Meteor Falls: A site of ancient folklore. It's rumored that the falls were formed when a heavy meteor crash landed into a mountain. It's said that this meteor was the first step into extinction of humanity, kickstarting a nearby volcano to erupt. It's said a city known as Plinipei Town was covered by the aftermath of an eruption.
"I don't see a single shard anywhere"
Dobie growled. He kicked a rock off the cliff, turning his snout up as the rock fell into the water with a heavy splash
"Blathers. You said they were in the falls!"
"Yes, that's what I've been trying to tell you!" Blathers explained. "The meteorite shards are embedded in the walls of this cave. It'd be impossible to get them out, even with the strongest Pokemon available."
Dobie snarled at the incompetent fool who dared to call himself a professor. He walked up to Blathers and slapped him across the face.
"I'm going to ask you one more time" the wolf growled. He jabbed a finger into Blathers' chest "Then. How. do I. get. the. meteorite shards out?!"
Blathers placed a wing on his cheek, cringing from the sting of the slap. Faint claw marks dug into his feathers. He sneered as he ranted at the wolf
"Did you hear a thing I said?! You can't get the fragments out without destroying the falls! You'd kill all of us, dozens of wild Pokemon, and the animals who call this place home. Do you really want all that blood on your hands just for an asinine project?!"
Dobie glared and snapped his fingers
"Beau, Fauna, eliminate this bastard for me. He is no longer of use to us"
"Sir, yes sir!" Beau and Fauna shouted simultaneously. They each grabbed onto one of Blathers' arms and dragged him to the edge of a steep cliff. Blathers' heart raced as he looked down at his feet; countless stalagmites that could impale even the sturdiest of steel, a dark pit with no way to climb up, several bones scattered between stalagmites, broken tools from decades ago.
"Any last words, sir?"
Fauna asked as she twisted his right arm back.
Blathers turned around and glared
"You ruffians won't get away with this!"
—
Frank and the boys entered the cave. They looked around at their surroundings; small red stones were embedded in the walls, sparking intently underneath the light. Wild Zubat flew through the cave, the smaller ones bumping into the walls before joining the rest of the herd. Two strange rock Pokemon, one shaped like the sun, the other resembling the moon, floated away from the group.
Shouting echoed from the left side of the cave.
"This way" Frank pointed at the left path. The group nodded in sync before running onto the left path. The gang slowed down once they saw a wooden bridge in front of them. Unlike the bridge from Route 114, this one looked well maintained. Small draconic icons were carved into the wood, while the rope looked strong enough to lift up even a Wailord without fraying.
One by one, the four young men crossed the bridge. They ran through a long cavern before stopping in front of a group of animals. The wolf looked stoic while both deer were minutes away from throwing the owl off the cliff.
"HEY!"
Frank hollered at the wolf and two deer.
"Let Professor Blathers go, you assholes!"
The wolf pinched the bridge of his muzzle and shook his head
"Not this feather-brained fool again…" he muttered under his breath.
"You know him, sir?"
the orange buck asked.
"Unfortunately, yes" the wolf nodded.
"He's….been persistent on stopping us from our plan. My Arceus, did I not explain that to you Beau?"
"No, Leader Dobie"
Beau shook his head. "Do you still wish for us to eliminate the owl?"
"Not yet"
Dobie shook his head and turned around.
"Um, who's this?"
Kidd asked.
Frank lit up a cigarette and whispered
"These guys are in charge of Team Cottage. The wolf, that's Dobie Lupus. The buck and doe, their names are Beau and Fauna Buckingham, and they simp for him. And before you ask, yes, they're twins."
"Got it"
Kidd nodded.
Dobie let out a warm chuckle
"Oh, Frank. It's a shame you decided to walk in on us like this. But I think I can make a deal. In fact, I'll let Professor Blathers go, on one condition"
"What is it?"
Frank rolled his eyes.
The wolf cracked his knuckles
"If you and your pack of runaways beat my admins in battle, I'll let him go. If your group loses, I'll just have to dispose of you all"
He glared before barking at his cohorts
"Beau, Fauna, I command you two to battle these intruders. "
"Yes sir!"
"Sir yes sir!"
The deer duo saluted their boss before taking off for battle.
Fauna folded her hooves together
"Pretty boy" she looked at Kidd, then at Benedict
"Guy who needs a haircut. I challenge both of you to a battle"
"HEY!"
Benedict shouted as he shook a fist at the doe. "Is that all ya got?! I mean, at least call me a cocky bastard instead, ya daft twat!"
"Very well then"
Fauna released a Vulpix and Koffing from two Nest Balls. The two Pokemon jumped in front of their trainer, ready to battle.
Benedict leaped up and tossed his Poke Ball in the air.
"Asuka, let's come on out!"
Asuka backflipped and landed into a crater filled with sparkling water. She growled at the other two Pokemon, flicking her tail up and down in the pool.
Kidd held his Poke Ball in front of him
"Libra, now!"
"Abra!"
Libra popped out of the ball, hovering in place and holding her paws together.
Fauna pointed in the air
"Vulpix, use Will-O-Wisp on the Magikarp. Koffing, Poison Gas on Abra"
Vulpix stood on its back paws. It fanned out all six tails, releasing purple flames from its body. The flames hovered through the air, glowing brighter as they grew closer to the Magikarp.
"Asuka! Use Splash to put 'em flames out!"
"Magi-KARP!"
Asuka flipped upwards. She nosedived into the crater, using her tail to douse the flames and splash water into Vulpix's face. Vulpix whined as it tried to shake the water off its nose and cheeks.
Koffing took a deep breath in and spewed purple sulfuric gas across the field. Asuka ducked underneath the water, lucky that the gas hovered above her spot.
"Libra! Fly above the gas and use Confusion!"
"Abra!"
Libra zoomed up above the gas. Her hands glowed pink as she shot a bright pink orb of energy through the gas. The orb exploded in Koffing's face, knocking it down into the ground with a heavy thud. A small crater formed below the gas Pokemon's body.
Kidd and Benedict high-fived in celebration.
One down, one to go.
Fauna looked down shamefully as she returned Koffing to its ball. She stuffed her Nest Ball into her dress pocket before looking back up
"Vulpix, use Feint Attack on Abra"
"Vul-!"
Vulpix's body glowed black as it ran across the field.
"Libra! Teleport away from Vulpix, and grab Asuka while you're at it!"
Libra glowed white and teleported away from the fire type. She reappeared behind Asuka, grabbed her by her tail, and swung her in the air like a flail.
"Abraaaaa!" she let out a battle cry.
"Y'all thinkin' what I'm thinkin?"
Benedict yelled.
"Of course"
Kidd nodded and winked.
The two boys looked on with determination.
"Asuka, Tackle the hell outta Vulpix!"
Libra hurled Asuka into the air. The fish Pokemon flipped several times in the air. Her fins glowed white as she torpedoed down and headbutted Vulpix. The fox Pokemon yelped as it skidded backwards against the cliff.
Fauna trembled as she bit her lip
"…..Vulpix. Flamethrower, and burn their trainers while you're at it"
Vulpix planted its feet against the ground. It tilted its head
"Vul?"
"Did I stutter?"
Fauna barked out. "USE FLAMETHROWER ON EVERYBODY"
Vulpix's tails uncurled as its eyes turned white. It opened its mouth to spew a stream of bright red fire.
"Libra! Confusion to break up the flames!"
Libra teleported to just inches away from the flames. She held her paws out, manipulating the stream of fire away from her body. Her eyes glowed pink as she danced the flames around her body. Once Libra snapped her fingers, the burning flames faded away into light smoke.
"Asuka! Use Tackle to—"
Kidd blocked Benedict off
"I have a better idea" he interrupted his friend. "Libra, use Confusion, BUT use Asuka to beat up that Vulpix!"
Benedict gasped in surprise
"Kidd….." he grabbed his friends by the hooves. "I don't know what y'all are thinking…"
Kidd gulped.
Oh great, this is going to ruin the entire battle, he thought…
"But I LOVE IT!"
Benedict screamed at the top of his lungs.
Kidd grinned
"You asked for it! Libra, let's go!"
Libra roared her strongest battle cry. Both her hands glowed pink as she lifted Asuka up into the air. The fish Pokemon stayed completely still, except for her twitching whiskers.
"ABRAAAAAAA!"
Libra screamed as she used Asuka to smack Vulpix multiple times across the face. A few pink sparks flew off her body.
Vulpix trembled as it tried to stand up.
It collapsed on the ground, groaning in exhaustion.
Libra flicked Asuka back into a nearby puddle. Asuka paddled around the small puddle before leaping into the air. She used her tail to high-five the other Pokemon.
"Tsk tsk tsk"
Fauna shook her head as she returned Vulpix to its ball.
She bit her lip as she calmly walked to the duo.
The doe grabbed Benedict by his hood and pulled him close.
"Don't you ever cross me again" she whispered before shoving him away from her.
The deer ran away from the duo, heading back towards her cohorts as fast as she could.
Benedict screamed as he tumbled backwards. He slipped off a rock, barely hanging onto the cliff by both wings. He tried to get footing on the cliff, but kept slipping from the steepness.
His wings trembled as he tried to hang onto the cliff. His feathers felt slick as he slowly edged away from the cliff.
"Libra!" Kidd shouted.
"Pull him up, now!"
"Abra!"
Libra's body glowed pink as she formed a blue aura around Benedict's body. She tried to hoist him back up, but trembled violently as she struggled to pull his weight up. Unfortunately, her telekinetic powers faded into nothing.
Benedict yelled as his fingers slipped off the cliff. This was it, he thought. At least this won't be as humiliating as almost dying from an Ariados attack…
Kidd let out a blood-curdling scream. He froze in his spot; not strong enough to lift his friend up to safety. He was NOT watching his friend die before his eyes…
"ABRA!"
Libra held her paws out. Sweat dripped down the side of her head. She took a deep breath in, opened her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs. Her body glowed in a bright yellow and white orb.
A pink and blue aura wrapped itself around Benedict's body, stopping him from falling any further.
The orb of light exploded through the cave, revealing a larger and more powerful Libra. Her body doubled in height, while her tail was longer and fuller. Her eyes were wide open, glaring in determination. Long gold whiskers dangled from her cheeks, while a bright red star glowed from her forehead. A shiny silver spoon formed in her right paw.
"Kaaaa-dabra!" she sung in joy.
She tightly clutched onto her spoon, gradualy using her stronger powers to lift Benedict out of the air and land him back on the ground and onto his feet.
Benedict wiped some dust off himself before holding his wing out
"Heh, thanks for savin' me, Libra. Y'all did awesome!"
Libra closed her eyes and nodded as she shook his wing
"Kadabra"
Kidd ran up and tackled Benedict with a tight hug. He squeezed him like a snake suffocating its prey.
"I thought you were going to die!" Kidd cried out. "Please, don't scare me like that!"
"Aww, but Kidd" Benedict pulled him closer into the hug. He patted him on the back "I know how y'all feel. I was scared for myself too"
Kidd sniffled, trying to keep it together. He looked over at his Pokemon
"Libra? Seriously, thank you so much"
Libra closed her eyes, folded her paws together and nodded in agreement. She stayed quiet, letting the two trainers comfort each other.
—
Beau scoffed as he looked at the two animals
"So, you brought a little friend with you, huh? I've never seen a rhino so short"
"Hey!" Tank stomped his foot and yelled. "Aren't you the jerk who raided Fortree City a few weeks ago!"
"Yeah, that was me" Beau yawned.
"And what of it?"
Tank trembled before lashing out
"Do you have ANY idea how much damage you caused to Fortree City?!"
"Yeah" Beau deadpanned. "Enough that Master Dobie can cover for it, you little runt"
He grabbed two Nest Balls and released his Pokemon for battle.
The first Pokemon was a large black dog that looked like a larger Poochyena, while the second Pokemon was a gooey red snail with a large brown shell on its back.
Tank snorted as he grabbed one of his Poke Balls and threw it in the air
"Oscar, GO!"
"Zangoooose!"
Oscar cried out as she sliced her claws in the air.
Frank calmly tossed one of his Ultra Balls up
"Rico, help us out"
He sent out a short bipedal bird Pokemon. The Pokemon had red and green wings, a white body, and a small tuft of orange feathers on his head.
"Hawwwww-LUCHAAAA!"
the bird Pokemon screamed as he shadow boxed the air.
Beau pointed ahead
"Mightyena, use Crunch on Zangoose! Magcargo, Flamethrower"
Magcargo's body flared up, small embers shooting from its body. Its shell glowed yellow as it shot a long blue and orange steam of fire.
Mightyena charged across the rocky ground. Its mouth glowed yellow as it lunged towards Oscar. She used her forearms to stop Mightyena from biting down on her body.
"Oscar, block it and use Fury Cutter!"
"Zan-goose!"
She skidded backwards, trying to push back against the bite Pokemon.
Her claws glowed lime green as she landed two uppercuts against Mighyena's chin. She slashed and clawed at her opponent until it swayed back and forth in its spot. Mightyena tilted to its left, falling over with a heavy thud.
Beau gritted his teeth as he returned his Pokemon to its ball. He shouted at the top of his lungs
"Magcargo, use Flamethrower again!"
Frank snapped back
"Rico! High Jump Kick!"
The Hawlucha's eyes glowed a bright shade of orange. He darted across several stalagmites, his legs glowing white as he dodged the ray of fire.
"LUCHAAAAAAAA!"
Rico cried out as he jumped up and kicked Magcargo in the throat. The fire type coughed and sputtered small flames.
"Finish it off with Stone Edge!"
Rico jumped onto a stalagmite. He spread his wings out as he raised several stones from the ground. The pillars of rocks hovered upwards, hitting Magcargo's body until it passed out from exhaustion.
"That was pretty awesome!"
Tank gave Frank a fistbump.
Beau closed his eyes and shook his head as he returned Magcargo to its ball. Dobie walked up behind him. The wolf turned him around and slapped him across the face
"You. You complete and utter failure!" Dobie screamed at the top of his lungs. He grabbed Beau by his turtleneck "I should fire you for this!"
Beau yanked Tank by the arm and yanked him away from Dobie. Tank backed away from everybody else, a small nosebleed forming at his nostrils.
He shouted back at Dobie
"HEY! That's no way to treat your friends!"
Dobie scoffed and raised an eyebrow
"He's not a friend, he's just an alliance. And why should I have to listen to an annoying brat like you?"
"Well at least I'm not a monster like you!" Tank shouted back. "I don't go around telling others to savage entire towns, kill other animals, steal Pokemon for fun! You're the reason some of our friends in Fortree City are DEAD! And, and you're—"
Dobie pulled a fist back and punched Tank in the face. Drops of blood flew in the air. Tank stumbled backwards, covering his mouth from the pain. Beau wanted to vomit just from what he saw. Frank trembled in fury. He wanted Dobie dead.
"You need to shut your mouth and stay out of adults' business!" Dobie snapped as his voice went hoarse. "What we do shouldn't concern some whiny little runt like yourself"
While Beau rummaged his pockets for a first-aid kit, Frank wrapped his wings around Dobie's throat, seconds away from crushing his windpipe.
"That is no way to talk to one of my friends!"
"Ooooh wow mister tough guy is friends with little kids?"
Dobie coughed out. "You probably diddle them behind everyones' back"
Frank refused to believe what he was hearing. He let go of the wolf, then kicked him in the stomach
"You're disgusting!"
He walked away from Dobie, then leaned down to grab a piece of paper off the ground. He stuffed it in his pocket, behind his cigarette box and wadded up papers.
He grabbed Tank by the wrist
"Come on, we're getting you some help"
The eagle called out to the deer
"Beau, I know you're part of Team Cottage, but you should quit while you're at it!"
"I promise you, I will!"
Beau yelled back.
Frank ran through Meteor Falls, fast enough to cover his trail but slow enough Tank wouldn't get sick. He looked around the rest of the cave
"Benedict?! Kidd?! Professor Blathers? Where the hell are you guys?!"
he hollered.
"Over here!"
a voice yelled from one of the caves.
Frank sprinted towards the cave. He sighed in relief; the three animals were just trying to catch their breath. A large Kadabra hovered nearby the trio.
Benedict and Kidd gasped in surprise.
Tank frowned as he sat down next to them. His cheeks were swelled up and purple, while his eyes were puffy with tears
"….I hate Team Cottage even more, guys" he sighed under his breath.
"Y'all are tellin' me"
Benedict ranted. "Fauna nearly pushed me off a cliff, but I was lucky that Libra evolved to save me!"
"That's nice" Tank sniffled.
"I'm really glad she did that"
Libra hovered over the group. She firmly pat Tank on the upper back, frowning as she watched him try to cope with what had happened to him.
"So, Professor Blathers?"
Frank asked. "You ready to go back home?"
Blathers nodded
"Are you crazy, of course I am! After today, I just. I just need space for myself"
The group ran for their lives and out of the cave. Frank used all six of his Pokemon to fly everyone back safely to Fallarbor Town.
Meanwhile, back in the cave...
"Sir, why did you hit that child?"
Beau asked his superior.
Dobie kicked down a pile of rocks. He looked up at the deer and snarled
"It's none of your business, Beau"
"Leader Dobie" Fauna saluted him as she watched him throw several rocks off the cliff. "I haven't seen you this angry before. Care to tell me what happened?"
"Will you can it already, Fauna!" Dobie snapped. He stomped one foot down on the ground.
"If you two ask me any more stupid questions, I'm having you both replaced. Got it?!"
Both deer backed away from their boss. It was one thing to see him snap at lowly grunts he could replace in a day's notice, but him screaming at them with nobody else around?!
"Now, onto business"
Dobie pulled a picture out of his pocket. The picture showed him and a pastel colored bear on the deck of a boat. The two animals were smiling and hugging each other.
Dobie crumpled the picture in one of his paws
"We're going to Mt. Chimney. I have a base set up there, and we're commencing Project Sinatra"
"But what about the meteor shards, sir?"
Fauna folded her hooves together.
"Can we still pull off Project Sinatra?"
Dobie gathered up a pile of stones
"These stones here have enough shard-to-rock ratio to pass by.
They're not the best quality, but it's better than nothing"
Unbeknownst to the Team Cottage leaders, two animals watched them from another cavern. They were scribbling notes down at a lightning speed.
"Are you seeing this, Brutus?!"
one of the animals, a bright red squirrel, whispered to her companion. "Mt. Chimney?!"
"Yeah, Blazel"
The other animal, a purple bulldog, noted. "We'll have to go there soon. Or the Hoenn region will be screwed over"
—
Back in Fallarbor Town, the guys stopped to patch up their injuries, then went to Professor Blathers' neighborhood.
Blathers led everyone into his house. He gasped in surprise. The house was a cluttered mess; documents scattered on the floor, knocked over cups on the tables, pillows fallen off the bed, cables dangling from shelves, the fridge wide open. A container of instant coffee sat on the table, the contents empty. A purple Poke Ball was lying on the floor, the pink bow on the top shining under one of the lamps.
A round pink fairy Pokemon hopped across the furniture.
It sang at the top of its lungs as it backflipped onto the couch.
Blathers shook his head as he picked up several documents
"Clefairy. Did you let yourself out of your ball again?"
The pink fairy placed its hands on his hips and turned its chin up in pride
"Cle-FA!"
"Why am I not surprised"
Blathers deadpanned as he tried to clean up the floor.
He got most of the documents off the floor and onto some shelves. Thankfully Clefairy didn't try to destroy them.
Clefairy stuck its tongue out, then hopped onto Tank's head,
pressing its back against his horn.
Tank smiled for the first time since being in Meteor Falls
"Um, does Clefairy usually do this?"
"Sometimes, yes" Blathers explained. He placed several folders on a nearby shelf. "He's not mine, actually, he's my little sister's. She asked me to watch him for the week"
Clefairy bounced off Tank's head, then hopped onto the bed. He tossed several pillows in the air, head-butting each one onto the floor.
"He's really cute" Tank tossed a pillow back to Clefairy, laughing as the fairy Pokemon caught the pillow. "Do you have any Pokemon of your own?"
"As a matter of fact, yes"
Blathers explained. "A Xatu. She's not here, though. She's at Mossdeep City with my sister"
Benedict picked a framed photograph off the floor. The photograph showed three owls and a chicken sitting together at a picnic. The two smaller owls were eating sandwiches while the larger owl read a book with the chicken. Something felt strangely familiar about the photo…
"Hey, um, Professor Blathers?"
he called out. "Can I ask y'all 'bout this pic?"
Blathers looked over his shoulder
"Hm? Yes, I sure can"
He walked over to the other bird. The owl placed one of his fingers on the owl
"This was taken at Turffield, well over twenty years ago. That's me on the left, my little sister Celeste, and of course, my mother and father in the background. Mother's been gone for four years, but father is still alive, somewhere in Wyndon if I remember right"
"Did y'all say Wyndon?" Benedict said as he squinted at the photograph. That rooster looked way too familiar. The fiery red feathers, dark eyes looking away from the camera, green varsity jacket unbuttoned…
"Why, yes I did" Blathers nodded. "My family's of Galarian heritage, but we moved eighteen years ago to the Hoenn region"
He sighed as he glared down at the photograph
"Then father fell for a local woman. Her name was Tamoko Shiratori.
I hold nothing against her, but the fact that Mornay left us—"
Benedict interrupted him
"Sorry, but did y'all say your dad's name was Mornay?"
Blathers nodded before coughing into his elbow. After coughing several times, he sighed
"Yes. Is there something wrong?"
"It's nothin', just that that's my pa's name too"
Benedict pointed out. He snorted "But there's no way they'd be the same animal! Is his last name Sussex?"
Blathers set the photograph down on a nightstand table
"...Yes."
Benedict gulped. His eyes widened as he thought about everything. Mornay wasn't just leaving for Pokemon tournaments; he was nothing more than a deadbeat bastard!
He walked over and sat down on the bed, placing his chin on his wings.
"Oh dear"
Blathers sighed as he walked up to the other bird. "This wasn't how you wanted to find this out?"
"It ain't that" Benedict crossed his arms.
"I'm just worried y'all'd be mad at me too. I mean, 'cause of what he did, an-"
"Stop right there"
Blather's voice turned tense, before softening up. "Just because Mornay walked out on me doesn't mean I'm going to blame anyone else but him. For all I know, he and Tamako are probably doing great"
"Eh, not really" Benedict explained. "The two of 'em split up this year. Mornay headed back to Galar, an' my ma moved back to Hoenn. At first I thought I wanted to go with Mornay but"
He looked at his friends and smiled
"I think Tamako did the right thing by takin' me to Hoenn"
"I don't know her well but"
Blathers patted him on the shoulder. "I think so, too"
Frank snuck out of the house. He pressed his back against the wooden surface, muttering under his breath as he lit up another cigarette. He took a deep breath in, the strong taste of tobacco pressing against his beak. Hmm, this brand tastes a little weak, he thought.
The door creaked open. Benedict popped his head out
"Oh, there y'all are!"
"Oh, hi Benedict"
Frank said before blowing some smoke up in the air. "Don't, uh, tell Professor Blathers about this"
"Alright"
Benedict stood next to him.
"So, um, what's next with Cottage?"
"Well"
Frank took another inhale of his cigarette
"We're gonna have to head to Mt. Chimney"
He pulled the paper out of his pocket and showed it to Benedict. The note read:
"PROJECT SINATRA:
- Obtain Meteors for machine at Mt. Chimney
- Release ancient Pokemon
- Use ancient Pokemon to expand the Hoenn region's landmass
- Eliminate anyone who gets in our way
- If all else fails?
- Leave planet if we must. There's other planets to conquer"
Benedict looked closely at the paper. "Wait a sec- release an ancient Pokemon?! Now what's that about!"