[7]

-Parts Unknown-

"Have you seen the results for yourself?"

"Of course I have, Greevil. Spectacular devices, these Snag Machines."

"Well, you have Team Snagem to thank for them. Not that you'll have luck finding them, the lot of them are in prison still. But the point is, Lord Ghetsis, that with the delivery of the devices, I hope you understand that we are fully dedicated to your cause," Greevil said.

"Oh, I understand that. Giovanni does as well," Ghetsis answered. "And we both appreciate your commitment. We hope you'll also maintain order in the Orre Region for us."

"Naturally. With the disappearance of the Champion…"

"Disappearance?"

"Not of our design. When we ordered the dissolution of the Pokémon League, he disappeared. We have sentries stationed everywhere in the Orre Region looking for him," Greevil said. Waving the comment away, he added, "It's of no consequence anyway. There's no way he could defeat us now anyway. Our organization is spread too far."

"That's what Giovanni thought, too," Ghetsis replied. "Don't forget about that."

"Oh, I won't forget," Greevil said. "I've spent two years in prison thinking about everything that went wrong. We'll find him and destroy him."

"Fair enough. Carry on," Ghetsis said. "Keep me apprised."

-Johto; Olivine City-

Flannery stepped off the small boat in Olivine's port and looked around. Not much had changed over the years. She suspected that there was still the same Ampharos as the top of the lighthouse. The one disturbing change, though, was that most of the shops had been closed. When she inspected one of them, she read a sign noting they'd been closed as part of an operation by the International Police due to potential mistreatment and smuggling of Pokémon.

Shaking her head, she continued walking up the pier toward the mainland. She began to get an uneasy feeling, but tried to shrug it off as paranoia. After all, with the clothes she now wore, and the alterations she'd made to her hair, she shouldn't be recognizable. Still, she reached her hands in her jacket pockets, feeling through the material to confirm that her Poké Balls were still hidden in the lining.

Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, the red-haired girl continued her journey into the mainland, up toward the small farm that lay just outside of town. Along the way, she heard the cries of many wild Pokémon, but there were no other people out and about. The idea of it was unnerving.

It was not a surprise, therefore, when she jumped as someone said, "You're going the wrong way." Reeling around, Flannery tried to locate the source of the voice, but to no avail.

"What are you talking about?" she finally cried out to the empty air.

"Just what I said. You're going the wrong way," the voice said again. The air seemed to change its scent, and a woman popped into existence right in front of Flannery, making her flinch again. "You're heading toward Ecruteak City. You need to be going to Cianwood City."

Flannery finally caught her breath when she looked at the woman. Then she punched her in the arm. "Dammit, Sabrina, you scared the hell out of me," she said.

Sabrina smiled. "Sorry about that. I've been waiting for you to get to Johto. I knew we were going to have to go on the run, and I knew I'd meet you here at Olivine City."

"It's alright, just… do you have any idea what I've been through?" she asked. Seeing the look on Sabrina's face, she added, "Never mind. It was a stupid question. So, why am I going to Cianwood City?"

"To meet the others that are gathering," Sabrina answered.

"Others? What others?"

"The other Gym Leaders. Champions of other regions," Sabrina replied. "The ones who managed to escape and want to fight back. Two of them are in Cianwood City waiting for us."

"Alright, then. Cianwood City it is," Flannery said. "Though I have to ask, do you know who it is we're meeting?"

"That, I'm afraid, I can't tell you. Not because I don't know, but because you'll want to see for yourself. Only then will you have faith in what we're doing," Sabrina answered.

The cryptic response did little to soothe the redhead's nerves, but she went along with it. "So explain this to me," she said, glancing at the other Gym Leader. "Why is it you had to leave your Gym? Surely you weren't in any real danger."

"I wasn't," Sabrina said. "I was actually having fun with Team Rocket for awhile, teleporting them down the street, then to the next street, then to the guard shack. But I knew I had to leave, to help everyone find each other and start the resistance on its path."

"Team Rocket? Out in the open?" Flannery asked, surprised. "I thought they disbanded?"

"They did. They've been reorganized again, under Giovanni this time," Sabrina answered. "They're part of a coalition taking the world by storm, removing the Gym Leaders and Champions from their posts and powers. I believe Team Magma came after you in your own Gym, did they not?"

"They did," Flannery answered, frowning. The idea of being expelled from her own Gym was still abhorrent to her, but going back now would be a mistake. "They can't be allowed to continue this. Who else is part of this coalition?"

"Let's see… I believe the full list comprises six teams, including teams Rocket, Magma, Aqua, Galactic, Plasma, and then Cipher," Sabrina answered.

"Cipher? I've never heard of them before," the redhead said.

"They're an organization from the Orre Region. About the same time Team Rocket disbanded the first time, they were actively stealing Pokémon from trainers and turning them into heartless monsters, increasing their powers far beyond the norm in the process," Sabrina said. "They were aided by a dummy organization called Team Snagem, of all things, but their plans fell apart when one of Snagem's members betrayed them. He stole their machine and used it to recover all the stolen Pokémon, restoring them to their natural state."

"Wait, but that means…"

"If Cipher is involved, Pokémon will be stolen and transformed once again, but on a much wider scale this time," Sabrina said. "And if that happens, not even I know what can save them."