A Champion's Title
Chapter 2: Hunting The Hunter
-Route 39, Johto—11:46 PM-
"I've learned that Team Aqua is still hiding out in their old base, off the ocean rocks in Lilycove City. We can get there by the S.S. Aqua from Olivine. Team Magma is currently unknown of. We'll go for them once we have more info. As for now, we'll attack Aqua's base. Sound like a plan?" Rob said. He, Ethan and Noriko were writing out plans on paper. Rob kept fidgeting with a pair of goggles that hung from his neck. Ethan had a lighter lit, since it was almost pitch-black outside.
"Sounds good. But there is a problem. How the hell are we supposed to take out a base? Just walk up, ask them nicely, and if they say no, fight them all down?" Ethan complained.
"I was getting to that. There's an underwater entrance to the base from the south of Mossdeep City. Connected to the underwater ruins is a large cave path. We can take that to have a stealth advantage. Get a surprise attack, really." Rob explained.
"Ah, that makes sense. The underwater ruins was where Team Aqua found Kyogre about five years ago." Noriko said. She looked at Rob, who looked like he winced at the name of Kyogre.
"Well, yeah. In any case, we should get going. I'm sure we-"Rob started.
"Hold up. A thought occurred to me. What if Team Aqua knows who the Johto Champ is, and can publically broadcast the destructive antics of him? They do have that ability, you know." A voice stated. Without a thought, Ethan doused his lighter. It was completely pitch-black darkness around them. Rob fiddled with his goggles after putting them on his eyes. A night-vision mode was enabled. No one could see it, but Rob smiled.
"Heh, makes sense. They did that to you once, right?" Rob joked. Ethan lit the lighter again. It was Steven, the current Champion of Hoenn.
"You watch too much media. But yeah, a few years back. Took me a hell of a lot of time to win the people back." Steven continued. Rob's smile turned to a stern face.
"Damn. Then we'd have to take out their… Wait, how do you know what we're trying to do? How long were you watching us?" Ethan asked.
"For about half an hour. The girl you brought with you seemed sheepish and scared. I figured either you guys were planning something, or you were dumbasses. I later replaced 'or' with 'and'. A lot of people get weird ideas if they see their Champion running around late with two random trainers." Steven continued. He was right. Publicity was going to be a huge problem. Rob never even thought about how the media would react.
"Well, whatever the case is, they're a big problem now. Kidnapping a Champion and two trainers right off the street for no reason is strange. For it to be us specifically, especially me, proves there's a motive." Rob said, still looking stern. Steven smiled.
"I'll give you that, kid. You got guts. I bet you can still make the last ride if you hurry for the harbor." Steven continued.
"We'll do that. You gonna tag along?" Rob asked.
"I would, but I was called down to Kanto by Red. Apparently a similar problem to this happened to a few trainers in Vermillion City. I'll catch you later." Steven said, walking off towards the east. Without a word, the three remaining trainers headed off south towards Olivine.
-The next morning-
It was still early. The boat ride from Johto to Hoenn took much longer than from Olivine to Vermillion. This took at least five days. Olivine to Vermillion took only about a night. Rob, Ethan and Noriko were all still asleep. The only people on board who were awake were the captain and the first mate.
"Keep the wheel steady. These boats, especially these cruisers, can turn on a dime." The captain stated, looking out to sea.
"Aye." The first mate responded. His gaze never left the front of the boat. Something did catch his eye, though. Another ship was sailing towards them. If they didn't turn, they'd collide. The opposing ship seemed to pick up speed. The captain reached for his radio.
"Opposing ship, this is S.S. Aqua. Ship #002 headed from Olivine City, Johto to Lilycove City, Hoenn. You are picking up speed and seem to be unable to turn. What's your status?" He spoke, keeping his eyes on the ship. A voice radioed back.
"Your ship has the same name as us. Congratulations. Too bad you won't be able to see it after we're done with you. You have three passengers we need. I suggest you hand the over." The voice called out. The captain was appalled.
"Hand over three passengers? Are you mad, sailor? We-: The captain began. He was cut off by someone grabbing the radio out of his hand. He turned to see the Champion of Johto.
"Sorry, Aqua. But I'm afraid you're playing with us now. Nice job speeding up our plan." Rob stated. He threw the radio back to the captain and hurried towards an emergency exit. Ethan and Noriko quickly followed behind him. Rob pried the door open.
"On three. Ready…" Rob said, clutching a Great Ball in hid hand. He quickly pressed the button on it, releasing the Pokémon inside. A Gardevoir.
"And… Three! Gardevoir, Trick Room!" He commanded. The three trainers jumped into the water and started swimming towards the enemy ship. Rob recalled his Gardevoir before he hit the sea. The captain watched all of it, shocked.
"They're planning to swim at an enemy ship? Are they idiots!?" He suggested. Something was odd, though. The three trainers swam incredibly fast. Almost as fast as a full-grown Kingdra.
"Captain, that kid's Gardevoir used Trick Room. If my guess is correct, he's using that move to slow down that ship and swim towards it. The slower, the better." The mate explained. By this time, the three trainers were already halfway to the ship. Men could be seen on it scrambling. They were probably thinking "Why isn't the ship moving!?" or "How are they swimming so fast!?"
"This is something I never thought I'd do. Swim in Sharpedo-infested water towards a ship that's trying to kidnap us." Ethan joked.
"I'm sure that even the wildest of daredevils couldn't see themselves doing this." Rob answered. Before they knew it, they were in front of the ship. Rob tucked his goggles on.
"Ready? Dive!" He shouted. The three trainers dove underwater.
"Every ship has a lifeboat/cargo exit underneath it. This is no exception, I'm sure." Rob thought, looking around. He was right. There was a large opening under the boat. Gravity and physics played a part in keeping water out of that part of the ship. Ethan pointed towards it. The three trainers swam towards it. Rob and Ethan poked their heads up.
"That's a thrill ride. I missed you, oxygen." Ethan said, looking around. No Team Aqua personnel were in sight.
"I'll say. Wait… where's Noriko?" Rob asked, looking around. He looked back into the water.
"She's still down there." He stated. Before anyone could object, he inhaled and dove. Almost immediately, he spotted her. She was trying to protect herself from a wild Sharpedo. Rob drew a Poke Ball and released his Vaporeon.
"Vapoooor… qua tai….!" He tried to command. His voice was muzzled by the water. Vaporeon looked at him, confused. He pointed at the Sharpedo and swung his fist around. That managed to tell Vaporeon "Use Aqua Tail!" The vapor Pokémon quickly swam over to the Sharpedo and swung its tail. The shark Pokémon cried in agony. Rob grabbed Noriko's hand and pulled her back to the ships opening. They practically threw themselves onto the steel flooring, coughing and gasping for air. Vaporeon soon followed.
"You… *cough* …you ok, Noriko?" Rob managed to ask. Noriko looked up and nodded after coughing up water.
"I think I'm fine. Thank you, Rob." She said. Both of them kept their eyes trained on each other. They almost refused to move or look away.
"Ahem, sorry to interrupt, but we should get moving. I'm sure you two lovebirds would like to live." Ethan annoyingly suggested. The two others blushed heavily and stood up. They both forgot he was even there.
"You're right. Vaporeon, return!" Rob called. The Pokémon was absorbed into its Poke Ball by the red light shooting from it.
"Alright. Everyone ready? I want to take these bastards down so we can get to finding Team Magma." Noriko said, looking fierce.
"You'll get your chance, Noriko. But for now, we'll stick to the basics. Ready? Let's rock!" Rob called. The three trainers headed for the exit of the room. Whichever way was up would lead them to the captain's quarters.
-Meanwhile, Captain's Quarters-
"Sir, three intruders have been detected in the ship. We've dispatched all personnel to find them. Any additional orders?" The admin added. She was tall, with long, large red hair sticking out from under her blue bandana. Her captain didn't look like a Team Aqua member at all. She also had red hair, but it was kept neat. Her white uniform was completely different from the Team Aqua uniform. The emblem was different as well.
"None. I'd like to see these intruders for myself as well. One of them seems… familiar. Bring them to me alive." She commanded. The admin nodded and ran off.
"If that's who I think it is, Archer's gonna love it. I might juts get a bonus in my pay." She continued, looking at the windows. The sun gleamed of the large red "R" on her uniform.