The sun rose on a northerly city covered in year round snow. The city's name was Snowpoint, far north of Mount Coronet. Right now, the citizens were beginning to stir and awaken. Just as they began to put on their dressing gowns and huddle around the fire to fend away the cold, the snow crunched under the feet of both humans and pokémon alike.
The flying pokémon were returned to their pokéballs for a well-deserved rest while the group sat down at a picnic table. Upon sitting down, Jasmine immediately took out her laptop and started tapping away. Silence ensued as no one had the nerve to break it until Jasmine looked up.
'You're welcome to go into the city if you wish.' She stated. 'I might be a while and I'll come and find you when I'm done.'
Most of the group nodded and walked off into town. However, one person stayed.
Ash sat in silence next to Jasmine, peering at her laptop screen, watching her work. The screen showed a map the Sinnoh region, shaded different shades of blue in different areas. There was a scan currently in progress, seemingly scanning the blue tinted map.
'What is that?' asked Ash.
Jasmine turned around from her work. 'Oh? This is a map of the Sinnoh region I am scanning.'
'But why is it blue?'
Jasmine smiled at the question. 'It's a little program I installed. The blue is aura. The different shades of blue represent different concentrations of aura in different places. You see, Team Aura is completely made up of Aura Guardians and Aura Guardians have a brighter aura than normal people. They should be easy to find. Before, I managed to track the general area of their whereabouts, which led me here. They should be somewhere nearby.'
Ash raised a question. 'But if their aura is so bright, won't it show up immediately on the map?'
Jasmine sighed. 'That's a good question. They've somehow managed to shield their aura from prying eyes. That's why I'm having such a hard time trying to find them. I don't know of any aura- shielding technology they could have, unless they stole it from us…' she trailed off, thinking. Finally, she spoke up again. 'They can't have stolen our technology; they must have developed their own. But I'm close to tracking them, it shouldn't take much longer.'
They sat in silence for a couple of awkward minutes, staring at the ever-same laptop screen. Ash was ready to fall asleep, his eyelids drooping lower by each passing second. Beside him, Jasmine emitted a small yawn, showing her lack of sleep.
After a while, the silence became too much. Ash decided to say something.
'… There's a secret room in your library?'
Jasmine looked up brightly. 'Oh, yes, there is! It's where all the sacred and dangerous books are kept. Not many people know about it but because I've spent so much time in the library, I found out about it soon enough. The books there are very interesting.'
Ash listened in silence. He thought about how amazing the Institute sounded, all its secrets and wonders. He wondered if he should show interest in joining and become an Aura Guardian. The more he wondered, the more torn he felt. He'd always wanted to a Pokémon Master, but after listening to the wonders of the Institute, he wondered whether he should pursue the path of Aura.
Ash was still trailing off in thought when a sharp beeping snapped him out of it. He glanced over to the laptop screen to see the scanner flashing a 'Complete' sign, signalling the finding of Team Aura's headquarters.
Jasmine's head had also snapped up and was now staring at the screen, beaming.
'Finally' she shouted, 'We have the location! Now we can go and bring them down!'
Both Jasmine and Ash stood up, picking up their bags.
'Let's go!' said Ash excitedly.
Jasmine nodded and they both set off.
The noise hit them before the sight. The market place was bustling with activity, little stalls set up selling their wares. The deafening sounds of advertising and haggling filled their ears as they tried to find their friends in the sea of heads. In theory, they should have been easy to find, looking for a white beanie, spiky brown hair and a blue hat but it was surprisingly difficult. After five straight minutes of wandering aimlessly through the crowds trying to find their friends, they finally found the three. Dawn was, to no surprise, shopping, today, at the jewellery stand. Brock and Riley were standing back, watching her, looking mortally bored. At the sound of approaching footsteps, the boys looked up to find their saviours, glad to be free of this tedious torture. Dawn also looked up, although somewhat reluctantly.
'We're going now.' started Jasmine. 'We've found the headquarters so we can set out now.'
'Where was it?' asked Brock.
'Hidden in a mountain range just north of here. Quite sensible of them, actually, seeing as I had a lot of trouble finding them, of course, as well as other technology.' She answered.
'Okay! Let's go!' exclaimed Ash.
The group left the marketplace, and out of the city, heading for the mountain range. As they left, a man watched their every move. He was dressed in a familiar looking suit, coat and shades. After they had left, he pulled out a headset and put it on. He spoke into it.
'They have been found. They are heading north in the direction of HQ.'
'Understood.' came another male voice from the other end. After hearing this, the black suited man put away the headset. He soon melted into the crowd.
Deep in the mountains, a man listened to what a grunt had to say. This man was dressed in a black jacket, shirt trousers and shoes. He also wore dark glasses that hid his eyes and his brown slick hair was brushed to the side of his head. He nodded at the grunts words, soaking up the information. He was so deep in thought that he did not notice when the grunt stopped speaking.
'Sir,' he asked, 'what are your orders?'
The man in black took a moment of thought before speaking. 'Send out the elite team. We need to dispose of them quickly before they can reach us.'
The grunt nodded before running off to relay the orders. The man in black was now in the room alone. He smirked, an evil smirk, and laughed, an evil laugh.
'Soon, the plans will succeed, and she won't be in the way.' he, Beta, said, smirk spreading across his lips.