Author's Note: I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews of the last chapter. There were a lot of very accurate guesses about the battle with the Dark One. Anyway, as those of you reading might've guessed by the title, this chapter is going to focus mainly on Chili.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.


Chapter 51: Chili's Quest

The rain fell hard down on Undella Town not far away from Cynthia's villa. Ash and his companions made stopped in the small village to take a break from their trek to the Unova League. They did not just stop because of the weather though. They stopped because Ash had caught the bad cold that Misty had gotten only a few days before. Not surprising considering all that Ash had been through much in the last few days. But it was clear that a break was in order.

The group of travelers had been in a somewhat somber mood since arriving in the town. It was mainly because of the prophetic vision of the great battle that Ho-Oh had shown them at the end of Ash's battle with Cynthia. The vision told them of a great doom that was approaching the world and also left many unanswered questions. What were N and Team Plasma doing fighting along side Ash and the others in the future? Who was the Dark One? And what sort of creature was that black Lugia he was riding?

All of those questions and the promise of battle with a great evil had filled Ash and the others with dread. Especially Chili. Since the vision Chili had begun to question his own strength as a trainer. He had been wondering if he was going to be strong enough to fight in the prophesized battle. Chili had also starting himself to Ash and the others and had started to feel a little inadequate next to them. After all, Misty had Suicune, Ash had both Ho-Oh and Deoxys, and Bianca had all three members of the Kami Trio. Plus Ash and Misty's old friend Bolt had Raikou, and their other friend Lisa had the legendary Entei. And the vision promised that they would be up against trainers with Legendary Pokemon that were at least just as strong if not stronger. The way things were, Chili did not think he could provide much help.

That day, Chili went by himself to the small library in the town and found an old book that talked about the Legendary Pokemon of various regions of the Pokemon World. He came upon a section that covered both Ho-Oh and Lugia. The illustration of Lugia in the book depicted the dragon-like bird as silvery white rather than the black monstrosity from the vision, but there was no doubt in Chili's mind that it was the same Pokemon. From what Chili read in the book, Lugia and Ho-Oh were polar opposites. Lugia was guardian of the seas and the bringers of storms, while Ho-Oh was the guardian of the skies and the ender of storms. It seemed that both birds were equally matched.

"This is certainly the last place I'd expect to find you." A familiar voice spoke, startling Chili and causing him to knock the book off the table. Chili turned around in the chair he was sitting in and saw Rio standing behind him. "Funny seeing you without your little friends."

"Hey! I know you!" Chili quickly realized.

"You mean you actually remember who I am this time?" Rio asked.

"You were in the vision I saw yesterday!" a still clueless Chili replied.

"Vision?" Rio repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"That's right. Hey, do we know each other?" Chili asked. His question caused Rio's expression to change to one of utter rage.

"How can you not remember me after you almost ruined my life?" Rio shouted as she shook Chili by the collar. "We battled one another in two tournaments already! What is it going to take for you to remember who I am?"

"…Oh, Rio." Chili finally realized. "Sorry, I've had a lot on my mind today."

"That is it Chili Colton!" Rio declared. "We're going to battle! And by the time I'm done with you I'll have burned my face into your brain!"

"Can we do it another time?" Chili requested as bent down to pick up the book. "I'm really in no mood to battle right now."

Chili paused when he saw the page the book had flipped to after falling to the floor. It showed a picture of a Pokemon that vaguely resembled a tortoise. It was mainly reddish brown in color and had well developed legs that ended in cross-shaped feet. It had light-grey bands around its ankles and a large mask-like face of the same color that had two fins on the sides of the forehead. Its underside was a dark-grey and its eyes glowed orange-red like fire.

"I've never seen this Legendary Pokemon before." Chili spoke with awe as he placed the book back on the table.

"Oh, that's a Heatran." Rio identified after looking at the book. "It's a Legendary Pokemon from the Sinnoh Region. Surely a Fire-type user like you has heard of it before."

"You mean it's a Fire-type?" Chili asked with surprise. "Wow! I sure wish I had a Pokemon like this on my team."

"Seems you've found something interesting." A familiar voice commented. Chili and Rio looked up to see that it was Alder.

"Hey Alder." Chili greeted. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just passing through." Alder answered. "And I thought while I was here I'd try and look up a certain book. Plus I couldn't help but try and flirt with that librarian. She's quite helpful."

"Isn't the librarian here in her twenties?" Rio pointed out with a somewhat disgusted expression.

"Your point young lady?" Alder replied. "So Chili, where are Ash and your other companions?"

"Oh, Ash is down at the Pokemon Center with a bad cold and Misty and Bianca are with him." Chili explained. "Say Alder, do you know anything about Heatran?"

"As a matter of fact I do." Alder answered as he stroked his chin. "They're said to be rather formidable Pokemon. As a matter of fact there's said to be a small colony beneath Reversal Mountain not far from here."

"Could you take me there?" Chili requested as he suddenly stood up from his chair. "I know this might sound crazy, but I want to try and catch a Heatran."

"You're joking, right?" Rio scoffed. "Heatran is a Legendary Pokemon. And while I have no clue how those friends of yours were able to capture the Legendary Pokemon they have, but I'm sure you have very little chance of capturing one."

"Hmm… I suppose there's no harm in showing you the place where Heatran are said to live." Alder agreed. "The cave is only a short walk away."

With that, Chili left the library with Alder and Rio to go to the mountain Alder spoke of. The attractive brown-haired librarian breathed a sigh a relief as they left. Outside the rain had stopped falling, though the sky above was still grey and overcast. It was not long before the three were out of the town and were heading towards a large grey mountain that was looming before them. After only a twenty-minute walk they came to a large opening in the base of the mountain that led into a deep cave.

The three went inside the dark tunnel, and as they went deeper the temperature inside slowly increased. It was perhaps more than half an hour before they came to a large stone chamber with walls glowing with molten red cracks. In the center of the cave was a tall crud pedestal with a red crystalline rock sitting atop it.

"What is this place?" Chili asked as they went further into the chamber.

"This is the chamber that holds the Magma Stone." Alder explained. "No one really knows what the stone is for. Only that the Heatran are fierce protectors of it. The legends all say that if the stone is removed, Heatran will go on a rampage."

"What's so special about a dumb rock?" Rio wondered as she walked up and lifted the Magma Stone off the pedestal.

As soon as the stone was picked up there was a rumbling sound and suddenly a section of the wall on the opposite side of the chamber glowed molten red and melted away. Crawling on the walls out of the new tunnel was a Heatran. The magma creature quickly skittered up in front of the pedestal and growled.

"Quick! You must put the stone back!" Alder told Rio.

"Not so fast." Chili cut in with an eager expression. "This is just what I came here for. Go Infernape!"

The fire primate burst out of his ball and shrieked as he beat his chest with his fists. Heatran opened its mouth, revealing its glowing molten insides, and breathed out a plum of red flames that hit Infernape in the face.

"Let's start strong Infernape!" Chili called. "Use Close Combat!"

Infernape quickly recovered from Heatran's attack and somersaulted over to the magma creature before hitting it in the face with his feet. The primate flipped around, striking Heatran in the face with his tail, and the delivered a powerful one-two punch with his fists. Heatran recovered and breathed out a stream of fire at Infernape's feet. The flames swirled around the primate and became a pillar of fire that went all the way up to the cave ceiling.

"Don't give up Infernape!" Chili ordered. "Fight back with Focus Blast!"

From within the pillar of flames Infernape shrieked and fired a large ball of blue-green light through the fire. Heatran was struck by the attack and took heavy damage. Chili then saw his opportunity to act.

"Pokeball, go!" Chili called as he threw an empty Pokeball.

The ball struck Heatran and sucked it inside. Chili, Alder, and Rio watched intently as the ball jiggled on the ground. But after a few seconds the ball burst open and Heatran emerged again.

"I'm not giving up!" Chili declared as he threw another empty ball.

The second ball hit and Heatran was sucked in once more. But the ball did not even jiggle once before Heatran burst out again.

"One more time! Pokeball, go!" Chili called out as he threw another ball.

Heatran was struck by the third ball and sucked inside. The ball moved around for the longest time before finally making the sound that signaled a completed capture. With Heatran inside its new ball, the pillar of flames around Infernape vanished.

"Good job Infernape. Return." Chili told the primate as he called him back to his ball. He then went over and picked up Heatran's ball. "I actually have a Legendary Pokemon."

"Does this mean this rock no longer has a guardian?" Rio asked as she quickly placed the Magma Stone back atop its resting place.

"Not at all." Alder answered. "I told you that there's said to be a whole colony of Heatran living beneath this mountain. In fact if I'm not mistaken, the Heatran Chili just captured is male."

"Then I guess it's okay that I captured this one." Chili assumed.

"I have no doubt about that." Alder agreed. "But I am curious Chili, why was it so important for you to capture a Heatran?"

"It's a long story." Chili replied.

"Well it's a long walk back to town." Alder pointed out. "Why don't you tell us all about it on the way."

As the three left the cave, Chili told Alder and Rio about the vision he and the rest of Ash's group saw of the great battle. He told them of the black Lugia, and of the army of Team Rocket soldiers led by the Lugia's trainer. Chili also mentioned the strange purple insect Pokemon with back mounted cannons, and that Alder and Rio were also part of the battle. By the time they reached the Pokemon Center where Nurse Joy tended to Infernape and Heatran, Chili had finished his recounting of the vision.

"Do you really expect us to believe this nonsense?" a very skeptical Rio asked.

"I'm telling you it's the truth." Chili insisted as Nurse Joy brought back his Pokemon.

"I've never heard anything about this prophecy before. But Ho-Oh's ability to foretell the future is well known." Alder told them. "Therefore I have no doubt that the vision you saw is true. Even so Chili, having a Legendary Pokemon alone is not what makes a trainer strong. You of all people should've learned that from what happened in the Pokemon World Tournament."

"Yeah, I know. But… after seeing what we were up against in that battle… I didn't think I had what it took to face it." Chili admitted. "I felt like I needed an edge."

"There you are Chili!" Misty's voice cut in. Chili and the others looked to see Misty standing not far away with Bianca and Ash. "Where the heck have you been?"

"Sorry guys. There was something I felt I needed to take care of." Chili explained.

"Hello Misty, Bianca." Alder greeted.

"Oh, hi Alder." Misty greeted back upon realizing the Unova Champion's presence.

"Ash, how are you feeling?" Alder inquired.

"Better than I was this morning." Ash shrugged.

"Hey Ash, if you're really feeling better how 'bout battling me and the new Pokemon I just caught?" Chili requested.

"I could actually go for a Pokemon battle right now." Ash agreed.

"Ash, are you sure you're up to it?" Misty asked with a worried expression.

"Relax Misty. A good battle will do me good." Ash assured her.

"In that case, why don't we go out front and I'll referee." Alder suggested.

In moments the group was out in front of the Pokemon Center. Ash and Chili had taken their positions.

"This will be a one-on-one battle!" Alder declared. "Both challengers… begin!"

"Go Heatran!" Chili called out. The metal magma creature emerged from his ball.

"No way! A real Heatran?" a surprised Bianca asked.

"Where did Chili get that Pokemon?" an equally shocked Misty wondered.

"Just when I think you can't surprise me." Ash chuckled softly before throwing a Pokeball. "Go Charizard!"

The fire dragon flew out of his ball and landed on the field before Heatran. Charizard roared and shot a stream of flames into the air upon seeing the rival Fire Pokemon.

"Okay Heatran, use Lava Plum!" Chili commanded.

"Fight back with Flamethrower!" Ash ordered.

Heatran breathed out a plum of red fire at Charizard as the dragon fought back with his own stream of flames. The two attacks hit midway and caused a small explosion.

"Use Fire Spin!" Chili ordered.

"Dodge and use Focus Blast!" Ash commanded.

Heatran spat out a stream of flames at the ground to form a pillar of swirling flames. But Charizard quickly flew out of the way and came in fast from the magma creature's right. At close range, Charizard threw a large ball of blue-green light that hit Heatran in the side and almost knocked him over.

"Now use Sky Drop!" Ash ordered.

Charizard came in quick for another pass and grabbed Heatran by the back. The fire dragon flew high into the air before flinging Heatran back to the ground. The molten steel Pokemon hit the ground with enough force to cause a large crater.

"Finish with another Focus Blast!" Ash commanded.

With Heatran still on his back, Charizard flew in close and fired another blue-green energy ball. The attack hit Heatran and caused a small explosion, and when the smoke cleared he was out cold.

"Heatran is unable to battle!" Alder declared. "Victory goes to Ash and Charizard!"

Charizard landed back on the ground as Chili called Heatran back to his ball. The dragon roared in triumph and blasted flames into the air over his latest victory.

"Well, I guess I should've expected that." Chili sighed.

"Don't feel too bad Chili." Alder told him. "I'm sure with a little training both you and Heatran will become stronger."

"Yeah, you're right." Chili agreed. "I just hope it's in time though."

"Ah, so you're still worried about that vision." Alder observed. "I'm guessing that's what all of you are worried about."

"It's all I've been able to think about, actually." Bianca admitted.

"Well then let me ask all of you this, just when did the events of this vision look like they took place?" Alder inquired.

"I think it was a few years from now." Misty recalled.

"Then it seems like we all have a long time to prepare." Alder pointed out. "But worrying about it all the time won't do any good. What we all need to do is just keep on doing what we normally would and have faith that we'll be ready for this battle when it finally comes."

"I guess we won't be ready at all if we do nothing but worry about it." Ash realized. "Thanks Alder."

"No problem at all." Alder replied. "Well, it's getting late in the day and I should be going. See you all later."

"Thanks for your help Alder." Chili told him as he walked off. With Alder gone, Chili turned back to Rio. "Well Rio, still up for that battle?"

"Please, I'd have to be crazy to face you as you are now." Rio told him. "None of the ninja techniques I've learned would be any good against Heatran. To beat you now, I'll have to capture a Legendary Pokemon of my own. And once I do I'll return and give you the vengeance you deserve."

"I look forward to that." Chili replied. "Hey, you know I think I'm starting to remember when you first came the gym my brothers and I used to run."

"Really?" Rio asked with a slight look of surprise.

"Yeah, you were wearing this fancy pink dress and a string of pearls. Come to think of it I thought you looked pretty cute." Chili recalled. His comment caused Rio's face to turn bright red.

"Uh… don't think that flattery will get me to back off on my quest for revenge!" a flustered Rio told him. "One day I will make you pay for what you did to me!"

Rio then threw a smoke bomb to the ground that exploded with a bright flash. When the smoke cleared she was long gone.

"I think I'm starting to get what this whole rivalry is about." Misty remarked with a sly expression.

"Really? What?" a clueless Ash asked.

"Never mind." Misty groaned with a heavy sigh.

"Anyway guys, how 'bout we get back on the road first thing tomorrow?" Ash suggested.

"I'm up for that." Chili enthusiastically agreed with a fist pump. "Right now I feel ready to take on the world."


Author's Note: It was sort of suggested to me in a review that Chili should capture a Legendary Pokemon. I toyed with the idea a bit and later realized that our heroes' path to the Unova League would take them past Heatran's hangout in Black and White 2. So I worked it in. I also ended up developing Chili and Rio's relationship a bit more.

Please review and let me know what you think.