Chapter 2: An Unrefusable Offer
Blackthorn City, March 5, 6:30

DING! DONG! The doorbell rang loudly and echoed throughout my house. I sighed. I really should buy more furniture or put down carpet to stop all that echoing, I thought to myself. I was in the living room with my Pupitar. She did not look very healthy at the moment. Her eyes had glazed over and her shell had turned deep brown in color. I could hear heavy breathing coming through some of the holes in her shell and it sounded like it was hurting her to inhale. These were all signs of imminent evolution; she was getting too heavy for her shell. Soon it would crack open, and as you can probably imagine, I was very excited to have a Tyranitar come into the family.

It was a gloomy day outside. Dark rain clouds hung over Blackthorn, but they refused to release their rain. Even though it was dry, there was loud thunder coming from the skies. Any other day I would have a soon-to-be Tyranitar outside in the yard so that the house wouldn't suffer any damage, but little Pupitar was very nervous towards thunder and the dark.

I planned on ignoring the doorbell because I felt it was more important that I stay with my Pupitar. However, the doorbell kept ringing continuously. With a sigh of annoyance I hurried to answer it. However, if I had known the consequences of this simple action, I would have never opened up the door.

I opened the door to see a man standing patiently, as if he hadn't been ringing my doorbell like a maniac. He was dressed in a two-piece blue suit, a bizarre fashion that I have never seen in my days. It looked like a swimming suit, yet more stylish. There was a strange pattern of an A on the center of his chest. He also wore dark sunglasses and looked as calm as a sea before the storm. The man looked as if he had weathered many storms, and his face seemed to have been chiseled by the waves.

"Can I help you?" I asked in a voice that expressed my apprehension. I was straight forward and to the point so that I could get this conversation over as quickly as possible. The man just smiled at my reaction.

"Yes you can," the man in blue replied. "More than you can possibly imagine at the moment. May I come in?"

"Why? What are you selling?" I asked him. I hated door to door salesmen, and this guy was beginning to get on my nerves. For some reason I couldn't trust him. He looked familiar though; I couldn't place where I had seen him before.

The man kept his smile as perfect as ever. "I'm not selling anything. I was instructed to come here by your friend Lance, the dragon tamer.

At the mention of Lances name I immediately apologized and showed him into my home. Lance and I had promised not to make our friendship common knowledge to the public, so I thought the man in blue must have something very important to say.

The man was very friendly, commenting on the contents of my trophy room. However, I felt that it was a fake act he was putting on. He wanted something from me, but I could not tell what it was. When I brought him into the living room, he saw Pupitar and remarked, "Oh dear, he looks dreadfully sick. Are you taking care of him?"

"It's a 'her', for one, and obviously you have never studied Pupitars." I said to him in an intelligent sounding voice. "They get very sick before they evolve because their body is creating special enzymes that will break through the shell. Also, her bloodstream is filled with steroids that are dormant right now, but when her shell cracks they will grow very intense muscle mass. Her eyes are glazed because fluids are spreading over them, changing them to smaller, sharper eyes. She has been getting worse for the last two weeks, so it has to be very soon now. However, it still could be a week or more."

I sat down in my lazy boy chair and leaned forward. "She had better evolve sooner than later because this transition makes her very hungry and it's very expensive to keep her happy. The man nodded towards me and sat on the couch next to Pupitar. He leaned forward, took off his glasses, and looked me in the eyes.

Quietly he asked me, "What do you know about the cataclysm that happened in Hoenn ten years ago, Mr. Diamond? Regarding the cataclysm I mean."

Why is he asking me this? I thought to myself. I decided to play his game and I told him all that I knew, but I was going to sound like it wasn't that important. "Well, I know it had something to do with some idiotic gang that had upset the balance of nature or something by unleashing two ancient pokemon in Sootopolis. It must have been one of those crazy schemes by Team Rocket in another foolish attempt to take over the world." As I mentioned the idiotic gang he twitched ever so slightly, as if something I said had offended him. However, when I blamed the infamous Team Rocket, he relaxed.

I took no note of it. I thought that he might have a tick or something, so I continued explaining what I knew. "The two titans clashed and reaped destruction on the city of Sootopolis. I can still remember seeing freak thunderstorms and enormous heat waves on the news that night. I also know that there was a man who knew some ancient magic or something and he stopped the titans from completely destroying the earth. I don't know much more than that, because that was all that they showed on TV. Why do you care if I know anything about this?"

Pupitar was getting nervous. She hopped over to me with a groaning sound. She didn't like to move about, but she didn't like this new person more. Panting, she rested against my leg and went to sleep.

The man looked me in the eyes again, and I noticed that they were the bluest eyes I had ever seen. "We have found the resting place of the great Groudon, the ultimate ground pokemon which fought for dominance in the city of Sootopolis." It took a second before I grasped what he said, and when I finally understood him, I didn't believe him. "Groudon appears to be dormant; we have done numerous tests on it for about a year and can detect no signs of life at all. If we didn't know better we would assume that Groudon was just a hunk of rock. I have come all this way to ask you if you would be interested in seeing such a beast or the body of one anyway."

I thought about it, and the feelings of suspicion came back to me. I was tired of playing his game, so I asked him straight out. "Why me?" I asked "I don't even know your name; I don't think I have ever fought you, and I don't make myself known to many people."

"To tell you the truth," the man began, "we first went to Lance to ask him if he would like to see Groudon, but he said that he was to busy with the League starting up this summer. We tried for hours to convince him about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but he again declined our offer. We were sorry that he couldn't come and asked him if there was anyone else that we could offer this exclusive opportunity to and he recommended you in his place."

I then realized something that he was saying. He kept repeating the word "we" instead of mentioning himself. He had to be part of some organization, which explained the crazy blue clothes that he was wearing.

"Pupi, Pupitar!" screeched Pupitar. She had woken up from her sleep and was shaking terribly. Then I heard a bloodcurdling snap emanate from her. I looked at her and saw an enormous crack running down the outside of her shell, right along the spine. Without even thinking, I grabbed Pupitar. I tried my hardest to lift her so that I could get her outside on the yard but she was too heavy.

"Help!" I yelled at the man in blue. I just finished paying off my house, and I didn't want it to be destroyed. He hurried and together we lifted her off the carpet and out the back door. I noticed immediately that it had started to rain a little. Once outside, we placed her in the center of the yard and stood back. The shell cracked twice more, one across the belly and another across the face. Each crack was terribly loud, and sounded like the very earth was opening up. Gradually, the shell lost all movement and fell to the ground, opening up, and the soft body on the inside began to take form.

At first the body looked like a small pulsating lump of flesh and bone, lying in the wake of its cracked shell. However, the body reached out for the shell and with loud snaps of teeth and rock began to devour it. This seemed to renew its strength, and it stood on its two newly formed hind legs, a powerful tail swishing behind them. The steroids kicked in then, and the muscles of the forming Tyranitar began to bulge all over her body. The skin began to thicken considerably and locked in place. The shell was packed with nutrients that had been accumulated for years, and were aiding Tyranitar in this process.

The rock-hard hide of Tyranitar then smoothed out and dulled in color, giving her a look of a boulder. Her face had formed into the shape that gives Tyranitar's an imitating look that makes weak pokemon flee. Last of all, her belly began to harden into a more blue colored stone which was useful in protecting her vital organs. I then beheld my Tyranitar for the first time.

The man in blue came up from behind me, gazing at Tyranitar. "You must be a powerful trainer, Mr. Diamond, to have trained a Pupitar so well. You have to take this job, not many other trainers are strong… I mean, as good as you."

I ignored him, and began speaking to my Tyranitar. "My, have you have grown. It seems as if only yesterday I was pulling you out of that old abandoned rock pile. Now you are probably strong enough to topple Mt. Silver."

"Roooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr!" Tyranitar bellowed and she stomped a foot, shaking the ground around me.

"Whoa! That enough excitement for today." I said as I held up a Great Ball, "We don't want the new house to be destroyed now, do we? Return!" A red beam of light shot out of the ball, absorbed the beast of rock for a moment, and then brought Tyranitar back inside of it. "That was very exciting." I said to the man in blue. "But not only do I get to deal with an ornery Tyranitar every day, but she is going to cost me a fortune to feed!" The man in blue did not seem to catch my sarcasm however. I sighed. One more ignorant fool in the world.

The man interrupted my thoughts, obviously in a hurry, "We will pay you one million Poke dollars for you to come and investigate, and I'll also give you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ruby jewel, the same shape and size of a pokeball. The second that it was withdrawn, the rain that was falling immediately stopped. I couldn't tell, but it also felt to me like the weather got warmer. "This is a valuable item in Hoenn, known as the Red Orb. I thought you'd like to take it with you when you see Groudon." I don't know if it was the hypnotizing glow of the orb or its flawless shape, but there was something about it that made me have to accept this offer. It was as if the jewel was calling, persuading me to go.

"Alright," I said, "I'll go." I quickly took the Red Orb and stuffed it in my left pants pocket. It felt strangely warm against my leg. I looked at the blue suited man and asked with a smile, "What do I have to do?"

The man smiled. He had won; I was going to do what he asked of me. "You need to be in Sootopolis in two weeks. I have made the arrangements for you to take a plane from Goldenrod to Lilycove next Tuesday. When you arrive we will have a helicopter ready to take you into Sootopolis. Here is a list of instructions for you." He extended a hand holding a manila envelope.

"Well," I replied, using my hand to turn away his envelope, "I must ask you please scrap your plans because I prefer to plan my own traveling arrangements. I will be in Sootopolis by tomorrow, is that okay?"

The man looked surprised, but not doubtful. "Well, sure, if you think you can make it that fast. I'll let my contact in Sootopolis know that you are coming."

"I know I can make it by later tonight, I have the fastest flyer in all of Johto on my side." I reached to my belt and called upon a very old and weathered pokeball. I threw it into the air and said, "Salamence, come on out!" The small pokeball bounced twice on the ground, and out came the giant Salamence of mine. The large dragon reared up on his hind and stretched.

His body was extremely toned compared to other Salamences that I had come across over the years. His head was sharp and truly scary to anything that did not get a chance to get to know him. He was a kind old brute, mostly because he knew he did not need to prove anything, being as strong as he was. His large axe-shaped wings beat back and forth a few times to get adequate blood flow through them. He knew that we were going flying, and he was as excited as a dog who was about to go driving in the back of its owners truck.

"Well," the blue suited man said, "I'll leave you on your word that you can be there tomorrow. I have to go. I probably won't see you for a while. Meet my coworker in Sootopolis and she will help you with the protocol of getting through the security to see the legendary beast." He handed me a small business card with an "A" on the top and a person's name and address on the back.

As he was leaving I realized again that I still didn't know his name. I had to find out now; maybe it would remind me where I had seen him before. "And who are you exactly; you haven't told me what name you go by."

The man turned slowly, looking me in the eyes again. "My named Archie Mizu, at your service." I chuckled to myself as I realized that I was technically at his service, for a price of course. "I have to go catch a plane now; I'll hopefully see you later." He put a weird emphasis on the word "hopefully", but I didn't read too much into it.

After he left I went out to a shed in my backyard and pulled out an old leather harness that I had made custom for Salamence out of Taros hide. Although I usually would ride bareback, Sootopolis was very far away, so naturally I didn't want to fall asleep and roll off Salamence's back. After struggling to put it on, I finally made it fit. I went inside and grabbed some dried trail mix and a couple liters of water, stuffed them in an old backpack I had lying around, and locked the doors. After fastening my backpack, I walked up to my Salamence and stood in front of him.

Slowly, I lifted my right hand in the air. Salamence brought his head down and touched it with his nose, exhaling slightly. His breath smelled terrible, but I did not flinch. I then curved my arm and ran it down the blue scales of his neck. I could feel each individual one as I closed my eyes and concentrated on our secret ritual of friendship. Salamence rubbed his neck against my face ever so gently, and as I clutched both hands around his neck, he lifted me into the air. Slowly he let me down inside of the harness. I quickly strapped my legs down and reached up towards the front of the harness. There were no reigns because I guided Salamence by placing my hands on certain points of his neck.

I smiled. I think I can feel an adventure beginning, I thought and I yelled out loud, "Salamence! To Sootopolis!" With a roar, he leaped into the air by leaning back onto his hind legs and thrusting his wings downward. To me it seemed as if he pushed the very ground away from us. We headed north for fifteen seconds when we reached the cliffs north of Blackthorn, the place where I had seen the elusive Mew. After a few minutes of searching we found a thermal and rode it to as high as it would take us, which was about three miles. Once we peaked out, we began our long journey towards the small ocean city of Sootopolis.