Hello! It is time for the Final Season of HGSS: Johto Saga! It is the 9th Season...and here is the premiere!

~~~Season 9: Johto League Elites~~~

Opening: Pokemon Johto

Chapter 51: Emblazoned

Ethan hopped across the various small streams down the path. Cherrygrove was just ahead. All he had to do was clear the small streams in his path. Lyra was right behind him, stream-hopping as well.

"Ethan, we'll be in Cherrygrove soon right?" Lyra was looking down, but she suddenly tripped over a log and stumbled. Ethan stepped back and caught her. He stood her up straight.

"Yeah, after clearing through the forest up ahead, we'll be in Cherrygrove in a couple of minutes," Ethan explained. Lyra nodded and watched him hop away, her eyes dreamy. She snapped herself awake and hopped further.

A little later, Ethan hopped over a ledge and fell a few feet. He straightened up and sighed.

"This is the path to the forest, then going east, we should be in Cherrygrove!" Lyra hopped down and stood beside him.

"Yup!" She agreed. Ethan took off running down the path. As he did, he took a water bottle out of his bag and started sipping on it. Lyra followed, zipping on behind him.

Soon, Ethan had entered a small forest area that was before Cherrygrove. He swung over low logs and dove under high branches.

Lyra followed. One time, her hat was yanked off by a low branch. She snapped it off and placed it back on her head and soon, she caught up with Ethan outside of the forest. She spit out some twigs and leaves in her mouth.

"How are you so energized today!" Lyra snapped.

"I'm just really excited and eager to get to Azalea Town!" Ethan shouted, ecstatic.

"I see. You do know that the competitions don't start for four days, right?" Lyra informed.

"Buuuuut...The sooner we get there, the more time we have to praaaaaaactice!" Ethan enticed. Lyra rolled her eyes and stomped ahead of Ethan. Ethan winked to himself.

Up ahead, Lyra was thinking to herself. "He is so cute when he's all hyped up!" She thought, her face turning red. Suddenly, Ethan jogged past and pointed to Cherrygrove City.

Ethan cartwheeled into the city.

"Will you quit cartwheeling into cities, please?" Lyra grunted as she moved past him. She headed up to the Pokemon Center, past a group of kids. She caught a segment of their conversation.

"Yeah! I got my eighth badge!" One kid said.

"Me too!" Another girl said.

"Man! I still have to battle Clair, and it's gonna take too long!" Another kid whined. Lyra chuckled as she headed inside the Pokemon Center.

She turned and headed past the desk and into another room. Inside, Transfer Machines sat with monitors in front of them.

She typed in a number in one and called her Grandfather. It communicated with him and his chunky, rosy and smiling face appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Lyra-dear!" He greeted.

"Hey grandad!" She pulled out her Ribbon Case and showed him. He rejoiced at the sight.

"Congratulations!" He cheered.

"Thank you. May I get you to do something for me, grandad?" She asked.

"Yes, ma'am I surely can!" He chuckled.

"Great! Can you send over Stripe? I want to use him for the Grand Festival!" Her grandad nodded and walked away from the screen. When he returned, he held up a pokeball with a scratched mark on the top. "That's his pokeball!" Lyra cheered.

He inserted in the transfer machine on his side, and in a moment, the pokeball was beside Lyra. She grasped it and hugged it. "Yay! Thank you!"

Ethan walked in and raised a brow at her holding the ball. "Hey, is that your grandfather?" He said, running quickly to her side. "Hey, old man!" He said, smiling. "How's Scyther?"

"Ah, hello Ethan! Well, I wish I could tell you all is well with Scyther. But I can't. See for yourself!" Suddenly, a red pokemon crammed itself over the man's head and smiled at the screen.

"What? Is that...?" Ethan started.

The man tried to push the pokemon back. "Yup! Your Scyther evolved into a Scizor. Because of this, he really wants to see you!" Scizor shoved itself against the screen again.

"Hey, maybe...Gramps, I need four pokemon for the Johto Competition, so can I send three of mine to you to watch over, and then you can send Scizor?" Ethan said excitedly.

Scizor jumped over the man's head again. "Sure! Scizor likes that idea!"

"Thanks! Give me a minute to decide who I wanna send..." Ethan turned the screen off.

"Okay, well, I really wanted to use Umbreon, and definitely Typhlosion...so...Umbreon, Typhlosion, Aipom and...Scizor! So I'll send Noctowl, Slowbro and Pichu back to him!" Ethan turned the screen back on and took out the latter's pokeballs and put them in. "Okay, I know who I'm sending over!"

"All right!" The man called Scizor into its ball and sent it over. In a minute, Ethan had Scizor.

"Thanks!" He turns off the screen. Suddenly, Ethan remembers something. "Lyra! We need to head to the Pokeathlon Dome, not Azalea! Professor Elm told me...a couple of days ago that it's west of the dome.

"What? Well, let's hurry!" Lyra and Ethan piled out of the Pokemon Center.

Outside of the center, Ethan slid as he turned the corner and rushed out of town.

Ethan and Lyra splashed through puddles of water. It had rained everywhere, apparently.

Soon, they were passing Mr. Pokemon's house.

"Hey!" Ethan shouted as they passed. "Doubt he heard me..."

At the house, Mr. Pokemon stepped outside and waved as he passed.

Ethan raised a brow.

Lyra watched Dark Cave as they slowed to a walk and went past it.

"Hey, I remember that!" Lyra joked.

Soon, they were in Violet City and huffing.

Lyra and Ethan sat down on a bench outside of the Pokemon Center.

"Let's rest here for awhile..." Lyra puffed.

"Yeah. Maybe if we rest, we can get to the Pokeathlon Dome today...Heh." Ethan turned on his PokeGear. He tapped in a number. On the screen showed a man inside of a building.

"Hello?" He chimed.

"Hello. I was informed I can now buy tickets to the ferry for the Grand Festival and Johto League Tournament?" Ethan asked.

"Yes, you can. Would you like to buy some?"

"Yes, sir. I would like to buy two, two-way tickets to the island!" Ethan replied, smiling.

"Okay...enter your PokeCount number and I'll get it all processed."

Lyra opened her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Okay, Lyra. We now have two tickets to the Grand Festival and Johto League!" Ethan said, standing up.

"Yes! And you got them?" Lyra asked.

"Mhm. So, I guess we should hurry to the Pokeathlon Dome!" Ethan said, walking past her. Lyra nodded and stood up, following him.

"That Ribbon Cup will be mine!" Lyra thought.

"The Championship will be mine!" Ethan thought.