Stark Mountain, 11:45 PM
Buck could feel the sweat crawling down his back as he approached the base of the volcano as quietly as he could. He was burning up in anticipation; this would be the defining moment in his young life. The moment wherein he would recover the famed Magma Stone that was rumored to exist at the heart of the volcano. Such a treasure would bring him glory, honor, fame, and wealth beyond his wildest dreams!
… Or so he heard, anyway.
"Whoever possesses the Magma Stone shall possess the might of Heatran itself."
"Oh yeah," Buck mumbled aloud to himself. "That too. Cool!"
"Hey, did you hear something?"
Buck gasped and hid in the tall grass nearby, trying not to draw any more attention to himself. Sure enough, several strange men and women in spacesuits were passing by, clearly intent on entering the volcano themselves.
"Just the sound of my stomach," a grunt complained. "I really wish I had eaten before we left…"
"Quiet, you lot!" an old voice commanded. Peering through the grass, Buck could see an old man with a funny haircut leading the invaders. "Lord Cyrus has sent us here for one reason and one reason only, and it's NOT to stand around talking about our stomachs! Now get in there and bring me that stone!"
Buck's confused look became one of anger; those wannabe space cadets were after his Magma Stone! Sure, it wasn't his yet, but he had already called mental dibs on it!
Without thinking, Buck leapt from his hiding spot and stood in front of the volcano entrance with his arms spread out.
"Wait!"
"What the…? Who dares to stand in Team Galactic's way?" the old man demanded, glaring daggers at the boy. Several grunts began to move in front of him protectively, clutching Poké Balls and strange guns.
"Team Galactic, huh?" Buck questioned, rubbing his chin with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Mmm… Nope! Never heard of them. And I know quite a few people, lemme tell ya!"
The old man smiled, his ruby glasses gleaming. "Is that so…? In that case, allow me to make a good first impression. I am Charon, Supreme Commander of Team Galactic, second only to Lord Cyrus himself!"
"Uh," one grunt spoke up, "actually, Boss, you're not really the commander of commanders, you know? Technically, you're actually the newest-"
"SILENCE!" Charon barked, causing the grunts to flinch. Turning back to Buck, he continued, "In any case, boy, I will say this only once; stay out of Team Galactic's affairs or you will be destroyed!"
"I see your death threat and raise you one alternative," Buck quipped smugly. "Fly home, moonmen. Leave Stark Mountain to the real explorers."
"Three," Charon began counting down, his grunts releasing their Golbat and Mightyena as everyone began to move forward towards the boy. Buck merely stood in his place, smirking.
Charon grit his teeth and twitched his eyebrow. "Two-"
Before he could finish, he was rudely cut off by a large wall of flames erupting just a couple feet away from his grunts. The flame wall obstructed Charon's view of the volcano entrance, and the boy had already disappeared by the time the flames had died down.
"What the hell? That's kid's a freak too?" a grunt coughed.
"It doesn't matter who or what he is," Charon spat, "he's after the Magma Stone! Get in there and stop him NOW!"
As the Galactic grunts and their Pokémon ran into Stark Mountain's entrance, Charon reached into his lab coat and pulled out a futuristic device before speaking into it.
"Saturn, this is Charon. I'm afraid we've found another one. Tell J to hurry up and get over here!"
"Claydol," Buck called, releasing his trusted partner as he ran, "Earth Power!"
The Ground-Psychic Pokémon got to work immediately, using its powers to lift several large chunks of earth from the ground. Claydol then turned and threw the geo-matter at the grunts and their Pokémon not too far behind them. Naturally, the Golbat were not affected by the attack, but the grunts and their Mightyena were slowed down considerably, some being knocked off their feet. As the Bat Pokémon continued to follow the exploration duo, Buck turned around and let loose a powerful jet of flame from his right hand. The Golbat went down in an instant, unconscious and singed.
"That should buy me some time to find the stone," Buck said with a nod. "Stay close behind me, Claydol! Don't let anyone get near us!"
With their adversaries slowed down, the pair made its way deeper into the depths of Stark Mountain, the temperature growing hotter. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Buck and his Claydol came to a clearing in the volcano, seeing a final opening up ahead.
"This has to be the place," Buck claimed confidently. "Keep a look out for any suspicious people, Claydol. I'll be back with the Magma Stone before you even know it."
The Ground-Psychic type said nothing, but took position in front of the entrance as its young master snuck into the deepest chamber of Stark Mountain.
Buck was amazed as he walked into the chamber. There wasn't much to see, but the stone sitting on a pedestal in the middle of the room was giving off a powerful red glow. It almost seemed to be pulsing, as if it were the very heart of the volcano itself.
"... Well, it ain't gonna snatch itself," Buck said with a shrug. "I'd better hurry and nab it before anything bad happens!"
Creeping up to the pedestal, Buck could hardly contain his excitement as the Magma Stone became closer and closer. His heart raced, his palms became sweaty, and his eyes began to flare up with anticipation. He nearly reached out to grab the stone before stopping himself.
"Wait a second," Buck whispered, reaching into his bag and pulling out an ordinary rock about the same size as the Magma Stone. Cautiously, he grabbed the Magma Stone with one hand and slid it off the pedestal, quickly replacing it with the rock. As soon as it was completed, Buck immediately recoiled, clutching the Magma Stone to his chest as he anticipated the worst. Surprisingly enough, nothing seemed to be happening-
"BUCK!"
Buck nearly leapt out of his skin as he heard a loud voice behind him. Turning, he could see that it belonged to none other than Flint, his older brother and one of the Elite Four. Buck's Claydol entered closely behind him, looking ashamed.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Flint admonished, glaring daggers at the younger trainer.
"Uh, me? Nothing!" Buck lied, hiding the Magma Stone behind his back. He was both frightened and surprised to see Flint of all people here, but he had to admit that the stone was pleasantly warm to the touch.
"'Nothing', huh?" Flint remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that why the Magma Stone is behind your back?"
"It's not what it looks like!" Buck protested. "These weird people in spacesuits came here to steal it! I'm just here to… protect it! Yeah, let's go with that!"
"... Spacesuits? Oh, no," Flint uttered, annoyance morphing into concern.
"Oh, yes."
Both brothers and Claydol turned to see a strange silver-haired woman standing behind them, wearing a dark trench coat. She also wore a metal gauntlet on her right hand and a dark visor around her eyes; several Galactic grunts flanked her on either side, clearly annoyed.
"The Magma Stone and a member of the Elite Four? Looks like it's payday," the woman claimed with a small grin.
"Who are you?" Flint demanded, his eyes narrowed.
"J. Hunter J. It's nice to finally meet you, Flint. I've heard great things about you," J replied coolly before turning to Buck. "I suppose this is your brother? The resemblance is uncanny."
"Yeah, well-"
"Enough with the formalities. Hand over that Magma Stone at once, boy. And as for you, Flint; you'll also be coming with me."
"I… what? No!" Buck refused. "You Galactic jerks can't have this stone! And you're definitely not taking my brother!"
"Buck," Flint whispered, eyeing his brother carefully. As Buck's eyes met his, he could see that he was also shifting a glance at Claydol.
"... What do you even want with the Magma Stone anyway?" Buck asked, still holding the object in question as he eyed his Pokémon. Claydol returned his gaze to the best of his ability and nodded.
"Simple," J began. "Their boss gets the stone for whatever weird experiment he's planning, and my wallet gets a little fatter. Now are you going to be a good boy and cooperate, or am I going to have to make an example out of you?"
"I mean, that sounds like a good enough offer, buuuuuut… now!"
In an instant, Claydol raised its appendages and caused the ground to shake tremendously, knocking everyone off their feet except for the brothers and J.
"Hurry!" Buck called to his brother, climbing on top of Claydol's head. His brother joined him and the Ground-Psychic Pokémon began to fly out of the room. Buck made sure to tuck the Magma Stone safely in his bag for the time being. As the trio began to make their way out of the still-rumbling volcano, Hunter J flew closely behind them on her Salamence.
"Oh god," Flint cried as the dragon approached them from behind. "There's no way we can outfly that thing!"
"Bro, relax!" Buck called back. "I can think of something!"
"No… I know what I have to do," the older brother replied.
"Flint, what are you-"
Before he could finish his sentence, Buck watched in shock and horror as his older brother leapt off of Claydol and onto J's Salamence.
"Claydol!" Flint called back, igniting his hands with a snap of his fingers. "Take care of Buck for me!"
"You have a lot of nerve challenging me like this!" J barked. "Salamence! Catch that boy! I'll deal with this one on the ground."
Suddenly, J leapt from her seated position and tackled Flint off of the Dragon Pokémon, sending both tumbling to the ground as it chased after Buck and Claydol.
"Flint!" Buck cried, not believing what his brother had just done. "Claydol, stop! We gotta go back for him!"
"Master, I politely refuse. Mainly because we have more pressing issues at hand!"
Buck's confusion at his partner's sudden use of telepathy was short-lived as he felt the impact of J's Salamence biting one of Claydol's appendages. Claydol cried out in pain as Buck held onto his partner tightly with one hand. What was he to do in such a dire situation?!
"Whoever possesses the Magma Stone shall possess the might of Heatran itse-"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it! No need to remind me, Prophecy Voice!" Buck cried, reaching into his bag and pulling out the Magma Stone. With a mighty war cry, Buck reached over and slammed the stone into the Salamence's head as hard as he could. The combined force of the impact and heat of the Magma Stone was too much for J's instrument of destruction, and the Salamence was forced to relinquish its grip on Claydol before collapsing to the ground unconscious.
"Sorry!" Buck called back, sad that he had to resort to such measures. He was even more concerned about his brother, however; Flint was strong both with and without his Pokémon, but… would it be enough?
"Master Buck, please don't worry," Claydol attempted to console buck as the duo reached the outside of Stark Mountain. "I'm sure Master Flint will be just fine. He has Infernape, his other Pokémon, and his own powers of pyrokinesis!"
"Yeah, but… What if it's not enough, Claydol?"
"Master Buck…"
"... Forget it," the boy shook his head, grinning despite himself. "I'm sure he'll come out on top; he always does! Let's just wait out at the Battleground for him to get back."
"I'm afraid that's not possible, Buck."
Claydol turned around, allowing both it and Buck to see a tall blonde woman standing a few feet away, an unconscious Charon at her feet.
"... Cynthia?" Buck asked. "What are you doing here? And why can't we go to the Battleground? Grandpa owns it and everything!"
"I know," Cynthia sighed, "and I still need to pay him for tonight."
"What are you talking about? What's going on?!"
"I'm afraid those people you dealt with inside weren't the only Team Galactic members lurking in the Survival Area tonight. There was some property damage incurred at the Battleground just a few hours ago; some grunts appeared and a patron fought them off single-handedly."
"Woah… sounds almost as good as me!" Buck joked, getting off of Claydol and returning it to its ball.
Cynthia smiled, though it soon gave way to a frown. "Yes, well… unfortunately, he received a nasty head wound in the scuffle. We're treating him at a nearby Pokémon Center now. From there, we hope to transport him to the League."
"The League… Flint!" Buck cried, remembering his brother's sacrifice.
"Your brother… is strong," Cynthia soothed the boy, a hand on his shoulder for comfort. "I have the utmost faith that he'll make it out okay. We need to get out of here, though. I've gotten wind that another wave of Galactics is on its way here, and we don't have the firepower to deal with them right now. Will you come with me, Buck?"
"... Yeah, sure," Buck sighed, looking back at Stark Mountain. What was supposed to be a simple exploration trip turned into something much more sinister, and the ordinarily-hotheaded boy wasn't quite sure how to handle this. Knowing Cynthia, she could only be headed someplace safe.
"Splendid," Cynthia smiled, a glint in her eye. "Perhaps you'll get the chance to meet Riley once he's recovered. Maybe even the others, too…"
"Others? What are you talking about?"
"I'll explain later," Cynthia sighed, shaking her head and smiling. "For now, we have to get out of here."
As the duo left, the smoke billowing from the top of Stark Mountain seemed to intensify, the volcano letting out a sorrowful rumble.