"Only a foot, has a big leaf on her tail, big red eyes?" Leena asked the local Diglett, who shook its...body...to say no. The worried mother Sceptile looked at Treaver after the Diglett left, "No one has seen Evina nor Scepter...what could have happened to them? I fear the worst."
"Now, don't say that, Leena." Treaver replied, "Whatever happens, I know that Scepter is taking full responsibility that Evina is alright...I hope..."
Suddenly, a familiar voice hissed behind them, "Are you looking for two little green Pokemon?"
Treaver shook, "Y-Yes, Vipera. Did you, uhm...see them anywhere?"
"Of course I saw them, darling," Sevipera said as she slithered over to them, "Your little twerp was trying to steal one of my Oran berries. He had a Tsutarja as a sister?"
"A Tsutarja?" Leena asked.
"Yesss...I overheard your little description to that Diglett and she fits it to a T. Last time I saw them, she said she was going back home..."
"But it's been hours, she hasn't returned!"
Sevipra laughed, "Silly Sceptile, her home is not your nest, she lives in a region called 'Isshu', and she plans on going there from the newly built Hoenn airport in Rustboro City."
"Oh no," Treaver started to hyperventilate, "Rustboro City? B-B-But, Trainers!"
"What is so bad about them?" Sevipra asked.
"Trainers, they...they entrap you in these little plastic balls and...and they enslave you to make you kill the ones you love! I know, I...I should know..." Treaver lowered his head down, "That's what happened to our first batch of eggs..."
Leena shook her head, still in disbelief that that actually happened, "Where is Rustboro City? We might be able to stop them before they actually go in there."
"If you take this path, you might be able to make it before sundown," Sevipra pointed to a small dirt path, "I mean, I know full well that it's the afternoon, but if you go now, you may be able to stop them."
"We are, and you're coming with us," Leena said, making Sevipra laugh
"You honestly think I am going to leave for the likes of little children that I can swallow whole? Please." However, she got the message that they meant business when Treaver grabbed her by the tail and dragged her along. The Seviper expected this, and with a sigh, just let them drag her along.
"Wait for us, mama! Wait for us, dada!" Gex and Seva said in unison as they followed their parents to Rustboro City.
Meanwhile…
"Almost there…" Emmy said, probably for the millionth time by the irritated look on Scepter's face. Emmy sniffed the air, "Berries roasting…" she said, "we really are almost there!"
"We are?" Evina said, a little surprised.
"We are! In fact, the gate should be right….here!" she pointed to an arch that had the sign on top of it:
RUSTBORO CITY
And on the bottom:
The city probing the integration of nature and science.
"Can…can you read that?" Scepter asked Emmy, who shook her head, "Well, let's see if I can try this…" he squint his eyes, "Rrrrrroooosht….boooo….."
Emmy then heard the sound of a boat and the motor of an airplane about to take off, "No time! We gotta go to the airplane; it's the first one taking off!"
"How do you know it's taking off for Isshu?" Evina asked as she followed her.
"I don't! But we got to try to make it to the airport, at least!"
When they at least made it to the middle of the city, Scepter was scared of all the trainers in the city, some walking with other Pokemon! Evina on the other hand, was so amazed; she did not see anything like this, so much stuff that the Trainers have invented. She suddenly spotted a window with a bunch of televisions stacked like a pyramid playing simultaneously.
"Hey, Emmy…look at this, these people are stuck inside these little boxes!"
Emmy looked at the TVs and laughed, "No, they aren't stuck; they're TVs. They're used for Trainers to watch the news or Pokemon battles or other stuff."
"Really? What is that Trainer saying? I can't really understand…"
"That isn't a trainer, silly, that's a news reporter!"
"Do Trainers evolve into those?" Evina asked, tilting her head.
"Kinda. Trainers have more evolutions than an Eevee, they can be a chef, a rock star, or anything else. Or if they stay a Trainer, then they become Master." Emmy explained.
"Trainers are weird." Scepter said as he watched the multiple TVs with Evina and Emmy.
"Breaking news!" the newsman sitting behind the desk said as a golden "BREAKING NEWS" logo appeared in front of the screen and then sliding to the top-right corner, "Professor Aragi reports of a Tsutarja egg missing when she got back from a scientist meeting. She says that a $10,000 reward and a free Pokemon of their choice will be given to the Trainer who brings it back to Isshu in time for the new Trainers to arrive to choose it along with Mijumaru and Pokabu!"
"A missing Tsutarja?" Scepter said in shock, "Evina, that's you!"
"I don't think so," Evina said, "the news reporter didn't say where the Tsutarja was."
"Oh, wow! A Tsutarja, a Treeko, and an Emonga! This is great! I'll be sure to capture all three of them!" a voice from behind said. The three turned around and, to Scepter's fright, it was a Trainer, a Pokeball ready to catch one of them. He threw it, and in a white flash of light, out came a Houndour, who growled at the three, ready for its orders.
"H-Hey, Mr. Houndour…please don't kill us! Why are you listening to him?" Scepter stuttered, trying to look brave, but was failing miserably.
"I have to," the Houndour answered, "now stay still, I won't make this painful unless you want me to…"
Fear overtook the Treeko, he got on all fours and ran as fast as his limbs could carry him with Evina and Emmy soon following.
"Don't let them get away!" the trainer said as he pointed to where his Houndour was supposed to go.
"Quickly, to the airport! Follow me!" Emmy shouted to Scepter, who was far away from him, but Evina, who was very slow on her two legs, could not keep up with either of them.
"Evina, slither! And hurry!" Scepter shouted to her, but it made him distracted enough to slam his head onto a metal pole, giving the trainer and his Houndour ample time to catch up.
"Now, Houndour! Use Ember!" the trainer ordered. A burst of flame shot out of the Pokemon's mouth, directly at Scepter, who did nothing but duck his head in fear.
"Scepter!" Evina dropped to her belly and slithered as fast as she could, as soon as she was in front of the battle, she lifted herself up and let herself be scorched by the burning flare. Scepter opened an eye to see Evina in a fetal position, in horrible pain; not only was the Ember "super effective", but it also left a burn on her chest that made tears come out of her eyes in both agony and in fear. Scepter was more taken aback by the fact that she almost killed herself for his sake! The dedication gave him enough courage to step in front of the writhing Grass Snake and was ready to battle in place of Evina.
"Emmy, take Evina to the airport!" Scepter ordered the Emonga.
"But if you stay, you might miss the trip to Isshu!" Emmy said as she tried to help Evina stand, who was clutching her burn as if it was her lifeline.
"Oh, don't worry," Scepter glared at the Houndour, "I'll make this quick."
Scepter jumped up and turned his back to the Houndour, so his tail could be shown, and then he slammed the Dark Pokemon down on the ground. Amazingly enough, it did a lot of damage to the Houndour, and he had a bit of trouble getting up, giving Scepter enough time to flee as fast as he could.
When he caught up with the two girls, he looked at Evina's burn, which was hurting her every time they walked.
"At least Trainers have Pokeballs that prevent the horrors that is the afterburn…the only thing it doesn't prevent is the effects of venom, and even then, it's nullified a little." Emmy said as she helped the Tsutarja to walk.
"Evina, how are you doing?" Scepter asked. Evina's eyes were half-open and she looked to be in a trance; she was close to fainting, and if she fainted, then she might as well have died. She eventually looked at Scepter.
"It hurts…" she whispered.
"That was quite a sacrifice you made there, sis," Scepter said. Evina nodded weakly.
Emmy saw that the door where they put the boxes and boxes of luggage was about to close shut, "That's our only way in!" she announced, "Sorry, Evina, this is going to get a little rough!" she then ran as fast as she could before the doors finally closed, Scepter not too far behind.