Chapter 8: Victini is for victory

Middle of the night

Celadon city

Hideout, Gold's room

As soon as he got back from the surprise meeting, Gold got to work, opening his closet, he dragged his backpack out and began to stuff it with equipment, medicine and clothes.

"Let's see...Whirl Islands" he muttered to himself, "I'm going to need diving equipment" getting up, he started rummaging around cupboards, shelves, the closet and underneath his bed searching for what he needed. Not one to take care of things, Gold's room was a mess. His table was littered with snack wrappers alongside books and maps. The mat on the floor housed all his dirty clothing, which he kept on telling himself to wash, his bed sheets were crumpled an looked like they could also do with a spell to the cleaners. In this haphazard environment, the trainer kept on hunting, unearthing more trash in his wake. Ambipom, the mischievous monkey, had erupted from its pokeball to help his partner. Instead of making progress, the creature merely distributed the mess more evenly around the room. Crawling out from underneath his bed, the black haired trainer held up the sophisticated breathing device in a victorious manner, dumping it in his bag, he got up and booted up his laptop, despite what people though, Gold actually took the time and energy to plan his heists...or else Crystal will break his leg. Literally. Squinting at the screen, he brought out a map and began charting a course; thereafter he checked his pokemon stats and decided which ones to use. A few minutes later, several messages from fellow trainers came in, all informing him of their choice of Pokemon, assembling these on a data sheet; he sent the document to Crystal.

"Someone's gotta work on those cards..."

Wearily he checked the time, the clock's hand pointed to five. Shutting down the laptop, he dived into his bed and tried to snatch some sleep before setting off for work.

Dawn, half past six in the morning

Celadon city

Dex criminal's base, Execution's gathering room.

As expected, Red was the first to enter the empty room, he switched on the lights, grabbed a stool and sat near the pool table and yawned. Trust Green to make life difficult, a man needs his sleep! Wiping away stray tears he waited for five minutes before getting bored, letting down the huge screen from the ceiling, he switched on and began watching a drama, with his eyes stuck to the television, he failed to notice Diamond entering the room. The boy pulled his cap low over his eyes and buttoned up his blue jacket tightly. Giving his engrossed leader a wide berth, he discreetly snuck around Red and sat down on the other side of the table on a chair of his own. Feeling slightly nervous, he reached inside his pockets, brought out a berry and nibbled on it. Red's Pikachu had bounded off his trainer's head to get his fair share of snacks and when Dia quietly handed over a poffin, he sort of understood, there was something bothering the trainer. Cheeks sparking, he aimed his beady little eyes at his master and gave the trainer a good jolt.

"Ouch! Pika!" he whirled around "do you hav...Hey Diamond, you're early today."

"Senior Red" the blue eyed teenager inclined his head respectfully; he was dreading what his leader might ask.

"So..."

Here it comes

"Do you accept my offer to train you?"

"...I don't think I'll get any stronger or faster even with you training me..." he quietly, dejectedly responded.

If Pearl was here, he'd be dishing out a few double slaps on his cheeks.

"No Dia, you have it all wrong, you see I want to train you so I could also have a feel of the way you battle, none of us in our team has defense stats like you, you are basically our shield, if we are in a tight spot, it's up to you to help us, defend us when we can get back on our feet again. Ah...I made a pretty cool speech right now..." The anxiety in the teen's chest eased up a bit, for as long as he'd known, he was never the center of attention, it was mainly Pearl and Platina. He simply went with the flow and all of a sudden, he was now thrust to be the defense, the umbrella where everyone can huddle under in case of a storm.

It made him feel important. Finally he had a place to call his own.

The rest of the team filed in one by one, some packed energy like Black and Sapphire, others, namely Gold and Ruby looked disgruntled and there were the neutral ones from Green's department: Crystal and White, on seeing the Kanto champion, the brown haired girl enthusiastically waved and presented a stack of DVD's to him. Gold, seeing the exchange, hurried to the two and eventually a tug of war between the two males started, this was promptly settled when Crystal kicked Gold. The leader cleared his throat:

"Everyone ready?" the voices in the room rang loud and clear. Red went to a clutter free section of the back wall and yanked a lever set in a panel, with a whirr and a grinding noise, the wall slid apart to reveal a narrow door, pulling out flying types and hoisting their backpacks securely the trainers exited. Once outside in the still dark morning, the Dex-holders gravitated into groups and took off simultaneously. Diamond waved at Red, imparted a large smile and left. Now the only two shivering in the crisp air were Ruby and Red. The former had pulled out his PokeNav and was reading something with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Something the matter?" Red was already sitting on his aerodactyl's back.

"Yeah, firstly I don't have any flying types...Secondly" he looked up "the police are instigating a region wide search for Kanto Champion Red...this search must still be approved by the top four bosses but it seems Sinnoh Champion Cynthia proposed it." Ruby held out the device to Red who looked at the accompanying picture with a mixture of terror.

"Seems like I'm not welcome in your house Ruby" he sighed and stated, sliding off the ancient Pokémon's back, he fished another ball and released Green's charizard and the younger male's eyes lit up.

"You use Green's Pokemon?" he enquired and then frowned when Execution's leader handed the ancient and ugly dragon to him.

"Yep, I can even command it to battle." Hearing this statement, the dragon snorted fire. "You can use Aero so long, we'll have to split up by the way, I'll go straight to Johto and you spend a day in Hoenn with your parents and meet up with me tomorrow okay?"

"Yeah, but I'll appreciate it if I could use Senior Green's charizard..." he sadly stated. The dragon snorted fire and butted his head with Red's arm, getting the message, the older male boarded the beast and took off leaving Ruby behind to stare distastefully at the Aerodactyl balled up in his palm.

The following day, afternoon

Dex Criminal's hideout

Strategy's room

Blue gripped Green's shirt collar and shook him back and forth in an enraged manner. The brown haired male, shut his eyes tightly and endured it all with clenched teeth and fists, besides, if he ignored or talked back to the pesky woman, she might refuse to hand over further artifacts and stolen research. Despite this humiliation, he did not argue in return since he was responsible for her anger and outburst.

"Did you even take a look at him before sending him off to Liberty Islands?" she shouted and his Scizor took a careful step sideways. "Silver looks unhealthy, I know he is the best when it comes to covert operations, but you don't have to abuse him by sending him to the other side of the Poke-verse every single day! Gosh Green I knew you were heartless but not to this extent!"

The young man was a bit confused, everyday? But he only sent Silver once, on a scouting mission to confirm if a legendary pokemon resided there. When the red haired adolescent e-mailed him the data, he was immediately dismissed from the task...Whatever, Green decided it was not worth clearing this misunderstanding between them. Thankfully, his friend finished her rant and let go of him, but she still seethed.

"You...Need to be punished." she smiled wickedly and he scowled in displeasure.

"If you need extra work done, just give it to me already, our team needs to leave for Unova, Pearl is already there and since Crystal and White are with Red; Emerald, Yellow and I are departing now, you are keeping me up Blue."

Her Cheshire cat grin widened.

"Fine" she stated, "I won't dump work on you but...BUT! The three of you will be posing as a family, with Emerald as your child."

As she was saying this Yellow had just entered the scene and on hearing the words uttered from her senior's mouth, she gasped and her clipboard fell to the floor. Holding a hand to his face, Green too, looked away, visibly disgusted and mortified by her 'punishment.' The woman laughed in a haughty manner and crossed her arms.

Now would be a good time to bring up the misunderstanding.

"I only sent Silver once to Lib-" he started his counter argument alas; she shut him up by poking a finger to his chest.

"No excuses! And don't worry; think of it as a lesson from yours truly. Also you'll be going via train" she waved tickets, "I hope it's a comfortable ride~"

"Pesky Woman!" he spat furiously under his breath as she left. Yellow picked her board up and warily approached her incensed leader.

"Umm...we need to leave now Green, Emerald is already good to go." The conflicted brunette began assembling papers and throwing a few pokeballs inside his bag. Shouldering it he strode ahead and after his aide cast a look around the room to make certain everything was in its place, she too hurriedly followed him.

This was the worst day of Emerald's life. Sure he looked like a child with an undersized body but he obviously was not one. He possessed keen intelligence, he had too or else he'd never make it into strategy. Alongside Crystal, he worked on the technicalities of the organization and was adept with technology, if anyone needed any hacking, spying, camera breaking, he was the person. He also routinely updated the operating systems used on the computers throughout this and other bases. He was an engineer for Rotom's sake! And now, here he was, travelling to Unova, stripped of his gadgets and wearing kiddie clothes.

And sitting on Green's lap.

He could feel the older male boring holes in his skull and he wished to return the favor. The only thing keeping them from exploding was Yellow. Blue had grabbed the younger woman and dressed her up before they left and now she sat meekly next to Green holding on to him. Emerald was positive his leader was really uncomfortable; he was never the one for hugs and cuddles anyway. At multiple intervals, when the train stopped at other towns or stations, some elders who'd board the train would pass by them and comment what a cute family they were. The reactions they got were varied, Yellow would blush and thank them for their compliment, his leader would look straight ahead like a robot and he'd try raising his head to stare those misunderstood elders down, only to have his head forced back down by his 'father'. At one time the train had become really full and Green, seeing the opportunity, dumped him in Yellow's arms and stood up, giving his seat to some other child. The rage on his face was palpable.

By midnight, they had arrived at Unova's battle-subway. The emerald eyed adult picked his underdeveloped team mate off Yellow and carried him. Exiting the station, they made their way to the nearest Hotel in Nimbasa and met Pearl who was eagerly waving at them. Green looked around, this was truly the entertainment city, despite it being so late, lights were still flashing across the sky, the theaters as well as indoor stadiums were still open and he could hear the distant roar and cheers from the nearby PokePark.

"Whoa!" the young blonde exclaimed when he saw them "you three starting a family or what?" Emerald's stubby arm shot out and grabbed Pearl's striped scarf, leaning out of Green's arms, he began to strangle his junior with all his might. Appreciative of the gesture, the older male took a closer step to help his one companion garrote the other. It was at Yellow's quiet and firm insistence that they found themselves at a hotel lobby making a last minute reservation.

"A room for..." the secretary began asking.

"Two rooms" Green cut in a harsh manner, she gave him an odd look as her eyes took in their appearance. After offering a strained smile, she handed over the keys. Pearl bid them goodbye and left for his mission and the remaining trio went to their rooms. Shutting the room door, the older trainer let go of Emerald and took his laptop computer out. Without wasting any more time, he started working on it. The blonde watched him for an hour and then piped up:

"Senior, its late get some sleep." The only reply he got was a grunt.

Early morning of the same day

Hoenn

Littleroot town, Ruby's house.

Fixing his hat in front of a mirror, Ruby briefly wondered how Red was doing. Yesterday, the trainer had spent the night in Ilex forest since he cited that he had nowhere to go with the police possibly searching for him. Unable to offer him any other options, Ruby shrugged and ended the video call. Thank goodness Norman was still busy at the gym so he had ample time to come up with a cover story without his dad's interrogating gaze piercing him. At his table, his mother smiled and he felt slightly rotten for lying to her so easily. Satisfied with the way his cap was hiding his disfigurement, he went down to breakfast and his heart almost leapt out of his chest. Dad was home.

Dad was home.

Taking a deep breath, he calmly walked to the table with his beautiful delacatty at his heels, seeing him, Norman's eyes softened and he let out a breath. This action of his confused his son who had spied the concern marring his face. Turning around he picked up the box offered by his wife and thereafter left the house. Two pairs of eyes watched him go.

There was silence as Ruby's mother made breakfast, once done, she set the plates down and the mother-son duo began eating. During this time, the teenager picked up the discrete glances she sent his way.

"Is there anything wrong mom?"

"Oh Ruby," she set her fork down and failed to keep the care out of her voice "I'm sure you heard there have been two children, Pokedex holders, kidnapped in Unova...Your father wants you to stop travelling around and come home for a while dear. I know you desire to be the very best at contests, but please think of us for a while, seeing our only child alone when there is such an atrocious group of criminals around is very worrying. Your dad and the police are working hard and yet they have no leads on the identity of the criminals..."

A ball formed in the pit of his stomach and suddenly his appetite vanished.

"...Mom" he voiced evenly "I'm almost an adult; you can't expect me to stay cooped up in the house when those...Criminals...Wreak havoc where they go. Being a trainer and a Dex holder, I have responsibilities, besides if they ever come across me, I won't show them any mercy..." His false speech seemed to have a calming effect on her as she beamed at him. Pushing his plate away, he recalled his pokemon back into a ball and began exiting the house.

"You haven't finished your breakfast yet Ruby! And where are you going so early in the morning?" she admonished him.

"I'm going to Petalburg woods to conduct some...Some research on beautiful pokemon" he mumbled and opened the door.

"You are just like your father..." he heard his mother's warm tones as he shut the door. Running out of town, he skidded to a halt to the entrance of the woods and summoned Red's Aerodactyl which was lent to him. Getting on the Pokémon's back, he rose higher and after casting another longing glance at the house, he flew off in the Johto region's direction.

He truly was a bad son.

In Ilex Forest, Red squatted down on a particularly large tree root and trained his blood red irises on the little shrine. Unlike the temples and other grandiose buildings dedicated to other mythical and legendary pokemon, Celebi's memorial was very simple. It was shaped like a one story house and was constructed out of ancient looking wood. The only eye-catching feature of the shrine was its tiny doors. It was leaved in gold and worked over with some jade colored material. As he sat there, he noticed the doors glowing faintly and his body tensed in response. Hopefully the tiny onion fairy was going to burst out of the doors and he'd be able to capture it.

For some reason, his leader still held his hand when they stepped out in the cool morning air of Liberty Garden. After finding out that there was a midnight cruise heading for the place, Green had jumped up from his seat, grabbed his junior and Yellow (who, poor girl had just fallen asleep) and rushed to Castelia on Emerald's Mantine, the sorry beast had to endure all their weight and after they touched down in the big city, he literally dashed all the way across to Liberty Pier and on to the ship demanding a place. And who in their right mind will refuse him? The famous Green Oak? Ushered in respectfully, he was given a grand suite and not caring what their leader thought; both his underlings collapsed on the huge bed and fell fast asleep. They woke up when the ship's foghorn blasted to announce their arrival.

"Whoever donated this island to the public must really be a very kind person" Yellow expressed her opinion after reading one of the information boards. Green was stringing Emerald along as he critically inspected the island, taking notes on a palm computer. There were a lot of visitors to the isle today, crowds mingled about on the grass, on the wooden pier and before the entrance to the lighthouse. The grand structure was constructed out of grayish white stone and it stood tall. Ignoring everyone else, the leader strode in alone in the dark building and looked around. As impressive as the structure looked outside, inside the area seemed to be neglected, the walls were cracking and peeling in some places and there was barely any light. The fixtures were all in a partial status of damage. Shrugging, he moved forward and a fork appeared, one flight of stairs led up and other led downwards, seeing the majority of the people heading to the basement, he too followed.

And came across a nasty sight.

The fairly large chamber in which Victini should be found flying around was crammed full of people. Stowing his computer away, Green, determination pushing him forward, shouldered past them and came to an abrupt stop when a purple feline pokemon scratched his cheeks, he did not bleed but the marks burnt like fire. The Purrloin returned to its trainer and the Dex holder noted how the area was dotted with people like them. Some of them wore medieval styled clothing whilst others wore a dark outfit and a cloth-mask over their mouth, the two groups resembled knights and pirates respectively.

"Stand back, or face the consequences" one of them threatened.

"Where is Victini?" he questioned "The pokemon is supposed to be free for viewing to the public, you have no right to take it from here."

He should not be the one talking...Oh well.

"We are liberating Pokemon" the pseudo-knight spat "you trainers do not understand our glorious mission! You think Pokemon are simply used to do our bidding, you are wrong! They should be free and our equa-"

The rambling trainer stopped when scizor's claw poised over his neck. Seconds later, a rhyperior was summoned and the whole structure shook in an earthquake, the crowed surged outside in a panic and the only ones left was the obviously untrained criminal organization members, some of them were buried in the rubble that rained from the roof. In the ensuing chaos a small orange colored Pokemon flew out from one of them and twirled about in the room. Green noticed the ears, which were very large, was pointed to form the letter V. Recalling his partners, he took out an empty ultra-ball and just as the Pokemon was flying towards him with a cute little grin, the ball struck its chest and Victini was secured inside it. Picking it up, the brunette pocketed it and left the building, shunning the newly caught creature's anguished expression.

When he stepped outside, he noticed Yellow and Emerald running over with concerned visages.

"Are you okay Senior?" they spoke together.

"Yes I'm fine, we got what we needed; let's head back to Kanto immediately." He was acutely aware of Yellow staring at his face in a stern manner and it irked him slightly, she'd never do this with Red. The moment his best friend came anywhere near her, she'd suddenly become very shy and blush constantly in his presence. The oblivious idiot had no idea of Yellow's crush on him and sometimes he'd see the girl staring off into space when the champion left for duties. On the other end of the spectrum, the female blonde was very open with him; this may be due to the fact that he trained her. When he first came across Yellow, he was surprised and intrigued by her psychic ability to raise her pokemon's level at will. To enable her to use it more effectively, he helped her train using meditation techniques, the reserved girl had warmed up to him and soon they had become really good friends. In his case, more than friends.

Although she will never, ever find out. Her world revolved around Red and he resolved it to keep it that way, whatever makes her happy.

'Mesprit can be so cruel sometimes' he unhappily mused.

"Yellow, staring at my face is not going to make me revoke my decision."

"What happened in there?" her face softened and she queried.

"Some organization tried to steal Victini, I buried them and took the pokemon, it's currently in my pocket." hearing this she frowned.

"You have to release it Green" she pleaded, her earnest brown irises widening, "the pokemon is for the people, not for personal gain or use...Please, let it go back to his home." And without further hesitation, he dug inside his pocket, retrieved the ball and released Victini, a weight lifted off his chest when he beheld the victory pokemon flying around the island in a gay manner and a tiny smile etched on Green's face. Victini glided towards him and pressed a tiny paw on to his forehead and his co-workers giggled at its action.

"It's blessing you, so you could go easy on us" Emerald quipped lightly "say, we should check out the island further, more shady characters might be lurking around." The two blondes nodded in agreement and moved off for further inspection, their leader simply stood there and watched them leave. Fatigue was overtaking him; he did not sleep for two days. Huffing, he walked to a patch of grass and sat down, while his underlings combed the island, he could snatch some much needed sleep.

A/N: Whoa...only one review? I think my flu just got worse... Ahahaha, Just kidding. Anyway, thanks to Jack54311 for reviewing, I hope the readers are enjoying the story, some feedback would be nice though. And also to FluffyCanaries for liking my story. It gives me the motivation to keep on writing. Please don't hesitate to ask questions if you are confused. Like I mentioned before, you only need to fear for your life is you're made of chocolate.

Eh, I tend to ramble nonsense when I'm sick.