This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.

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Chapter 33: International Broadcast (12,080 words, length warning)


Brent tapped the button on his Poké GEAR to end the call. The breath he held in finally escaped, but he didn't feel any better. Rockets were going to converge on Goldenrod City en masse.

Ciel had explained the situation in Mahogany, where a secret Rocket facility was discovered, and their leader was arrested. But cutting off one head wasn't enough when two, or three, or hundreds could grow right back. He wasn't going to sit by if his friends were already knee-deep in the thick of it!

He and Zuki were staying in a cabin in Cianwood leased by its absent owner. It wasn't cheap, but it sure wasn't low quality either. He bolted into the parlor to find Zuki, sitting over a shining object on the desk with the patio doors ajar to the cool night. The furniture was white wood, the walls pastel blue but warmed by the candlelight—the cabin was their own personal summer.

"We need to get to Goldenrod," he said.

She seemed to understand his anxiety immediately, but she was confused. She looked around herself. "We can be there in a couple days by boat. What's happening?"

"No, Zuki, you don't get it," he said. He pointed to the desk. To the feather. "I need to be in Goldenrod. Now. We need to summon Ho-Oh."


"Are you certain that's what you saw?" she asked, the night after the incident in Olivine. They were on the second floor of the Olivine Pokémon Center. Amphy was alive and healing downstairs, and the city was recovering from the cyclone as best it could. Every few minutes, the neon flashes of emergency vehicles would ricochet around the metal downtown into their street side window.

"I mean, yes! It's not like I was doped up or anything. It was big and had big plumes," he replied.

Zuki handled the feather like it would disintegrate into ancient ash at the slightest touch, hands cupped under it, fingers unmoving, breath hitched so as not to blow it away. She had turned down the lights in their guest room to marvel at its glow. Her family's history rested in her palms.

She struggled to say anything. Half a dozen stutters preceded actual words. "What does this mean?"

Brent could only shrug and slump to the floor, arms crossed. He saw something on the horizon that hadn't graced human eyes in centuries, and if this truly was its feather, why had it been presented to him? He was just some backwater hick, not a prophesized hero or whatever. It should have been given to Jasmine. She was the one who saved her Ampharos and risked her life in a massive storm. He kept stealing glances at the object. The full focused color spectrum starrd back.

"A true Rainbow Wing," she breathed, "And it's right in front of me."

"Rainbow Wing? It's just a feather, not a whole wing," he said, which earned an unamused face. Traditional name, he guessed. No matter what he saw, there was no way he'd just found a stray Ho-Oh feather on a whim when they were supposed to be sacred gifts. "We ought to send it to a professional to check if it's some new species first. Is that Gym Leader in Violet a taxonomist?"

She spied the full moon hanging quietly through the window. Gently wrapping her fingers around the feather, she held it to her chest. "No. I'm certain this is genuine. I can feel it."

"We can't just keep it if it's so important, right?"

"Well, the place it belongs is—" She paused. When they passed through Ecruteak towards Olivine, Zuki had refused to go further into the city, deciding to stay near the outskirts and train while he collected travel supplies and food from the market. She wouldn't want to go back unless she absolutely needed to, but she said with certainty, "It belongs at the Bell Tower. It's an object of prayer."

That was the location of his promised meeting. Somehow, everything came back to Ecruteak for the three of them. He rose and slid his arm around her shoulder, joining her as she gazed at the moon.

"This is my life's work," she said. "Sometimes I doubted the legends, especially when mother was pushing me until I almost… broke. Only after I finally escaped Ecruteak, only after I decided to take my own path to honor my history, has Ho-Oh shown Himself to me. That means my dream is real. My dream, not hers."

She said, "I'm going to call the morning. I'm going to summon Ho-Oh."


"Wait, Brent!" she called as she chased him out onto the beach sands. She barely had time to get ready and her ceremonial kimono was out of place. She continued trying to fasten the folds around herself within her hakama. "The records say we have to be in Ecruteak, and we need a team of five to try to summon Him."

Neither of them had shoes on. The cool grains massaged the bottoms of his feet. They finally came to a stop at the edge of the receding tide and he stared out over the water, towards the Whirl Islands and greater Johto beyond.

"We don't have time for that. Ciel needs me yesterday and the Guardian of the Skies can take me there," he said. Turning his head up, he watched the world blacken further, further, only small peaks of sunlight whispering from the mountains to the west.

Zuki pulled on his shoulder to make him face her. Her face was completely serious, not a curve to be found. "I've never tried this before. I know this is my everything, but we're missing so much."

"You know how much I need to do this."

"I know." She held out the Rainbow Wing in her palm. Legendary as it was, it threatened to blow away in the light breeze. It would be lost forever with so much as a sudden gust.

"Will you help me?" he asked.

She paused for a few seconds, and then said with a low voice, "Ho-Oh's fire will judge you. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"You said Ho-Oh only hurts evil. I won't get hurt. Because I'm a hero." He curled her fingers around the feather and rested his atop. "Trust me."

She nodded. Keeping one hand under the Rainbow Wing, she used her free hand to pull out her hair ornaments. Brent watched in confusion. Her dark locks descended messily around her shoulders. He assumed her hair was naturally straight, though it curled at the ends from how tightly she often tied it.

She split the bell at one end of an ornament in half. It was empty, as were all the others, which is why they never seemed to make noise when she moved. Zuki located a small satchel inside a fold in her kimono, dumped out what looked like a ball bearing, and sealed it inside.

"What's that for?" he asked.

"In addition to the Kimono Girls' dance, summoning Ho-Oh requires both an offering of his own feathers and the ringing of the bells hanging around the Bell Tower," she said. "These were made from the same metal many years ago."

Taking hold of the stick, she rung it. That chime. He could feel as if all his physical crooks and pains were washing into the Sekido Ocean, like he was an invincible kid sprinting through the fields outside Cherrygrove again. Just as quickly as the feeling came, it vanished when she stopped. She presented both the bell and the feather to him.

"Ring these both to the heavens while I perform the dance. Just know that I can't guarantee this will work."

Brent took hold of the items and gave his smile in return, which seemed to reassure her. Her posture finally relaxed a bit. He said, "We're gonna do this! Just a little elbow grease, right? Though I guess you're doing most of the greasing."

"Never use that phrase again."

"Will do," he said.

He stood with his legs apart and held up his arms, Rainbow Wing gently clenched in his left and the ornament in his right. He started ringing the bell. The cleansing song echoed much farther than he expected and filled the space all around him.

Zuki took a deep breath and moved. It was a simple dance. She traced circles in the sand around him, moving slowly. Sometimes she stopped and twirled full rotations in place, before continuing her slow perimeter. He tried to stay focused on the bell, but his gaze was inevitably drawn to the hypnotic movement. All that he had to do was wave the bell and the feather. All he had to do.

He was going to be the hero. He didn't even care about Ho-Oh's supposed powers. It was just a big old bird and he needed its wings to fly halfway across Johto and be there for his friends and stop the Rockets. Maybe that made his request inherently selfish, wanting to use a deity like a glorified taxi. He shook the doubt away, flicked his wrist, and kept chiming like there was no tomorrow. He bet it felt a lot cooler than it looked.

Behind the mountains, the sun dipped further. By now there was no trace of daylight left and the wind was at rest. As best he could, he kept the movement up, but it had already been a few minutes and they were still ringing to an empty sky. His arm was getting tired. The chiming faded. Zuki's feet shuffling through the grains cast the only remaining sound in their hollow world.

"Brent, keep ringing," she said through her movements, panting from the continuous twirls.

"It ain't happening." His arms dropped to his sides and the Rainbow Wing nearly slipped from his soft grip. He let out a sigh. "We really do need the other Kimono Girls."

"It's not only the dancers," she said. "It's the resolve of the summoner. We are just a medium by which you speak to the heavens."

He grumbled to himself and raised his arms again. A weak ring was all he could manage before his right arm twitched with a full pain. That supposed resolve faded as the reality set in—they really couldn't summon Ho-Oh without the proper procedure. Zuki was right.

"You have everything you need. Raise your hands and your voice. Call the sunrise," she said.

Brent turned to look at her. "But you said—"

It wasn't Zuki. It was another girl, who also twirled in motion around him. And another. He realized the voice he just heard, and the one before that, belonged to them. They were more prepared, kimonos expertly tied, faces masked in ceremonial white, hair tied tightly in a cut that was undoubtedly passed through time. The ornaments of one were scarlet red, the other a sunset pink.

Brent whipped around and saw Zuki dancing within another two. Azure and golden. As much as she moved and twirled, she didn't seem to notice the quartet that had joined her. Their movements were silent on the beach and left no trail. Yet he felt their presence all the same. Brent could feel the wind pick up and almost wrestle the Rainbow Wing from his grasp.

He threw his fists up. The bell chimed louder in his hand now, rhythmically, musically, until it was the only noise audible for kilometers. He shouted, "Hear me, Ho-Oh! My friends need my help! I request an audience with the Guardian of the Skies!"

The Rainbow Wing shined that same odd glow as when he first discovered it. It expanded. The light flashed outward and consumed both he and the dancers in revolution. They and the world seemed to circle faster and faster and faster and faster around him.

A piercing cry echoed above. Brent looked straight up.

Rainbow flames struck the earth. They consumed him whole.


Ciel flashed in and out of consciousness between the massive force of wind and his exhaustion. Blood rushed around his head, slamming into the walls of his veins and struggling to supply his brain. He was on a theme park ride he never asked for. The worst part was that he knew it wasn't their top speed. After launching at maximum acceleration towards Goldenrod, Lance ordered his three monsters to throttle their flight once he realized that none of the other passengers could handle the force. How the Champion rode without so much as a flinch was a miracle.

He was securely strapped to the Dragonite via the riding gear, which was basically a full-chair saddle that strapped around his legs and torso. The International Police had provided flying clothes along with the riding gear, so he was mostly protected from the wind that thrashed against the thick folds and curved around his helmet. His mother and Crystal soared along to his left, his father and Silver to his right. Whipping his head around to check on Gold, he saw the boy holding out a fist. Ciel reached out and knocked his against it before turning back and gripping the handholds tight.

They rocketed across the Region, over mountain ranges and the rivers carving through them and the forests crawling into the valleys below, all of which were consumed by night. He could only barely make out the dark shapes of landmarks passing by. If he craned his head left, he could see a monolithic shadow splitting the clouds between Kanto and Johto. Mount Silver. The Indigo Plateau hid somewhere beyond.

His eyes flickered open, almost blinded by the riding gear's navigation lights, and he realized he must have passed out again. Ciel shook his head wildly to pump some blood back into his systems. He hoped it qualified as getting some sleep. A light-peppered landscape appeared in front of them, intensifying as they drew closer. They were approaching the Goldenrod Metro Area.

Ciel's ears popped from their dropped altitude. They closed in on the ground, buildings rushing past underneath, growing larger and larger until the three Dragonite dropped below the skyline and swerved between the city's golden framework.

Advertisements normally flashed from gargantuan LED displays through the downtown area, but as they raced through downtown, each and every display carried a bold red "R". Those searing letters infected every surface of the cityscape. A droning voice enveloped him.

This is the radio tower.

This is the radio tower.

We are pleased to declare Rocket's revival.

Giovanni, can you hear us?

We've finally made it.

Even as fast as they were going, they couldn't escape the announcement. It was everywhere. Just like Ariana's order on their personal channel, it repeated in an endless loop. The Rockets had taken command.

Goldenrod's radio tower controlled a vast majority of signals across the macro-Region. Almost all free-to-air television was broadcast from it too, providing public channels for every resident, and it even used to be the Indigo League's method of international communication before the internet's invention. If the Rockets had full control of the tower's equipment, that message would be playing in every household on the continent as an emergency broadcast.

Their destination pulsed red and blue. The Dragonite brigade came in for a landing on the makeshift runway created by parting police vehicles, shaking the earth with each behemoth's landing.

Ciel stumbled out of the riding gear and the clothes—with assistance from the local police, who also helped Gold behind him to the ground—into the sensory overload of blaring sirens. Cruisers formed a perimeter around the radio tower, the beating of helicopter blades overhead driving into his skull.

Ciel's eyes were drawn to the silent tower, a rising structure with a massive black base and a central tower that terminated with the main antenna. An observation deck surrounding the tower anchored the upper portion of the building to the base via suspension cables.

Lance was already addressing an officer. Judging by the similar stripes to the one woman in Mahogany, Ciel determined he was the captain.

"Status report," demanded Lance.

"There are hundreds of Rockets inside. We didn't discover they had taken over the tower until we got your message. The doors are barred and they're using them as defensive chokepoints," the captain said. Officers all around him were rushing to and from their stations and a squad was about to approach the door. "We want to break in using aerial units, but they have personnel hostages on the upper floors, and we have orders from the city to avoid major damage to the building.

He motioned a subordinate with a megaphone, who demanded the hostages be released. The tower gave no response.

"How were they able to organize? We apprehended their major leaders," said Lance.

"Currently unconfirmed. We believe a remaining member of their top brass is still inside. An unidentified teal-haired man had worked under the Rocket's old kingpin, and we have eyewitness reports of someone matching his description moving in and out of the observation deck."

Unable to keep up with the conversation among the siren rings and endless announcement, Ciel recovered his belongings from the shared compartment on the riding gear and convened with his friends and parents to wait for further orders. He took Crystal's lead when she released her team in preparation for whatever happened next.

Four materialization beams came to life. When his team came to, they examined the situation and seemed to understand the danger, the need, and the mission. Arden stepped forward and took the lead. The Typhlosion joined the police sirens by firing at maximum, the flames around his neck curling as they rose like a pillar into the sky. The triumphant display, along with the scar stretching along his abdomen, earned stares from the police brigade and their own Pokémon.

Raven was still back in Mahogany. She was resting in a nice bed and blissfully unaware of what else had transpired since she drifted off. He had finally earned her trust back, incomplete as it may be, and it was time to put it to use. He wanted her to wake up next with her teammates crowding her bed and shouting proud that they were victorious. If she would leave them in his care, he would keep them safe even in the toughest of fights.

Crystal and Gold were conversing quietly to themselves when Ciel walked up to them. The former turned to him. Colors alternated across her face—her left was painted red, her right blue, though one half was always cast in shadow. She crossed her arms. "Brent is on his way, right?"

"He made a promise," said Ciel, "and he's the last person I'd expect to break one."

Lance finished his debriefing by Goldenrod's captain and went first, surprisingly, to Silver, who stood ready with his Feraligatr. His Haunter and Golbat probably weren't in good condition, since he was storming through the Rocket HQ alone until he met up with them. It would just be him and his partner.

"What do you know?" Ciel wondered if Lance even knew how to ask a normal question, since they always became interrogations.

The tall boy glanced at Crystal a moment and then back to the Champion. "The Rockets use old maintenance tunnels from the department store to get around the city. They probably found a way into the tower's basement."

"Did you use these tunnels yourself?"

Silver put on an indignant face and angled up at Lance, creating a standoff between the two. Crystal stepped forward to try to interrupt the situation again, but it cooled by itself when the Champion stepped back a few paces. Silver sighed. "Yeah. It's been a while, so I can't guarantee the tower is even connected down there, but it's my best guess."

"Then it's settled. Captain!" Lance shouted. "I'm taking a team to check the tunnels for a way inside while the main force enters the building on ground-level. Kori, Daku, you're ordered to stay here and assist if things escalate."

His parents saluted. Lance turned to the four young Trainers, who were joined by a squad of officers armed with Poké Balls or weapons, just like their mission in Mahogany. Arden blazed at Ciel's side. Mantis sharpened his blades against each other. Clovis perched on Hector's back, and both were ready to charge.

More beams filled the air, and he was joined by all the Pokémon owned by the Goldenrod. Their collective army let out a battle cry.


The offensive unit sprinted forward, the hundreds of thousands of tons weighing above them. Crystal kept focus on her feet so as not to be swallowed by the ten officers making up their rear flank. All their steps fell in unison and made the sound deafening, but at least they were finally out of range of the sensory disconcerting center of the police operation. She couldn't say she was pleased with taking a stealthy approach rather than punching the main doors in.

Vague panel lights guided them forward. Most of them were flickering or dead, and it was clear that the tunnel had fallen into disuse in recent years. The tiles were stained, and the walls were cracked with time. The smell spoke more years than the physical building did. They pushed forward deeper and deeper into the tunnel behind Lance and a leading Silver.

They reached a fork in the road. Silver barked to make a hard left and diverted their course. Unable to keep track of their location from that perspective, she put her faith in his navigation, even if it'd probably been years since he was down here. He came to a sudden stop.

Silver pawed around one of the walls and placed his ear to it. Beyond, the hall cast into complete darkness.

"This the place?" Ciel asked.

"Look." Silver pointed at the walls in the direction they came. Whereas each of them had cracked or splintered paneling, this section of the wall was suspiciously free of blemishes and a cleaner color. Crystal stepped back, the entourage following suit, in anticipation of what came next.

"Superpower!' shouted Silver.

His Pokémon reared back its fist and destroyed the panel. It was powerful enough to shake the entire hall. When the debris fell away, it revealed a cleaner passage with powerful lighting and a single, sad man in black whose eyes were wide with shock.

"Hey, you can't—" He was cut off when a fist slammed into his gut, dropping him to the floor.

"Stay down," Silver said. He held his wrist and flexed his fingers, staring at the downed main in disdain, then motioned for the group to move on.

"Was that necessary?" Crystal asked.

"No."

She hummed but said nothing more, stepping over the mess of a man coughing on the floor and cracking her own knuckles to make him shrink further in on himself. One officer tied the Rocket to some machinery along the wall with handcuffs. A couple others stayed behind to secure the area leading into the radio tower while the rest of their group approached quietly through the access tunnel.

They ascended a stairwell into what he assumed was the Radio Tower's basement, the door closing behind them so cleanly it blended with the basement walls. They sidled along the walls at the motion of Lance and attempted to stay soundless as possible. Surrounding them were windowless doors, most labeled with warnings such as "ELECTRICAL" or "MAINTENANCE". It was a good sign how few people they had stationed below the surface. Maybe they weren't as organized as the captain claimed. That just made their job easier.

Some voices echoed distantly through the underground, and while an officer checked an upcoming corner with a search mirror, she turned to Ciel, then to Gold. Or, just to Ciel. She shot her head around frantically until she realized he was nowhere to be found and none of the officers even seemed to notice the missing personnel. Oh no. Oh no, he didn't. That absolute idiot was going to screw up the operation. She should have sat his sorry rear up on street level and put a squadron of officers in a perimeter around him.

Crystal couldn't do much but signal to the Champion that someone was missing—he seemed to think it didn't matter and continued without another thought. She gritted her teeth, spared one last glance behind, and moved on.

They took the corner when the officer with the mirror gave them the all-clear. At the end of the hall was a giant freight elevator, and halfway down, a pair of giant doors sat to an unknown room. The voices were louder now. The next order was clear: prepare to breach.

Lance held up a hand and counted on his fingers. Three. Two...

They burst open, spilling into the interior, all Pokémon ready to unleash at their command and weapons raised by the non-Trainers. Inside, nearly a dozen black suits stood between large cardboard boxes brimming full of mechanical parts. The walls were dotted with handles, meaning that every centimeter opened to a drawer. It was a storage space, and in the center, a man bound to a chair and gagged was surrounded by alert criminals.

Their leading officer issued, "Put your hands in the air! You are under arrest by order of the Goldenrod Police Department and the Indigo League for acts of domestic terrorism."

A projectile shot past. In front of them, an active Kadabra's utensil glowed with psionic power. It was hard to tell anything even happened at all, as the psychic shot made no sound and left nothing but an imperceptible ripple in its wake. Crystal gasped when she realized that the Champion's ear was bleeding. Red crawled down his temple and neck.

A ring from outside the storage room gave way to thunderous footsteps. Rockets filled the halls behind them and murdered any chance they had at a discrete, uncontested invasion. Lance exhale was calm but powerful. "It's always the hard way with you people."

His cloak flared when he threw out his hand.

"Spider Web! Giga Drain!" Crystal shouted. Her arachnid Pokémon spun and expelled a burst of silk forward that blanketed the gangsters, many of whom were still in the process of releasing Pokémon. The material even cut into some of the beams and canceled the materialization, granting them some extra precious seconds.

One of the officers had a Mr. Mime. The humanoid creature put its hands forward, and with its own psychic energy, sealed away the hostage in a protective prison of light. Countless panels, nearly invisible, flipped and rotated around him.

The shining Dragonite spread its wings and shot into the room, grabbed two Rockets in its claws, and slammed them into the far wall. A wave of heat across Crystal's back and a glow in her periphery told her Ciel created a barrier to block the enemies behind. She kept her focus forward despite a thunderbolt narrowly flashing past her.

Ray's leaves released those lecherous glowing orbs that stuck themselves to Pokémon and Rocket alike. Those that the attack connected with grew sluggish, and the orbs floated softly back to their sender to boost his vitality. He recouped some of the energy he spent earlier in the hideout.

The entire police unity raged forward with their own Pokémon to clash with the attackers. She didn't recognize many of the foreign creatures, but most of them looked formidable, such as a pair of monochromatic canines with dangerous red eyes. Their low snarls sent a wave of fear through the Koffing, Zubat, and Ekans common among the Rocket ranks.

A claw raged forward and pierced the wall where she was standing a second ago. A burly, furred creature turned its sharp eyes towards her, teeth in its muzzle eager to sink into something, anything. It was mostly a brown color, but a patch of light, crescent-shaped fur scarred its chest. The Ursaring raised its claws for another strike.

She ordered Penelope—who was separated from her behind the Ursaring—to restrain the attacker with silk. It struck the back of it raised paw. The attack stalled, if only for a moment, before the sheer muscle within its fur snapped the threads and brought the claws down with greater force. She tried to get away. Crystal let out a cry, silent among the chaos, as the Pokemon cleaved into her elbow.

The splatter against the floor, then the slow drip as the stream slithered down her limp arm to her fingertips. The signals below her bicep went dim. She collapsed against a box. Penelope fired another shot, this time wrapping around the creature's head and pulling him backward.

Maron. She needed Maron. He had the power to send it straight underground where it and all the other monsters in this room belonged, but he was too exhausted to put at risk. Through her fading vision, she saw Ciel's Pidgeotto tackle a Zubat from the air and sink in its claws. One of the enemy's Raticate pounced across a box to a target unseen, as the Ursaring had managed to break free and stood in the way. She tuned out everything else until all that was left was the drip, drip, drip and the savage growl, intent to submerge the entire room in red.

One moment the Ursaring was there. The next, it was gone, as was the entire outer wall of the room. Silver's Feraligatr clenched its outstretched, scaled fist as a body came to her side. She managed to crane her head just enough to look at him.

He was shouting. She couldn't make out most of it. At one point he wrapped his hoodie around her entire left arm and tied it tight, the additional pressure circulating back to her head a bit. Another flame wall was drawn in front of them by Ciel's Typhlosion, the Trainer standing guard between them and the battle. At his command of Inferno, the Pokémon enveloped three attacking Magnemite in a burning spiral column.

Two officers came to their aid with stun guns raised, and another with medical supplies ducked behind the human barrier to help her. When he pushed Silver off, a growl escaped his throat.

"It's okay," Crystal managed to say, though she wasn't sure her words were coming out. She offered a grin. "I'm fine. I'll back you up from here."

Silver's gaze held on her, occasionally flicking to her arm, trying desperately to find some reason not to worry. When the medical officer told him again to stand guard with the other battling Trainers and officers, he still refused to tear himself away. She slowly raised a fist to his chest and punched him lightly. "Remember Azalea well?"

When he nodded, she said, "Cover me."

Silver stood and left her with the medical officer, standing beside Ciel behind the wall of fire. Their combined attacks, Flamethrower and Scald, unleashed. Fire and water, swirling together, vaporized into a fine layer of steam all around them. It floated through the room, condensing back into droplets when it brushed her skin.

While the officer nursed her arm, Crystal called out to her Pokémon amongst sounds of battle. Penelope arrived first in the safety of their bastion, displaying minor burns from navigating the flames around the room, then Ray, who sported a gash through his right leaf.

"Ray, Solar Beam," she said. Her Pokémon titled his flower face, and she continued, "I know we don't have sunlight, but you can expend your reserves. Go all out."

Her Sunflora exaggerated a nod with its whole body and turned towards the flames. His head shone. It was dim at first, but every passing second, the luminescence grew brighter. A Sneasel managed to jump through the flames and rushed towards them, but Ciel caught it in his periphery. His Typhlosion fired an Ember that put the Ice-type out immediately. He shared a glance with her past the radiating ball where her Pokémon once stood. He understood.

A few more seconds. A few more precious seconds. Ray made an affirmative, garbled sound within that miniature sun.

"Everyone, out of the way!" she shouted throughout the room. The two Trainers before her split in opposite directions, as did all the officers. For the first time, she could see the center of the room clearly. The Rockets and their Pokémon were pushed back to their one hostage by the combined might of the Goldenrod Police. The shield held around him. He was protected from the flying talons and energy beams, all of which bounced harmlessly off the psychic barriers. There was a clear lane between her and the opposite wall as if they had noticed what she was planning and put the pieces in place. She grinned.

Crystal put forward her hand in the shape of a gun. "Bang."

Ray fired.


Though she tried to keep cool, Kori had to discard her robe due to the heat. In baggy work pants and a form-fitting tee—and a spare vest, offered as vague body armor by the police department—she fought with her Pokémon at the front entrance to the tower. It was cold, yes, because it was still early January, but she could only feel fire in the atmosphere.

Onna was still kicking, though she'd have to sack the Froslass soon before she fainted on the road. She couldn't float far above the ground and her head dropped low. Daku and Twelve were beside her as their unit approached the sides of the main door. The leading officer gave a signal and his Donphan charged forward. The gray, armored quadruped tucked into a round shape, its plated ears sticking out to guide its roll, and sped forward. Applying downward force, it jumped. The creature cleared the main stairs and smashed through the glass.

"Go, go, go!" called their leader. They rushed forward into the open doorway. The forward members carried riot shields, and those Pokémon unprotected had cast Protect over themselves.

They barely made it a meter inside the door when the combined attacks of every Rocket stationed on the first floor exploded against the leading officers. Water Pulse, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, all together. She and her husband were thrown out the doors and onto the street. She lied there.

Her own kid was down there somewhere and fighting his way up. She'd be damned if she let something like this let him go it alone. Kori slammed her knuckle into the pavement to lift herself to her feet and was the first to gain footing of the entire group. Not willing to wait for the squad to ready themselves again, she called to Onna—who was mostly unscathed due to her own Protect—and the two trudged ahead. Daku lifted a hand as she passed, and she hauled him to a stand. They read each other's eyes for a moment before moving on.

"Got a plan?" she asked.

He was bleeding from his head. She ran a finger along his hairline to wipe it away. He said, "Not one that doesn't involve property destruction."

That was their priority. Most of the Region was depending on the communication coming out of the Goldenrod Radio Tower, and they couldn't damage any broadcasting equipment and risk keeping citizens uninformed once the Rockets were cleared. Only minor damage, like with the door, was allowed unless they were in mortal danger. And that sucked.

"Regroup," groaned their assigned unit leader as he pulled himself up. He was an older man, fifties maybe. "This isn't going to work. What was the captain thinking?"

A commotion rose behind them, past the parked cruisers and the sea of flashing lights. The officers stationed at the barricade shouted in surprise. Kori turned her head back and her eyes widened.

It was a giant cannon. The cruisers were thrown awry to give the teal, legged apparatus a clear fire path to the building. Muzzle forward, it pulsed with energy, the excess heat washing over her. She was absolutely soaked in sweat. It was going to discharge despite the potential damage, despite everything they had been told, and despite the hostages in the building. She had no way to stop it from her distance.

The other officers were still trying to get to their feet and regroup. Kori screamed, "Stay down! Cover your ears!"

The guttural shout willed them to listen even though she wasn't a commanding officer. Those that managed to find their bearings slammed down again in preparation. The cannon finished its charge. She grabbed the back of her husband's shirt and yanked him to the pavement, then tried to crush her own skull between her hands.

She first heard the ringing. A heart monitor read flatline between her ears, the tone rushing forever into a void until she was sure her hearing had failed entirely. However, eventually, it faded into a dull hum that the realized was the residual sound of the blast. She tilted her head up to see the building.

Debris was strewn everywhere, much of it surrounding the incapacitated unit on the ground. A wicked chunk of metal was only a meter away from her, and other miscellaneous junk landed between the officers and even speared the sides of the barricade cruisers. Various particles continued to rain down. The entire front of the building was missing, spilling light out onto the dark, pulsing street. Any Rockets that might have opposed them were blown away or buried under the metal rubble. Some of them were dead. She knew it.

The cannon, when she finally mustered the strength to return her attention to it, had transformed into a giant. The body of the weapon was its torso, extending segmented limbs wrapped in golden rings and runes. Eerie glowing eyes stared down from atop the monolithic creature. She wouldn't have believed it was a Pokémon if not for the capsule held by the short, elderly, and absolutely fierce woman standing by its right leg.

"I can't believe the entire Goldenrod Police is so incompetent. I have half a mind to fire all of you and start from scratch," she said. She was in a floral nightgown, without shoes and with her white hair in complete disarray. She held a pair of earmuffs at her hip.

Kori recognized her immediately. From years of living in Goldenrod and being involved with the Pokémon League, she could recount every member of the sitting city council by name. In fact, she'd seen the geriatric powerhouse only recently when she was assigned to direct the Goldenrod Showdown. Councilwoman Arin Ryokuna.

Once the dust settled, the captain ordered their remaining officers to form up a second unit for an assault. Avoiding property destruction was absolutely out of the question now, and they were going to take advantage of what they had. Meanwhile, Kori and her husband were recalled with the first group that had taken the brunt of the first attempt.

"Councilwoman, what the hell are you doing?" asked the captain.

"Well, if your highly-trainedofficers of the law had cleaned up this mess hours ago, I wouldn't have been woken up by that awful message on my television." She up at the captain until their psychic line broke. The man couldn't stand to face her for longer than a few seconds.

"You still put the hostages in massive danger and caused damage to the building," he started, before being zipped shut by a raised finger.

"According to the live report," she said, "the hostages are on the upper floors. Their only goal is to keep the message running and they need the hostages to do so, so I'm hardly worried about casualties. No other civilians would be in the building at this hour."

And she was right. The explosion rose only to about the third floor, which according to the captain's report, were public areas and studios for daytime radio programming. All the operational staff were fourth floor and up, closer to the antenna atop the tower. That crazy woman was still taking some consideration, even if she maimed—or worse, killed—gangsters guarding the lower floors. Still, she'd have to answer to her if her son and his friends weren't safely below ground when the blast was fired.

The councilwoman strode forward with her automaton in tow. She seemed intent on ending this and had the means to do it. The captain ordered up every officer still in good condition to follow her lead, so Kori and her husband prepared for another round.


The suited man took in a massive gasp when the gag was removed, coughed for a full minute, and then leaned back into his chair to recuperate—the Champion had grown impatient waiting for him to be responsive and worked with the officers to detain the defeated Rockets. Ciel and another officer were assigned to the hostage.

Hector stood guard and scratched at the ground even though the battle had finished. When the man went into another coughing fit, Ciel busied himself rubbing the creature's horn to soothe him. The Rhyhorn had taken out multiple Rockets by knocking their shins. For once, his size came in handy; he was too short to be seen in the heat of battle.

Various unconscious bodies littered the space around them. Burns scoured across the tiling and their clothes alike. Ciel made a mental note to find a Grass-type Pokémon sometime.

When the man came to, he eyed the officers with a blank expression. He was bruised all over, shaking with every movement. He said, "T-thank you."

"We're here to help," Ciel said. "Can you stand up?"

In response, the man rose from the chair, and though he almost toppled over, Ciel kept his hands on the man's shoulders to stabilize him. He had to be pushing seventy, and it drove Ciel mad. Every flinch from the man tightened his own muscles and curled his fingers together into a fist until he was sure his knuckles were going to burst from his skin.

It wasn't only him. He kept throwing sideways glances at the officers tending to Crystal, wrapping her arm tightly and preparing to take her from the building. She was talking cheerfully, bubbly even, but she had taken a major injury to her arm and couldn't move it. Permanent nerve damage, maybe.

They had threatened his family. They had hurt his friends. The person he wanted to be wouldn't allow that, and Ciel wouldn't either.

The elderly man put a hand on his shoulder, and though at first he nearly lashed out, his muscles slowly unwound until he let out a long breath.

"You have to k-keep a level head," the man said.

"Who are you?" Ciel asked.

"I'm the director. Please save my employees. None of them deserve any of this."

Ciel ushered him away to get his injuries treated. The officer draped the elderly man's arm over his shoulder and helped lead him out of the blown-away wall. Lance was already gathering up the rest of the unit and it was clear they'd only have a couple more minutes to recuperate before continuing up the tower. Ciel rushed over to Crystal as she was being escorted away herself.

He grabbed her free hand. The medical officer supporting her gave him a deathly stare and threatened to push him away, but he wasn't content to let her go. When she saw the look on his face, she laughed, then winced from the pain in her arm.

"You don't have to be such a baby, Ciel." She tried her best to keep up a smile. She couldn't.

He couldn't firm the words. He had no idea what he could say, nor how he could make the situation any better. No matter how much she tried to play it off, she was in massive pain, and he had no idea how to confront it. Just like with Arden.

However, she didn't give him time to think about it. She said, "I'm not dying, Ciel. All you two need to do is give them hell to make me feel better. And if you find that idiot, slap him upside the head for me, would you?"

He gritted his teeth. "Right."

She and the director were escorted down the hall to the tunnels, leaving himself and Silver to travel with the remaining officers. After a quick check-up of his Pokémon—Arden was draining himself with how much fire he spewed and Clovis took a cut on his right wing, and he decided to recall the latter—he stood by the main door of the storage room and awaited orders.

The entire building shook. Silver managed to grab onto his arm and a drawer to keep them both on their feet. Was it an earthquake? They weren't uncommon around Johto, and most buildings were equipped to handle them, but a distinct thunderous sound lingered above them.

"What is going on up there? Report!" shouted Lance into a communicator he grabbed from an officer.

A few seconds before the response. "Building was damaged by an outside party. We're pushing in and drawing action from the Rockets on the surface floors. Do you have access to the main elevator yet?"

"Affirmative," said Lance.

"Take it if it's still operational. They'll be too distracted to stop you. Apprehend the leader on the observation deck and work your way down to the hostages. We have reason to believe they aren't in fatal danger."

"Roger that." Lance turned to the rest of the group and raised his voice. "Let's keep moving. We have a perfect opportunity and we're going to spear the heart."

How quickly the officers pushed to action this time terrified Ciel. When they first entered, they were cautious, yes, but now they knew how dangerous the situation really was. The threat had escalated, and the only option was to end it quickly and cleanly. As they huddled into the elevator, recalling their Pokémon for the ride, Ciel spared a glance between the officers around them. They were all stonework. Even Lance's usually boisterous presence was encased by his commitment to finishing the fight.

Silver wielded more than a blank stare. His red eyes were brimming with rage, with hate, so overflowing that he might combust. It scared him. Ciel wondered if that same trained criminal was still hiding under his skin just as Lance believed. But, studying him for a few seconds, he came to a separate conclusion. Ciel turned his head to the door, watching the number tick higher, and smiled.

What Silver wore was a good rage. Not directed at someone, but drawn from someone, with that same desire that had burned in him since he spoke to Brent in Violet, sitting on that city park bench, trying to figure out where his life was headed. Silver's flame was still a fledgling spark, but it grew hotter with every step.

The sounds of battle echoed past the walls. The elevator rumbled, and for a few moments, Ciel was sure the cord was going to snap and send them plummeting until an emergency stop kicked in. They rose through the tower's central shaft. Once they cleared the building's main floors, the shaft changed to glass. The elevator itself was also glass, granting full view of the outside. A metal framework supported exterior stairs spiraling upward outside the elevator shaft. They looked large enough to funnel a full observation deck to ground-level in case of an emergency.

Goldenrod was beautiful and revolting. The golden lights sparkled back, a replacement for the starscape hidden by the city's emissions. But hanging off a skyscraper before them, a panel blazed with the symbol of the Rockets. The message penetrated the dual panels.

This is the radio tower.

This is the radio tower.

We are pleased to declare Rocket's revival.

Giovanni, can you hear us?

We've finally made it.

Beyond it, a warmth emanated. He had to squint to see it, past thousands of other lights and through the glass that warped his vision and the stairwells flying by, but it was there. Traces of orange clawed for purchase and tried to climb over the planet. The morning was coming soon.

They entered the observation deck when the door slid open at the apex of the climb. It was a wide circular room surrounded by yet more panels of glass that angled outward. However, unlike the thick, industrial material enclosing the elevator shaft, these were completely transparent, as if they didn't exist at all. They were standing on open sky.

Two people faced the edge of the room. The helicopters still hovering around the deck cast spotlights on them, revealing a man in a fine white suit—just like Ariana—and striking teal hair. Beside him stood a lowly grunt in the same uniform as all the rest.

Their unit approached and ordered a surrender. The Pokémon were released again, and it became clear quickly that the leader bravely had none of his own. When he turned to face them, he didn't appear distressed, or fearful, or anxious, his arms curled calmly behind his back. It only tightened the atmosphere. What if he had a firearm?

"I commend you for making it through our defenses, though you were messier than most would appreciate," he said.

"You're one of Giovanni's old lackeys, aren't you?" asked Lance, once again leading the interrogation. Silver held back this time around. However, a flash of recognition crossed his face.

"My codename is Archer. Once, I was his number two. All of this," the man motioned with his hands, "was for him. Every waking moment, I live in service to that man."

"Why didn't he make you the new leader?"

Archer put a hand to his chin, index knuckle above and thumb below, thinking on that question for a few moments. His answer was a chuckle. "Giovanni always had a soft spot for her. I am no more than a follower. If he wished to shoulder his empire on her, it was not my place to argue."

"Your little stunt at the Indigo Plateau hurt my daughter. I hope it was worth that empire of yours." Lance's Dragonite bared its teeth at his side. The creature could launch from a standing position at blinding speeds and tear the man apart in seconds. All he had was a single grunt to protect him.

"Perhaps it was. Perhaps it wasn't. That choice falls on Ariana," said Archer. He didn't show any sign of intimidation.

Even Archer was fighting for those he believed in. If that was the case, there was a point at which even a man like this would stop fighting. Ciel took that chance and spoke up.

"She made her choice, sir." He made his words clear, and despite the vague humming of helicopter blades and tremors from the battle below, it struck home.

Archer cocked his head at him. He was an experienced gangster who had undoubtedly crossed lines most wouldn't dare tread, never to return, and his stare threatened to implode Ciel's heart. Arden fired hotter on reflex. The warmth at his back gave him the courage he needed.

"The three of us," he said, motioning to Lance and Silver, "we were there. She laid everything on the table and disbanded the Rockets."

"And why should I believe you, child?"

"Would you believe hers?" Ciel asked.

Archer's gaze landed on Silver and studied him for a moment. The red-haired boy didn't need to talk. He spoke with his stance alone.

"It's done, Archer," Lance boomed. "Just come with us. We don't need to escalate this any further."

Lance's communicator chimed, and when he hit the button, it blasted with too much background noise, but a strained voice was evident in the center. An officer shouted, "They abandoned the hostages! The remainder of the force is headed up the emergency stairwells around the central elevator!"

Archer, meanwhile, smirked. He turned his back to them to stare out the window just as the doors around the central elevator shaft swung open. Rockets poured out, ten, twenty, thirty, fifty, eighty, a hundred, a hundred fifty. No one dared attack until the leaders gave their orders, but they were clearly outnumbered over ten to one. Black suits encircled them, that insignia on their chests glowing as bright as the panel outside.

"He was stalling," said Lance.

"A very astute observation." Archer's smug expression only intensified as the group was forced together, completely enclosed by criminals with capsules at the ready. Some had metal pipes, a few others seem to have looted electroshock weapons off officers. "Your officers down there guessed correctly that I do not care about the radio operators, as we already accomplished our mission. Everyone in Johto and beyond has already heard the call."

He let out a splitting, howling laughter. Archer had won, and not even with the Champion on their side could they defeat a force this size without threatening the collapse of the building, all of them stuck inside. The perimeter had left a small gap to which they could see Archer, the man obviously confident enough in his own safety to risk it. "Let us leave. That's your final choice."

As squad officer spoke up, "What's the plan, sir?"

Lance looked conflicted. He still looked like he wanted to stride forward and throw Archer out the window to the pavement below. After a few long glances among the squad, his shoulders relaxed. He wasn't going to sacrifice the wellbeing of everyone here against such odds. He ordered everyone to recall their Pokémon.

Silver wasn't going to give up his rage just like that, and it would kill him to know that the Rockets won. He refused to return his Feraligatr to its Poké Ball, even as Ciel withdrew his own.

"Sir, look over there!" shouted one of the Rocket grunts. It was the lone grunt that stood beside him when they rode up. He pointed at an odd light through the window.

Archer turned sharply to the upcoming disturbance. The grunt already let his fist fly. The force of Archer's movement amplified the sickening impact when the punch slammed home. Something cracked. The head Rocket was knocked to the floor, pooling blood from his crooked, broken nose.

The room was speechless. Archer writhed in pain on the floor of the observation deck, unable to process what had just hit him. The grunt took hold of the brim of his cap and tossed it in the air. He had somehow hidden his entire baseball cap underneath. Gold leveled a dumb, goofy smile in the face of over a hundred Rockets, having just socked their leader on the nose.

From outside, the warm morning had arrived. No, it was something even brighter, and strangely on the west side of the city. Even though Gold had only pointed to it as a distraction, something was coming. That morning light engulfed the radio tower and painted the panels a pure white.

The entire tower went up in flames.

All around him, the observation deck suddenly combusted. A vibrant inferno was birthed from nothing. The color of the flames was indescribable—not red, or orange, or blue, or anything he might expect, but a veritable rainbow. They coated the entire floor and even rose around his feet, and he shouted in pain as he tried to escape.

The perimeter of Rockets fell. As a collective they screamed and burned in the rainbow fire, collapsing to the ground one by one. They couldn't fight. Together they fell to the same level as their would-be leader, clothes burning with brilliant wisps.

He sprinted towards the elevator. The fire encompassed him. The flames licked up his pants and chest, lashing at his arms, consuming him whole. The entire unit raced backwards to escape the inferno.

Ciel's footsteps slowed to a stop. He was standing within the fire completely, but he examined his shaking arms. There were no burns. There was no heat. There was no pain. It felt like he was sitting in the sunrise, watching the sun float higher, slowly warding away the cold with a blanket from above. The longer he stood in the flames, the more he felt alive. He was revitalized.

The rest of his unit soon realized the flames' truth. Some of them did reel back in pain for a few moments, burning their fingers and arms, but eventually the flames ceased affecting them. Gold grinned in the fire, completely impervious. Silver stood in a sleeveless tank, having given up his bloody hoodie to Crystal, and Ciel watched a singular burn race up his bare left arm towards his heart. Though he winced, Silver refused to break, and it suddenly stopped at his shoulder.

Only the Ciel, Silver, Lance, Gold, and the officers remained standing among the hundreds of unconscious figures. Ciel couldn't make sense of what just happened. They were saved. He kept his eyes on the window where the light had come from, noticing the shine disappearing. It receded until it highlighted a flying creature. He couldn't make out what it was, as its features weren't visible within the white silhouette. Two figures stood atop, bathed but not consumed in the morning.

He stepped through the flames. They vanished around him. The observation deck quickly cleared of that purifying light as it vanished into the unknown. As he passed Gold, standing near the edge, he slapped his hand across the boy's head. Gold shouted. He paid it no mind and approached the window.

Ciel knew he'd come. He wouldn't break that promise. They stared down at him from their hovering mount. Ciel and Brent met each other for the first time in forever, eyes locked through the glass.

He had so much he wanted to say to him. The few words he got out were lost when they hit the glass. Brent shook his head and spoke with only his eyes.

It could wait. They still had a meeting someday soon.

Zuki stood close beside him and offered Ciel a wave. A big smile on his face, Brent brought two fingers to his forehead. Ever slowly, they floated away from the Radio Tower, and in a burst of light, they were gone.


Ciel, Silver, and Gold emerged from the blasted front of the Goldenrod Radio Tower. Lance hung back, letting them meet the police brigade with stiff spines. The sun was at just the right angle over the skyline to blind Ciel as it ricocheted off the waylaid cruisers. One of them was completely totaled in a pile of fiberglass, and the walk up to the building was cratered with footsteps, though whatever caused them was long gone.

That morning sun was warm. Even in January, he felt a cozy feeling embrace him. He held a hand to his heart for a few seconds just to make sure it was slowing down, and then let out a sigh.

"Did you guys see that? I totally punched a mafia dude right in his face! A primo mafioso! Man, that was so cool! I'm gonna tell that story in every bar in Johto." Gold's mouth was running at a mile a minute and had been continuously since Archer and his goons were declared defeated. His hands, balled into fists, shook vigorously close to his chest.

"Yeah, whatever," mumbled Silver.

"Come on. Just because you do action movie stunts doesn't mean you can't be impressed when someone else does it. I'm gonna be the next Brycen Man," he said.

"What the hell is Brycen Man?"

A tired cheer escaped among the ranks of the police when the hostages were escorted from the building behind them. As jubilant as Ciel wanted to be, he had to admit he was about to pass out. He hadn't slept in almost twenty-four hours, and most of that was constant exercise and life-threatening circumstances. It was the longest day of his life thus far. But those flames had given him a little something to keep going

His mother tackled him. Any extra life he was granted by the fire was quickly drained out by her grip on his chest. He couldn't breathe. He was dying. Right before before he saw the light, his father tapped her shoulder to release him and Ciel bent over coughing, taking in as many deep breaths as possible.

"Don't kill him, please," his father said. When he finally recovered, the man pulled him into a much gentler embrace. Though he hesitated for a few moments, Ciel wrapped his arms around his father and held peacefully.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Ciel. You're an absolute dumbass, why did I let you go through with this?" she asked herself.

Ciel kept moving, dragging his parents with him as he searched through the crowd of officers and detained Rockets. People constantly crossed his path, bumping him and running him down, until he thought he would be permanently lost in the maze. The officers had set up a barrier to keep civilians away from the area of operation. The area beyond the bounds was empty when they arrived, but now that the sun was rising, people were gathering to see what had transpired. That message had finally ceased across the city and the advertising panels on the surrounding buildings resumed their regular programming.

Multiple ambulances flashed their silent siren lights and Ciel figured that was where he was headed. He cut through the crowd of officers, saying "pardon me" twice a second until he finally caught sight of her. Crystal sat on the edge of the vehicle as it prepared to leave for the nearest hospital. She didn't seem hurried, which he took as a good sign.

Before he could get a word in, Gold rushed past him. The boy wrapped himself around her, disrupting the medical technician trying to prepare her for transport, but he ultimately let him have the moment.

"Where the hell were you, you idiot?" Of course, that was her first response. He expected nothing less. She shouted at him and cursed his stupidity, before turning to Ciel. "Did you slap him?"

"As ordered," he said.

She was fuming, but she couldn't keep it up. For once, Gold wasn't saying anything, just letting that moment sink in for them both, and he refused to let go. He hadn't been there when she was injured, so this must have been the first he knew about it. Crystal weakly patted him on the back with her other arm.

"That weird light, was it him?" she asked over Gold's shoulder.

"He got here just in time. Somehow it knocked out everyone on the observation deck except us," he said.

"Well, if you see him, tell him to pick up the pace next time. We could have opened with that." The paramedic finished prepping her and finally pried Gold away. When they loaded her into the back of the ambulance, he jumped through the open doors and refused to budge. After a few more attempts to kick him off, they gave in and cleared him to be transported with her.

"Hold a moment," said Lance.

Everyone stood at attention before the Champion. Even the paramedics stiffened in respect. His mere presence paralyzed everyone in the surrounding area. He laughed and waved them off. Ciel let his shoulders relax. He couldn't keep tensing like that. It'd snap his muscle fibers from the stress.

"Now, I don't know what they tell you up on the Plateau, but that was the most unorthodox police operation I have ever been part of," said the police captain trailing behind him. Every time he tried to step in front of the man, he was thrown aside and left scrambling. He shouted louder. "This is completely—"

Lance cut him off. "We can leave the logistics—and the damages—for when I give my official report. None of the hostages were injured and that's what matters."

He shoved the captain away and told him to clean up, then returned his gaze to the Trainers. No one had any clue how to respond as the Champion eyed them. He said nothing himself. Then, he bowed. It was exactly the same motion his son had done at the tournament, where his torso was completely perpendicular to his legs. It was the most awkward and most genuine expression Ciel had ever seen.

"I feel I should formally apologize for forcing all of you into this," said Lance. He rose back up to his full height. "Police Pokémon may be trained to handle general situations, but with numbers like this, nothing can match the raw power of Pokémon trained for battle. It goes to show how important we can be."

His parents didn't respond. He knew they were tied to their duty as Pokémon League employees. But him? He shook his head. "Even if you hadn't asked, I would have offered to help. It's what my friends would do, and it's what I should do."

The man didn't bring up the strange occurrence atop the tower. He hadn't been phased by the flames initially, and now he brushed off the life-saving event. Ciel figured it didn't matter too much in the long run, especially since no one had clearly seen what it was that ended the fight.

"You've still got one wish. So does baseball cap back there," said Lance. His arms disappeared under his cloak when he crossed them behind his back.

Gold cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted from the ambulance, "I want to fight you, Champion man! I'll kick your butt!"

"That could be arranged, but I wouldn't recommend it," he called back, before eyeing Ciel. "What will it be?"

"I'd have to think about it, sir," said Ciel.

"Fair enough. Now, as for the young lady's wish…" He stepped off to the side and stood before Silver, who was still the only person among them who could attempt to rival the Champion's stature. His passive regard for the former thief contrasted that almost murderous look just hours prior. Lance stood like a statue; his musings hid behind his impenetrable aura.

"I called Professor Elm a few minutes ago. He was barely awake and couldn't stop stuttering, and I think he fainted halfway in, but he is comfortably aware you now own his Pokémon. Is that correct?" the Champion asked.

Silver hesitated a moment, and then said, "Crystal talked him into it."

"Are you a worthy holder of that Pokémon?"

Silver's first response was to seek Crystal's opinion. Struggling, she sat up once again, and nodded firmly. Silver turned back to the Champion. "I will be."

The man brought his hands together in a thunderous clap. It shocked everyone in the immediate area further. Lance had nothing more to say. He left Silver to his own devices and gathered up the Goldenrod Police to finish their operation. They were still recovering unconscious Rockets from the tower, and just like the operation at the underground complex, it would probably be a few hours before they had it cleaned up.

Silver was free. He finally took a step forward and joined Gold and Crystal in the ambulance to accompany them. The Poké Ball containing his Feraligatr was clutched tightly in his hand and he wouldn't let go.

Ciel waved them goodbye. Just as the door closed, Crystal said, "See you around, Ciel."

The vehicle sped off into the city, leaving Ciel and his parents by the wayside. His mother stretched her arm across his back, hand on his bicep furthest from her, and pulled him tight. His father stood behind and urged them both forward.

They escaped the civilian blockade out onto the streets of Goldenrod. They faced towards rising sun that reached between the gaps in the metroplex. Very few people were out. The Fauder family enjoyed a pleasant stroll through the streets of their once-home, keeping it all to themselves. He didn't even know where they were going, but it took him a while to finally ask.

"I guess we should head to the train station. I doubt Lance is free to ferry us back to Mahogany, and we can't miss Laina's day," said his father.

"I'm probably going to pass out on the way," Ciel replied.

"I hope she didn't find the cake yet," said his mother. "I buried it behind other food in the fridge, but she'll probably sniff it out when she gets bored."

Ciel didn't care if the cake was gone by the time they got back. He was just looking forward to that smile, face smeared with icing.


Brent felt the soft wind ruffle his hair. It was a gentle breeze that sent shivers down his spine as it brought him to life, fighting against the warmth of the sun right in front of him. The sky's blue brightened as it stretched to that single point over the horizon. A firm cloud layer provided only tiny glimpses to the below world that disappeared quickly.

It wasn't how he imagined free flying would be like, but boy was it pleasant! By all scientific account, the wind should have sent him plummeting to his death and he shouldn't have been able to breathe, but then he remembered what he was riding on. Brent wanted to sit back and nap. Maybe the Guardian of the Skies would take offense to that.

The bed of feathers they sat on had that same, imperceptible everything color of the Rainbow Wing. The creature's neck extended forward into its proud crest. Its body remained perfectly stable with each flap of its wings, enough to allow Zuki to sit on her knees without fear of falling.

"Has it dawned on you yet?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"I think you're finally that hero you wanted to be."

Brent considered her words. A couple thoughts whispered from the dark pit, but he forced on his smile again and they were silenced. He kept staring straight into the sun—once again, it should have been impossible, but on the back of the legendary Ho-Oh, common sense no longer applied.

No matter how beautiful it was, everyone had to look at the sun with sideways glances and skirt around its majesty. Being able to meet it face-forward was a greater prize than anything else.

Zuki took hold of his hand, the one on his once-broken arm, that still held the summoning artifacts. She opted not to tie her hair back up and let it trail behind her in the gentle sky. She asked, "Where are we going? Someplace special?"

"Nah. Nowhere special. There's just someone I haven't seen in a while and I wanted to drop by for a visit," he said.

He had no idea their true speed, but the Johto region raced underneath them in the blink of an eye. The forests cleared beneath them to make way for coast, and for a short while, they soared over water. That bay closed soon after and the tree cover shifted its color. He learned when he was young that they planted multiple varieties with different blooming seasons so that Cherrygrove could flower year-round. The pink ocean told him he'd found his home.

Brent tapped his finger to alert Ho-Oh that he wanted to dive. Though he hadn't conveyed their exact destination, the Guardian of the Skies seemed to know exactly where his heart was taking him. They plummeted like a calm meteor, and as the ground rushed up to them, he vanished in a burst of light.

They were on the ground now, the transition instant. After checking a few moments to make sure his bones weren't broken and pinching himself a bit to confirm that it somehow wasn't a surreal dream, he pulled Zuki by the hand.

In front of them was a simple house. A single story, layered with off-white siding and those classic red shingles, surrounded by acres of farmland and those fine pink groves. Brent and Zuki walked up the dirt path.

A woman was standing on the porch. As always, she looked tired, but her face was brighter since the last time he saw her, even if it was sporting a few more wrinkles. Her soft brown hair hadn't faded with time. She covered her mouth with her hand in surprise.

Brent smiled. "Hey there, Mom."


And so, the Rocket Syndicate is defeated. It feels like a lot has happened since I posted the last chapter. Outside work kept me from making good progress on this for a while, leading to what was regrettably the longest wait between chapters since Chapter 5. The coronavirus outbreak is ultimately what gave me enough free time to finish this.

I was looking forward to this one for a while. This concludes the major conflict with the Rockets, gives some great character moments, and just feels like a big finale in many ways. It should be noted that there is a lot of creative liberty when it comes to police procedure here, mostly to save time, as this chapter is massive already.

I did miss my original planned finish date of March 14th, but that's okay. Happy late birthday to HeartGold and SoulSilver in North America.

The final two chapters are essentially the epilogue. We've still got one Gym Battle to go, as well as that promised meeting. Stick around to April 3rd for Chapter 34: To the Light. Thanks for reading.