"Good morning, you're listening to Island Radio, the best station at the Sevii Islands. And that's because-"
"Yeah, we're the only radio station on the islands, they get it, you tell the same joke every damn morning."
"Well, this morning's a special case because we have a ton of new listeners. Make sure to get those ferry tickets early because every hotel on every island is booked full."
"That's true, we have two huge events happening here on our islands. This afternoon on Quest Island, the third round of the Sevii Cup is about to take place between two trainers from Johto. Both are representing something called, uh… New Bark Town? Sounds HELLA boring!"
"Don't say that word ever again. Anyway, on top of the excitement that's been building about the Sevii Cup, we have confirmation that the Litleonid Meteor Shower will be visible from the Sevii Islands tonight. Travelers are camping out on Fortune Island's cliffs to get a glimpse of this rare event. We'll be staying with this story as it develops."
Chapter Fifteen: Round Three, Rivalry
There was a knock on the door, but Lyra remained in bed. Her clock radio had turned on, blaring the morning news at full volume. She was already awake, eyes fixated on a piece of paint on her room's ceiling peeling off. The paint piece looked like it was closer and closer to falling off every day for the duration of Lyra's stay there.
"Lyra!" yelled the voice of Cheren Black behind the door. "It's time for your morning training!"
The knocking turned to banging, which Lyra kept on ignoring.
"Lyra, you better be dressed in there!" Cheren shouted. "Your friend Kris has been training for almost an hour."
Sighing, Lyra got up from the bed, fully dressed. She walked over to the mirror, noting how awful her eyes looked. Despite all the tricks Cheren had pulled to make her get enough sleep, Lyra counted she must have slept for about four and a half hours… in three one and a half hour spurts. Hastily drinking the glass of lukewarm water on a shelf near the mirror, she flipped the lights on and opened the door.
"Sorry, I was… preparing," Lyra told Cheren in a pained voice, avoiding looking at Cheren in the eyes.
Cheren took one look at Lyra's face and sighed. "Were you?"
"No," Lyra admitted. "I just didn't want to talk to you this morning."
"Atta girl," Cheren said mockingly. "The good news is that the battle is at 2 PM. We have," Cheren checked his watch, "about five hours before you have to be in the waiting room. Now, I know you registered a Pokémon for round three already, but I could possibly persuade the clerk a bit and have it changed. Syvleon would be-"
"Sylveon needs to rest and gather energy for round four," Lyra said. "I've told you this like five times."
"Yes," Cheren said and rolled his eyes, "and I have told you that there will not be a round four for you if you don't do whatever it takes to defeat Kris."
"So you think Kris chose an ice-type for this round?" Lyra asked. "She's not that obvious. And even if she does, don't you think I could do just as well even without an obvious type advantage?"
"Look," Cheren said firmly and took a step towards Lyra. "EXO may be footing the bill but this thing has cost my talent scouting agency a fortune. There will be no returns unless you make it to at least round four. Sure, it will look good for both of us if you beat Drake, but if you only get to second place? No one will remember that! I've got two words for you, Lyra: Blue. Oak."
"Like a blue tree?"
"No, the guy who was the Indigo League Champion for like ten minutes. You remember him?"
"Yes," Lyra said bluntly.
Cheren opened his eyes, but had to think his next words a bit. "Okay, well, of course you battle geeks know him," he said quickly. "But to your average couch or futon potato, he's a nobody! Guy got a pity job at the Viridian City Gym but he's still bitter about his loss. And he was destined for greatness! Grandson of Professor Oak, renowned Pokémon groomer for a sister, had a fanclub in Pallet Town… and now, if people even mention him, it's to make fun of the 'ten-minute-Champion'."
"It was honestly closer to an hour," Lyra interjected, "especially once you factor in the time it took for Red to beat him."
"I know you're not just missing the point on purpose, Lyra!" Cheren said harshly. "Just go out there and train already."
Lyra grudgingly agreed, grabbing the Poké Ball of the Pokémon she'd need for today's battle and walked off.
~o~O~o~
Location: Between Floe and Chrono Island
Wes sat awkwardly behind the taller Lorelei as the two rode on her Lapras, making their way across the calm waves, with the large Chrono Island in the horizon. Passenger ferries as well as fishing and leisure boats were already abound, so the two didn't look terribly out of place.
"Um, Miss Lorelei," Wes said after a prolonged silence. "Where exactly are we going?"
"Just Lorelei is fine," Lorelei said serenely. "We're heading to Resort Gorgeous on Chrono Island to meet a friend of mine. Me and her have been conducting an investigation on what's going on at the islands."
Lorelei turned to glance at Wes, sunlight reflecting spookily from her glasses. "The real question here is, what exactly are you searching regarding the prophecy? You said we'd talk about it later. I've recovered, so now we can talk."
"Um, sure," Wes said awkwardly. "I don't have anything to hide, just not sure you'll believe me is all. So you were looking into it too?" Wes asked, wanting to roll the ball back in Lorelei's court.
"Yes. Until that Agrev froze my exit. Me and my friend have been investigating this Dr. Gideon and his cohorts for the past few days. We, too, have been cataloguing as much as possible about the Sinjoh Prophecy. And before you ask why," Lorelei said as Wes looked like he wanted to interrupt, "my friend will tell you."
When Lorelei stared at Wes over her shoulder, Wes felt pressured to say something.
"You're… not going to tell your Lapras to drop me in the sea, are you?" he stuttered.
"Not unless I absolutely have to," Lorelei replied simply.
"Right, okay, so my reasons," Wes began, "are really complicated. I don't even know how far to go. I mean, you live on the islands, so you know Navel Rock, right?"
Lorelei just nodded and turned to look forward. "Now it makes sense," she mused quietly.
"Uh, it does?" Wes wondered. "To be honest, I thought it'd take at least an hour or two for me to go over everything."
"We can talk more when we reach the resort," Lorelei said, "but it seems like you know Yellow."
Wes just stared at Lorelei's back, stunned.
~o~O~o~
Back at a private training court on Quest Island, Kris, as Cheren had mentioned, was going at it. Kris' Froslass was flying through rings erected in the air by poles, effortlessly gliding her way through, even changing direction on command as soon as Kris gave her the order.
Domino was observing the training and helping out. As Kris gave the order, Domino started throwing tennis balls at Froslass while Kris ordered attacks to quickly take them out. And every Ice Beam and Shadow Ball hit the target perfectly, knocking the balls out of the air every single time.
Between throwing tennis balls, Domino quizzed Kris with random questions.
"Enemy typing is Ghost/Steel!" she yelled. "Which move do you use with Froslass?"
"Shadow Ball!" Kris replied right away. "Ghost-type moves actually go right through the steel typing!"
"What about Rock/Fighting?!"
"All the moves are neutral! At close distance Hail, followed with Blizzard. At long range, Ice Beam. Froslass, go down!"
While Domino was quizzing Kris, she also tipped over one of the rings, but Kris was paying close attention. Froslass heard the news and changed her direction, landing gracefully on the ground. Kris decided to take a break, Domino tossing her a water bottle.
"We can do this, Kris!" she said cheerfully. "Your improvement has been staggering!"
"Have to," Kris managed to wheeze, badly winded despite Froslass doing all the hard work. "This is the most important battle I'll ever have! I don't even care about round four, I'll worry about it after all this."
"You'll have to worry about it without me, then," Domino said. "The rules say I'm only allowed to help you until the end of this round. And whoever wins, the fourth and final round is held tomorrow."
Kris nodded. As helpful as Domino had been, and Kris really appreciated it, finding a friend in this situation a huge relief, she didn't want anyone to think she had an advantage or made it past the Cup with anything but her own skill.
Domino was suddenly distracted by a beep from her PokéGear. Looking at the message she received, Domino smiled a bit.
"Listen, I gotta run," Domino said. "I think we're finished for this morning's training. Your battle is in a few hours. I'll see you before it starts, okay."
"You're finished, you mean," Kris smiled back. "I told you, I'm not resting before the battle!"
"Maybe you're not, but how about Froslass?" Domino shot back.
Kris turned to look at Froslass. After hours of intense training, the ice-type was barely floating up, eyes drooping a bit. Kris cursed to herself.
"Damn, she needs to rest before the match! I gotta take her to the Pokémon Center for a bit."
"I'll do it," said Domino and Kris, after thanking Froslass, withdrew her and gave the Poké Ball to Domino. "See you in a few hours!"
As Domino left, Kris allowed herself to take a break to finish her water. If she couldn't train her Pokémon, she would have to train herself. Or so she had planned, but she could swear her heart almost stopped when she saw who was approaching the training area cheerfully, waving at Kris: Lyra. If this was a cartoon, Kris thought, she would spit the water out melodramatically. Instead, the shock of seeing Lyra so soon before round three made water dribble down her chin a bit.
Seeing Lyra and faintly hearing her calling out to her made Kris' head spin and filled her mind with thousands of thoughts at once. Why is she here? Does she want to psyche me out before the round? Would she really sink that low? Why am I not running away? Why would she want to talk to me? Are Cheren and her posse hiding somewhere? Should I say something instead of staring like an idiot?
"Listen!" Lyra spoke as she approached Kris. "Could we talk for a bit? I know you're busy doing… this."
Kris felt annoyed immediately. 'This?' She was training harder than ever before for the sole purpose of defeating the person who just stood before her. That's all Lyra had to say?
"Uhh," Kris could only say.
"Cheren just told me about something that I really need your input on," Lyra said quickly, "I know you've been probably told to keep this under wraps but-"
"Kris!"
Kris and Lyra both turned, surprised to see an entourage approaching them. Well, an entourage of three to be specific. Leading them with a spring in her step was Iris, looking the same as ever, wild bushy hair almost as tall as the girl herself. Walking behind her was professor Elm, the tall and lanky scientist with round glasses, hair thinning prematurely, looking a bit more disheveled than usual, lab coat wrinkly and hastily placed on his usual clothes. And behind both of them limped Dr. Blaine, the older, gruffer scientist and former gym leader. He looked just the same as before: bald with a white, well-groomed mustache, wearing normal clothes instead of his lab coat but keeping his trademark sunglasses. He was walking with the aid of a question mark -shaped cane owing to his injuries sustained from the Mewtwo experiment.
Iris was the first to arrive, rushing over to hug Kris. "It's been too long!" she squealed energetically while Kris was perplexed, albeit happy. "Elm and Blaine told me about Orre! I can't believe you guys pulled that off!"
Letting Kris go, Iris seemed to just notice Lyra. A bit embarrassed, Iris nonetheless hugged her too. "So happy to see you, too!" she said earnestly. "It's been so long since all of us were together! Like back at the school, remember?"
"All too well," Kris commented.
"Good to see you're keeping well," Elm commented as he stepped forward to shake hands with Kris. "It, um, well, I don't know how appropriate it is to say… well, you look like you've grown! And, um, training really hard, it seems!"
Kris only now realized her forehead was shiny with sweat, so she quickly wiped it off on her wrist.
"Ah, Lyra, good to see you too," Elm said awkwardly, adjusting his glasses and offering a nervous smile, though it was usual for him. "Your parents asked me to tell you that they've moved half-permanently to Goldenrod to help your grandparents out. Um, and they asked me to water your cactus."
"Oh," Lyra said. "Uh, that's-"
"Out of the way, out of the way," grunted Blaine, who shoved Elm and Iris away, limped over to Kris to put a hand on her shoulder. "Kris, your plan in Orre worked perfectly! EXO has converted Cipher's old base into a research station and is cooperating with the Pokémon HQ Laboratory to cure all of the shadow Pokémon. You're a real hero, kid!"
Kris tried not to look too self-satisfied. "Yeah, pretty cool, huh? Couldn't have done it without your forethought, though."
Blaine laughed loudly as he slapped Kris' shoulder roughly. "I deserve no credit!" he boomed. "I'm just a paranoid old geezer! Just wanted to make sure that Hilda would deliver my package. I still wasn't sure if EXO could be trusted but they got the job done!"
"Is that why you came here?" Kris wondered, looking over from Blaine to Elm and to Iris. "To talk about that?"
"No, silly!" Iris laughed. "We wanna see you battle! You and Lyra are gonna face off for the first time since the Silver Conference."
"Um, yes, right, it makes me very, ah, happy to see two of my students show their abilities," Elm said, glancing to Kris' left. "Uh, wasn't Lyra here just a moment ago?"
Everybody turned to look, seeing Lyra walk away from them at a brisk pace. Looking concerned, Iris called out for her, but didn't get a response.
Kris shook her head. "Forget about it, Iris," she said. "She's been acting strange. But did you guys really come here to watch me? Uh, us?"
"Of course!" Iris said excitedly. "And we're sticking for round four, because whoever wins-"
Kris frowned.
"I'm just being fair here, of course it'll be you," Iris said quickly. "But whoever wins will face Drake tomorrow! It's gonna be so exciting!"
"Yeah," Kris said quietly to herself. "And to be honest, for the first time in my life, I feel like I can win this."
~o~O~o~
Location: Resort Gorgeous, Chrono Island, Sevii Islands
Wes whistled as he and Lorelei made it to their destination. They were standing by the front door of a large two-story manor, a fabulous old wooden building with vines hanging from the walls, a fence gate opening from both sides to an undoubtedly glorious back yard facing the sea. The environment was beautiful, too: a lush, seaside cliff with no people in sight, only the sounds of crashing waves and wild Pokémon, mainly Wingull, roaming around.
Lorelei knocked a peculiar, rhythmic tune on the door. She then patiently stood as a surveillance camera Wes just noticed rotated to look at the arrivals. Then, a long pause… and nothing happened.
"Agatha, open up!" Lorelei called, leaning closer to the door. "It's me, you can see it!"
"Who is that punk?!" came a voice from the inside that surprised Wes. He had been told they were going to see another Elite Four member, an elderly woman called Agatha, but while the voice was undoubtedly old, there was a lot of energy to it.
"An ally," Lorelei said. "Like it or not, this man just saved me. I got busted at the Icefall Cave. The mission failed."
"Hmph. Reckless," Agatha remarked through the door. "Well… fine. But don't let him touch the couch cushions."
After several safety locks were meticulously opened, Lorelei was finally able to push the door open. She held it open for Wes, who quickly stepped inside, Lorelei closing and locking the door after her.
The entrance hall to the manor allowed an instant view of the huge living room. The decoration was definitely that of an old woman's house, and everything was spotless on top of that. Comfortable couches and recliners full of cushions everywhere, valuables on the shelves and wall littered with various kinds of photographs and paintings. A fire was roaring in the fireplace while the room was brightly lit by a fancy chandelier.
Agatha was a woman in her early seventies with very determined eyes. She was very short and used a wooden cane to walk, though her posture and speed of walking made it look like she didn't need it. Also, Wes couldn't help but to be baffled by her clearly dyed blonde hair, which made her look younger than she was for a moment.
"Agatha, this is Wes," Lorelei explained. "We talked on the way, he's looking for the prophecy. He's also friends with Yellow."
That last mention was of interest to Agatha, who finally took the time to observe Wes. Finally, she nodded curtly and left without a second word to sit in the biggest recliner in the room, a pile of paper documents littered on the coffee table in front of it.
"Uh, nice to meet you…?" Wes said weakly.
"Don't mind her," Lorelei said casually. "She's paranoid that somebody is after us, especially after we started investigating Dr. Gideon."
"I know the type," muttered Wes, thinking of a certain old scientist with a fiery temper. "But you said you'd explain why you're-"
"Just a moment, Wes," Lorelei said quickly and walked to Agatha.
The two started talking about the documents in front of Agatha in hushed, low voices. Shrugging, Wes started walking around the living room. He paused when he saw Agatha in a few pictures. One in a larger group consisting of many people of similar ages, and a smaller one featuring Agatha in the middle of two men. The one on the right to her was the Johto-based Poké Ball maker Kurt whom Wes had met once, while the one on the left Wes even recognized despite never meeting him: professor Oak of Kanto.
"Hey, miss Agatha!" Wes said, oblivious to the conversation he had just interrupted. "You know professor Oak?"
"At least wash your hands before touching those!" Agatha scolded Wes irritably, quickly getting up from her chair, snatching the photo from Wes' hands. "This was a long time ago," she muttered, more to herself. "That old coot was once tough and handsome, but now he only finds time for his precious PokeDex…"
"We don't need to hear that story again," sighed Lorelei. "And we can let Wes in on the conversation, Agatha!"
Agatha sighed. "Fine," she grumbled.
Agatha sat back down, Lorelei sitting on the armrest of her chair while Wes took a seat on another recliner nearby. It was incredibly comfortable, with Wes realizing the last time he had a comfortable seat was in mayor Es Cade's private plane, and that didn't end well. Shrew crawled out of Wes' bag, happily sniffing the air, but not daring to come out with two strangers around. Agatha briefly narrowed her eyes at the Sandshrew before turning to look at Wes.
"So, what are you doing here, Orrean?" she asked, her tone more harsh than she probably intended. "Lorelei says you're after the prophecy, too, but not out for Dr. Gideon or anyone else. What's your story?"
"I'm still kinda piecing it together," Wes admitted. "Another friend of mine, uh, she's currently competing in the Sevii Cup, she's more interested in this than me. But this is also important to Yellow, and I wanna help her any way I can."
Agatha nodded thoughtfully. "As Lorelei no doubt told you, we are a part of the group Red and Yellow assembled to fight the corruption in the Pokémon League," she explained, and Wes nodded, Lorelei having filled him in on the way. "However, our group's numbers have dwindled during the years, and we've mostly gone our separate ways. I moved to the islands to meet up with Lorelei and we decided to carry on Yellow's work together. Yellow hasn't been in contact with us since the Navel Rock incident."
Wes frowned, wondering why that was. Getting up from her chair, Agatha continued. "We have every reason to believe that our former colleagues in the Pokémon League's Elite Four don't want us to continue doing this, so we're operating in absolute secrecy. It doesn't help that both Red and Yellow are wanted by the Pokémon Association for their actions."
Agatha pointed her cane at a large map hanging on the wall. "We've been uncovering every piece about the prophecy that we can. We think the Pokémon Association, which this Dr. Gideon could possibly be working for, the very governing body that controls most of our world, is using this knowledge to a sinister purpose. Navel Rock proved to us that they were experimenting with the Distortion World. This prophecy is very much connected to it."
"The ultimate aim of our group," Lorelei said as she started to walk around, "is to replace this current administration with a new one and clear the names of our friends. Hero or not, Red became a scapegoat after trying to implement changes in the Pokémon League and was driven out. But the information he managed to obtain could be the answer to toppling the Association."
"The prophecy, on the other hand, needs to be deciphered first," Agatha said. "Once we do so, we'll be able to get one step ahead of the Association."
"What about the content?" Wes wondered. "Aren't you at all worried? It talks about Giratina, and might be about its inevitable return?"
"It's not an immediate priority," Agatha said, "but it's a… worrying development."
"Yes, based on what Wes said, one of Giratina's pawns in this realm, is back," Lorelei told Agatha. "And it's none other than Pryce."
Agatha frowned, while Wes raised his eyebrows. "You guys know him?"
"I knew him when we were young," Agatha mused quietly. "Not well, however. But when Red defeated Giovanni and Team Rocket was resurrected, it was Pryce as the Masked Man who was responsible for that."
"And Pryce was behind Team Rocket attacking Navel Rock," Lorelei reminded Wes, as if he needed help remembering what happened there. "If he's after the prophecy, too…"
Wes folded his arms, deep in thought. The inciting incident to Navel Rock was scientists managing to create a portal to the Distortion World and retrieve an artifact belonging to Giratina. That, in turn, caused Team Rocket to attack it, followed by the massive and deadly coverup by the Pokémon Association. Pryce had been after the artifact, and he had been working for Giratina back in Johto when Kris was fighting him. Was that the case now, too? Was Pryce after something that would help Giratina return?
It all made Wes' head hurt.
"Now, then, Lorelei also said that you were on Mt. Ember and Dr. Gideon and his men got a piece of the prophecy," Agatha said, snapping Wes out of his thoughts.
"Uh, yeah, that' right," Wes replied quickly.
Agatha nodded, then turned to Lorelei. "I sent Gengar ahead to scout. I found where Gideon is hiding. He had the prophecy piece from Mt. Ember brought here on this island this morning."
"Perfect!" Lorelei exclaimed. "Let's go get 'em!"
Agatha shook his head. "It ain't that simple," she said. "Gideon has drones he can use to track us back to the resort. Even if he is not there himself, there has to be perimeter alarms all over the place."
"I hear ya," Lorelei sighed. "How about me and Wes go? We sneak in real carefully, and recover what they took from Mt. Ember and anything else we can use to find out about their plans. Then, we head out and hide out at my place until the coast is clear. They already know about me at this point anyway."
Agatha was weighing the options. Wes, on the other hand, seemed a bit reluctant to get dragged into another adventure without even his say-so… but then again, his job at the moment was to find the prophecy pieces, and Dr. Gideon had one, so…
Wes sighed. "Yeah, I'm in."
Agatha relented and nodded at Lorelei. "Fine," she said. "Take a look at this."
Agatha led Wes and Lorelei to what looked like an ordinary coffee table in the middle of the room, albeit larger than the other tables. However, as Agatha pressed a button at the side, a holographic 3D map of the Sevii Islands suddenly appeared above it. Wes whistled appreciatively.
"This is Chrono Island," Agatha said and zoomed in on the fifth of the islands. "We are here," she continued, highlighting the northern tip of the island. "Gideon's warehouse is here, in the middle of the meadow south of the town." Agatha highlighted a large green patch in the middle section of the island. "It's well hidden in some particularly dense woods and no doubt crawling with automated defenses and sensors."
"Wait a minute, is that the same warehouse Team Rocket used before?" Lorelei asked incredulously. "Man, Doc Gideon learned nothing, did he?"
"Well, he has like four henchmen now, I wouldn't be surprised if this is a shoestring operation," Wes remarked. "So this is where Red and Yellow and friends…?"
"Yes, after Team Rocket's downfall in mainland Kanto, the Sevii Islands cell was still active but disconnected from the rest," Agatha said. "Red, Blue, Yellow and Leaf chased them out of here, which formed the basis for Red and Yellow's resistance group. The warehouse had to be deserted for more than three years, so the whole building is probably close to collapse. Just be careful."
"You got it!" Lorelei said, grabbing a small bag from a nearby chair. "Come on, Wes!"
Maybe getting dragged along by Lorelei wouldn't be so bad, Wes thought to himself as he followed her obediently out of the manor.
~o~O~o~
Location: Quest Island, Sevii Islands
Lyra was sitting in the waiting area at the Quest Island Stadium. Even though it was still an hour before her crucial battle, being anywhere else made her incredibly anxious. She wanted to be away from Cheren, away from the posse he had hired for her despite her protests. She had just wanted to participate and have a chance to battle Kris on an even ground. But now, because of his antics, Cheren had ruined Lyra's chance to… to…
Lyra shook the image of Kris out of her mind. What was she thinking? Kris was a friend. And that friendship was already on an uneven ground. There was no way it would ever go beyond that, no matter how much Lyra wanted it to.
But maybe there was a chance? Kris had been hanging out with those guys, Wes and Lunick, and now neither of them was anywhere to be found. No way was Wes anywhere close to Kris' type, they were friends at best. But Lunick? Lyra had seen the way Kris looked at him. Probably. The uncertainty was driving her nuts.
Lyra's Typhlosion, Scorch, came into view from the corner of the room she had been sleeping in. It was in a relaxed state, the flames around its neck gone, making a low, satisfied noise similar to purring as it scratched itself behind the ear. Smiling, Lyra patted the Typhlosion's head.
"Sorry, Scorch, I wish I could take you out this time, but the rules are rules," she sighed. "Besides, your battle in the last round was amazing. You deserve the rest."
Scorch closed her eyes and crawled into a comfortable position by Lyra's feet. Lyra understood the gesture almost immediately. No words were necessary. Why was it so easy to understand a Pokémon, but her oldest and closest friend was still an enigma to her?
Lyra slapped the side of her own head. Stupid, she thought. Why am I like this?
Sighing again even deeper, Lyra stood up and walked to the washing rooms to wash her face for the tenth time. Scorch lifted her head to follow Lyra with her gaze, but soon went back to sleeping again.
After washing her face, Lyra just stared at herself in the mirror. She had never been one to dwell on things, but now, the negative thoughts came rushing to her head. She was thinking of things that scared and upset even herself, a poisonous, squirming feeling settling in her stomach when she saw Kris being congratulated by all those people. Iris… professor Elm… Lyra had known them as long as Kris had, but come to think of it, their amount of shared experiences were not that high.
And Elm had specifically arranged for Iris to travel with Kris when she started to train for the Silver Conference. Kris and Lyra were both Elm's students, but Kris had been getting special treatment from day one. Just because she came from a broken family or something.
Lyra shook her head. How am I thinking like this?
"I'm sorry, is this a bad time?" a high-pitched, impish voice asked.
Lyra opened her eyes. Hoopa was hovering beside her head, but Lyra was not surprised. A while back, while she had been sleeping in New Bark Town, the strange Pokémon had appeared to her, telling about Kris and some sort of prophecy. She had believed it all to be a dream until the next day, Cheren appeared in New Bark to recruit her to the Sevii Cup.
"Oh, it's you again," Lyra just said. "Thanks a lot for all this. I'm being sarcastic, by the way."
Hoopa floated above Lyra's head and perched on her hat now. "Oh? What's wrong?" it asked, the wide grin constantly on its face. "Isn't this what you wanted?"
"How is coming here to humiliate myself in front of the people I care about at all related to my destiny or whatever?" Lyra snapped.
"It is not for us to know," Hoopa mused as it floated around, forcing Lyra to move her head around to keep her eyes on the Pokémon. "The ways of the forces of destiny are unknownable and-"
"Shut up," Lyra told the Pokémon. "I don't believe in any of that. Destiny is what we choose to do."
"Partly yes, but we are all controlled by something greater," said Hoopa. "What you choose to do now means little when it comes to what the masses of millions of people do in millions of years."
"All I want is for things to get back to normal," Lyra mused as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. "I thought this tournament would do just that."
"They will never be back to normal," Hoopa hissed. "The very nature of this prophecy forbids it. Whether you like it or not, the two of you are rivals. And in the end, only one of you will hold glory. You think the one who does will have time for normalcy?"
"I don't care!" Lyra snapped at the Hoopa.
"Of course you do!" Hoopa said back, raising its voice, sounding more deeper and menacing. "That's why you are so bothered by what happened. I was watching you earlier already… when you saw Kris' friends come all this way to watch her battle, to congratulate her for her victories… you felt that pain inside you. The pain of doubt, that maybe she is the one destined for greatness and you are not."
"SHUT UP!"
Hoopa vanished while the door to the washing rooms opened. Lyra raised her head, her face red as she saw the last person she wanted to see at this moment enter: Kris.
"Lyra?" she said, standing hesitantly in the doorway.
"Kris…" Lyra said, quickly wiping her eyes. "What… why are you here?"
"The match doesn't start for a while so I was walking around, it's a free country," Kris snapped. "Why wouldn't I get concerned when I hear one-sided shouting and screaming from the bathroom?"
"Oh… so you pretending to care now?"
Lyra didn't mean to ask the question so viciously, but the words just rolled right out. Kris raised her eyebrows before turning to leave.
"Rrright," she said, "sorry that you're having issues, see you on the field in-"
"Why didn't you tell me about EXO?!" Lyra shouted.
Kris reacted as Lyra thought she would. Slowly, she turned around again, frowning at Lyra. Kris' mouth was slightly open but the words seemed to get stuck somewhere in her throat.
"An organization recruiting strong Pokémon trainers to fight against powerful threats?!" Lyra snapped at a silent Kris. "You know, like what we've been doing for a long time now? And I have to hear about it from that… that Cheren guy?"
Kris was still quiet, taking a careful step backwards.
"You know what, I think I know why?" Lyra said, her voice shaking from suppressed anger, desperately trying to keep her volume down. "You're just afraid someone else will make you just a little bit less special, aren't you? It's always been like that!"
"How?!" Kris snapped back. "You're the one pissy that I have a great thing awaiting for me, something that I don't need you or anybody else for!"
"How selfish can you be if you think I care about that?!" Lyra said, her volume rising again. "You're gonna blame me for wanting to share something with the people I lo… with the people I…"
Lyra's words seemed to trail off and disappear as she suddenly couldn't face Kris anymore, feeling her face turning red. Kris, on the other hand, went pale, eyes wide in shock.
"Oh," she said. "Lyra, you didn't… I mean, did you mean…?"
Lyra clenched her teeth together, not sure what to say, the knowledge that her shot for happiness had just been ruined forever. Way to go Lyra, she thought to herself. This is why nobody likes you.
A prolonged awkward silence ensued between the two. Lyra stared at the floor, blinking fast to hide what was going on inside her, fighting the urge to break down in tears. Kris just seemed to be shocked still, staring into the distance, clearly thinking of what she should say or do.
Finally, the silence was broken by the sudden arrival of Domino in the room.
"There you are!" she told Kris. "Been looking for you all over the place! You should start getting ready, go over your strategies…" Domino trailed off when she noticed Lyra was there. "I don't know if there's a specific rule about it but you guys really probably shouldn't be together at this time. I think Cheren would say the same, Lyra. He's probably looking for you."
"Yeah…" Kris said quietly to no one in particular, nodding. "Yeah, let's go…"
Lyra finally dared to look up when she heard footsteps, seeing Kris and Domino walk away to her private room. Then, she angrily punched the paper towel dispenser on the wall.
It accomplished little, but hurt a lot.
~o~O~o~
Location: Five Isle Meadow, Chrono Island, Sevii Islands
Wes and Lorelei made their way through the thicket, which was getting increasingly dark despite the sun still being high. The trees were getting taller and the vegetation denser while the sounds of Pokémon became louder and more varied. Wes looked up, seeing a group of Mankey swinging from tree to tree, passing by an Aipom who was hanging from another tree while vacantly staring at the two humans.
Lorelei had taken the lead, scanning the ground with a small portable device as she slowly walked forward. Whenever she spotted something Wes assumed to be a trap or a sensor of some kind, she would stop and guide Wes to follow her. Wes tried to trace Lorelei's footsteps as carefully as possible as he walked, though he wished Lorelei could at least tell Wes more about what kind of defenses the place had.
Now that Wes thought about it, he was probably basically a kid to an experienced Elite Four member like Lorelei. It was weird to think about.
"Here!" Lorelei suddenly hissed, pushing her palm backwards so that Wes almost bumped into it.
Lorelei stopped in front of what Wes assumed to be a denser than normal group of trees and bushes. She pulled something from her waist which surprised Wes next: a collapsible machete, which she swiftly used to get rid of the foliage, revealing they were actually growing on a wall of a stone building.
"Huh," Wes said appreciatively. "We found it."
Well aware that Wes hadn't done anything to contribute, Lorelei just nodded, handing Wes another machete, which came out of its sheath with a press of a button. The two started hacking away vegetation without concern, as Wes assumed Lorelei had checked everything for alarms. The building only had windows at the very top, at roof level. If there were no sensors around the building, no one would be able to see them come in.
Eventually, Wes managed to hack away at a door. Wes gestured silently at Lorelei, who soon arrived with her scanner. Detecting no alarms in the door, Lorelei pushed the handle, and the unlocked door opened.
As Wes and Lorelei walked in, it was almost pitch black dark inside, only a narrow sliver of light coming in through the windows by the ceiling. Without a word, Lorelei handled a flashlight to Wes who turned it on and guided the way, Lorelei busy scanning with her device.
As Wes and Lorelei walked further into the warehouse, Wes noticed literal towers of shipping containers, crates and, most disturbingly, cages. All of them were open and empty, however. Wes assumed this is where Team Rocket kept their smuggled Pokémon. It reminded Wes that he never really asked Yellow about what their group got up to in their time, before Red's disappearance.
"Security should be tighter than this," Lorelei remarked quietly, while Wes assumed this meant talking was okay.
"This place was abandoned for a long time and overgrown with vegetation," Wes mused. "Probably been that way since the Team Rocket days. I guess they thought no one would find them here."
Wes and Lorelei moved through the warehouse into an office. There, on a large table in the middle of the room, they found what they were looking for: a large stone tablet, the same ones Dr. Gideon and his men were carrying around on Mt. Ember. Lorelei quickly rushed over to it, while Wes managed to locate a light switch. With a flick, the fluorescent lights turned on, bathing the room in a far too bright glow that made Wes' eyes hurt.
"Thanks," Lorelei told Wes offhandedly as she took out her phone and started to take photos of the stone tablet from every possible angle, some from close up, some requiring her to get up on a chair to get it fully into view.
Satisfied, Lorelei pressed a button, presumably to send the photos to Agatha, before turning her attention to one of the many computer terminals. Wes simply watched Lorelei work, though somewhat nervously.
"Uh, we got what we need, right?" he asked. "Shouldn't we leave?"
"This opportunity is too good to pass," Lorelei said hastily as she typed and clicked, opening every folder and document she could find, everything just laid out unprotected and unecrypted. "There's a lot of stuff here…"
"Wait, hold it!" Wes quickly said, pointing at the computer screen, which now showed a picture and description of a boat. "That's the one Gideon and his gang used at Mt. Ember!"
"Great!" Lorelei said excitedly and took a picture of the screen as well. "This might come in handy in tracking their movements. Let's see if there's anything else here… hello."
Wes leaned closer to see what Lorelei was looking at, but had to squint, as it was a boring-looking legal document with a lot of text written with a small font.
"This has all the construction details related to the Quest Island Stadium," Lorelei mused and opened another document in the same directory. "And this is a list of… hmm, a lot of names and hometowns. Pebbleman of Viridian City. Kiyo of Saffron City. Lyra of New Bark Town. Kris of New Bark Town…"
Wes leaned in even closer, frowning at what he saw. The names were in a list under 'participants'. Below was a list called 'trainers', followed by 'locations', with different areas around the Sevii Islands mentioned alongside different dates.
"This is the Sevii Cup," Wes muttered. "Everything in this folder is about it."
"Let's just send all of this to Agatha," Lorelei said quietly, also frowning.
Once Lorelei was done, she logged out and switched off the monitor, wanting it to look like the computer hadn't been touched. She even wiped the keyboard a bit with a handkerchief before she started walking around the large office again. Finding a switch on the wall, she flipped it without a second thought.
A map of the Sevii Islands lit up on the wall, uninteractive and two-dimensional unlike the one Agatha had. However, a lot of machinery on the wall suddenly turned on as well, pointing lasers and making light circles around several locations on the map. A screen on the wall that had just turned on showed a whole bunch of data which looked like geocoordinates.
"Looks like they're trying to calculate a location based on something," Lorelei said, pushing up her glasses and frowning at the numbers on the screen. "But I have no idea what…"
Lorelei snapped a picture of the screen and the map with her phone. Wanting to be of use, Wes paced around the lab, finally noticing a pile of documents on a table. Looking at Lorelei for approval, Wes quickly jammed the documents in his bag after seeing Lorelei nod.
However, as Wes and Lorelei turned to leave the room, the lights in the warehouse were suddenly turned on, a short, hunched man with thick glasses and a tattered lab coat - Dr. Gideon.
"Damn it," Wes grumbled.
"I should have guessed the two of you were in cahoots," Gideon sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. "I swear, they just let everyone waltz in here."
Lorelei pulled out her machete, pointing at Gideon. "You alone?" she asked the scientist. "That took a pair of Exeggcutes to do if you knew we were here."
Gideon just shrugged. "I like it peaceful," he remarked.
"Well, we'll leave you in peace, then," Lorelei said. "Step away and let us walk so we don't beat you half to death!"
Gideon took one of his hands off his pockets to adjust his glasses. "Why would I do that?"
Wes didn't understand. The scientist was alone and unarmed, no Poké Balls to be seen. Was he stalling for time for the others to come? And where had he come from?
"Funny man," Lorelei said and used her spare hand to grab a Poké Ball from her pocket. "This is your last warning."
"You want a Pokémon battle?" Gideon said and actually yawned in an exaggerated way that made Wes want to punch him. "Just make it quick. Use that gun over there."
Lorelei didn't even hesitate and grabbed a revolver from a nearby table. Checking it was loaded and aiming despite Wes' protests, Lorelei fired the gun.
However, at the moment Lorelei fired, the whole room glowed light blue for a moment, and the bullet Lorelei fired curved up and hit the ceiling instead, taking out one of the fluorescent lights - even though Lorelei had aimed right at Gideon's head.
Lorelei dropped the gun and she and Wes turned around, seeing a strange Pokémon emerge from the computer the duo had just used: Porygon-Z, a Pokémon Wes had seen only once, also used by Gideon at Navel Rock. Lorelei briefly aimed the gun at the Porygon-Z, but instead decided to grab Wes by the wrist and once again drag him off, running into the next room through the only other door in the office.
This room also contained cages, but these one were full of Pokémon, however. Looks like the group was still smuggling them, as the numerous Pokémon started chirping, squawking and screeching at them the moment they entered. Lorelei ignored them, instead slamming the door shut behind them. Together, Wes and Lorelei grabbed a cage that was empty and pushed it to block the door.
Only then did Wes realize that the room they arrived into was a dead end, with no windows or doors. However, this didn't seem to matter to Lorelei, who opened the Poké Ball she was threatening Gideon with. All of a sudden, Lorelei's Lapras materialized into the room, filling most of the available space. At Lorelei's request, the Lapras blasted the floor with a Hyper Beam attack, prompting Wes to take cover from the debris and dust flying around.
When Lapras was finished, Lorelei returned it to its ball while Wes dared to open his eyes again. Where Lapras had blasted, there was now a large hole, but beneath the broken floor was a barely-lit tunnel, though Wes had no idea where it would lead.
"How did you know it was here?!" Wes wondered.
"Guessed based on what I knew," Lorelei said as she carefully climbed into the hole. "Also, how do you think these guys get around. C'mon!"
Wes, who had long since stopped questioning when people more knowledgeable than him took the wheel, jumped into the tunnel after Lorelei and ran after her through the empty, poorly-lit corridor, hearing Gideon's shouts and Porygon-Z's strange, garbled cries vaguely behind him.
~o~O~o~
Location: Quest Island Stadium, Quest Island, Sevii Islands
"Llllladiiiiieeeees and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is DJ Ben and we are officially about to begin the third, thunderous round of the Sevii Cup. Today's battlefield is the Ice field, but thanks to our amazing technology, the viewing audience is perfectly safe from the weather conditions that storm in the battlefield. Trainers must withstand the bitter cold breeze, the occasional vision-obscuring blizzard, the slippery surface and the piles and piles of snow as their Pokémon duke it out!"
"That's right Ben! I'm DJ Mary, and here are today's contestants. It's a very special battle between two rivals, both from the small town of New Bark Town, Johto. Both of them have shown us two spectacular battles in this tournament. Kris has defeated Pebbleman and Karate King Kiyo while Lyra triumphed over Vance the Bird Keeper and Anonymous. Our contestants are getting ready…"
So Kris was. Dressed in a blue parka and other thick winter gear, she was surveying the battlefield. Covered in snow and ice, with mounds of snow littered around the field at various heights, plus pillars of solid ice that further obscured visibility. Right now, there was no wind, but there were machines around every corner and side of the arena, ready to blow wind and snow everywhere, Kris imagined.
Lyra was at the opposite side of the field, wearing a red parka, probably for the benefit of the viewers. There was some kind of translucent force field above and around the arena, most likely to keep the weather and climate settings localized. It was the only way the snow and ice could stay there on a sweltering summer day in this tropical area.
Kris wondered what could be on Lyra's mind right now. She was unable to look at Lyra in the eyes directly, and Lyra seemed to be doing her best to avoid Kris' gaze as well. After everything that was said today, the battle seemed almost like an afterthought.
Kris shook away the thought. This battle was important. The final round was tomorrow already. Regardless of if she beat Drake or not, it would be an event to remember. And one with historical value, this being the first Sevii Cup. She had to win.
Too busy with her thoughts, Kris almost missed the referee waving his flag and the announcers starting the battle. Kris decided to let Lyra have the first move, and indeed, Lyra sent out her Pokémon: a Mismagius.
It made sense, Kris thought. The ghost-type would be able to float past the obstacles on the field with no problem. In fact, Kris didn't think Lyra had any ice-types while the only fire-type she had was already used in the previous round.
Unfortunately, Kris thought as she looked at her own Poké Ball, this puts us both at an even ground. One good ghost-type attack from Mismagius and I'm done.
"Go, Froslass!" Kris shouted and threw her Poké Ball. As Froslass materialized, it immediately locked eyes with her target, her blue eyes meeting Mismagius' red.
"Keep on the move, Froslass!" Kris instructed. "To the left!"
Lyra, on the other hand, commanded Mismagius with wordless signals, just as Leaf had warned her. Froslass just barely avoided a Shadow Ball attack, which literally cleared the snow in front of it. Lyra's Pokémon were indeed stronger than before.
Seeing Froslass hiding behind an ice pillar, Kris gave her next command.
"Get up high and use Ice Beam!" Kris ordered, and Froslass did so. But as soon as the ice-type was in Mismagius' view, Lyra gave another command and Mismagius disappeared into a purple vortex. The Ice Beam missed and Mismagius reappeared behind Froslass from another purple portal, colliding itself into Froslass, sending both Pokémon flying towards the ground.
At that moment, the snow machines went on. Kris tightened the hood of her parka when a cold wind suddenly blew against her, almost tipping her over. From the corner of her eye, she saw Lyra doing the same. It reminded Kris of a field trip to Mt. Mortar about maybe a million years ago, with Lyra wearing a ridiculously oversized winter jacket…
Kris shook her head. Focus on the damn battle.
Fortunately, thanks to the suddenly cold wind and the blizzard that ensued, Froslass actually managed to recover, and was now floating amidst the winds.
At Lyra's next command, Mismagius created a red-orange ring of fire above itself before launching a stream of fire towards Froslass, who, despite her best efforts, took the brunt of the atack, the rest melting the snow around it
Fire attacks, Kris thought. There was a chance this could end soon, which is what Lyra probably wanted.
To Kris' relief, Froslass was still up. And this gave her an idea.
"Froslass, don't move!" Kris ordered loudly. "Try to land a Frost Breath!"
If Froslass was confused by the order, she didn't show it, staying still as she floated a few inches above the ground and blasted Mismagius with a cold wind attack from her mouth. Mismagius easily evaded, and as Kris had predicted, Lyra gave the signal to use the fire-type attack… Mystical Fire, Kris remembered.
But this time, Kris was ready for her. She ordered Froslass to use Protect. Froslass blocked the attack, with the fire ricocheting off her, hitting the puddles on the ground and soon causing steam to rise from everywhere.
Using the cover of the steam and Kris' guidance to her advantage, Froslass next followed Kris' command to get up high and get behind Mismagius, finally blasting the other ghost-type with its most powerful ice-type attack: Blizzard. The force of the attack sent Mismagius flying further away, but Kris knew it wasn't done yet.
Now was the time to strategize.
Lyra ordered a new command which Kris had no idea about, and Mismagius started firing blue energy bolts at Froslass from the jewels in its body. Thanks to Kris' guidance, however, Froslass avoided every single one, which made Kris let out a breath of relief. That was Power Gem, which would take out Froslass just as fast as Mystical Fire would.
"Froslass, Shadow Sneak!"
It was a new technique, one that Kris hadn't attempted before. Froslass' shadow suddenly extended and reached beneath and behind Mismagius. In a blink, Froslass appeared behind Mismagius, and Lyra had to react quickly.
"Mismagius, Ominous Wind!" she yelled.
"Froslass, Will-O-Wisp!" Kris yelled at the same time.
Though Mismagius could attack Froslass, releasing powerful, purple-hued streams of wind from its entire body to avoid having to turn around. However, Froslass had already managed to burn Mismagius with a blue fireball, and the burn lingered on even when Froslass was launched away through the air.
Kris stopped breathing and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Froslass flying from the attack, but could finally breathe again when she saw Froslass regaining her balance. The attack hadn't been powerful enough to end things just yet, no matter what Lyra tried.
"Shadow Ball!" Lyra yelled, forgetting the nonverbal commands.
"Hex!" Kris yelled.
Once again, Kris was faster, and for this attack, Froslass didn't need to fire a beam or attack physically. All it needed was a direct line of sight, and as Froslass' eyes suddenly glowed bright purple, Mismagius was enveloped by a purple, flame-like aura. WIthout even firing its attack, Mismagius let out a scream. The attack wouldn't have done much normally, but with Mismagius being burned, the power was overwhelming. Mismagius fell on the ground and was declared unable to battle by the referee.
The crowds erupted into cheering and applause as the billboard on the wall declared Kris as the winner. Kris glanced at the audience, barely making out what she believed to be Iris, Blaine and Elm. They cheered and applauded harder than anyone else as Kris let out heavy breaths.
It was done. She won. For the first time ever, she beat Lyra in a Pokémon battle.
Kris lifted her head to look at Lyra, but only saw a glimpse of her back. Mismagius had been withdrawn and Lyra had already stormed off the battlefield.
I won, Kris thought. So why do I feel so bad
