Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story!

Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga

Chapter Forty Two

Legends in Celadon

"I can't believe its been a full week and I still no sign of Entei..."

Though trouble was stirring in Hoenn, May Maple, Hoenn's newest champion, was far from it. Instead, her journeys found her sitting in a fast food restaurant with an empty tray on the table in front of her. Having finished her meal, she was taking time to reflect on the past week.

"Well Raikou wasn't exactly easy to find either, was it?" The voice of Haruka, ancient leader of the Johto tribe, said in May's mind.

"I kinda just stumbled onto Raikou and then kept following it around Hoenn. Entei I haven't even seen yet. How do we even know no one else caught it it!?" May's sudden outburst caught the attention of everyone in the restaurant, but May was too wrapped up in her current dilemma to notice.

"You're way too exciteable..." Haruka said to May.

"Whatever!" May replied indignantly. Finally lifting her head and looking around the restaurant, she noticed a stack of newspapers nearby. "Hey! Maybe there's something about Entei in one of these!" May quickly grabbed several of the papers and took them back to her table, then flipped through them in search of any sightings of Entei.

"For all we know, Melany was lying to us. She doesn't exactly come across as being particularly trustworthy."

"Why would she lie about something like that, though? She wouldn't really have anything to gain from it." May kept flipping the pages and thoroughly checking each paper, searching for news about Entei. Seeing May still seemingly talking to herself, the rest of the customers assumed she had a headset under her bandana and went back to their business.

"Hey! This looks interesting!" May said excitedly, closely examining a news article she found.

"That...doesn't look like it has anything to do with Entei." Haruka said to her.

"Hey, I only said it was interesting." May replied. "According to this, there was a criminal group operating in Kanto. The higher-ups in that group all had control over a legendary pokemon!"

"Hmm...you think they might have caught Entei then?" Haruka asked.

"Maybe, but there's more here too! There's a girl staying at a local hospital that got caught up fighting them. It might not be much of a lead, but maybe we could stop by and ask her about Entei?"

"Better than nothing."

"Should be open for visiting still, so lets go!" May tossed the papers back to where she found them, leaving them in a messy pile as she bolted out of the restaurant.


May wasted no time in getting to the hospital, even though it would be open to visitors for hours yet. She stops by the front desk to find out what room Rina is staying in, then heads straight to it. Stopped outside the room, she took a moment to double check the room number.

"Room 151...looks like this is it..." She said to herself, then reached for the doorknob. As she opened the door, she braced herself for the sight of a young girl hooked up to a variety of machines.

Upon finally opening the door, she instead she saw a girl sitting up in bed, looking out a nearby window and seemingly perfectly healthy. A ratlike pokemon May recognized as Rattata was resting on her bed, and a Pikachu was curled up next to it. An older man with a cape and red hair was standing next to the window looking outside as well, though they all looked her way when she stepped inside.

"Err...is this the right room?" May asked. "I'm looking for a girl named Rina..."

"Thats...me." Rina replied, blinking in confusion. "But who are you?" She asked. The man standing next to the window stroked his chin thoughtfully as he looked May over.

"Oh, good! I have the right room then!" May grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "My name's May, I was hoping to meet you and ask you a few things, Rina!"

"Oh..." Rina blinked, then smiled at her. "I can't imagine what it'd be that you'd want to ask me, but I'll answer as best I can."

"Before you do, there is something I would like to ask you, miss May." The man said to May. "I can't say I know you, but you seem familiar regardless. You don't come from Hoenn by any chance, do you?"

"Well...I don't mean to brag..."

"Thats a lie." Haruka said to her. May ignored her and continued.

"But I'm actually Hoenn's current Champion! In fact, I beat the Hoenn Elite Four and their champion just last week!" May replied, grinning widely.

"I see..." The man chuckled. "I am Lance, one of Kanto's own Elite Four. To think, at such a young age, you've managed to become a regional champion. If I'm not mistaken, you were involved in 'that' incident as well, weren't you?"

"'That' incident?" Rina asked him.

"It was some time ago. I am surprised you haven't heard of it." Lance said to Rina. "Two legendary pokemon had awakened in Hoenn and began to fight. Their very presence disrupted the weather, causing inmense storms, extreme heat, and flash floods. Even Hoenn's Elite Four were unable to stop them. In the end, their rampage was stopped by a third ancient pokemon...and two young trainers."

"I guess someone was bound to notice eventually..." May smiled sheepishly. "The two trainers were me and Alex, and the third pokemon was Rayquaza."

"I see..." Lance nodded slightly. "Then your visit has something to do with legendary pokemon, correct?"

"Err...yeah..." May replied hesitantly. "I'm like an open book to this guy!"

"Given what he seems to know about you, and likely the other girl as well, it was probably an easy deduction for him to make." Haruka said to May.

"Anyway! I know you've dealt with a lot of legendary pokemon yourself, so I was wondering if you've seen this one around..." May reached into her fanny pack and took out a folded up picture. She unfolded the picture and then showed it to Rina. Rina gasped when she saw it.

"Thats Ashley's picture! The one she submitted to the Kanto Times!"

"Ashley?" May blinked. "Where have I heard that name before?" May thought about it for a moment and then gasped when she remembered. "Thats the girl I ran into at One Island! The one that had the sapphire I needed to access my pokemon storage in Hoenn!"

"Interesting...I wonder if they're the same person?" Haruka added.

"I was with her when she took that picture, we saw Entei outside of Celadon that one time. We haven't seen it since, but I doubt the hunters caught it if thats what you're worried about." Rina said. "I don't think I can be much more help than that though, sorry..."

"Don't worry about it..." May sighed. "I heard that Entei was in Kanto and I've been trying to find it since, but haven't even caught a glimpse of it."

"Oh. Well I bet Ashley would gladly help, but she's gone to Hoenn right now. Its kinda ironic when you think about it..." Rina crossed her arms over her chest as she continued. "She might not have been the champion, but she did beat the Elite Four. Then she goes to Hoenn the same time you come to Kanto..."

"That...is kinda odd, now that you mention it..." May replied.

"The plot thickens." Haruka snickered.

"Excuse me, Rina?" May practically jumped when she heard the voice of an older man behind her and turned to see one of the doctors standing in the doorway.

"DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT!" May yelled, fighting the urge to hit him.

"Err...s-sorry..." The doctor replied nervously. "A-anyway, they're ready for you in the x-ray lab, Rina."

Rina nodded to him and smiled. "Ok, coming!" Rina crawled to the edge of the bed and slowly stood up, seeming to be a bit shakey on her feet.

"Rina, don't push yourself too hard." Lance cautioned her. "You'll find it hard to walk after being bedridden for so long..."

"I'm fine, really!" Rina reassured him, smiling. She then started to walk toward the door, taking slow, careful steps.

"She doesn't look fine to me..." May thought.

"She certainly knows how to put on a strong appearance though." Haruka noted. "Smiling like that, its hard to tell if she's actually having any trouble at all..."

As Rina neared the door, she suddenly stumbled forward and almost fell over. Luckily, she was near near May, and so May was able to catch Rina without even moving.

"S-sorry...I must have tripped..." Rina said to May, blushing in her embarassment. She still refused to admit she couldn't walk on her own yet.

"Don't worry about it. I think someone should go with you though." May suggested, smiling lightly.

"I will accompany you to the x-ray room, Rina." Lance said, moving to stand next to her.

"Ok...but someone needs to stay here and keep an eye on those two..." Rina said, looking over at the two pokemon still sitting on her bed.

"-Why would we need someone to stay with us?-" Pippi wondered, tilting her head to the side.

"-Phooey...I wanted to nibble on stuff.-" Rattata said with a pouty look on its face.

"-Oh yeah...-" Pippi mumbled, narrowing her eyes at Rattata. Though it was really just Mew transformed, Mew had been transformed for a while and was having trouble controlling the urge to chew on things. Rattata often had to do so to keep their large incisors from getting too long.

"Visiting hours don't end for another two hours, right? I can stay and watch over them if you want." May said to Rina.

"I can't ask you to do that! I barely know you and you probably have more important things to do anyway!" Rina replied

May shook her head. "Not really, I don't think I'll find Entei today anyway." May looked at the two pokemon and smiled. "They don't look like they'll be any trouble anyway."

"If you say so..." Rina said with a sigh. She turned to Lance and grabbed his hand. "Lead the way?"

"Of course." Lance lead Rina out of the room, helping her along as they followed the doctor down to the x-ray lab. Once they were gone, May walked over to the window and looked outside. Rina's hospital room had a perfect view of the sun setting in the distance.

"I guess thats what they were looking at before." May thought, then turned back toward the bed to keep an eye on the two pokemon. "Well, guess I should use this time to figure out my next move."

"Perhaps there is some chance Entei will return to Celadon at some point." Haruka suggested. "Even if it doesn't, we may be able to find some clues if we find the exact location Rina and her friend Ashley encountered Entei."

"Clues?" May blinked. "I never thought of that before..."

"I know." Haruka replied in a sour tone.

"-So why does Rina trust this May person all of a sudden anyway?-" Mew asked Pippi.

"-I don't know, but Lance seems to know her. If she wasn't trustworthy I'm sure he would have said something.-" Pippi replied.


More than half an hour had passed since Rina left to have an x-ray done, leaving May to pace about the small room in her boredom. The long wait had been entirely uneventful, with both pokemon lying quietly on the bed. There was barely a sound in the room, save for the odd twitch from Mew as it resisted the urge to gnaw. However, the quiet atmosphere was about to change drastically.

"What's taking them so long? It shouldn't take this long just to get x-rays done!" May wondered, still pacing around the room. Hearing a hissing noise she stopped and looked around for the source. Mew was on the bed hissing at the window. May turned to see what it was, but saw only the wall breaking and the window shattering. With the wall under it being pushed inward, most of the broken glass fell outside.

"WHAT THE?!" May cried out in shock. Not knowing what was going on, she quickly grabbed a pokeball from her belt. It was then that she finally caught a glimpse of the attackers floating just outside the room. "No way!"

"What is THAT pokemon doing here?!" Haruka added, even more surprised than May. The large, green head of a serpentine pokemon hovered near the window, blocking out the view of the rest of its body. Floating next to it was a humanoid pokemon with a feline appearance and a long, thick tail. Both pokemon had appropriately sized black collars around their neck.

"Rayquaza?!" Rayquaza opened its mouth and gave a mighty roar, shaking the room. "What's Rayquaza even doing here?!"

"I have a feeling it has something to do with that collar around its neck." Haruka suggested.

Suddenly, a pair of yellow blurs struck each pokemon, sending out a pulse of electricity upon contact. The impact knocked Rayquaza and the other pokemon away from the building and the two blurs, both Pikachus, dropped to the ground. Rayquaza and the other pokemon then dropped down out of sight, following the two Pikachu.

"Now what? Where did that second Pikachu come from?!" May looked around the room, trying to spot the Rattata from earlier. It was nowhere in sight. May pulled at her hair and growled in frustration. "NONE OF THIS IS MAKING ANY SENSE!"

"Nevermind that! We need to do something about Rayquaza and its new friend!" Haruka said to her. May nodded and ran to the hole in the wall to see what was going on below. The two Pikachu had landed safely, but the other two pokemon were already going on the attack. One Psychic attack from the catlike pokemon knocked out one of the Pikachu, and a sharp claw attack from Rayquaza nearly did the same to the other.

"We'll need a lot of power to take those two on...maybe now is a good time to try using 'that' pokemon." Haruka suggested.

"'That' pokemon?" May took a second pokeball from her belt, the one she assumed Haruka was referring to, and held it in her hand. "You...you aren't suggesting I use this pokemon, are you?!"

"We might not have much choice." Haruka replied.

"I...I guess you're right..." May gulped nervously and pointed the second pokeball at the ground near the injured Pikachu. "Ok then! Here goes nothing!" May pressed the button, firing a red beam down toward the ground. The beam slowly began to materialize as it fell, growing larger and eventually forming into a blue whale pokemon when it hit the ground. The pokemon let out a cry and stormclouds began to gather around the city, leaving clear skies only over the hospital.

"-Its been some time since I've been called out for battle...-" The pokemon said quietly to itself, eyeing its opponents. "-Now I find myself facing you, Rayquaza? Ha! I will make your defeat quick!-"

"Where do I know that pokemon from?" The still-conscious Pikachu wondered when it saw the whale pokemon appear. After a flash of insight, it managed to remember. "That...thats Kyogre! The pokemon that shaped the world's oceans! Is it really working alongside a human now?"

Sensing movement, the Pikachu looked over at its unconscious ally. The other Pikachu was beginning to stir. "-Pippi! Are you ok!?-" Mew, transformed into a Pikachu, asked her.

"-I'm...fine...that Mewtwo's attacks really hurt though...-" Pippi mumbled as she slowly stood up. She then looked around and spotted Kyogre lying next to them. "-Another giant pokemon?!-"

"-I think this one is on our side.-" Mew said to her.

"-Think what you will, but you two are of no concern to me.-" Kyogre said to them.

"Kyogre! Attack Rayquaza with Ice Beam!" May called out as she slowly floated down, riding an insect-like dragon pokemon. Kyogre glanced over at them and snorted through its blowhole.

"That girl must have handed over me and the sapphire to this one. Seems I don't have much choice, not that it makes any difference. I was going to do this anyway." Kyogre opened its mouth and fired, sending a blue beam streaking through the air toward Rayquaza. The dragon pokemon roared in pain as the beam struck it and ice formed on its body. The ice spread across almost half of Rayquaza's body and then shattered, nearly knocking it out.

"-Ah, yes. As I recall, none of you dragon-types are particularly fond of ice. You especially, Rayquaza.-" Kyogre said in a mocking tone. Rayquaza growled, hesitating for a moment while it considered its next move. Rayquaza then suddenly took off away from the city, moving so quickly it left a blurred afterimage behind it.

"-Hmph. I don't remember you being so pathetic, Rayquaza.-" Kyogre said, snorting through its blowhole again. With Rayquaza gone, the hole in the clouds overhead closed over and a heavy downpour began.

"Well at least Kyogre will listen to me." May breathed a sigh of relief and then hopped down off her pokemon's back. "Well, thats one down. That other one though...I don't even know what kind of pokemon it is. I think it was using psychic attacks?" Kyogre suddenly growled in pain, and May's suspicions were confirmed. The catlike pokemon had one hand held out toward Kyogre and a blue glow in its eyes. A similar glow had surrounded Kyogre as Mewtwo crushed it with a telekinetic force.

"-Mew! Now's our chance!-" Pippi said to Mew. Her cheeks were already producing sparks. Mew nodded in agreement with her and followed suit. The two Pikachu stood side by side, electricity coursing over their bodies. They then took off running toward Mewtwo, nearing it just as it finished its attack on Kyogre and tossed the whale pokemon onto its back.

Seeing the two electric pokemon charging toward it, Mewtwo recalled the instructions given to it before. With the slave collar around its neck, it had no choice but to obey, crossing its arms defensively to protect the collar. The two Pikachu smashed head first into Mewtwo's arms and Mewtwo held strong, taking a heavy hit but keeping them from hitting the collar. The two Pikachu were thrown back, and one was unconscious when it hit the ground.

"-It...blocked?-" The remaining Pikachu mumbled, weakly raising its head to look at Mewtwo. "-This guy is really starting to bug me!-"

"Those two Pikachu...were they trying to attack the collar?" May wondered aloud.

"Seems I might have been right about those collars, and Rina's pokemon know about them." Haruka said to her. "I think its obvious what that implies."

"You mean that the criminals that Rina has been dealing with...are controlling Rayquaza and that other pokemon?!"

"Looks like thats the case. Here I was starting to suspect Melany might be behind this somehow..."

"Wh-what's going on out here?!" Hearing a voice above them, May and the pokemon gathered looked up. Rina, finally back from her x-rays, was standing in front of the open hole in her room.

"Rina?" Seeing Rina again, everything began to come together in May's mind and she realized what was going on. "RINA! You have to get out of here! NOW!" May shouted up to her. Rina was too stunned and confused by her outburst to move.

"I believe May is right, we need to leave!" Lance, standing behind Rina, said as he grabbed her by the arm. However, by then it was too late. The psychic pokemon, Mewtwo, suddenly shot through the air. Using its psychic power to levitate, Mewtwo flew up to Rina's room in a movement almost too fast to follow.

"D-damn it!" Lance growled and reached for a pokeball, letting go of Rina in the process. Rina ran for the door, but her legs gave out and sent her tumbling onto the floor. Before Lance could get out a pokemon, Mewtwo smacked him with its tail, knocking him aside. Mewtwo then grabbed Rina before she could get back up and then took off into the air with her.

"L-let go of me!" Rina struggled against Mewtwo's grip but, upon looking down she realized being dropped wouldn't work out for her.

"NO! That thing is kidnapping Rina! Kyogre, attack it with-"

"STOP!" Haruka yelled in May's mind, stunning her briefly as Haruka's voice echoed in her head. "If Kyogre attacks, it'll hit Rina!"

"But...but we can't just let it get away!" May replied. She watched Mewtwo fly further away, heading toward the edge of the city. "Grr...alright, Flygon, go after it!" Flygon nodded and took off after Mewtwo, but found itself unable to keep up with the psychic pokemon's pace. Flygon was soon joined by another dragon pokemon, Lance's own Dragonite. Neither pokemon were gaining any ground on it.

Mew, still in Pikachu form, was likewise trying to follow on the ground. It eventually reverted back to its normal form but, like Flygon and Dragonite, it was unable to catch up to Mewtwo. "-RINA!-" Mew called out frantically.

Just as it looked like Mewtwo would make its escape, however, a ferocious roar echoed through the darkened city and Mewtwo suddenly stopped in its tracks. Standing on top of a building near the edge of the city, out of May's sight, was the legendary fire pokemon Entei. With one mighty roar, it had caused the psychic pokemon to hesitate. Even Kyogre felt a chill go through its body.

"I'd recognize that roar anywhere..." Haruka said to May. "That would be our Entei."

May smirked. "Well Entei's timing couldn't be any better!"

The hesitation caused by Entei's roar was enough for the pursuing dragon pokemon to catch up to Mewtwo. Flygon hit first, striking Mewtwo in a quick strike that didn't even register at first. When Mewtwo finally felt the blow, it dropped Rina. Lance's Dragonite quickly dove down, catching Rina before she hit the ground and returning to the hospital with her.

Meanwhile, Mew flew up to meet Mewtwo when it saw Rina was safe. Mew transformed again, taking the form of Mewtwo and then floated up in front of it. The real Mewtwo, realizing the tables had turned, quickly flew past Mew and Entei to retreat from the city. Mew considered giving chase, knowing full well that Mewtwo was already in a weakened state, but decided it was more concerned with Rina and reverted to its normal form again as it flew back to the hospital.

"I do not know what is going on here tonight, but I will not leave until I figure this out." Entei thought as it jumped down the two storey building and ran through the city streets to meet up with the others. Mew, Flygon, and Dragonite would arrive long before it.

When Rina was brought back to the hospital, Lance was waiting outside with May. Kyogre was still out of its pokeball as well, and Pippi had finally regained consciousness and was waiting with Lance. When Dragonite dropped off Rina, Pippi immediately jumped into her arms.

"-Rina! You're ok! I was so worried about you!-" Pippi said to her trainer, nuzzling against Rina's chest.

"-RINA!-" Mew finally caught up by then as well and quickly hugged her from behind. "-I thought that evil clone was going to get away with you for sure!-" Mew said tearfully, nuzzling against Rina's back.

"I can't believe those pokemon were sent just to kidnap you!" Lance said in disbelief. "Rina! You aren't hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine now, but that was kinda scary..." Rina quietly admitted. "I thought for sure I'd be dragged off to Duke again..."

"You wanna fill me in on whats going on here?" May asked Rina. Entei then finally arrived on the scene and May immediately diverted her attention to it. "Nevermind! That'll have to wait actually!" May grinned widely and took an empty Ultra Ball out of her fanny pack.

"-Well, this is certainly an interesting sight. The legendary Kyogre, awake again.-" Entei said in a gruff voice. "-I thought there was something unnatural about this rain. Seems you've been caught by a trainer now as well.-"

"-Hmph. I can't even say I recognize you, yet it seems you know me well.-" Kyogre redplied. "-Regardless, I don't obey just any trainer, only the one who holds the sapphire. That is all I will say on that matter.-"

"-Sapphire? Interesting...-" Entei looked toward May. "-Seems we have something in common then...-"

"Sapphire? What are those two talking about?" Rina wondered, then looked at May. "Does it have something to do with why May was looking for Entei?"

"You're mine now, Entei! I came prepared with the right pokemon to catch you!" May said as she held out a pokeball and aimed past Entei. "Cradily, go! Grab it with Constrict!" The pokeball opened up, releasing a plant pokemon with a long neck anchored to a lower body composed largely of rock. Cradily immediately bent over and grabbed Entei's hind legs with the tendrils circling her face. Entei tried to pull away, but Cradily had a firm grip on the ground.

"This trainer has been searching for me it seems, and her tactics suggest she's already had a run-in with a similar pokemon. Surely, this is the trainer Ho-Oh wished for us to find?" Entei turned its head to face Cradily and opened its mouth, gathering flames within to attack. "Regardless, I shall not be caught so easily!" Entei attacked Cradily, blasting it with a stream of flames. With the rain still falling, however, the flames were weakened before they reached Cradily and the pokemon only took a light hit as a result.

"This is almost too perfect, Entei showing up while I have Kyogre ready!" May thought, grinning sheepishly. "Well! Let's end this then and catch Entei!"

"Kyogre, attack Entei with Hydro Pump!" Kyogre opened its mouth and fired a wide, steady stream of water at Entei. With the rain powering it up, the attack hit Entei especially hard. Though the fire pokemon was large and heavy, it was knocked back with such a force that Cradily was pulled from the ground and dragged back with it. The attack knocked Entei out immediately, due to its type disadvantage and Kyogre's sheer power.

"If only catching Raikou had been this easy..." May sighed. "Oh well." May threw the empty Ultra Ball she was holding, hitting Entei in the side. Since Entei had already been knocked out, the pokeball pulled it inside and locked shut without any struggle. The Ultra Ball then glowed white and disappeared, sending Entei off to storage.

"ALRIGHT! We caught Entei!" May cheered. Her excitement was cut short, however, by the sound of a police siren approaching the scene. A single police car, flanked on either side by an Arcanine with two police officers riding, was quickly approaching the hospital.

"Th-the police?!" May stuttered in disbelief. "They even brought a car?!"

"Its only natural a scene like this would get their attention." Lance replied, turning to face the oncoming officers. "I will handle this. The league has ties with the police force, afterall."


Lance did explain the situation to the police officers who had arrived on scene, though May was still forced to give her own testimony due to having been on the scene first. May was left rather unnerved by being put on the spot, it felt to her as though she was being interrogated like she was a criminal herself. Once the police were satisfied they had gotten all the facts they went about investigating the damages caused by Mewtwo and Rayquaza's attack. Mew disguised itself as a Rattata, as usual.

May went to the pokecenter once the police were finished, and was joined by Rina and Lance. Rina's x-rays were to determine if she was completely healed, and so she was finally being released from the hospital. She was finally used to walking again by the time she got there and had her pokemon healed while May retrieved her recently caught Entei. While May was waiting for her own pokemon to heal, she finally had a chance to ask Rina a few questions.

"So, whats the deal with that Rattata? Or whatever that pokemon really is..." May first asked her.

"Umm...well..." Rina quickly looked around the pokecenter to see if anyone else, aside from Lance, was within earshot, and then leaned toward May to whisper to her. "Its actually Mew, it just transforms into a Rattata to hide..."

"Really!? No way!" May exclaimed in disbelief. "I thought Mew didn't actually exist!"

"You could say that about a lot of pokemon, but I guess Mew especially since its supposed to be the ancestor of all pokemon." Rina replied quietly. "Mew doesn't really act or talk like you'd expect a pokemon like that to though. Its kinda... childish and playful."

"That is odd..." May replied, blinking. After a few seconds she caught on to something else Rina had said. "Wait...Mew can talk?"

Rina shook her head. "No, not in the sense you probably mean anyway. I can understand pokemon though."

"Wow, that's quite a talent!"

"You have that capability yourself to an extent." Haruka said to May. "Kyogre could speak to you so long as you held the sapphire. There is also Ho-Oh, who can choose a single human to be capable of understanding it."

"Somehow, I don't think Kyogre has much it'd want to say to me." May thought in response. "Say, Rina, think you could talk to some of my pokemon for me, then? I need to find out where to go next."

"Sure...but what do you mean by needing to find out where to go next?"

"I don't quite understand it myself, actually..." May sheepishly admitted. "I need to catch Raikou, Entei, and Suicune and it has something to do with Ho-Oh..."

"Well thats certainly a vague explanation." Haruka said dryly. "You ARE the chosen one, you know. You CAN throw your weight around a bit!"

"That might have worked in your time, but no one would believe that these days." May replied. "Telling her I have a voice in my head telling me these things would look even worse, by the way."

"So you want to ask Entei and Raikou about it, then?" Rina asked. May nodded to her.

"Exactly!"

"Sure, I can help you with that! Sounds pretty important anyway." Rina replied, nodding enthusiastically.

Once both of their pokemon had been healed, May, Rina, and Lance left the pokecenter and stopped just outside. May then released Raikou and Entei from their pokeballs so she could talk with them.

"-Well, well, well, looks like she's caught you too, huh?-" Raikou said to Entei with a toothy grin.

"-Only because her capture of you gave her ample time to prepare.-" Entei replied gruffly.

"-Only a few months ago I was a simple Pichu living a simple life in a simple forest. Now I meet new legendary pokemon almost every day!-" Pippi said to Rina while staring at Entei and Raikou in amazement.

"OK! There's something I want to ask you two!" May announced to Entei and Raikou with a determined look on her face. Her announcement was followed by a long pause.

"...Aren't you going to ask them something?" Lance said to her.

"I...I'm not sure how to put it..." May replied hesitantly, her demeanour quickly shifting from determined to embarassed. Lance shook his head in dismay.

"Ok! I've got it now!" May announced, looking determined again as she pointed a finger at the two pokemon. "WHERE IS SUICUNE?!"

"-All that build-up...and thats what she asks?-" Raikou hung his head in shame.

"-I doubt it matters, she can't understand us as it is.-" Entei said to Raikou. "-Without Ho-Oh, there is no one to translate for her.-"

"Actually, I can understand you just fine!" Rina cut in. Entei and Raikou blinked and looked at her in disbelief.

"-I...see.-" Entei cleared its throat. "-Very well then. All I can tell you, unfortunately, is that Suicune is in Johto. Ho-Oh is also in Johto, and only after catching all three of us will you be able to meet it.-" Rina nodded and then explained what Entei said to May.

"So I have to go to Johto then?" May sighed. "That figures, why do I have to be the one to run all over the world to catch you guys?!"

"If that is all you needed to know, then we should be leaving now." Lance said to May. "I must take Rina somewhere safe, or else those pokemon may come back for her."

"Huh? Where are you going to take me?" Rina asked, having only heard Lance's intentions for the first time herself.

"Indigo Plateau. It is the only place in Kanto you would be safe now."

"As if!" Rina shot back. "That and my house would be the first places they'd look!"

"Oh? Then what do you suggest?" Lance asked challengingly.

"Well, umm..." Rina thought for a moment, having no answer ready for him. She looked over at May, who seemed to be confused about what was going on, and then got an idea. "I know! Why don't I go to Johto with May!"

May nearly fell over in shock from Rina's suggestion. "Wh-what?! You want to come with me!?"

"Sure!" Rina replied with a nod. "They'd never think to look for me in Johto, and even if they did they'd have to split up to find me! So if they did find me, you'd be able to beat them with your pokemon."

"I...I guess that makes sense..." May replied, though she still had her doubts about the idea.

"A translator could certainly be helpful to have with us." Haruka added.

"...I had a feeling you might say something like that." Lance reached into his pocket and took out a small device with a single button on it, then handed it to Rina. "Here. This is a pager with a built-in GPS. If you push the button, it will automatically alert me to your current location. Since Johto is next to Kanto, and Indigo Plateau is near the border, it should make no difference which region you're in."

Rina took the device and stared at it in disbelief for a moment, then looked back at Lance questioningly. "You mean you..."

"May, for a trainer who is only ten years old, you have an impressive record. I'm counting on you to protect Rina."

"Err...right! You can count on me!" May replied to Lance, trying to sound confident.

"Great! This is going to be..." Rina blinked, and then looked at May with a shocked expression. "You're only TEN?!"

"What do you mean 'only' ten?! Thats old enough to be a trainer anyway!" May replied, confused by Rina's sudden outburst. "Its not like you're any older!"

"I'm twelve..."

"Oh..." May blinked.

"Regardless of her age, she's quite experienced, Rina." Lance said to her. "At any rate, I believe it would be best we all found somewhere to spend the night. You two can leave in the morning."

"Right..." May nodded slightly in agreement. "I could definitely use a rest after all this..."

And so, everyone gathered up their pokemon and found a place to stay for the night. They needed to get a good rest. May and Rina would be leaving for New Bark Town the next day.


Author's Notes: Sorry about the lateness. Usual procrastination + new job + several chapter revisions = one late update.

Next chapter will be May and Rina again, then we'll be looking back at Hoenn. Kinda interesting how Rina is actually older than May, isn't it? By the way, for those of you keeping track, Rina did indeed skip over her birthday.