[CONFIDENTIAL] From the files of Dr. Kaminko.

Item No. 005: The Suicune Incident

Publicly Released Information:

Three individuals were the victims of a homicide on Route 224 in Sinnoh one and a half years ago. Eyewitness reports and examinations of the wounds suffered by the victims indicate the victims to have been killed by the legendary Pokémon Suicune.

Confidential Information:

Suicune was seen as a threat to the Pokémon Association, so a large-scale coverup was orchestrated by them to paint it as dangerous and a threat to humanity in hopes of having it be captured and/or eliminated. The coverup was ordered by Chairperson Sird along with other, unknown perpetrators.

Kaminko's Notes:

The victims of the coverup were associates of former Pokémon League Champion, Red, whose operations have also been deemed a nuisance to the Pokémon Association. The victims seemed to possess a prototype human-Pokémon translator device stolen from Navel Rock. Gym Leader Janine was hired to carry out an attempted assassination on Suicune later, but this resulted in failure.

[END OF FILE]

Chapter Seven: For Whom the Bell Tolls?

Dr. Faba awakened to the hood over his head being removed. He found himself in a dark, almost empty chamber on the cold stone floor. Behind him were the two mercenaries who brought him there: the tall, gaunt man with red eyes and serpentine gray hair, Nascour, and the blonde-haired, athletic Domino who had a sadistic grin on her face the whole time, eyeing Faba like a Mightyena would do its prey.

But a pale, lavender-haired woman in a business suit soon drew his attention. He recognized this woman from numerous meetings with Lusamine, but he had no idea why she was there - or why he had been dragged there, for that matter.

"Let me go immediately!" Faba exclaimed. "You!" he yelled at Sird. "Wait till President Lusamine hears about this! Don't you know who I-"

"Dr. Faba," Sird said sweetly, smiling as she approached him, doing so carefully, step by step. "You made a very poor decision, joining up with that awful Dr. Kaminko. I don't know how exactly you could have succeeded in your little rebellion."

"I was just obeying orders!" Faba insisted. "I created the Expansion Suit to get potential subjects for the Transcendent Program! I did everything you people insisted. I didn't know what Kaminko was planning to do!"

"A fair point," Sird said smoothly.

"So stop wasting my time with this inane nonsense," Faba ranted, "and let me go so I can continue my research! You are wasting valuable time I could-"

"You know what?" Sird sighed. "I changed my mind. You're irritating me now. Domino!"

"I thought you'd never ask," Domino said, pulling out a black tulip from her pocket.

Faba barely had time to react as Domino jabbed Faba in the neck with her tulip. Faba's body convulsed as he was electrocuted and he soon collapsed on the ground, unconscious, smoke coming out of the spot Domino had hit the tulip in. Sird snapped her fingers, and two robed cultists soon appeared to drag Faba away from the room.

"This is a rare slip-up from Lusamine," Sird said, staring into the distance. "Those rebels are still roaming free and now all of our research at EXO has been confiscated."

Sird turned to look at her underlings. "At least we know where they're going, however," she mused. "They must be on their way to Pallet Town because of that dead Pokémon trainer."

"Let me take care of them!" Domino said quickly, stepping forward. "They'll leave Pallet Town in matchboxes after I'm done with them!"

Sird briefly considered Domino's words, then turned to Nascour.

"Handle it, will you?" she asked him. "Use UB-05 for the task. And take your people with you, we'll need all hands for this job."

"Your wish is my command," Nascour said smoothly and bowed before leaving the room.

After Nascour was gone, Domino turned to Sird, starting her complaining.

"Boss," she started, "if this is about what happened last time, I did everything I could. Those idiots working for Holon Security were slowing me down more than anything! You gotta let me go after-"

"I know exactly who you want to find," Sird said, "and I happen to know where she's going as well. We have the whole EXO HQ bugged. They were talking about going to Johto. That's where you and UB-04 come in. In fact, you can have as many resources as you need."

Domino's grin slowly returned.

"Boss," she said, "you mean…?"

"It's time to begin the next phase of the ritual," Sird said. "Not even a single Oran Berry will grow in Johto once we're done."

Domino gave Sird a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am, you made the right choice!" she said excitedly and rushed out of the room.

~o~O~o~

Three days later

En route to Johto

Mr. Briney's ship made its way steadily towards Johto. The long trip from Unova through the Decolore Islands had finally come to an end, as Cherrygrove City could be seen in the distance in the morning haze. Wearing their warmest clothing and getting up on the deck, Kris and Lyra were having an intense, important discussion about serious matters.

"Are you kidding?!" Kris snapped. "Lance in the Indigo Tournament two years ago. Now that was a battle!"

"No, no, no, no, I mean that was fine, but you're wrong," Lyra said quickly. "Cynthia in the Silver Conference a few years back. That was confident, stunning, super att- super effective!"

Kris was about to argue, but then she remembered the moment of watching the conference with Lyra. "You know what, I'm not gonna contest this," she said. "You win this one."

"Yay, what do I win?"

"The satisfaction of being right."

Lyra pouted. "I already had that."

Kris decided not to start an argument that would lead to another back-and-forth, especially as Lyra could get wrapped up in one without even trying while Kris would probably lose her patience and say something unnecessarily mean.

"You met those Legendary Pokémon Society people way more often than me," Lyra pointed out after a short silence. "Do you really think they will help us lowly commoners from their ivory towers? Also, why would anyone make a tower out of Donphan bones anyway?"

"I'm sure they're doing something already," Kris said firmly. "They will have to help us, we're practically working for the same goal. And who knows, maybe I'll finally be able to become one of them."

Lyra raised her eyebrows at Kris. "That's not the reason we're traveling all the way here, is it?"

Kris shook her head and smiled. "No, but… after doing so much, and getting knocked down every time I achieve something, I - I dunno, I just want something to show for it. I've asked so many of their members to let me in and be one of them but they all rejected me. I was even this close to beating their shriveled up old leader in a battle, but still nothing."

"They can't all be that great," Lyra said, sounding unimpressed. "What about that Suicune-obsessed weirdo with the cape and too much hair gel?"

"Eusine," Kris said quietly. "He's the only one of them who supported my efforts to join. He's not so bad. You're not wrong about the weirdo part - or the hair gel part - but at times like this, I'd want him on our side."

As Kris and Lyra fell to silent contemplation again, Cherrygrove City appeared ever closer. Kris could now see the ships docked in the harbor, even make out individual buildings. Yellow joined the two girls on deck, as did the ship's captain, the thick-bearded old Mr. Briney with a Wingull called Peeko sitting on his shoulder.

"Hey, who's controlling the boat?!" Lyra asked in alarm.

"Auto-pilot will handle it until we're close to the shore," Briney said, sounding amused. "How do you think I made it through these long voyages without it? Just imagine how often I need to go to the bathroom at my age."

"How much longer?" Kris asked Briney.

"Ten minutes, maybe," Briney estimated.

Kris nodded gratefully. She had the pleasure of riding on Mr. Briney's ship before in Hoenn and was happy that it was him who Alder asked to take them to Johto. As it had only been days since Kris' face had been shown on the news all over, asking for people to snitch on her and turn her in to the authorities, it was not easy to find people to rely on. But the old experienced sea captain who had seen it all was definitely one of the reliable ones.

"Thank you for doing this, captain," Yellow told Briney politely, voicing the thoughts Kris had been too wrapped up in her own thoughts to say out loud. "It is a very long voyage for you, I hope it's not causing you too much trouble."

"It's a nice change of pace!" Briney said boisterously. "Haven't sailed this far in ages. I was briefly captain of the S.S. Tidal, which was mainly ferrying people across east Hoenn, so crossing the ocean like this is very enjoyable! Although for a while now, I have actually been involved with another project…"

"What kind of project?" Lyra asked curiously.

"Well… it's kind of a secret," Briney said mysteriously, stroking his beard. "But if it succeeds, I will be the captain of a very special vessel, a rather large one, in fact."

Kris and Lyra tried to get more details out of Briney, but he just laughed them off and headed back to steer the ship.

Soon enough, the ship docked. It was so early in the morning that no one really paid much mind to the fact that there wasn't a single person working in the Cherrygrove Harbor. Kris, Lyra and Yellow said their goodbyes to Mr. Briney, with Peeko even flying a few circles above the group before returning to its master. Soon enough, Briney's ship turned back to head for the warmer weather in Hoenn.

Kris, Lyra and Yellow made their way out of the docks and followed the road to the city, still not a single person, Pokémon or car to be seen, besides a few empty, parked cars on the roadside. Blaine had arranged them to meet someone from the LPS apparently, but they had no idea whom - Blaine had just said "you'll know".

When Kris, Lyra and Yellow walked up a hill and finally arrived at the edge of the city, they saw a haunting sight: no lights in the windows, no one walking the streets, just an empty, abandoned town. Even the stores and other public buildings were vacant - some even had doors wide open but the lights were off and no human being was in sight.

In the dull, empty, gray town, however, one thing stood out like a blotch of red on a gray canvas - a bright orange Dragonite stood next to its trainer, a tall man in his mid-to-late-30's with spiky red hair, wearing an ornate cape.

"Lance!" Kris exclaimed and started waving. "Hey, over here!"

Lance had noticed them from afar. Not changing his stoic expression, Lance made his way to meet the group, his Dragonite following behind, causing the ground to slightly shake with every step it took.

"You're the LPS member we were supposed to meet!" Kris said in awe.

Lance just nodded. "I was informed by the Kanto Gym Leaders that there were people with urgent business to the Society," he said in his usual, impolite tone. "Hmm, I believe we have met before…"

Kris rolled her eyes. He was doing the same thing again. While Kris was sure Lance and other members of the Society, all powerful elite trainers like Champions, Elite Four members and Gym Leaders, got into adventures all the time, Kris would still think that all the times she and her friends helped the Society out would stick.

"...Kris, right?" Lance asked, and Kris was slightly relieved. "And you're Lyra, aren't you?" he asked Lyra, who seemed to be taken aback by the Indigo League Champion remembering her name. "And you're…"

Lance frowned when he made eye contact with Yellow, who simply smiled back serenely.

"Do you two realize your friend is a fugitive wanted by the Pokémon League?" Lance asked Kris and Lyra. He didn't raise his voice or sound angry, but Kris decided to try to defuse the situation anyway.

"Yeah, we know, but Yellow's help is invaluable, especially now!" Kris said quickly, positioning herself between Lance and Yellow. "Talk to us as a member of the Legendary Pokémon Society, not as a Champion or a representative of the League."

Lance nodded. "Fair enough," he simply said. "These are extraordinary circumstances."

"What happened here?!" Lyra wondered, gesturing at the empty Cherrygrove City around them. "Where are all the people? I used to walk past this street often after school, it has never been like this."

"Since you left Unova three days ago, a lot has changed," Lance said. "The Ultra Beasts have made their move. An especially powerful one called Celesteela has been doing a lot of damage around the Johto region. With the lead of Johto's Gym Leaders, people have evacuated to safe havens or to other regions. Olivine City is untouched but full of refugees and there's a lot of tension there, the whole place is at max capacity. Every other major city has been evacuated. I believe even Goldenrod City is in process of either evacuating elsewhere or to the city's many bomb shelters. Celesteela is apparently on its way there."

"No way," Kris said quietly. "This place is our home! How can-"

"We're investigating who is behind this," Lance said, "and I was told you could help."

"It certainly isn't us, that whole business with labeling us fugitives was BS," Kris said quickly. "This isn't some criminal group either. The ones responsible go to - to the very top!"

"What do you mean?" Lance asked.

"The people you work for, Mr. Champion," Yellow said calmly. "The Pokémon League, and various companies working with them. The Pokémon Association, the very entity that governs all of them. Not everyone, of course, but a lot of people from the top brass have been working together with the Aether Foundation and Holon Security to cause chaos."

"They manipulated Team Plasma into causing the Lavender Town incident - we had nothing to do with it!" Kris said angrily. "And now we've come here to seek help from not only you guys, but any legendary Pokémon who could help us. We want to seek an audience with Suicune, Entei and Raikou. Morty from Ecruteak City should know how!"

Lance stared into Kris' eyes for a few, uncomfortably silent moments. Then, he just nodded.

"These are quite the allegations, and I will do my best to investigate," he said, to Kris' relief. "Morty is still at his gym in Ecruteak City - but what makes you think Suicune and the others will come to you?"

"I… nothing in particular, I guess," Kris muttered. "But we have someone with us who can talk to Pokémon," she gestured at Yellow. "And we cooperated with Suicune before, it should remember us."

Kris didn't want to tell the whole truth, about how, while still a child and walking from Cherrygrove to New Bark Town, she had seen Suicune with her own eyes for the first time. Ever since then, despite having nothing to prove it, she had felt a connection of sorts to the legendary Pokémon.

She also didn't mention that she had with her the Clear Bell, and the last time it had been rung, Suicune had come to help. That was more than a year ago now, but it was the only lead they had.

"If you are going there," Lance said. "I would advise you to head east, then north through Routes 46 and 45 to Blackthorn City, then head west to Ecruteak. That's the fastest and safest way at the moment. That Ultra Beast was last seen in Violet City, and that's where I'm headed as well."

"What is that Ultra Beast doing?" Lyra asked, sounding very distressed. "Are my parents safe? Or my grandparents?"

Lance sighed, looking down sadly. "There have been a lot of random attacks," he said. "Celesteela will appear somewhere and begin firing randomly, mostly to cause chaos and property damage. The goal seems to be to scare people more than hurt them, though there have been several casualties as well, obviously. The whole region is in chaos, so getting information about individuals is nearly impossible."

Lance took a look at his PokéGear, frowning. "I really should go," he said. "I will inform Morty of your arrival. I have to admit, I like your idea of seeking help from the legendary beasts. Even if we humans have done little to deserve it… well, we should still try."

And with those parting words, Lance turned away, swinging his cape around as he approached his Dragonite. Before Lance could hop on the Pokémon's back, Kris had to shout the thought that had been gnawing at her during the whole conversation.

"Lance!" she yelled. "If you see your leader, the Elder - tell him I want to join you guys! I want to be a part of you! We can only sort this mess if we work together!"

Lance climbed on the back of his Dragonite and adjusted his position before answering Kris.

"The Elder is dead," he informed. "We have a new leader who wants to stay anonymous, and we're not accepting new members at this time. Once you meet Morty, you can talk to him about it."

And then, seconds later, Lance was in the sky, his Dragonite jumping high into the air before spreading its wings and flying away. Soon it was just an orange dot in the distance, and then it was gone.

"What is the plan?" Yellow asked Kris. "Are we heading north right away?"

"No…" Kris murmured quietly, staring after the part of the sky where Lance had disappeared in. "Let's go to New Bark Town first," she told Lyra. "I mean, Lance doesn't have to know this, but we need to pass a message from Blaine to Professor Elm. If things are this bad in Johto, it's no wonder he couldn't be reached."

"I wanna check my home as well!" Lyra said, nodding eagerly. "Let's go!"

~o~O~o~

The trip to New Bark Town didn't take long, and it was a trip that Kris and Lyra had walked countless times. But this time, when they arrived, what they saw was very far from the usual.

They had expected New Bark Town to have been evacuated too, but instead of an eerie ghost town, New Bark Town looked like a full-blown warzone. Many houses had either completely crumbled or parts of them had been burnt to cinders. There were pillars of smoke rising from all over the town and in place of large parts of the grass were large swaths of scorched earth. No people were anywhere to be seen, but a lot of scattered items lay everywhere, either blown away from buildings or dropped in a hurry as people had to quickly evacuate.

Kris, Lyra and Yellow walked through the partially or completely destroyed buildings in absolute silence, but even Kris couldn't contain her shuddering as they arrived where Professor Elm's laboratory should be. The largest building on the street, a two-story construction with a large yard, was nothing but a pile of wood, bricks, stone, glass and other materials, many of which had been burnt to an unrecognizable shape. Kris still saw a half of the destroyed healing machine standing in one corner and a storage cabinet standing untouched, the wall it had been leaning against long gone.

Yellow sat down to meditate, or so Kris assumed anyway, while Kris and Lyra walked through the rubble, afraid to touch anything out of fear of hurting themselves.

"Did a Pokémon do this?" Lyra wondered out loud.

"An Ultra Beast," Kris reminded. "Those things are not like Pokémon as you and I know them."

"Still," Lyra said, her eyes wide as she stared around the horror. "I would never think a Pokémon or any other kind of creature could be pure evil like this."

"That Sird can probably control them," Kris said bitterly as she stared at what used to be the desk that would contain Poké Balls for trainers to choose. "She had a Buzzwole attack me and Blaine back in Lavender Town. She has an ample supply of Beast Balls, I guess."

"All this destruction," Lyra said quietly, looking around the former lab. "Kris, is it even possible for Elm to-"

"He's alive!" Kris snapped. "If he's not here and there isn't a body around to show it, then he must have fled with the other townspeople."

Lyra shook her head. "I don't know…" she whispered. "Whatever took out the lab was more intense than anything else in the area. At least some of the other buildings are still standing."

"He's alive," Kris repeated stubbornly. "Don't go seeing ghosts where there are none!"

"Kris!" came a muffled, familiar voice from somewhere nearby. "Lyra!"

Kris and Lyra both flinched, Kris having to bite her tongue to avoid screaming out, and they both unintentionally hugged each other in fear.

"It's me," the voice said. "I'm here!"

"Uh… wait a sec," Kris said quickly and pushed Lyra away a bit. "Look!"

Kris pointed at the metal cabinet that was partially buried under some rubble. While dented and slightly burned, it was otherwise one of the few undamaged things in the lab. Kris and Lyra glanced at each other, Lyra blushing slightly, and the two walked over to the cabinet. Kris sent out Croc, who eagerly lifted the debris out of way. Then, Kris opened the door of the cabinet, showing Professor Elm hunched inside with his trustly laptop.

"Oh, thank goodness!" he cried out as he climbed out of the cabinet. "My battery was so close to running out!"

Kris and Lyra suddenly both hugged the tall, lean professor so hard he almost fell back into the cabinet. Managing to barely catch himself and adjusting his glasses, he laughed awkwardly.

"Um, nice to see you too," he muttered. "Say, how long have you been here?"

"How long have you been in there?!" Kris shouted at him as she and Lyra let go. "How did you manage this?"

"By stroke of luck, I was outside doing field research when that thing arrived," Elm said, shuddering a bit at the word 'thing'. "The Ultra Beast Celesteela is the largest of all of them. A massive, metallic creature that floats through the air, it fires these destructive beams that caused all the carnage you see here. My laboratory was a primary target, it seems."

"But why?!" Lyra wondered. "Why destroy so much in our little town?"

"What do you think?" Kris asked angrily. "They can't have us be fugitives, so they try to blow us up instead. Either they get lucky and destroy us, or they lure us here into a trap."

Lyra's eyes went wide as she suddenly grabbed Elm by the sleeve. "Prof!" she shouted. "My parents, are they-"

"I anticipated that your families may not be, err, safe for long," Elm said proudly. "When I arrived here, I asked them to leave. They're staying with your grandparents. Oh, your mother as well, Kris. Last time I spoke with them, they were unharmed."

Lyra sighed in relief while Kris also nodded. It sometimes scared herself how little interest Kris had in her mom's safety. Probably because she seemed to be glad that Kris had left home.

"Celesteela arrived here this morning," Elm said. "But it started its attack from Blackthorn City yesterday, so a lot of people had time to get ready. Most people managed to get away unharmed, including my assistant. I was hiding in the countryside for a bit when it all went down, but when Celesteela left, I returned to the lab and hid in that cabinet. I figured they wouldn't expect to come back to a ruined building to look for me."

"But I hear Celesteela is on its way to Goldenrod!" Lyra said, still sounding concerned. "What if it attacks the Daycare?"

"Lyra, your grandparents live in the countryside," Kris said, trying not to sound too condescending. "They wouldn't waste time firing random shots there. And don't they have that bomb shelter your grandpa built?"

"Yeah, that was during his racist phase," Lyra said thoughtfully. "He thought people from Sinnoh would come and attack us any day now. I guess you're right…"

"Elm!" Kris told the professor. "Blaine asked you to go meet up with him as soon as possible. I don't know how, but-"

"I don't think they hit the docks too badly," Elm pondered. "I, er, should be able to grab my boat, take it to Kanto and then walk to the nearest bus stop. With all that's going on in Johto, I don't think anyone will come after me there. I made it here just fine, didn't I?"

Kris nodded. "It will be safer than coming with us," she said. "We're going to Ecruteak City. Here's my plan…"

~o~O~o~

Location: Route 46, Johto

Two hours later…

Soon, after explaining the plan to Elm and saying goodbye to him for now, Kris, Lyra and Yellow were trekking their way north by foot, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves. Occasionally, they would see a random crater, a burning tree or some destroyed piece of road to show that Celesteela had indeed been there. The further they went, however, the more tracks on the ground they saw - looks like dozens of cars had passed through, even on the dirt roads, along with plenty of human and Pokémon footprints.

As the elevation of the area rose, Kris, Lyra and Yellow arrived to a rocky, cliffy area with little vegetation, just steep cliffs and rocks everywhere. As the three made it a bit further in the area, Yellow suddenly stopped, held out their hand and crouched to feel the ground with their other hand, a look of concentration on Yellow's face.

"What is it?" Lyra asked Yellow. "If you need to use the bushes - well, are rocks okay?"

"Damn it," Yellow said quietly. "What is happening to me…"

"Yellow?" Kris asked in concern. "Are you okay?"

"No," Yellow said sadly. "None of us are."

"Go, go, go!"

It was too sudden to do anything about, though Kris managed to place her hand on a Poké Ball and press a button to send out a Pokémon - to Kris' dismay, it turned out to be Shrew, and not someone more powerful.

At the same time, Holon Security Force soldiers with gas masks and green camouflage-patterned uniforms appeared from everywhere - from behind rocks, from on top of the cliffs, even from the few bushes scattered around. Among them were several Electrode, Magneton, Manectric, Luxray and Boltund.

From behind one rock, flanked by two beefy-looking HSF grunts was Domino, also decked in uniform though without a mask or a helmet, wearing her old red and white hat instead. As she made eye contact with Kris, Domino smiled and began anxiously fidgeting with the black tulip in her hands.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite amputee," Domino remarked as she began pacing back and forth on a cliff directly above Kris, Lyra and Yellow. "I commend you for how you gave me the slip back in Kanto. Or, I would, but it looks like you had friends with interesting abilities with you that day."

Kris glanced at Yellow, who was calmly observing Domino like she was no threat at all. Meanwhile, Shrew was on four legs, its tail pointing up as it hissed at Domino.

"I was warned that you'd be traveling with that runt," Domino said cruelly as she looked down her nose at Yellow, "so we are outfitted with equipment capable of detecting psychic energy. Use your little shroud all you want, we'll know you're there."

"How are you following this maniac?" Kris wondered out loud, looking at the soldiers around them - there had to be at least fifteen of them, and the same amount of Pokémon. "You know she's no soldier - just a flunky for her boss. President Lusamine, right?"

Domino shrugged uncaringly. "She has nothing to do with this," she just remarked.

"I kind of figured," Kris said. "I mean, she's part of this little conspiracy, but she seems keen on keeping us alive. So this comes from even higher. From Sird? She wants us dead?"

"Right now, you only need to care about me wanting you dead!" Domino snapped, pointing at Kris. "Soldiers!" she commanded the troops. "Set your blasters up one degree from 'stun', and be ready to fire at my command. I want them cooked slowly. Fire!"

There was no waiting period, no more grandiose speeches as Domino gave the command and the grunts nervously fired, some missing altogether in their hurry to obey Domino and change the settings. But Yellow had already raised their arms, creating a barrier around them and the shots bounced off harmlessly.

"Fire again!" Domino snapped. "Pokémon, join in!"

Now with more precision, the grunts fired while their various electric-type Pokémon launched Thunderbolt attacks at the shield, but the shield wouldn't give in. Breathing heavily, Yellow collapsed on their knees, but still kept their hands up, staring defiantly as Domino as they generated enough invisible energy to keep the shield up.

"Cease fire!" Domino yelled, and the grunts and their Pokémon obeyed. "Very good," she said, trying to force a mocking smile. "I'm not about to waste my own time here - can't stay pretty forever, after all. But your psychic crutch can't stay up long, especially if I bring in the heavier artillery…"

Domino pulled a device out of her pocket and pressed a button. The device began beeping and blinking at a steady rhythm. The Holon Security Force soldiers around her glanced at their leader nervously.

"Ma'am!" one of them protested. "If you do that-"

"We'll be gone by then!" Domino snapped at the grunt before turning to look at Kris and the group. "But there's nowhere for you to run! Without a vehicle, you will not escape what's about to come. You see, while you were mindlessly following orders back at EXO, their scientists, along with the Aether Foundation, developed some wonderful tools. The Beast Balls, that allow us to contain the Ultra Beasts, were one thing. But this device that allows us to control where they go and what they do… a stroke of genius. Very shortly, you will be vaporized by a beam of destructive energy that will follow you wherever you go. Enjoy your precious last moments, Kris. Let's move out!"

Domino and the soldiers quickly ran away from the area, allowing Yellow to lower their arms, taking heavy breaths as Kris caught them before their face hit the ground. Soon, Kris could only see a dust cloud and hear the sound of the HSF vehicles quickly driving away. The reason for the fleeing soon became apparent as Lyra let out a shriek as she stared at the sky.

Slowly floating towards the earth and becoming bigger and bigger in the horizon was a Pokémon, though it looked more like a machine - like a spaceship or a UFO - than anything. Kris had only seen it in pictures during the lectures at EXO and once briefly in Lavender Town as it poured through the portal. With no legendary Pokémon backing them up, the Pokémon looked much more intimidating than before.

It was massive, easily the largest of all the Ultra Beasts, and while it had a vaguely humanoid shape in the center, most of it was wrapped in a steel cylinder with a sharp, pointed tip and what appeared to be rocket thrusters at the bottom. The Ultra Beast Celesteela also had what appeared to be two arms, but they, too, were more like metal poles as long as flagpoles and thick as car tires, floating next to the Ultra Beast seemingly by electromagnetism, completely detached from the Beast's main body.

As Celesteela approached, it made a strange, high-pitched sound, like an angelic choir, along with humming that appeared to come from its rocket thrusters.

"Sorry, buddy, you'll get a turn next time," Kris said quickly as she withdrew Shrew and sent out Croc instead while Lyra sent out Scorch.

"Can't you try to talk to that thing?" Lyra asked Yellow. "Ask us to please aim a few kilometers away from us?!"

"I'm trying," Yellow said quietly, eyes locked with the approaching Celesteela. "I'm not getting any sort of - wait. Kris, Lyra, be ready! It's about to fire!"

As Kris also saw a flash of light coming out from the middle of Celesteela's thrusters, she quickly patted Croc on the shoulder and pointed up at Celesteela.

"Hydro Cannon, block that shot, now!" she yelled.

Croc barely had time to charge the massive ball of water in its mouth before it had to launch as Celesteela did the same with a white ball of energy that it launched towards the group. Kris, Lyra, Yellow and Scorch took cover, but Croc stared defiantly as the two attacks collided - and Celesteela's energy burst went right through, hitting the ground in front of Croc and sending the Feraligatr flying several meters backwards.

"Damn!" Kris shouted. "Croc, can you get up?!"

But the Feraligatr simply groaned and writhed on the ground. Kris mentally prayed that he was okay - he had been through so much with Kris that to die at the hands of something like Celesteela would be an awful anticlimax.

"I don't think shooting it down will work!" Lyra said sincerely, not trying to sound sarcastic. "Remember what they told us about this one? It weighs like a metric ton!"

"Yeah, but that thing's a steel-type, right?" Kris argued. "Scorch should be able to damage it!"

"I… I guess I can try," Lyra said, clearly trying not to look at the approaching Celesteela. "Uh, Fire Blast, Scorch!"

The Typhlosion launched a stream of fire towards Celesteela, the fire taking the form of a character 大 as it propelled through the air and towards the Ultra Beast. But before the fire could hit, Celesteela suddenly activated its rocket thrusters, tilted itself forward and blasted itself out of harm's way, even closer to the group than before.

"Kris!" Yellow shouted, urgently but sounding like they were panicking. "And you, Lyra! Your masks!"

Though Kris and Lyra gave each other nervous looks, they still did as ordered and took out the Masks of Ice and Fire, respectively, from their bags. But as Kris placed the mask on her face with sweaty, trembling hands, nothing happened. No transformation, no sudden rush of power, nothing. Lyra had the same results.

"Shoddy EXO quality!" Lyra cursed, shaking the mask like a spray can and attempted again, only for nothing to happen. "This thing's out of juice!"

"I don't get it!" Kris said, looking at Yellow. "How is this possible?"

Yellow didn't seem to understand either. "What's different from back then?" Yellow asked. "Try to clear your mind, don't focus on your fear!"

"Easy for you to say!"

As Celesteela approached ever closer, it began gathering an orb of bluish-silver energy between its metallic "arms", the orb growing constantly larger.

"We're done for!" Lyra cried.

"There's only one thing I can do, then," Yellow grunted and shakily stood up, raising their arms again. "I have to try another shield."

"You can do it?!" Kris asked in relief, holding onto the hope that Yellow could pull it off. "Even block something like that?"

Yellow took some deep breaths. "Maybe," they said quietly.

Celesteela lowered itself even closer to the ground, making a hideous, metallic groaning sound as it approached. Both Kris and Lyra hit the deck while Scorch assumed a fighting pose, the fires around its neck burning even brighter.

As Kris dared to glance upwards, however, she saw a glimpse of something that restored her hope. Something flew over them and towards Celesteela. It was moving so fast that Kris didn't quite catch what it was, but she could have sworn she saw a Pokémon, and a human with blazing red hair holding onto it. Had Lance come to their rescue?

But the Pokémon was not a Dragonite, an Aerodactyl or any other Pokémon Kris knew Lance could have, but a Crobat. In a bright flash of red light, another Pokémon emerged, sent out by this new arrival - a Magnezone. Charging and firing a Flash Cannon, the Magnezone blocked Cesteela's Steel Beam attack and directed it dozens of meters away. Next, Magnezone used Thunder Wave, locking Celesteela in place and preventing it from moving as its body was wrapped entirely by a thin stream of electricity.

As the trainer made a circle around Celesteela, Kris finally recognized him: a young man of Kris' age with primarily dark clothes and long blazing red hair - Silver.

Kris watched in awe as Silver's Crobat flew directly next to Celesteela, Silver wielding an odd device: it looked like a large, steel tuning fork. As Silver made a stabbing movement with the fork-like device, it began vibrating at an incredible speed. Purple cracks of electricity sparkled in the air while Celesteela - screamed? It sounded like a more high-pitched choir singing out, though.

"Its defenses are down!" Silver shouted at the group down below. "Shoot it down with the most powerful attack you got!"

That's all Silver could say as Celesteela got itself free from Magnezone's Thunder Wave and ignited its thrusters. The wave of pressure knocked Magnezone off-balanced and towards the ground. Silver was also knocked in another direction, unable to withdraw his Pokémon, but his Crobat managed to catch him before he hit the rocky ground.

"You heard him, Lyra," Yellow said gently. "You can do it."

Lyra took a deep breath. "Scorch, Blast Burn!"

With Celesteela busy trying to get rid of Silver and his Pokémon, Scorch was able to charge a massive fireball in its mouth. Before Celesteela could take notice, the fireball launched towards the Ultra Beast at massive speed, exploding upon contact. The choir-like sound the Ultra Beast made became increasingly disoriented and out-of-tune, as if an electrical problem had occurred in its speakers.

Celesteela's thrusters broke down as the Ultra Beast, now with smoke pouring out of the place the Blast Burn had impacted with, started to slowly come crashing to the ground. Kris, Lyra, Yellow and Scorch took cover again and almost lost their balance in the ensuing earthquake as the Celesteela's massive weight crashed down on the rocks, making a huge amount of noise. Fortunately, the drop had been slow enough to avoid causing some sort of explosion, and the Celesteela itself, barring a few cracks in its steely body, seemed unharmed.

Silver reacted quickly. Despite having what looked like burns on his body from the heat wave Celesteela had caused, he pulled out a black Poké Ball with yellow markings from his pocket and tossed it at the Ultra Beast. Celesteela was sucked into the ball as it made contact and as the ball dropped on the ground, it suddenly vanished in a flash of purple light. Kris knew this Beast Ball was not meant for capturing the Ultra Beasts for a trainer to command, but to send them back to Ultra Space. Kris hoped it wouldn't find its way back again for a long, long time.

Lyra rewarded Scorch for its efforts with a big bowl of Pokémon food while Kris tended to Croc, who fortunately was mostly back in shape again after a squirt with a Hyper Potion. Silver, after making sure his Crobat and Magnezone were okay, withdrew his Pokémon and slowly approached the group, Kris watching him coming with mild apprehension.

It's true that Silver had just saved their lives, and they had worked together before. Silver, too, had joined EXO with the others, but it didn't seem like he had joined to make a change in the world or try to be a hero. Ever since being reunited with his father, the infamous former leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni, Silver seemed to be doing his bidding for an unknown purpose. That included spying on EXO for him, and later quitting the organization at his orders. While Giovanni hadn't been up to his criminal tricks for a long time now, Kris didn't exactly have much trust in the man.

Lyra, for her part, was the first one to talk to Silver.

"Thank you so much!" she said ecstatically. "Where have you been all this time? Were you in Johto when all this went down?"

Silver nodded. "I've been… looking for information about what the Pokémon Association is doing ever since we last saw each other," he said tensely. "When those soldiers brought Celesteela here and began attacking random towns and cities, I tried to stay hidden and find a way to stop them."

Kris noticed the large, tuning fork -like object was still in Silver's hand. "That you certainly did," she remarked, nodding at the device. "What is that? Good to see you too, by the way."

Silver just nodded again, impolite as always. "This… this was an invention of my father's, or at least, he told me about it," he said. "The Ultra Beasts, in order to survive in our world, are always surrounded by a sort of forcefield when in this dimension. The strength of the field varies from beast to beast, and obviously, attack one long enough and attacks will go through. But the longer the battle goes on, the more chances the Beasts have to-"

"Kill us in ways we cannot imagine?" Lyra offered cheerfully. "Yeah, we saw that."

"This device emits powerful vibrations at a frequency specifically suited for disrupting those force fields," Silver said, holding up the device. "Once the field is disrupted, the Ultra Beasts are a lot more vulnerable to attack. Of course, that is assuming one can get close enough to use it and get out in time without dying in the process. I just got lucky that time."

"If we had more of those things," Kris theorized, "and maybe a way to launch it from a distance, we could have a weapon that would allow us to take down the Ultra Beasts with ease!"

"Sadly, this and the one my father has are the only ones thus far," Silver said, "and, I hope you can understand that with everything going on here, we're not exactly going to part with them. However…"

Silver reached into his pocket, giving a thin stack of papers to Kris.

"These are my father's documents about the device," he said. "I am certain your friends Elm and Blaine should be capable of reproducing and improving them."

"I know just the person, actually," Kris remarked. "Do you know if-"

But Kris noticed Silver wasn't listening to her. Instead, he was looking over Kris' shoulder, at Yellow, as if he had just noticed her. Silver frowned, his bushy eyebrows almost hiding his gray eyes under them.

"Oh, you never met, right?" Lyra said excitedly. "Yellow, this is Silver - and, you know, same but in reverse."

But instead of even giving a halfhearted greeting, Silver looked uncomfortable and turned away.

"Everything okay?" Lyra asked him in concern.

Kris turned to look at Yellow. "Do you two know each other?" she asked.

Yellow just smiled weakly, the battle clearly having taken a lot out of them. "It's complicated," Yellow said.

~o~O~o~

Location: Ecruteak City, Johto

Gym Leader Morty was meditating in his chambers at the basement of his gym. The blonde-haired man in his mid-twenties, in peak physical shape, sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. Thanks to the technology and the ghost-types at his gym, it appeared as if he was floating in space, surrounded by mostly darkness dotted with millions of stars in the distance and colorful, swirling shapes floating and rotating around, moving at different speeds.

Thanks to his meditation, Morty could feel like he wasn't sitting on the cold, hard floor of his basement, but actually floating in space. He had successfully separated his mind from his body, completely freeing his thoughts from the constraints of his physical being. He would need this ability in the coming battles for sure, and this could be the last chance to really perfect his mind.

Even the sound of Eusine arriving into the room did not break Morty's concentration. Eusine was the same age as Morty, having known him since childhood, with slicked back brown hair, wearing a purple suit and a white cape as if he was a magician. Morty had been expecting Eusine, after all, and with his mind at perfect ease, he was unbothered by this, his concentration still not breaking.

"I'm here," Eusine declared. "Like you asked."

Finally, Morty allowed himself to open his eyes. As he clapped his hands, the space around him disappeared, and the scenery changed back to a dark, candle-lit basement. After all, Celesteela's attack had left Ecruteak one of the few cities still running but forced to save on electricity, leaving only essential buildings like the hospital and the Pokémon Center running with power 24/7.

"So you are," Morty said, looking up at his friend - or at the man who had once been his friend. "And with the intent on rejoining the Legendary Pokémon Society, which you quit when we needed you the most."

Eusine scoffed. "Needed my money the most, you mean," he said.

Morty stood up, looking at Eusine still, completely undisturbed by his comment. "Obviously," he said coolly. "But the point still stands. We also need capable trainers in the coming war. And now you no longer have a problem with our new leader?"

Eusine smiled. "My dream hasn't changed," he said. "To once again see and make contact with the legendary Pokémon Suicune and learn everything there is to know about it. That, and getting to work with you, were the reasons I joined, and why I'm coming back."

Morty frowned. "I won't let your obsession with that thing jeopardize the mission," he said, "but if you're fully committed, I will tell the leader about you. But are you ready to do what we asked?"

Eusine snapped his fingers, materializing a bouquet of flowers out of nowhere - or, in actuality, his sleeve, but he had perfected the trick to look convincing. He took a sniff of the flowers, smiling in his usual, pretentious way.

"Ready for anything, buddy!" he just said smoothly. "If you think those people stand a chance of preventing me from realizing my dream, you're dead wrong. As dead as your little ghosts."

"Then prepare yourself," Morty just said. "According to Lance, they'll be here soon."

"You just take care of yourself, I'm always ready," Eusine declared, swung his cape and left the room.

Convinced, Morty sat down to meditate more. With ease, he was able to visualize his impending victory. Eusine's obsession had been a problem before, but Morty respected it all the same. Opening his eyes and raising his hand, Morty recalled his own dream. To become one with the energy of Pokémon, to be worthy of the legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh and to rise above the ordinary human filth. Now, he finally had the ability - as Morty opened his palm, a small swirl of dark energy appeared to hover above it. Morty had always respected the former leader, Elder Li, but the new leader had pushed him far closer to his dream and given him power he couldn't have dreamed about. And for that, he was willing to kill if he had to.

~o~O~o~

Location: Route 24, Johto

A few hours later, Kris, Lyra, Yellow and Silver were making steady progress and getting closer and closer to Ecruteak City. As the group had approached Blackthorn City, Yellow had procured them a faster mode of transportation than walking. They had convinced a group of Donphan to give them a ride, and now, all four were riding on the lightning-fast ground types as they ran through the roads, past the looming Mt. Mortar and westward, in the direction of Ecruteak City. Kris could already see the tip of the Bell Tower in the distance. The sky was orange as the sun was setting - it would be dark soon.

Finally, the group stopped when Ecruteak City was only a few kilometers away. They shared most of their Pokémon food rations with the Donphan, who had been struggling as Celesteela's attack had blown up large parts of the forest they had once procured their food from. While this left very little rations for their own Pokémon, Kris and Lyra were certain that they could get more from Ecruteak City. As they said goodbye to the Donphan, Kris and Lyra fed their Pokémon, while Yellow and Silver were having a conversation away from earshot.

"I've heard about you," Silver said, unable to look at Yellow directly, instead leaning against a tree and trying to look cool.

"Leaf told you, then?" Yellow asked in a friendly tone, smiling at Silver.

"Yes," Silver said quietly, "and he told me as well. Don't get mistaken. This is just one of the things I will never forgive him for. I may be working with him, but-"

"Calm down," Yellow said kindly. "You don't need to justify anything to me. And as much as I hate him, I cannot make judgments when it comes to love."

Silver shook his head. "He didn't love my mother," he said bitterly.

"That seems to be the case, unfortunately," Yellow said with a nod. "But you are here, are you not? And with you here, there is a chance to make a difference in this world."

Silver seemed to be slightly encouraged by this comment as he looked at Yellow and nodded, even smiling for a split-second before he started stretching his arms.

"I am happy we were finally able to meet," Yellow said sincerely. "It's nice to know I have family out there."

"Same, but…" Silver looked at Kris and Lyra. "Even without me, you still have it."

Noticing Yellow and Silver were looking, Kris waved at them and approached them.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" she asked.

"About our sucky childhoods, mostly," Silver remarked. "Did you want something?"

Kris looked at Yellow. "Would you mind taking a look at Croc? I'm worried he took a bigger beating than expected with Celesteela."

Yellow smiled and left to check on Croc, leaving Kris and Silver alone, initially in awkward silence as Silver was avoiding eye contact. Kris, however, used to the feeling of social awkwardness, made the initiative, stepping closer to Silver to look at him.

"I still owe you from before," she said, holding her left shoulder and the arm that was no longer there, "and now you come and save us again. You're putting me on the spot here."

"Well…" Silver said awkwardly. "Maybe it kind of makes up for how I acted when we first met…"

Kris laughed a bit. "We're even, then," she said. "What have you been doing? Like, really?"

"I told you," Silver said, looking at his feet awkwardly. "Gathering intel, mainly. Doing research, especially on what to do with Kyurem, the Ultra Beasts, the Deoxys-"

"And Leaf told me you made a brief stop in Pewter City to say hi to her," Kris teased. "You're still not able to forget her."

Silver rolled his eyes. "Write fanfic on your time, Kris," he muttered.

"Why not come join us?" Kris asked sincerely. "Leaf is no longer with EXO, after all. Without her, we would have never brought it down. She's working with Blaine and the rest, studying the DNA Splicers. It can help us against Kyurem."

"I bet," Silver just said. "She's always been as smart as they come. But I can't see her or hang out with you guys. Not yet, at least."

Kris sighed. "If you insist," she just said.

But Kris didn't leave. Much to Silver's annoyance, Kris leaned on the nearby tree to mimic Silver's pose, making him feel less cool by the minute.

"Can I ask you something?" she said. "How do you deal with what happened before?"

"A bit more specific?" Silver deadpanned.

"Well, you stole two Pokémon," Kris listed, "choked me the heck out, stalked people, treated your Pokémon like crap-"

"I am aware of what I've done before," Silver just said.

"And now you're working with your father who was the biggest criminal in the country not too long ago," Kris reminded. "I wonder how many lives have been ruined because of him."

"Mine is one of them!" Silver said, sounding a bit more angry. "Is there a point to this?"

"But you changed," Kris said. "Maybe it was Leaf's positive influence, maybe it was you realizing what you did wrong, I dunno. But you changed. You've dedicated your life to fighting evil now. You risked your own life to save mine, twice now. You're the perfect example of good triumphing over evil in the battle we all wage within us."

"When did you become such a poet?" Silver scoffed, but blushed slightly. "Aren't you Miss Wannabe Hero?"

"Yeah, emphasis on the wannabe," Kris sighed. "I still… I still struggle with what's going on inside me. I've done a lot of stuff I'm not proud of. And I can feel myself slipping away from everyone else. I'm no longer able to talk to people the way I used to. Not even with her…" Kris added, glancing at Lyra, who was brushing Scorch's hair, sweet-talking to the Pokémon like it was her kid.

Silver didn't have anything to add, though he looked at Kris curiously.

"That's why…" Kris said, reaching to take something from her bag - an old-fashioned bell made of a crystalline substance. "I want you to have this."

Silver took the bell from Kris' hands carefully, inspecting it silently for a moment.

"What is it?" he asked Kris finally.

"Remember our first team-up in Goldenrod City?" Kris asked him. "When we took down Team Rocket and you risked your own safety to save the hostages they took at the Radio Tower, I realized you're not just some thug. You left before the director had a chance to thank you, so he gave me this instead. It's the Clear Bell. I've been doing some research, and it says that this is connected to the ones they have at the Bell Tower. A pure-hearted person who rings this has a chance to summon Suicune, or so they say. Even if it's on the other side of the world, it will come in a flash. But it only works at the Bell Tower."

"And you're telling me this… why?" Silver asked.

"Do I have to spell it out?" Kris laughed. "You're the pure-hearted one here, Silver. And you're capable of handling Suicune, too. I want you to summon it, and then join it to find Entei and Raikou."

"If you're looking for people with nothing but good in them, why not Yellow?" Silver wondered. "I mean, Yellow can even talk to Pokémon-"

"But Yellow is not a trainer, and even with all those powers, I'm afraid of what's gonna happen if I let Yellow roam around the region alone in this situation. You're a skilled Pokémon trainer and physically much stronger than Yellow. And, I hate to say it, but you can call upon your father for help too. I don't trust him, but I trust you. I want you to find Entei and Raikou, get them together and fight against Sird and her Ultra Beasts."

Silver swallowed nervously as he looked at the ornate, spherical bell. While clearly ancient and valuable, it didn't seem to have any sort of unusual power. But Kris was completely certain that her plan would work.

"W-we're…" he stuttered weakly. "Um, we're not asking for help from Morty, then?"

Kris shook her head. "Plans changed," she said. "I can't really explain why, but I have a feeling that it's better if we go to the Bell Tower straight. They don't let outsiders in most of the time, but that's not gonna exactly stop us, is it?"

Silver smiled - a genuine smile, something Kris was not used to seeing. "Thanks for trusting me with this, Kris," he said firmly, pocketing the bell and closing the pocket of his jacket firmly. "I won't let you down."

~o~O~o~

Location: Bell Tower, Ecruteak City, Johto

Nightfall

When it was dark, Kris, Lyra, Yellow and Silver made their way to northeast Ecruteak. Celesteela's attack had changed the once-lively Ecruteak, a major tourist spot where people gathered to see remnants of the old way of life, all the old buildings, temples and religious artifacts. While the city had not come under fire yet, most of the houses were vacant still, with only a few buildings, like the Pokémon Center and the Dance Theater, having lights on and filled with both locals and refugees from nearby towns.

The Bell Tower was at the end of a long path surrounded by trees with colorful leaves, the fall colors making the view even more pretty. To access the path, one usually had to go through the gatehouse, but blocking the path from the rest of the city was a high brick wall. A few monks were still patrolling around with torches, along with a few Noctowl making flyovers.

At the edge of the wall, Yellow closed their eyes and focused, ready to alert if they sensed anyone coming. Kris quickly let out Shrew and ordered it to dig a tunnel to get on the other side of the wall. Shrew managed to do so within a minute, and soon enough, affirmative squeaks came from the other side. Safely on the other side, Shrew was able to toss a rope to the group's side of the wall.

Kris let out Croc as well, asking the Feraligatr to tie the rope around its body as a weight to keep it suspended while Shrew tied the rope to a tree on the other side. Then, Lyra began climbing up the rope, managing to make her way on top of the wall and on the other side.

"Somebody is coming," Yellow whispered as the sound of Lyra's shoes hitting the ground echoed in the silence. "They're fifteen to twenty meters away - that way!" Yellow added, pointing to their left.

"I got it," Silver said. "Turn off your lights."

Kris did as ordered, turning off the small light source of her PokéGear while Silver did the same with his Pokétch. Soon, the only light they saw was the approaching one coming from the approaching monk's torch. But in the guise of the darkness, Silver was able to sneak behind him and knock him out with a swift movement before the monk could see any of them. When he returned, it was Silver's turn to climb up the rope, which he did much faster than Lyra.

"No one else coming," Yellow said when Silver made it to the top of the wall. "Should I go next?"

Kris nodded, and as awesome as Yellow's powers were, they did not have any of the required strength to climb up a rope, so Kris and Croc had to boost them up from below while Silver helped them get up from below. When Yellow was on the other side, Croc lifted up Kris, who also could not in a million years get up herself with one arm. Silver pulled her up as well, and once safely atop the wall, Kris withdrew Croc and she and Silver jumped down.

Once on the Bellchime Trail and surrounded by trees, the group quickly made their way towards the looming tower. Kris was carrying Shrew on her shoulders while Lyra let out her Ampharos to give some light. It was just as Kris remembered: a dozen stories tall and clearly built centuries ago, but still standing firm. At the foot of the tower were two statues of Ho-Oh, also just like Kris remembered.

Reaching the door, Kris was the first one to grab onto it and slide it open. The group then stepped into the dark entrance room, only slightly lit up by Scorch's flames. This was an area Kris had not seen before, only having been outside the front door when the Masked Man had attacked Ecruteak City so long ago. There were more Ho-Oh statues scattered everywhere in the first floor, and in the middle of the room was a pillar that extended into the ceiling and the floors above. The floor and wall panels alike were made of wood, giving off a feeling of an ancient, yet well-maintained place as everything was also polished and spotless.

In the ceiling was a row of small, crystal bells. Except the row seemed to be missing one - the one that was now in Silver's hands. However, Silver, while holding the bell, seemed to be unwilling to do anything.

"C'mon," Kris said and gently grabbed Silver by his arm and dragged him closer to the center - Kris was surprised how much stronger she was now than at the start of her journey, being able to drag the taller and more well-built Silver with just one arm, not that Silver made any efforts to resist.

Lyra and Yellow stood on the sides observing and Kris took a few steps backwards, but Silver still didn't have it in him.

"Just ring the bell," Kris said. "I'm sure Suicune will come."

But when Silver still hesitated, Kris walked over to him and held his hand holding the Clear Bell.

"We'll do it together," Kris said, offering Silver a smile, and Silver nodded - Kris could see him sweating, but had no idea why. "All right? One… two… three!"

Kris lifted Silver's hand and Silver shook it a little, allowing the Clear Bell to ring. It produced a melody that didn't seem at all like it was coming from an ancient relic, but like that of the world's most well-crafted windchime, releasing a soothing, beautiful melody. It was not too high-pitched or too loud and rang clearly, as if coming from all over.

Out of nowhere, the group felt a slight gust of the wind as the bells in the ceiling began ringing as well. Despite all ringing in unison, the melody only got slightly louder, never too loud or too quiet, spreading the calming, harmonious tune all over.

Kris got tense when nothing seemed to happen at first. But then, out of nowhere, a blue blur seemed to be coming from upstairs, running down the stairs and not stopping until it reached the bottom floor.

It was Suicune all right. A crystalline blue quadruped beast with a long, glittering purple mane. It looked at Kris and Silver expectantly, as if wondering why it had been summoned there. Neither of them had the courage to step up and say what they wanted, facing this wonderful beast. But then, Silver seemed to finally find his voice.

"Suicune," he said quietly. "We've come to ask for your help. I know we in no way deserve it. In fact, look at the state of the world right now, it's clear that our species have screwed things up royally. But, if you'll give us this chance, join forces with us and make this world a less crappy place to live!"

Inspired by Silver's example, Kris also stepped forward to talk to Suicune. "You still remember me, right?" she asked, and the Suicune just acknowledged her by slightly turning its head in Kris' direction. "I'll take that as a yes… you helped us before, to get to Saffron City, and in the fight against the Ultra Beasts. You disappeared after that, but I think we can get more done by working together. Could you help round up Entei and Raikou together with Silver here, and then take a fight to the Ultra Beasts and Kyurem and take them out."

"With your permission, Suicune," Silver said nervously and reached to slightly pat Suicune on the neck - the legendary beast didn't resist, simply turned to look at Silver. "I'd like to, um, get a ride from you as we gather your comrades. I believe my father can help us in the fight as well."

Yellow also stepped slightly forward. "You're doing well," Yellow said to Kris and Silver kindly. "It's listening to you. And Suicune - I can vouch for these two. They are telling the truth."

Suicune took a full minute to contemplate it, looking at Yellow, Kris and then Silver in succession in complete silence. Then, to Kris' relief and amazement, Suicune lowered itself closer to the ground to allow Silver to mount it. Silver shuddered, still looking nervous, but with Kris and Lyra's help, he got on the legendary Pokémon's back. With Silver safely in the nonexistent saddle, Kris also got the courage to touch the legendary Pokémon, patting its head crest gently. To Kris' surprise, Suicune closed its eyes for a moment, as if thanking Kris.

"I'm counting on you," she said quietly. She was jealous of Silver for sure, but she had already made peace with the fact that he was much more worthy and prepared to be with the legendary Pokémon than she was. "You deal with the Ultra Beasts and other threats. We will deal with the humans controlling them."

Suicune seemed to nod at Kris. As she, Lyra and Yellow waved goodbye, Silver and Suicune left the tower, Suicune making unnaturally long and high jumps, dashing out of the door and through the Bellchime Trail, leaving behind a slight blue glow before it disappeared into the darkness.

With that done, Kris, Lyra and Yellow prepared to leave. Since it was already so late, their best bet was to find a vacant building to stay in for the night before leaving to continue their journey. In Kris' eyes, they had achieved what they had come to Johto for, and now it was time to find out how to best reunite with Iris, Wes, Blaine and the others. The fastest way to Kanto was the Magnet Train, but was that still in operation in this chaos?

But as Kris, Lyra and Yellow walked the Bellchime Trail in silence, Yellow suddenly stopped and tensed up.

"Someone's coming," Yellow said tensely. "How did I not - ah, of course…"

"How did you not notice me?!" came the familiar voice from the darkness. "This newfound power of mine comes from the world beyond. It is the thing that defeats even your paltry psychic powers."

Kris and Lyra had their hands on their Poké Balls, watching at the approaching man. It was just as if Kris feared, but having her fears confirmed still caused her to breath to seize up as she saw the Ecruteak City Gym Leader Morty approach them, a strange purple glow around his fists.

"Morty?" Lyra wondered. "We were hoping to meet you. Did-"

"You dare disgrace the Bell Tower," Morty scoffed, interrupting Lyra and looking instead at the open door of the tower behind Kris' group. "You defiled it with your presence and dared to speak to the legendary Pokémon. Had I not heard the chimes of the crystal bells, I could have potentially missed you entirely."

"You were told that we would be here by Lance, right?" Kris asked Morty tensely. "There's a reason why I didn't come to your gym."

"So you instead trespass into the Bell Tower, the Legendary Pokémon Society's base of operations," Morty said snidely. "How arrogant. Did you really think we couldn't see you coming?"

"What are you guys talking about?!" Lyra wondered. "Kris, now that Morty's here, we can try to find the other legendary beasts too!"

"Lyra," Kris said, staring at Morty. "How do you think Domino and her goons knew where to find us? Why did Lance say Celesteela was in Violet City when it clearly wasn't?"

Lyra shook her head, taking a step backwards in shock. "You're kidding," she said, sounding horrified.

"I screwed up. Asking for their help, coming here to make contact with them - it was a mistake. The Legendary Pokémon Society is under new management, according to Lance," Kris said. "And now they want to get rid of us."

Morty gave out a cold laugh of contempt. "We can't have you running around, upsetting the delicate balance we have tried to create," he said. "Our new leader has a far more grandiose vision than the old one. I have been training my body, my mind and my Pokémon all my life to reach this point, and she gave me the finishing touch. She gave me this power!"

"And who is she?" Kris asked.

"You know very well," Morty proclaimed, holding up his glowing fist. "Madam Sird!"

It all made sense to Kris now. The Pokémon Champions around the world disappearing was just a part of it. Lance, Wallace - even Cynthia, they hadn't gone AWOL to build up some kind of resistance. They had disappeared themselves because they were a part of it. And now the Legendary Pokémon Society, the group full of heroes who Kris admired and wanted to join forces with, was working with the very same people who were working hard trying to kill them.

As Morty fired an orb of dark energy from his fist, Kris and Lyra ducked while Yellow used their powers to block it. But as soon as they did so, Yellow fell on their knees, clutching their chest and breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?!" Lyra asked Yellow.

Yellow shook their head. "Something's wrong," Yellow said tensely, cold sweat running down their face. "Something's draining my power. And I used too much energy with Celesteela."

Kris and Lyra nodded at each other as each sent out a Pokémon - Kris sent out her Froslass while Lyra sent out Ampharos. But something emerged from the shadows, almost striking Froslass with Shadow Claw, Kris managing to order her to dodge just in time. It was Morty's Gengar, surrounded by the same glow as its master.

"Shadow Ball!" Kris ordered.

But Gengar dodged easily. With Froslass distracted, Morty fired a shadowy sphere of energy of his own at Froslass and the attack made contact, Froslass shouting in pain and turning towards Morty.

"Keep them away from us!" Kris pleaded with Froslass. "Ominous Wind!"

Froslass created a powerful gust of wind, composed of semi-translucent purplish gasses and launched the air towards Morty and Gengar, forcing both to keep away. Meanwhile, Kris and Lyra helped carry Yellow deeper into the woods, away from harm's way.

"You're not going anywhere!" Morty ranted, catching the action. "You're going to die here and now!"

"Cotton Guard!" Lyra told Ampharos.

When Morty fired another projectile, Ampharos generated a barrier out of a cotton-like substance instantaneously. The projectile dissipated as it hit the surprisingly sturdy barrier, though the barrier also cracked and dissipated soon after.

"Shadow Ball on Gengar, now!" Kris ordered Froslass.

"Thunderbolt on Morty!" Lyra commanded.

Morty had to use his powers to blast himself further away to avoid Ampharos' attack, but without its trainer's guidance, Gengar didn't avoid Froslass' attack on time and was knocked out.

Still, Morty appeared unstoppable - he wasn't kidding about his training. As Kris ordered Froslass to use Ice Beam on Morty to slow him down, Morty used his new powers to propel himself in the air. From the air, he launched a projectile against Ampharos, hurting the Pokémon and causing it to fall on all fours.

But Lyra had an idea. Using something she hadn't tried in months, she put her hand on the bracelet on her left arm, containing a Mega Ring. "Ampharos!" she yelled. "Mega E-"

But Morty was on Lyra next. With the dark energy still emanating from his hand, Morty only had to grab Lyra's wrist, and the Mega Ring disintegrated while Lyra screamed in pain. Kris quickly ordered Froslass to use Ice Shard, hurting Morty enough to allow Lyra to kick him away. But behind Froslass, Morty's Gengar, still kicking, propelled itself against the ice-type like a bomb.

"Shadow Ball!" Kris yelled quickly.

"Destiny Bond!" Morty countered.

Kris knew what would happen, having used the same tactic before, but didn't have time to cancel the order. Gengar glowed briefly just as the attack hit and was knocked out - but in the process, Froslass suddenly collapsed and fell unconscious as well. Morty quickly stood up and raised his fists.

"You're down two Pokémon and I'm still kicking," he proclaimed. "Bring it on!"

Suddenly, something dropped in front of Morty - a pellet of some kind that blew up, releasing a cloud of thick smoke which blanketed Kris, Lyra, Yellow and Morty all in the thick gas, unable to see each other.

"About time you showed up," Morty coughed, covering his face. "Aim better next time! And help me take these guys out!"

The smoke quickly cleared as someone jumped out of a tree and on the Bellchime Trail - Eusine, a sharp steel blade extending from a device on his wrist. But instead of attacking the group like Kris feared, Eusine took a step towards Morty and, in a move that surprised even him, used his blade to make a sharp incision in Morty's right palm.

Morty's right hand suddenly stopped glowing as Morty screamed in pain. Eusine withdrew the blade and looked down on the writhing Morty.

"You…" Morty spat, shaking in pain and rage as blood dripped out of his hand, making a small puddle on the ground. "You'd betray me like this?!"

"You betrayed me first, Morty," Eusine told him. "You did nothing when the Society banished me on that bogus mission, and now you're holding my membership hostage by asking me to kill my friends. Sorry, but that ain't happening - I have a reputation to uphold. Now!"

When Morty tried to blast Eusine with energy from his left hand, he was too distracted to do anything as Eusine's Alakazam approached from the shadows, the spoons in its hands glowing as a blue glow suddenly enveloped Morty. Then, Morty shouted in surprise and panic as he was lifted into the air and then hurtled into the woods. The psychic force was enough to send Morty flying more than a hundred meters away, his shout of rage becoming too faint to hear as he flew.

Realizing the danger was over, Kris rushed to hug Eusine, who, after staring awkwardly for a second, tried to respond to the hug. However, in the process, Eusine took notice of Kris' left arm - or lack thereof.

"Kris," he said weakly. "What happened?"

Kris shook her head. "It's a long story," she said quickly. "How are you here?"

Eusine brushed his hair back and grinned obnoxiously. "In help of fair maidens who need my assistance? Eusine is never far!"

Kris rolled her eyes. "No, seriously. I thought - with the LPS and everything-"

"Let's just say I quit when I realized what's been happening, but I think I need to tell you the details later - we need to go!"

"Your Alakazam just knocked that dude into next Wednesday!" Lyra said as she checked on her Ampharos. "He can't still be a threat."

"That woman, Sird, I dunno what kind of resources she had but she gave Morty a massive buff," Eusine commented. "That won't be enough to kill him. We need to get out of here. Luckily," Eusine added, pulling a set of card keys from his pocket, "I'm parked very close by."

Kris sighed in relief, withdrawing Froslass. "Lyra, help Yellow walk!" she yelled. "We're getting out of here!"