August 17, 13 AL

11:48 AM

"Kyle, get up!" yelled Terra as she knocked on her brother's door.

"Go away. It's Saturday," he answered, but he looked over at the clock and realized it was nearly noon. Grudgingly, he rolled out of bed and shuffled to the door. As it creaked open, he admitted, "Okay, so it's late. But we weren't planning to do anything today, were we?"

Terra just shook her head as she said, "Alexander just sent an e-mail to everyone. It seems like a joke, but it is from his official site."

"Isn't he on some mission for the Champion test? He wouldn't waste time to send a letter. If he's going to succeed, he better be serious about it."

"If this is real, then it doesn't matter how serious he is. No one can pass the test. I want you to check and see if you think Alexander would really send it. I'll be back in a sec."

Kyle closed the door as she left. As he found clothes and got dressed, he looked around his room at posters he had put up recently. Many of them showed scenes from the recent league matches. When matches became public, the Elite Four were beaten more often because their challengers knew exactly what to expect. Alexander had used this to his advantage, so Kyle now owned a shirt with Alexander's pokémon on it.

Terra then walked back in and threw the letter at Kyle. He sat down on his bed and began to read it.

As he read, Kyle shook his head, "Why didn't Alexander tell us? We should be the first to know."

Terra quietly replied, "Would you have let him go if you knew what he was getting into? No, he wanted a chance to do the impossible." She began pacing back and forth. "He left us here in Fortree, then disappeared before showing up at the pokémon league. We had no contact until he told us he was challenging the Elite Four. We watched it… two weeks ago. He should be back by now. If they are consistent, the Elite Four will declare his failure tomorrow. This letter is probably timed to stop them. Keep reading. I'll see just how many people got this."

Terra hurried outside and began talking to everyone she saw. Luckily, with the addition of e-mail to the PokéNav, trainers began carrying them as often as Pokedexes. Few of the trainers had checked their e-mail, but they checked as soon as Terra told them about the one she had received. It was sent exactly as the address stated, "All Pokémon trainers." None of the trainers were forgotten. When she climbed down to the Fortree pokémon center, the crowd was outside the door from all the people trying to find out if it was real. No one seemed to have any answers, so she trudged back to their house.

Meanwhile, Kyle finished reading and decided to check his other e-mail. He sifted through the junk mail from people who had invented a secret product he needed to invest in and others who thought they had seen the funniest site ever created, but then he found a cryptic message from Alexander.

August 3, 47 AL

To: Kyle

er er ad ye

I etoe te ae hr te hmin ae en hl i m lte t eeyn. ko ta gvn te oain wy ol sn to ay epe hr ad ie h Eie or wrig o oe h Capos wo ut o icue e I ol yu w g tee I hn yu a gt s u wtot en se. h cv i js t te ot o te ek f t Pr. hdna o' b al t tleor i lk m Aaaa, o rn Fyo t dg n I yu o tagt on rm eid h gae akr o te rgnl hmin o wl ht mtl rd Ta i te eln o te opud Yu hud i truh Te otr wl poal b es t fn, u te ae o crd f h Eie or ht hy i te lr we te sw e Mk sr te d nt ae h cac. h rd utn ae l oe te lc.

Hurry!

Alexander

PS Talk to Terra

Kyle shook his head. Alexander had always loved codes. It was usually his way of telling them some secret. Normally, he had some simple substitution like taking the letter behind or in front in the alphabet. Kyle began testing these, but none worked. With "Aaaa" thrown in, any substitution would just be a line of the same letters. Finally, he gave up and threw the paper into the trash.

As Terra walked in, he decided to take Alexander's advice in the post script. "Terra, come look at this. I have another message from Alexander."

Terra ran over and skimmed through the message. "Why does he always need to use a code? You're supposed to talk to me, but I have no clue what it is supposed to say. I guess I can just try all his usual codes."

"I already have," answered Kyle. "Nothing works. Can you remember anything he told you? Some clue he left before he fought the Elite Four?"

She stopped and thought for a minute. She looked around the room for anything he had left when he last visited, but there was nothing. "You have seen everything I have. There was nothing important he told only to me."

"No, all three of us were together… but that doesn't mean he hasn't told you anything since then. Did you look at all your e-mail before you woke me up? Was there a message like this?"

"I never checked. I thought the other one was too important." Kyle printed the message and got up to go get a bite of breakfast. Terra logged in and saw a similar message. It was just as confusing, but not exactly the same. At the bottom, it said "Talk to Kyle." Once again, she went through all his classic substitutions. Nothing worked. It seemed that Alexander had suddenly invented a new code. Many of his old ones were known only to Terra and Kyle. He wouldn't need a new one.

Then Terra began to look at the two letters. Two different letters for people who are supposed to talk to each other. Normally they would only be the same. But together…

She started taking letters alternating between her letter and Kyle's. The first letter from hers, then from his. The second from hers, then the second from his. She continued and a message emerged.

August 3, 47 AL

Dear Terra and Kyle,

I mentioned the cave where the Champions are being held in my letter to everyone. I know that giving the location away would send too many people there and give the Elite Four a warning to move the Champions, who must now include me. If only you two go there, I think you can get us out without being seen. The cave is just to the north of the peak of Mt. Pyre. Shedinja won't be able to teleport in like my Alakazam, so bring Flygon to dig in. If you go straight down from behind the grave marker for the original champion you will hit a metal grid. That is the ceiling of the compound. You should fit through. The doctors will probably be easy to find, but they are so scared of the Elite Four that they hit the alarm when they saw me. Make sure they do not have the chance. The red buttons are all over the place.

Hurry!

Alexander

"Kyle! I figured it out! Come back here!"

He ran back and looked it over. "Well, what are we waiting for? I'll grab Scyther and we can get going. You bring Shedinja and it can provide cover," said Kyle as he began collecting supplies.

Terra paused, then, "Why did he ask us to go? Why not send it to the police? They could save him faster than we could."

"They would call the Elite Four first with this kind of message. They're probably required to check if anything like this is real before they do anything. The Elite Four control the government now. Why do you think this impossible Champion test hasn't been stopped? No, he knows we can do it without telling everyone."

"And he knows we can help him without going for help first. If word got out, they would know exactly what we are doing… Can we really do it?"

"Of course we can. Why else would he send it to us?" Kyle tried to reassure her.

They collected their Pokémon, Pokéballs, and other supplies. Kyle waited as Terra searched for her cell phone. They both knew Mt. Pyre had no reception; energy left over from the activation of the Orbs scrambled any signals from the area. Terra wanted it anyway.

They ran outside and Terra brought out Flygon while Kyle got Scyther. They leaped onto their Pokémon's backs and flew off to Mt. Pyre.