CHAPTER 41
Zorian glanced over the key piece in his paw. He was so close to stopping Slowking's plan, yet so far at the same time.
"Is that…a piece of the Key of Renewal?" asked Aerodactyl.
"Yes, but how do you know about it?" asked Zorian.
"I was alive during its earliest years," said Aerodactyl. "Few Pokémon were told of its power and ability. It is unknown who crafted it. Some suggest our guardian Pokémon, Arceus, was responsible for its creation. Actually, I could ask you the same question, Zorian."
Everyone looked at Zorian. Zorian placed the key half around his neck and sat down. "It's a long story," he said.
"We're willing to hear it," said Gallade. "The more we know about what's going on, the better."
"It all started back when I was human," said Zorian. He closed his eyes and tried to recall the day he took action against Team Rocket.
It had been at least three years since he promised his brother that he would return to Unova. He was in Vermillion City, watching as a group of Team Rocket thugs boarded a ship. Several of them were pushing something large that was concealed by a cloak of black fabric.
Zorian pulled his uniform hat down over his eyes and tucked in his hair so that he wouldn't be easily recognized. He snuck into the large group of Rockets and boarded the boat with them.
"Take this to the meeting room," said a female voice. "Be careful with it. It's extremely temperamental as of now."
The Rocket thugs carefully pushed the concealed object into one of the rooms on the ship. Zorian slipped into the group and helped push it. It felt solid and made of metal underneath the cloak.
As soon as it was in the middle of the room, a woman stepped forward and grabbed the cloak. Zorian then felt the ship start to move. He knew for a fact that Unova was the destination. If what he suspected about the mysterious object was true, he knew there was a chance to save himself and his brother.
"I am Diana, head of the Team Rocket Research Division," said the woman. "As we make way for Undella Town, I will show you our latest masterpiece."
Diana pulled the cloak off the large object. It appeared to be an odd-looking machine with a laser turret on top.
"Our research team has finally been able to put Pokémon power to good use," she said. "We discovered something that will change the face of Team Rocket forever. There is a world parallel to our own in which Pokémon are the only existing species and humans are practically myth. Using the abilities of the rare Pokémon we captured, we have been able to locate and connect to this world. Unfortunately, this has not been tested yet, but theoretically, this machine will enable us to extract Pokémon from that world and bring them to ours."
Several Team Rocket thugs grinned and laughed excitedly. Zorian sighed and shook his head. This was a terrible thing to do to Pokémon.
Diana continued to talk about the machine and how it worked for the entire duration of the trip. As soon as they reached Undella Bay, they carefully removed the machine from the ship, and Diana moved it to a safe place.
"Our Unova base is not far from here," she said. "Let's show our friends in this region the true potential of Team Rocket."
Diana turned on the machine, typed in a few coordinates, and pulled a lever on the side. The laser turret started to light up and eventually fired a bright beam at the ground. Zorian could see the light starting to gather together into a large shape on the ground, as though something was materializing.
"Back up and get the binds ready!" Diana barked at her thugs.
Within moments, the light had formed a towering figure. As soon as it faded, what stood before everyone in its place was an Aggron. The Rockets wasted no time in subduing it with chains and cuffs. Enraged, the powerful Pokémon attempted to fight back but by the time it realized what was going on, it had already been bound and could not move.
Zorian was used to seeing this kind of torment by now, but he felt even worse for Aggron. This Pokémon may not have known humans before, and now he was a slave to one.
"We're going to the Unova base to show the others," said Diana. "I believe they are on a capture mission at the moment… Ah. That would be them."
There was smoke rising in the distance. Zorian knew that Team Rocket often started fires to keep Pokémon from fleeing. He just hoped his brother wasn't involved with this capture job.
"I need a volunteer to stay behind to watch this one," said Diana, pointing to Aggron.
The Rockets looked at the helpless Steel Pokémon. It growled menacingly and flailed. Many Rockets backed up in fear.
"Someone with a backbone, please," said Diana. "I haven't got all day."
Zorian stepped forward, his face and hair still concealed. "I'll do it, ma'am," he said.
"Good," Diana replied. "The rest of you lot, follow me."
As Diana left with the grunts, Zorian thanked his luck. Team Rocket did have a bad habit of not stopping to ask names. Once they were out of sight, Zorian grabbed the keys to the chains. He looked into Aggron's eyes. Aggron glared back into his.
"It's all right, big guy," Zorian said calmly. "I'm busting you out of here."
Aggron flailed again, but he settled down as Zorian attempted to unlock the bindings. It took a few minutes, but Zorian eventually freed Aggron. To his surprise, the Pokémon did not roar in anger or try to hurt him.
"Okay, time to get you home," said Zorian. He looked at the machine. He had heard enough from Diana to know how to operate it.
Zorian realized he needed to act quickly; the fire was starting to spread in his direction, and he could see Pokémon fleeing from it. This meant that the Rockets on the capture job would not be far behind. Aggron looked terribly concerned for the fleeing Pokémon.
"Stupid Pokémon!" yelled a familiar voice. It was immediately followed by the sound of a whip cracking and a Pokémon's cry of pain. Zorian recognized it as a Buizel's voice. But more importantly, the human voice was one he knew too well.
"Rylan!" he shouted. Hearing the cry of pain from another Pokémon, Aggron quickly rushed out into the flames to find Buizel.
"Wait! It's too dangerous!" Zorian said, following Aggron. Aggron ran straight into the fire, but Zorian halted before it.
"Rylan! Where are you?" Zorian cried out. He searched around the flames, looking for his brother.
"Who's that…?" Rylan asked. His voice sounded depressed.
Zorian continued to search, running past each wave of flames, trying to follow the sound of his brother's voice. Eventually he saw a figure in black standing close by, a whip hanging loosely from his hand.
"Rylan!" Zorian rushed toward his brother and grabbed his shoulders. Rylan stared back at Zorian with a look that Zorian had never expected to see on the face of the bright and optimistic younger brother he remembered. Those lifeless eyes sent a shiver down Zorian's spine.
"Zorian…" Rylan said softly. "You came… After all this time… I thought you wouldn't come back… I thought you broke your promise…"
"I'm sorry," Zorian said. "It took longer than I thought it would. But there's still one thing we need to do. Follow me."
Zorian grabbed his brother's hand and ran back in the direction of the machine. Rylan ran with him, but that look of utter despair and hopelessness never left his face.
Once they reached the machine, Zorian noticed that Aggron was waiting by the machine as well. Aggron was carrying two unconscious Pokémon with him in his arms. They appeared to be a Vulpix and a Buizel.
"How does it…know what you're doing?" Rylan asked.
"Smart Aggron, I suppose," said Zorian. "But we can thank our lucky stars later. We need to get him back where he belongs. Hopefully he can take those two Pokémon with him to a safer place.
Rylan looked at Aggron, who looked back into his eyes. The large Pokémon's physical presence was intimidating, yet its countenance appeared to be gentle.
Zorian fiddled with the control panel on the machine until he found what he was looking for. "Aha!" he exclaimed. "Polarity reverse! This should send Aggron back to where he came from."
Zorian pressed a few buttons, then flipped the switch. The laser beam fired once again, this time encasing Aggron and the two Pokémon he was carrying in a shell of light. The turret started absorbing the light until it was all gone. Not a trace of the three Pokémon were left.
"It worked!" Zorian said delightedly.
"So, what are we going to do now?" asked Rylan.
Zorian glanced proudly at the machine. "We're going to send ourselves into the Pokémon world," he replied.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing over there?" yelled a familiar voice. Diana had spotted Zorian and Rylan by the machine. "Get them!"
Frightened, Rylan quickly ran off. Zorian remained behind and started pulling at the machine.
"Zorian! What are you doing?" Rylan shouted back. "We need to go now! They'll catch us!"
"Got it!" Zorian ran back toward his brother with something clenched in his fist. He and Rylan darted through a cloud of smoke produced by the fire and successfully escaped Diana's sight.