Michael, having just beaten Cipher in Phenac city and was planning to go to the desert where Cioher was spotted. Unfortunately, his scooter was incapable of getting through the sand. Which is why he was off to met Perr. He came into his shop.

"Hey, Perr!"

The young man looked up from the counter and smiled. "Yo, Michael! I heard from Bitt. You want to cross the desert, do you?"

"Yup. I was told you could help me with that."

"You want to be able to cross the desert on your scooter, right? All you need is a conversion kit. But grandpa's gone out again and he hasn't come back, just like before…"

"Can't you handle it?"

"Grandpa's the only one who knows about all the parts we carry…"

"Oh…"

Just then they heard the news jingle on the TV. Secc was on the screen.

"Hello, viewers! This is Secc, ONBS's Director. We bring you a special scoop."

The screen behind him showed an image of Snattle defeated before the camera veered to Michael. "The courageous actions of a young boy thwarted a group of Cipher operatives who had infiltrated Phenac City. This footage shows the boy and his Pokemon driving off a top Cipher Admin from the city's stadium."

Perr turned to Michael in surprise. "You're amazing! Well, I always thought you were amazing, but I didn't know how amazing!"

"Heh, heh…"

"Here you are before my eyes, but you're also on the TV news. It's a funny little feeling."

The screen then showed Snattle running away. "Cipher had been trying to take over the entire city by replacing its citizens with their syndicates members. ONBS was also targeted for takeover by Cipher." Secc hesitated before he continued. "Some of the civilians say that Gym Leader of Prestige Precept Center, Justy was able to repel the attack at first but was easily defeated by it's new leader, Wes."

Michaels hands clutched as an image of Wes appeared on the screen.

"Why the Hero of Orre has turned against us is still a mystery, but it is certain that despite this setback Cipher seems to be growing more active. The authorities have issued a caution call to all citizens and organizations to be alert to the possibility of further attacks. As you have seen, Cipher has returned with a vengeance. The entire Orre region is endangered again. ONBS promises to doggedly peruse this story and provide you with the most accurate information on Cipher's actions. We must not allow Cipher to carry out this conspiracy of fear. Let us all protect the peace of Orre with courage!"

"Nice Wes impersonation, Secc." Perr sighed.

"He was your friend, right?" Michael asked.

"Yeah…I take it Secc and the others told you?"

"No, Eagun did. He said you all worked together."

"Yup…I was shocked at first…When I talked to Nett about it he told me about your "Believe in your friend" speech."

"Where do you stand?"

"I agree. There has to be more to this than what we know. The question is what's going on? Was he brainwashed? Or did something else happen that made him stop caring about life?"

Michael turned back to him with a blank stare. "You're making this sound like some kind of bad science fiction plot."

"I'm just saying. Hey, I've figured it out! You want your scooter modified so you can lay a smackdown on Cipher, right?"

"That's the gist of it, yeah."

Perr sighed. "Off all the times, grandpa would be out of the shop. It's a headache."

"Any idea when he'll be back?"

"He's over at Kaminko's Manor again. You'd be better off going to see him in person."

"Alright. Thanks."

Michael left the shop and headed for the exit to the city. As he approached he saw three men he hadn't seen for a while come in. One old man with a cane and two men with shades.

The three approached Michael.

"Mr. Verich?"

"Oh, my, my. I haven't seen you for a while. I understand you were quite the hero in Phenac city. Very impressive of you. Hohoho."

"Eh, I just did what I had to do." Michael replied with a bit embarrassed. "I just thought It'd bring me a bit closer, to being like Wes."

"I hope you mean like him before his fall from grace and into villainy."

"He's not a villain." Michael retorted. "I know he has to be doing this for a reason."

"Really? Forgive me if I'm being irrational, but what reason could he have?"

"And even if he has one, what difference does it make?" Ardos, the man in blue asked. "Can it really justify all he's done?"

"I know it's hard to believe…" Michael admitted. "But I just don't think he's evil."

"Perhaps you just don't want to lose hope." Verich suggested.

"Hope?"

"Yes. That is what people think of when they see a hero. Hope."

"I guess so…It's not that hard to tell between good and evil. I mean you guys saved me and my sister when you had no reason to."

"Hohoho! You flatter us child. But like I said, we only did what had to be done. At any rate, we should get going. Do take care."

"Same to you."

As they walked away, Michael turned to Eldes, the man dressed in red. "Hey, remember what you said to me at Mt. Battle? About why I want to be stronger?"

The man looked over his shoulder and towards Michael. "Yes. What about it?"

"It…it's because I want to be a hero Like Wes…but now I'm not even sure why I want that…Is it ever easy to find an answer?"

The man hesitated before answering. "I cannot say for sure. But if it is indeed a similar question, I do know this. Only you can find the answer."

Michael watched him leave.

"Only me, huh…"


"I swear that guy needs new glasses." Michael grumbled as he went into the basement of the manor. Chobin once again took Michael for a burglar and he had to square of with the Robo Groudon…which Michael had to admit looked cool.

But soon he found who he was looking for. The man was looking for he was looking at a invention still under construction.

"Hmhm…So this is the Robo Kyogre that Kaminko had under development. He called it useless scrap and demanded that I haul it away. But, you know, this is quite a well-engineered machine.

Michael approached from behind. "Makan?"

The elderly man turned around with a start. "Whoa! You've given me quite the start! Oh, it's you, lad. What's up today?"

"It's a long story. I need you to fix up my scooter, so I can get into the dessert. I heard some shady people are hanging out around there. I think it might be Cipher."

"Hm...I heard rumours that the Hero was leading Cipher. Didn't think it was true."

"I wish it wasn't…"

"So, you want me to modify your scooter for dessert-crossing performance?"

"Right. Think you can whip something up? I know it's rather sudden."

"Well, you certainty are bold for even considering to face Cipher alone. Fine, let's do it. I'll modify your scooter. Good deeds shouldn't wait. I'll arrange to haul this Robo Kyogre back to my shop right away. I'll see you there."

"Right!"


As soon as both Michael and Makan were back the ladder went straight to work on the scooter. The former waited inside the shop.

Suddenly Perr came inside.

"How's it going?" Michael asked.

"Almost done. Grandpa's just running a few tests. He wanted me to tell you about this."

Perr held up a small black circular object.

"What's that?"

"We found it attached to the bottom of your scooter. I looked into it. I think it's a transmitter of some kind."

"Transmitter?"

"Someone's tracking your movements with this thing."

Michael gave Perr a confused glance that slowly became a wide-eyed expression of understanding. "Wes must have put it on when I met him at that Lab! That's how Cipher seemed to know I was coming to Phenac! I bet that's also how he found out that I gave that data ROM to Nett!"

"I wouldn't put it past him." Perr sighed. "Man…what happened to the poor guy? If Rui knew about all this she'd be in tears."

"Rui? Eagun's granddaughter?"

"Yup. She was with him the whole time. That girl knows and respect Wes, more than the rest of us. She cares for him. Really cares for him if you catch my drift." Perr added with a cheeky grin.

"Oh, ho!" Michael smirked. "Hero's number one admirer, huh? I heard he saved her from kidnappers."

"Admirer and perhaps a bit more!" Perr laughed. "Bitt and I made a bet, that they'd get hitched three years ago. Though, we're coming close to the deadline..." He added before looking to the calendar on the wall. An upcoming date was circled and was labelled with "Pay Bitt 600 Pokedollars…and then go push Rui into Wes or something to make em hurry up and hook up!"

Michael laughed. "Do you think the feeling's mutual?"

"Who knows what Wes is thinking?" Perr shrugged. "He rarely shows emotion."

Just then Makan returned, whipping his forehead. "Whew, what a job that was. I'm finally done!"

"So…what did you do?" Mchael asked.

"I've converted it into a hover-type scooter, so it will be perfect for the desert! Go on, try I out right away!"

"Thanks!"


Wes stood behind his desk. A peon walked into the room and across the red carpet. "Master Wes, we lost the signal of the tracking device."

"Hmm…The kid must have caught on…Has Gorigan left yet?"

"Yes sir. He should be at the S.S. Libra at any moment now. But is this really all necessary for one small Pokemon we missed?"

"We can't afford to leave a signal Pokemon stranded in there…not when we can make use of it."

"What do we do regarding the kid, sir?"

"Not much we can do now…but he has more skill than I though to have chased all of our members out of Phenac…Perhaps him saving Krane was no flunk after all…Increase security around here. We're approaching the final stage. XD001 will need more time to be completed and until then, we can't let him get into here of all places."

"Yes sir!"

As the man left Wes looked at the monitor on the wall. "Just a little more…and this will all be over…"


After this, we'll have a fairly large time skip. My apologies. I hope you continue to enjoy this story regardless.