Chapter 3: Enter - Team Magma
"This feels gooood!" Lyla said as she dangled her bare feet in the water of a small pond.
"I bet! Those boots look pretty uncomfortable," Eziray said, joining her.
"Nah, they're not bad. It's just hot outside."
"True. Hey Skitty, aren't you going to join us?"
"Mehhhh…"
"Skitty doesn't like water!" Lyla exclaimed.
"I know! I was just messing with her!"
"Anyone hungry?" Aiden asked, carrying a tray of sandwiches.
"Why did you make so many?" Eziray asked, staring blankly.
"This is why," he said, placing the tray beside Torchic who was out of its Pokéball and following him around. The Torchic licked its beak and downed about half of the sandwiches in less than a minute. He sighed and picked up the tray. "I'd say there's just enough for us now!"
"Tor! Tor!" Torchic whined. He sighed again and set the tray back down so it could finish off the rest of the sandwiches.
"What an appetite," Lyla observed as Torchic munched down.
"So how far were we blasted back?" Eziray asked.
"Pretty far. We're all the way back at Oldale Town pretty much," Aiden replied.
"Heh, sorry!" Lyla exclaimed as Eziray shrieked. "What's wrong, Ez?"
"Something…slimy…brushed up against my leg!"
"Wha?" Lyla asked as something slimy touched her leg as well. "What was that?"
A blue Water Pokémon popped its head out of the water and smiled.
"A Mudkip!" she exclaimed. "It's the Hoenn Water Starter!"
"Really?" Eziray asked.
"It's really little though. I think it's a baby. Hi there, little one," Lyla said, extending her hand to pet it.
"Muuuud…" it trailed off before promptly blasting her in the face with Water Gun.
"Pokémon hate me," Lyla muttered. The Mudkiphopped out of the water and called to her. Then it chased its back fin for a moment. "It's so cute though!"
The Mudkip seemed overjoyed by her compliment and scurried over to her, letting her stroke its head this time.
"You know what they say," she said enthusiastically, "sixth time's a charm!"
"It's third…" Aiden corrected.
"Whatever. Skitty, come over here please!"
"Mya!"
"Okay Mudkip, I'm going to battle you now, is that alright?"
"Mudka!" it exclaimed, battle posing. She smiled and stood, taking a few steps back.
"Alright, Skitty, use Tackle!"
Skitty charged forward and into the Mudkip, who stumbled backwards a little and looked back up at them, cocking its head. Then it smiled and used Water Gun, but Skitty dodged it with ease. Lyla, unfortunately, wasn't so quick on her feet and was drenched from head to toe. She twitched, but ordered Skitty to use Tackle again. This time, Mudkip used Ice Beam and froze one of Skitty's paws to the ground. She struggled to break free, but couldn't. He could have finished her off but decided to investigate her instead. He walked right up to her and got right up into her face to stare at her for a moment. She hissed at it and it circled around to stare at her from behind, where Lyla saw her opportunity.
"Now's your chance! Use DoubleSlap!"
Skitty's ears perked up with excitement and she quickly jerked her tail back and forth, beating Mudkip silly. He stumbled back, very dizzily, and used Water Gun. Skitty was not amused. She broke her foot loose instantly and glared at the Mudkip who had dared to get her wet. Then she smacked it relentlessly with her tail until it fell to the ground.
"Easy, Skitty! I think it's weak enough now!" Lyla shouted as she threw an empty Pokéball at it. Skitty stood over it, panting angrily as it rocked back and forth. It stopped and Lyla appeared to be confused.
"You…got it!" Aiden exclaimed.
"I did? It's really in there? It's really mine?" Lyla asked, completely stupefied.
"Yes, silly! Go pick it up!" Eziray exclaimed. Lyla walked forward and picked up the Pokéball with a big smile on her face. Then she tossed it forward and the Mudkip popped out and cocked its head at her.
"AWWW!" she cried happily. "I just can't believe I caught you!"
"Muuudkip!" it exclaimed and blasted her in the face with Water Gun again, laughing hysterically.
"He says 'you look funny when you're wet,'" Espeon said. She was lying down under a shady tree and had been watching the whole time.
"We'll work on that," Lyla muttered, picking up her new Mupkip.
"H-HELP ME!"
They all looked up and saw a man with brown, spikey hair and dressed in all yellow work clothes fast-approaching. A small group of four hooded men and a Houndoom were chasing after him. The men were all in uniform; they were wearing red shirts with hoods attached to them. There were two black things that kind of resembled ears sticking off the sides of the hood, a black spot on the front of the hood, and a strange black symbol over the center of the shirt. The men were also wearing black gloves with red gauntlets, black pants with a red belt, red leg warmers, and black shoes.
"Enough is enough, Professor Alden!" one of the men shouted.
"We have to help him!" Eziray exclaimed, ordering Baby and Charo forward. Espeon and Torchic positioned themselves in front of Aiden and Lyla stood, setting Mudkip down on the ground in front of her, next to Skitty. The man scurried past them and hid behind Aiden.
"You've got to help me!" he panted.
"Okay, Charo, use –"
"I don't have time for this," a man with greyish brown hair said. "Houndoom, use Roar!"
The Houndoom let out a mighty Roar and all of the Pokémon were returned to their Pokéballs. Skitty didn't have a Pokéball so she remained standing in front of Lyla, cringing in fear.
"Skitty, be strong!" Lyla exclaimed. "HEY!"
One of the men had come up behind her and pulled her hands behind her back. Two of the other men came up and grabbed Eziray and Aiden as well. The one with brown hair picked up Skitty by the scruff of her neck and took out a small device from his bag, clicked it, and it extended into a cage which he crammed Skitty into. He handed it to one of the others and turned to the man that they had been chasing.
"These seem like good kids. It would be a shame if something bad happened to them, wouldn't it? Therefore, I suggest you give us your full cooperation."
The man hesitated with a sigh but gave in and started to lead them all somewhere.
"Lyla?" Eziray whispered as they walked, noticing Lyla's terrified expression. "Who are these people?"
"They're called Team Magma. They're a gang of villains here in Hoenn. I heard about them on the news…"
"Well aren't you well-informed," the grunt restraining her said before shoving her a little. "Pipe down!"
It seemed like they were walking forever. They passed through Oldale Town and were heading back in the direction of Littleroot Town but then stopped suddenly at a hill. It was the hill with the ruin that they had seen before. They entered the ruins and the three trainers were tied up and tossed into a corner. Skitty's cage was placed beside them and the Team Magma members continued through the ruins with Professor Alden leading them.
"Mya!" Skitty exclaimed angrily as she used Tackle to try to break out of the cage. She kept slamming into the side without giving up even as Lyla begged her to stop. Suddenly a white orb began to glow inside her mouth and Lyla cocked her head as an icy beam was released from it. The bars of the cage froze solid and Skitty shattered them with one more Tackle.
"Woah, did Skitty just use Ice Beam?" Lyla asked the others as Skitty bounced over and chewed through their ropes. The trainers stood and Lyla asked Skitty to do it again. This time, Skitty's right paw began to glow white and she swung it, causing a blast of water to appear out of nowhere and soak the wall she was facing.
"That one was Water Gun," Aiden said with slight confusion.
"I knew it!" Lyla exclaimed. "That's Assist! The user will randomly use a move that one of its trainer's other Pokémon knows. I didn't have any other Pokémon before so she could never use it before!"
"That's pretty cool," Aiden said.
"Hey you kids!"
The three looked up and two of the grunts were standing there, glaring at them.
"Hey Aiden, you up for a Double Battle?" Eziray asked, getting pumped. Aiden nodded so the two stepped forward, Eziray sent out Charo, and Aiden sent out Torchic. One of the grunts sent out a Poochyena and the other sent out a Zubat.
"Alright, Charo, use Flamethrower!"
"And you use Ember, Torchic!"
Both Pokémon spat out their Fire-type attacks and both of the opponents' Pokémon were hit.
"Zubat, use Supersonic!"
"Poochyena, use Bite!"
Poochyena charged forward and leaped onto Charo, latching onto his neck with its powerful jaw. As Charo struggled to break free of its grip, Zubat fluttered over and began to create sound waves which drifted into Charo's face. The Poochyena somersaulted back as Charo's eyes began to glow red.
"What's happening to him?" Lyla asked.
"Supersonic confuses Pokémon. Charo's going to start thrashing around here pretty soon. This is bad," Aiden said. "Torchic, use Ember!"
Torchic opened his mouth and fired a flurry of tiny fire bits at the opponents who both dodged out of the way so the embers hit the ground with a slight explosion. Suddenly, Charo swiped at Torchic with Metal Claw but the Chick Pokémon ducked just in time. Charo then swerved around and hit Torchic right in the stomach with its tail.
"Charo! Stop it!" Eziray shouted. Charo began to go on a rampage, smashing into rocks and walls and banging its head against things. As the grunts began to chuckle, Charo turned back to Torchic and started attacking it once again. Torchic tried its best to avoid the attacks but finally Charo hit it with Metal Claw and Torchic started to cry. Charo was about to hit it again to finish it off but Skitty got in between them and smacked Charo around a bit with DoubleSlap.
"Thanks Lyla," Aiden said.
"Mhm!" she exclaimed as Skitty ran back to her side. Charo seemed to be snapped out of its confusion now and it looked at everyone with an apologetic expression on its face.
"It's okay, Charo! Use Flamethrower!" Eziray exclaimed.
Charo turned towards its opponents and fired the biggest flame it could. It hit Zubat but Poochyena disappeared. Suddenly, it came running up from underneath the flame and latched onto Charo's neck again with Bite.
"Not this again. Torchic, use Peck!"
Torchic jumped onto the Poochyena's back and began pecking away it its head, forcing it to release. Then both Fire-types blasted the Poochyena back with their Fire moves. One of the grunts called the Poochyena back to its ball and told his partner that he was going to go inform the commander of this and turned around to find Mudkip standing behind him.
"Muuud," Mudkip said, cocking its head and smiling mischievously.
"Yeah, and just what do you want?" the grunt asked just before Mudkip froze him solid with Ice Beam. He then turned to the other grunt and froze him solid as well. The Zubat tried to flee but was also hit and frozen with Mudkip's Ice Beam. Lyla stared blankly.
"Is that my Mudkip?" she asked, grabbing his ball from her belt. Sure enough, it was empty. "Huh. He must have popped out when I wasn't looking. Thanks Mudkip!"
Mudkip smiled and blasted his trainer with Water Gun and then she muttered to herself and returned him while Aiden called Torchic back. Eziray decided to keep Charo out because it was a little dim in the ruin and his tail could light the way. As they walked on, in search of Professor Alden and the other Team Magma members, Lyla noticed something about Charo that she hadn't noticed before. He was wearing a pendant around his neck with some sort of grey stone.
"It's an Everstone," Eziray said, noticing Lyla staring at it with wonder. "As long as he wears it, he won't evolve."
"Why wouldn't you want him to evolve?" Lyla asked.
"Well he was my first Pokémon and I got him as a Charmander. I guess we're just a little scared that things will change if I let him evolve, so we both decided that he should wear the Everstone until he really needs to take it off and evolve for some reason. Like if he needed a power boost or something."
"I see. I wonder if I should do the same for Skitty…" Lyla trailed off.
At the end of the corridor, the last grunt was leaning against the wall. He heard the trainers' footsteps and turned his head towards them before gritting his teeth.
"Oh great. The hostages escaped and those two nimrods couldn't handle them. What a drag…" he trailed off, pulling a Pokéball from his pocket. He extended the ball and tossed it forward; a strange camel-like Pokémon with a volcano on its back was released.
"That's a Numel. I've seen them wandering around Lavaridge before," Lyla said.
"Well since you're familiar with it and you didn't get to battle last time, why don't you take care of this? It'll be your first real battle!" Eziray exclaimed.
"Alright then," Lyla said, taking a few steps forward and throwing a Pokéball forward. "And since Numel's a Fire-type and a Groud-type, I'll use a Water-type!"
"Good idea!" Eziray exclaimed as Mudkip popped out of his ball.
"Yeah but it's not gonna make much difference. You look like you're fresh out of the trainer's academy, so I bet I've been around the block a few more times than you have, kid. Numel, use Focus Energy."
The Numel closed its eyes and relaxed, tightening its focus.
"Mudkip, use Water Gun!"
Mudkip shot a blast of water towards the Numel who remained still until the last moment when it opened its eyes and immediately moved out of the way of the blast.
"Take it down!" the grunt ordered, so Numel charged forward at full power and Mudkip didn't have enough time to react before Numel slammed into it with Take Down. Mudkip rolled with the impact but managed to stand. It appeared that Numel was a little hurt as well, however.
"Immobilize it with Ice Beam!"
Mudkip opened its mouth and released a bright blue beam that shot across the surface of the ground, freezing it over, and continued towards Numel.
"Counter it with Ember!"
Numel opened its mouth as well and fired out a mass of embers that melted the ice when the two moves connected.
"Try using Tackle then!"
"Take Down!"
Before Mudkip could move, Numel bounced up onto the icy pathway that had been created by Ice Beam and slid forward, picking up even more momentum and power than it had before and slammed into Mudkip. The Water-type struggled for a moment and stood.
"Just as I thought. You are a newbie. Here's a tip: pay close attention to the battle field. Change obstacles into advantages like I just did. You'll be more successful that way. Now, let's break up this ice and finish this match with Magnitude!"
Numel slammed its front feet into the ground and the whole room began to shake violently. Mudkip cringed as it took damage from the attack but after a moment, it began to glow.
"Hey, Lyla! Mudkip knows Bide too! Remember that move that the Seedot used?" Eziray shouted.
"Oh yeah…Alright Mudkip! Fire away!"
When Magnitude ceased, Mudkip looked up and there was a bright flash of energy that blasted Numel back into a wall. It slid down and cringed for a moment as Lyla smiled.
"Let's finish it up with Water Gun!"
Mudkip opened his mouth one last time and fired one final Water Gun. Numel wasn't able to react this time and took the ultra-effective blast directly to its chest. Mudkip celebrated by running around in circles and then freezing both the grunt and the Numel solid with Ice Beam.
"Good job!" Lyla exclaimed. "Sorry I let you get so beat up though…"
Mudkip just smiled and rubbed up against his trainer as if it hadn't been hurt at all. Lyla petted him and then returned him back to his ball before he could blast her in the face with Water Gun again. Then the three trainers continued into the room that the grunt had been guarding. They silenced immediately and got down on their knees upon entering the room because both Professor Alden and the Magma Commander were standing there. They had been deep in conversation and had apparently not noticed the noise from the battle in the corridor just outside of the room. The Commander finally took something out of his bag. It was a grey box. He popped it open and there were four colored orbs inside. They were about the size of a golf ball, one was blue, one was green, one was red, and the last one was yellow. Professor Alden sighed and placed them into indents in the wall before them. There was a strange cranking sound and the wall moved, revealing a pathway. The two proceeded down the pathway and the trainers followed closely behind.
"You're kidding," the commander said, looking around the room at all of the ancient carvings on the wall. "There's nothing here…What a waste of time. I guess we should head out…"
"Not so fast, Team Magma! Let Professor Alden go now!" Eziray exclaimed suddenly, standing up.
"Eziray…" Aiden said with a sigh as he slapped himself in the forehead. "He was just leaving…"
"Really? When did he say that?" Eziray asked, cocking her head.
"Just now," Lyla and Aiden said in unison.
"Oh…"
"How irritating," the commander said. "But we really must be going right now. This is your only warning. Do not try to interfere with our affairs again. Do you understand? Because if there is a next time, I will show no mercy."
And with that, he left the room with his Houndoom.
"Do you think he's going to change his mind about having mercy on us when he finds Mudkip's little surprises?" Lyla asked as soon as he was gone.
"I don't think it'll faze him very much. Houndoom is a fire type. He can defrost them no problem," Aiden said.
"Professor Alden, are you alright?" Eziray asked.
"Yeah, everything's fine. Thank you very much for your concern. You trainers are very brave."
"Aw shucks," Lyla said, kicking at the ground.
"But I noticed something that that Team Magma member didn't," Professor Alden said and walked over to the wall at the back of the room. Just below an ancient carving, there were four more indents. "I wonder…"
Professor Alden then walked over to the door of the room that the orbs had opened and popped them back out. The trainers watched curiously as he carried them back over to the four indents under the ancient carving and popped them into place. The orbs began to glow and Professor Alden smiled, noting that he knew there was more to these ruins other than ancient carvings. A door opened, revealing a staircase leading down somewhere. He turned back to the trainers and smiled.
"You're welcome to come down with me. I could use Charmander's light anyway. I'm not really sure how dark it is down there."
"We'd love to come!" Eziray exclaimed excitedly, racing forward to explore the ruins.
"Muh-hud-kip!" Mudkip exclaimed, chasing after her.
"Wuh? Mudkip? AGAIN?" Lyla said angrily when she realized that he had popped out of his ball again when she wasn't paying attention.
"M'lady," Aiden said, holding out his arm. Lyla giggled and linked arms with him as they walked down the staircase to catch up with the others.
The staircase led them down to a room with a beautiful little lake and Eziray was too mystified by it to notice Lyla and Aiden linking arms. Mudkip hopped up and down excitedly before dashing forward and leaping into the water.
"Jeez, Mudkip! How could you have so much energy after taking such a thrashing back there?" Lyla asked with a sigh.
"That means he's going to be really strong someday!" Eziray exclaimed, turning to her and noticing that the two's arms were linked. The two dropped their arms immediately and looked at the ground. "AWWW! Is there something that you two would like to share?"
"No, no, it's nothing!" Lyla said, blushing slightly as Aiden grinned and nonchalantly scratched the back of his head.
"Mud!" Mudkip cried suddenly. Everyone looked at him and Lyla asked what was wrong. Mudkip looked around nervously and Lyla was about to ask again when suddenly a rocky fish Pokémon leaped out of the water and over Mudkip's head.
"What on Earth was that?" Aiden asked.
"It's the ancient Pokémon, Relicanth!" Professor Alden exclaimed. "Rumor has it that they still thrive down here but no one was ever able to prove it! Until now! I'm so thrilled, you wouldn't believe it! This is just absolutely amazing!"
"Look! The whole lake's full of 'em!" Lyla exclaimed, pointing to the lake as dozens more surfaced.
Mudkip eventually decided that these strange Pokémon would make excellent stepping stones and hopped from Relicanth to Relicanth back to the shore.
"What are you up to, trouble-maker?" Lyla asked, bending down to pet him. Mudkip cheered happily and squirted her in the face a little. As Lyla shook him and scolded him, Skitty perked her ears and looked up the staircase. Aiden was the only one to notice.
"What's up Skitty?" he asked. "You've been pretty quiet; is there something wrong? Can you sense anything unusual?"
She hesitated for a moment and looked up at him to shake her head 'no.' He shrugged and proceeded to the lake to examine the ancient Pokémon. Skitty waited for a moment and looked back towards the staircase with a somewhat worried expression.
"Are they poisonous?" Lyla asked, reaching out to touch one.
"Nah, but their powerful jaw could snap your arm off!" Professor Alden warned. Lyla jerked her arm back immediately and shrieked, so he laughed heartily and said, "No, I'm sorry! I was only joking!"
"It's okay," she said, having completely lost any interest in touching one now. Eziray, on the other hand, was already in the water, swimming with them.
"Can I catch one?" she asked, wrapping her arms around one.
"I think you should leave them be, Ez. This is like their haven, you know?" Aiden replied.
"You're riiight," she said with a sigh. Then her face lit up and she suddenly jumped out of the water. "Then let's head on over to Petalburg and get my first gym badge!"
"We can never just sit and enjoy a beautiful moment like this, can we?" Aiden joked, following Eziray back to the staircase. Lyla giggled, returned Mudkip to his ball, picked up Skitty, and turned to follow them.
"Wait. You coming, Professor Alden?" she asked, turning back to the archeologist.
"No, that's okay. I'd like to study the Relicanth a while longer. You go ahead. Oh and thanks again for trying to help me out back there!"
"No problem! Good luck with your studies!" Lyla exclaimed, racing up the stairs. The others waved at him and ran up after her.
They exited the ruins and were a little disappointed to find that the sun was already setting. Aiden suggested that they just head over to the Pokémon Center in Oldale Town and stay the night for free. Mudkip needed to see a doctor anyway and the other Pokémon were probably tired from battling as well, so Eziray and Lyla agreed.
They headed straight for the Pokémon Center and once they checked in, Nurse Joy showed them to their room which had two sets of bunk beds. Lyla and Skitty took one of the top bunks, Eziray took one beneath it and Aiden took the other bottom bunk with Espeon. All of the other Pokémon rested in one of the other rooms and Nurse Joy tended to Mudkip's wounds.
Lyla had trouble getting to sleep that night; for some reason, she was really worried about Mudkip, so she finally hopped out of bed and went to go check on him. She found him sprawled out across the little bed, all wrapped up in bandages and sleeping like a baby. She sighed with relief and smiled before returning back to her room to find Skitty standing on the window ceil, staring outside with a very alarmed expression on her face.
"Is there something out there, Skitty?" Lyla asked, rushing to the window to see what Skitty was looking at. Skitty meowed and hopped back up to the bed, acting as if nothing was wrong. Lyla stared out the window for a moment, searching for anything out of the ordinary. She couldn't find anything so she sighed and went back to bed. Ten minutes passed and she had fallen asleep but Skitty was still half awake. She was in that state when one's mind begins to wander as they fall asleep and she suddenly heard a voice:
"Don't be scared, Skitty. I promise I'm a friend!"
Author Notes:
First off, I wanna say that the ruins in this chapter actually do exist in the anime (and this whole event with Team Magma and Professor Alden actually did happen in the anime), but they're not exactly like the ones I described here. I just figured that closed off rooms and corridors would work better with what I was trying to do. Second, I do realize that giving Skitty an Everstone would be pointless because she needs a stone to actually evolve, but Lyla doesn't know that yet obviously. And finally, Mudkip. Stories just aren't interesting without a trouble-maker, right? He's fun to work with and I think he's my favorite Pokémon so far. I hope you liked this chapter! Please be sure to leave a review and tell me what you think!