Chapter 5: The New Heroes

Meanwhile, back at the captured Olivine City, the Legacy Hunters were ready to dispatch units to the strategic and financial metropolis of Goldenrod City. Everything was going according to their plan, and they had thus far encountered little resistance. Ernest was still at their base, located at the fog-shrouded Birth Island. He radioed Archie with this transmission: "Ernest to Archie. Do you copy?"

Archie pulled out his receiver and responded, "Archie to Ernest, yes I do copy. What is it?"

"It is time to begin Phase Two of this operation. What's your status regarding Olivine?"

"Couldn't be better. We have the city completely under our control. The police are powerless to do anything, and we have Jasmine as our prisoner. No one can get into the city. I saw our little intrusion on the news this afternoon, and the reporter was many miles away."

"Excellent. Dispatch some of your troops to Goldenrod City from the port. About half of your total force will be needed. Assault the city from both sides and you should be fine. Over."

"Out," Archie replied as he closed the connection. About an hour later, he called together about half his troops for a war meeting. "I got word from Master Ernest that we are to go ahead with the next phase of the plan."

"And what would that be?" Matt, the third-in-command of Team Aqua, asked.

"Invade Goldenrod City from the west. The idea is to come at them from just north and south of the city. That way, we will have the city surrounded, and the rebels will have nowhere to retreat. The place will surely be under tighter-than-normal security tonight. We should wait until dawn to attack."

"That is a brilliant plan. The city won't know what hit her!" Matt complimented.

"And more importantly, the rebels cannot receive reinforcements from the other side of Mt. Silver. That is all. Resume your posts until zero-five-thirty. We will leave for Goldenrod then." At that, Archie disbanded the meeting, and everyone went back to their posts.

That afternoon, Josh was riding his Raikou around campus grounds, chasing after Aravan. He was also trying to ease himself into the speed the tiger-like beast boasted. After a couple of minutes, Josh sighted Aravan and Suicune, doing the same thing: easing into the speed. "There he is!" Josh exclaimed. "Raikou, faster! Catch up to Suicune!"

At that, the beast picked up the pace a bit, quickly catching up to Suicune. Aravan noticed Josh and Raikou race by, and waved. Josh's Pokémon then fell back, running side-by-side with Suicune. "Aravan, what do you think of riding Suicune?" Josh asked.

"It's even cooler than I dreamt it would be. And Suicune's not even running that fast...probably about thirty miles an hour. Was there something you wanted to tell me?" Aravan asked back.

"Yeah. I found a vast, open field that would be perfect for training ourselves to adapt to the awesome speed of our beasts. It's just north of the campus, on the other side of those trees."

"How did you find that out?"

"When I was looking for you, I had Raikou turn into there. I found a gap in the trees and went through it. On the other side was a huge field that would take even Raikou a while to cross. This way, we can train ourselves to handle the amazing speed that will become invaluable if we are to thwart the Legacy Hunters. Just follow me, Aravan," he finished as Raikou sped up again.

"Wait!" Aravan yelled. "Suicune, catch up to him!" The beast followed Josh and Raikou to the spot he had talked about. The two legendary Pokémon were very impressed at how their riders were handling them. When Aravan reached the field, he was surprised at the size of the clearing.

"You're right, Josh," Aravan said. "This would be perfect for Raikou and Suicune to run. With this large an area, it will still take a while for them to cross it, even at full speed.

"Josh!" Raikou said directly to his rider.

"Yes? Do you have an idea?"

"This clearing is perfect for our training, Josh. With this much space, I have an idea for speeding up the training process. When I run around this field, I will slowly increase my speed. When you can't take it anymore, say so and I will quit accelerating. Then I will just run around the field, letting you get used to the speed."

"That is a great idea!"

Aravan and Suicune had a similar discussion regarding their training. Anxious to ride like the wind, Aravan had Suicune summon a large gust of wind behind itself. The water-type cheetah then made a low jump with the wind at its back, causing them to quickly accelerate to roughly forty-five miles per hour. The strong wind remained at Suicune's back, and intensified at the beast picked up even more speed.

Josh's ride was less dramatic, but he seemed more interested in racing his beast than Aravan did his. They got a much slower start than Suicune, but picked up speed at a higher rate. By the time they caught up to Aravan and Suicune, the two beasts were running at about seventy miles per hour. Though that is fast, the two riders had a long way to go. Shortly after Josh passed Aravan, the speed was too much for either of them to bear. Josh and Raikou fell back, with both beasts leveling off their speed at eighty miles per hour.

When the two of them reached the end of the field several minutes later, Josh wanted to ask Aravan a question, but he then realized the message would not reach him. The air around them both was moving too fast to hear a conversation. A good fifteen minutes of nothing but fun-filled racing across the field at high speed were Josh's and Aravan's to enjoy.

By the time they returned to the campus grounds, it was late afternoon. Ace was waiting for them outside the soccer field. "Where the hell have you two been? It's been hours!" he yelled.

"Josh and I have been out riding! It's a blast!" Aravan answered.

"It was the most fun I've ever had in my life! Everything just zipped by! Raikou had to be running at least seventy miles an hour!" Josh could not contain his excitement.

"Sorry about yelling at you back there, but I've been thinking about the way I've been treating you two, especially Josh. I've grown up the best in my neighborhood, so I felt that I had bragging rights wherever I went. Then when I saw you two mount your beasts while I simply drove your car home, I have held a grudge against you. But after you two left, you looked like you had so much fun riding your Pokémon. In the last half hour, I have come to have a change of heart toward you. I am sorry for the way I acted, and I promise I will try to be more humble."

Josh was relieved at Ace's apology, and accepted it gratefully. "Ace, that is the first good thing I have seen you do in a long time. Do you realize what you just did?"

"What did I do?"

"You just thought of someone other than yourself. You put others before yourself. That is exactly what a Beast Rider does. Practice this with not only your friends, but with your Pokémon as well. When you feel you are sufficiently ready, Raikou can take us back to the Burned Tower. But before then, you should try to defeat me in a battle first."

"But that wouldn't be fair. You have Raikou, Josh!"

"Of course I wouldn't use Raikou on you. That would defeat the purpose of the battle. I just want to see if your Pokémon will be up to the challenge. I'm going inside to finish up the rough draft of my paper. See you later. Raikou, let's get out of here." He then left for his room.

Josh, Ace, and Aravan, tired from their battles with the Beasts, went to bed especially early that night. And it was a good thing they did, too. For they did not know that the Legacy Hunters were to strike Goldenrod at dawn's light the next day...

"It is time. Break off to the sides and take over the town!" Archie commanded. The assault team immediately broke off into two units, ready to surround the city. The police force outside the Radio Tower noticed the group prepare to attack the city, and promptly radioed the main station for reinforcements. The station also sounded their Early Warning Siren. Unfortunately, in this attack, many of the city's residents could not flee the city; there were Legacy Hunters on both city borders.

Their first target was the train station. Police put up significant resistance, but were forced to defend other parts of the city as the Legacy Hunters' Pokémon wailed away at the large commercial district. The invaders slowly gained ground as police personnel were forced to fire several shots. Two Team Aqua members were wounded, as well as several Pokémon. Aquatic and electric attacks were fired at the police defending their city. Many of them were killed.

Ten minutes later, there was a breaking news story broadcast on all major news networks. Josh happened to wake up at this time, going to the TV to check the time, when he stumbled upon this tragedy being broadcast. "What? Another city under siege!" Josh could then hear Raikou's voice in his mind.

"Josh, Raikou Rider! Listen to me!"

"Raikou!" Josh was startled to hear the voice, because the beast was outside.

"The Legacy Hunters have struck Goldenrod City! You need to get Ace and Aravan up, now! This is an emergency situation!"

"Raikou, I'm right on it."

It took some doing, but Josh managed to get Ace and Aravan up out of their rooms. They all changed, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and met outside the building, where Raikou and Suicune were waiting for them.

"What's going on that's important enough to disturb my sleep?" Ace asked while yawning.

"The Legacy Hunters have struck Goldenrod City! If we don't do something right now, they will capture it, just like Olivine!" Josh responded, full of fear over what would happen if the evil syndicate were to take over the city.

"What can we do?" Aravan asked.

"Aravan, this is what we have been training for! You are a Suicune Rider, remember! It is your destiny to save Johto in trying times such as these! Quickly, climb on Suicune's back! We need to head south, fast!"

Ace was confused as to why Josh awoke him. "I don't have a legendary Pokémon like you two do. How am I supposed to help?"

"Ace, we need all the help we can get! Ride Raikou with me! Come, quickly!" Josh replied. Both of them quickly scurried atop Raikou's back. Both beasts took off for the south, quickly accelerating to a swift eighty-five miles per hour.

"Raikou, slow down! You're going too fast!" Ace screamed as the speeding beast raced southward.

"Ace, I can't slow down! Time is of the essence!" Josh replied. He wished he could go faster, but he didn't want Ace to fall off. "Just hold on until we get there!" Ace then tightened his clutch on Raikou's back.

About twenty minutes later, the swift beasts arrived at the northern end of the city, only to find it ablaze. Much of the southern end was simply demolished. Slowing down as they approached the city, Josh found Matt; his Pokémon were attacking the eastern sector of the city. "Hold it right there!" Josh yelled. Raikou reared up slightly, startling Ace, then let out a loud roar.

Matt jumped at hearing Raikou's roar, then turned around only to stare into the saber-tooth tiger's red eyes. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"I don't need to tell you; all you need to know is that I am the Raikou Rider destined to take you out," Josh defiantly responded as his mount made another scary face.

"You looking for a fight, boy?"

Josh jumped off Raikou's back and responded, "Very well."