*Before the chapter starts, a reply to the latest review, at least with the context i make out of it. I could have written the story split into parts based on each region but it would be impractical to create several fanfiction files when i can just update the same one. With that out of the way enjoy the chapter*
Chapter 116; Back on track
The cold morning wind of the Hoennian sunrise smacked Sonic and Raichu in the face as they flew over the breathtaking landscape of the island region.
Their destination was Lavaridge town. The journey for redemption was finally continuing.
"I can't believe more than a month has passed since I found myself in that crossroad" Sonic thought as he marveled over how much had transpired in a single month. How many things had changed.
Following the battle of Mt Chimney, Sonic flew away on Tropius, arriving after a while at Fallarbor town.
The talk with professor Cosmo was hard. The loss of the Mikado meteor took a great toll on his mentality. And Sonic not hiding anything wasn't making it easier.
"You mean to tell me… you let my Mikado meteor fall into the lava, losing it forever… to save the enforcer's life?"
"Yes professor".
Cosmo buried his face in his palms in frustration.
"Sacrificing my life's work to save my assistant is something I can live with. But sacrificing it to save the life of someone as vile and cruel as the enforcer… you are a fool. The world suffered more of a loss losing the meteor than it would ever have otherwise".
"Professor…"
"Leave".
Sonic was about to explain his reasoning but sighed and left. The professor just wouldn't understand. That much was certain.
After that, Sonic returned to the Aqua headquarters to rendezvous with the team and assess their losses from the battle.
To Sonic's dismay, Shelly's Crawdaunt and Matt's myghtyena were injured during the battle with Shadow, resulting in their temporary retirement from active duty so as to heal completely.
Many more Aqua pokemon were injured, with Archie commenting that this was their most brutal clash with the Magmas and the enforcer.
"We have had to always hold back so far scumpo. Otherwise innocent people and pokemon could get hurt. Up there we didn't have to worry about any of that".
Thankfully most of the injured pokemon would be ready to return to battle within a few days.
Sonic stuck with the Aquas for a few days to show his support and because Archie wanted him there to raise the team's morale and to celebrate their overall success in the battle.
It was by no means a victory but team Magma had failed to see their plans through, whatever they were. And that was reason enough for Archie to celebrate.
Of course, following the celebration, Archie had a one on one with Sonic, expressing his disappointment at not only the recklessness he had acted with in saving Shadow from falling into the volcano, risking getting pulled in in the process, but also with the fact that he had risked his life to save Shadow at all.
"It was not worth it scumpo. You went back on your promise to return that meteor to its owner, to save someone who didn't deserve it, least of all the enforcer. You had the chance to do something good for the region and you didn't take it".
Sonic was bewildered by Archie's calmness when speaking those words but stood resolute and spoke his own.
"I know. But I couldn't let Shadow die".
"Why not? He would. He tried twice already".
Sonic remembered making the same thought at the top of Mt chimney. He had asked himself in that moment why he should save Shadow, again.
And the answer had come very naturally. The same he would have given to professor Cosmo had he been allowed to speak.
"Because I am not like him" he had said with pride, both to himself in that moment and to Archie during their talk.
Archie had remained serious for a few moments before cracking a smile.
"You are indeed not like him. And that's why I'm glad you're in team Aqua scumpo".
He, alongside Matt and Shelly had bid Sonic an almost tearful farewell the next day, as Sonic had to return to his journey. It was time to continue earning his redemption.
"Do visit ok?" Shelly made Sonic promise.
"I will" he affirmed his promise.
"You better. We still have not had our rematch".
"Then better be ready for it next time big guy" Sonic fist bumped Matt.
"Good luck on your endeavors kid. But be vigilant. We could need your help at any time" Archie shook Sonic's hand.
"You know where to find me" Sonic joked as he rode Tropius and soared to the skies of Hoenn.
As Mt Chimney grew in the distance, Sonic wondered what happened to Ash and his friends after his and the Aquas' retreat. Despite the ruined state the Magmas were at when they left, he doubted Maxie and Shadow would just let them escape.
"Hopefully they got away" Sonic sincerely hoped.
Arriving at the top of Mt Chimney, intending to travel down the jagged pass until he found the flower, Sonic couldn't resist the urge to see if any scrap metal from Maxie's machine survived. Maybe he could learn more about team Magma's plans.
Indeed several scrap parts were located in various spots near the edge of the crater but very few were recognizable.
One that did peek his interest was an internal part. He recognized it from a similar device in Tails' workshop.
"An energy storage unit" he mumbled.
That meant team Magma was attempting to not only harness the massive amounts of energy resting inside the Mikado meteor but store itit for future use.
But question was why? What was their end goal?
"This feels eerily similar to Butler's endgame. But it can't be the same… could it?"
It didn't make sense that it would be the same. If team Magma and Butler wanted the same thing, they would have kept him around.
"Hell, Butler was mocked into becoming a villain because his plan was deemed too stupid by Maxie. So their missions can't possibly be related… right?"
Assumptions. That was all Sonic had for now.
He cursed inside that he didn't think to keep a way to contact Butler. He could possibly know what team Magma was aiming for.
Shaking his head, he turned around and left, entering the jagged pass.
The pass was very steep and narrow. One mistake could prove devastating.
"Thank god Brock is with them" he thought as the Pewter city gym leader was bound to be equipped for this.
After a while Sonic just resorted to flying on Tropius to scour the area for the flower.
He found it relatively quickly. He recalled Wally calling it the fire daisy.
"I wonder how the kid is doing. Probably rocking the gym challenge" Sonic thought as he recalled their battle in Mauville city.
As he and Tropius flew down towards Lavaridge town, he wondered when he would meet with Wally again. Because they would meet.
The kid said he would start the gym challenge. That path would one day lead to a battle with Sonic. It was inevitable.
With a gardevoir as the final form of ralts was known and a gyarados by his side, Wally already seemed like a worthy opponent in his eyes. Especially since his determination to grow with his pokemon was so great.
"If only Ash had his determination. Or to be more accurate, his desire to embrace growth in pursuit of a dream" Sonic thought as Lavaridge town came into view.
In that moment a powerful overheat attack came out of nowhere from the ground, clipping Tropius in the wing.
"What the…!" Sonic managed to say before Tropius started spiraling into an uncontrollable fall, barrel rolling through the air violently, all the while crying out as its wing was still a bit ablaze.
"Everybody hang on!" Sonic warned his pokemon to brace themselves as they finally hit the ground.
Tropius was dragged on the hard surface due to the momentum of its fall, resulting in Sonic and Raichu being thrown off, rolling away.
Sonic groaned as he looked at the sky, his whole body aching as he faintly recalled the similar fall in Kanto following Giovanni's escape.
"Another happy landing" he mumbled as he then wondered where he was.
A redhead girl wearing a short t shirt, revealing her bellybutton and long jeans looked over him.
"Oh my gosh are you ok?"
The voice was familiar. Sonic took a while to realize that girl had an almost identical voice to Amy.
"I've been better" Sonic answered without much liveliness in his voice.
The air next to him became hotter. He looked to his side and met the orange face and closed eyes of Flannery's Torkoal, which was sniffing him.
"I'm so sorry. Torkoal didn't mean to blow you out of the sky".
"That overheat was you?" Sonic asked still not getting up. That landing was very rough.
"Yes. We were training and… I guess we got a bit too carried away".
"Respectfully, a bit is an understatement" Sonic groaned as he stumbled back up with Raichu and Tropius also joining him.
The moment Flannery saw him and Raichu side by side, she gasped.
"No way! It's you! You're finally here!"
"Excuse me?" Sonic tilted his head.
"What took you so long? Ash was sure you would come but we all expected it to be sooner. Where have you been all this time?"
"Woah woah woah" Sonic raised his hands to stop her for a moment.
"Can we start over and maybe forget you blew me out of the sky?" he said before clearing his throat.
"Hello. I am Sonic the hedgehog. And you are…?"
"I'm Flannery, the Lavaridge town gym leader".
"You are? Well lucky me I guess, I was on my way here to challenge you".
"Flannery! What's all the ruckus about?" a male voice, sounding like it belonged to an older man was heard.
Both Sonic and Flannery turned around to see an elderly man, Sonic making roughly to be around his 60s to at worst early 70s, with grey short curly hair and round frame glasses, approach them.
"I'm sorry grandpa. We had a little accident".
The older man looked ready to berate them until he came to the same conclusion as Flannery.
"Oh my! It's you! The hero of Kanto. Here in Lavaridge town".
He quickly grabbed and started shaking Sonic's hand with overly excitement.
"I am so, so honored to finally meet you face to face. Stories of your endeavors reached here way before you and I have so, so many questions I would ask you if you would allow me".
"Oh um… thank you I guess Mr…"
"Moore. Call me Moore. I see you have already met my granddaughter Flannery, the current Lavaridge gym leader".
"Current? As in a substitute current?" Sonic asked Flannery.
"No. As in newly assigned gym leader current" Flannery corrected him.
"Oh I see. Well if it means anything to you that was quite the overheat coming from a Torkoal. I know they are more of a tankier species so the level of power was rather impressive. We were so high up in the sky and the overheat still clipped Tropius".
"Thank you. For someone who possesses two legends of fire that is quite the compliment".
Torkoal also thanked Sonic by letting out a joyous cry while also exhaling smoke from its nostrils.
"So um… about that gym battle? Here, I have brought the fire daisy".
"Uh yes. Your challenge for the heat badge. I believe it needs to be a grand spectacle for the whole town to bare witness to. After all it was at the top of our very mt chimney that team Magma and the enforcer pulled their horrible scheme. The town knows you singlehandedly put a stop to them and are all grateful to you for your outstanding display of bravery".
Mr Moore's words caught Sonic off guard.
That statement wasn't true at all. If anything without team Aqua he wouldn't stand a chance. That had been proven in meteor falls.
"Who spread this false statement?" Sonic wondered silently.
He went to inquire about it further but Mr Moore's excitement carried him forward, not giving the blue hedgehog the chance to speak.
"Such an event of course will take a bit to arrange. Would you be ok with postponing your challenge until the afternoon. Say 8PM would work?"
"Well I don't see a problem with that…"
"Fabulous! Absolutely spiffing. I will immediately begin the preparations. Forget the fire daisy, you don't need to prove your worth further. In the meantime, Flannery can keep you company until lunch. You are our guest today and that is non-negotiable. Now off you go kids. I strongly recommend you take your pokemon for healing immediately so that they are at their full potential during the challenge".
Sonic was actually in agreement with the recommendation as Tropius' wing had turned black due to the overheat burning it.
With Flannery accompanying him, they headed out towards the pokemon center.
"Well, your grandfather sure is very lively for an older fellow".
"Yeah. He is very unpredictable like that".
"I see" Sonic nodded "how long have you been a gym leader for?"
Flannery looked uneasy as if she was not wanting to reply.
"Close to three weeks now".
"Three weeks only?" Sonic's head turned very fast "that isn't exactly current gym leader status. That's new gym leader status".
Flannery now clearly seemed annoyed at the conversation.
"Uh oh. Did I insult you? I'm sorry if I did, it wasn't my intention…"
"Just forget it. It's no big deal. You still have not answered my question though".
"What question?"
"The one I asked you. You know, when you crash landed at the gym's courtyard?"
Sonic racked his brain. It wasn't easy as in that moment all he remembered was the impact of the crash taking its toll on him.
In the end he remembered it.
"You know Ash?"
"Yes. He was my first official challenger as gym leader. We did get into a few shenanigans before and after the gym battle but that's not why I'm asking".
"Are they ok? He and the rest of his friends? I did not see or hear from them after the brawl on Mt chimney and had no news of them either".
"They were all just fine. But Ash… I don't know. He waited for 3 days before they departed. He was waiting for you to arrive".
"Me? Why? "
"I talked about it with his friends. They didn't know for sure either. But his friend Brock suspects Ash was troubled… about your rescue of the enforcer".
Sonic snorted.
"He is not the only one. I heard people are talking about it all across Hoenn. But how is this reason for Ash to want to meet me? I mean how does that trouble him? " he asked, oblivious of Ash's meeting with Wally the previous day.
"Nobody knows. He left a long time before you arrived. He was going to challenge the 5th gym leader in Petalburg city".
"Makes sense" Sonic nodded. Ash was racing for the league. And admittedly Sonic needed to catch up.
The pair arrived at the pokemon center and quickly got Sonic's pokemon patched up.
"So, since I have so much time to spare before the challenge, is there anything fun to do around here?"
"Fun? Are you not going to train?"
"Of course I will not skip training. But it will be more of a revision type. You know, practice our moves one last time, put ourselves in the battle mindset, stuff like that".
"Does that mean the you think the battle will be easy then?! I may be a new gym leader but I assure you I pack quite the punch!"
"Woah woah chill. Noone is questioning your ability" Sonic was taken aback at her intensity.
Flannery realized she exploded on Sonic and seemed embarrassed but also stressed.
As if something or someone was pressuring her to perform well against him.
"But what could be giving her this kind of pressure?" Sonic thought.
"Sorry…" Flannery apologized "if you are interested there is a small exhibition of my grandfather's poems you can read".
"Poems? He is a poet?"
"Yeah. Hasn't always been but picked up the habit ever since retiring as a trainer".
"Huh. Well what can I say, that's new to me. I've never met anyone particularly interested in this kind of art. I guess it's just a little surprising. I mean who goes from trainer to poet?"
"Someone who has created quite the legacy as a trainer and now just wants to enjoy retirement" Flannery said.
"Ok and what is your grandfather's legacy?"
"Oh not much. Only that he became one of the elite Four of the region in his youth and remained as such for 30 years".
Sonic almost choked hearing this.
"Are you serious?! He was on the Hoenn elite Four?!"
"Yes. After that he tried to challenge the champion at the time before taking over gym leader duties, following his defeat, until recently".
"Duuude" Sonic mumbled "a gym leader with a 30 year experience of an elite four member and an aspiring champion? He would be quite the challenge. Pity I won't get a chance to battle him".
"Never say never" Flannery replied with a hint of annoyance.
"Hm. You're right. You never know. Perhaps I could challenge him to a friendly battle before the league".
Flannery seemed even more annoyed at this which surprised Sonic.
A phone call from Blaze changed that.
"I gotta take this. If I don't see you later where am I to go? You know regarding your grandfather's invitation to lunch?"
Flannery gave him the address of their house and Sonic thanked her before leaving to reply to Blaze.
"Hey what's up?"
"We got something. The investigation brought up something interesting uncle wanted you to hear".
"Well what is it?"
"Since the enforcer himself is a dead end, the police focused their efforts on the search for this Tabitha. I encouraged this because Devon co doesn't employ anyone named as such. After reviewing the past cases and incidents regarding team Magma, the police as 79% sure that Tabitha is one of the two admins of team Magma".
"An admin? That was unexpected. A bold move by team Magma, using their higher ups to pull such a stunt. I would imagine they use the enforcer as a terror tactic and just a grunt to play this guy".
"That's what I thought too. Can you imagine the next question?"
"Yeah. Why would they go with an admin?"
"Precisely. Something doesn't add up. And I think it's connected to the fact that they ran towards meteor falls".
"I know. If Shadow wanted to, he could have easily escaped. He literally has a Salamence. And he is very good at disappearing".
"Exactly. It is highly probable their plan wasn't just getting the Mikado meteor but also a trick to lure you there. Can you imagine any reason why they would want to get you there alone?"
Sonic thought it over. At first the only plausible reason was that they wanted to get him out of the picture. And their way of doing that was obviously capturing him.
But then another interesting coincidence came to his mind. Sonic had used his powers repeatedly in that brawl. He had displayed his speed a lot in front of Maxie.
And next time he had a conflict with team Magma, Shadow was equipped with rocket boots, making him almost as fast as Sonic, the blue hedgehog only barely outpacing him.
"I think there is one. But it's only a theory. One that checks out though".
"I'm all ears".
"I'm not sure you know, but there was another brawl recently. On top of mt chimney".
"I know. The whole region knows. And many are not happy".
Sonic sighed.
"Let me guess. Because I saved Shadow's life right?"
"Yes. I am fairly certain no one else in your shoes would have done the same. At least none of the locals. The enforcer has been the bane of their existence for months".
"What does your uncle and Steven think about it?"
"They're supporting you. Uncle believes the enforcer needs to be brought to justice and Steven thinks it wasn't up to you to choose if he lived or died".
"I see. I appreciate the support".
"Please do continue. Why did you mention the brawl?"
"Shadow had a new toy in that brawl. Rocket shoes. Ones that can make him almost as fast as me".
"As fast as you?"
"Right. You don't know. I haven't told or shown you. One of the perks of my bond with Raichu is that I have gained supersonic speed and a spinning attack I have nicknamed spindash. I know it sounds crazy but I think they were planning to capture me and use me as either a weapon or a prototype for weapons or even a battery. Or maybe even all of the above".
"Hm. A fascinating theory. But you are right. I haven't seen you actually perform these feats. I do believe you can though. I'll go along with it for now until you can show me in person".
"I will. In any case, I don't think it's a coincidence. Me getting baited there where I would have to use my speed and Shadow gaining rocket shoes is definitely connected".
"Maybe but we got off point. The question was why admin Tabitha would risk exposure to bait you?"
"Because they wanted to capture me and knew I couldn't resist the chance to kill two pidgeys with one stone. Shadow probably thought because I pursued him during the Millenium festival that I was onto team Magma a lot more than I actually am, perhaps that I already know who Tabitha is so they thought using themselves as bait wasn't nearly as risky. So they did just that to gain access to my powers and also neutralize me as a threat to their plans all at once".
"Interesting. But their recent stunt… They stole a mikado meteor so they were probably seeking to gain extreme amounts of energy. You would have been an amazing alternative for them, that's for sure. But you were still plan B. Question is what was plan A?"
"They had set up a device meant to harness the power of the meteor on top of the mountain. Shadow and the rest of the Magmas were tasked with repelling me, Ash and his friends and team Aqua off".
"I see. And what kind of device was that exactly? Can you describe it?"
"Don't know for sure. It was destroyed".
"Wha… ? How?"
"It's uuh… a long story. But to make it short, overuse of my powers causes explosive bursts of kinetic energy that affects nearby machinery. The device was overcharged and exploded when Maxie tried to start it. That's the same reason Shadow almost fell in the volcano. His rocket shoes failed because they were affected by my energy. I guess… that's part of the reason I saved him. He would have died because of me".
Blaze remained silent for a few moments. Sonic felt a drop of sweat running down his back between his quills.
"You said this was part of the reason. What was the rest?"
"That I'm not like Shadow. Or Giovanni".
Sonic could have sworn in that moment he heard Blaze smiling even though the movement of muscles isn't an audible sound.
"I see. I'm glad to hear this is your reasoning. And that you keep heeding my words".
"I wish I did so from the start. But if I hadn't Hoenn would have probably seized to exist".
"Yeah. Ironic. Thanks for the update though. I will inform the authorities of team Magma's potential interest in you. Tabitha could possibly reveal himself again as part of a plan. If that is the case we need to capture him. He could be vital to bringing down team Magma and the enforcer".
"I will agree on that last bit. Wait! I just remembered something! When I was in Johto, a friend from back home who had been living in Hoenn until recently said she ran into Shadow in public with someone named Tabitha. They were hanging out so they must know each other personally. We get Tabitha we expose Shadow".
Blaze nodded, agreeing that using Shadow's connections to others would be a most practical way to bring him down.
She contemplated telling Sonic of her encounter with Shadow. About the fact that Shadow had a love interest.
But she didn't. And it wasn't just because exposing Shadow to his date would get them nowhere in regards to team Magma.
And it wasn't just about making sure wasn't tempted into getting revenge again either.
It was because despite making sure during that encounter that Devon co was protected from any future impact of Shadow's actions, she saw him as more than the enforcer in that moment.
She saw him as a regular guy liking a girl.
While it didn't change the fact that if Shadow tried anything Blaze would expose him without a second thought to Maria, it did keep her from revealing that to Sonic. And it was for the same reason Sonic had saved Shadow.
Because they weren't like him.
And that made things harder for them.
Day by day, event by event, the situation got more complex, more delicate. And with constantly rising stakes.
"Let's focus on team Magma for now. Enforcer or not, they need to be stopped. So we start with Tabitha. I got to go. I'll keep you in the loop if anything comes up about him".
"Gotcha. Stay safe out there. These guys could strike out of nowhere. Especially now that whatever plan they were hatching atop chimney is ruined".
"Same goes for you. Now that I think about it where have you been? You haven't been publicly seen in weeks".
"I went off the grid for a while, to train, and to let things cool down. Because as I said, I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of team Magma after this. In fact we are just getting started with them".
"And now? Where are you now?"
"Lavaridge town. I will challenge the gym in the afternoon. Hey quick question before you go, does Steven know one Mr Moore? His granddaughter claims he was in the elite Four once".
"Yes. He is very well known and a role model for Steven, as a trainer at least. Shortly after his defeat at the hands of the previous champion, he quit and became the Lavaridge gym leader. He and elite four member Glacia had an argument about it. Rumors say there was something romantic going on between them but nothing more than that. Steven became champion 5 years ago, way after the previous champion beat Mr Moore".
"I see. His granddaughter Flannery said the same things. I am set to battle her this afternoon. Honestly it sucks I won't battle him. One of my best battles ever was with Agatha of the Kanto elite four. But it is what it is".
"Accepting of what isn't. A wise decision. Talk soon and good luck in your battle".
"Thanks Blaze. Talk soon" Sonic said and hung up. He checked the time.
"4 hours until lunch. Gotta find something to do" Sonic commented as he started strolling around town, wanting to have a calm morning for once.