross as the two legends continue to fight it out.
Falkner steps up, "We have to stop them now," he points ignoring Haruka and Ryoko.
Winona walks up, "It's dangerous; you need to get out of here." She says sternly.
"Why should we?" Ryoko replies still determined to fight.
"Because you obviously care more about her safety than those legendary Pokémon." Winona saw right through his harden exterior. She gives them a small smile, "This has been eye opening. I would never had thought people like you would love someone so much."
Ryoko looks at her, "We're still human," he quietly walks away with Haruka. She rejoins Falkner and draws another Pokeball, "Go, Altaria!" She shouts calling out her strongest fighter.
Falkner smiles, "So how are we doing this, I take Moltres and you take Zapdos?"
"That will work with me." She hones in on Zapdos, "Altaria use Dragonbreath!" She says with a new found vigor. The hit connects and distracts Zapdos from Moltres and prompts a Thunderbolt at Altaria. "Perfect, Use Mist and hide!" Winona commands expertly. Altaria dodges the preliminary attack and casts up a vial of Mist. "Now, Dragon Dance followed by Sky Attack." Using the Mist as a perfect cover to charge itself; Zapdos is left blasting aimlessly.
Meanwhile, Falkner isn't faring as well with Moltres. The mighty bird managed to avoid all of the fatigued Braviary's attacks. In a flash Moltres manages to get off a powerful Sky Attack itself.
"Damn, return," He ponders his next move. "My father's Pidgeot has never disappointed me. I need you to help me defeat this legendary Pokémon." He boldly declares to his Pokeball. He calls out his strongest and in a burst of light Pidgeot rips through the sky and drills into the underside of Moltres.
Moltres winces and fires off another burst at Falkner's star Pokémon. Pidgeot's speed is insurmountable. Moltres tries to catch up with the mighty speed of Falkner's Pokémon.
"Okay time for an Agility and Tailwind combo!" Falkner watches the battle with such zeal. Pidgeot was practically a blur as it ripped through the sky. "Air Slash!" He shouts forcefully.
While Falkner's fight heat up Winona had her chance to charge her attack and with a mighty strike Altaria plowed through the mist hitting Zapdos. This did a large amount of damage, but Zapdos held in strong and fired a Zap Cannon point blank. Altaria isn't looking to good after such a powerful hit.
Winona began to worry. "Okay Altaria Cotton Guard and retreat into the mist." She takes the defensive. Unfortunately, Zapdos is having none of that and chases after Altaria. Thinking fast Winona thought up a plan. "I didn't think I'd have to use this, but I have no other choice. Perish Song!" In a last resort she used the end all move for her and Altaria. Even if her Pokémon were to fall at least Zapdos would be going down with it.
On Falkner's end Moltres was on the ropes, but standing strong even getting a few hits in itself. "We can't take too much more of this Pidgeot. We need something to end this now. I have an idea. Fly high and charge down on Moltres!" He orders.
"Altaria I need you to do the same thing. Follow Pidgeot." Winona commands.
The two Flying types fly towards the heavens and pull a quick U-turn into a nose dive.
"Giga Impact!" The couple shouts in unison.
Zapdos and Moltres both retaliate with a Zap Cannon and a Fire Blast respectively. This didn't stop the two birds from charging with all their might and will. In a flash the hit connect and toppled them along with the legends.
Without missing a beat as the legendary birds hit the ground Winona and Falkner threw Ultraballs at them. The Ultraballs shook once, twice, and finally a third time before securing with a ping. The two gym leaders' exhale and fall to the ground.
"That was intense," Falkner says exhausted.
"Yeah, but we did it. We caught the legendary Pokémon Moltres and Zapdos." It sounded so surreal and foreign to her.
"We caught the legendary Pokémon Moltres and Zapdos. We caught the legendary Pokémon Moltres and Zapdos!" He realized as it sank it. "Winona, babe this is amazing! Do you know how many people have ever even so much as spotted a legendary Pokémon? And now we have two of them!" He jumps up and runs over to his Pokeball.
Winona joins him, "You're right, this is a feat that few people have ever done." She took the Pokeball in hand and admired it.
They hear clapping from the bushes, "Very good, you beat the legends. Now they and your Pokémon are severely weaken." Ryoko says with a smug look on his face. "Alakazam," he casually calls out his Pokémon. Falkner steps forward staring down Ryoko and trying to protect Winona. "Use Teleport." He says with a sly grin as he takes Haruka's hand.
"Maybe those two aren't so bad after all?" Winona ponders to herself and wraps her arm around Falkner. "Now that we got that taken care of want to head back to the gym and celebrate?" She says with a flirty, yet weary, grin.
"If by celebrate you mean sleep, then absolutely." Falkner says enthusiastically. The two share a laugh and make their way back to the gym. The first order of business was to inform Lance of their success.
"How did everything go?" He asks over the screen.
"We did it. We beat the two that were provoking the Zapdos and Moltres and stopped their rampage." Winona boasts.
Lance looks surprised, "That's amazing. Who were the ones provoking them?" He asks very concerned if Team Rocket was trying to make a power play.
"Two people from a group called Cipher. They're names were Ryoko and Haruka and Team Rocket hired them to catch the legends." Falkner explains. "We won't be worrying about them though, because we caught Zapdos and Moltres." He gives Lance a thumbs up.
Lance raises a brow, "You two caught the legendary Pokémon?" He asked very concerned. "Thank you for all your help. Rest well," he promptly hangs up. Lance pinches the bridge of his noses. "This has never happened before." He whispers and picks up the phone again.
"Lance, twice in two days. I feel so special." Morty jokes as he answers. "What do I owe this call?" He can assume it's a status update on the legend situation.
"It's about Zapdos and Moltres; Winona and Falkner caught them." He says sternly.
"No way, the numbers continue to grow then huh?" He says impressed. "That is definitely a surprise. How many does that make now?" Morty thinks about all the trainers he knows who possess legendary Pokemon.
"Just keep that under wraps remember?" Lance informs him. "I'll try calling Tom again and get his thoughts on the situation." He dials up Tom's number, but gets no response. "This is starting to worry me."
"Maybe he's in a tunnel?" Morty laughs. "So what's the big deal?" Morty begs the question.
"The big deal is that they are high profit targets. We don't need Team Rocket going after legendary Pokémon trainers." Lance explains.
"Fine, my lips are sealed. I'm with you though. This has me confused. We've never seen so many legendary Pokémon caught before. We must have some exceptional trainers out there right now." He smirks. "You gotta admit, this is going to be fun." Morty was anticipating something, but far be it from Lance to know what's going on in Morty's head.
Lance does nod, "You know what? You're right; this will be fun." He chuckles lightly. "I'll keep you posted and try to reach Tom." Lance tells him.
"Speaking of Tom. How's that girl he's travelling with?" He says with a sneaky grin.
"Goodbye Morty," he says in an irritated tone.
"Is she stacked at least?" He asks before getting cut off.
Meanwhile, back with Falkner and Winona. The couple get themselves cleaned up and head back to Falkner's bedroom the two both land on his bed with a thud. Sharing a laugh the couple hold hands and lace fingers.
"Well today's definitely been crazy." Falkner says looking into Winona's eyes longingly.
"No doubt, but now we sleep. We can take the legends for a test spin tomorrow." Winona giggles and scouts closer to her boyfriend. "I hope you don't mind sharing a bed with me?" She says snugging up to him.
He smiles and hugs her, "You're welcome anytime." He smiles and leans in closer to her. She takes the hint and meets him half way. The two exchange a kiss and lie above the covers. A bit too tired to care at this point "Good night Winona." He whispers into her ear and strokes her hair as her head laid on his chest.
Winona coos, "Good night Falkner," she yawns peacefully. "I love you."
Elsewhere, in a research lab in the middle of the Orre desert.
"We could have got them Ryoko." Haruka complains sitting in a small lab room.
Ryoko dismisses this, "Yeah, but did we really want to give Team Rocket that kind of edge against us?"
Haruka thinks for a moment, "Yeah, but we could have at least gone back on our word and kept them for ourselves?" Haruka's plan was devious, but definitely something they'd do.
"Trust me that was my plan from the start. Besides, they earned their victory. In the end I was more worried about you at the time." He says earnestly and walks up behind her. He wraps her arms around her waist and kisses the back of her neck. "I love you," he whispers in her ear.
She smiles, "I love you too Ryoko. Now back to work, the admins will have our asses for failing this mission." Haruka gives him her usual bossy tone that Ryoko has come to accept and love all the same.
Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the story as a whole. Well, two more legendary Pokemon down. Lance's count was off by the way. I say this mostly because after I posted the last chapter I realized there was one he probably knows about, but you can argue he might not know about one of them. That and there are actually trainers with legendary Pokemon, like Anna, he doesn't know about. So now that this story is over we will be coming Tia's Tales, but with a Halloween Special chapter.