Diary of Trainer Seth

by MinnieSchiffer

Seth Rhines, unlike his father Norman, was not a trainer, and instead held a passion for exploration. Yet, not long after arriving in Hoenn, he received his first Pokémon, and together the two of them set out to explore the region, having many a sexual adventure along the way! Rated M for lots of sex both gay and straight. You have been warned.

16. Meteor Falls

Dressed in blue leggings and a similarly colored shirt-jacket over a white t-shirt, Seth returned to the streets of Fallarbor Town. He needed to meet with Professor Cozmo today, no matter what it took. Therefore, he tried to do the most sensible thing; make an appointment via phone.

"That's odd," Seth remarked, hearing his phone go to the company's voicemail for the third time. "You'd think they'd have a receptionist or someone similar to take calls like mine in case I was a potential sponsor or something along those lines."

"Okay, so the easy way is out. I guess I just have to go straight to their offices and hope they'll let me in," Seth reasoned. Kyra trilled from beside him, prompting him to turn, bend down, and pick her up. Kyra poked her head up through his arms and hooked her arms across his forearms, holding herself up. "Come on, let's get going."

Seth took to the sidewalks, joining the early throng of people heading to work. The scent of the morning dew filled the air, and the light of the rising sun peeked over the mountains to the east. Seth took a deep breath and released it contentedly, managing to enjoy the walk despite the task before him.

Yet, even that contentment soon faded. Something felt off. The people seemed uneasy. They moved quickly and kept their heads down, avoiding the gazes of those around them as if trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Seth frowned; this was his first morning here. Perhaps this was normal for Fallarbor Town, but it felt very different from the other towns he'd been in.

The reason soon became apparent. As Seth neared his destination, a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned his head just in time to see a blue bandanna wearing man duck into a nearby alleyway. Seth froze and pressed himself against the wall of the nearest building, beside a newspaper dispenser and beneath an overhang.

He didn't get a clear enough look, but he knew that was a Team Aqua grunt. Anya had been stationed down south to keep an eye on Team Magma; no doubt these grunts were here for a similar reason. He gulped. Perhaps they were even here for the same reason he was: find Professor Cozmo and get up to the summit without using the cable car.

"I need to move," Seth determined. He allowed Kyra to clamber onto his back and then he broke into a brisk walk, doing his best to pick up the pace without drawing attention to himself. He was hardly Team Aqua's favorite person, after all. "I guess this explains why everyone's so uneasy. There are criminals everywhere."

Noting the town map in the brochure, Seth saw that the lab was much further away than anticipated. He was running low on time, so he stepped out to the curb and flagged down a taxi. Before the brown cab had even finished stopping, Seth walked out behind it and climbed into the passenger seat, shutting the door behind him.

"Please take me to Earth First. I'm in a hurry," Seth said to the man in the driver's seat.

"You got it, boss," the driver replied. He shifted the car into gear and drove back into the street, swiftly getting back up to the speed limit. "Cute Kirlia you have there. You a trainer?"

"That's right. Though admittedly my challenge is on the back burner for right now," Seth responded with a rueful sigh. He remembered back when his journey had been about exploring and challenging gyms, as opposed to tangling with criminal organizations. "How long until we get there?"

"Just a few minutes. You're lucky that rush hour basically doesn't exist in a small town like this unless you get too close to the center," the driver answered. "Not interested in conversation, eh?"

"I'm sorry. My mind is...otherwise preoccupied," Seth answered apologetically. There were many unknowns in his path; could he even get into the office to see the professor in the first place? Would the professor even tell him about the secret path? What if one of the teams tried to get in his way? Seth's breathing quickened as his stress began to build, to the point where Kyra started to feel it.

"Fair enough. It's not my business," the driver replied with a shrug. He turned the wheel and directed the car through another intersection before suddenly slowing down. The driver leaned forward, "Huh. That's not normal. You might be out of luck, kid."

"What? Why?" Seth peered through the windshield. His eyes widened with dismay at the state of the Earth First lab. A sizable group of policemen accompanied by Machoke and Growlithe stood around the damaged entrance to the laboratory, the lights from their patrol cars causing Seth to squint. The whole area was blocked off with yellow crime scene tape. "Oh no…"

"Do you still want me to drop you off here?" the driver asked as he rolled to a stop a good distance away from the scene.

"Yes, please. I'll take it from here." Seth fished out the amount listed on the cab's fare meter along with a decent tip and handed it to the driver. Then, he swiftly stepped out of the car and shut the door. "Thanks for the ride."

Seth picked up his pace, moving through the group of curious civilians that were standing on the periphery of the scene. He attempted to approach the crime scene, but just as he came within a few feet of it, one of the police officers stopped him, holding out his hand.

"Hold on there. This is a restricted crime scene. No civilian entry," the officer directed him in a firm tone. "Please move along."

"What happened here?" Seth asked, even as his spirits sank. "Is the professor okay?"

"Please leave it to the police. We've got it under control. If you give us a little time, we'll release a statement to the media," the officer clearly had no intentions of telling him anything. Just as Seth was about to insist, the officer noticed Kyra. He blinked, and then looked at Seth again with a small smile forming on his lips. "Hold on, I recognize you. You were the trainer who was at the Oceanic Museum back in Slateport. The one who held off Team Aqua long enough for us to get there. Am I right?"

"That was me, yes. How could you recognize me though? I don't remember you being there," Seth questioned curiously. Just like that, the officer's demeanor became significantly more welcoming.

"I was. I'm Grant Larson, part of the Hoenn Regional Police. Specifically, I'm part of the team that's been trying to prove the illegal activities of Team Aqua and Team Magma," the officer explained. "I was on scene for the Oceanic Museum incident, as their presence in the city was a matter of some concern. What you did was very impressive even for a skilled trainer, much less one of your age."

"Thanks, I guess. I didn't have much of a choice at the time," Seth scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably upon being praised. Yet, if Grant was against the two teams… "Did you know that Team Aqua is in Fallarbor Town too?"

"Yes, we've been getting reports of their presence. We've been trying to track down where they're hiding; they're criminals now after that stunt they pulled at the museum. However, now this has happened," Grant revealed, gesturing to the scene. Seth walked closer to get a better look, the officer no longer blocking his path.

There was a gaping hole in the front of the three-story building that was the Earth First lab, where the doors had once been. The edges of the hole were burnt and blackened, and seared glass littered the inside of the building.

"That doesn't like Team Aqua's doing," Seth observed. "Last I checked they didn't use fire."

"You're right. This time it's Team Magma. We're not sure what they're trying to do, here or on the mountain," Grant clarified. "It happened last evening. According to what we've found, they broke in the front door and kidnapped the professor."

"Damn. I really needed to speak with him," Seth cursed helplessly. He couldn't help but feel that it wasn't a coincidence that Team Magma kidnapped someone who just happened to know a back way onto the mountain. "Do you know where they went?"

"We don't have proof yet, but I have my suspicions," Grant said. He stepped closer to Seth and lowered his voice. "It's too risky for them to stay in town. My guess is that they're headed to Meteor Falls. If you want to hide from someone, that's where you'd go."

"Thank you so much!" Seth gazed at him gratefully, earning a smile from the older officer. Now he had another lead to follow. "Though, is it really alright to be telling me all of this? I thought you couldn't tell civilians this sort of information."

"Officially I can't. But, I don't consider you a civilian. You're a skilled trainer who's faced off with criminals before," Grant pointed out. "Besides; the police don't like the public to know this particular fact, but this wouldn't be the first time we've called upon trainers for aid. We're stuck by procedure—you're not."

"I suppose that makes sense," Seth mused. "Thanks again. If you think that's where they're headed, I need to follow them."

"Stay safe. Team Magma is not to be trifled with," Grant fished out a pad of paper and a pen. He scribbled a few numbers down upon it, tore out the page, and passed it to Seth. "There's my number. If you get into trouble, send me a message. I am authorized to act on calls for help, and I have a Fearow. I can get there quickly."

"Got it. It's good to know I have the police on my side." Seth accepted the number gratefully and pocketed it. "Can I ask for one more favor?"

"What's that?" Grant asked.

"There's a chance the professor knows a secret way up to the top of the volcano. If there's even the slightest chance that's true…" Seth began.

Grant easily picked up on what Seth was trying to say. "Then they could also be headed that way. I understand. I'll let my superiors know."

"Thanks. Alright, I'm going to get moving. It's likely to be a long journey, and I need to catch up to them before they get too far," Seth said. Lifting Kyra back up, he gave the officer one last appreciative nod.

"Good luck."

---

After restocking at the nearest store, Seth took a taxi to the far end of the town and set out on foot from there, finding himself in an expanse of farmland that stretched out for miles. Seth wasn't well versed enough in crops to recognize what was growing with the exception of the stalks of corn on the left side of the field.

The first thing he did was release Cairo from her pokéball, the reptilian creature landing on the ground before him. She looked around until she spotted Seth, then she chittered softly and blinked.

"Cairo, I need a favor. I know you can't fly far, but I want you to go out ahead and see if you can find Team Magma. Do you remember what they look like?" Seth asked. Cairo simply blinked. "They wear red hooded clothing. They're hard to miss. Can you do that for me?"

Cairo responded by taking to the air, her legs kicking up dirt as she did so. Her small form flew through the skies towards the horizon, the little reptile clearly exerting herself.

"Thank you!" Seth called after her. He then broke into a jog, Kyra hanging from his back. "I'm not really one to exert myself on these trips, but I'm in a hurry. Besides, there's nothing interesting to see here except farmland anyway."

Just as the sun began to set behind him, Seth made it out of the farmland into a rugged landscape consisting of jagged cliffs colored a reddish-brown with small lakes scattered here and there. There wasn't much in the way of vegetation apart from hardy trees that managed to sink their roots into the rocky ground.

It was just as he was setting camp for the night alongside one of the lakes that Cairo returned. Seth heard a buzzing in the air, causing him to cease trying to stick the tent poles into the rock and look to the sky. Cairo flew out of the darkening sky and alighted upon Seth's outstretched arm.

"Did you find them?" Seth asked softly. Cairo chittered softly and nodded. Seth wasn't sure if he should be relieved or worried by that news. He sat down by the small collection of sticks he'd gathered and allowed Cairo to sit beside him. The next thing he did was release Summer and Princess, such that all four of his pokémon were present in the campsite. "Summer, if you would?"

Summer squeaked and lit the campfire with a single breath, filling the air with light and warmth. The warmth felt good, but Seth didn't allow himself to relax.

"Okay, everyone. I want to make sure we're all up to speed before we do this," Seth began the meeting, his brow furrowed and the seriousness of the situation evident in his tone. As he spoke, his pokémon looked at him and listened in silence. "Just to sum everything up, in order for me to fulfill my promise to Summer, I have to get involved with Team Magma. I won't lie—this scares the hell out of me. But I made a promise, and I intend to keep it."

"Thanks to Cairo, we now know for sure that Team Magma escaped in this direction, likely with the professor in tow. If we want to get up to the summit of Mt. Chimney without being noticed, we're going to need his help," Seth continued. "According to the map, the mountains are near impossible to pass without expending a significant amount of time...with the exception of Meteor Falls. So that has to be where they're going. Therefore, that's where we're going."

"This means we're going to end up in conflict with Team Magma. Last time we fought a Team, we were almost defeated. This time, I want to go in prepared. Cairo, what can you tell me about the Team Magma grunts you saw?" Seth asked. Cairo blinked without a sound and then began scratching something into the rocky ground with her talons. When she was finished, Seth peered over to see a series of lines, numbering twenty in total. He winced. "Twenty of them? So a frontal assault is out. We'll have to sneak in, get the professor, and get out before they even know we're here. Then I can call up Officer Larson for a pickup if he was serious about helping me."

Kyra tapped her fin with an arm, summoning up just a hint of psychic energy. Determination colored with excitement flowed through from her end of their mental link. Seth didn't have to think hard to understand that she was volunteering.

"Right. If anyone can free him without being noticed, it's Kyra and her telekinesis," Seth agreed. "If we're lucky, they won't be watching him. If they are...well, we'll think of something."

Seth took a breath. He reached for Kyra and brought her in for a hug. His heart pounded in his chest at the thought of what was to come. There were just so many ways he could fail.

Kyra began to coo softly into his ear, laying small kisses along his cheek. Seth melted, finding her presence to be greatly comforting. Upon seeing this, his other pokémon came closer as well. Princess coiled around him, supporting his back with her thick body and sliding her tail beneath his legs, providing him with a comfortable place to rest. Summer nuzzled his leg and then hopped into his lap, providing him with just as much heat as the campfire as well as with the soft sensation of her fur along his skin.

"Heh. I appreciate all of you so much. I'm glad you're willing to stick with me through this," Seth confessed softly as Kyra nuzzled his cheek and kissed along his jaw. He noticed Cairo sitting a few feet away, her talons shuffling in the dirt awkwardly. "Hey, come here, Cairo. You're new, but you're one of us too."

Cairo trundled forward and nestled up against his knee, giving him a small lick. Seth reached down and pet her skin, finding it to be mostly smooth and textured with her scales. He could feel muscle rippling beneath her skin.

"I should probably get something to eat and finish setting up the tent—but I don't want to get up," Seth remarked. Kyra responded by bringing him some dried food from his bag with her telekinesis. "That works. Thanks, Kyra."

After eating his meal, Seth found himself sated, warm and comfortable, despite the lack of a tent or blanket. "Hm, maybe it's alright just this once if I forgo the tent…" Seth let out a wide yawn, his fatigue catching up to him all at once. "Oh wow, I'm exhausted. Come on, let's get some rest. We have many days of travel left to go."

With that, Seth set his alarm for early in the morning and rested his head against Princess, finding her to be a comfortable pillow. He closed his eyes, both his breathing and his heartbeat slowing and becoming steady as he drifted into slumber.

---

The next morning, several hours after Seth had resumed his trek, the rocky path through which he was navigating opened out into a beautiful sight. Stretched out before him was a breathtaking waterfall that cascaded down from the top of a gigantic multi-tiered cliff into a coursing river colored a satisfying blue. Various Magikarp and Feebas leaped in and out of the flowing rapids, occasionally being snatched up by the circling bird pokémon.

Further down, several miles away, Seth could see the river emptying out into a sizable lake, around which various boathouses were situated, housing fishing and recreational boats for private and civilian use.

"If I wasn't in a hurry, I'd take Princess there and have some fun," Seth said to Kyra regretfully. He regarded the waterfall one last time, unable to keep the awe from showing on his face. He took a deep breath, followed by a contented sigh. "Stuff like this is why I like to explore so much. You just can't appreciate sights like this by reading about it in a book or seeing it on the internet."

Unfortunately, Seth knew he couldn't stay for long. He took a few minutes to appreciate the sight, but then he had to keep moving. In the distance, he could see a boardwalk that crossed the length of the lake that would keep him from having to swim across. That would save him some time.

Just as he was nearing the boardwalk, Seth's PokéNav began to ring. Startled, Seth nearly dropped it while trying to retrieve it from his bag. He took a glance at the callerID and immediately answered it.

"Roxanne?" Seth asked in surprise.

"Greetings, Seth. Thank you for taking my call," Roxanne's cultured voice filtered through from the other end of the line. "I discovered from your father that you have achieved victory against your third gym leader. That can only indicate you're traveling north, correct?"

"I did, yes. I haven't reached Lavaridge Town yet, though," Seth answered.

"That's convenient. You see, I have decided to embark upon a small excursion to Lavaridge Town, and I would like some companionship. I've invited a pair of other friends, and I thought to extend the invitation to you as well, if you would like," Roxanne revealed to him. Seth blinked.

"What?" Seth stupidly asked. Roxanne had just invited him on a trip with her friends, despite not knowing her all that well. Granted, they'd had sex three times now, but he was under the impression that that sort of thing happened often to people. "Sorry, I heard you, I just wasn't expecting it."

"I didn't think you would. I hope this isn't too forward of me. I questioned May, but she assured me you wouldn't mind," Roxanne began to speak rather quickly. Seth suddenly realized that she was nervous. "So? How do you answer?"

"I...I can't," Seth hated himself for having to turn her down.

"Oh." Roxanne's disappointed response made it hurt even more. "I understand. I didn't mean to intrude if you had other plans. Perhaps another time then."

"Wait!" Seth said quickly, feeling that she was about to hang up. Thankfully, he didn't hear the sound of the line ending. "I'd love to, really. It's just…" Seth sighed, unsure how much he should tell her.

"Is everything alright?" Roxanne questioned, sounding concerned. She gave him a moment, but Seth kept starting and stopping. "You seem to have some difficulty explaining."

Seth took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll come clean. First of all, I don't think you can get to Lavaridge Town even if you wanted to. The cable car is closed."

"What? Surely that can't be true. The cable car is a government-run installation," Roxanne responded with disbelief. "Did something happen?"

"Yes. Team Magma is involved. They've got the area blocked off, claiming the area is closed. I didn't try to push through them," Seth explained.

"That...is deeply concerning. I know little about these teams, but I have heard nothing good. If they are obstructing government property, they must have grown very bold indeed. Perhaps even bold enough to challenge the police if word reaches them," Roxanne replied, her tone becoming as serious as Seth's. "If they won't let others approach, they must be up to something on the summit of Mt. Chimney."

"My thoughts exactly," Seth agreed. "I have some business to take care of on the summit, so I'm currently tracking a group of them from Fallarbor Town to Meteor Falls; they've kidnapped a professor who just happens to know a secret way up there that doesn't involve the cable car."

"You're—Seth, I don't need to tell you how dangerous that is, do I?" Roxanne's voice became greatly concerned. "If this Team Magma is indeed as villainous as the rumors claim, there's no telling what they would do to you if they discovered you were trailing them."

"I'm aware of the dangers. This wouldn't be the first time I've tangled with people like them," Seth said without realizing how much he was revealing. Nobody apart from him knew just how close he'd come to Team Aqua's leader.

"Pardon!?"

"Look, Roxanne, I don't like it either, but I'll be fine. I made a promise to one of my pokémon, and that means doing whatever it takes to get up on top of that mountain, even if it means taking risks," Seth expressed to her before she could question him further. "I have the police on my side if I need them, so I'll take care of this quickly and get on my way."

Roxanne was quiet for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "Despite the plentitude of objections I have, I can't ignore the situation now that I've been informed. I have a few calls to make. I'll contact Flannery, the gym leader of Lavaridge Town. I'll have her assist you to the best of her ability."

"You can do that?" Seth asked, shocked.

"We gym leaders are skilled trainers. From time to time, we have been known to assist the police with threats they've been unable or unwilling to tackle on their own," Roxanne explained. "If the police are finally taking notice of these teams, then we're within our authority to act in whatever capacity we deem fit. Therefore I'm sending Flannery to assist you. I'll also be informing Winona from Fortree of the situation."

"I see. Okay," Seth didn't know how to respond to any of this. Somehow, a promise to his pokémon had him entangled in a situation that was quickly becoming too much for him to handle. "I can't complain about the extra help. Thanks, Roxanne."

"You're very welcome. I will also come. Criminal activity notwithstanding, I will not have my vacation be denied," Roxanne emitted firmly. "Now, I must leave you to make some calls. Be safe, Seth. Do not take any unnecessary risks."

"I understand. Thanks again," Seth responded, and then he heard the line click. He sighed in an attempt to dispel the tension building in his chest. "Okay. Kyra, we've got the gym leaders on our side. I didn't see that coming, but I'm not going to complain."

Only half an hour after Roxanne hung up, as Seth was traversing the maze of convenience stalls and shops that was the boardwalk, he received another call on his PokéNav, this time from a number he didn't recognize.

"Hello?" Seth greeted the unknown caller politely.

"Hey, is this Seth?" an unfamiliar woman asked him from the other end of the line. Her voice was a strong alto brimming with confidence. When Seth confirmed, she continued. "Good. I'm Flannery, Gym Leader of Lavaridge! I got your number from Roxie; I hope that's cool."

"It's alright. She did tell me she was getting in touch with you," Seth did his best to suppress that little voice telling him how surreal this all was. "It's nice to meet you. Thanks for reaching out so soon."

"I'd be a terrible leader and a worse friend if I didn't act immediately," Flannery responded with certainty. "Anyway, I hear you're planning to do something about this Team Magma nonsense. Let me in on it! My pokémon are just raring to go!"

"I'd be glad to have you, but—you're not worried? They're criminals, right?" Seth couldn't help but ask.

"Are you kidding me? I'm excited. I'm always looking for a challenge, and what better way to find one than to take on villains? It's going to be blazing hot!" Flannery's excitement only seemed to rise despite his warning.

"Well, if you say so." Seth found himself jealous. This would be so much easier if he had even a fraction of her energy.

"Now, where are you? I can be there in two shakes of a Skarmory's tailfeathers," Flannery pressed. "As soon as I find a Skarmory, that is. I'm sure there's one around here somewhere."

"I'm at—" Seth glanced at one of the nearby signs. "Arbor Lake Boardwalk. I can't exactly wait for you though. I risk losing the Team Magma grunts I'm chasing in Meteor Falls if I dawdle."

"Do what you need to do, hotshot. I'll be there as soon as I wrangle up a bird. Make sure to save some grunts for me!" Flannery responded. Seth was about to reply when he heard the line click. He placed his PokéNav back in his pocket bemused.

"She's really something," Seth admitted as he once more quickened his pace. "It'll be nice to have her help on the summit, but nothing's changed about our current task. Just a little farther. It can't be more than a day to Meteor Falls."

---

On the other end of the lake, the area grew much greener, the ground coated with a thickening layer of grass. Yet this only lasted for a little over a day before Seth reached the foothills of the western roots of Mt. Chimney. Here, the ground was parched and pockmarked with ancient craters.

The area was alive with pokémon. Groups of venomous Seviper hid in the darkness cast by rocky outcroppings, while Geodude and Graveler clung to the sides of cliffs or rested nestled against ridges. Sometimes, Seth even spotted blue lizard-like pokémon he didn't recognize peeking out of small caves, but they always ducked back into hiding before he could properly scan them.

Seth looked up as he heard a familiar buzzing. "You're back!" Cairo fluttered down from the skies and alighted upon his arm, blinking at him with a hint of pride in its posture. Seth stroked the scales on its back affectionately. "I was worried when you didn't come back last night. What did you find?"

Cairo leaped to the ground and once more began to sketch an image into the ground with her talons. She drew several sticks, and then a rough semi-circle a few inches away from them. She finished the sketch by drawing an arrow from the sticks into the semi-circle. Seth stared at it with confusion for a few seconds before it clicked.

"Damn it. They're already inside the caves. Finding them just got a lot harder. It could be a labyrinth in there for all we know," Seth complained. He rubbed his forehead, cursing his luck. It's not as though he could have gotten here any faster. "There's nothing for it. We just have to push onward and hope we find them. Cairo, can you take me to the cave?"

Cairo chittered softly and flexed her wings, taking to the skies and heading south. Seth picked up Kyra and broke into a run in order to keep up, occasionally slowing down when he needed to rest his legs.

It only took a few hours to reach the cave, just as it was reaching noon. The entrance to the cave was a jagged hole in the side of the beige-colored bluff, from which the faint sound of rushing water could be heard. Surrounding the hole were fallen boulders with varying degrees of erosion, and there was a selection of buildings tucked up against the cliffside.

Seth drew closer to the buildings and soon determined them to be an information center and tourist rest area. According to what he'd heard, Meteor Falls was a popular spot for tourists, trainers, and vacationers, so no doubt these structures were built to service and educate them.

"Those buildings seem abandoned," Seth commented with surprise upon approaching. The buildings were in decent condition, but there was no sign of anyone nearby. The bike rack situated against the left side of the main building was empty, with cable and U locks lying discarded on the ground as if shed in a hurry. "I can't say I blame them for running."

"Either way, we're here now. Come here, Cairo. I'm sorry, but we can't afford to have all of us out while we're trying to sneak up on them," Seth requested, holding out Cairo's pokéball. Cairo obediently tapped the button on the ball, disappearing from view in a flash of light. "Okay, Kyra. Let's do this."

"Just a minute, please," a young-sounding female voice called out to him, elongating the last word of her sentence in a singsong fashion. Seth whirled about to find the source, even as Kyra summoned up her psychic energy in preparation for battle. Standing against the back wall of one of the restrooms was a short girl dressed in Team Magma attire, her violet eyes gazing at him with a simmering intensity from beneath the hood. She moved to approach him, with a Whismur trundling along behind her. The girl raised her hands hastily. "Whoa now, no need to get all crazy on me. I just want to talk, honest."

"You have to understand why I don't believe you, dressed in that outfit." Regardless of her assurances, Seth stepped behind Kyra, already reaching for his other pokéballs. "Where's the rest of you?"

"It's convenient that you ask that! I'm willing to tell you aaaall you want to know!" The girl beamed. She lowered her hood, revealing a head of short black hair with tresses that barely reached her jawbone and bangs that were cut just above her eyebrows. She smiled and gave him a polite curtsy. "Hi, cutie."

"You don't get to call me that, criminal," Seth snapped, having no patience for any of her wiles, despite the tomboyish charm she undeniably possessed. "So, you want to talk then? What's the catch?"

"Does there have to be one?" The girl whined, poking out her lower lip. When Seth didn't laugh, she huffed and then chuckled. "Just kidding. Of course there's a catch. I want you to make sure Team Magma doesn't get to use that meteorite they're after. That's all."

"Meteorite? What meteorite?" Seth questioned, feeling both confused and impatient.

"Uh-uh. I've already told you more than I should have." The girl smirked and waggled a finger at him. "Just give me that promise, and I'll tell you how to find their camp."

"Fine, whatever. You don't have to tell me to foil the plans of a criminal organization," Seth retorted. "So, tell me where to go."

"Sure thing, cutie," she remarked, producing a rolled up piece of thick paper and handing it to him. Seth took it hesitantly and peeked at its contents. Inside was a rough hand-drawn map of the cave's interior with a line showing the way to the mark of an X, which Seth assumed was the camp. Seth rolled back up and made as if to enter the cave. "Wait up! One last thing."

"What?" Seth demanded.

The girl's eyes narrowed. "Proceed with the utmost caution. We knew we'd be followed, but we had Team Aqua in mind more than someone like you. So don't think they won't be watching."

"Noted."

She raised a finger before he could move. "And...watch out for the administrator. Courtney can be...somewhat unpredictable, even for me."

"You're being awfully helpful," Seth observed suspiciously. "You say you expected Team Aqua. Were you going to tell them all of this too, despite being a member of Team Magma?"

"Duh. I'm not a drone. I can think for myself," the girl protested, looking offended. "I just happen to think what our leader is doing right this second is...a tad extreme."

"What do you mean?" Seth pressed, hoping to get even more out of her. Even if he couldn't make use of all this information, the police certainly could.

"That's all you're going to get from me. Now you better run along before you're too late!" she denied him sweetly.

Seth huffed in annoyance but decided to quit while he was ahead. He passed by the girl into the cave, only for her to slap him on the butt as he passed. "Wh...aah!?" Seth yelped and turned a light shade of red. As the girl snickered, Kyra narrowed her eyes. She lifted an arm and used her telekinesis to tug on the girl's ankle, tripping her up.

"Oop!" the girl yelped, falling on her butt. She broke out into a case of the giggles as her Whismur made as if to attack. "Let them go, Aster, that was only fair. Good luck in there, cutie!"

"Stop calling me that!" Seth snapped back to her as he escaped into the safety of the cave, but all he got from her was the sound of her fading laughter. He huffed and kept walking, the sound of rushing water drawing gradually nearer with every step. "What an odd grunt. I don't like criminals, but it's weird she was willing to sell out her own so easily."

Kyra let out a low hum. Seth knew what she meant instinctively via their link. "I don't trust it either. There's a chance they already know I'm coming. Not to mention there's nothing stopping her from calling ahead and luring us into a trap. We need to be careful."

The darkness of the cave soon closed in around him. Seth retrieved his flashlight and shined it on the path ahead of him. True to what he'd heard, he could see many offshoot tunnels stretching away in various directions, each comparable in size to the one he was in now. The path ahead wasn't straight, either; it meandered for a few more meters before splitting into four potential paths. Seth shuddered to think what might have happened if he hadn't gotten his hands on a map, despite its suspicious origins.

"Follow the sound of falling water," Seth read one of the annotations off the map, scribbled beside the crudely drawn entrance to the cave. "I suppose it's a start."

Seth followed the map as best he could. Due to the crudeness of the map and the poor handwriting of the grunt, there were times he had to guess which path to follow. Furthermore, it wasn't long before Seth realized that Team Magma had a hand in how disorienting this place was.

The ground was scraped and marred in several places, most notably at the mouth of every new tunnel. The lights that were hanging from the ceiling and were attached to the walls were shattered, shards of glass littering the ground. Additionally, Seth found piles of wooden splinters on the ground up against the tunnel wall. Taking a closer look at the wall revealed nails hammered into the rock.

"These were signs," Seth deduced. It suddenly clicked in his mind. "Without signs, I could easily get lost if I didn't have this map. They're covering their tracks. I hate to say it, but that's smart."

Thankfully, his flashlight and the map was guiding him well, so he didn't need the signs or the lights. The sound of the rushing water was now much louder, so before long, Seth found himself exiting a tunnel onto a small flat area just before a precipice. He halted in place and gasped, and then exhaled sharply with sheer awe.

Just beyond that precipice was a thundering waterfall roughly seventy meters wide and one hundred meters deep, easily dwarfing the one he'd seen after leaving Fallarbor Town. The roar of the frothy white falls was so loud it drowned out every other sound. Seth approached the precipice before he could stop himself and looked down to the bottom of the falls, where the water emptied into a rushing underground river that wound through the darkness for miles.

"This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen," Seth admitted, though he couldn't even hear himself speak over the falling water. He really wanted to show this to Princess, but he couldn't risk releasing her. He couldn't underestimate the effect of a bright light in the darkness of the cave.

Kyra pulled at his leg. Seth looked down to see her pointing to the precipice. He noticed two steel poles jammed into the rock, with short lengths of wire rope attached to each one. Confused, Seth grasped one of the ropes and inspected it. The ends of each rope didn't appear natural. It was clear by the clean ends that they'd been shorn. Seth looked at the opposite end of the waterfall and shined his flashlight. To his dismay, the remains of what had once been a rope bridge hung down from the opposite end.

"That's not good at all. Damn them," Seth cursed. If they knew they were being pursued, of course they'd cut the bridge. He looked down at his map; sure enough, it wanted him to cross the bridge that no longer existed. He kept talking, despite the fact that he couldn't hear himself. "This map is useless now. How am I supposed to catch them now?"

Seth dropped to the ground prone and peered over the edge. He gulped at the sheer drop before him. His heartbeat quickened as he realized what he had to do. There was only one way forward—down.

"I can't believe I'm doing this. This is the stupidest thing I've ever done," Seth repeated to himself over and over as he fished out what climbing gear he had. This was nothing like the cliff in Granite Cave. Everything he had was intended for small cliffs—nothing of this height. Yet he had no other choice.

Seth's climbing gear consisted of the following: fifty feet of rope, three climbing axes, and a collection of three nuts and cams each. He'd never had to use the nuts or cams, so he wasn't all that well versed in their use.

Concern radiated from Kyra as Seth hammered one of the climbing axes into the rocky ground a few feet away from the edge. The waterfall worked in his benefit here; he doubted that any sound he made would be heard over its thundering. He looked over to Kyra and patted her head reassuringly. He couldn't say anything that she'd hear, but he knew she could feel what he did.

Once the axe was secure, Seth tied one end of the rope to the axe with the best knot he could remember, and then tested it by pulling on it with all of his strength. Neither it nor the axe budged an inch. He sighed with relief, but it was short-lived. Now he had to actually climb down.

The moment he made for the edge, Kyra stopped him with her telekinesis. Seth paused and looked back to see her watching him with trembling lips and wide eyes. Her emotions flowed over to him like a flood, consisting of fear and worry for his safety. She clearly wanted to stop him.

"I'll be okay, Kyra," he assured her, despite the fact that he had trouble believing it himself. This ultimately led to him being unable to convince her because she could feel his true emotions. He knelt down and hugged her closely. He knew she couldn't hear him. He knew she felt his fear. Yet at the very least, he hoped that she could also feel his determination.

It would be much easier and safer to turn back. No one would likely think any less of him for deciding that this was too much for a normal guy like him to handle. Roxanne had already told him that this would be incredibly dangerous. Not to mention, Seth had said more than once that he was done dealing with this kind of danger. He wanted nothing to do with criminals.

"But I made a promise," Seth whispered to Kyra. He pulled back, resting his hands on her shoulders. "I have to do this for Summer. If I back out now, I won't be able to look her in the eyes again. I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror again. I can't do that to her, or to myself."

Kyra's eyes watered, but her telekinetic grip faded away, allowing him to move his legs. Seth felt horrible for putting her through this, but he couldn't back out now. He hugged her one more time, this time giving her a long kiss. As he did so, he reached out with her pokéball and tapped her skin with it, causing her to disappear.

"I'm sorry, Kyra." Seth replaced her ball at his belt, now alone. He couldn't carry her and all of his equipment down with him. She would be angry with him later for sure. "Okay. Let's do this."

Seth tossed the rope over the edge of the cliff. It was only fifty feet; that wouldn't even get him a fifth of the way down, but it was a start. He clipped the two remaining climbing axes to his belt and grabbed the rope. As his feet neared the edge of the precipice, he halted, his chest tightening.

"Okay. I'm okay." Seth took several deep breaths. Once he was calmer, he levered himself over the edge. His heart immediately leaped into his mouth as his arms suddenly had to support his whole weight. He dug his boots into the side of the cliff, but the rock was slippery, so he couldn't find much purchase at first. Various terrified curses left his mouth as he reached for one of his climbing axes. He slammed the pick into the rock and used both it and the rope to distribute his weight in a more manageable fashion.

In this manner, he began to descend the rock face at a painfully slow pace. He'd allow one hand to slide down to the next knot in the rope, and then unhook his axe and jam it into the rock at a lower location. His boots could support his weight, their rugged bottoms working to keep him from slipping.

As he descended, Seth wondered if there was a better way he could have done all of this. Maybe he could have forced his way past the two Team Magma grunts at the cable car. No doubt Anya would have helped him; for better or worse she seemed to like him, and he doubted she'd pass up an attempt to battle Team Magma.

No. No doubt they wouldn't be the only sentries. Without knowing where Summer's family was, he'd end up surrounded and captured or worse in no time if he tried to force his way up.

Seth's axe jammed into the rock once more as he neared the end of the rope. He could have taken Anya's word for it and tried to find the back way onto the summit himself. That was even less sensible. There was simply too much ground to cover, and there was no guarantee that Team Magma didn't have scouts in Fallarbor Town to make sure nobody tried just that.

Without any more rope to support him, Seth grabbed his other climbing axe and used the both of them in tandem to descend. Perhaps the police would have been the better option. They had the power and presence to force Team Magma and Team Aqua to work in the shadows and cover up their criminal activities. Seth seemed to have already earned their favor due to his efforts at the Oceanic Museum, so it wouldn't be a stretch to think that he could sway them into helping him.

Seth sighed. In the end, this was the only way. The police would take time to mobilize and reach the summit—assuming they even took him seriously at all. He couldn't risk Team Magma completing whatever their objective on the summit was. If that happened, Summer would likely never see her family again.

The long descent continued as he neared the halfway mark, his hair and clothing soaked through by the spray from the waterfall. It almost felt like he was in another world. He was surrounded by nothing but darkness. He could hear nothing but the deafening sound of falling water. His only tethers to existence were the small circle of light on the rock wall shed by the flashlight on his belt and the vibration of his axes digging into the rock.

Time stretched on into an eternity. All Seth could think about now was clinging on to his axes for dear life while climbing down—one axe at a time. Then, as he was lowering his right axe in an attempt to find a new hold, his boot slipped.

Seth let out a cry as all of his weight fell upon his left hand, that one axe proving to be all there was between him and death. His arm strained, but the axe held. He reached up with his left hand and attempted to find purchase with his boots, but then the rock holding his left axe crumbled beneath his weight.

Before Seth knew it, he was in freefall. He screamed helplessly as the air whipped up against him as he plummeted down to the rushing river below. If he didn't die immediately on impact, he would most certainly drown. His mind raced as he tried to come up with any way to survive a fall like this.

There was only one thing he could think to do. He reached to his belt, grabbed a pokéball, and opened it while facing it down to the river. A flash of light lit up the darkness and Princess appeared in the middle of the river, just in front of the waterfall. Princess was nearly swept away by the current at first, but then when she realized where she was, she held herself in place by undulating her long coils in the water beneath her.

Princess looked up at just the right moment, as Seth was falling towards her at a breakneck speed while screaming her name as loud as he physically could. Princess's eyes widened and she let out a cry of alarm. She slapped the surface of her water with her tail, summoning up a plume of water sixteen inches thick that shot up into the air. It rocketed up extremely fast, but as it was about to reach Seth, it began to descend, matching Seth's speed.

Regardless of Princess's skill, the wind was knocked right out of his lungs as the plume of water slammed into his middle. Seth coughed and tried to inhale, only to end up choking on water. Yet his descent steadily slowed along with the plume of water, until he landed gently atop of Princess's coils. Despite the pain he was in, Seth latched onto her neck, holding onto her tightly.

Falling along behind him were the axes he'd dropped. One of them landed harmlessly in the water, but the second collided with Princess. The serpent shuddered in pain as the blade left behind a nasty gash before falling into the water and being swept away.

It took several minutes for Seth to recognize that he was no longer in danger. He clung to Princess with all of his might, his body shuddering and shaking as he sobbed with pain and terror. Princess allowed herself to drift downriver slowly as she comforted Seth, resting her head atop of his and murring softly.

"Oh, Princess," were the first words out of Seth's mouth when his breath returned to him. He squeezed her in a tight hug and kissed her neck. "I'd be dead if not for you. I...I…"

Seth took several deep breaths, his heart still pounding from the close call. "That was way too close. You saved me," Seth expressed to her. He then noticed the gash on her side—though it was only there for a few more seconds before it faded away due to Princess's naturally high regeneration. "You were hurt!"

Princess shakes her head slowly, nuzzling Seth's cheek. His heart swelled with joy at just how much his pokémon cared for him. He resolved to treat all of his pokémon to a vacation of sorts after all of this was over with. Though that reminded him…

"Come on. Let's climb out here." Seth pointed to the edge of the river where there was relatively flat earth for him to stand upon. Princess nodded and tacked across the river until they were close enough to climb out.

Seth collapsed onto the dry land, panting heavily. His axes were gone for good, but the true miracle was that he hadn't lost his pack. He checked each of his pokéballs, finding to his relief that they were all there.

"Let's take a look around." Noting that he could hear himself now, Seth climbed to his feet and surveyed his surroundings. He was in an earthy ditch between two rocky ridges, with a flattened pathway complete with staircases a few meters away, tucked against the cavern wall. Pressing his back against the wall, Seth made his way to the path and peeked down it. There was no sign of anyone, but he could hear the sound of metal striking rock, along with the sounds of drilling echoing from deeper within.

Seth fished through his pack until he found where he'd stored the map. To his relief, it was still in one piece. He pored over it for a few moments before he managed to pinpoint where he was. According to the girl's writing, he was very close to the Team Magma camp.

"Okay, let's get back on track. Can you come back to me, Princess?" Seth requested, holding out her pokéball. Princess nodded, and Seth recalled her to her pokéball. He then retrieved Kyra's pokéball and released her—only for her to immediately hug his neck, crying. "Oh, hey, I'm alright. It's okay. We're fine. Please try to keep it down though, Team Magma is very near."

Kyra sniffled and glared, but nodded nonetheless. She hopped to the ground and snatched her pokéball from Seth and shoved it as deep down into the pack as it could go with vehemence before zipping the pack closed.

"I'm so sorry about all this. I'll make it up to you—all of you—when we're out of this," Seth promised her. Kyra glowered at him for a few moments longer, and then she nodded, determination returning to her face. "Let's go. It won't be much longer."

From there, Seth followed the path on the map for several more minutes, and then he found a safe place to stash his pack. Despite Kyra's earlier display, he grabbed her pokéball from the pack and returned it to his belt. He would need it if they found themselves in trouble.

Now, unburdened by his pack, Seth felt much lighter and more agile. He easily picked his way through the remainder of the path until he emerged atop an elevated ridge that overlooked a large clearing below, framed by flowstone and stalagmites. The area was well-lit by construction-grade lamps and torches, revealing the Team Magma campsite.

There were tents pitched all along the perimeter of the camp, with one large command tent pitched at the far end and gaps between tents made at each entrance to the clearing. Each entrance was guarded by two Team Magma grunts and their pokémon, consisting of Numel, Poochyena, and Zubat.

At the center of the clearing was what was clearly a dig site, with excavation equipment and tools situated all around the man-made depression in the earth. At the bottom of the dig site was a faintly glowing stone the size of a Mightyena, with several grunts positioned around it attempting to lift it.

"That must be the meteorite that the grunt mentioned," Seth whispered to Kyra as they observed the grunts. "Hold on, this doesn't make sense. I thought they came here to flee from the police after kidnapping the professor, who knew the only other way to the summit. What do they want this meteorite for?"

Seth continued to take in the layout of the camp. On the right side, the clearing ran uphill, though there was a large deposit of flowstone located there in such a way that there were only two paths up to the top of the hill.

Sitting in a folding chair at the top of the hill looking down over the excavation site was a well-dressed man with neatly combed brown hair and glasses. Instead of the standard Team Magma outfit, he wore a white lab coat over a pressed blue shirt and professional khakis. Seth could only assume that that was Professor Cozmo.

Seth tapped Kyra lightly on the arm, and then the two of them leaped into action. He quietly climbed down the ridge and stepped into a flowstone formation. The terrain was tricky, but this way he could avoid the sentries at the entrances.

It was a slow painstaking process, but Seth managed to sneak into the camp itself without being seen. He took cover behind one of the tents, inside of which he could hear a grunt snoring loudly. When he was sure no one was looking, Seth dashed from tent to tent, keeping at least three layers of canvas between him and Team Magma.

When he reached the hill, Seth took a moment to observe the guards' patrol routes. There were two, but they walked together, the complacency evident in their gait. Once they were on the path opposite to the one he was one, Seth took a breath and broke into a jog, managing to make it to the top without being seen.

Takao glanced over to him as Seth came into view. At first there was an indifferent expression upon his stern countenance, but when he noticed Seth's attire, his eyes widened briefly with surprise.

"Shhh," Seth whispered to him, pressing a finger to his lips as he approached. "Professor Cozmo? I came here to rescue you."

"So it would seem," Takao replied in a thin tenor voice. The professor took in Seth's drenched and bedraggled figure with a pensive expression. "I see you've gone through quite the ordeal to find me. May I ask who you are? I assume you're with Team Aqua?"

"No sir. My name's Seth. I'm a trainer," Seth answered, staying low. He was about to draw closer to remove the professor's bonds, but then he felt suspicion filtering over from Kyra. He paused, confused. What was there to be suspicious about?

"Really now?" Takao reached up with a hand and adjusted his glasses. Seth suddenly started to have a bad feeling. The professor wasn't bound at all. "That is a surprise. If you're not with them, then what reason could you possibly have to risk your own neck?"

"We can talk about that later," Seth urged him, swallowing his trepidation in the hopes that he was wrong. "We need to get out of here before Team Magma realizes I'm here."

"I think not." Takao rose from his seat, turning to face Seth fully. He pulled back his left sleeve to reveal a watch just long enough for him to tap a button on it. "I commend you for coming this far, but Team Magma and I currently enjoy an amicable working relationship. One that unfortunately you have no place in."

"Wha—!?" Seth emitted in shock. Not long after Takao finished speaking, two Team Magma grunts sprinted up from the camp below, their Numel and Zubat close behind.

"Hold it right there! Team Aqua bast—" the first grunt commanded, jabbing a finger at Seth. Yet he cut off mid-sentence when he saw Seth's attire. "Wait a minute, you're not Team Aqua. What the hell's your deal?"

"Cozmo, what's going on? Who's the brat?" the second grunt demanded of Takao.

"An unanticipated variable, it seems. He came here on his own accord to 'rescue' me," Takao explained. "I can only conclude that our trap has ensnared the wrong prey."

"Trap?" Seth suddenly realized what was going on. "Wait a minute, you were never kidnapped?"

"That's correct. I came here of my own accord to assist Team Magma with their excavation efforts," Takao answered.

"What about the hole in the laboratory?" Seth demanded. The two grunts burst out laughing at that.

"You like that? That was our admin's idea!" one grunt revealed with a jeer. "She said that Cozmo would come with us no matter what, but if we made it look like foul play, we could lure in Team Aqua!"

"Those bastards like to think they're on the right side, after all. They wouldn't pass that up!" the second grunt agreed. Seth cursed; he'd drastically underestimated what Team Magma was capable of. "Now enough talk! Surrender, and maybe the admin won't dissect you!"

"Do what you will. This is no longer my problem," Takao returned to his seat. "The meteorite will soon be ready for transport back to my labs."

"I can't surrender. Professor, I need something from you!" Seth called desperately. "I need to…"

"Get up to the top of Mt. Chimney?" Takao completed his sentence for him. "Via a secret path that Team Magma is unaware of?"

"Wh…!?"

"So that was it? Ha!" The grunts began to laugh once again. "Double whammy! Courtney really knows what she's doing!"

"There is no such path, you idiot!" the second grunt revealed. Seth's jaw dropped. "If being humanitarian wouldn't sway them, Courtney suggested we leak false info to Team Aqua as a contingency plan. Do you know what that means? You came all this way for nothing!"

"I…" Seth slumped, recognizing that he had been well and truly outwitted. Everything he'd come here for was a total lie. Everything he'd done to get to this point was in vain. His gaze fell to the ground as the grunts continued to jeer at him.

"Come on, let's give this guy to the admin and get back to work," one grunt decided. The other nodded, and the two sent their Zubat swooping toward him at the same time.

The jaws of the two grunts dropped as Kyra stepped forward and blasted both Zubat away with a wave of her arms, her body alight with psychic power. One Zubat collided with a stalactite and was knocked out cold, while the other skittered across the ground and skidded to a halt.

"Ah!" Seth yelped as Kyra telekinetically tugged on his ear, jerking him back to reality. He looked around, noting that only these three knew he was here for the time being. Failing all else, he could still try to escape, but then he'd be back at square one. That left him with only one choice. "Right. I guess we're doing this by brute force. I'm not leaving without what I came for!"

Seth reached down to his belt and retrieved the remainder of his pokéballs. He released out their contents all at once. Princess appeared beside Kyra on her left, while Summer appeared on her right. Cairo appeared in the air above the three of them, her wings buzzing angrily.

"Everyone! We're taking this base by storm!" Seth directed to his pokémon, their presence bolstering his courage. "Summer, they likely know where your family is! Don't hold back!"

Summer's hackles rose and flame whipped into being around her body, a low growl escaping her throat. Princess let out a low hum and conjured up a veil of water, while Cairo collected earth from her surroundings and decomposed it into fine grains of sand.

"Get them, Numel!" one grunt commanded. He reached for his belt and released a Poochyena onto the ground as well. The other did the same, bringing their numbers up to rival Seth's. Before Seth could stop him, the first grunt called over his shoulder loudly. "Backup! We need backup now!"

"Get them! Formation Alpha!" Seth directed his pokémon, falling back upon the strategies he'd formulated for his team. "Pace yourselves! Remember how many we're up against!"

On the left, Summer leaped to Princess's side and breathed a burst of flame towards the Poochyena.

"Fire? Hah, too easy! Numel, intercept!" the left grunt commanded. The Numel stepped into the way of the burst, ready to take the hit head-on. What he didn't expect was for Princess to spurt a stream of water of equal size to the burst of flame, the two opposing elements hitting one another and canceling out, resulting in a thick cloud of steam hanging in the air. "What!?"

With all the steam, the Numel couldn't see at all. It promptly reacted by stomping the ground, sending quakes through the earth so intense that earthy spikes erupted from the ground in all directions. Summer leaped atop of Princess's back, who was already moving forward. The spikes rammed into Princess's skin, bruising and piercing her scales in multiple places, but it didn't slow her down.

Princess raised her tail and sheathed it with chilled water just before bringing it down on top of the Numel. Unable to see the attack coming, the Numel took the hit head-on, the water coursing over its body and cooling its interior. While it was struggling to move, Princess coiled around it and lifted the Numel clear off the ground and hurled it down the hill, knocking it out of commission.

The Poochyena, having just recovered from the Numel's indiscriminate earth attack, was unable to stop Summer from engulfing it with vicious flames summoned from her tail as the fox rode upon Princess's back, her front paws wrapped around her neck.

On the right side, Cairo alighted upon a stalagmite on the left flank of the attacking Numel and Poochyena. With a tap of its talon, it sent a tremor throughout the flowstone, shattering the rock and breaking off the tips of stalagmites and stalactites. As the shards of rock fell, Kyra caught them in a telekinetic grip and manipulated them with her arms, forming a deadly cloud of sharp rock. With a hum, she sent them flying at the two opposing pokémon in a hail of calcite.

The shards of rock more or less bounced off of Numel's tough skin, but the Poochyena visibly showed signs of pain as it broke into a sprint directly through the storm. Rocks battered its head and legs, but it didn't trip up, a testament to the canine's tenacity. Just as the Poochyena reached Kyra, it lunged at her with a snarl, its jaws opening wide to reveal rows of sharp teeth.

It slammed face-first into a wall of thick calcite dust, raised from the earth by the circling Cairo. The Poochyena hacked and spat, the dust getting into its mouth and nose. As it was distracted, Cairo fluttered her wings and formed the dust into a cloud around the Poochyena. Within the cloud, particles of dust formed into razor-thin strands and whipped viciously at the canine's flesh.

"Help him, you stupid turtle!" the grunt commanded. Numel emitted a growl and slammed the ground. The earth rumbled, and a pillar of rock rose from beneath the Poochyena, carrying it out of the dust cloud and providing it with a moment's respite.

Seeing an opportunity, the Poochyena dove from the top of the pillar, down at Kyra. She gazed up at it, letting out a small sigh. She gave the Poochyena a cheery wave and promptly teleported to the top of the pillar it had just jumped from, leaving the canine to once again land face-first into the ground. From there, Kyra summoned up a series of psychic leaves and hurled them down at the Numel, who proceeded to blow them away with a gout of flame from its mouth.

The Poochyena attempted to rise, just to end up looking into the eyes of Cairo. The Vibrava blinked slowly. The Poochyena blinked slowly. A wave of sand cascaded down from above onto the canine like a waterfall, carrying the poor creature away into a series of stalagmites, which then proceeded to crumble and fall upon it thanks to Cairo's tremors.

Kyra was forced to leap from the top of the pillar of earth as the Numel caused it to shatter and fall to the ground. As she landed, she gracefully leaped from one leg to another, avoiding flaming projectiles of earth falling from the sky around her. The Numel spat them out one at a time like a piece of artillery, but they were much too slow to keep up with Kyra.

When she reached the Numel, she summoned up her psychic energy and blasted it head-on before it could counterattack, knocking it off its feet and into its trainer, who fell over with a panicked yell.

"Cairo, Kyra! Don't lag behind, or I'll get flanked!" Seth commanded. Cairo and Kyra obediently retreated, keeping close to Seth's rear as he advanced down the hill towards the main camp.

The grunt in front of him promptly turned and ran. "Where the hell is that backup!?" he screamed as he ran downhill. The camp came to life down below, grunts streaming from the tents. Answering his call, three more Team Magma Grunts came running ahead of the others, reaching for their pokéballs.

"You won't get far!"

"Who do you think you are!?"

"We'll crush you right here!" The sound of opening pokéballs filled the air as more Numel, Zubat, and Poochyena flashed into existence to block their path. Several more grunts broke off from the rest and headed up the opposite path, moving to flank Seth.

Meeting their rush, Princess and Summer prepared to tangle with a fresh wave of reinforcements. Seth snapped out commands one after the other, his eyes flicking to and from each individual pokémon in order to keep track of their moves.

"This is pointless, you know," Takao remarked indifferently from his chair, the geologist gently thumbing through a notepad. "You are hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched. If you surrender and properly apologize, you may get out of this with your life intact, if not your dignity."

"Shut up! I don't want to hear that from someone who'd stoop to working with criminals!" Seth shot back, his ire well and truly raised at this point. In front of him, Princess manipulated her veil of water to parry a storm of raining fire, filling the air with a loud hissing as more steam filled the air. Summer wielded wisps of flame and hurled them to the skies, fending off the circling Zubat just waiting for a moment to swoop in and bite.

"They are a convenient means to an end, nothing more," Takao pointed out, not looking up from his notes. "I find their belief in this 'Groudon' to be little more than silly fanaticism, but they had the manpower I needed. With this meteorite, I will pave the way to the future via clean alternative energy."

"That sounds nice and all, but…" Seth tried to retort, but then he spotted a trio of Zubat hiding within the stalactites. Spotting an opening, they swooped down all at once. "Princess, get down!"

Princess ducked beneath their claws and fangs, but then the three Zubat circled around her head and released a sound so high pitched that Seth could hardly hear it. Princess flinched and her eyes rolled, becoming disoriented and confused. Summer shot the Zubat out of the air one by one with fire, but not before the group of Numel and Poochyena capitalized on the opening and bombarded the serpent with fire and fang.

In an attempt to rid herself of the pain, Princess flailed about, accidentally knocking Summer from her perch. When Summer hit the ground, she was set upon by three Poochyena at once. She hissed angrily at them and blasted them all back by tapping into her deepest reserves and releasing a circular wave of fire in all directions.

"For Maxie, and the earth!"

"We fight for the land!"

The grunts continued to come. Seth looked down at the camp and realized that there were significantly more than twenty grunts here. It hit him that one day wasn't nearly enough for them to get situated to this degree; they had to have had a pre-existing presence.

"Push forward! We can't stay in one place!" Seth ordered. "Kyra, Cairo, I need you up front!"

Kyra glanced at Cairo. The Vibrava blinked and then landed on the ground. Concentrating, Cairo summoned up her energy and sent powerful tremors through the earth, knocking the incoming Poochyena on the rear flank off balance and slowing their advance. As the earth shook, she manipulated the dust around her into the shapes of spears and hurled them into the sky, knocking down Zubat after Zubat.

The flowstone cracked and shattered all around her to such an extent that even Takao had to leap from his chair and roll to safety to avoid being hit. When he landed, a grunt helped him up and directed him to retreat.

As the rock fell, Kyra guided it into the center of the path. Together, the two of them created enough rock and dust and collected it together to form a blockage in the path, keeping the flanking grunts from approaching.

"Damn you! This won't hold us for long!" A grunt behind the obstruction yelled in irritation.

Princess shook her head vigorously, managing to recover. She let out an angry hum and let out a forceful pulse of water from her body, knocking back any Poochyena that were biting at her and forming a cascade of water that flowed down the hill, carrying any prone pokémon with it. With that brief respite, her wounds began to regenerate.

With a roar, a Mightyena bounded through the wall of Numel blocking the way forward. Seth's eyes widened and he called out a warning to Summer, who attempted to bombard the larger canine with fireballs. The Mightyena tanked one on its side and weaved through the rest before batting Summer aside with a paw, the fox tumbling across the ground and hitting a stalagmite painfully.

The Mightyena let out a howl, a rallying action that caused the other Poochyena to follow suit. A pack quickly formed behind the dark hound, and then they all charged at once. Princess blasted one with a high-pressure stream of water and then released another pulse, but she was weakening rapidly due to the rain of fire from the Numels that she could no longer focus on parrying.

A Poochyena lunged ahead of the pack and was promptly blasted with a stream of calcite dust. Cairo whizzed through the air and tore stalactites down from the roof of the cavern by slicing through them with dust, sending them hailing down upon the pack, whose advance was now slowed.

One particular falling stalactite looked particularly vicious, with a thick and wide base and a needle-like tip. As it approached the ground, Kyra leaped onto Princess, who gave her a boost into the air just in time to grab it with her telekinesis. Kyra somersaulted in midair and brought the thick end of the stalagmite down atop another Poochyena, knocking it out instantly. She whirled about and knocked out a second Poochyena with a horizontal swing without missing a beat.

Summer returned to the fight, unleashing a hail of fiery projectiles to rain down upon the pack of approaching canines, downing them one by one. With a steady stream of water from Princess, they were slowed enough to the point where they were easy to pick off.

However, the Mightyena continued to advance, hardly affected by the water coursing around its paws. Yet, as it reached Princess and prepared to attack, it found itself alone, without its pack.

"Take him down!" Seth ordered. The Mightyena could only yelp in pain and regret as it was collectively blasted by a breath of fire, a blast of water, a stream of sand, and an errant stalactite thrown like a javelin.

"What is happening right now?"

"Who this hell is this guy!?"

"Call back the Numel! Rally in the main camp!" The grunts retreated in the face of Seth's advance. Seth seized the opportunity to cover some ground, instructing Princess and Kyra to clear the way of any remaining Numel too slow to catch up with their thoughtless trainers.

Yet, just as Seth reached the main area of the camp, he realized that leaving the narrow path and entering such a wide-open area was a mistake. More Team Magma grunts emerged from their tents, bouncing their pokéballs in their hands and grinning with malicious intent.

"Damn. All pokémon, Diamond Formation!" Seth commanded. Princess slithered to the front, the serpent's wounds mostly regenerated. Summer and Kyra took up positions on the left and right sides of her body, respectively, while Cairo flew in the air just behind Princess.

"It's too late to surrender now!" A grunt jeered at him.

"You made a mistake making Team Magma your enemy!" Another called out to him.

"He can't take us all!" pokéballs hit the ground, again and again, releasing a horde of Numel, a cloud of Zubat, and a pack of Poochyena accompanied by a couple of Mightyena. Seth gulped, recognizing just how stacked against him the odds were. His only hope was to find an opening and make a break for it.

"Wait," a female voice sounded throughout the camp. That one word was spoken with little inflection or weight behind it, but the grunts obeyed instantly, ordering their pokemon to halt. Seth looked in the direction of the voice to see a woman emerge from within the command tent, dressed in an altered version of the standard Team Magma attire.

Over the top of her bodysuit, which terminated a few inches above her knees, she wore a crimson frock with a thinned hem that was stylized with the emblem of her team. Her gloves were slightly bulkier and trimmed with gold, indicative of her high status. The attached hood covered a head of pink, curly hair over a pair of expressionless pink eyes. Lastly, instead of black spikes, two golden pointed horns topped her hood.

"Trainer…" the woman's head tilted to one side ever so slightly, her eyes staring right at him unblinking. Her voice was soft and monotone, not a trace of inflection contained within its tones. "...Who are you?"

"My name is Seth. That's all you're getting from me," Seth answered. He remembered the warnings of the grunt he'd met at the cave entrance and tensed up. "You must be the administrator I keep hearing about. Courtney, right?"

"...Not Team Aqua?" Courtney asked, seemingly ignoring his question.

"He said he was simply a trainer," Takao emerged from the command tent as well, standing a few feet behind her. "Lured in by tales of my false kidnapping."

"An unforeseen...error. New variables...detected," Courtney's words were bizarrely disjointed, as though she was some sort of broken machine. She slowly grabbed a pokéball from her belt, much to Seth's alarm. "You...must be...must be...deleted."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what you're doing with the pokémon on Mt. Chimney," Seth expressed firmly. This was the one chance he'd get to ask one of Team Magma's leadership, and he wasn't about to let it slip by. "I'm looking for a family of Vulpix or Ninetales. Tell me where they are."

"That information is...irrelevant…" Courtney grasped her pokéball and released its contents to the ground before her. A quadruped crimson camel-like pokémon nearly two meters tall appeared, its presence shaking the ground as it landed. The air noticeably rose in temperature simply by standing in its presence, causing Seth to sweat. He quickly scanned it with his Pokédex to discover it was a Camerupt, a powerful fire-type evolved from Numel capable of producing flames as hot as any volcano.

Courtney clicked her fingers, and the Camerupt bayed in response. Points of reddish light appeared all around the circumference of the camp. They remained only for a split second before they exploded violently in sequence. Seth's eyes widened as one of the red points appeared in front of his face.

Kyra reached out with an arm and jerked Seth forward into their formation just as the point activated, the explosion ripping up the earth and causing stalactites to fall. Seth rolled roughly and covered his head as more debris fell around them. Princess coiled around him protectively while the other three formed a protective perimeter around him.

"Your resistance...ends here. Team Magma...as one. Commence deletion protocol," Courtney ordered. "Camerupt...assist!"

"You heard her!" With that, negotiations were clearly over. Seth gritted his teeth as all of Team Magma's remaining pokémon surrounded him and his pokémon.

"You're done for now!"

"For Maxie, and the earth!"

The humps on Camerupt's back erupted with plumes of fire and the air filled with explosions like a minefield detonating at once, forcing Seth's pokémon on the defensive. The ring of enemy pokémon closed in all at once, the Poochyena and Mightyena just waiting for a chance to pounce.

"Summer, overdrive, now!" Seth ordered desperately. He couldn't afford to hold back in such a desperate situation. Summer nodded and fire erupted from the ground around her paws, forming a veritable tornado around her. Dark wisps of flame circled around the base of the tornado, rising slowly into the air before being sucked into her body. "Princess, give me a twister! I'll be fine!"

Seth extricated himself from Princess and stood near Kyra, grabbing a fallen stalactite from the ground. He gestured to Princess expectantly. Princess nodded and formed a circle with her coils and began to slither in circles, the air around her beginning to twist and distort.

"Kyra, air control! Cairo, ground defense!" Seth ordered next. Kyra stood nearby and gathered up what debris she could and hurled them up at the cloud of approaching Zubat, while Cairo whipped up a wind of dust and sent it hurtling towards the pack of Poochyena.

The Zubat began spitting globs of venom down at Kyra, forcing her to bring up her barrier. She couldn't grasp them with her telekinesis due to their range, causing her no end of frustration. Seth wound back his arm and hurled his stalactite into the air, managing to nail a Zubat on the wing, sending it tumbling to the ground.

Kyra yelped as Seth suddenly picked her up by the hips. "Get ready to unleash your power," Seth directed her. Without waiting any longer, he spun her around to gain momentum, and then he tossed her up into the swarm of Zubat. Kyra instantly acted, releasing a wave of psychic energy in all directions, scattering Zubat in every direction. She grabbed another on her way down and fired it at the group of Numel, who were preparing an artillery barrage of fires from their humps.

"There's just so many…" Seth lamented as he ran for cover from the raining fire. However, there was nowhere to go or take cover. Fire fell all around him, burning his shoes and singeing his clothing. He glanced up to see a fireball coming directly at him. Yet, before he could call for help, a cloud of dust formed above him and solidified into a barrier upon which the flame dissipated harmlessly. Cairo alighted upon his shoulder, and reshaped the barrier into a blanket of dust, which she fired at another selection of Zubat. Any Zubat hit by the dust found their wings suddenly ensnared and unable to keep them airborne.

Summer took Cairo's vacant position, blasting the incoming Poochyena with intense fireballs. She tired quickly, her lungs heaving with exhaustion, as she fended off their relentless approach. Princess came to her rescue, calling out to her with a cry. Summer leaped back just as Princess released her twister towards the Poochyena, the rapidly spinning column of air visible only due to the debris spiraling about within it. As it passed her, Summer released a stream of flame into the twister, causing the air to ignite into a deadly flame tornado.

The twister tore through the pack of Poochyena ruthlessly, sucking up and burning badly any unlucky enough to find themselves in its path. A Mightyena even fell prey to it, despite digging its claws into the earth in an attempt to keep from being sucked in.

"You...are resilient…" Courtney observed, showing the smallest hint of expression for the first time: interest. She lifted her hand. "Camerupt…"

"Everyone get down!" Seth knew what was coming the moment she lifted her hand. The area once again resembled a minefield of red light. Seth threw himself to the ground, Princess coiling on top of him just as the points detonated, shaking the whole cave and sending rock and dust raining down upon them. Summer was unfortunate to get caught in one of the blasts, but she was able to shrug it off with only minor burns. Kyra was forced to teleport from place to place, yet Camerupt appeared able to choose when the points detonated; it deliberately waited to detonate some until Kyra teleported nearby, forcing her to bring up her barrier.

"They're on the defensive! Everyone attack at once!" a grunt declared. To Seth's horror, all of the opposing pokémon began to encroach at once. There was no way they could all handle this many all at once, especially now that his formation had been thrown into disarray. Seth climbed onto Princess and attempted to formulate orders, but he couldn't think of any possible strategy to get out of this.

Suddenly, the far end of the camp, where Seth had originally entered, was annihilated in a flash flood. It was as though the river had risen from its banks and flowed right into the camp. The turbulent waters ripped the tent poles of the camp from the rock and swept away the canvas. The two sentries at the entrance were taken away by the flood unable to even think about fighting back. A screeching roar of a shark cut through the clearing, causing any and all Team Magma grunts who heard it to pale and shake in fear.

As the water flowed through the clearing, cooling the Numel and sweeping across Seth's feet, a familiar booming laugh filled the air. A pair of Sharpedo each as large as Camerupt zipped forward like twin torpedoes, each of them cloaked with raging water. The nearest Team Magma grunts moved their Numel to intercept, but both they and their Numel were knocked aside like ninepins.

"Starting the party without me, eh? I'll try not to be offended by that." Archie himself walked through the front entrance as brazen as could be, stroking his beard with confidence. Beside him was an absolute beauty of a woman, her skin as dark as Archie's and her hair as long as her waist, streaks of blue running through the dark brown strands. "Don't think you could get away with such brazen acts right underneath my nose! Team Aqua, hearken to me and show them what we're made of!"

"Yeah!"

"In the name of Kyogre!"

"For Archie, and the ocean!" A horde of Team Aqua grunts charged out of the darkness, yelling battle cries and throwing their pokéballs ahead of them to release an army of Carvanha, Poochyena, and Zubat.

As Seth struggled to process what was going on, his pokémon were suddenly saved from their predicament by a Carvanha tearing into the Numel attacking him and a Zubat tangling with the ones swooping down upon Princess and Kyra.

"I've got your back!" To Seth's shock, Eric, the grunt he'd clashed with multiple times, rushed up to his side with a Poochyena rushing ahead of him. "I'll distract them while you clear a path to safety!"

"Don't forget about me!" Anya leaped to Seth's other side, sending her Zubat to assist Eric's in the sky while her Carvanha wreaked havoc amongst the disoriented Numel. "Hope you didn't miss me too much, pretty boy."

"What the hell are all of you doing here?!" Seth demanded, completely taken aback by this turn of events. "Why are you helping me?"

"Good question. Zubat, you've got two from above and one from the right!" Eric responded, snapping out orders to his pokémon as he did so. "I thought Archie was insane when he told me to assist you and your White Demon."

"Please, Seth. As if we need a reason to stick it to Team Magma. Rest assured, we're going to pull your sweet ass out of the fire," Anya gave him a confident smirk. "But don't think it's for free! You're going to owe us later!"

"This is the worst possible situation," Seth grumbled to himself, even though he knew he'd have been in deep trouble without their timely arrival. With renewed confidence, he set to ordering his pokémon; with Archie himself here, there was no chance they could lose. Right now, survival came first. "We're not going anywhere as long as that Camerupt is here. We need to focus on it!"

"Easier said than done. Here come those explosions again!" Anya alerted him. The air shuddered beneath the force of Camerupt's explosions, forcing all those nearby to evade or be knocked out. "Get your demon close and we'll support you!"

"Sounds good!" Seth responded. "Kyra, we're taking that thing down!"

Courtney regarded her surroundings, which had now turned into a raging battlefield, with battles between the grunts of opposing teams breaking out all over the camp. The two Sharpedos were nearly unstoppable, shrugging off any injuries they took and paying them back tenfold with raging waters. They cut through the opposing pokémon like a knife through hot butter, leaving behind a trail of the fallen in their wake.

"Current situation...unacceptable. Trap...ruined...failure...failure…" Courtney emitted like a broken record. Her Camerupt was steadily being forced back, despite blowing away anyone who dared approach with pinpoint explosions. Kyra was getting closer, working closely together with Cairo in an attempt to reach Camerupt for a decisive blow. Courtney's eyes fixated upon Seth. "Your fault...unanticipated. Unprecedented skill for...current status."

"Courtney, we've already loaded up the meteorite. We need to retreat now before it's too late. If you leave some of your teammates here, you can distract them long enough for us to get the meteorite back to my lab!" Takao addressed her, the previously composed scientist visibly concerned by the battle raging before him. Courtney didn't respond, the administrator staring directly at Seth. Her eyes narrowed and then she slowly licked her lips, a hint of a smile forming on her face. "Courtney? Are you listening to m—Agh!"

Without even looking at him, Courtney levered her fist directly into Takao's solar plexus with a great deal of force. Takao doubled over with a cry of agony, his eyes wide with shock and betrayal. Courtney then turned and slammed her elbow onto his back, knocking him to the ground.

"Your presence...no longer...necessary. Objective will go...to Maxie...on the summit," Courtney expressed to him coldly. She turned to leave, but Takao grabbed onto her ankle.

"What about our agreement? Without my equipment and expertise you never would have excavated this meteorite in one piece!" Takao demanded in between coughs and hacks. Courtney turned to look at him slowly, not a hint of mercy in her pink eyes.

"Convenient...means...to an end," she answered simply. Takao's eyes widened, and then Courtney stamped on his head with her boot, knocking him out cold. She turned to the grunts nearest her. "Prepare...the objective. Retreat…"

"Anya, she's trying to get away!" Seth called out to his impromptu allies.

"What exactly do you want me to do about it!?" Anya growled, her Carvanha and Zubat struggling against the seemingly endless wave of pokémon. "Isn't your demon done yet? I'm not going near that Camerupt!"

"I am! Take this, you overgrown lump of rock!" Eric yelled out. His Poochyena, which had been sneaking around out of sight for the last minute, leaped from the top of a stalagmite right on top of the Camerupt, biting into the camel's shaggy red fur.

The Camerupt emitted an explosion from its body in all directions of such intensity that anyone and anything nearby was burned terribly and knocked aside, grunt or pokémon alike. Eric cried out in horror as his Poochyena was blasted towards him, the canine's fur almost entirely burnt away by the blast. Cairo swiftly intervened, keeping any enemy Zubat from striking while any Team Aqua grunts or pokémon were down.

With that as a distraction, Courtney withdrew her Camerupt and retreated with several of her more experienced grunts, taking the meteorite with them into the darkness of Meteor Falls.

"Dammit!" Seth cursed as he watched his only means of finding Summer's family escape. He wasn't strong enough to force his way past the crowd of Team Magma grunts determined to keep him chasing their leader. However...there was someone here who was. Throwing caution to the wind, Seth called out. "Archie!"

Archie paused and turned his head to see Seth for the first time. He didn't seem at all surprised to see him there. "Ah! If it isn't Seth, my old acquaintance from the museum!" Archie boomed with a grin.

"No time for greetings! Team Magma is after that meteorite! They're getting away!" Seth informed him impatiently, ignoring the spike of fear that ran through him just by talking to Archie.

"Are they now?" Archie brushed his beard, looking interested. "So that's the missing component they needed. Very well. Sharpedo! Break through this rabble and bring me that meteorite!"

One of the Sharpedos turned and headed directly for where Courtney had disappeared, only to run afoul of the Magma grunts who were now retreating en masse through the far tunnel as well. They didn't hesitate to sacrifice their pokémon to hold the Sharpedo back, even as it blew their defenses aside as though they were made of tissue paper. Yet even this little amount gave the Magma grunts time to recall specifically their Numels and retreat into the tunnel.

"You're not getting away!" Archie roared. He swept his hand to the right, his anchor necklace jingling. "Get them, Sharpedo!"

"Like hell we're getting caught! We're going to create new land for humans to live!" a Magma grunt snapped just as he reached the tunnel. The Sharpedo was rapidly approaching, its predatory roar causing the grunt's legs to shake. "Now, everyone! Tear it all down!"

The grunts in the tunnel released all their Numels at once. Then with a single synchronized command, all the Numels concentrated as much firepower in their humps as they could and released a storm of explosive flame into the roof of the cavern.

"What!? Have you all lost your minds!?" Archie demanded with wide eyes. He turned back to look at the rest of his team. He gestured for them all to clear out. "Team Aqua, Sharpedo, retreat! It's all going to come down!"

"Shit. Let's go, Seth!" Anya recalled her Carvanha and her Zubat, Eric following suit as well. Seth nodded, panicked. He recalled all of his pokémon, including Kyra, as quickly as he could. As the world shook around him, Anya grabbed him by the wrist and broke into a sprint, tugging him along behind.

As a result of the Magma grunt's determination, the ceiling cracked and shattered, and the entire cavern began to collapse. Giant shards of rock and loose earth rained down through the clearing like deadly hail, promising death to those hit by any of them. Any Magma grunts unlucky enough to be knocked unconscious were crushed beneath them without a sound.

"This way, let's go, let's go!" The dark-skinned woman who had been standing with Archie stood at the exit to the camp, her Sharpedo keeping the area clear with blasts of super-pressurized water. She ushered each and every grunt through, and when Anya and Seth reached her, she lightly moved them through with a touch of her hands. Eric and Archie followed close behind, the latter carrying the unconscious Takao in his arms as though he weighed little more than a feather.

"Fall back, Shelly! We're done here!" Archie commanded the woman once he'd passed through. She nodded and hopped onto her Sharpedo, the two of them leaping into the underground river. "Everyone, into the river!"

"Use your serpent, we're going in!" Anya told Seth, releasing her Carvanha into the river and leaping into the rapids. She grabbed onto her Carvanha, wincing as her skin rubbed against its own. Seth nodded and released Princess into the river as well, leaping into her coils and hugging tight. Anya had her Carvanha carry her to Seth. "Follow us! We're getting out of here!"

"I guess I don't have a choice!" Seth tapped Princess's neck. Princess hummed and turned her body to face downstream, where Archie and Shelly were riding their Sharpedos ahead of the pack of other Team Aqua grunts, leading them into the darkness. Swallowing his misgivings, Seth rode Princess to join them. Behind them, the cavern fully collapsed with a deafening roar, rubble cascading through the tunnel and dunking into the river behind them.

Seth rode along the river for several minutes until the darkness engulfed them, the only light coming from the Team Aqua grunts around him, each of them having a portable flashlight pinned to their chests. There was no time to relax—the river possessed many tributaries that threatened to drag him in with their currents, and if he lost sight of Team Aqua, he knew he'd never get out of this cave.

Archie clearly seemed to know where he was going, the leader seeming completely at home in the chaotic river. Every time he reached a fork, he called back to the team directions, who in turn relayed them back down the column via hand signals. until they reached Seth and Anya.

Eventually, the river slowed down, giving Seth some much needed time to catch his breath. He stroked Princess's neck. As frazzled as he was, no doubt she was even worse off, having to do the fighting for him.

"I can't believe you took on Team Magma by yourself," Anya expressed, her voice no longer drowned out by the rapids. She glanced over to him from her Carvanha, grinning. "You're a moron, but you've got more balls than I thought you did. Who knew the sissy boy wasn't actually a sissy in more than just looks?"

"Don't call me that. I'm pretty sure that's even more derogatory than femboy," Seth emitted uncomfortably, earning a laugh from her. "I wasn't really aiming to take on Team Magma when I got here. It just...ended up that way."

"You did good. Seriously. I see now why everyone is so wary of you," Anya remarked. "Archie has his eye on you, Eric's scared shitless of you—"

"Am not!" Eric protested weakly behind them.

"Says the guy who ditched his post at the museum," Anya retorted.

"I call that being smart! I ain't messing with that little white demon!" Eric countered.

"Whatever you say, pussy," Anya's dismissive response earned a frustrated groan from Eric. Seth couldn't help but smile despite himself; he hadn't failed to notice that even Anya was calling Kyra a demon. The fact that Team Aqua seemed to have a nickname for Kyra caused his ego to swell.

"How did you all know where to find me?" Seth changed the subject to the one that had been bugging him this whole time. "And again, why did you help me?"

"Clean the dust out of your ears, idiot. It's Team Magma. I don't need a reason to mess with them," Anya answered. "Helping you? Well, honestly we had no idea you'd be here. Helping you wasn't even in the cards until we got here."

"As if anyone would help you, anyway," Eric grumbled. "I'd rather just be drowning you here, but Archie seems to like you."

"I can't possibly imagine why," Seth muttered. He didn't look forward to the inevitable talk with Archie that lay before him. His spirits dropped further when he realized that he owed Archie his life. "So why did you come here, if not for me?"

"Are you intentionally this dense?" Anya gave him an exasperated glance. "We had the same info you did. No duh we'd come act on it ourselves. I just gave you a head start."

"You did what?!" Eric emitted with shock. "You gave away that intel to him of all people? That's betraying Archie!"

"Pff. As if. It's not like he's Team Magma. Besides, he's on our side, see? No harm, no foul," Anya shot back.

"I most certainly am not," Seth corrected her instantly. Before Anya could answer, he suddenly spotted reddish light coming from ahead. "Is that daylight?"

"Sure looks like it. We'll talk later," Anya replied.

Seth nodded and turned ahead, sighing in relief as their group finally exited the cave into the evening sun. He looked around to find that he recognized their surroundings: the southern end of Arbor Lake, many miles from the boardwalk, or the northern shore.

It wasn't long before they came to a stop at a lone island isolated from any shore by several miles. It wasn't much of an island, consisting of little more than a copse of fruit trees and a few large boulders. Yet it was enough for Archie, who ordered a full halt.

"Everyone, disembark! Anya, Jessica! Clear out the wild pokémon in the trees and clear us a place for camp! We're living off the wood and whatever we can fish up tonight!" Archie commanded. He climbed off of his Sharpedo and leaped into the shallows.

"Yes sir!" Anya responded smartly. She took a brief look at Seth and then hopped off of her Carvanha. She took a moment to recall it to her pokéball before swimming to the shore, where she met up with another female grunt and headed into the woods.

"Eric, James—get to work on gathering food for tonight!" Archie ordered next, and the two went to do as they were told. He picked up Takao off of his Sharpedo and moved to meet Shelly with the unconscious man draped over his shoulder. "Take this dead weight somewhere and wake him up. We need to see how much he really knows about Team Magma."

"Don't worry. I'll make him talk," Shelly replied with an evil smirk. Seth shuddered; he didn't envy what Takao was about to go through.

Then, Archie's gaze fell upon Seth, causing him to freeze, a chill running down his back. "Seth! Meet me at the east end of the island! We have much to talk about."

"Uh...got it," Seth replied awkwardly. There was no point in trying to run. He was surrounded by Team Aqua, including their leadership. They'd track him down in an instant. He sighed and rode Princess to the shore, joining the throng of Team Aqua grunts running about to do as their leader commanded them. Seth couldn't help but notice the looks he was getting from them: a mixture of resentment, wariness, and awe.

When he reached the shore, he turned to Princess. "Hey...take to the shallows and follow me out of sight. I may need you to rescue me if things go south." Princess nodded in response, giving him a nuzzle on the cheek. Then, she sank back into the lake and dove until she disappeared from view. Seth watched her go, and then he released Kyra out onto the sands of the shore.

Kyra whipped around with a glare, her annoyance at being confined flowing through their link all at once, causing Seth to wince. It then turned to alarm when she noticed all of the Team Aqua grunts surrounding them.

"I know you're not happy, but I didn't have a choice. The place was coming down," Seth explained, kneeling down to her. Kyra didn't seem satisfied by that answer, as her annoyance only lessened slightly. "More importantly...we're smack in the middle of the enemy. I'm going to need you to watch out for me. Their leader wants to talk. I think you know what that means."

Kyra stiffened, her annoyance dissipating in the face of their current predicament. They locked gazes and nodded, recognizing via their link that they felt exactly the same; restless, anxious, and feeling as though they'd rather be anywhere else.

"Come on. I'd rather not test his patience by keeping him waiting," Seth said to her. He rose to his feet with a sigh. Before leaving to find Archie, he first checked his sodden pack. It was a damn miracle that he still had the thing, as soaked as it was. He supposed he was so used to carrying it that it didn't slow him down much. He pulled out his PokéNav and winced, noticing the multitude of missed calls he had: four from Roxanne, three from Flannery, and two from a number he didn't recognize.

"Hey! Archie asked for you! Get moving!" a grunt snapped at him. Seth flinched, startled, and rushed to do as he was told. As he walked, he typed out a quick message to Roxanne.

Seth: Am OK. With Team Aqua. Let others know. Don't come. Too dangerous. Archie.

After sending the message, he stashed the phone back in his pack and made his way to the eastern side of the island as he'd been told. There, at the base of a particularly large tree, Archie stood with his back against the bark. He glanced over at Seth as he approached. Upon seeing him, Archie gestured with a hand for Seth to join him.

"Walk with me," Archie said, his voice filled with such authority that Seth didn't dare refuse. The older man pushed away from the tree and strode down the shoreline, forcing Seth to quicken his pace to keep up. "It's been a while since the last time we met at the Oceanic Museum, hasn't it? I have to say, I'm surprised at you."

"What do you mean?" Seth asked timidly.

"You were an independent trainer who resisted us and pushed back hard against our ideology. I could only assume you identified with Team Magma's philosophy," Archie answered, his eyes hardening as he uttered the name of his opposing team. "Yet I find you here, opposing them despite overwhelming odds. You can only imagine my confusion."

"What's there to be confused about? Team Magma is doing something wrong; stealing pokémon from their homes and their families. It's only natural that I'd try to stop them as best I can," Seth responded. For some reason, that caused Archie to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Stealing pokémon from their families is wrong, eh? What do you think pokémon trainers do?" Archie pointed out. Seth opened his mouth to argue and found that he couldn't. He lowered his gaze, the ramifications behind Archie's question striking him particularly hard. "But I digress. So you're not with Team Magma, then. In that case, have you reconsidered your stance on joining Team Aqua? Having you amongst our ranks would raise our morale greatly."

There it was. Archie had said that he would "hear Seth's answer" the next time they met. Seth began to sweat; there was no way he was going to join a group of criminals, but he doubted Archie would take his refusal very well. He glanced to the water, noting the faint silhouette of Princess beneath the surface.

"How do you figure?" Seth asked.

"You've made an impression among my grunts ever since that stunt you pulled at the museum. Holding us off as long as you did with only two pokémon—that's not something we see often. Do you know they call that Kirlia of yours the 'white demon'?" Archie grinned at that, glancing appreciatively at the form of Kyra walking behind Seth. "And today, you fought alongside us and showed us all that not only can you pull your weight, but you also forced an administrator into battle against you! Such a thing is unheard of for a rank and file trainer."

"I was just trying to get out of there in one piece. I wouldn't have fought them at all if the professor hadn't been luring me into a trap. Or more specifically, luring you," Seth corrected him. Archie came to a halt beside a collection of boulders, turning to face Seth with a thoughtful expression.

"A trap?" Archie repeated. When Seth nodded, he brushed his beard, thinking hard. "I see. Their administrator knew I'd be following them, so the professor was used to lure us in. But then...aha!"

Archie figured out in an instant what Seth hadn't learned until it was too late. Seth was almost jealous at how fast he could connect the dots. Archie began to laugh again, the man clapping Seth on the back, which almost knocked him over.

"I see, I see! So you walked right on in, sprung the trap, and threw them into disarray! Imagine how many members of Team Aqua I'd have lost if you hadn't been there!" Archie emitted, looking at Seth with admiration. "That settles it. I want you on my team. I'll even consider making you an administrator if you stay with us!"

"That's...very generous..." Seth didn't have any other means of staving off the inevitable. He took a breath. "I appreciate you saving me, but I can't join your team. I can't in good conscience aid a team that thinks that breaking the law and harming others is acceptable."

Archie's grin fell from his face, to be replaced by a stony expression. "How disappointing. You're telling me that nothing of what I said to you at the museum made any sense to you?"

"Of course it did! The ocean definitely needs help, but it just sounds like you're using that to justify the wrong you've done," Seth explained. "I've watched your teammates threaten both my and my pokémon's life, along with the life of a man I chose to protect. I've watched a member of your team hurt and steal from an innocent man in the street. Let's not forget about forcing your way into a museum just to get your hands on some blueprints."

"Don't be shortsighted, boy. I don't condone what Eric did. He has been demoted from field missions ever since I learned of the collateral he knowingly caused," Archie pointed out. "However, sometimes collateral is unavoidable. As leader of Team Aqua, I do what I think is necessary to do the right thing for the world. These laws that you seem to care so much about are little more than words that protect the megacorporations that run this world; the same corporations that throw sludge into our ocean, steal her creations, and pursue profit at the expense of morality!"

"But that's not…"

"Seth, what you want isn't what's right. What you want is the status quo—for the world you know to stay the same," Archie cut across him. "That kind of thinking is exactly what I'm fighting against. Nothing will change if we don't fight to change it. I don't know how to make that any more clear to you."

Seth remained quiet, finding it very hard to argue with Archie's words. He recalled what Stern had told him; that Archie was so dangerous because he was so charismatic. Yet at the same time, he didn't like how one man got to decide what was right.

"Archie!" Shelly ran up to the two of them, the woman panting as though she'd run the whole way to find them.

"Seth, this is Shelly, one of my administrators. She's in charge of western Hoenn and one of my most trusted advisors," Archie didn't seem bothered by the introduction at all. "Shelly, this is the one I spoke to you about."

"Yes, of course. It's good to meet you," Shelly replied. She then slapped her cheeks. "Wait, there's no time for this! I got Cozmo to talk."

"Did you? What did he know?" Archie asked, turning away from Seth for the moment.

"It's what he didn't know. He told me he heard Team Magma talking about creating more land!" Shelly revealed.

"One of their grunts said the same thing. But such a thing is impossible. The only way to do that is via the landfill process or more natural means such as…" Archie suddenly cut off mid-sentence, his face darkening with horror. "...a volcano. They can't be!"

"What? What's going on?" Seth demanded, wondering what could possibly put a look like that on Archie's face.

"They're going to force Mt. Chimney to erupt!" Archie answered with a raised voice, clenching his fists with fury. "Maxie, you lunatic! Have you taken leave of your senses!?"

"What!?" Seth exclaimed. He turned and looked up at Mt. Chimney, the mountain often referred to as a supervolcano by brochures and other scientific texts. He couldn't even imagine the destruction that would occur if the volcano erupted. Thousands would die—maybe even millions. Not to mention the possible global impact on the environment that could ensue. "That can't be. There's no way that's possible."

"What else would they be doing on the summit? If they have the means to penetrate the crust before the volcano is ready, the whole thing would blow!" Archie deduced. "That's why they needed the meteorite! Such a device would require a colossal amount of power, but that would be no issue with a meteorite like that, especially if they stole the professor's notes!"

Seth nearly fell over from the revelation, catching himself on the nearby boulder. His breath quickened as he became more and more stressed, until he began to hyperventilate. "I-I…" Seth stammered incoherently. Kyra hugged his leg in an attempt to comfort him. "I just-I just wanted to save the family of one of my pokémon. This is...I can't…this is too much…"

"They can't be allowed to get away with this," Archie declared. "Shelly, go back to the camp and fill everyone in. Then, once you've eaten, gather a scouting force and return to Fallarbor Town immediately. I'm sorry, but you won't be sleeping tonight. Purchase transport via vehicle or pokémon and fly to the summit. Don't get close enough to get shot down, but I need to know what we're up against and how much time we have."

"What if the police try to stop us?" Shelly asked.

"Don't get arrested at all costs. We're the only ones who know what's about to happen," Archie commanded. "If you must, sacrifice a grunt and have them tell the police everything. They likely won't believe us, but on the off chance they do, we could use their help. I don't know if we have the forces to stop Maxie by ourselves."

"Understood. I'll leave immediately!" Shelly turned and ran back into the woods, leaving Archie once again alone with Seth. Archie turned to see Seth's miserable state and scowled.

"Hey!" Archie growled. Seth gasped as Archie grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him away from the rock. Seth's face was forced to the right by a painful slap from the Team Aqua leader. "Buck up, boy. You're not going to help anybody falling apart like this."

"But...the volcano…" Seth choked. "They're going to…"

"Not if we stop them first. Don't go giving up before you've even tried," Archie snapped. He released Seth and placed a heavy hand on each of Seth's shoulders. "Listen up. We're going to need you in the battle to come. Your thoughts on our methods aside, I'm sure you can agree that we need to work together to stop this. Are you with us?"

"I..." Archie's words and his confidence helped to soothe Seth's feelings, though his heart still pounded in his chest like a jackhammer. With Kyra's reassurances flowing through into his mind, Seth managed to get a semblance of control over his thoughts. "Yes. This can't be allowed to happen. There'll be...so much death if we don't—"

"No, there won't. Because together we're going to storm up that mountain and teach them a lesson in pain," Archie put on a reassuring smile and clapped Seth's shoulder before releasing him. "I'll tell the others you'll be with us. Stay here tonight and get some rest. Tomorrow we set out for the mountain."

"Um…" Seth suddenly remembered something. "I think I can actually be of more help elsewhere."

"What?" Archie paused, looking at Seth curiously. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm in contact with two gym leaders that would help if I told them what was going on," Seth revealed to him, making sure not to mention names. "Tomorrow I should go to them and fill them in."

"Gym leaders…" Archie took a moment to ponder. "Very well, I can't be picky at a time like this. Bring them here and I'll brief them."

"It might be a better idea if I went to see them and met up with you at the mountain," Seth reasoned. "They don't trust you. If I called them or brought them here, they might think you were threatening me or holding me hostage."

"How insulting. I don't believe in holding hostages," Archie grumbled. "But you have a point. Very well, you'll leave first thing in the morning. Now go get some rest as I told you. Ask one of the grunts to share a tent; tell them it's my order."

"Thank you." Seth gave a sigh of relief and made to return to the main campsite.

"Seth," Archie called. Seth turned back to see the leader gazing at him seriously. "I'm going to trust you. I know you're not the sort to turn his back and run when the going gets tough. Don't disappoint me."

Seth stared back at him for a few moments, and then he walked back along the shoreline without a word.

---

Before returning to camp, Seth recalled Princess from the lake and ducked into the woods. Once he found a secluded spot beneath a group of clustered trees, he pulled out his PokéNav and dialed Roxanne.

"Seth!? Thank the heavens; I was terribly concerned that something dreadful had befallen you. You wouldn't answer any of our calls." Roxanne answered the call instantly after the first ring. "What's this about you being with Team Aqua? They haven't captured you, have they? Do we need to mount a rescue mission?"

"It's a very long story," Seth answered. "I don't even know where to start. But I'm not in danger. Team Aqua actually rescued me from Meteor Falls."

"I—" Roxanne started to reply, but paused to rephrase. It was the first time Seth had seen her caught so off guard. "I trust you of course, but I still find that difficult to believe. You said their leader came to rescue you? From what were they rescuing you?"

"Team Magma. As I said, it's a long story, and it's not why I called you. There's something more important going on," Seth answered her impatiently. "Are you nearby? I'd like to meet with you and Flannery in the morning. I can tell you the full story then. I'm going to need your help."

"Seth, you need to give me something. Flannery has been chomping at the bit, so to speak, to find out what's become of you ever since she lost contact," Roxanne insisted. "Furthermore, I need to give a report to Winona on the situation as soon as possible. I'd like to have some means of reassuring her that you haven't joined Team Aqua."

"Join Team Aqua!? Does she even know what I did in Slateport City against them!?" Seth found himself incensed at the thought of someone else associating him with criminals. "No. I'm with them because I have no other choice."

"Slateport? That only raises more questions," Roxanne remarks. "However, to answer your question, Winona doesn't know you as I do. Please, give me something to assuage her suspicions before they arise."

"Alright. I guess that's fair." Seth took a breath. "The kidnapping of the professor was a trap for Team Aqua's leadership. By walking in as I did, I triggered the trap instead. Team Aqua arrived not long afterward and managed to defeat them thanks to my distraction. They're rather happy with me right now as a result."

"But you didn't join them?" Roxanne questioned. "I'm sorry, I needed to ask."

"I didn't. I was worried about what Archie would do when I refused, but something else came up. Something we're going to need all hands on deck for," Seth revealed. "I'd tell you more, but I'm not sure if Winona would believe me if I tell you while I'm still with Team Aqua. That's why I want to meet you tomorrow morning."

"I see. I'm very concerned, but I understand your reasoning. However, I want you to tell me regardless. Unlike Winona, you and I are friends, and I'd like to believe I have a fair understanding of your disposition," Roxanne told him firmly. "Winona may not believe you, but I shall."

"Okay," Seth sighed, unable to refute that logic. "Team Magma is trying to force Mt. Chimney to erupt. Team Aqua is willing to work with us to stop them."

"What!?" Roxanne's response was understandably incredulous. "Force the supervolcano to erupt!? Is such a thing even possible!?"

"Archie seems to believe it is. But that's the situation I'm in," Seth finished.

"That's-that's ludicrous. A volcanic supereruption now would devastate the entire region; the death toll would be innumerable! What could Team Magma possibly stand to gain from such destruction!?" Roxanne's voice raised in pitch and volume as she struggled to handle that revelation.

"Some of Team Magma claimed they were trying to create more land," Seth related to her.

"That's sheer madness!" Roxanne raged, her voice rising to such levels that Seth was forced to distance the phone from his ear. A few moments of silence passed, broken only by the sound of Roxanne's heavy breathing. "If this is true, then they must be stopped at all costs. The government must get involved."

"I agree. So, can you meet me at the Arbor Lake Boardwalk tomorrow morning?" Seth asked.

"Without a doubt. I'll be there. I'll see how many others I can get in contact with as well. This truly is an 'all hands on deck' situation as you put it," Roxanne responded. "I have many calls to make. Stay safe, Seth. Don't trust Team Aqua, even if you believe they're currently on our side."

"Trust me, there's no chance of that," Seth assured her wryly. With that, he ended the phone call and sighed. He slid down the tree trunk and sat down at its base, holding his head in his hands. "I still can't believe this is happening."

Kyra hopped into his lap and hugged him, an act that he reciprocated readily. She was as unsettled as he was, but he could also sense a hint of excitement from her.

"Kyra? Are you...looking forward to this?" Seth asked, shocked. Kyra gazed at him, neither nodding nor shaking her head. At times like this, he cursed his inability to understand her. "You don't want the volcano to erupt, do you?"

Kyra shook her head instantly, anger and indignance at the question rising from within her.

"Please don't get mad. I'm just trying to figure out where your head's at," Seth attempted to placate her, stroking her hair. "So if not the volcano, is it the fight you're looking forward to?"

Kyra nodded emphatically, her excitement growing. Seth shook his head in exasperation. "Here we are, about to fight alongside one group of criminals against another group of criminals for the sake of the region, and you're excited because you get to fight."

Kyra didn't seem the least bit bothered by Seth's words. She hummed happily and nestled up against him. Seth wrapped his arms around her, gazing up at the canopy above.

"Honestly, knowing that you can feel excited in the face of all this is a little comforting," Seth confessed to her. "When I set out on this journey, all I wanted was to explore Hoenn and give you the opportunity to fight as much as you wanted. Now? This is too much."

"How did I get wrapped up in this?" Seth lamented. He cast his mind back to the time when he'd met Hester and Eric. If he hadn't helped Hester that day, maybe he wouldn't have ended up on the radar of both criminal teams in the region. Seth sighed; letting Hester get hurt simply hadn't been an option at the time. "I guess there was no avoiding this. Even if I did let Hester get hurt back then, Team Magma would still be here, trying to destroy the region. I suppose I should consider myself lucky I have the opportunity to do something about it."

"I say that, but I'm still terrified," Seth admitted. He kissed the top of Kyra's head and placed her on the ground so he could get up. "I'm exhausted. I'm exhausted, drenched, anxious, and restless, all at the same time. I think I need to try and get some sleep. Come on. Let's get back to camp."

---

When Seth returned to the beach upon which they'd landed, he found that Team Aqua had cleared a wide expanse of land and was setting up blue-colored tents that were large enough to hold two or three people at most. A bonfire was set up in the center of the camp with a series of shaved sticks set above it, upon which multiple fish were being cooked.

Several grunts sat around the front of the campfire, eating fruits and fish, while others were still working on getting the camp set up. Takao was there as well, the geologist sitting well away from the rest of the group. Two grunts were watching him, however, with their Poochyena standing close by in case he tried anything.

The atmosphere had changed significantly from before Seth had left to speak with Archie. There was no sign of the cheerfulness born of victory that had pervaded their ranks. Instead, the grunts looked grim, eating and working in silence broken only by small murmurs here and there.

Seth walked up to Shelly, who was standing against a tree while eating a piece of fish off of a stick. She noticed him as he approached and made room for him.

"Seth, right?" Shelly asked when he approached. Seth nodded and took a moment to truly take in her features now that he wasn't afraid for his life. The dark-skinned woman appeared to be in her late twenties, and she was stunningly beautiful, with wild brown hair extending down to her waist with her tresses dyed as blue as her skin-tight midriff top that exposed her shoulders. Her pants were similarly colored and extended down to her ankles, where they culminated in two all-terrain boots. "I'm Shelly, Team Aqua Administrator. I've heard a lot about you from Archie and the others who were at the museum. I hear you really did a number on our grunts."

"I was just defending an innocent man from criminals," Seth expressed before he could stop himself. He froze when he realized he'd just insulted her team to her face.

"Ahahaha!" Shelly let out an amused laugh. "Archie also said you were naive, and I see now he was right! You really are still a child if you think anyone who runs an aquarium is innocent."

"I don't really want to argue about it right now," Seth retorted sullenly. He decided to change the subject. "I'm guessing you told everyone about the volcano."

"Aye, that I did," Shelly's laughter died down, the amusement disappearing from her face. "They're all worried about what's going to happen. I can't say I blame them either. Who knew Maxie would go to such extremes?"

"I keep hearing that name. Who is Maxie?" Seth asked, despite the fact that he probably already knew the answer.

"He's the leader of Team Magma...and the one man I'll never forgive," Shelly answered, gritting her teeth. "Once, he was a scientist like myself, back when the two of us worked for Devon Corporation in the pursuit of advancement. But now, all he cares about is the advance of humanity at the expense of all else."

"You worked for Devon Corporation?" Seth inquired, surprised. He also wanted to ask about why she couldn't forgive Maxie, but that sounded personal.

"Once upon a time I did. I was a marine biologist studying the coral reefs to the south. They were beautiful; I used to go diving with my team to study the marine life in their natural habitat," Shelly revealed to him, looking wistful. "But year after year, I watched them slowly die because of pollution, overfishing, and tourism. I couldn't sit around while Devon Corporation refused to help. When Archie offered me a position in the team, of course I signed up. Here, we actually make a difference."

"I suppose I can't argue with that motivation, if not your methods." Seth found it disturbing just how much he could empathize her. Shelly gave him a sharp look. "But if you are all seriously going to try and stop Maxie from committing genocide, I'm with you all the way. At least until this is all over with."

"Good. I'd have tossed you into the lake if you said you were running away," Shelly told him bluntly, causing him to blanch. "Team Aqua has no need for cowards."

"Right...anyway, I'm going to try and find a place to sleep. Thanks for talking to me," Seth decided to step away from the conversation while he still could. He supposed there was no point in trying to socialize with criminals.

"That's fine. I need to be leaving soon anyway," Shelly finished her meal and left as well, likely going to carry out Archie's orders.

Almost immediately after leaving Shelly, Seth bumped right into Anya. She spotted him and smirked. "There you are. I was looking for you," she said. There was something in her tone that made Seth uneasy. "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet. I just got finished talking to Archie. Shelly filled you in on what's going on, right?" Seth asked her. Anya's face darkened.

"She did. We've got one hell of a fight coming up. We can't let those bastards destroy Hoenn," Anya answered, cracking her knuckles. She gave him a pointed stare. "You'll be fighting with us, right?"

"It's not as though I could run away," Seth admitted. "This affects me no matter how I feel about Team Aqua."

"Good." Anya sighed with relief, a smile returning to her face. "Come on, let's get us some food. We're going to need our strength."

"No kidding," Seth couldn't argue with that, so he accompanied her back to the bonfire. The next round of fish had just finished cooking, so Anya retrieved a pair of them, passing one of them to Seth and keeping the other for herself. "This is just bizarre."

"What is?" Anya asked, biting into her meal voraciously and without decorum.

"All of this. Not too long ago I was bitter enemies with you all. Now here I am, sharing a meal with everyone, preparing for a battle of a scale I can't even imagine." Seth couldn't believe he was confiding in her, but he couldn't keep these thoughts locked up in his head. "I think I preferred the world back when it was just black and white. Criminals were bad, end of story."

"Having second thoughts about us now?" Anya elbowed him smugly. "There's still a spot for us in the team if you want it."

"Let's not get crazy. I'm not joining your team," Seth chastised her sternly, causing her to pout. "But...I can't write you off as being pure evil like I could before. Some of the things you say you're trying to do are noble, even if your methods aren't. Not to mention you're currently trying to save the entire region from being destroyed."

"Oh no, sorry for shattering your naive worldview," Anya retorted sarcastically. "It's time for you to wake up and realize that everything is just shades of gray."

"Don't patronize me, I'm being genuine," Seth complained to her, earning a snicker. "But I guess you're right."

Their conversation lapsed into silence after that, the two of them focusing on eating their meals. Seth found the fish distasteful, but it was easy to swallow, so he forced it down the best he could. When he finished his, he tossed the stick aside.

"So, where are you sleeping tonight?" Anya asked him nonchalantly.

"Archie told me to ask a grunt to share a tent with them. Not sure who that's going to be yet. I don't really know anyone here," Seth revealed to her. As Anya's eyes gleamed with nefarious intent, he went pale. "Wait…"

"Oh, is that so? Well, then you can share a tent with me," Anya's tone became sultry. Seth realized that he was in a lot of danger, considering Anya's interest in him. She stood and grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him to a standing position. "You're coming with me."

"Wait! This is hardly the time for that sort of thing!" Seth protested weakly as she dragged him away from the campfire. Kyra followed along behind, rolling her eyes but smiling nonetheless. Anya only laughed at that. He whined, "Anya…!"

"This is exactly the time for 'this sort of thing'," Anya corrected him matter-of-factly. "If we fail to stop Maxie, we're all dead, and I'll be damned if I don't get some of that sweet sissy dick before I die."

"Wha…!?" Seth blushed furiously at how forward she was being. Just ahead, he could see what was likely her tent, situated a good distance away from the others. He struggled to find some other way to dissuade her. "But what if we're heard?"

"You think I care? Let the whole world hear me fuck you," Anya scoffed. "Besides, we're not going to be the only ones having some fun. Everyone else is thinking about what could happen in the battle to come. Now might be the last chance we get."

Anya opened up the tent and shoved Seth inside. Seth stumbled and fell onto a pile of pillows and blankets, which despite the rough ground below, managed to provide a modicum of comfort. "Where did you get all of these? I didn't see you carrying them in," Seth asked, perplexed.

"Stop talking," Anya commanded him. She removed her bandanna and tossed it aside, letting her long brown hair flow free. She knelt down on the blankets before him and crawled up to him, closing the distance between them in an instant. Before Seth could protest, she pressed her lips up against his, her taste filling his mouth and her scent flooding his nostrils.

"Mmff!" Seth's complaints were drowned out by Anya's kisses, and before long he could do nothing but part his lips to allow her entry, her tongue sliding into his mouth as if it belonged there. She cupped his cheek with a hand, stroking it gently and almost lovingly. She trailed it down his jawline to his collarbone. As she kissed him, he closed his eyes, hating that he enjoyed this as much as he did.

Suddenly, Seth felt something close around his neck and click. He opened his eyes in alarm just as Anya broke away, looking pleased with herself. Seth brought a hand to his neck and felt a leather circlet there with a smooth texture and a metal placard at the front.

"What did you just…" Seth started to ask, but then he noticed the length of leather trailing from his neck into Anya's hands, the girl smirking with malicious intent. "Anya, what did you just do to me?"

"I collared you, obviously. Tonight, you're mine. And I won't hear any backtalk. Got it?" Anya retorted, tugging at the lead that Seth just realized was a leash. He flushed with shame, finding this to be incredibly demeaning—yet for some reason, this was causing him to harden within his constricting pants. She reached forward and ran a finger along the metal placard. "Do you want to know what it says?"

"It says something?" Seth asked with a sinking feeling, his voice catching in his throat. Anya's smirk only grew.

"You better believe it does. It says…'Anya's bitch,'" Anya revealed, increasing Seth's shame further. Despite himself he could feel himself growing harder, his pants feeling uncomfortably tight to the point where he started to fidget. Anya tapped her chin with a finger. "Though it's a shame I can't edit it on the fly. I'd make it say, 'Anya's Sissy Bitch'."

"Please stop calling me that," Seth protested weakly. He yelped as Anya tugged the leash so hard that he was forced into a sitting position, his face only inches away from hers.

"I'll call you whatever I like, sissy boy," Anya whispered lustily to him. Seth could feel his face burning like fire...something that didn't go unnoticed by Anya. She laughed with delight. "You actually like this, don't you? You are a dirty little boy, aren't you?"

"N-No...this is...very demeaning…" Seth tried to say, but he sounded about as convincing to her and to himself as a fly caught in a web stating that he wasn't stuck. "I-I..."

"Oh really? Then…" Anya reached down with a hand and undid Seth's pants, rolling down the damp material to reveal his briefs, beneath which his cock strained heavily against the fabric. She tapped his erection with a finger. "...what's this? Sure seems like you're enjoying this to me."

"I-I…" Seth found himself at a loss for words. He couldn't possibly imagine why he did like this, if she was right. Unable to come up with a proper rebuttal, all he could do was release a whine.

"You are just so adorable! But, this works out nicely. I love bossing around little sissies like you," Anya revealed with a delighted laugh. She slapped his butt, causing him to yelp, and then she gave him some slack on the leash, allowing him to lay back. "Well then—get naked for me. I want to see all of you."

"O-Okay," Seth shed his jacket and lifted his t-shirt over his head, working with Anya to thread the leash through in order to keep it from impeding his process. It felt good to remove his damp clothing after wearing it all day. He removed his shoes and set them aside, and then kicked his pants off. He reached his briefs and hesitated.

"What are you waiting for? Lose the underwear and show me what you've got under there," Anya ordered. She watched with smug satisfaction as Seth shyly slid off his briefs, exposing his erection to her. She let out an appreciative whistle and leaned forward, brushing her fingertips against its length. Seth squirmed beneath her touch. "That looks positively scrumptious. Be good, and I may just play with it for you."

"Now, strip me. I bet you want to see me naked, hm?" Anya ordered with a tug of the leash. Seth nodded wordlessly, finding himself excited despite being completely at her mercy. He oriented himself so that he was on his knees before her. He started with her shoes, then moved up to her pants, only for her to smack his hand. "Nuh-uh. Start with my top first."

Seth obediently moved to her midriff and hooked his fingers beneath the hem of her sleeveless shirt, drawing it up and over her head. Beneath was a white bra holding back her modest chest, which Seth handled next. He undid the clasp around her back and let the undergarment fall to the ground, freeing her perky dark breasts to the open air. Seth exhaled sharply, wanting more than anything to touch them. Yet trying to do so earned another slap, causing him to whimper.

"Where do you think you're touching? I don't think you've earned that privilege just yet," Anya told him off firmly, her smug grin showing Seth that she knew full well how much she was teasing him. "You're not done yet. Now get to work on my pants."

Seth gave her chest one last appreciative glance before doing as he was told, reaching down to her dark brown skirt and tugging it down, taking her blue striped leggings with them. A pair of white panties hugged her crotch beneath it all, the fabric already stained from her growing arousal. He didn't waste any time in removing them, at last being greeted with the sight of her exposed entrance.

"Good boy," Anya teased him, brushing his hair gently. Seth felt a thrill running through him upon being praised. He inwardly cursed his own weakness to that term; a weakness he hadn't even known he had until that night with Tera. Suddenly, Anya pushed Seth over onto his back, causing him to protest weakly. Yet before he could move, she pounced, straddling his chest and using her weight to pin him down. "Now, it's time you please your mistress. Open that pretty mouth of yours."

Seth opened his mouth to protest, but Anya grabbed his jaw, causing his sentence to fail and come out as a surprised cry. She chuckled and scooted forward until her crotch was directly in his face, her arousal dripping on his neck.

"Mmmff!" Just as Seth realized what she wanted him to do, Anya pressed her slit into his face without mercy, muffling any protests he tried to make.

"Eat it, sissy!" Anya commanded him, slapping his thigh hard. Seth let out a muffled yelp, but obediently opened his mouth, remembering what May had taught him months ago. The sour and salty taste of Anya filled his mouth as he gave her a tentative lick. Anya let out a pleased sigh, even as she held him down with all of her weight. "Give me more!"

Seth stopped trying to resist her and sucked on her entrance, earning a pleasured moan from her. He reached up with his arms and grabbed her thighs to give him better leverage, and then he proceeded to please her with all that he remembered; he licked her several times before starting to probe inside of her with his tongue, all while applying suction with his lips.

"Mmm, yeah...that's what I'm talking about," Anya expressed, gasping. She began to rock her hips against his face, making it difficult for him to breathe. To compensate, he shifted his position such that he could breathe through his nose while he continued to explore her depths, using her the volume and intensity of her moans as his guide. He took a moment to suckle on her clit as well, causing her to let out a particularly long moan. "Aaaah...that's it. That's a good little bitch."

Her movements became more pronounced, telling Seth that he was doing a good job. He flattened his tongue and began to lick her clit repeatedly to see what sort of reaction he'd get. Anya gasped and pressed her hands against the back of his head, pushing him deeper into her crotch. Seth struggled to breathe, but never let up his attention to her slit. He had a feeling she would be angry if he stopped for even a moment.

"Oh yeah! That's the spot right there! Keep licking!" Anya moaned as Seth continued to please her, her hands firmly planted on his head. She ground her crotch against him harder and faster, thoroughly coating his mouth and chin with her arousal. Suddenly, she became a lot wetter, fluids sprinkling across his face and nose. She let out a frankly adorable squeak. "That's it! Yeah! I'm cumming! Ahn!"

Anya let out repeated moans for several seconds as she squirted on Seth's face, and then she slowed down, panting heavily. She lifted her butt, giving Seth such much-needed air to breathe. She lay down flat atop of him, teasing Seth with the feeling of her breasts pressing against his chest, and her warm entrance on his throbbing erection. She tapped his nose and kissed him regardless of her own fluids coating his lips.

"Such a good boy," Anya crooned, stroking his hair. "This is the least of what you owe me, after making me wait this long to have you."

"Please…" Seth whispered to her, his own arousal almost too much for him to take. He wanted to touch her breasts, squeeze her butt, and relieve the pressure in his groin, but he was afraid she'd slap him again.

"Hm? Please, what?" Anya questioned with a coy smile, tracing her fingers along his cheek. "If you want something, you need to speak up."

"I-I-I want you to…" Seth tried to say, but he was blushing too furiously to properly string two words together. He'd never had to spell out precisely what he wanted like this before.

"I can't hear you, you sissy," Anya remarked, flicking his nose. "How ever am I supposed to know how to reward you if you won't tell me?"

"Please play with my...my uh…"

"Your what?" Anya pressed, her smile growing.

"My c-cock," Seth stammered, his face so hot he swore he could use it to cook with. "Please play with my cock."

"Hmmmm...I think I can do that. You have been really good," Anya turned on her side and lay beside Seth, cradling him with the arm that held the leash, and using the other to trail down his belly to his groin. Seth gasped when she traced her fingertips along his length. "Oh wow, you're really sensitive. You must be really horny, you dirty boy. I guess you don't hate me as much as you say you do."

Anya slipped her fingers into her crotch briefly until they were coated with her own fluids, and then she wrapped her wet hand around Seth's cock and began to stroke it. Seth squeezed his eyes shut and hugged Anya around the middle.

"Are you hugging me?" Anya asked in shock as she slowly massaged his length.

"M-mhm," Seth whimpered, overcome by his own arousal.

"Oh dear Kyogre; you are just the most adorable thing," Anya expressed with a giggle. "I want to make you into my pet more than ever."

Seth couldn't help himself; he started to moan as Anya stroked him. He had to admit, she was excellent at this. She seemed to know exactly where to touch or squeeze him to pleasure him. Yet he couldn't help wanting more.

"You want me to go further, don't you?" Anya teased him, pressing a finger to the tip of his cock and applying pressure. Seth squeaked and nodded. "You really want to fuck me like the naughty boy you are, hmmm?"

"Mhm!" Seth answered, his mind awash with pleasure of a kind he'd never before felt.

Anya leaned forward, planting kisses along his jaw up to his ear. There, she lightly bit him and whispered to him in a husky voice, "Then beg me for it."

"I r-really want you...I want to have sex with you so bad," Seth whined pathetically. "Please, Anya!"

"Nuh-uh," Anya slapped his thigh again, causing him to cry out in pain. "Please...mistress."

"Please, mistress!" Seth didn't care what he had to say. All he knew is that all this teasing was driving him mad and he just wanted to be inside of her right now.

"Good boy," Anya responded, and then she climbed on top of him, pulling the leash taut in the process. She let his cock rest against her dark belly for a few moments, stroking it a little more just to tease him further. She pretended to ponder for a few torturous moments. "I think I can give you what you want."

Anya lifted her butt, planting one hand on Seth's chest to use as leverage. With her other hand, she grabbed his shaft and positioned it at her entrance. Then, at long last, she sank down upon it, Seth's length slipping inside of her.

"Yes!" Seth gasped as her warmth engulfed his cock at last. He panted heavily, feeling Anya grind her butt on his crotch. "Thank you, mistress."

"Now you're getting it." Anya seemed pleased at how quickly he was learning to play along. She rocked her hips a few times, and then she lifted her butt and began to ride him, pressing both hands against his chest to do so. She didn't take long to build up into a steady rhythm, filling the air with a wet slapping. "Mmm, you're very big. I love me some sissy boy dick. I can't get enough!"

Seth could only focus on Anya and the feeling of her inner walls squeezing against his length every time she came down upon him. Her breasts bounced appealingly with every movement she made, and her hair was a mess, clinging to her forehead and chest due to sweat.

The air was filled with the smell of sex, the combined sound of Anya's panting and Seth's effeminate moans, and the sound of wet flesh slapping upon flesh. Seth couldn't move even if he wanted to, as he was held down by Anya's hands and the leash, which she had tied to her upper arm.

"Fuck, I'm gonna cum! Fuck! Uuhn! Yeah! Right there!" Anya moaned, her face screwing up with pleasure. Her entrance alternated between constricting and loosening in turn around Seth's cock as she squirted, covering his crotch with even more of her fluids. "This is so fucking good, mmgh!"

"Mhm...you feel so good!" Seth agreed as he moaned helplessly. To his surprise and mortification, he found that he really wanted something in his butt as well, recalling his time with Tera and Kyra. As if on cue, Kyra, who had been sitting by the entrance to the tent, began to glow. Seth gasped as he felt an invisible force shaped like a small sphere spreading his anus and slipping inside until it reached his prostate. "Oh goodness! Ahn!"

"Hey, you better tell me when you're going to cum!" Anya commanded him as she rode him. "You're going to give me every last drop you have, you hear me?"

"I can't...I can't hold it back!" Seth whined as the sphere in his butt rubbed against his prostate, bringing him to incredible heights. "Anya, I'm really close! I'm...I'm going to...going to…!"

"Do it! You have my...nff...permission to...aah...cum!" Anya assured him, though at this point Seth couldn't stop it even if he didn't have her permission. "Fuck, I'm going to cum again too!"

"I'm going to...I'm going to cum! I'm going to cum! I...I…!" Seth whined as his orgasm approached rapidly. Finally, he climaxed and gasped, his eyes shooting wide as his cock throbbed inside of her, spurting a massive load of seed deep inside of her—the result of weeks of pent up stress. "I'm cumming! I'm cumming! Oh, Anya!"

"Fuck! Let it all out, sissy boy!" Anya threw her head back and moaned loudly, rocking her hips forward against Seth as she milked him for everything he had. "Aaah, yeah! Yeah!"

They rocked together several more times before they were spent, and the two of them collapsed together in the tent, the air filled with their combined panting. Seth yelped as Kyra stopped glowing, allowing his butt to return to normal.

"That was fucking awesome," Anya expressed as she climbed off of him and lay beside him. She let out a quiet yelp followed by a chuckle as Seth turned and hugged her closely. "Such a cute little bitch, you are. A good one too, pleasing your mistress as you did."

"Wait, are you falling asleep?" Anya asked, looking down at Seth, who was indeed drifting away. If Seth had been exhausted before, now he was long gone, the last of his stamina fucked out of him by the beautiful Team Aqua grunt. When Seth's only response was a quiet pleasured groan, she smiled, amused. "Heh, alright. I suppose I can give you this comfort. I'll let you sleep tonight in my arms."

As Seth drifted into slumber, the last thing he heard was Anya say in a solemn voice, "...because tomorrow we may die."

---

All too soon, the alarm he'd set on his phone went off, waking him from his slumber. Seth opened his eyes and looked around to find himself in Anya's tent, held close to her chest by her arms. Seth flushed with shame, remembering just what had happened last night. For all his talk that Anya was a criminal and therefore unattractive, she'd had him twisted around her finger and completely at her mercy last night.

But he couldn't think about that right now. It was time for business; Roxanne and Flannery were likely waiting for him, so he needed to get moving. Seth extricated himself from Anya's arms, waking her in the process.

"The hell're you going?" Anya asked tiredly, opening her eyes a crack.

"I need to meet up with a couple of gym leaders at the boardwalk," Seth revealed to her while he cleaned himself up. He unclasped the collar around his neck and let it fall to the floor. "With luck, they'll back us up when we take the fight to Team Magma."

"Really? Gym leaders helping out Team Aqua?" Anya opened her eyes fully, looking genuinely surprised. "That'll be a huge help, especially if it's someone like Winona or Juan."

"Right. We need all the help we can get," Seth said as he wiped himself clean with damp paper towels dabbed with soap taken from his pack. Once he was satisfied he didn't smell like sex anymore, he pulled a set of fresh dry clothes, consisting of black short shorts and a similarly colored midriff-baring sleeveless shirt. If they were headed to the volcano later today, he figured it was best to be prepared for the heat. Once he was all suited up, he grabbed his pack, woke Kyra from her place by the tent's entrance, and made for the entrance. "I've got to get going as quickly as possible. I'll see you again when it's time for the battle."

"Got it. Don't take too long. We don't know how much time we have," Anya said. Just before he left, she grabbed his sleeve. "Thanks for last night. Now let's make sure it isn't our last."

Seth met her gaze, recognizing the solemn nature of her words. He nodded, and then he left the tent.

As he headed for the shore, Seth walked right into a group of seven Team Aqua grunts, who turned to face him as he approached. One of them waved him down. "Over here, bud!"

"Is something wrong?" Seth asked as he joined them.

"Nah. Archie told me to give this to you before you left," the grunt answered, handing him a slip of paper with a string of numbers written upon it. "It's one of his throwaway phone numbers. This is so you can meet back up with us when it's time."

"Makes sense." Seth took the number and put it in his pack.

"By the way, you can only call it once. After that his Nav scrambles the number so it can't be traced," the grunt revealed to him. Seth paused; that was rather ingenious, all things considered.

'Okay. I won't call until it's time to meet up," Seth confirmed. He briefly glanced to the shore, eager to get out of here. "Is there anything else?"

"Pst, ask him, ask him," one of the other grunts whispered to the first with a grin, while the others snickered. Seth suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Oh yeah," the first grunt chuckled as well, his lips spreading into a knowing grin. "Some of the boys and I made a bet."

"A bet?" Seth raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Did she break out the collar?" the grunt asked.

"W-What!?" Seth stammered, immediately turning a bright red. It was obvious what the grunt was referring to.

"When you slept with Anya. Did she break out the collar, or didn't she?" The grunt pressed, his grin only growing at Seth's discomfort. "Come on, I've got two thousand pokédollars riding on this."

"She uh...she…" Seth glanced down at the floor, unable to answer. The other grunts surrounded him, laughing and urging him for an answer. In the smallest voice he could muster, he replied, "...may have."

"Hah! She totally did, I knew it! Pay up, boys!" the first grunt announced triumphantly. A mixture of groans and triumphant jeers arose from the gathered grunts as money changed hands between them.

"I bet he squealed like a girl!"

"Aw man, and here I was trying not to judge him on looks," remarked some of the other grunts.

"I'm...just going to leave now," Seth muttered.

Seth decided to quit before he could get any more embarrassed, the laughter of the grunts following him all the way to the shore.

---

Authors Note:

And here it is, the longest chapter in the entire story. Is Minnie actually insane? A chapter a year for two years and suddenly three in the space of a few weeks? I blame the coronavirus for giving me nothing else to do except write.

Boy, there's so much to talk about in this one! I got to introduce so many new characters in the same chapter! Like Flannery, even though all she got was a few lines of dialogue over the phone. Then, there's professor cozmo. This one...i didn't really plan his characterization going in. He was just supposed to be a plot point to get Seth to the volcano. But I decided halfway through to make him something more than a generic damsel in distress. (yes, ik he techincally has characterization in the anime and manga, but I'm disregarding all of that when it comes to characterizing them. I'm building them solely based on what I see in the games). So Cozmo turned into a villain of sorts, which was entertaining to write.

There's also a character I didn't expect to add, but I decided I would when I was writing and her theme song came on in my youtube mix. I think you can guess who it is, and I hope you're as hype as I am that she's in the story! Not sure what I'm going to do with her character yet, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

I also got to introduce Courtney, who some people have been asking about. Technically she never appeared in Emerald, but to hell with that, if I want to add her, I'm going to add her! What's a smut fic without your standard yandere girl?

And now the return of Team Aqua (including Anya...wink wonk...) with a vengeance! Archie is always so much fun to write; his character comes easily to me. And, I got to introduce Shelly, who I know some people were waiting to see as well.

I just had so much fun writing this one. And now...the climax atop the volcano!

Also, I welcomed Tal Strauss on as an editor, so please thank him for me for the help! Don't forget to leave me a review! I want to know how I did on this chapter!