April's Team: Mars (Obvious); Burn (Charizard); Thunder (Electabuzz); Happy (Lombre); Sam (Riolu/Latios mix)
James' Team: Kirlia; Ninetails; Nidoqueen; Treeko; Corey (Mewvee)
Luna's Team: Ace (Blaziken); Shade (Lucario); Bravo (Gallade); Plus a new one (Read chapter=find out)
Lucien's Team: Soul (Lucario); Draco (Shiny Dragonite); Tia (Latias); Vesuvius (Typhlosion)
POV: Lucien
My world was turned upside down. Everything was shattered in an instant, everything I had dreamed of, everything I was going to achieve. All of it was gone with her, as I held her in my arms. The sun was shining, though it shouldn't have been. How could anything be happy with her gone? A smile still danced on her beautiful lips as she uttered the last words I would ever hear from her;
"I'm glad...I knew...you..." She whispered, closing her beautiful silver eyes. She let out one last breath, and her entire body relaxed, pressing down into my arms.
"No. No, you're going to be fine. Just...just stay awake. Please." I said. I could hear people and Pokémon crashing through the woods around me, but I didn't care. "No. Please. I'm begging you, stay with me. Don't leave me..." My voice broke, and tears began to fall. A hand grabbed me on the shoulder, whirling me around. I found myself staring into the face of a scientist. That sadistic scientist. I screamed in bloody rage, and the world erupted around me.
"GRAAAAAAH!" I roared, sitting bolt upright and bringing my fist back, ready to swing. My heart thumped rapidly in my chest, my breath was short and ragged. A cold sweat had crept into my body, and my eyes scanned the room for any threats, only to find it empty. I was in a hotel. It was the night after I arrived in Vermillion. I cursed and put a hand to my face, relaxing my body. "Get out of there." I whispered, rubbing my temple with my other hand. The door to my room burst open, revealing Red and Green. Red looked ready to fight, while Green looked worried. They had been waiting in Vermillion for me, Red so he could speak to me about some things, Green to remind me of my appointment with that blasted reporter tomorrow.
Green's eyes landed on my body, uncovered by the sheets, and I looked down. Only my bare chest was showing, revealing my heavily scarred body. A tattoo ran along my left ribs, nothing too complicated, just a few random lines followed by a series of numbers. This was the first time anyone had seen my bare chest in forever; I wore long sleeves and dark clothes for a reason. Normally I slept with a shirt on too, but I must've somehow taken it off while I was asleep. April and James appeared in the doorway too, followed by a groggy looking Luna. They had arrived in Vermillion around 7 PM, four hours after I did, and were now resting up. Luna had been surprised to see me, while April and James greeted me with all the enthusiasm ten year olds could muster.
"What's going on?" Red asked, trying hard not to stare at my scars. I scowled and pulled the sheets over me, rolling over in bed so my back was facing them.
"Nothing. Nightmares. Go back to sleep before I put you to sleep." I grumbled, slamming my eyes shut. Red whispered something to the rest of them, and they started to leave.
"Hey! Mars, get out of there!" April called. I felt my mattress shift as Mars put his front legs on it. I rolled over, opening one eye to glare at him. His one good red eye tried to bore right into me, but failed against my steely gaze. I narrowed my eyes, and he nodded, as if to confirm something. He hopped down and walked back towards April, who was standing at the doorway, glaring at him. "You shouldn't bug him." She said as he walked past. He grunted, and April started to close the door, taking one more glance at me before it shut. I rolled back over and closed my eyes, knowing that I wouldn't get back to sleep. I lay there for about twenty minutes before there was a knock on my door. I sighed and sat up.
"It's Luna. Can I come in?" She asked, her voice muffled through the door. I sighed.
"Yeah. Just give me a minute." I said, getting out of bed. My black silk shirt lay at the foot of my bed, having been thrown there in my sleep. I grabbed it and slipped it on before walking over to the door and opening it. Luna stood there, nervously tossing a pokeball back and forth in her hands.
"Hey." She said, her eyes darting away when they met mine. I realized I still had my 'I'm pissed, leave me alone' face on, so I wiped it off, replacing it with a completely passive one. "I...uh...I need to talk to you about something." She said. Agree. She's pretty worried. Tia said in my head. Tia, what's got you so talkative?...never mind. Fine. I answered my own question, and nodded.
"Sure. Not here I assume?" I asked. She nodded, and I turned around, walking back to my bed to grab my belt full of pokeballs. I wrapped it around my waist and exited the room, leaving my black trench coat behind. We exited the hotel and walked to the outskirts of Vermillion city. She indicated that she wanted to go farther, so we did. We walked about a mile into the forest before she stopped.
"This is far enough." She said. Hey, I want to say hi. I haven't seen her in a while. Is that ok? Tia asked. I didn't say anything, and just let Tia out of her pokeball. Tia, or more precisely, Latias, smiled and flew circles around Luna, who giggled at Tia's antics.
"I haven't seen you in forever, Tia! Not since I helped you and Lucien save Latios from Team Aqua!" Luna said. Tia grinned and hovered next to me. I smiled and ran my hand along her neck, shaking my head.
"She said she wanted to say hi." I said. "Now what did you want to talk about?" I asked. Luna nodded and glanced at the pokeball in her left hand, the one she had been nervously tossing back and forth. She's worried about Moltres. Tia said. Tia, what have I told you about reading other people's minds? Humans like privacy. Tia frowned. Yes, well, it's so much easier than sitting here in suspense. Tia said, trying to justify herself. I shook my head and sighed.
"It's...well...uh...I've got a new member of my team since you last saw me...and..." Luna was having trouble putting her sentence together, so I made it easy for her.
"Yes. I know. Let him out so I can talk to him." I said. Luna looked at me in surprise.
"Wha-but, how...?" Luna stuttered.
"I make it a point to know all the happenings with legendaries. Let him out." I prompted. Luna nodded and tossed the pokeball, causing the great fire bird Pokémon to appear from it. Unlike the beautiful swirl of fire that would accompany Moltres' personality, all we got was Moltres, the fire bird's brilliant orange flame burning low. I smiled tiredly at him and put a hand on his beak. "Feelin' a bit under the weather?" I asked. Moltres blinked his brilliant orange eyes and nodded, bowing his head slightly.
"Yeah." He said. "Just feeling a bit old." I chuckled, shaking my head at the irony.
"Well you still seem pretty spry for someone five millennia old." I said. Moltres managed a small smile. "Don't get so down. Luna's worrying about you. And we can't have that, now can we?" I asked. Moltres nodded and looked at Luna, bowing his head. His flames burned a bit brighter now, proof that his mood had been lifted a little. I'm not a psychiatrist, so I can't really bring him all the way back up, but it was a start.
"I apologize for my poor behavior. I will be...ah...cheerier in the future." Moltres said. Luna smiled, not understanding what Moltres said, but realizing that he was a bit happier. Poor guy. He's taking the transition pretty hard. Tia said sadly. I glanced over at where she floated. I noticed. What about you? You holding up? Sorry I haven't asked sooner. I asked. She smiled at me and looked off into the woods. You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine. Besides, it's you I'm worried about. I know that what Arceus told you has-Tia frowned, narrowing her eyes at the trees. Someone's coming. With murderous intent. Tia said, and rushed over to me, tapping her pokeball. She dissappeared in a flash of red light. Rockets. About twenty of them, and they're hunting Legendaries. Get Luna to recall Moltres. Tia said.
"Luna, get Moltres back in his pokeball. We've got company." I said. Luna froze, staring at me, while Moltres acted, tapping the tip of his beak on his pokeball and recalling himself.
"Oh, so you noticed us. That's too bad, but it's of no consequence. We'll still be relieving you of your two legendary Pokémon." A voice said. I turned around, pulling a pokeball off of my belt and glaring at the scientist behind me. At least two dozen more Rockets appeared, each with their six Pokémon out.
"Oh, I highly doubt that." I said with a smile. "Because you've just made my day. Now I don't have to come find you. Vesuvius, let's take care of these fools." I threw out my pokeball, my Typhlosion erupting from it in a massive explosion of fire. The Rockets suddenly cringed in fear at my great Pokémon, who glared at the Rockets.
"Thalia, let's help them out!" Luna said. A beautiful Ninetails appeared in front of her, glaring at the Rockets. Vesuvius didn't waste any time in idle chit-chat, and instead demolished three fourths of the Rockets with a lava plume, the blazing flame washing over them like a sea of fire.
"You want to help? Alright, then take them out." I said, indicating the remaining Rockets. "I'm going to interrogate our friend the scientist here." I said, grinning at the scientist, who had avoided Vesuvius' attack by diving to the ground. Luna nodded, and she and Thalia turned to the remaining five Rockets. Vesuvius picked up the scientist and carried him over to me. I cracked my knuckles. "Alright, now, you're going to tell me where your base is, got that?" The scientist nodded vigorously. "Good. Glad we understand each other. Now..."
POV CHANGE: Mars
I yawned and stretched, looking around the inside of the Pokémon center. It was mostly bare, and much smaller than ether Saffron or Celadon's Pokémon center. The time said 7:00 in the morning, and the sun had just risen. James was sitting next to us, yawning and stretching, same as me. The door swung open, and in walked Lucien without his trademark trench coat. He was smiling, which surprised me after last night. Whatever happened had rattled him pretty well. Behind him walked Luna, who looked ready to collapse from exhaustion. Red yawned, one arm wrapped around Green.
"Have fun, Lucien?" He asked, a sly smile on his face. Lucien laughed and held up a memory stick.
"Oh yeah. Tons of fun. Went for a little walk, ran into a few Rockets, and then invaded their secret base. Got tons of info, and now I've actually got a reason to go on that cruise ship other than to just see that freaking reporter." Lucien said, still smiling. Luna walked right past him and headed back towards the beds. Red grinned.
"Awesome. Come with me, I want to hear about it." Red said, standing up.
"Oh, hey! I want to hear about it too!" Green said, sitting bolt upright. Lucien nodded and led the two of them out of the Pokémon center. On his way out, Lucien stopped to look at us.
"You two should challenge the gym here. The leader's called Lieutenant Surge, and is a user of electric type Pokémon." Lucien said, and walked out. April thought for a minute and then nodded.
"That sounds like a good idea. What do you say, James? Want to go challenge the gym?" April asked. James grinned and nodded.
"I'm always up for a battle. Let's go!" He shouted and bolted upright, dashing out the door. April stood up, following him with a small laugh.
"He's really impatient." She said. I grunted.
"What, you're just noticing?" I said. April grinned at me, and opened the door.
"I'm just saying." She said, and headed towards the gym. Electric, huh? Should be interesting. All the other gyms we've had at least one type advantage, but not this time. I chuckled. This would be a very interesting match.
POV CHANGE: Suicune
I silently listened to Lugia's plan, soaking in all the details. As much as I hated it, as much as I despised this kind of thing, he had a point. I closed my eyes and was silent, soaking in all the details. As much as I hated to admit it, it was a good plan.
"This all hinges on your cooperation, Suicune. I'm being nice here and telling you beforehand rather than just going ahead with it. If you don't cooperate, I'm going to have to find some other way to test him." Lugia said. I was silent for a minute, trying to force the words out of my mouth.
"Fine. I'll help you. But if something goes wrong, if it doesn't go exactly as planned, then it won't be me you'll be answering to." I let that hang in the air, and Lugia nodded.
"Don't worry, being the meticulous planner that I am, I've got it all under control." He said. "Now, about your role in this..."