When Holly awoke, the first thing she saw was a gradually darkening blue sky with gentle clouds scudding across its surface. The weather's like this morning... she thought through a haze of weariness. Shifting around, she felt a soft, cloud-like material beneath her. The girl hardly wanted to get up with how comfortable it was; however, she decided it would be better to sit up and scope out her situation.
Upon doing so, she let out a gasp. The fluffy surface she had been lying on was an Altaria, soaring high above the Hoenn region! The ocean surrounding her in the distance was a sparkling mass of dark blue. The towns below looked like tiny toy cities, scattered throughout the deep green of the rainforest trees. The most outstanding sight, however, was the nearby Mt. Chimney, towering, a thin veil of smoke emerging from its peak.
Holly could only stare in awe at everything until a voice brought her to attention. "Oh, look! You finally woke up."
Snapping her head around, Holly turned to face the woman who must have been the one that rescued her. She was clad in an almost entirely red costume of some sort - maybe a uniform? - consisting of a short hoodie with a black logo printed across its front, red shorts, gloves, and matching shoes, all layered over darker underclothing and socks. Medium-length reddish hair framed her face, which featured a pointed nose and large hazel eyes.
"You poor thing, caught out in that storm. Are you alright?"
Holly nodded slowly. "Yeah... I think so. I'm a bit tired still, but..." It was more than just exhaustion. She didn't know if her home had endured the heavy rain. She didn't know how well the forest had held up. She didn't know if her parents survived... "Thank you for rescuing me." She hid the emotions as best she could.
"It was no problem. Nobody deserves to be trapped in the chaos that Team Aqua caused..."
"Team Aqua?" the younger girl inquired, hoping that curiousity would temporarily fight off her inevitable despondency. Immediately she wondered if she was meant to ask that question, for the woman's face flashed with rage. However, her tone was calm when she spoke.
"I'm not angry at you, don't worry," she said to Holly, apparently having sensed her unease. "I'm angry at THEM. They're the ones who unleashed Kyogre to cause this disaster."
"You mean... Kyogre... it exists?" Holly's features clearly expressed her incredulity.
"Yep, and so does Groudon," came the red-cloaked lady's even reply. "You must have missed the news. Not very surprising, given your situation at the time. Here, take a look."
Reaching into a small pack on her waist, the young woman took out a BuzzNav. Red, of course. Announcements burst into life on the screen as soon as she turned it on, depicting two huge beasts. Two Pokémon that looked almost exactly like the tales described them. Kyogre and Groudon.
Watching further, Holly saw that Kyogre had dominated almost all of Hoenn, with Groudon only taking the very easternmost portion. After a few hours, all the weather had died out due to mysterious circumstances and both creatures retreated back towards their homes.
Holly looked up from the screen with blank shock plastered across her face. Seeing this, the hazel-eyed lady gave the girl an understanding look. "It must be terrible, going through what you have and then finding out this." She paused for a moment. "If you don't mind me asking now, what's your name? I think it'd be easier for us to talk if we both know each other." Her words remained sympathetic.
"Holly. Holly Hyacinth," replied the short-haired girl quietly. She wasn't sure why she was giving away her last name - maybe because it was on her backpack and would have been discovered anyway.
"Hello there, Holly," replied the uniformed woman with a comforting smile. "My name is Rose, and I'm a member of Team Magma. Oh, well how about that! We're almost here!"
"Almost where?" asked Holly, before looking around. They were soaring low now, at the foot of Mt. Chimney. There, a small entrance seemed to be carved into the brown rock.
"Team Magma's base!" Rose answered jovially.