Ruby and I boarded the Lilycove ferry bound for Johto. The professor waved us off, watching up until the boat faded into the distance. It was late afternoon, and it would take about two days to reach the Johto region. I suddenly felt a wave of excitement, going on a journey with the Pokemon League Champion. And not just any League Champion – but the one that beat Steven. I realised he must be extremely skilled to be able to pull off such a feat. "So, Takashi, is it?"
"Uh- Yeah, yeah. Takashi Sugimori." I held out a hand and we shook, "I have to say, Ruby, it's an honour to meet you."
"Really? Why?"
"You beat Steven! That's amazing!"
"I don't know, I bet you could do it. Dad told me about you and your Dusclops. And don't even get me started on your Kabutops. Seriously, man, we're battling when this is all over."
The ferry's intercom sounded:
Hello everyone, this is your Captain speaking. Thank you for choosing Lilycove Harbour.
Well we couldn't exactly choose Slateport Harbour.
We will be arriving in Olivine City in just two short days. Dinner will be served at 7PM, Bed will be at 9PM, and breakfast will be at 6AM. Thank you, and have a good trip.
At 6:30PM, Ruby and I were in our room waiting for dinner time. We lay on our beds talking. We talked about our journeys, people we had met, and the journey ahead of us. Apparently the item we were searching for was called an 'Intensity Filter', a device developed by the Silph Corporation. Ruby told me about a villainous team much like Team Aqua and Magma, called Team Rocket, that used to operate around the Kanto and Johto regions, but disbanded a few years before.
Our talking passed the time quickly, and it was 7PM. We exited our room and boarded the main deck, where dinner was being served. The main course was made up of roast Tauros, Torterra trimmings and Cherubi. Entertainment by the famous Sinnoh gym leader Fantina was provided, and Ruby and I talked more. "You ever been to Sinnoh?" He ended his sentence with a mouthful of Tauros.
"Nah. Been to Kanto, Johto and Hoenn. Used to live in Kanto for a matter of fact."
"I think Sapphire's family used to live in Johto…"
"We just visited because of how close it was to Kanto."
"Well I was born and raised in Hoenn. Started my journey a few years back with my Torchic. Long story short, I'm the champion! How about you? What's your story?"
"Hmmm… Well, as you know, I came from Kanto. Then we moved up to Slateport and I became-"
"Oh… I'm so sorry…"
"It's alright. Well in Slateport I became a Pokemon Skill Coordinator. Then about two years ago now, at the 2013 tournament, the site was attacked by Team Magma. I haven't even been to another competition since. Up until now, I've just been training my Pokemon, and, as you know, chasing Mewtwo around the country."
"Nice. Sorry about Slateport, though. Wait… were you the guy they found unconscious in the middle of Slateport just after the attack? And was in a coma for ages?"
"Yeah, that was me."
"My god you are amazing."
"Heh, speak for yourself." We finished our meal, talking about our history, and went back to our room and got some sleep.
In the morning, we boarded the main deck once again for breakfast at 6AM. Exeggcute and fried spoink was served. Ruby and I sat with a group of other trainers due to a lack of seating. "My name's Barry! Comin' in from the Sinnoh region! Wait… aren't you like the Pokemon League Champion or somethin'?" Ruby let out a nervous chuckle.
"Yeah. I can't believe how many people recognise me now."
"You probably know my Dad then! He comes over to Hoenn to challenge your League all the time! He beat Cynthia a bunch of times! His name's Palmer!"
"Yeah, he's challenged me a couple of times. He hasn't managed to beat me yet, though."
"Damn. BUT AWESOME! I can't believe I'm talking to someone who can beat my DAD! Well there's my friend back in Sinnoh…" Another trainer spoke up:
"I'm Wally… I'm from Petalburg. I challenged the Hoenn Elite Four before you beat Steven… I couldn't seem to beat Drake…"
"Oh yeah… You were always helping out Norman weren't you?"
"Well, more like the other way around, but… I guess that's accurate…" We finished our breakfast and settled in for the day. At about 12AM we met back up with Barry and Wally.
Many trainers were trading Pokemon in order to fill in their Pokedex's, and to strengthen their teams to challenge the Johto League.
Ruby and Barry traded a few of their weaker Pokemon, and Wally and I talked.
About half an hour later, everything was stopped by gunshots.
Ruby, Barry and I stormed into the Captain's room, Wally staying behind. We had all released our Pokemon: Blaziken, Torterra and Kabutops respectively. We entered to find the body of the captain, underneath two men dressed in all black. Ruby gritted his teeth, "Team Rocket…"
"What did you bastards do?!"
"Heh, heh… don't worry. We didn't kill him, he's just unconscious." The first grunt pointed the gun at me. "We're Team Rocket, Pokemon gansters."
"Kabutops, Aqua Jet!" The brown plated beast darted forward, summoning a puff of water through from its mouth. The Rocket grunt strategically avoided the attack and shot Kabutops. The bullet bounced off Kabutops' hard shell, with the beast countering with a Slash attack. The Scythe arm connected with the gun, knocking it out of the grunt's hand, and onto the floor. When the gun dropped, it fired, shooting me in the leg. I tumbled over with a pained scream, Barry kneeling down to help.
Before I knew it, I was lying in a bed in the Nurse's room, the Captain next to me. I sat up, pain returning to my leg. My pant leg was rolled up, revealing the heavily bandaged wound. I looked over at the Captain, bandages all up his left arm. The Nurse turned around, "Ah, Takashi. You're awake." I turned my head, surprised at how much my leg hurt.
"Wh-what happened…?"
"Team Rocket attacked the ship… This is the third ferry in a month… We stopped them before they could hijack the ship, but, the Captain is in bad shape. We're going to have to stop of in the Sevii Islands."
"The Sevii Islands? No. We need to get to Johto, quickly. Lives are at stake."
"I'm sorry, but we have to stop… We don't have a Captain."
"Son of a…"
"We'll see what we can do, but don't get your hopes up."
I was made to stay in the bed until we arrived in the Sevii Islands, and at 3PM, we had landed. Ruby and Barry helped me off the boat, and we were allowed to stay in the Pokemon Centre on One Island. According to a group of people in the Centre, something like Mewtwo's landing two weeks earlier in Rustboro also happened here at the same time, but no one had seen it. They said a dark object fell from the sky, into the ocean, and created a small island, but everyone was too scared to get too close.
Ruby, Barry, Wally and I set out to find the island, renting a four-person boat. The island, which had been dubbed "Birth Island" by the locals, was apparently to the east of Three Island. We set out for the Island, and didn't talk on the way there.
The ride took about an hour, and we arrived on Three Island. There was a small group of tourists – looking at them, they were probably from Kalos – standing on the shore of the Island. They were looking out across the sea, where Birth Island could be seen. "So that's where the object landed?"
"I guess."
"So no one's gone over there?"
"Nope. Let's go see why not." We made our way to Birth Island on our boat, landing on the side that most resembled shore.
We dismounted, making our way to the middle of the Island, finding a large black triangle lying flat in the dirt. "What is it?" Wally asked.
"I don't know…" Barry leaned down to examine it. "Wait. I've got it!"
"What?"
"It's a Triangle." Barry laughed at his own stupidity and Wally kicked his shin, causing him to fall over, holding his leg.
"What the hell!" Wally smiled at Barry, still lying in the dirt squirming.
"We need to be serious." Barry stood himself up, allowing Ruby to examine the triangle. He reached out, but I grabbed his wrist to stop him.
"Ruby, we don't know what might happen! If we're gonna try and move it, we better at least release our Pokemon. I've gone through enough lately; I've learned that Pokemon help a lot."
"Yeah, you're probably right…" I released Kabutops and Dusclops, Barry released Torterra, Wally released Kirlia and Ruby released Blaziken and Tropius. Ruby reached out both hands, sliding one under the triangle on each side. Ruby grunted as he lifted it. As soon as it left the dirt, light shone from the ground, and a mutated blob of Green and Orange spilled out. Ruby jumped back.
"What the hell?!" Ruby, Barry, Wally and I all retreated backwards, letting our Pokemon take over. The blob changed itself, morphing into a humanoid shape. It's eyes were white and beady, it's arms like strands of DNA. It's legs didn't end in feet, but were rounded, letting it levitate. It bent it's DNA arms, which again morphed, forming human like hands.
A blue orb appeared in front of the hands, almost immediately shooting out and colliding with Blaziken. The bird was thrown back what looked like one hundred metres, and fell into the ocean. "Blaziken!" Ruby ran towards the shore and dived. Tropius trailed behind, scooping Blaziken up, and catchng Ruby along the way. He brought them both back to the Island, and they lay down to rest.
"Kabutops, Hydro Pump! Dusclops, Will-O-Wisp!" I called. The others ordered their own Pokemon, every attack being deflected by the monster's own. "What the hell is this thing?!"
"I don't know, but its damn strong!" Kirlia used a graceful combination of Psychic and Fighting moves. Kirlia's was the first attack to hit, making the creature's eyes frown. It's humanoid shape moulded into another, it's skin becoming much thicker, and its human like arms splitting in two. The only thing that stayed the same was the face. "Is this some sort of defensive form?!" Blaziken seemed ready to fight again, and it charged in and used a Flame Kick attack.
The creature, now knee deep in water after being kicked into the ocean, changed form once again. Its entire body became much thinner and sleek. Its colour scheme eliminated almost all green, leaving just black and orange. In this form, it was much quicker, and, in a flash, it was right next to Blaziken again. Startled, the bird became confused.
The monster finally morphed into a fourth form – not so different from its "Speed" form – but a mix between it and its "Defence" form: A thin body, but skin still thick. The arms were once again split in two on each side, with its face unchanged.
Torterra finally made its first move. Its feet stomped on the ground, cracking the earth, but effecting only us due to the monster's ability to levitate. "Torterra!" Barry wailed. "God Dammit!" He ran to the beast clumsily, and crashed into it with a loud thud!
Dusclops sent a barrage of Shadow Balls while Kabutops sent a Hydro Pump. No attack hit, but Tropius was about to re-enter the battle from behind. It swooped in, catching the monster by surprise and knocking it over. It morphed into its original form, and Kabutops pounced. The scythe arm ran smoothly through its body, and came out clean. Kabutops kept stabbing with no better result. Although it wasn't fighting anymore, the monster wasn't just going to let itself be completely defeated.
We noticed a green tint over its body, and eventually realised that it was healing itself. "Hydro Pump, Kabutops!" The high pressure stream burst out suddenly, and when the water sunk into the ground, the monster was gone. We turned around to see the monster back in its "Speed" form, and it darted back off in the direction of Hoenn. "God Dammit!"
We made it back to One Island, where the rest of the cruise participants were, and they were all gathered into the boat. "Everyone, the boat is now ready for departure! Please board the ship so we can get to Johto as soon as possible!"
"Ruby, come on! We need to get the damn Intensity Filter, quickly." Ruby nodded, and the four of us boarded.