Delightful Evening

"Steelix, end this now with Iron tail!" Brock bellowed, fueled by testosterone.

"Gabite, you will end this with Flamethrower!" Red shouted with the same vigor as Brock.

Red was, however, oddly dressed for the rematch. Red donned a sleek black and white tuxedo with a slim, black tie. His shiny black shoes pinched the tips if his toes. He was sweating in the tight suit.

Gabite shocked the colossal Steelix with an Earthquake to momentarily stun him. He scorched the iron Snake Pokemon for massive damage. With a final grunt, Steelix collapsed onto gym's floor, stirring up a missive sand cloud.

Brock sighed. "Even with all my training, it still wasn't enough to beat you," he said defeated. He replaced his frown with a satisfied smile. "But it was an exciting match nonetheless."

"The rematch of the century," Red agreed. He recalled his Gabite as did Brock and met each other in the center.

"You have what it takes to take on the Elite Four," Brock remarked reassured.

"I hope it's enough to step up to that challenge," Red remarked.

"That was a captivating battle!" Emily brusquely joined in the end-of-battle conversation. "Riveting words from both of you." She said it a little to rash. She was also nicely dressed for the occasion.

Emily wore a plain black skater dress made out of the synthetic rubber neoprene. The dress barely reached to her knees with the skirt part ending in extensive frills. The bodice was short sleeve and nicely framed her body. Even her head was professionally done with her orange hair forming the bangs that were brushed to the left side, framing that side of the cheek with its long strands reaching her chin. The streaks of yellow on the side of her head were brushed back and met the redder hair on the top of her head. Together the bright colored hair formed into an elaborate and formal bun.

"It was great," Red repeated himself. "I have to run now, Brock."

"I'm glad you took the time to have this battle," Brock dragged on the conversation, oblivious to Emily's urgency.

"Hope to see again, Brock!" Red had to cut the conversation short. Emily and Red made their way to the Pewter City Gym's exit.

"Hurry up," Emily hissed at Red, checking the time again on her cellphone.

"I'm sorry again for this," Red apologized, sweating now from anxiety.

"Well, next time remember your arrangements before you go battling where ever you please," Emily nagged. "If you expect a second date after this than you better damn sure make up for this with what you have planned."

Red reached to his belt for the Pokeballs, clipping one off. "I'm sorry again, Emily, for that battle. I promised Brock a rematch and called me for it to be today. I totally forgot about the date being in the evening."

"Saying you're sorry doesn't make it any better," Emily crossly said.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Red asked, releasing his Pidgeot on the pavement.

"Just make this date seem it was worth the hassle," Emily said, crossing her arms. "Though it is quite silly to have you make such a mistake. So this will be somewhat memorable to day the least."

-"Huh? I thought we were having a rematch with that rock gym leader,"- Pidgeot warbled confused.

"I already used my Charizard, so I had to save you for last," Red replied casually as he figured his Pokemon's confusion.

-"But I wanted to show him how much I've grown since out first match,"- Pidgeot dejectedly said.

Red hopped onto his Pidgeot's back. He held out his hand and helped Emily get on. She scooted closer to her, wrapping her warms around his waist. The heart pendant of Emily's purse poked Red in the side but best thought to not remark on it and ordered for his Pidgeot to take off. Emily held on as Pidgeot took off. They circled around the gym before Pidgeot took off into the east.

Emily has no idea where Red was taking her. She only knew it was somewhere in Cerulean City and that it was recommended to Red by a friend. He was also asked to dress nicely for the occasion as well as Emily did. She did have to pick out the attire for both herself and him as he didn't the best sense in fashion.

Even though she feared that the wind would mussed up her elaborate hairdo, she couldn't help but stick her head out form Red's back to admire the view. The sun looked like it could set in an hour as it was in west, casting their shadow over the terrain. Emily peered down, admiring at the forests flew right pass them. The view of Mt. Moon was gorgeous as Red made a pass around it. He had Pidgeot fly past a secluded open cavern in the mountain and many little Clefables were prancing around. They didn't scatter in their presence and continued their frolicking. Pidgeot flew off into the direction Cerulean.

The feeling of flying made Emily regret she never really had the chance to ride her Flygon into the sky. She never really had much of a chance to anything exciting as this back in her old life. Her life has rapidly changed in this past few years. Emily clenched her hands, hurting Red in the process.

"Are you alright, Emily?" Red sensed the distraught in his date so he ignored scratches. "Want Pidgeot to slow down?"

"No, I'm fine," Emily spoke back, gathering herself.

Cerulean City appeared minutes later and Red directed Pidgeot to the center of the city. The center was the commercial district making it harder for Emily to discern the place they were going to dine at. Pidgeot landed into a small concrete plaza that was designated for flying Pokemon to land.

"That's the place!" Red shouted before they landed. Emily only caught the brown shingled roof of the place before Pidgeot came to a sudden stop. Red jumped off and helped Emily off. He returned back his Pidgeot.

Emily teetered, nearly falling into the concrete sidewalk. Red caught her before she could so. She held to his shoulder for support. She regained her balance on her black heels. The heels weren't exaggerated but they still were a modest height that she wasn't used to.

"Take me over there-Quick!" she had Red ushered her close the entrance. She made sure her hair was perfect in the reflection on the tinted window. She studied the restaurant Red took her to. They were close to entrance so she didn't get much of an idea of what it looked around. She did see that the restaurant was its standalone building as oppose to the others in the area shared buildings in the high density commercial area. A two story building that had 'La Mer' written in neon blue lights. She figured it dealt in Kalos-style cuisine.

The door was opened by a member of the staff. The man in front of them handed his Belstaff to a busboy on standby. Red was immediately approached by the maître d'hôtel of this fine establishment. A surprisingly young man greeted the couple in a regular tuxedo suit.

"Sir, may I help you?" he courteously asked with small smile. He held a small wooden box of vintage champagne which he quickly passed on to a passing waiter.

Red straightened himself and sternly replied, "I believe I have a reservation under the name of Red Ketchum. The owner of this restaurant said she handled the reservations."

She…I guess that does confirm my suspicions on who this owner is, Emily faintly smirked.

"I'm the one that handles the reservations at 'La Mer' and I don't recall adding someone named Red," The maître d' walked up to his podium and flipped through his list. His condescending eyes lit up as he went through the reservations, realizing his mistake. "I deeply am sorry for my gaffe, sir. It seems that the Madame did take the liberty to reserve you without my prior knowledge. You're an invaluable guess at this establishment." He quickly made amends, acting more generous than he did before.

Red held back a smug smile. "It's fine. Just take us to our seats, please."

"Oh, of course," he said. "You're registered as a VIP so we will take you to our special room. It still hasn't been available to the open public and available to just a selected few. I hope you find it…atmospheric."

"The will do just fine," Red politely replied.

"Then please follow me," he said, turning around to collect two menus from his podium.

Emily tugged Red's arm, forcing to walk. They made their way into the main foyer uniformly filled with clothed tables and sleek, well-dressed patrons occupied the seats. A few turned their heads in interest as some recognized Red's face.

Emily mentally groaned when they had to take the large staircase to the second floor. She tried her best to keep her balance, holding to the railing for support. She breathed in relief when she made it to the top. That wasn't the end as the second floor was still for the public and they were lead to the back into a large hallway. The hallway led them to their dining table.

A large room that looked like it could hold at least fifteen tables had only seven tables set up at the moment. The walls were entirely made of a thick layer of clear glass. Clean blue water pushed against the walls of the aquarium glass, giving the room a tinted blue color. The light fixtures hanging from the roof balanced out the blue hue with its fluorescent light as to give the guests a good view of their food.

"Our special rules are to not tap the glass or anger the aquatic life," the man informed as Emily touched the glass.

A bloated Goldeen swam up to her, eyeing her with its smug eyes. A large Seaking swam up behind her and blew a stream of harmless bubbles towards the glass. Emily saw the elaborate coral reef ecosystem set up in the aquarium lit up with tiny LED lights, slowing phasing between colors.

"You can watch them while we sit," Red gained Emily's attention.

"Yeah, that will be nice," she bashfully replied. She took her seat at the table the man gestured at. Red took his seat across from her. Emily noticed the six other people were there with them in the room. All were couples sitting at tables close to the glass. She looked to her left, watching the Seahorse swim close to the glass.

"Here are the menus for today," the maître d' presented the couple with the menus.

"Full course meal?" Red whispered in astonishment.

"A meal where a multiple of dishes are served such as appetizers, soup and main course." Emily helpfully informed. "It looks like we are having the five course dinner."

"That is correct, miss," he said. "What would you like to drink first?"

"I'll just take water," Emily answered.

Red took his time to order. "I guess I'll try this sakura and strawberry soda."

"And I think we will be taking this special course for both of us," Emily held the menu to their server and pointed to a particular order. She realized they will be there forever if Red had to choose every course.

"Excellent choice, Madame. Your Hors D'Oeuvres will arrive shortly," their maître d' said, retrieving the items before heading out.

"I'm actually astonished by your choice of restaurant," Emily giddily admitted, admiring the curious water Pokemon.

"Really? What did you expect?" Red queried.

Emily pursed her lips. "I expected perhaps one of those battle restaurants gaining popularity nowadays. So you can continue to battle to get ready for the Elite Four."

"Come on. You got to give me more credit," Red replied. Their respective drinks arrived with Red receiving his clear soda tinted with red swirls while Emily got her sparkling water.

Emily tapped her glass, breaking the bubbles on the side of her glass. "I can't help but think that this person who told you about this place had a personal agenda."

A waiter in his formal attire arrived with their appetizers on two silver platters. "Do you require anything more?"

"No we're just fine. Thank you," Emily spoke for both of them and he left as another customer called his attention.

Red stared at the single garlic bread on an immaculate white plate. It's only toppings were fresh tomato, parmesan cheese, basil, and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. He mind drifted back to Emily's conclusion. "You think I was set up for a reason?"

"The person who you referred as a she," she slyly replied, enjoying the idea of playing an observant detective, "is the owner of this place. Services are provided to you to give you a good impression of the place. This place has a very particular theme that piqued my interest and the only person in Cerulean to have contact with you is of course…Misty Mayflower."

"Misty wouldn't use me for publicity. I'm barely a celebrity by her standards," Red said, admitting Misty was the person who recommended this place to her.

"Tsk. You don't give yourself enough credit. I see it as flattery for…"she paused to take a drink.

"Flattery for what?"

"For she believes that you can become the next champion," she finally said smiling.

Red silently thought on it, stunned. "She actually believes that? She has faith in me beating the Elite Four," he asked in a hushed tone.

Emily dropped her detective role for her usual spunky self and shrugged. "I was just making assumptions. This restaurant still seems it's still having changes being made when this room isn't even finished. She probably hoped your great impression will help boost attendance in its early stages. If the future champion happened to leave her with a great review, then this place would be flooded with people. These are my theories so please take them with a grain of salt. You are going to have to ask her for the truth. She will tell you." Emily took her first bite out of the appetizer.

Red munched on his garlic bread, careful to not let the vinegar drip onto the blue cloth. "You are quite observant and thorough with your interpretations," Red complimented, wiping his lips with the napkin.

"What's with all the compliments all of the sudden? Don't think you can easily win me over with pretty words masked in guilt. That mistake you made could have caused us this delightful evening," she made cleared she wasn't over Red's blunder.

Red shiftily rolled his eyes to the side. "I'm not trying to coax you into forgiving me," Red sincerely said. "I was hoping you could help me with my ordeal with what to do with Ember's Pokemon."

Emily placed down her glass of water, feeling the conversation grow serious. "So they did give you custody over Ember's Pokemon."

"No, they turned them over to my mother," Red solemnly corrected. "Ember's Infernape and Magmortar are recovering rapidly from their injuries. They will soon be discharged into my mother's care."

"And what do you plan to do with them?" Emily attentively asked, pushing away her half eaten bruschetta.

"I believe they deserve a long break," Red vaguely answered. "I had my chance to speak with them and both seemed defeated. Their trainer abandoned them when they were in peril. Their injuries were nearly fatal but they miraculously recovered but their spirits are at an all-time low."

"Then I guess staying with your mother sounds like the best for them," Emily agreed with the decision. Such trauma will require time to heal. Emily thought back to how warm Red's mother was to her, figuring that motherly love could help those poor souls.

"My mother has no qualms. She knows them quite well since they did live with her when Ember stayed home," Red explained, finishing his appetizer.

"And how about the rest of Ember's Pokemon," Emily brought up.

Red snapped his fingers. "That's where I'm having trouble deciding," he said. "Flareon and Houndoom are the two other Pokemon given to us. Ember's Charizard and Rotom seemed to disappear along with their trainer so I don't have to worry about them."

"Makes you wonder where he left and how. He just vanished along with that other wacko you said was with him," Emily contemplated on the vast number possibilities and reasons.

"I know that right now he's a real threat and wanted criminal but I really hope to meet him one day," Red dreamily said. "But I will take care of his Pokemon. I will have to leave it up to my mother. They still need rest until I can finally decide."

"I mean, couldn't you just take them in on your team," Emily suggested.

Red bit his tongue, pondering on the idea. "I just can't," he bleakly said. "It just doesn't seem right with me to take Ember's Pokemon just to make my own team stronger. They have brought me this far and to replace them with Flareon or Houndoom just doesn't sit with me."

"Geez it was only a suggestion," Emily cheekily said.

"I know you were just trying to help," Red apologetically responded. "It's just me brother has been a hot topic lately. I did tell you about my new thoughts on the riddle text?"

"You've made headway with this…obscure text that might have been for the wrong number," Emily teased. "Everything doesn't have to be this complicated and complex."

"I told you I tried calling the number and I received the message that the number didn't exist," Red reiterated the revelation. "I now believed it came from my brother."

"Now hold up," Emily stopped him before he could say more. "You said you never handed your brother your number. He had no way of gaining the number unless he forced someone who did to give them your number. You investigated that route and you found nothing."

Red accepted the facts. "I know which is why I'm still skeptical of approaching the riddle from this direction but I got to do everything I can to figure this out," he said pulling his Pokegear.

Emily gently placed his hand over Red who was going to hand her the device. "And I think it's best to not talk about it now," she sternly stated, pushing Red's hand back.

Red realized the location and pulled the cellular device back into his pocket, feeling ashamed. "Just got carried away. We can talk about it another time," he nervously chuckled.

Emily nodded, gripping her glass to drink from it. "I understand. These last few weeks have been chaotic and tiring for you and me."

"The terrible events that caught to us have been staggering," Red confessed.

"Yeah, but wonderful memories have also been made," Emily assured, warmly smiling. "Of course nothing exciting really happened before you met me. Your journey got better when I joined the party. My money funded some of your adventures." She behaved like an exaggerated snobbish socialite.

Red slyly smirked, seeing it was playful banter. "I've met Kuraisora way before we met," Red exclaimed. "Interesting things like weird events in Lavender Town was one of my first few clashes with Kuraisora."

"You mentioned of Lavender town but you did say everyone in the town doesn't remember what happened. How can I be sure that you aren't making any of this up?" she challenged her date.

The next course came to which the server called vegetable marrow farci.

"I remember having this as the first course on a cruise liner when I was younger," Emily brightly said, returning to the young innocent girl she was before.

Red recounted the events at Lavender Town in detailed. He continued until it struck him. "Fuji…Fu-ji...Fuji!" his exclamation brought unwanted attention.

"Who is this Fuji?" Emily whispered, urging Red to keep his excitement down.

Red next went on this spiel of the abandoned Pokemon Mansion at Cinnabar Island and Mewtwo and how he finally remembered who Dr. Fuji was.

"All these things you never told me about," she cutely pouted. "This Mew-two thing you said is now on loose does sound quite fun to be honest. An elusive Pokemon in Kanto just like Mew."

"I doubt we are ever going to even catch a glimpse of it," Red said. "I mean after all these years it-" the ring of a familiar device cut Red mid sentence.

"You don't have to answer it. We're on a date for god's sake. Put it on silence," Emily whined seeing Red pulled it out.

"It's Lance," Red said, shocked by just saying his name.

Emil kept quiet as he answered it. She saw his face grimaced at the first few sentences that Lance said but she couldn't hear them.

"And you took hours to inform me!" Red snapped moments after Lance said something that made his face contort to shock. Lance's voice was calm as ever and gave him further details. "I will keep on alert," he lastly sighed, hanging up without a farewell.

"What was it?" Emily asked concerned. She stiffened to body as to take the news better than Red did.

Red rubbed his forehead as if in agony. "There has been a breakout," he meekly answered.

"Breakout? Where? Who?' Emily queried for more.

Red dropped his hand, becoming calm. "It happened in the late afternoon," he began to inform. "On his way from being transported between prison to the court, Drake was busted out with obvious help from the outside."

Emily audibly gasped. "That brute from Kuraisora is free," she said overwhelmed.

"I'm afraid so," Red said clearly worried.


They passed up on the stone steps. The guard was geared up in a full body black cotton uniform reinforced with plate armor on the knees and elbows. A Kevlar vest covered his chest and the tight black balaclava hid his face. His dark combat boots kept his footsteps from being heard in the stairwell but the group going down the stairs was silent in their descent.

Quick to the draw, Joey had his Lickitung wrap him up in his tongue, the saliva paralyzing the armed man. Lickitung dropped him once he lost conscious.

"I could have taken that guy down with one hit," Drake bragged, walking the few steps to catch up with Joey. He was given back his Kuraisora sweater which he wore against his wishes to join the group again since he hated the cold more. His Pokeballs were also given back to him.

"Then I suppose you want to take the lead," Joey dramatically pointed towards the carved staircase leading down. "You do know your way through Navel Rock?"

Drake spun around to dress the man behind him. "Are really that sure about of this wimpy guy?" he rudely said to the cold person being Ice. Ice has been unusually quiet and on edge. He rarely spoke to him on the journey towards Navel Rock.

Ice gave in for a first time since they he asked Drake to take out his Dragonite. "I didn't break you out just to have you start a fight with anyone. I have you here to help me decide if this guy is talking utter shit," Ice stated his side.

"Our leader Leer would have never relied on this blundering idiot," he loudly protested.

"He says that Leer left something for him and I'm willing to bet my chances on it if it's true," Ice taciturnly responded.

"You expect me to believe that Leer gave you out of all people, this rare item," Drake continued to scoff at the idea. From what he could gather about Joey during his time in the team, Joey seemed like a complete joke.

"I've been in Kuraisora longer than you have," Joey responded in a more serious tone." He revealed this to me in case things go awry. I know of his troubles and secrets."

"I just cannot fathom the idea that Leer would open up to a chump like you," Drake sneered.

Joey stopped close to the exit of the crude tunnel, the waterfall growing fiercer. "I understand that your beliefs revolve around who's stronger and your only motivation for following me now is out of pure curiosity," Joey turned around to face his contender. "I promise you that one I show you the item, then you will be willing to join me. If you don't, then I will have you submit to me through battle."

"You really think you can win against me," Drake sized him up.

"He had the potential to be as strong as Ember," Ice interjected. "He had shown a few times his is capable of more."

"Is that so..." Drake glanced back, contemplating. "If you're so sure about it...then I'll reserve my judgment till later." He showed he actually valued Ice's opinion since he rarely would lie to gain favor and even less in this stoic faze. "You did say you fought off Ember to escape."

"He saved me only to nearly kill me," Joey ecstatically jumped. "He teleported us out of danger just have me try and spill the beans on our glorious leader! But I didn't cave in to his demands and escape the moment I got the chance."

"So, there is no hope of having Ember back on our side," Drake sounded concerned.

"Not a chance," Joey confirmed, brushing his chestnut brown hair out of his eyes. "He betrayed Leer and nearly killed me. Of course that isn't enough for you to think so!"

"Tch! That fool lost to his kid brother. He lost all respect from me," Drake grudgingly muttered.

"With that settled, let's hurry before they start to beef up security around here," Joey lead the group out of the crowded hallway.

"I thought you said that this was best time to infiltrate due to the low security," Drake brought up Joey's words. He followed Joey into one of the rooms that were used to house a legendary bird with Ice silently following behind.

"Your escape had them lightened security as they had to call in some of their forces in to search for you," Joey replied, stopping at the edge of the wall. He frantically searched the bricks for the key.

"Wouldn't they have ordered for more people to come in since this might be a place I'll return," Drake adamantly argued.

"That's what they would think first and say that's too obvious so they figured it would be unlikely unless you have something incredibly important," Joey fought back with broken logic.

"But we do have something important to get!" Drake shouted, raising his hands to the ceiling.

Joey, paused and turned his head back with sheepish smile. "Heh, I can't have every plan of mine be perfect. I just hope that they don't realize it."

"How could we follow this guy!" Drake pointed at him looking over the stoic Ice. "He can even think of simple plan of infiltrating our own base."

"But we have yet to be caught," Joey excitingly said, pushing a single brick back to reveal a secret switch for those who didn't possess aura to open the wall. The wall opened up to reveal a winding staircase along the jagged wall towards the bottom.

"It seems the place is still swarming with leeches," Joey singed excited by the small number of researches at the site where Leer summoned Lugia. The fading sunlight penetrated the darkness from the hole that Lugia made.

"Ice, if you would so kind to get them out of the way," Joey talked to Ice as if they were great companions again.

"We never were that close to begin with so don't go acting as if we are comrades," Ice coldly refuted. He did produce a Pokeball to release his Froslass. He whispered her orders and let her to float towards the unsuspecting scientists. "We need to get there quick," he rashly said, forcing Joey to run down the flight of stairs.

Froslass appeared in the middle of the dozen so of scientists and archaeologist. She spun around and whipped up a blizzard. The screams of confusion and terror were lost in the howling winds. The storm engulfed the entire scene, freezing everything in its wake. The blizzard soon dissipated to reveal human popsicles frozen to the ground. Not all were fully encase in ice but at least their arms were sealed.

"I told you to get rid of them," Joey complained once he arrived to the winter wonderland. "You could have thrown them into the water or anything to at least not have any witnesses."

"But I want witnesses," Ice revealed, telling his Froslass to stay close to him. "I have a few people here to watch you do your magic. You lie to us about this object and try to kill us then I have at least a few witnesses."

Joey raised his hands, offended by the thought. "You actually think I will go as far as to kill you guys when I wasted the trouble to get you here," he defended.

"Please, let us out of here. It's getting really cold," a female aide pleaded from her ice cage. She shrank at Ice's glare.

"Fine, then. I think this works just as fine…maybe even better," Joey deviously said. He pulled his, feeling the cold get to him. He walked up to the same place where Leer stood before he summoned Lugia. He stepped into the circle of runes, covered in frost. He bent low towards the center where the stone monument was. The small monument once held the three elemental crystals but was now barren. He motioned Lickitung to the ancient shrine.

-"It might be a little cold but I will try!"- Lickitung announced his worries but he still wrapped his sticky tongue around the shrine, wincing from the frosty stone. He pulled the lab of tone out of its place to reveal new symbol under it.

Joey pulled on a glove faintly tainted with aura. He traced the various runes on the symbols in a particular order. He traced every symbol until white escaped formed in the cracks. He grabbed the stone handle protruding in the circular symbol. He easily pulled up the stone case. Pulling out from the hole was a capsule emitting power beyond the group's imagination.

"The reason I needed an aura guardian," Joey remarked, filled with excitement. "This is the result of the ritual Leer performed. The massive amount of energy that the legendary Pokemon was harvested to create this!" he opened the side of the capsule to pull out the strangest, funniest looking ocarina. The azure-colored flute gave off a strange aura that could felt by anyone in the vicinity.

"A-a flute?" Drake uttered not believing it for a second.

Joey discarded the case into the deep water around the place. "I sure even you feel its odd presence. Can't you sense its feelings? Remorse…hate…sadness…sorrow-wait that's the same as sadness. Well you get the deal. This thing is baaad!" Joey playfully said. "But it's not complete!" He placed the instrument to his lips and began to play a cold, haunting tone. A tone that breathed out malice and despair but Joey continued to play. He walked towards the closest hostage with the flute directed at him.

"Please! Don't bring that over here! I beg of you!" The man has never seen the item in his life but he could tell it was changing him. Transforming him from the inside. He grew weaker as Joey got closer, ignoring his cries.

The flute took on a greyish glow, whispering out words in a lost language. The flute shook violently right after the man spoke his last words. He stopped his wailing and fell silent. His eyes said it all. They were cold and emotionless.

"It's now alive!" Joey raised his azure flute in triumph, not at all disturbed by the events.

"What the hell did you just do?" Drake bellowed.

"Hmm it wasn't obvious?" Joey uttered back. "This flute needs to be alive for our plan to work. It requires a sacrifice if I had to put in cruse terms."

"This is madness," another scientist yelled.

"It only requires on life so don't get too worked up," Joey barked back. "This is the key to our next plan. We still have other parts of the puzzle to gather which is what I need you to help me with."

Drake was hesitant but Ice confidently stepped forward. "Well, you convinced me, Joey. If this is what Leer wanted, then I will follow through," he declared his loyalty.

"I've got to admit, this has gotten interesting," Drake disclosed. "This must have to deal with legendary Pokemon. Which one is it this time?'

Joey deviously smiled. "The king of all legendary Pokemon. We are going to challenge god itself!"

The rush of footsteps led to the trapped scientists to loudly yell for help. Entering from every possible entry to the sacred place was the task force sent to guard Navel Rock and brave Pokemon who were partnered with them. Joey was ready with their escape. He released his Slowbro that knew the Teleport ability. Drake and Ice scampered towards Joey with Froslass floating close behind. At the snap of Joey's fingers, they vanished from sight.


The sun was setting in the West, giving Emily and Red a moment of silence as they admired it. They were north of Cerulean City, sitting on the small hill in between the two large ponds. Red did tell her he did meet a strange professor up here on his first time but the man was nowhere to be found of route 25. They continued to watch the sunset in peace.

"This had to be another idea from Misty," Emily broke the serene silence with her speculations.

Red dejectedly sighed. "The Cerulean Cape was Misty's idea as well. Told me it had potential to become a popular dating spot." Red stretched out his legs. His feet reached out towards end of the pond in front of them. A Magikarp swam close to the surface, eyeing Red suspiciously.

Emily hugged her legs closer to her chest, her heels off to her side. "I'm glad you took me to this beautiful place but I hate to sound incredibly cheesy," she paused and took a small breath, "but I would have just been as happy if you took someplace else that you decided was fine for a date."

Red blinked in disbelief. "That was pretty cliché and cheesy," Red humorously admitted.

Emily lowered her head. "Please don't tell anyone," she meekly asked.

"But if it is how you feel," Red sucked in his breath, "then I will let you choose the place next time."

Emily lifted her head. "Did I say we're having a second date?" she dishonestly hissed.

"I just judged by your tone that this went well," Red said, laying back.

"And you just didn't just evade my privacy by searching my very soul," Emily said unconvinced.

"I kept my promise to no longer pry into your feelings. I have the restrain to not do so," Red honored her rules she placed for him. "I know how it is to have your feelings invaded. Leer pulled something off but I think I used it to my advantage."

"Enough of this Kuraisora," Emily raised her voice. "They are gone. We dismantled their plans. The members are on the run and it's only a matter of time before they got caught. What more do they have left?"

Red kept quiet, seeing Emily had emotion on the matter. "I think I am done with Kuraisora and now I leave it to the authorities," Red quietly responded. The chirps of Pidgeys filled the silent moment. "I am going to focus now on fighting the Elite Four."

Emily sighed not out desperation but out of relief. "They are not far away since you decided to challenge them as early as you could which was in one week," Emily wearily reminded him. They entered another minute of mollified silence.

"You know what," Red interrupted the peace this time. "I will take you up on that idea of yours from dinner. Starting tomorrow!"

"What idea?" Emily asked clueless.

"We are going to be training for my upcoming battle with the Elite Four. We have only one week to prepare," Red confidently proclaimed.

Emily stared back at Red who kept his unwavering, confident look at the sunset. A faint smile lifted up on her red lips. "I will be glad to help you. I have something to gain out of this. I do have plans of my own but I'm not ready to reveal them yet."

"I'll support you as well," Red assured. They continued to watch the horizon until the sun finally departed, leaving them in dark.