Part Seven… Introducing Team Sphera. You haven't seen them before, mainly because they're my invention. They're like Team Aqua and Magma, except, well, meaner.

Part 7: A One-Sided Battle

"Oh, no you don't!" a trainer shouted. "Electabuzz, Thunder Punch!"

The humanoid Pokémon leapt at the Squirtle, pulling its fist back.

"Squirtle, dodge it and Dig!" May ordered sternly.

"Eve, take down!" Jordan yelled.

The two Pokémon obeyed- Squirtle began to dig, eventually going underground, while Eve leapt at their opponent's Magmar, crashing into it.

"No! Magmar!" the girl, whose name was Evelyn, cried.

Magmar landed hard on the ground. "Mag… mar……" the Magmar croaked as it fainted.

"Magmar, return," Evelyn muttered, and she held up a Pokeball. "Joel, can I borrow one of your Pokémon?"

Joel shrugged. "Sure, sis. Electabuzz, jump and use Light Screen!"

Electabuzz jumped, and waved its arms, summoning a screen of light. At that moment, Squirtle leapt from the ground, shattering the light screen and careering into Electabuzz, knocking it out.

May and Jordan grinned- the brother and sister were down to their last two Pokémon, and they still had all of their Pokémon.

"Ivysaur, go!" Evelyn cried, throwing a Great Ball.

"Dugtrio, I choose you!" Joel bellowed, throwing a Pokeball.

Both of the Pokeballs landed, and opened- out of them appeared Ivysaur and Dugtrio, making their various roars.

"Squirtle, Water Gun!" May ordered, pointing at Dugtrio.

"Eve, return!" Jordan said, holding out a Pokeball.

"Dugtrio, use that almighty Fissure attack!" Joel yelled.

"Ivysaur, Solar Beam!" Evelyn shouted.

Eve returned to the Pokeball, but the action was still going- Squirtle had fired a Water Gun at Dugtrio, but not before Dugtrio could form a fissure, through which Squirtle almost fell, but didn't.

"Go, Gyarados!" Jordan yelled, throwing a Pokeball in front of Squirtle- out of it, the towering form of Gyarados appeared, roaring so loudly that Dugtrio and Ivysaur cowered slightly.

Ivysaur suddenly opened its mouth and launched a Solar Beam at Gyarados, and, it was rushing towards it until-

"Gyarados, use your Fire Blast!" Jordan yelled, and Gyarados obeyed, firing a fiery blast out of its mouth where it met the Solar Bema in mid-air.

"Hold on, Ivysaur!" Evelyn screamed, but the powerful Fire attack completely destroyed the Grass attack, knocking out the Ivysaur.

"Damn," Joel muttered. "Dugtrio, use, uh… Mudslap?"

May laughed. "Squirtle, Water Gun again!"

Dugtrio managed to slap a faceful of mud into the little turtle's face, which immediately shot a small jet of water at the little Pokémon. However, the attack missed.

"Uh, May… it's a Dugtrio. Gyarados, Hydro Pump!" Jordan yelled.

The sea serpent opened its expansive mouth, spitting a huge jet of water at Dugtrio- a huge contrast to Squirtle's attack. Needless to say, the attack knocked out the Dugtrio almost immediately.

"Come back," Joel said weakly, holding out a Pokeball. "Nice match- but it's my first loss. I don't feel that good…"

Jordan shrugged. "That was a good match. Great job, Gyarados! You too, Eve!"

May agreed. "Good work, Squ- what?"

Jordan looked around- May's Squirtle wasn't there. It was a Wartortle!

"You evolved!" May said, hugging her Wartortle.

"Tortle- war!" Wartortle said confidently, rubbing its head against May's arm.

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"And Squirtle had evolved, right there!" she told Gary, who, inside, didn't really care.

"Cool," Gary muttered, without really paying attention.

The three of them were sitting around a campfire- it was about 10:00 at night, but none of them felt tired. May looked slightly let down that no-one was listening, but a rustle in the bushes immediately caused her to look up.

"Guys? What's that?" she asked.

"Dunno," Jordan mumbled, pulling out Gyarados' Pokeball and walking towards the intruder.

The hidden intruder grinned, suddenly jumping out of the shadows.

"Who the hell are you?" Jordan yelled.

"You haven't even allowed me to introduce myself," he sneered. "I am a part of Team Sphera, future rulers of the skies."

The man was wearing a green cape, green shirt and blue pants. The shirt and cape were embroidered with a tornado-like symbol.

"Enough talk. I'm here for your Pokémon," he said simply.

"You can't have our Pokémon." Gary snarled.

"Insolent fools. I guess I'll have to take you down. Aerodactyl, go!" the Sphera grunt yelled, throwing a Pokeball.

The Pokeball rolled across the ground, and Aerodactyl erupted out of it, emitting a loud screeching sound.

"No problem," Jordan sneered, picking up the Pokeball. "Gyarados, go!"

"Just a stupid Gyarados…" the Sphera member sneered. "Aerodactyl, Hyper Beam!"

"Counter it with your own Hyper Beam, Gyarados!" Jordan yelled.

The two Pokémon opened their expansive mouths, firing twin beams of light at each other.

"Hang on, Aerodactyl!" the Team Sphera grunt yelled.

"Gyarados, keep it going!" Jordan shouted.

The struggle looked even, but, realistically, Gyarados was winning slightly.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Gyarados muttered to Jordan.

Eventually, Aerodactyl began to weaken, the Hyper Beam closing in on it. It struck, causing the dinosaur to screech in a scary manner, falling to the ground.

"That Gyarados is strong!" the Sphera grunt muttered.

"You bet," Jordan said confidently, returning Gyarados to its Pokeball.

Suddenly, he ran forwards, snatching Gyarados' Pokeball. He quickly jumped through the clearing, and into the bushes.

Jordan swore, chasing after the Team Sphera grunt, until someone yelled.

"Delibird, Ice Beam!" another voice shouted- so the Team Sphera grunt wasn't alone…

"Wartortle, go! Surf!" May cried.

"Gligar, I choose you! Double Edge!" another Sphera member shouted.

"Dodrio, come on out and wipe them out with Drill Peck!" Gary bellowed.

Jordan thought hard. May and Gary were evenly matched… unless…

"Zubat! Supersonic!"

"Swellow! Hyper Beam!"

"Pelipper, Surf!"

"Fearow! Fly!"

Jordan gulped. His friends were outnumbered 3-to-1… he had to somehow get his Gyarados back, because going up against a group of Flying Pokémon fanatics with only an Eevee and a Treecko was suicide.

"Oi! You pathetic grunt! Stop running!" Jordan yelled in desperation.

The grunt stopped. "I am no grunt," he said coldly. "I am the Sphera Admin Leon… your downfall. I believe it is time for battle. Go, Pidgeot!"

Jordan frowned.

"Treeky, go!" he mumbled, throwing the Pokeball, out of which Treeky appeared.

"You're kidding, right?" Leon sniggered. "Pidgeot, use Aerial Ace!"

"Counter it with Toxic!" Jordan yelled.

The large bird flew at Treeky, but the gecko began to cough, hitting the bird with a gooey purple liquid. It abandoned its Aerial Ace attack, landing once again.

"Air Cutter!" Leon bellowed.

"Try Slam, Treeky! Then, follow it up with Quick Attack!" Jordan shouted.

The two Pokémon leapt into action- Pidgeot charged at Treeky, who jumped into the air, bringing its weighty tail down upon the frightened Pokémon, and it was drilled into the ground with unusual strength- a critical hit. Treeky then landed, charging at Pidgeot once again, gaining speed as it ran. It smashed into the bird with incredible force. Amazingly, the Pidgeot fainted.

"What?" Leon mumbled.

"My Treeky's powerful enough to take your Flying Pokémon down. I've been training it." Jordan laughed.

"Hmm… not bad. Flygon, go! Crunch!"

"Treeky, Giga Drain!" shouted Jordan.

Flygon soared towards Treeky, immediately damaging it with a Crunch attack, which sent the little gecko flying. He was sent into a tree, but managed to spit out a seed, which damaged Flygon and healed Treeky in a light display.

"Flygon, return to your Pokeball!" Leon mumbled, holding out a Pokeball and getting another one out of his pocket.

"Xatu, Psychic!" he yelled, as he threw a Pokeball- Xatu appeared out of it, hooting.

"Treeky, return. Eve, go!" Jordan shouted, as he returned Treeky and threw Eve's Pokeball, and the little vulpine Pokémon came out.

However, Jordan didn't notice two things- ripples going through the air coming from Xatu, and the fact that Treeky was beginning to glow white as he returned it.

"Eve, dodge it and Bite!" Jordan bellowed.

Eve leapt from side to side, avoiding the psychic blast, eventually sinking her teeth into the shocked bird's body.

"Xatu, Drill Peck!" Leon cried, aware he was losing.

"Eve, dodge it and use Take Down!" Jordan shouted.

Wasting no time, the psychic bird pecked at Eve- hard. The fox cried in pain.

"Maybe I'll put you in front of a crazy bird… see how you like it," Eve growled, as she rammed Xatu.

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"Beautifly, Silver Wind!" May cried, as Beautifly beat its wings, sending a silver gust at Swellow, who crashed into Fearow.

"Ya know, little attacks like that won't do anything," Gary laughed. "Blastoise, Hydro Pump!"

Blastoise revealed its two cannons, firing twin, precise jets of water at Swellow and Fearow, causing them both to faint.

"Okay, this is pointless," May muttered, as Beautifly was knocked out by Delibird and Gligar. "Wartortle, go!"

"Okay, Blastoise, Ice Punch that Gligar!" Gary ordered sternly.

The large tortoise obliged, jumping forwards and smashing the creature with an icy fist, knocking it into the ground.

"Three down, three to go," May muttered, as Wartortle and Blastoise eyed off Delibird, Zubat and Pelipper.

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Jordan looked at Eve's fainted form.

"Return," he muttered, and the little fox disappeared in a red light. "Go, Treeky!"

Jordan threw the Pokeball- but, instead of a Treecko appearing, a Grovyle did.

"You evolved!" Jordan yelled. "But… how?"

"You returned me as I was evolving me," Treeky smiled.

Leon scowled- Xatu had fainted, and he had to rely on Flygon.

"Flygon, go! Fire Punch Grovyle!" Leon shouted.

"Treeky, Pursuit!" Jordan yelled.

Flygon darted at Treeky, who leapt up into the air.

"That thing can jump," Leon muttered, amazed.

Flygon tried to punch upwards, only to have Treeky appear next to Flygon, slamming into it in a blaze of purple and black.

"Flygon, Fury Cutter!" Leon roared.

"Treeky, try… Giga Drain!" Jordan said loudly.

Flygon once again rushed at Treeky, hitting it with a Fury Cutter- which, luckily, didn't do much damage, but it managed to daze him.

"Treeky, Giga Drain, quickly!" Jordan reminded him.

Treeky managed to spit out a seed, which drained energy from the frightened Flygon in green spheres.

"Fury Cutter, again!" Leon yelled.

"Counter it with Leaf Blade!" Jordan roared.

Flygon dashed at Treeky, slashing at the gecko, which went flying backwards- but rebounded off a tree, hitting Flygon with its leaf at very high speed, and Flygon fell to the ground, fainted.

"Grr… Flygon, return." Leon growled, dropping Gyarados' Pokeball. "I will return…"

At that, the admin left, and Jordan picked up the Pokeball of Gyarados. Suddenly, a scream came from behind him.

"May… Gary…" Jordan muttered, sprinting back.

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"Would you like drinks?" a waiter asked Ash and Misty.

The Chinese restaurant was heavily decorated with Asian art, and painted a red colour. Young couples chattered animatedly around them.

"I'd like a raspberry soda, thanks," Misty replied.

"I'll just have water," Ash said, and the waiter walked off.

Ash looked at Misty- she looked really attractive in a red dress. No-one knew they were together- apart from them, of course.

"It really is hot tonight," Ash muttered, fanning himself and Misty off with his hand.

"Yeah," Misty muttered, watching as a truck thundered past the restaurant.

Ash, too, was looking at the truck, only to see it followed by another few trucks, each emblazoned with an identical emblem- one of a tornado.

"I wonder what all those trucks are." Ash thought aloud.

"Don't know," Misty muttered. "I'm thirsty, though… I hope my soda comes soon."

Suddenly, all of the trucks opened, and out of them came people in various shades of green.

A shiver went down Ash's spine, and he forced Misty under the table, ducking down himself. Suddenly, screaming erupted from over them, and several loud crashes were heard.

"You idiotic fools! The survivor isn't here!" one of them shouted, probably the leader. "Vermillion Town… honestly…"

However, the assault didn't fade- there were explosions, and more people screamed, along with Pokémon. More booms occurred- then, there was silence. They listened to the trucks driving away, and got out from under the table.

"What the-" Misty started, but she couldn't finish. "What the- what the- what?"

Vermillion was wrecked. All of the buildings had been damaged… people were lying in the streets, unconscious. Pokémon lay next to their masters, fainted. The whole Gym had been burnt down, Gym Trainers having tried to put up a fight.

"Ash… who do you think did all this?" Misty asked.

Ash looked out into the forest, a look of determined vehemence passing over his face.

"I dunno, but they'll pay." Ash muttered, as he walked into the forest, Misty beside him.

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Jordan took a deep breath, and tried to focus.

If I stay here, I'll lose my friends forever. Jordan thought. If I go out there, I'll be captured as well.

His heart was pounding, considering his friends had been captured.

"Oi! Look! There's another one behind the tree." a Sphera grunt cackled.

Jordan swore, pulling out Gyarados' Pokeball and stepping out into the open.

"What do you want with my friends?" Jordan yelled.

The Sphera grunt grinned.

"We're taking over Kanto, and we're going to use Rayquaza to get more sky."

Jordan almost laughed. "You're really stupid, aren't you? Rayquaza's in Hoenn, for Articuno's sake."

The Sphera grunt scowled.

"We're getting the three legendary birds first. Then, catching Rayquaza will be a breeze, considering we've pretty much levelled Johto and Hoenn anyway."

Jordan was in a state of shock- these freaks were willing to kill thousands just to capture a legendary?

"You're crazy!" he managed to utter.

"I'd rather be crazy than dead," the Sphera grunt laughed.

What the hell is that meant to mean? Jordan asked himself- but then, he turned around, only to have a Pelipper use its Fly attack, aimed directly at his chest. It hit, sending Jordan to the ground. He expected a deep gash to appear in his chest, but nothing came.

"That should've taken him down!" the grunt shouted, but Jordan was merely scratched.

He leapt up, punching the Sphera grunt. However, unknown to both of them, his fist glowed purple as it hit, sending the Sphera grunt flying.

"That kid's powerful!" another Sphera grunt yelled- three more were coming.

He quietly released Gyarados, knowing that he couldn't run now.

"Everyone, attack that boy!" the leader shouted.

Jordan gaped- how far would these people go?

"Crobat, go!"

"Pidgeotto, I choose you!"

"Butterfree, come on out!"

Jordan gulped, as his Gyarados may have been bigger, but it was outnumbered.

"Typhlosion, Flamethrower!"

"Snorlax, Metronome!"

"Manectric, Thunder!"

Jordan wheeled around- three new competitors had entered the battle, and their Pokémon were attacking. He quickly returned Gyarados, and hit the deck, so to speak, to avoid the attack.

Typhlosion opened its mouth, discharging a massive amount of fiery energy at Butterfree. It scored a direct hit, and Butterfree cried its cry, collapsing to the ground.

"No, Butterfree!" a female grunt squealed.

Manectric raised its fur, and hissed slightly- thunder rained from the sky in a yellow flash, striking Pidgeotto directly. It knocked it out easily.

"Pidgeotto, return!" the second Sphera grunt yelled.

Snorlax raised its large form off the floor, sending a multi-coloured beam at Crobat. It made a slight hum as it glided along, and it hit hard, causing the surprised bat to faint immediately. It screeched as it was returned.

"Okay, Team Sphera, back in the truck! We have to retreat!" the third one shouted, and they obeyed, climbing into the truck. It drove off, creating clouds of dust behind it.

Jordan got a closer look at the three- the first wore red and yellow clothes, and had bluish hair. He wore Johto colours.

The second of them wore similar clothes to the first trainer, except she had long, brown hair, and the colours of her pants and shirt were inverted.

The third wore red- he had long jet black hair that hid his face, and a red cape. He was an adult, unlike the two before him.

"Hey! You! Who are you?" the first one snapped.

"I'm on your side," he said. "My friends are in that truck."

"Go back to a city. This is officially our business," the first one said stiffly.

"Kevin… come on. Did you see him battle before? Defeating a team of Flying types with a Grass and a Normal type? He's obviously got talent." The girl muttered.

Kevin sighed.

"Yeah, you did do pretty well… my name's Kevin Gold. Sorry about before."

Jordan shrugged. "It doesn't matter," he said hastily. "I'm Jordan."

The girl smiled. "My name's Crystal."

The man was the last to introduce himself. "And I'm Red."

Jordan gaped. "You're Red? You're the Pokémon Master?"

Crystal laughed at Jordan's reaction.

"We're all Masters. I won the Johto League, and so did Kevin."

"Oh, yeah, bore the guy with the details…" Kevin mumbled.

"Please, you two, quit arguing. We need to save those two kids." Red ordered.

Kevin glared at him. "How do we do that?"

Red sighed. "Well, first we need to find out where Team Sphera is…" he muttered, and everyone sweatdropped.

Suddenly, Jordan concentrated on the people driving away- a clear location was in their minds- Mount Moon. As Jordan looked back up at the trio, they were still arguing.

"Everyone, I think-" Jordan began, but was interrupted.

"So what if you've got a Typhlosion? I've got my Manectric!" Crystal argued.

"Yeah, but Typhlosion is one of the strongest Fire types," Kevin replied proudly.

"TEAM SPHERA'S BASE IS AT MOUNT MOON!" Jordan bellowed.

Everyone jumped.

"Okay, let's go there, then!" Crystal said cheerfully, as Kevin and Red sweatdropped.

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Part 8: The Fourth Champion

Gary opened his eyes, only to find that he hurt all over, and that he was staring at concrete. Getting up, he looked around- a thin sliver of light was shining over him.

"Hello?" he called, and heard someone reply.

"Who is that?" he replied, only to have the person say the same thing.

"Duh, it's an echo," he mumbled angrily.

"I'm no echo!" The echo replied.

Gary looked up, confused, only to hear muffled laughter.