Summer and Blaine arrived on One Island, hoping to find Moltres on Mt. Ember. They ran into Bruno and Kiyo, with the former helping Summer and Blaze become better partners. Once everyone reached the peak of the volcano, Blaine challenged Summer to a battle with Moltres as his choice. After a tough battle, Blaze evolved into Blaziken and defeated Moltres, giving Summer the Volcano Badge. Now, Blaine has to tell Summer about a secret he's been keeping for a while-something that will change the course of her journey forever.

Chapter 39: The Legend Guardians

"Legend Guardians?" I asked. "I've never heard of them before. Who are they?"

Blaine opened his journal and motioned us to sit down. We did so, and Moltres laid beside the Cinnabar Island Gym Leader.

"So what is a Legend Guardian?"

Blaine turned to the first page and read aloud, "A Legend Guardian is a person chosen by a Legendary Trio to protect their region of origin, themselves, and the world. The person is chosen based on a certain trait, and each member of the Trio must observe him/her to see if that person is worthy. He/she is given an item that has been passed down from the previous Guardian. The item acts as a summoning device, which allows the current Guardian to call upon a member or leader of the chosen Legendary Trio when he/she is in danger."

"That sounds really cool! What trait do they look for?"

Blaine scratched his head. "It varies based on the Trio. Usually things like courage, wisdom, kindness…that sort of thing. Plus, they also have a special ability that allows them to better understand Pokémon, even before they are chosen."

"So," I pieced together. "Samir was watched by the Legendary Birds and has that watch because Zapdos and the others chose him? And that he has some sort of special skill?"

Blaine and Moltres nodded. "Yes, Moltres told me herself."

"But I don't get how you can understand Moltres, Blaine. In fact, you keep referring to Moltres as a female but most Legendary Pokémon are genderless."

Blaine bit his lip. "Well...how should I put this…?" Moltres nudged him, and he relented. "I-it's...because...I was the previous Legend Guardian…of the Legendary Birds."

I was surprised, but Moltres sadly nodded. Blaine clutched his left slacks pocket, as if trying to prevent a bad memory from returning.

"What happened, if that's okay with you?"

Blaine sighed and turned the pages in his journal. "I have no choice, do I? Let me see, I was chosen thirty years ago by Moltres. She and the others saw I was a caring and innovative man, who used science to improve Pokémon and human lives. I received a watch, the one Samir has now, and protected the region and the Legendary Birds. It was something that made me proud and grateful for the world.

Then ten years ago, I was recruited by Giovanni, the Kanto Champion, to help him with a special project. He persuaded me to create an artificial Pokémon by the name of Mewtwo, a clone of Mew, the ancestor of all non-Legendary and Mythical Pokémon. Giovanni said Mewtwo would end all wars and bring eternal peace. I believed him and persuaded the Birds to trust me.

But when he used Mewtwo for the first time, he used him to battle and utterly destroy his opponents. I was blind…my special skill benefited the wrong person. I was shocked and tried to stop him, but Giovanni tried to kill me before his battle against a new challenger. Moltres saved me in the nick of time, but the relationship between me and the Birds was forever shattered.

Although Red defeated Giovanni and released Mewtwo to freely travel the world, Articuno and Zapdos refused to see me afterwards, and they forced Moltres to do the same. I was forced to return my watch and didn't see it again until Samir showed it to us yesterday."

Blaine sadly took out a silver diamond locket from his pocket. He opened it and showed it to me. Inside was a picture of a younger Blaine with orange curly hair and the Legendary Birds happily surrounding him. I suddenly felt a strong wave of happiness and pride come over me. It was as if I was watching Blaine and the birds take the photo from the past.

"I look at it every day, and I remember when things weren't so complicated. But now, I feel I have to help the new Guardian not make the same mistakes I did. Giovanni knows that a new one has been chosen. If he's going through with what I think he is, the Birds are in greater danger compared to ten years ago."

I pondered his words. "But why are you telling me this and not Samir?"

Blaine cleared his throat. "Because I need your help. I have a feeling Samir knows how important this is. But he's still inexperienced. I need someone else besides me to help him if he starts to falter against Giovanni. Someone who has also seen a Legendary Pokémon."

"But I still don't even know why Entei saw me in the first place."

The man chuckled, brightening his spirits. "I'm not sure myself. But if Entei went out of its way to see you in another region, it must like you. Maybe even to-" Blaine then looked at his Pokégear. "-Oh, would you look at the time? We should start heading back to Cinnabar Island. Summer...can you catch Moltres for me?"

I was taken aback. "Me, catch Moltres? Why?"

The man put his journal away. "I can't hold onto her...because of my actions. And I think she'll be safer with you. You already have six Pokémon, and you don't have a Pokémon PC account. So she'll be safe in your backpack until you switch someone out. Please, Summer."

I nervously took out a spare Pokéball and showed it to Moltres. "Moltres. I never liked the idea of catching a Legendary. But we need your help to stop Giovanni."

The Legendary Bird acknowledged my request and gently touched the ball with its beak. The Pokéball opened and caught it without a struggle. The Pokéball then shrank smaller than normal, and I placed it gently in my backpack.

"Now, back to the boat!" Blaine gleefully shouted as he ran back into Mt. Ember. I returned my Pokémon and followed him, fulfilling part of our plan to stop a power-hungry Trainer.

On top of the tallest building in Kanto, Archer knelt in front of Giovanni and his Persian.

"So Archer," the leader asked. "How was your mission?"

The loyal Grunt saluted. "Sir! We captured the people at the Pokémon Laboratory and have placed them in the vault."

Giovanni grinned with approval. "Excellent. Did you get the targets?"

Archer stood up and handed his leader a Pokéball. Giovanni chuckled and walked to an enormous machine with three white pedestals and tubes connected to a tall antenna. The man placed the ball on the middle pedestal. A red energy shot out of the Pokéball and into a long tube covered with thick glass.

Zapdos materialized and opened its eyes. It angrily stared at its captors, recognizing the leader as the dangerous man six years ago. The Legendary was about to release a Thunder attack when a dark red energy surrounded it. Zapdos shrieked in pain, causing the tube on its right to rattle. The bird slowly turned in that direction, and to its horror, saw its companion Articuno trapped inside.

Archer then motioned Petrel and Proton to come forward. The two carried an unconscious Samir and laid him in an engineered chamber close to the tubes. Proton closed the capsule, and a nearby metallic machine to whirl with excitement.

"What about the other ones?" Giovanni politely asked. The three Grunts became hesitant. Giovanni expected some trouble but refused to show it.

"Sir…" Proton said reluctantly. "We were...unable to get...Blaine…"

"Oh…? Did he disappear to find more riddles?" Giovanni joked.

"Umm...I'm not sure where he went…."

Giovanni turned his back on the confused Grunts. "It doesn't matter. He'll come, and when he does, I'll finish what I started six years ago. He and my former 'coaches' will pay for betraying me!"

Inside the chamber, Samir began to also wince in pain, unknowingly receiving it from the trapped Legendary Birds. Giovanni flashed an evil smile as he watched the creatures that will achieve his goal continue to writhe in pain. "Now, only one Legendary Bird remains before I can summon their master, the Guardian of the Sea. Once I have it, I will reclaim my throne! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Pokémon: Blaze (Blaziken, male): Brave Nature, moves: Quick Attack, Double Kick, Flamethrower, Blaze Kick

Errol (Noctowl, male): Rash Nature, moves: Foresight, Confusion, Hypnosis, Peck

Swirls (Poliwhirl, female): Relaxed Nature, moves: Water Pulse, Hypnosis, Water Gun, Doubleslap

Lightning (Pikachu, female): Adamant Nature, moves: Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Iron Tail, Sweet Kiss

Flower (Ivysaur, female): Gentle Nature, moves: Sludge Bomb, Leech Seed, Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder

Rocky (Onix, male): Lonely Nature, moves: Rock Throw, Slam, Dragonbreath, Iron Tail

Questions for the Chapter:

What do you think of Blaine being the last Legend Guardian?

What is Giovanni planning to do to Samir and the Legendary Birds?