A/N: I didn't know about the Fire Emblem thing, though that was kinda cool. Hannah, you're very sharp. You startled me a bit and made me wonder if someone leaked info on my fic. The chapter may be a touch short, but I think the fact that this one is taking more chapters to complete and the next one is a bit chilling should make up for it. Judge for yourself. By the way, one more little secret is coming and did anyone catch Celebi's reference to Hilary Duff's song? Don't worry if you didn't, there's more hints to come about what will happen to Seth in the end. One more story to go to finish the series, wahoo! I can't believe you all really like my Colosseum fics! I have an idea for another, but I'm not sure how to work it out. Oh well. Enjoy!
Ch 6
"Get the hell away from me, you sick, twisted, perverted freak of nature!" a girl his age shrieked in a loud voice upon seeing Seth enter the room. The Snagger raised an eyebrow as the others followed him in to see what was happening. Despite being bound hand and foot, the captive tried to kick at him. "Bugsy! You're free! Help me kick this guy's butt!" The Gym Leader looked around and then gave Seth a confused expression.
"Silver's not here, sir. But I know I saw that other guy bring him in here. Maybe he switched Silver with this girl?" he asked. Seth knelt down and studied the girl carefully. She glared at him with gray eyes glittering angrily, pretty face framed by long jet black hair that tumbled over her shoulders. The girl was dressed in a silvery blouse and skirt with matching shoes on neat white socks. After a few moments, Seth smiled and the girl scowled again.
"Your face resembles your sister's but your spirit shows you have a strength she could never achieve." he remarked and began to untie her, "My name is Seth, if that other guy who looks like me said that it was his name, too, forget it. He's a faker named Fein who loves posing as me."
"How do you expect me to believe that?" the girl snapped. Bugsy frowned at her.
"Hey, you! I was there and watched them battle! This guy's a hero and the other's a zero! That other dude is the one who took over my Gym and kidnapped me and Silver!" he told her. She blinked and cringed as she was freed and was helped to her feet. Seth held out the ribbon to her. "Now where is he? Where's the Johto League Champion?" Bugsy demanded, short green hair mussed from the fighting he had done against Fein during his own capture the day before. The girl picked the ribbon up and gazed at it for a long minute before sighing and tying it around her head. She looked at the group in a frustrated stance, folding her arms over her chest.
"I am Silver Summers, Champion of the Johto League Challenge!" she finally declared.
Once outside of the well, the group waited for the girl to explain herself more thoroughly. Bugsy, though he would have like sticking around to hear more, had to race back to his Gym and make sure things were all right, then call the Radio Tower about Silver's return. The news of Miror B.'s arrest and Silver's freedom would be enough to drive Team Samba from Johto or at least weaken their resolve to the point that the Gym Leaders would be able to regroup and finish them off.
"My name is Silver Summers, I'm from Azalea Town. That guy who looked like you knocked me out with his Espeon and Umbreon and stashed me in the well, but he changed me out of my boy clothes into this outfit I had in my pack while I was unconscious. That's mostly why I was mad. No one except for my family and Prof. Elm is supposed to know I'm a girl." she began, "I disguised myself as a boy and went on a Pokémon journey to become Champion. When I did, I kept the disguise and went on to Kanto to find, challenge and defeat the Kanto League Champion. I've been in hiding since then, looking for the legendary dogs of Johto; Entei, Suicune and Raikou." Silver sighed. "I've been trying to find them all over the place for the last two years and no such luck. But I'm sure I'll find them."
"Uh oh." Seth murmured, turning slightly pink. Rui looked at him, unsure whether to laugh or cry. "I can explain that one." He reached into his pocket and pulled out three Ultra Balls, tossing them before him. Each one burst open to reveal the legendary Pokémon and Silver stared at them in shock. "I've had them for a year, but I snagged them from Johto a long time ago when I was part of Team Snagem."
"You had them the entire time?" Silver shrieked and suddenly grabbed his collar, shaking him furiously, "You made me waste two years of my life searching for Pokémon that weren't even here to begin with? What the hell was that all about? You jerk, you're not supposed to capture them like that! I was trying to find them to study them and send the findings to Professor Elm!" She let him go then and stepped back, face still bright red as she growled. "I ought to slap you for that, but I think a battle will do just fine instead!"
"Seth's Pokémon are too tired for that now. Can't we just say sorry and make up?" Rui asked, eyebrow raised when she had shaken her partner.
"It's okay, Rui." Seth told her, watching the three legendaries as they lit up upon seeing their surroundings. "Entei, Suicune, Raikou! This is the region where you once ran free and wild!" The three dogs turned to look at him. "Do you want to run free again?" Seth asked, walking up and petting each one. The dogs whimpered softly. "It's not a matter of my choosing. If you want to be free again, you can be. Just tell me so." he told them. The legendaries looked at each other, nuzzled Seth's body gently, then howled in joy, racing from the group into the forests and vanishing from sight. Silver watched in surprise as Seth brought the visor over his eyes and dropped the Ultra Balls to the ground, calmly crushing each one under his boot.
"You had the three legendary dogs and you let them free like that, when someone else would have kept them?" she asked him.
"Yeah. My Pokémon set me free from Cipher, I set them free from it as well. It's only fair to give three Pokémon that should never have been captured at all complete freedom." Seth replied, fighting back tears behind the safety of his reflective visor. Silver shook her head in disbelief, smiling, then blinked as the radio on her Poké Gear crackled to life.
"This just in! Pokémon Gym Leader Bugsy of Azalea Town has been found and reclaimed his beloved Gym. Not only that but Johto Champion Silver Summers has also been found and it's only a matter of time before Team Samba is rooted out by our greatest trainer! With Miror B. behind bars, what can they possibly do to Johto now? Fight on, brave trainers!" the DJ announced and returned to playing music. She clicked it off and let it stay wrapped around her arm.
"That's that, then." May remarked, "So, let's go to Kanto and finish up the job!"
"First, tell me who you all are. Thanks for saving me and Bugsy, but I'd like to know your names." Silver pointed out. "Then we can go and let my parents know I'm all right by showing up in person."
"I'm Rui Roane from the Orre region and this is my partner, Seth. He doesn't have a last name, or he does but he dropped it." Rui introduced, "It's complicated."
"I'm May Thorne, Hoenn League Champion, and this is my boyfriend Brendan Birch. We're from the Hoenn region to the far north." May remarked, "It's good to see another female Champion, but why disguise yourself as a boy to enter the League?"
"Johto and Kanto treat female trainers like Poké Fans, so I called myself a boy to be taken seriously." Silver replied and stretched, "Nice to meet you all, but I'm beat. Let's go to my house and rest for the night. We'll get more done once we've had a good night's sleep." The group agreed and followed her to the Summers' house in Azalea. Seth lingered behind and looked back at the forest where the legendaries had run off, the Espeons and Umbreons gathered close around him.
"See you around, maybe. Take care." he whispered and turned to follow the group, wrapping an arm around Rui in a hug.
After receiving many hugs and kisses from her parents, and several scowling glares from Crystal, Silver showed her new friends the guest room where they could stay for the night. With Mrs. Summers busily making supper and the radio announcing the retreat of Team Samba from mysterious lightning attacks from above, they gathered together to plan what to do next.
"The region of Kanto is where some like to say Pokémon battles originated." Silver began, unrolling a map on the floor as everyone sat around it, "I've been through Kanto a few times, but I don't know it as well as Johto."
"We'll need to find the Kanto Champion then, right?" May asked over a light dinner of sandwiches and sodas, "He or she can guide us through Kanto and fight alongside us!"
"Yes, he can." Silver agreed, "The Kanto Champion is a young man a couple of years older than me by the name of Red. The only problem is, finding Red is a lot easier said than done. It took me five months to find him and I don't even know if he's still in the same place."
"Does Professor Oak know how to reach him?" Seth asked from across the room, massaging the Blaziken and Gardevoir again. Silver closed her eyes in thought and furrowed her brows.
"Ummm... not as far as I know. Red and Oak are both really good friends with each other, especially since Red helped him a ton with his Pokédex completion mission." she replied at last and looked towards the radio, "Hey, that's my favorite song. Turn it up, Brendan."
"Lightning from above, eh?" Brendan muttered about the news report as he fiddled with the dial, "Was Team Samba chased out by a storm?"
"Ooh! E-mail from Nett! Seth! He's opened up more of the file!" Rui declared happily as she checked her PDA. "'Dear Wes and Rui, I've decoded another section of the Earth Seal file after cracking the code on it. The project was created with partial technology developed by the scientists of Team Rocket. It's stowed at Indigo Plateau and is built specifically to enhance the natural abilities of Project: WSLY. I'm not sure why or what exactly the Earth Seal is yet, but I'll keep at it and let you know more about it when I can. Prof. Birch sends his thanks about Hoenn and says he'd like to have you two visit him again someday to study the Snag Machine. He thinks it's pretty interesting. I told him about it and I guess he wants to learn more about it. Well, see ya!'" she read aloud.
"He's not touching it." Seth grumbled and jerked his hand back when the female Espeon tried to bite it. "No! Don't do that! Be good!" he scolded and held his hand over the Pokémon's head as it tried to nip it again, "Drop it. Drop. No, that's not how you should be."
"What's with him?" Silver asked Rui, jerking her thumb his way. The redhead smiled and shrugged.
"He's purifying them. Shadow Pokémon have to be purified before they can go back to normal." she replied and looked down at the map. "Well, how do we get into Kanto? Maybe we can find Red there already." Silver pointed at a spot.
"Here. We can take the Magnet Train from Goldenrod City to Saffron City in Kanto. That's the fastest way to get into the next region." she replied. May stretched and yawned.
"Sorry, but I'm beat. I'll turn in early, if you don't mind." she murmured and headed for the sleeping bag set up for her on the floor. Rui watched her relax, then turned back to the other trainer.
"What kind of Pokémon do you have? Are they all really strong?" she asked eagerly, "I loved going through Hoenn and seeing how beautiful it was and all of their Pokémon in the wild. Are there same ones here or are there different ones?"
"Most of my team is still recovering, but I can show you a very special Pokémon I have." Silver remarked brightly. She brought out a Poké Ball and opened it, letting the burst of light release its charge onto the map.
A tiny mouse appeared on the paper, yellow with black edged ears and a short black tail. With rosy round cheeks and bright, round eyes, it was adorable beyond anything Rui had seen before. She squealed and clasped her hands together.
"How cuuuute! What is it? It looks like a Pikachu!" Rui exclaimed. Silver smiled and picked up the mouse, letting it sit in the palm of her hand.
"This is a Pichu. His name is Teeny Pik. He's actually a bit of an oddity. You see, most Pichu can't handle their own electricity and end up hurting themselves each time they make an attack of any kind. Teeny Pik can use his electricity just fine and, in fact, is stronger than normal Pichus. He's also half the size of a normal Pichu, more or less." she explained and handed him out to her.
"I said, NO! Stop trying to bite me!" Seth continued lecturing as Rui played with the little mouse, "Jupiter, get over here and hold your new girlfriend down!" Brendan watched them and rolled his eyes.
"Starting to lose your touch, Seth-man?" he taunted, earning a venomous glare as the Snagger received only a bored yawn from his Espeon and resorted to bodily pinning the female to the floor, holding her head down with his chin. "I'm starting to wish I brought my digital camera."
"Shut up." Seth growled, "Rui, how are they doing? Can you still see a lot of the aura?" The girl looked up and scanned the Blaziken and Gardevoir, both of whom had begun pawing at Seth's jacket pocket to grab his Poké Block case. "Will you two knock it off? I thought I told you to massage each other!" The female Umbreon sniffed at them, then started to climb onto Seth's back, reaching tentatively towards the case. The Snagger himself looked as if he wanted to vanish into the floor as the group cracked up at the scene. "Ruuuuii!"
"The Blaziken and Gardevoir are doing much better, they don't have much aura left. The females look more like they'll purify faster if they travel in your party or battle with you." Rui replied between snickers. The Pichu looked at him and grinned.
"Pokémon at play. Don't you love it when they decide to make a dogpile on you?" it asked teasingly.
"You shut up, too." Seth grumbled and sighed in defeat. "Rui, can you help me out?" he pleaded almost plaintatively.
"You're pathetic." Brendan murmured with a smile and got up, "She can help Silver plan our next move. I'll give you a paw... er, hand." He popped out a Poké Block of his own and held it out to the Umbreon, "Come here and get it!" The Eon leaped from Seth's back and nuzzled his hand, searching for the candy and chewing happily when she found it. Seth got up, scolded the two humanoid Pokémon for poking at his pocket, then resumed work on the female. Jupiter and Pluto had watched in amusement, glancing at each other in smiles at the distress their friend and master had been in moments earlier.
"So tomorrow we go to Goldenrod City and take the train to Kanto. Once there, we'll try to make contact with Red through Kanto's Radio Tower." Silver plotted as she took back Teeny Pik. A sparkle of light glinted from her hand and Rui caught sight of it.
"Oh! How pretty! What a nice ring!" she commented, "Is that a diamond? Wow!" Silver quickly covered her hand and turned bright pink.
"Um... yes. It's... it's just a gift... from a friend... like Teeny Pik." she stammered quietly, almost shyly. Rui blinked and looked concerned.
"Are you all right?" she asked and Silver quickly rolled up the map.
"Uh, yeah. It's getting late and you guys need rest before we can go and tackle Kanto, so good night!" she rushed and left the room hurriedly. Rui looked confused, then shrugged and got up to take a shower.
"Seth, the Gardevoir and Blaziken look like they're ready to be taken to Relic Forest." she added before going into the bathroom, "The female twins need more time." The Snagger muttered something under his breath that made all the Pokémon wince, no doubt a curse that only the creatures understood, and pulled both the Snag Machine and his jacket off to better hug the rowdy Espeon and get her to take the medicine he'd been trying to give her the entire time. "Okay, I guess." Rui sighed and turned away.