Battle for the Zephyr Badge

The blue-haired trainer waltzed out of his house and walked along the streets of the city. He greeted the old owner of the convenience store, bought a dozen cream puffs from the bakery and got a free cup of coffee from the nice cafe guy. Sipping the aromatic drink, he continued strolling. A few kids and people got up to him, said a good morning, and asked for his autograph. The encounter did not take long and soon he went straight towards the oriental building, with a cream puff stuffed inside his mouth.

Falkner passed by the Shinto gate and climbed the stairs. He then pushed open the door of the Leader's quarters as he munched on the fourth cream puff. A familiar person stood inside, her black eyes glaring at him. She was quite the beauty, with her purple hair tied up into two tiny buns, her petite figure dressed in a dainty miko attire, the clothing a little too big for her short stature. In this Gym, she acted as an adviser to the Leader, and made sure he did his work.

"Mmff, Ishuzru, moof morming." said Falkner with a mouthful of cream and puff. Gulping down the food, he found her storming towards him with apprehending steps.

"It's Isuzu, stupid Falkner. You're late." She pouted as she stared up at him. The height difference between them was pretty huge, since Isuzu was almost as short as a nine-year old child.

"Sorry." said Falkner as he patted her head. Isuzu growled in annoyance, and wriggled away from the Gym Leader's head. She then pointed at his face with an amused look.

"Cream. on. Face." She giggled. Falkner sighed and quickly took out a tissue paper to clean his cheeks. He then walked past her and set his stuff on the table. The Leader's quarters was simplistic, with only a chair and a table, since his real workplace was in the arena. His trainer rank as a Gym Leader was all thanks to his father, who had went off to Sinnoh to take a permanent breather. Meanwhile, Isuzu tiptoed and gazed downwards from the window, and widened her eyes in surprise.

"Falkner. Challenger. Early. Hood."

"Speak in proper sentences."

"There's a hooded guy walking towards the Gym. Rather early for a challenger."

Falkner rushed over to the window, and indeed, the same guy he met yesterday was marching into the building. That high leveled Pikachu was also perching on his shoulders, which made things all the more exciting.

"Do you want the juniors to test his skills before he fights you? Isuzu asked. Falkner shook his head and turned back, ready to head off to the arena.

"No, please set up everything in fifteen minutes."

He exited the room, the blue-haired seventeen year old ascending the staircase that leads to the top floor. Isuzu smiled and moved out to get ready.

Red gazed up at the tower, his hand blocking the glaring morning sunlight, red eyes glinting. He then pulled his hood lower and sauntered through the opened double doors of the Gym. Pikachu sat on his shoulder, scanning the interior of the Gym. The first floor was as usual, with pokemon statues on the left and the right. A man stood by solemnly on the right, and gave a silent nod. His presence was enough to tell the guide that he needed no help, since this was not his first Gym battle.

"...Pikachu, return..." he nudged the mouse, who reluctantly went back into his pokeball.

Red then slowly walked across the creaky bridge that stretched before him. Upon stepping onto a circular platform, he was enclosed into a tube-like structure that rose all the way up. Bracing himself, the platform shot upwards like a spring, sending the trainer to his destination.

Getting up to his feet, Red surveyed the arena that loomed around him. It looked high class with the ornate phoenix carvings on the walls, and the vermilion columns that towered towards the ceiling. At the right side of the arena, a giant screen hanged from above, displaying the Pokemon League symbol. Taking in the oriental atmosphere, he glanced at the Gym setting. The absence of Gym Trainers made him frantic as he looked around for any signs of rookies lurking around. This was a queer situation, but when he laid eyes onto a blue-haired teenager that stood across the field, Red went quiet. Getting closer, he recognized the guy as the one that approached him yesterday.

"Welcome, red-eyed challenger." said Falkner.

Red held his breath, finally realizing who he was talking to.

"... So you're... the Gym Leader..." Red uttered in a low voice.

"Yes, the name's Falkner." he said while giving a short bow. "Easy or difficult?"

"... Pardon?"

"An easy or difficult battle. Well, usually I do easy since this Gym is the first gym in the Johto League, but you have that Pikachu with you. What's your choice?"

Red paused and gave some thought for the matter. His main purpose was to raise Chikorita's level, but since he got the chance to properly enjoy a tough battle...

"...Can I... do both?"

Falkner smiled and answered, "Certainly. How about a four on four, my first two are easy, while the last two are part of my team?"

Red nodded in reply, taking out the remaining three pokeballs from his backpack while Falkner went to a tall platform and picked out four pokeballs. Gym Leader and Trainer stood opposite each other, until a chirpy voice called out.

"That mister over there, can you please tell us your name? It's compulsory to register for a gym battle."

Red looked across the room and was slightly surprised to find a fun-sized girl carrying an over-sized laptop. He faltered for a moment, trying to decide if he should tell them his name.

"...R-red..."

Isuzu and Falkner glanced at each other, then both turned to look at the challenger. No, they had not heard it wrongly, his name is the same as the Undefeated Champion. Red eyes and black hair, exactly like the person himself. Falkner then signaled to Isuzu, prompting her to reveal his identity.

"Please remove your cloak." She said firmly.

The challenger backed away suddenly, seemingly afraid of showing himself. After a few seconds, he sighed in resignation and unbuttoned the long piece of clothing. Isuzu held her breath as she clicked on a picture of the eleven year old Red she had found online. Meanwhile Falkner stared intently at the challenger, waiting for the truth to be unveiled. Soon, the black cloak was removed, the tall trainer in full view.

Isuzu yelped excitedly, as she swayed uneasily with the heavy laptop. Meanwhile, Falkner just smiled and then shouted.

"Shall we begin the match?"

"Hmm, that Chikori-, no, Bayleef, isn't half bad." said Falkner as his beaten up pokemon was reduced to a small flash of light, and returned to its pokeball. Before him, the previously level fifteen Chikorita had just filled its EXP points and rose to the next level, triggering an evolution.

He developed a beautiful shade of cream yellow and grew to resemble a sauropod dinosaur or lizard. The soft leaf on his head had sharpened and had the shape of a scythe. Curled leaf-like growths were sticking out of his neck, and his red irises finally have black pupils.

Well, his main purpose was to increase his level, and the evolution came like a perfect present for Red. Falkner chuckled and released his second "easy" pokemon. The Pidgeotto that emerged flapped its wings violently as it glared at Bayleef. The screen then displayed each of their HP points respectively: Pidgeotto at 100%, Bayleef at 62%.

"Pidgeotto! Gust!" Falkner shouted, and his pokemon immediately whipped up a gale of slicing wind, attacking Bayleef head on. The grass type suffered the full brunt of the flying move and tumbled backwards, half of his remaining HP points lost. Bayleef stood his ground as he waited for battle commands.

"... Synthesis..." the soft voice of his trainer resounding in Bayleef's head.

The next instant, a glowing light covered the scythe-like leaf on Bayleef's head, regaining his HP quickly. Falkner hurriedly turned to the status screen, slightly annoyed that Bayleef's HP was back to green.

"Pidgeotto, Gust."

"... Jump, then use Razor Leaf."

Another gale was blown dangerously towards the grass type, who instead reacted to the battle command and leaped up, dodging the attack. In mid air, all movements went slow motion. Pidgeotto flapped its wings, thinking that it will win since its foe was in the flying territory, but what shocked the bird were the deadly curved leaves that came soaring across the air, their razor sharpness with the intent of victory. And at that moment, it knew that this Razor Leaf was not just a grass-type move.

"... Razor Leaf."

The foe sent another round of attacks all in mid air, the many leaves whittling down his health to two-thirds. The too-green leaves zoomed forward, slicing the bird a few more times, and finally Bayleef stopped as soon as it landed on the ground. Pidgeotto squawked angrily, somewhat humiliated that it could be damaged so easily.

"Gust, then charge in and tackle!" yelled Falkner.

Pidgeotto did as it was told, sending yet another gale, its wings flapping ferociously. Then, while the wind headed towards Bayleef, Pidgeotto dived into the wind, ignoring the pain as it propelled itself towards the grass type, bonking its foe on the head. Bayleef squealed as it barely dodged the tackle, while being hurt by the flying move. His HP bar was now back to yellow. Anxiety got to the pokemon as he turned to Red, his eyes calling for help.

Red stared at his pokemon, and gave a smile, as if telling Bayleef to choose what move he wanted to execute. Bayleef nodded, unsure and unsteady as he faced Pidgeotto, who was going for another Tackle. In a similar motion, the grass type charged forward. Falkner clenched his fists, anticipating the same attack by the opponent. But everything went against his expectations when the cream colored shadow whizzed past Pidgeotto, neither attacks hitting each other. Miraculously, Bayleef had pulled off a feint.

Pidgeotto skidded to a stop, its claws scratching the field pretty badly, and it quickly turned around to look at Bayleef. To its dilemma, dozens of leaves aimed towards Pidgeotto, who was totally caught off-guard. Shrieking, the bird was pushed backwards as the move smack and cut him painfully, his HP depleted instantly to the red bar. With its energy drained and on the verge of fainting, pushing itself up was a hard task.

"Pidgeot, Roost!" Falkner called out, getting agitated. This trainer was crazy, letting Bayleef deciding what move he wanted to use. That Pokemon was probably with him for only a day or two, and yet he could make it battle to such an extent?

Meanwhile, the move Roost made astral feathers appeared around Pidgeotto, and the feathers faded away the moment they touched the pokemon. Just barely, Falkner's pokemon managed to regain half of its HP. Thinking that they had got the upper hand again, that voice broke them away from their initial thoughts.

"..Synthesis..."

Falkner gasped, as Bayleef's leaf glowed white again, refueling the pokemon's HP. Gritting his teeth, the Gym Leader was aware that he cannot use Gust until the next turn, so how this battle will end will be totally on the opposing pair's tenacity. Bayleef geared himself up, while Red decided to finish this quickly.

"..Energy Ball..." Red said as he raised two fingers.

The dumbstruck Pidgeotto was unable to dodge the greenish-blue ball of energy that was shot in a straight path, damaging the bird severely.

"Not yet! Tackle!"

Pidgeotto rushed in to attack, but was stopped short when Red prompted Bayleef to release another Energy Ball. In a matter of seconds, Pidgeotto fainted, its body limped on the cold metal, defeat marked by the spirals in its eyes. Isuzu hurriedly raised her arm into the air and shouted, "P-Pidgeotto is unable to fight, it's Bayleef's win!"

"Pidgeotto, return." said Falkner with a solemn tone, and yet another flash of red light returned to the pokeball in his hand. He then move towards Red, taking out the Violet City Gym Badge and a small disc as he walked forward.

"Since you defeated me as necessary, I bestow you the Zephyr Badge. It allows pokemon up to level 20 to obey you, as well as allowing you to use the hidden machine Rock Smash. Although I don't think you'll really need it."

Hidden machines, or HM.

Important discs that contain essential moves which could be taught to pokemon, and these moves helps trainers during their everyday adventure. HMs are hard to get, and are mostly received from people that works for the League to help trainers while they travel. And to use these HMs, a trainer has to get Gym Badges to activate the usage of these discs (although Red clinched all during his time in Kanto).

"I'm also giving you TM51, which contains the move Roost."

As for TMs, or technical machines, can contain different types of battle moves, and it can be used on different types of pokemon. However, unlike the HMs, TMs can only be used once.

After ending his habitual speech, Falkner's eyes grew serious as he asked, "How did you get TM53? You can only get those at the Battle Frontier, and I don't think you ever went there before."

Scratching his head, Red replied, "... I... received it... from a friend... of mine..." Although in fact, it was Green who gave it to him. Thinking that he should change the subject quickly, Red hurriedly kept the badge and the TM, then he returned Bayleef and took out another pokeball. Falkner went silent, went back to the edge of the field, taking out his third pokeball. Isuzu tottered over, gripping the laptop tightly as she waited for the real battle to unfold.

"Pidgeot!"

"... Charizard.."

The two pokemon emerged with a whirlwind of flames and feathers, the atmosphere exploding upon their arrival. Pidgeot screeched as it beat its wings with great arcs, the huge wingspan magnificent to look at with those lustrous feathers. Its red and yellow crown flowed behind its head, its otherwise ordinary plumage less striking. Beady-eyed and fierce-looking, the bird pokemon got ready to battle.

Charizard glared at the bird pokemon, his scales reddening from emitting high heat. His wings competed with the gales of wind produced by his opponent, creating a mini windstorm within the arena. Finally letting out a tremendous roar, the draconic pokemon's tail burst into a tornado of blue, orange and red flames, sending out burning heat surges. Falkner, enthralled by the fascinating fire type, stood there with blazing excitement. Although inside, he felt inferior since Red did not deploy Pikachu, who had the type advantage against the flying type Pidgeot. The Gym Leader finally set the ball rolling by sending out the first battle command.

"Wing Attack!"

Pidgeot shot upwards in a second, and swiftly propelled itself towards the higher-leveled Charizard with imposing shining wings. The fire type stole a glance at his trainer, noticed the hand signal and thrust his arms out. It took a split second for Falkner to realize what the Undefeated Champion intended to carry out. He tried to stop his pokemon by shouting, but Pidgeot was unable to stop his flight, and soon his wings were caught by those sharp claws. Charizard grappled the bird, who pecked at the foe in return. The two pokemon refused to give in as both tackled and wrestled each other, fire and wind mixing within.

"... Flamethrower..."

"Air Slash!"

An explosion and a grey cloud of smoke followed after the two attacks hit at close proximity. Finally the two pokemon got free and came out, Pidgeot clearly more damaged than Charizard due to its significantly lower defense stat. The bird fluttered further away, a few feathers smoldering, while the fire type skidded backwards, slight scratches over its wings. Falkner, getting frustrated, continued an onslaught of commands. Pidgeot took no time to waste and released a Twister, another array of Air Slash, and then a strong Gust.

Against the incoming attacks, Charizard's tail whipped around, the blue flame perilous and alert. He heard a faint shout, and giving a smirk, the fire type did a sudden spin, evading the first two moves, and finally received the last one head-on. Red turned to look at the status screen, glad to see that their HP bar was still in the safe zone. Clicking his tongue in frustration, Falkner told Pidgeot to get into the sky. Seeing that a clash in mid-air was coming, Isuzu hurriedly went to a corner to the room and pulled a small lever.

The ceiling rumbled, dust and rock tumbling down into the arena, and soon the Japanese-styled roof split into parts. The vermilion columns spun and descended beneath the floor. Both the roof and the pillars disappeared beneath the top floor, making the arena completely in the open. Meanwhile, Pidgeot was now fluttering up there squawking at Charizard, as if taunting at the opponent. The air was its territory and it will win this battle once the foe comes up.

Charizard turned to look at Red, who tilted his head upwards, telling his pokemon to fly. Grunting, Charizard obeyed and glided up. The great wings of both pokemon producing uncontrollable air pressures and outbursts of wind. Now, Pidgeot's HP was at 54%, while Charizard was at 89%. The difference between levels was great, with Pidgeot at level 64, and Charizard at 88, so the remaining HP did not surprise Falkner.

"Air Slash!"

"... Flare Blitz."

In that instant, serrated wheels of wind charged towards Charizard, whose bipedal body was suddenly engulfed in red-hot flames. Pidgeot backed away, and squawked in shock when its opponent hurled forward with a swirl of fire, blue and red fiery sparks streaking towards it. Air Slash was rendered useless against the raging flames, and instead amplified the power of the move by fanning the fire. A direct impact was dealt onto the bird, and it shrieked as the HP bar instantly dropped to zero.

Both Falkner and Isuzu went wordless as they witnessed Pidgeot falling down to the earth, a vertical trail of smoke following it. As it laid out cold on the field, Isuzu cried out in a shaky voice, "Pidgeot is unable to fight, it's Charizard's win!"

Falkner gave a sigh and returned his pokemon back to his pokeball. He wanted to ask the Undefeated Champion a question, but one look at the trainer's red eyes made him shut up. Those eyes looked cold and yet fiery with enthusiasm, as if saying:

Carry on with the next one.

Sweat rolled down his neck as Falkner gulped, his confidence lowered down by a notch. He can't win against him, with such a huge level difference in pokemon, how can he win? The title of Undefeated Champion was not for show, this person named Red was for real. Even so, he had to fight on, for his pride as a Gym Leader. Soon, the Violet City Gym Leader took out his last pokemon.

"Staraptor!"

A grayish-brown, avian pokemon emerged, its small and red eyes darting as it searched for its opponent. It also had a circular white patch on its forehead, white markings that covered its throat and chest, glossy black-tipped tail feathers and the last touch was the large red-tipped crest that arced over its head. A pokemon Red had never seen before, and he was certainly curious and surprised at the same time. But of course, he did not have the time to admire the never-before seen creature, when a loud voice called out, "Agility, then Brave Bird!"

Staraptor glowed white for a second, and suddenly a blue aura enveloped the pokemon as it came diving towards Charizard. The attack hit Red's pokemon straight on, but the HP just dropped slightly. Red got ready to command Charizard, but neither pokemon nor trainer could carry out any moves when their foe started letting out more commands.

"Agility once more, followed by Close Combat! Then Aerial Ace!"

At that moment, Red finally knew who he was facing. Yes, he was facing a Flying type Gym Leader, but what makes Falkner strong was his knack in doing consecutive attacks. To string up all the moves in one fluid motion, was part of his battle technique. But even consecutive attacks has a flaw or two.

Staraptor zoomed towards Charizard and started attacking fiercely, its talons, beak and wings hitting the opponent mercilessly. Charizard's HP bar, defense and special defense dropped, and after the move ended, Staraptor leaped away and got ready to unleash its speediest flying move. Falkner grinned, certain that the attack will hit, until he noticed the smile on Red's face.

"... Ember..."

Aerial Ace was let loose as a white light covered Staraptor, the bird aiming towards the fire type at high speed. It was when it realized that Charizard had disappeared before its very eyes. Falkner gasped when he witnessed the opponent's pokemon reappearing behind his own in a blaze of fire. His consecutive attacks were useless, and now Charizard had dealt a weak Ember on Staraptor, since the momentum was too fast for the fire type to let out a strong move. A loud beep from the status screen signaled that Falkner's pokemon was burnt, shocking Isuzu who was just gaping at the scene. Aerial Ace was supposed to be one of the fastest moves and can never be evaded, and adding that Staraptor had raised its speed by using Agility, there was no way Charizard could have dodged the attack.

Isuzu turned to Falkner, worried about the Gym Leader after having his attacks nullified, but upon seeing his calm expression, the adviser kept quiet.

"So, this is the difference in levels, is it?" Falkner called out towards the other trainer.

Red nodded his head in reply. Indeed, their level difference was great, so Charizard's speed stat itself outmatches Staraptor's, even after Agility was used. But the main thing was because Red had polished Charizard's speed. After the few years of training, his Charizard could increase his speed by using his flames, like how Pikachu uses his electricity to make himself faster. If he were to slow-motioned everything from before, Charizard had actually used his flames like gunpowder to shoot himself away from the so-called "unavoidable" Aerial Ace. Speed was the flaw of consecutive attacks. If you could arrive earlier to intercept the attack, even the formidable spear will break.

Staraptor hastily freed itself from the fire move, and waited for further commands by Falkner. Its trainer knew he could not win this battle, but the least he could do was to do his best. And now he was going to use his Staraptor's strongest move. If Bayleef had a TM move, there was no reason for Falkner to not have his pokemon learn a TM move.

"Giga Impact!"

A yellow-orange light covered Staraptor's body, followed by a sphere of purple energy that swirled around the flying type. Then the user burst forth, while Red was too late to realize the impact that will follow. Charizard did not managed to dodge, and suffered the full damage, his HP dropping to 71%. Falkner clenched his fist and smiled, glad that the move worked.

"...Tch... I'm losing my touch..." Red muttered. He had never fought against another trainer for, well, years, so the match was not going as smoothly as he thought. Sighing, he pulled his fingerless gloves tightly, thinking that he should end this. That Stara- or whatever it's called, still had its HP at 94%.

"Flamethrower, followed by Flare Blitz." Red said, his ellipses missing again. This always happens when he gets serious, after all.

"Consecutive attacks!?" exclaimed Isuzu, who was jumping up and down in excitement. Well, if Falkner could do consecutive, Red could as well.

Charizard got back up, and did as he was told, spitting out flames. Staraptor got scorched as it hurriedly flew up to mid-air, fearful of getting swallowed by the fearsome opponent. Falkner tried to command his pokemon, but the frantic flying type was not listening as it laid many openings in its defenses. Its burn was slowly whittling his HP, and after the powerful fire attack, Staraptor left only a mere 45% of HP. Charizard took this opportunity and quickly unleashed a Flare Blitz, ending the battle with a burst of flames and fireworks.

Finally, with a trembling excitement, Isuzu yelled, "Staraptor's unable to fight! It's Charizard's win! With a 4-0 score, it's Red's victory!" Similarly, the status screen was screaming the words "VICTORY" in gold letters.

Red sighed after the long battle, happy that he managed to have a tough battle after so long. He proceeded to return Charizard into his pokeball and picked up his cloak. Falkner followed suit, with the fainted Staraptor reduced to a red light and returned to its pokeball. Despite losing, it had been a great battle.

The two trainers then faced each other, across the field, neither person speaking a word. Isuzu gave them a confused look, and was surprised when both bowed towards each other with the standard Japanese way. Standing upright, Red turned around and exited the top floor via the tube transportation.

"Eh? Eh? Why did you let him leave just like that? I wanted to ask him where did he go after he resigned and get his autograph!" Isuzu cried out in disbelief. Falkner smiled, and patted her head to her annoyance.

"He's just a fleeting bird that flew by." he said. Isuzu gave another confused expression, not understanding his words. Falkner then walked away from the arena, and descended the staircase. There were probably more challengers coming after the badge for the rest of the day, but after that exhausting battle, he wished he could go take a breather. Although Isuzu might pummel him if he did not do his work.

Smiling, the Gym Leader of Violet City went off to grab another cream puff from the Leader's quarters.

You seem to be in a good mood, Red.

"..."

Red glanced at Espeon, who had insisted on walking alongside him after they left the Gym. Meanwhile, Pikachu was grumbling about being inside the pokeball, and not given the chance to battle. Red gave an apologetic look as he fingered the small badge he had just received. Holding it against the sunlight, the Zephyr badge glinted. Red then opened his vest and pinned it on the underside, somewhat happy. The trainer was back to being cloaked as he left Violet City.

Where are we going now? inquired Espeon.

"... Ruins of Alph, the guy at the inn told me to check it out..."

Oh, those famous Ruins? Is it south from the city? replied Espeon. Red nodded, and the trio moved on, and in a half hour, they arrived at the doorstep of the ruins. The place certainly did seem old, with all the somewhat crumbling rocks and shelters that were all yellow brown from the constant weathering caused by time and the sun. It would have looked rather pleasing to the eye, had not that huge research lab, flashy souvenir shop and tour guide service ruined the whole 'ancient' feel.

There were free tours around the ruins, and the trio just mingled into one of those troops of tourists out of curiosity. The group entered the many preserved halls that had depiction of four pokemon. With each pokemon having one hall each. In each hall, there were murals with the description of the four pokemon, with pictures of the them divided into a 16 grid puzzle. Their last stop was before a cave that was situated further away than the rest and after the tour guide blabbered how it also houses the Unown, the tourists scattered, signifying the end of the tour.

Left alone, Red, Pikachu and Espeon exchanged glances, wondering what they should do. The last cave was more secluded than the rest, and the entrance was more of a hole than a proper cave entrance. Peering into the dark interior of the cave, Red got the urge to go inside, although Pikachu was against the idea since it was almost time for lunch. Tugging at his trainer's vest, the electric mouse asked Espeon to connect him to Red using telepathy.

Don't you... dare... go in! grunted Pikachu as he started leaking electricity, zapping Red who tried to tear himself away from the pokemon.

"... Your stomach.. can... wait! It's... just a little... while!" Red was almost yelling as he pushed Pikachu in the face, a mini tug of war happening between the two. Suddenly a loud rip was heard, and before Red knew what had happened, his body went tumbling into the cave. Both pokemon yelped when their trainer suddenly disappeared into the abyss. Pikachu quickly jumped in, and Espeon could have went in as well when a sudden beep halted her in her tracks.

Everything crumbled in just a second.

The loud explosion from inside the cave made the roof collapse, the rocks cracking and splitting up, turning into bits of debris. Espeon's amethyst eyes could not blink as she witnessed the ruin breaking down, the image of Red and Pikachu flashing before her. Finally when the clouds of dust settled down, the pokemon then broke away from her stupefied state and yelled in her despair.

Pikachu! Red!

No, why was this happening? Anyone, anyone, anyone!

Espeon looked around, frantic, distressed and in anguish. Why was there no one at all, where did all of them go? Someone, save them! She stared at the messed up structure, her heart feeling painful and guilty. Again. Again. She could not help him.

"Hello there, little Espeon."

The purple feline turned around, hopeful that whoever called out to her could save her trainer. It was a tall middle-age man that wore a half-mask, and one look at those cold and dark eyes, Espeon stopped short, realization dawning her.

It was you. You made the cave explode. She said with a dangerous calmness

"You're half-right, since I was ordered by Sire to do this. Well, he did say this was just part of his torture schedule with your trainer."

You..! Espeon snarled and got ready to unleash a Psychic.

"Are you sure you have the time to deal with me? Red's waiting."

Cursing, Espeon ceased her attack while the butler-like man just smiled, turned and walked away. She don't know how he did it, how this "Sire" did it to prevent anyone from coming to this cave, when normally a ruin collapsing should have cause crowds to come gushing here. Whoever was doing this, was someone formidable and heartless, and had ensured they could receive no help from the other humans. Just like that man.

Who is this Sire of yours? Is it Giovanni?

The man turned around, and sounded offended as he replied, "Giovanni? That half-baked thief? My master is someone not as low as him."

Fine. Then answer me, what does your boss want with Red. His life?

"Life? Non, non, Sire simply likes to play games. If your trainer died so easily, it'll be troublesome. Are your questions done?"

What's your name?

"Oh? So you want a clue. Maybe giving you might make the game more interesting, the Sire will love that."

Answer me!

"Brutus. You shouldn't keep Red waiting, little Espeon."

At the very least, a name was given. Clicking her tongue, the feline quickly worked her psychic powers and disappeared on the spot. Meanwhile, the butler gave an uncanny smile as he went past the boulder that connected the cave with the rest of the Ruins of Alph. No one had noticed that the cave had collapsed, since most were away for lunch. Plus, they had cordoned off the area, and put on a facade of the cave needing maintenance. This was not hard with the Sire's authority.

"Falkner! A call from the superiors!" chirped Isuzu as she dangled the phone by the coil cord. It was lunchtime, so Falkner was just eating another dozen of cream puffs as he sat in his chair. The Gym Leader then stood up and received the handset from the adviser.

"Hello, this is Falkner." He said as he rubbed cream off his cheeks, the icing sugar of the puffs dabbling his fingers. Suddenly, his face grew serious as he listened intently. Nodding a few times, Falkner thanked the speaker on the other end and ended the call as he placed the handset down.

"Isuzu, place a notice outside to tell the masses that the Gym will be closed after tomorrow." said the Gym Leader. Isuzu asked him for the reason, and with a solemn expression, Falkner replied.

"There's going to be a League Conference."