Trigger
Good day, the name's Seth.
I'm your average Ace Trainer from Johto, with about fifteen years of experience under my belt, and if you were to ask where I am now, I'll be honest with you, I'm not quite sure either.
Upon signing up to join the fight against Deoxys, I didn't quite expect myself to be teleported directly from the Indigo Plateau to a tall, pristine white hall that had a great number of trainers gathering around, talking in low voices.
"Excuse me," I asked the trainer next to me, politely. "Do you know where are we, perchance?"
She shook her head, looking rather lost herself, prompting me to ask no more questions. I sauntered away, scanning around the gigantic expanse of the place, noticing that the whole room was shaped like a cube, with large exits at the four walls. I walked towards the front where there was a small platform, noticing a few famous faces standing up there.
First, there was Brock, the Gym Leader of Pewter City, chatting with a formal-looking female who had pigtails that reached her waist. If my memory doesn't fail me, she was probably Roxanne, a Gym Leader from Hoenn.
Next, there was Lt Surge, talking cheerily with Wattson. And not far off, Blaine and Flannery were exchanging few words.
It was then when I noticed a theme.
The Gym Leaders of the same type were standing together: Brawly and Chuck, Misty with Wallace, Falkner with Winona, so on and so forth. There were those who stood alone as well, such as Pryce, Morty, and Bugsy. It was an awesome sight to behold, for these famed figures standing right there, were trainers of high caliber.
Yet, it was quite evident that there were still some trainers that weren't present, and I looked around expectantly, wondering where they were.
A bell was struck and all of a sudden, the whole hall hushed and I realized that the gigantic doors at the side of the platform had swung open. The first person who came out was Lance, who strode into the room with an air of authority. He took his place at the center of the platform, where a mic was placed. His strict-looking eyes surveying all of the trainers, and clearing his throat, he spoke into the mic.
"Trainers," he began, "welcome to the Ghostship, I am Lance, and I will be your General."
A few murmurs broke out, but they immediately died down when Lance continued, "This is a secret training facility, built for the sake of preparing for the war, which will be upon us in two months' time. As such, I seek your understanding that the League has had to teleport all of you for the sake of keeping this place confidential."
"Firstly, allow me to extend a huge thank you to many of you who have volunteered for this cause, to protect the Kanto and Johto regions. This danger that is encroaching upon us will not be easy to defeat, and I shall ask for everyone's cooperation and abilities."
"The League has assessed each and everyone's type specialty, and as you can see before you, these Gym Leaders will be the ones to lead different squads of Pokémon of their type specialty. You would have received a notification via your devices on the squad you are assigned to. These squads will be part of our Main Force."
Many people started glancing at their devices, some discussing excitedly which Gym Leader was to be their squad leader. I checked my own, yet there was nothing to be shown. I scratched my head, confused as to why I was not assigned to any squad.
"A large number of you will not be assigned based on type, instead, we will assign you based on the stats most of your Pokémon are stronger in."
A strong, white-bearded trainer walked up the platform, whom I recognized to be Drake, one of the Elite Four from Hoenn. My X-transceiver beeped, and I received the notification stating that I was to join the Attack Squad.
"Those whose Pokémon that are stronger at the Attack stat will be led by Drake Genji, one of the Hoenn Elites."
Next was the famed Frontier Brain, Palmer, who stepped in from the door.
"The Special Attack Squad will be led by Tower Tycoon Palmer Kurotsugu."
Then a young boy entered, and I instantly recognized him to be the Johto Champion.
"The Speed Squad will be led by Hibiki Ethan, and the Electric-Type squad will also be under his direct supervision."
Gasps and murmurs resounded everywhere throughout the hall, while the younger boy fidgeted uncomfortably, and it's no wonder why, really. No matter how good he is at battling, his age will definitely raise a few eyebrows.
"The Defense and Special Defense Squads will be led by Steven Stone and May Haruka."
Cheers resounded throughout the hall, much of it was due to the Coordinator who entered from the door. A beautiful and eager-looking teenager, she was also well-known for her battling prowess before she joined Pokémon Coordinating. Steven Stone, who exited alongside May, was famous and loved in his own right. His silvery cerulean hair was well-parted, and he gave everyone a friendly wave while taking his spot on the platform.
"We will also be having a special Firing Squad, led by Sidney and Glacia, two of Hoenn's Elites, as well as Will, one of Kanto's Elites."
The threesome that walked out appeared to be a rather odd combination. While Glacia looked profound and elegant, Sidney was rebellious and tough-looking, and Will simply appeared eccentric as ever.
"Now then, the Vanguard," Lance said. "They will be the ones who will start the first attack, and will be our strongest squad."
A row of people strode out, and the surrounding air stifled, each and every pair of eyes focused and watching them, none of us able to tear our eyes away. It was the air of fearlessness and absoluteness that these people possessed that made everyone held their breaths.
Bruno, Karen, and Koga of the Kanto Elite Four. The Frontier Brains, Thorton, Dahlia, Darach and Argenta. Phoebe of the Hoenn Elite Four.
"The Ghost-type squad, led by the Ecruteak City Gym Leader Morty, is part of the Vanguard as well."
The young Gym Leader merely nodded his head, looking fairly bored. I observed the large group of trainers standing on the stage. Most of the famous trainers announced to participate in the war were there, except for two, or should I say, three of them.
"The Vanguard," Lance added on, "Will be led by the Hoenn Champion, Brendan..."
And in he came, sleek and purposeful in his looks, and he walked up the stage, taking his place next to Lance. Hoenn's hero, a trainer who managed to stop the fight between Kyogre and Groudon, Brendan.
"Green Oak of the Viridian Gym..."
A spiky-haired teenager strode out, his head held high as he confidently strolled towards the center of the stage, unfaltering. He was one of the strongest, if not, the strongest Gym Leader in the whole of the Kanto and Johto regions, as well as the grandson of the esteemed Professor Oak, Green.
"And finally, Red of Pallet Town."
Total silence.
His footsteps were clear, unhurried, and everyone followed his figure that was as mysterious as he looks. His cap blocked a good part of his countenance, and while everyone tip-toed to get a better look, he made it a challenge by tilting his cap downwards so that it was virtually impossible to see much of his face, except for his trademark red eyes that gleamed in the shadows of the bill of his equally famous cap. He as a person long missed by the public's eyes, one who sparked curiosity and rumors and was one to be known as the youngest trainers, alongside Green Oak, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
And there he stood, silent, unwavering, unreadable, staying as the enigma he always had been the past three years since his disappearance.
"All these living legends, can you believe it?" a female squealed from my side, addressing me. "We'll definitely win!"
I nodded in reply towards her enthusiasm and optimism, yet knowing that if only things could be this perfect. Yes, they are living legends. Yes, they are trainers of talent and power. And yes, they are people with one of the strongest Pokémon in the whole of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn.
But fighting against an army of Deoxys that totaled up to three thousand did not sound easy at all.
"And this concludes the announcement of all battle squads," Lance ended, stepping away from the mic.
A loud beep rang out, and a holographic screen snapped on, showing a gigantic three-dimensional blueprint, probably of the building we were in.
"Welcome to the Ghostship," a female, robotic voice spoke. "I am Siren, your guide through the army base. The Ghostship is an advanced and new army base built for the sole purpose of defeating threats. I will be bringing you through the layout of the Ghostship."
Many of the trainers were stunned, surprised at the technology the building was equipped with. A few were giving out shouts of surprise and awe towards the sophistication of the base. Meanwhile, the blueprint shifted, straight to the highest level of the building.
"The fifth floor will be the Ops Centre, where orders are relayed and will be the place where the communications will occur during the battle," Siren explained. "Research Labs 1 and 2 will also be situated adjacent to the Centre."
The blueprint then went back to aerial view and zoomed into the fourth floor.
"The fourth floor will be where Training Rooms 1 to 6 will be situated. These rooms will be where each squad will have to go to daily, to train and prepare well for the war. You will be informed about your designated Training Room soon." Siren continued in her robotic speaking voice. "Training Arena 1 will also be situated on this floor.
"Next, the third floor will consist of Special Training Rooms 1 to 3, as well as Training Arena 2. This floor is reserved for stronger Pokémon to train in."
"The second floor is where the cafeteria, the male and female communal bathrooms, and meeting rooms are situated at, while the first floor will be a Recreation Centre."
"The first to third basements will be the sleeping quarters of all squad trainers. You will be grouped together with your squadmates. The fourth and fifth basements will be the sleeping quarters of the squad leaders."
"And that is all for the layout of the Ghostship. All schedules and essential information have been sent out to all of you. If there are any further queries, you may find me on any of the screens situated on each of the floors. Many wishes for the tough journey ahead," Siren said. "You are all dismissed.
My nerves loosened the moment I found myself to be alone along the corridor, not one person in sight. I heaved a sigh of relief, the pressure on my shoulders went away in an instant. While I am able to enjoy attention and tolerate criticism, being in front of so many people who were so obviously judging me was still difficult to handle. I was so ready to head towards my room until I received a notification on my phone.
Meeting Room 1. Now.
I sighed, my hand running through my hair and I begrudgingly turned back, knowing that this should have been expected.
Two more cards had emerged.
I turned around the corner, not really caring about whoever was in front of me, and accidentally bumped into someone.
"Watch it," the redhead muttered, and I took a double take.
"Silver?" I exclaimed. "Hey, it's you!" I said afterward, my arm automatically snaking its way onto his shoulder. He cringed visibly, but did not try to push me away and merely answered with a displeased grunt.
"Which squad are you in?"
"Attack," he uttered. I nodded in reply and then bubbled excitedly, "You're the Devil, right? I knew that you would be one of us!"
"Oh, shut it," he snapped. "I never had a choice."
My face fell, before I hurriedly added on, "It's not as bad as it sounds, I mean." I opened my palm out. "You can do this."
As I said that, blue electricity danced around the tips of my finger, and I felt Silver violently tearing himself away from me in the next instant.
"What the hell!" he yelled.
"The Major Arcana can do this kind of cool stuff!" I said, while quickly stopping the electricity flow in my body to stop him from freaking out.
"You're playing tricks!" he said accusingly at me, the color on his face slowly receding away.
"I'm not!" I said, fuming. "Wait 'till you see the rest, then you'll believe me."
He eyed me suspiciously, and after a few seconds, he narrowed his eyes, while gesturing at me to lead the way. I walked on, and he followed, and along the way, we passed by a few trainers, who cast me and Silver curious glances.
We arrived at the door of the Meeting Room. I turned the doorknob and opened the door.
"You're late," Green grumbled as he leaned back in his chair. "Again."
"Sorry," I hurriedly muttered. Brendan was gazing at Silver curiously, while I took a glance towards an unfamiliar female standing in one corner. Red seemed even quieter than before, his face expressionless, while Lyra was fiddling with her fingers. May sat next to Brendan, flashing me a brilliant smile. Both Silver and I quickly entered the room and took our seats.
"Let's have a quick introduction once again, shall we?" Brendan announced and nodded towards Red. "In due order."
"...Red, Number Zero, The Fool," he muttered in a low voice, any sense of emotion completely lost in his words. His hands then lit a small flame, and from the corner of my eye, I could see Silver widening his eyes in disbelief. "Fire."
"Green Oak, Number I, The Magician." The Gym Leader went next, a small crystal clear conjuration of water swirling in his palm. "Water," he said simply.
"Lyra Kotone Elm, Number V, The Hierophant," Lyra said, her eyes looking at everyone, except for Silver. "Not associated with any Type as of now."
"Brendan Yūki Senri and May Haruka Birch, Number VI, The Lovers," the couple said in unison, the sound of metal clanking resounding in the room. "Steel."
The room went quiet for a while, and it was when I realized that it was my turn.
"Hibiki Ethan, Number VII, The Chariot." I sent a weak charge down to my fingers, bits of harmless electricity zapping at my fingers. "Electric."
Next, the female approached the table, her honey brown locks that flowed down to her waist looking almost smokey and translucent, her body fading in and out.
Wait a minute.
"Leaf Floresta, Number XIV, Temperance," she introduced herself, while I stared harder at her, surprised at how strange her body appeared to be. "Ghost."
"Are you dead?" I unintentionally blurted out, and almost instantly, the atmosphere in the room seemed to drop to a few degrees. Green looked surprisingly glum the moment I said that word, while Red divulged an uncomfortable look on his face. She turned her attention to me, looking quite perturbed on how she should answer my question.
"Not quite," she finally answered. "But go ahead and think that way if you're still confused."
"Oh, alright then," I replied carefully.
"Silver, just Silver," the red-head said roughly. "Number XV, The Devil."
And hence, the introductions ended. Silver bombarded a couple of questions, and we tried to understand more about Red and Green's powers, although none of us could get our heads around it. Leaf Floresta then also explained her "death", and how she had been a ghost for a full eight years. Brendan seemed shocked that he had never been the first one to be a card, but gave no further comment. May, on the other hand, suggested having Leaf, Brendan and herself to guide us with using our powers, in which I eagerly accepted her proposition.
I've actually tried to use my powers during the past few days, but the results were disappointing, if not horrendously pathetic. I tried to run faster, like what I did during the party, but nothing came out. I tried to conjure up some kind of attack, like Thundershock, but only a measly dash of electricity that barely grazed a Level 10 Weedle was formed. I could definitely use some help.
"We can start later at the Special Training Rooms," Brendan said. "I've already booked the spot."
We then discussed a little more on Licinius, and at the mention of the enemy, Red's eyes looked furious, and I shuddered at the sight of it. Brendan took notice of the trainer's reaction, and he sent him a sympathetic gaze.
"About Licinius," Lyra spoke. "It's just a hunch, but I suspect that Licinius has one of us."
"One of us?" May inquired.
"More specifically, a card holding the power of Fairies," Lyra explained. "My dad discovered," she gulped nervously, "human DNA in Deoxys' orb yesterday."
"What did you say-?" I cried out, alarmed, but Brendan motioned me to calm down while telling Lyra to explain further.
"I'm sure those of you at the party, noticed how Deoxys was able to regenerate," she said. "It's not something it should be capable of doing by itself, and it is quite apparent that the reason behind the whole war is because of Licinius. So I was thinking that, maybe, he was utilizing a card's powers to, you know... does it sound too far-fetched?"
"It sounds logical to me." May agreed. "But if it is really the case, whichever card is in his hands right now, we need to save him or her."
Meanwhile, I tapped my fingers nervously, my other hand reaching into my pocket.
"Actually," I said. "I received a small note yesterday, it was sent to the League Building."
All seven of them turned to me, confused and surprised. I placed the small slip of paper onto the table and passed it to Green, who was sitting beside me. He hesitated for a while, cautious of it, but soon took it and flipped it open. A frown creased between his eyebrows, and he turned it over to show everyone else.
A Roman numeral, II, and a pawprint. Imprinted onto the paper with blood.
"Number II, The High Priestess." May gasped. "And-"
A loud slam went smack onto the table, the smell of something charred wafting around the room, and Red was suddenly up, his foot kicking his chair away. He walked off, exiting the room, every one of us staring at him with noiseless shock.
"I'll handle this." Green sighed as he stood up. "Carry on."
He left the room, and Leaf similarly said that she will go after the two. None of us stopped her, and her body had passed through the door like nobody's business. Silver jumped, clearly still not used to this odd, and a rather creepy sight.
"He loves his Pokémon a great deal, doesn't he." It wasn't a question, and May nodded in agreement toward Lyra's statement.
"I'm just worried that he'll lose sight of what he's supposed to do because of this." Brendan sighed.
"Red."
He continued to walk, his head too occupied to bother that the Gym Leader was calling out to him.
"Red," Green said it, louder, his footsteps more urgent. But he doesn't stop.
"Red!" he yelled, and Red felt Green's hand grabbing hold of his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around, meeting straight in his friend's eyes. Even Leaf was hovering close to the both of them. Now that he thought about it, he still hasn't talked to her properly despite being made aware that she was "alive". He just didn't have the mood to do so. Even now, he couldn't think and he couldn't even care that what he was about to do, was probably the stupidest thing he could have even thought of doing.
"Where are you going?" Green asked.
"...Find Licinius," Red answered curtly, his red eyes glaring at Green. The Gym Leader gave a disappointed sigh in return while staring at him straight in the eye.
"He's just taunting you, you big fat idiot!" he scolded. "And here I thought you were smarter than this-"
Flames erupted around Red, and Green immediately negated the heat as much as he could with his powers. Steam blew out the instant the fire clashed with water, and Green could feel the intimidating air emanating from Red, but he did not falter and tightened his grip on Red's wrist.
"He has Espeon with him!" Red hollered, and Green narrowed his eyes, knowing that his friend was not thinking straight at all. "How can you expect me to stay calm!?"
Red heaved, the pent-up frustration he was having the past few days all coming out at once, and Green frowned at his friend, yet adamant on not letting him go.
"Fine," Green finally said. "So how do you plan to find him?"
"... I'll find him."
Something snapped within Green, and balling his hand into a fist, he threw a firm punch right at Red's cheeks. A loud smack could be heard from the ends of the corridor, and Leaf suppressed a gasp.
"You and I are Commanders of the Vanguard, for Arceus' sake!" Green yelled. "We don't have time for you to throw a fit!"
"Green, calm down-" Leaf tried to cut in, but Green ignored her, the Gym Leader fixated on hitting some sense into Red.
"I know you want to save your Pokémon, but without any leads of where he is, do you think you can find him?" Green reasoned. "Get your priorities right! We need to-"
"Fight the war? Protect Kanto?" Red shouted in a burst of anger, flames flickering out of his arm. "I'm not even the Champion any longer so why should I care!?"
Green winced, the flames' heat hurting him, but he doesn't let go of his friend's hand.
"This isn't how you should do things," he breathed. Red's blood red eyes widened for a second, and the trainer turned away.
"Green's right," Leaf called out from behind, and she slowly floated forward. "You're just being reckless."
Green could feel how Red was trying to shake his hand off, but he held on, despite the fact that the heat was already scalding his palm.
"...Let go of me," Red murmured with a shaking voice. "Let go of me right now."
"You think I would let you go ahead and do stupid things?" Green uttered in a low voice. "I'll use force to stop you if I have to."
Red stayed silent, while his hand reached for a Pokéball on his belt, clearly ready to resist the trainer before him. Green noticed his actions, and frowning even more than before, he let go of his friend's wrist.
"You never go down without a fight, will you?"
"...No."
A suffocating air surrounded both of them, Leaf glancing at the two, worried. Green then snorted, breaking the silence, and he then turned around, brushing past Leaf.
"I'll see you at Training Arena 1 in ten minutes," Green muttered.
Red shot the Gym Leader another glare before he turned around and walked off, the trainer going off to get ready for the battle. Meanwhile, Leaf let out a loud moan, exasperated.
"Oh Arceus, why are boys always so stubborn?"
This concludes Chapter 30, and the next chapter will be what many of us (including me) have been waiting for.
Yes, a rematch between Red and Green.
It's gonna be epic :D
Cheers,
onetimetrip