Chapter 3

The Ministry of Magic ended up only being a two day journey from the Professor's lab. Along the way, they shared their wisdom when they camped. Barry figured that once they got to the Ministry of Magic, everything would fall into place. However, when they arrived, they were surprised to learn that Pokémon weren't allowed inside.

"I'm not a Pokémon!" Sonic proclaimed. But it didn't work.

"Here, Barry, hold on to my Pokémon while I go inside." said Joe.

"I was just about to suggest that." replied Barry.

"What are we supposed to do? Just sit here in the lobby?" Sonic said impatiently as Barry took the Pokéballs from Joe.

"Calm down. I trust Joe won't be long. Besides, there's a TV we can watch."

Sonic sighed and sat down dejectedly as Joe hurried inside the elevator without he and Barry.

"Hey, looks like we'll be watching a good battle." said Barry. "This guy held his own against Harry Potter."

Sonic looked up from where he was staring at the floor and his jaw dropped. "That's him! That's Doctor Eggman!"

"What? Really? You didn't tell me he was a Pokémon trainer. Oh, watch! He's mega evolving his metagross!"

"No, he's not a Pokémon trainer and oh my god that's not mega evolution! He's using a chaos emerald to power up his Pokémon!"

"His opponent should try and burn him. That would solve the problem," Barry suggested.

"You have no idea how powerful the chaos emeralds are. There's nothing that poor guy can do to win now." Barry watched as bullet punch ko-ed a charizard from full health. "With all seven chaos emerald he will be able to turn thoughts into action" Sonic said grimly.

"Why do you think he's battling in the practice tournament?" said Barry before Sonic could say it.

"Didn't you say there was a big prize for winning the grand tournament later this week?"

"Big is an understatement. This winner becomes champion. It's basically like being the president of Pokémon and magic. I think the ministry decided that because Harry Potter is likely to win."

Sonic furrowed his brows "So that means if the Ministry has the chaos emeralds, he can just take them if he wins?"

"Pretty much."

"We have to stop him from winning the tournament then!"

"Maybe he'll just lose in an early round and we won't have to do anything."

"Are you willing to bet your life on it?"

"Well.. I was planning on entering the tournament anyways. I don't know if I can beat him, though, looking at this battle."

"We have to do something. If you find a chaos emerald then you'll be on even ground."

"Where am I supposed to find one of those?"

"I don't know but we have to look."

Barry didn't have anything to say to that. He let his eyes glaze over the television as Chaos-Metagross bullet punched a Steelix into submission.

Two hours passed, and it was almost to the point where Barry thought Sonic was going to explode due to impatience when he heard a ding. The elevator doors opened to reveal Joe inside. "Hey, Barry."

"Welcome back. Took you a while" said Barry, standing up.

"Barry, I need a Leafeon. They are the cutest thing evar." squealed Joe.

"What? Did you find anything out about the chaos emeralds?"

"I'm confident it'll be worth it. I'd love it forever and ever. I need it, Barry."

"Okay, we'll find you one." Barry hoped that would be the end of it. "

Oh yes, that would be totally awesome." said Joe. Sonic noisily cleared his throat. "Oh yeah. I asked them about the chaos emeralds. Apparently they have an effect on Eevee. They managed to evolve a Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, and a super cute Leafeon." Joe continued to recount. "They wouldn't let me see the emeralds, of course, due to security reasons but I got to play with some of the Pokémon in the nursery. Now I definitely know I want a Leafeon."

Sonic did not allow himself to look patient. "That means we know where five chaos emeralds are. Two are missing but I don't think we can convince any of the current known owners to give theirs up."

"Oh no! I asked if I could have a chaos emerald and they laughed at me." said Joe. "Then they said no."

The group pondered their situation for a moment. "We need to come up with a plan to stop Doctor Eggman" said Sonic. "I suppose we're looking for one of the other emeralds then?" Joe said.

"I still need to catch two more Pokémon before the tournament," Barry added. "I only have a team of four."

Joe put his hand up to his chin. "I have a feeling it won't be easy to find a chaos emerald."

Barry's eyes lit up "You don't suppose since the gems relate to Eevees they were found in the same environment do you?"

Sonic answered the question directed towards Joe. "That's usually how it is actually."

"I bet since the two missing emeralds are light blue and white, we might have luck searching on top of Mt. Alp. They might relate to ice or snow." Joe concluded.

"We should go find out." Barry looked to Sonic. Sonic seemed like he might object, but decided against it. Barry figured he was just glad to be done waiting and to actually go do something. "Well looks like it's settled then. Let's pack our bags for Mt. Alp. Maybe I'll find a Pokémon or two along the way." Barry said more cheerfully. With that, the group exited the Ministry of Magic with a new plan to stop Doctor Eggman.