Normal POV
"Lorelei, how are things going on your end?" Lance asked.
"The police are locking down all of the major ship ports in Kanto as we speak, Lance." she replied.
"Excellent. Any luck on your end, Karen?"
"Yes, I've just found something. I think you should see this. It talks about the Temple of Legends that Team Rocket is searching for." Karen answered.
"Finally! We're getting somewhere! Maybe we'll finally be able to find out why the temple is so important to Team Rocket and why they're looking for it."
The Elite Four and Lance sat around a table as Karen began reading from some books.
"Thousands of years ago, people and Pokemon lived together in peace throughout the world. The Legendary Pokemon had a special bond to a different human that they each chose for themselves. These people had the power of the Legendary Pokemon at their disposal, having the ability to use them in battle. The Legendary Pokemon knew that they would use their powers to protect the world. But these people could only summon their Legendary Pokemon at a special shrine called the Temple of Legends. These people used a special type of Aura to activate the temples." Karen read.
"So that's why Team Rocket's looking for the temple!" Koga exclaimed. "They're going to activate the temple, summon the Legendaries, and capture them to use them to conquer the world!"
"Wait," Bruno interrupted, "Something doesn't make sense. The people who had the ability to summon the Legendary Pokemon died a long time ago. How could Team Rocket possibly activate the temple?"
"There's more to read." Karen replied. "Apparently, once every one hundred years, a human with special Aura powers is born with the ability to summon the Legendary Pokemon. The book says that this person has many names, spoken by many different Legendary Pokemon, but his most common name is known as...the Chosen One."
"'Chosen One?' I think Ash mentioned that to us once a few years ago." said Lance.
"Yes, he said that a long time ago, the Legendary Pokemon, Lugia, called him that." Lorelei said, remembering.
"So Ash is the one who can activate the temple and summon the Legendaries! Team Rocket must've attacked him and captured him to make him do it! That explains his disappearance almost eight months ago."
"Is there anything else, Karen?" Bruno asked.
"No, that's all that I could find. I still don't know where the Temple of Legends is, but now it's even more important that we find it before Team Rocket does, now that we know what it does and why they want to find it."
"I'm going to travel and do a search across Kanto to see if I can find anything." Lance said to the others. "Call me on my PokeGear if any of you learn anything."
Adam's POV
It had been two days since Bulbasaur evolved into Ivysaur. We had finally reached the harbor and the ocean breeze was cool and refreshing. Nurse Joy had told us that we would be able to sail from here to Cinnabar Island.
But just then, I spotted Officer Jenny and some other policemen near the entrance to the harbor. As we approached her, she looked up and said, "Stop! The harbor is closed. All ships and ports are on lock down until further notice. Sorry."
Why was the harbor closed? This was the only way that we could get to Cinnabar Island. Did they not think of this when they closed the harbor? Without stopping at Cinnabar Island, Jason and I couldn't get our gym badges and be closer to entering the Pokemon League and Michelle couldn't enter the Grand Festival without her final ribbon, which could be won in the Cinnabar Contest.
We walked over to a bench and sat down. I could tell that Jason was frustrated by what Officer Jenny had told us and Michelle looked upset, too. I looked up at the sky and stared at the clouds.
Arceus, if you're up there, please give us a sign of what to do.
Hearing a sound from above, I looked up and saw a group of Pidgeys flying in the sky. I suddenly had an idea!
"Wait, if we can't go THROUGH the water...what if we went OVER the water?"
"What are you talking about, Adam?" Jason asked.
"Follow me, I have an idea." I said, hopping up.
I lead them up to a cliff that overlooked the harbor and I tossed Pidgeot's Pokeball.
"Jason, can you release Charizard?" I asked.
Jason removed a Pokeball and soon Charizard was out of its Pokeball.
"Wait, we're going to FLY to Cinnabar Island?" Michelle asked.
"Yep, you guessed it. I'll be flying on Pidgeot and Jason can fly on Charizard. Your Flying Pokemon, Togetic, is too small to carry you so you'll have to ride with one of us." I said, looking at Michelle.
I made sure Pidgeot was okay before I hopped onto him. Jason was already on Charizard, waiting.
"Go ahead and pick who you want to fly with." I said to Michelle, since she hadn't moved.
Michelle walked towards me and Pidgeot and I heard Jason mutter, "Well, that figures." I knew he'd thought that no one had heard him, but I did. I have a superb sense of hearing, although I didn't know why Jason had said, "Well, that figures."
"Okay, hold on tight." I said as I loosely gripped Pidgeot's feathers. I felt Pikachu and Pichu grip my shoulders and Michelle wrap her arms around my waist as she sat behind me on Pidgeot.
"Ready?" I asked Jason. He nodded his head in response.
"To Cinnabar Island, Charizard." Jason said.
"Follow Charizard, Pidgeot." I said.
Charizard and Pidgeot took to the air.
I felt Michelle tighten her grip as soon as we lifted off. I knew she was nervous, since this was the first time that any of us had flown. I was a little nervous, too, so I grabbed Pidgeot's feathers a little tighter. I glanced over to see Jason looking down at the water as we flew away from land.
"This is so cool!" he cried.
After a couple of minutes, I finally felt safe enough being in the air, so I looked around. Being in the air was amazing. Michelle's grip on me loosened as she looked around as well.
"This is amazing!" she said as she looked around in awe.
The clouds looked so close that it seemed like we could almost touch them. Seeing the water down below, I could see the sun making it sparkle. I could also see Water Pokemon jumping up out of the water. Other Flying Pokemon were gliding along. Being in the sky was peaceful. Not a lot of noise, like on the ground.
Darien's POV
After capturing some Pokemon and discovering some ruins that might lead to the Temple of Legends, I was in my ship, heading back to base.
Father will be pleased once he hears of these ruins. Team Rocket is getting closer to achieving its goal!
"Sir, we've picked up something on the radar."
"Well, bring it up." I ordered.
The screen in front of me showed three kids on Pokemon, flying in the sky. I smirked to myself.
"Well, my day keeps getting better and better! I capture a large group of Pokemon and find what might be the Temple of Legends, and now I have my nephew and his friends within reach! And they're over the open ocean, so they have nowhere to hide this time!"
Adam's POV
We had been flying for a few hours and everything was calm. We had been talking to one another along the way. Suddenly, the calmness was disturbed by the sound of engines. I looked around and from the clouds above, a ship was coming down towards us. A ship that was identical to the ones that the Team Rocket Pokemon Hunters fly in.
I looked around for any sign of a hiding place, but in the air, you have nothing. Not to mention that there was nothing but ocean below us for miles. Nowhere to run, so we were going to have to stay and fight.
"We may be captured, but we're going down fighting!" I said firmly. "We're not gonna just give up!"
We waited for a few moments and a hatch opened. A swarm of Crobats were heading towards us. We were about to be in a Pokemon battle...an aerial battle, at that!
"Be careful. Crobats have four wings instead of two. This makes them very fast flyers!" Jason warned us.
"Pidgeot, you focus on getting us close. Pikachu and Pichu can attack, but keep your guard up. Attack only when needed. Pikachu and Pichu, use Thunderbolt!" I said, starting the battle.
"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Jason cried.
The Crobats split into two groups to avoid the attacks and flew in opposite directions. Pidgeot flew after one group, Charizard went after the other. But they were too fast and soon we were the ones being chased!
Pidgeot veered left and right, avoiding the Swift and Air Cutter attacks that were coming from behind. We had to get back on the attack! Then I got an idea.
"Hang on tight, Michelle! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" I cried. Michelle tightened her arms around my waist. "Pidgeot, go straight up and circle behind them!"
Pidgeot zoomed up at a ninety degree angle and then circled around upside-down above the Crobats and we nearly fell off! Pidgeot then leveled out right-side up directly behind the Crobats.
"Now!" I yelled. Pikachu and Pichu launched their Thunderbolts and Pidgeot created a Twister, damaging the Crobats and blowing them away.
Jason and Charizard were locked in battle with the other Crobats, so we flew down to give them a hand. Things appeared to be going our way until a few Crobats used Screech.
Pidgeot cringed from the sound along with Pikachu and Pichu. Charizard was cringing from the sound, too. I looked up to see some Swift attacks heading towards us.
"Pikachu!" I yelled. Pikachu fought through the screeching sound and launched a Thunderbolt. Pichu attacked, too, and I saw a Flamethrower hit as well.
After a while, we had defeated around a dozen Crobats and the rest were flying back towards the ship.
"I don't believe it! They're retreating! We won!" Jason shouted.
I couldn't believe it, either. Team Rocket's Pokemon never retreat like that. Something was about to happen. I saw something heading towards us. A person was on a three-headed Pokemon.
"You cowardly Crobats! How dare you flee from your opponents?!" the person yelled angrily.
I saw that this was another Pokemon Hunter, seeing that he was dressed in a red jumpsuit with a black jacket over it, a hood covering his head, and an arm canon. He was on a Hydreigon. I also realized that this was the last of the Pokemon Hunters as Mya's words replayed in my head. She had said that there were four of them.
"Hydreigon, shoot them down."
We watched in horror as the Crobats got hit with Hyper Beam attacks and fell towards the ocean, unconscious. They fell into the ocean and were gone. They would drown, since they had fainted and couldn't swim. This guy wasn't messing around. How could he do that to those Crobats?!
"Why did you do that?! You just murdered them! Your own Pokemon!" I cried angrily.
"Those Crobats were pitiful to lose to you kids. They have no honor, fleeing like that. Besides, I can always capture more. Those worthless Pokemon are expendable." he answered.
What could we do? This guy was crazy and cruel! I glanced around and a surge of hope rushed through me.
"Jason, follow me, and hurry." I said. "Pidgeot, go!"
Pidgeot flew the way I had pointed and I saw Charizard follow. A laughed echoed behind us.
"You can run, but you can't hide!"
I pointed to what I had spotted earlier. Land! And it wasn't far from us.
"What land is that?" Michelle asked.
"The Seafoam Islands, a group of uninhabited islands that are just before Cinnabar Island. We can't outrun or out-fly him and our Pokemon can't battle in the air forever. We might have a better chance to battle on land." I replied.
"Land, Pidgeot." I said, once we were above the Seafoam Islands. Pidgeot landed on the rocky ground and Charizard landed behind him.
I looked to the sky to see the Pokemon Hunter not far behind us and his ship not far behind him.
"Return." we said to Pidgeot and Charizard. It was best to return our Flying Pokemon in case we needed to get away quickly. Also, the Pokemon Hunter couldn't capture them if they were in their Pokeballs.
I spun around as I heard something. The Hydreigon had landed and the Pokemon Hunter stepped off. I noticed that no one was with him.
"Where are all of your grunts?" I asked.
"I don't need their help. I can beat the three of you and capture you myself." he replied with a smile. He seemed confident that he would win, but we weren't going to give him the satisfaction.
"We'll see about that, you heartless beast!" I cried, still angered from what he did to the Crobats.
"Now, now. Is that any way to talk to your family?"
"Family? What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Oh, how sweet it is. You have no idea, do you?"
"Then how about you tell me? Who do you think you are?"
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Pokemon Hunter Darien, one of the four Pokemon Hunters of Team Rocket."
"So?"
He gave a laugh. "Well, my last name is Berlitz. Darien Berlitz. Sound familiar, Adam?!"
I stared at Darien in shock. Berlitz was my..."Berlitz...that was my mom's maiden name!" I cried.
"Very good. Yes, your mom, Dawn, is my twin sister! And you know what that means, right, Adam? I'm your uncle...and you are my nephew!"
I shook my head. "No...no, that's not true! You're lying! My mom was an only child! She had no brothers or sisters!" I cried.
Darien removed the goggles that he was wearing, pulled down the hood covering his head, and revealed his face. His short hair was dark blue, the same shade of blue as my mom's and his skin tone was the same, too. The only difference was his eyes, which were red.
"Deep down inside, you know that I'm telling the truth. I can see it in your eyes." he said to me.
The only thing I could feel was shock. I fell to my knees on the ground and looked downwards. It couldn't be...he couldn't be related to me or my mom. My mom was an only child. He's never been mentioned by my mom or my grandma. The only thing was that he looked too much like my mom to be lying about being my uncle.
"If you're really my uncle, then why haven't I heard of you?" I asked once I could find the strength to speak.
"Why don't you ask my mother, Johanna? I understand that she's your grandmother? She remembers me. I can understand why she's never mentioned me, though. But enough talk! It's time to end this. Hydreigon, Triple Hyper Beam!"
Before any of us had time to react, we were hit by the Hyper Beams from Hydreigon's three heads. We flew into the air and then fell to the ground very hard. My whole body felt like it was beaten, I couldn't even move. I looked over and saw that both of my friends were covered in bruises. I knew that I was, too. I could feel it.
I heard footsteps approach and I looked up. Darien looked down at me and raised his arm cannon, aiming it at my face. "Sorry it had to be this way...nephew." he said.
I knew what was coming. I was about to be captured. We had managed to escape from all of the traps that Team Rocket had laid for us in the past...but now, our luck had run out! I closed my eyes and silently said goodbye to my mom and goodbye to my dad. My only regrets are that I wasn't able to rescue my dad and that I never entered the Pokemon League.
I waited to feel the beam hit me...but nothing happened. A moment passed...and then another...and another. I slowly opened my eyes to see Darien still looking down at me. In his eyes, I saw hesitation. His eyes were wide, his arm started shaking, and he bit his lip.
What's he doing? What's he waiting for? He has us where he wants us! Why doesn't he just shoot us and end it?
"What are you waiting for?" I asked. "Aren't you going to capture us?"
Darien gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and sighed heavily. He then lowered his arm cannon and shook his head, saying, "No. No, I'm not."
He turned sharply on his heel and walked back to his Hydreigon and hopped on. "Stay away from Team Rocket. Next time, you might not be so lucky."
The Hydreigon flew off towards the ship and the ship soon flew away into the distance. Once we knew that the ship was gone, we got up.
"What just happened? Why didn't he capture us? I mean, we saw him kill those Crobats without a second thought, so we know that he has no conscience." Jason wondered.
"I don't know. When he looked down at me, he hesitated. There was also a bit of recognition in his eyes. I think I reminded him of someone close to him. But I look too much like my dad for that person to be my mom. Who did I remind him of?"
A small silence passed.
"I still can't believe that I have a long-lost uncle. I didn't even know that he existed. And why didn't my mom or grandma tell me about him?"
"You can tell them when you get back home. Right now, we should get out of here, before he changes his mind and comes back to get us." Michelle said.
Author's Note: A lot was revealed in this chapter! The Elite Four have figured out what the Temple of Legends is and why Team Rocket is looking for it!
Meanwhile, the kids meet Darien, the fourth and final Pokemon Hunter working for Team Rocket, and Adam discovers that Darien his uncle!
But why didn't Darien capture Adam and the others? Who does Adam remind him of? Will the Elite Four find the Temple of Legends before Team Rocket does? What awaits our heroes on Cinnabar Island?
Find out next time on Pokemon NG!