Reminisce
Ember was in pain as an invisible force wrecked his body. Charizard stepped in front of his fallen trainer and kept Joey from advancing. Joey made no motions to attack and continued to talk to Ember from a distance. Rotom saw he had the advantage of surprise and thought of methods of getting the better of Joey.
"You have no idea what power those plates can bring," Joey said, taking a seat on a pile of rocks. He didn't seem to be in a hurry. There was an intense battle happening in this mountain that could decide the fate of the world and this man was acting as if it was another day at the office.
"I know more than you think I do," Ember huffed, raising his head. "You didn't even know who my father was when I entered this organization. You were just blinded by my ability to manipulate aura. No clear motive and an excellent trainer. That's all that you and Leer cared about when accepting members."
"I should have known an experienced trainer fresh from winning a Pokemon tournament wouldn't be that eager to join Kuriasora without a clear motive. A quick background check only had your father listed as a police officer of little renown so I had little to doubt your ambitions. How was I suppose to know that the man I buried in Mt. Silver was an agent of the International Pokemon Police?" Joey ranted, words spewing from his usually tight lipped mouth. "How much info did your father gather on me? Probably not enough to warrant even investigation on me? I can only theorize such possibilities since you won't tell me anything."
"I will only say what I always wanted to say to your face," Ember began, regaining some of his strength through raw will. "I wanted to see you fail in your plans. I saw what you did to my father since I secretly tailed him to that mountain. He wasn't given any backup as he was hot on your trail. Your attempts to capture Moltres were thwarted by him and you cornered him into a landslide. I've been waiting for this moment. This moment when Leer fails to gain what he wants. But most importantly, for you to never achieve your goal. Whatever it is, it can't be done without that flame plate."
"We will find it even if it means tearing you piece by piece," Joey threatened, getting up from his seat. Charizard reminded he was there with a roar. "Your Charizard alone can't deal with all my Pokemon." At these words, Slowbro and Espeon appeared at his side.
-This is not good. I need to act fast,- Rotom thought shocked. He didn't waste time and fired a powerful Thunderbolt at the two psychic types. Charizard followed up with his Dragon Rage, pushing the enemy onto their backs.
"I didn't realize teleport caught you in it's radius. I only intended to take Ember but I took two of his Pokemon by accident," Joey commented, releasing a third Pokemon, Bronzong. "Light Screen, Bronzong!"
Protecting his teammates from special attacks, Bronzong encased them in invisible barriers. His light screen saved him from the worst of Charizard's Flamethrower. Rotom's Shadow Ball did half it's damage against Slowbro and Espeon.
"Stop Rotom!" Ember shouted to his Pokemon.
-"I can't stop until we deal with Joey,"- Rotom shot back, firing up another attack.
-"Listen to him,"- Charizard spoke in a serious tone. He fended off the various attacks of Joey's Pokemon to protect his trainer.
Rotom turned around and to his dismay, Ember was transforming before his eyes. He was on his knees, clutching his right hand now encased in stone. The petrification continued up his arm and showed no signs of stopping.
"It's okay, Rotom. I did this to myself," Ember tried his best to not alarm his friend. "This is the price for defeating Leer. My own aura has become unstable but it will lead to Leer losing his own. I trust my brother Red will defeat Lugia."
Rotom couldn't comprehend what his trainer was trying to say. He turned towards Charizard who simply gave him a sad smile, before returning to battle Joey. He couldn't believe that his trainer was accepting his demise. That he will end up all alone again.
"I only have one last order for you," Ember said. His eyes widened and he coughed uncontrollably. He doubled over in pain but managed to whisper in a hushed tone. "Escape from here. Your the only one who can escape. And find my brother, Red. Tell him about our little hiding spot."
-"I refuse to leave you like this!"- Rotom shot back, feeling his heart break.
-"We need you to this. It's his last wish,"- Charizard added. - "Go! I will be with him till the end! But you can live on. Find him!"
Charizard's shouting and Ember's pained faced continued to replay in his mind over and over in what seemed like an eternity. Swallowing his denial, Rotom affirmed with a nod. His body flashed white, brightening up the whole area and blinding everyone with eyes.
"Espeon! Slowbro! Don't let them escape," Joey shouted through shut eyes. He felt his pants tingle with static and placed a hand only to feel the phone in his pocket. His eyesight returned and he was surprised to see Ember and Charizard was still there.
"What? Did only that little ghost ran away?" Joey mocked. He took a step forward, but Charizard dropped low to protect his trainer from any harm with his own body. "Huh? What's this petrification thing happening with your body?" He saw the transformation was overtaking Ember's lower half and reaching his chest.
"The same thing that will happen to Leer in a short while and there is way to stop it now," Ember grunted through a straight face.
Joey wanted to grabbed Ember and force him to tell him where the last plate was but paused to see what will happen next. Charizard's claw and wing were wrapped around Ember to shield him but now they were turning to stone as well. Like a contagious disease, the petrification transferred through touch alone.
"Your Charizard is going to die along with you at this rate," Joey noted.
-"Better than revealing anything to you,"- Charizard said under his breath.
"Is this how Ember's life ends. In a collapsing cavern in the middle of the ocean while turning to stone," Joey said angered. "I had hope that you could succeed Leer when he failed. I hoped you shared my vision with the world. To not be run by those hacks."
Nearly complete with his transformation to stone, Ember uttered one last thing. "I've went through with my part. It's all up to Red to see it through." He face froze in a halfhearted smile.
And his Charizard loyally followed him towards their demise, Joey thought to himself, lost deep in his thoughts. He fiddled with the stolen Flame plate, wondering why sacrifice himself. He couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed of the young trainer's demise. Ember's talents gone only with a younger brother to carry on the family's legacy. He hoped to elevate Ember from a pawn in their plans and help achieve his true goal.
A finger snapping in front of his face brought him out of his trance. It was the new member Angel that came into his shabby office. The room once belonged to the previous supervisor of the abandoned warehouse they were stationed at. His eyes snapped back to reality and he greeted her with a smile.
"Everyone is here," she bluntly replied. "What's gotten into you? Never seen you so deep in thought before. Is everything going as planned?"
"I'm just mulling over the wild events that are happening in the world right now," he lied without missing a beat. "We can go over them with everyone." He got up from the old office chair before Angel could questioned him further. Ember is dead and I got what I needed. There is nothing more to dwell on, he told himself.
Everyone was gathering around round table lit up by a fluorescent light bulb. No air conditioning left the building in a hot and humid state. He waved everyone to quiet down as he approached them with Angel in tow. They were all squalling about the pieces he left on the table with interest. He placed the Flame Plate onto the table with a resounding thud.
Drake was drawn to a certain item on the table as Ice felt his gaze fall upon another. Angel took her side opposite of Joey. They were all gawking at the stone tablets roughly a foot long and an inch thick. Every tablet came in a different color from a faded violet to a muted yellow. Ice ran across a finger across the cracks of a light blue tablet that resonated well with him. These things looked like they could have been chiseled in the first civilizations of mankind. The markings made no sense to him as it was probably written in an extinct language.
"I'm guessing Vladimir and Electra didn't want to join our little powwow," Joey pointed out the absence of two members.
"They abandoned us at Navel Rock. It's better to leave them since they can't hide without our help," Drake spoke up. "They're wanted fugitives in every know region."
"I say we catch these traitors and put an end to them," Angel proposed, slamming a fist into the table.
"Now now, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Joey calmed everyone down. "I think I know where they will go if they want to lay low for awhile. Leer and I did recruit them after all. We will find them and they will have no choice but to do as we say."
"How can you be so sure?" Ice asked.
"Trust me, I will convince them to return," Joey assured. "No need to track them down since they are hiding where we are going next after all. Sinnoh is where we can finally use these treasures."
Everyone's attention returned to Joey's haul. His life's work of collecting plates were before them. Each marked in indecipherable markings that no modern civilization uses.
"These ancient plates give power to the user as long as the resonate with the correct type marked on each plate. There are one plate for every possible type in the world," he informed his team. "These are hidden across the world but they all originate from Sinnoh, the region from where the world was created. At least that is what legends tell us."
Ice touched the pale blue that resembled his own element. It felt cool under his touch but nothing to extraordinary. "You said there is one plate for every type," Ice began, "but I only count twelve in total. Aren't you missing six plates for a total of eighteen Pokemon types?"
Joey clapped his hands together. "You're correct but it so happens I know where the last six are located. They are all conveniently in the hands of an influential individual in Sinnoh. Water, Steel, Ghost, Earth, Flying, and Normal are in his possession."
"We need to hurry then, before they use them for their own gain," Angel brought up. "You've heard of what's been happening in Hoenn. Those two psychopaths are close to awakening those titans. The world will be in chaos if that at ever comes a reality."
"Let them bring chaos. It will that much easier to steal those plates under there jerk noses," Joey said in a joshing manner.
"What do you know about what's happening in Hoenn?" Ice decided to press the issue further.
"Have you heard of Team Aqua and Team Magma?" Angel posed the question to the group.
"Yeah, those environmental extremists occupying Hoenn," Drake replied. "What does a group of fanatics have that can change the world?"
Angel crossed her arms. "Each of them have gotten their hands on an orbs that are capable of awakening legendary Pokemon. They both are butting heads with each other with their conflicting ideals. It's only a matter of time before they both find the resting places of these Pokemon and create havoc."
"And how do you know so much about these two organizations?" Ice questioned the new member.
"She worked for both organizations undercover in her stay in Hoenn. She was my eyes and ears in Hoenn in hopes of finding more of these precious plates. Which she did find," Joey stepped in to clear things out. "But I fail to see the urgency of the matters. No one knows where these Pokemon lay dormant. It could take another few years before they uncover them."
The the other two had no choice but to believe Joey. They couldn't deal with another traitor like Ember but they needed all the help they could in these dire times. They fell silent and the temperature rose a few more degrees.
"Where we due for a heatwave today," Ice brought up, feeling the heat get to him today. "I know we are in the tropical islands but this heat seems to be getting worse."
"Didn't hear anything about it," Joey responded. "It's suppose to be clear skies with average temperatures throughout the week. But I do have to admit, it is getting kind of stuffy in here."
Light pouring through the skylights disappeared. A sudden downpour could be heard outside the building. The dilapidated building trembled as the rain showed no signs of letting up and then just like as soon as it arrived it left.
"Another few years, huh," Angel sarcastically said to Joey as the suffocating heat came back.
"And then Ember and Charizard finally turned to stone," Rotom ended his tale just as the robotic voice gave in and sputtered. Crackling filled the system and the prototype was fried just like the previous one. Having gone through two of Oak's prototypes, Rotom hopped out and whizzed past Oak to be at Red's side.
Professor Oak wasn't in the least angry by the destruction of his work. He was intrigued and examined both ruined equipment. "The capacitors might need to be increased or it might need more resistors in the...but the voltage that Rotom produces is just not meant for..." Professor Oak dissected the fired motherboard. "Perhaps a Rotom can run this better if I added more ghost compatible metals."
Red turned to Rotom. "I believe that will be all for today. You've shared enough and I thank you," Red conveyed his thanks.
-"If their more that I can do please don't hesitate to ask,"- he chirped.
"Professor! It's a disaster! It's worse than we we could ever imagine!" the only aide in the building came crashing through the office without a knock. He was out of breath from the short sprint and tried to catch his breath at the doorway.
Oak, shocked from the sudden outburst, allowed the young man to regain his composure before inquiring. "What is it, Adam? Is their an emergency in the lab? Did something break out or is their a fire?"
"It's what Professor Birch talked about some time ago," he managed to get out. "Come and see for yourself."
Red, confused with the whole ordeal, followed the Professor into the lounge area. A huge screen bolted to the wall for leisure time was turned onto the news. Hoenn news to be more precise. Live from a helicopter, the camera focused on a city that seemed to be carved into a mountain. A fierce struggle between two enormous Pokemon ensued in the city, not caring for the infrastructure.
A female reporter kept her calm as she reported on the crisis. "We're live from Sootopolis City where the battle continues to rage between the legendary Groudon and Kyogre. People are informed to stay indoors as the weather changes these two titans control are affecting the entire region! The clash has been ongoing for hours now that their effects are being felt in close by regions."
In the city, the skies fluctuated between a heavy downpour and a relentless sunny heatwave. The battle between the two was not solely themselves as people on the ground could be seen battling the two colossal Pokemon, trying to keep them from confronting each other.
"The region's gym leaders and elite four are trying their best to hold back these Pokemon. Even the champion and some regular Pokemon trainers are doing everything in their power to stop this calamity and-"
A resounding roar silenced the broadcast. Everyone stopped to look up towards the sky. The weather cleared with neither rain or sun overtaking one another. Only the whirling of the helicopter's blades filled the silence as a dark figure rapidly descended from the heavens. A green serpentine Pokemon that was easily over 40 meters made it's presence known as it let our another earthshaking roar. It's presence alone brought the raging Legendaries to a halt.
"It can't be. It's the actual legendary Pokemon Rayquaza," she said stunned.
A/N: The Hoenn story events happening in this chapter are because a long time ago I planned to write a sequel based off Pokemon Emerald. The story was going to start some time after Red received his first badge. Hoenn was going to be May and Brendan working on finding May's cousin who ran away from home after moving to Hoenn. I've lost interest in making this sequel because I didn't think I was going finishing the Kanto saga. I still included them here since I still want to include those characters in future updates.