Chapter 108; Run-in in Fallarbor town
Jet rushed down the stairs and opened the door to Knuckles.
"Finally! Come in! Wave and Tails are waiting to initiate the call!"
The two rushed to Jet's room where Tails and Wave were already talking to each in a video call.
"Hey Knuckles. All good?"
"Forget about me! Is it true? Sonic actually died?"
"And came back from the dead as he claims" Tails said, not believing he would ever say those words in the literal sense.
"But how? What happened after that text?"
Sonic's account logged in.
"Looks like we're about to find out" Wave commented.
Sonic's face popped up on camera.
"Hey everybody!"
"Sonic!" they all said his name at once.
"You got a lot of explaining to do mate!" Knuckles turned the monitor towards him, getting smacked by Wave who returned it to its original spot.
Sonic chuckled, even shedding a tear of joy. He had feared right before doom desire killed him that he would never see them all again.
The blue hedgehog then spent the next two hours explaining everything that transpired during the week of the Millenium Comet's presence from start to finish in great detail. From pursuing Shadow to Butler's show, to hanging out with Ash and his gang, his deep talk with Ash about his past experiences with team rocket and how they had shaped him, Butler's insane plan to ressurect an extinct species called Groudon which Knuckles admitted he had no idea about but he had heard of Jirachi as wish making was a common theme in stories and legends.
Sonic then finally got to the most important part; How because of his bad choices, Groudon had been overcharged and Jirachi was forced to destroy it with doom desire before absorbing it again and losing control, firing doom desire on itself.
"In that moment, I acted on instinct. I activated my wish but Jirachi couldn't do anything about it other than redirect the blast on someone other than itself. I… I was tempted to strike down Shadow… but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew I would never be able to forgive myself if I did. So I has Jirachi strike me".
"How did you survive?" Wave asked him.
"I didn't. The blast killed me. But" Sonic smiled even more genuinely, his face revealing a massive amount of gratitude "your friend from Hoenn brought me back".
"May?!"
"Yes. She had a wishing star of her own. And she used it to save me. I am eternally indebted to her for that".
"We all are" Tails said "and we're also glad you finally saw reason you blue idiot" he teased his friend.
Sonic nodded as his new catch, Tropius, invaded the call, demanding treats.
"Woah! New catch?! Looks cool" Jet complimented the fruit pokemon.
"It is cool. And very demanding about food. Isn't that right bananas?" Sonic joked as he scratched Tropius' neck. The grass and flying type closed its eye to his touch.
"We'll arrive at Fallarbor tomorrow. Go back to sleep and get ready for a mountain of treats tomorrow ok?"
Tropius licked him as thanks and then laid next to the rest of Sonic's Pokemon.
"Looks like your team is coming together" Knuckles commented "we should battle when it is full and fully grown".
"Oh we will. Just wait until I come home".
"So…" Tails set the discussion back on track as they needed to see where Sonic stood in regards to his journey "what's next for you now?"
"Well, I have a journey to complete here. I will restock on Fallarbor town tomorrow and then go back to the fiery path to climb the volcano this time. I will look for team Magma before I go though".
Tails shot him a disapproving look through the camera.
"Do not get mistaken Tails. I do not intend to pursue Shadow any longer. But it is undeniable team Magma is up to no good. So I need to make sure they are not up to anything in Fallarbor. Maybe it was just rumors but if not then I need to be there. And if I can bring Shadow to justice then all the better for the people".
The tone was peaceful and the mention of bringing Shadow to justice instead of implementing chasing revenge brought calmness to Tails.
His friend had not yet blundered his chance at redemption.
"I'm glad to hear that. Although I need to mention that because of your actions, the situation with Ash is more complicated than ever before. If the kid's job was hard before, now it's near impossible".
"I know. But I think we have all established that life is complicated as is. All we can do is push forward and see where the path leads me and him".
"Aren't you worried?" Jet asked Sonic.
"I am. But you know what I think? If you have time to worry, then run".
His friends were confused.
"Ok that sounded better in my head. You know with my speed and stuff".
"It's ok. It still makes sense" Tails assured him "even though the context is unique to you".
"Hehe" Sonic laughed "anyway" he said he yawned "I think I'm gonna hit the hay. New day tomorrow. So much to do".
"I'm going too. Cosmo will be back soon".
"Tell her we said hi" Wave said to Tails.
"I will. Talk soon guys" Tails said before hanging up.
"I hope the next day signal a new beginning for everyone" Jet said.
"A new day is always a new beginning bro. Took me quite a while to understand it. And a literal trip to the afterlife" Sonic joked.
"Speaking of new beginnings, my grandfather is set to return to his rebuilt house soon. His rehab is going excellent. I can't wait to see how the upcoming bonding period goes" Knuckles informed them.
"That's great Knuckles! You two deserve a break after everything".
"I know. But there is something else. I am planning a trip to Hoenn soon. There is a lead there I want to chase".
"You're coming here?" Sonic asked him excitedly.
"As a trip only but yes".
"What kind of lead?" Wave asked Knuckles.
Sonic's smile was erased. Indeed it was a good question.
"Is it about…?"
"Him? No. Finding him is Looker's job. No, I'm coming there to pursue a lead about a legend of Hoenn. I'll have more details to share when the trip is actually upon us".
"A legend of Hoenn huh? That will be interesting" Sonic commented.
"I know. And I will need your help with it".
"My help?"
"Yes. If it comes to what I suspect, I will some help. You'll see why when the time comes".
"Count me in!" Sonic said energetically.
"Nighty night" Wave wished Sonic as they ended the call.
Sonic closed his phone and laid back down looking at the sky.
Barely anything had been fixed after their adventure with Jirachi and yet he felt a surreal amount of happiness wash over him.
He truly had everything he could ever need.
A partner forever in his Raichu, eternal friends in, well, his friends and his other pokemon.
What more did one need?
Of course it didn't mean he would just stop trying to fix the situation with Ash or that he no longer felt guilt for his mistakes. It still weighed on Sonic but he wouldn't let that stop him from living.
Same went for his Entei. He would earn the right to have it as its ally one day.
Sonic then wondered if there was anything more he could do while preparing for the league.
Sure team Magma was bad news but unless they got in his way or pulled a stunt too big or serious to overlook, he had no reason to pursue them.
But then again, what else was there to do?
Sonic stayed there, thinking it over and over until he fell asleep.
His sleep was peaceful and dreamless, for the first time in a long time.
When he awoke, he found a pair of eyes observing him sleep.
It was a Nuzleaf.
"Where did you come from little guy?" Sonic asked it as it sat up.
Nuzleaf cried out, pointing at its stomach.
"Oh you're hungry?"
Nuzleaf shook its head, pointing to a nearby bush.
A bunch of seedot were cautiously watching Sonic from the base of the bush.
"Oh you're a gal. And a mom too. But shoot I have nothing to give you. Our own supplies have ran out".
Nuzleaf took his hand, crying out in what would almost sounded like please.
"Alright. Don't worry. We'll figure something out. Let's see" Sonic said as he took out his pokedex and scanned Nuzleaf and seedot before reading through their information, looking for what the two species usually ate.
Pokemon berries were one thing but the land around them was barren.
Another thing was branches of trees but Sonic was hesitant.
He had seen several pokemon nests in branches of both flying and bug type pokemon and taking away branches of random trees could ruins homes for the pokemon.
Then he read the last resort.
Tree roots.
"That could work".
"Nuzleaf?" the pokemon cried out in question.
"Would your children like roots?"
Nuzleaf jumped up and down in excitement.
"Wish I didn't have to wake it up. Hey Raichu!"
Raichu's eye jolted open as it sprang up, thinking there was danger nearby.
"Calm down buddy. No danger. I need your help. We need to find and uproot a tree".
Raichu was confused until it received the context.
Waking up the rest of Sonic's team, they had Tropius find a good enough tree that was not a home to pokemon of any kind.
Sonic and his pokemon then all worked together to uproot it, with Sonic striking it with bond enhanced homing attacks, Raichu using iron tail to speed up the process, Combusken pushing with Tropius and Aron using take down which, with its insane weigh was a heavy attack.
The tree was uprooted fairly easily, unveiling a huge amount of roots. The seedot all cried out and jumped in excitement as Nuzleaf hugged Sonic's leg as well as the seedot swarming him to shower him with affection.
Sonic and Raichu observed then eat, the blue hedgehog knowing in the moment having Jirachi strike him was worth it even for this moment.
"So precious. I'm glad we saved Forina".
After departing with Raichu to finally arrive at Fallarbor town, Sonic contemplated using his speed to get there. Not only because he was hungry and so were his pokemon but also because he wanted to test their bond again, see it if took a toll on him.
Raichu retreated into its pokeball on its own before Sonic could even ask it. One of the positives of sharing their thoughts.
He got down on his knees.
"Gotta go fast".
The sound of his speed burst echoed throughout the valley.
As Sonic raced through the valley, he wondered if saying gotta go fast was even necessary in using his speed.
"Probably not but I like the line" he thought.
Racing next to a car road now, Sonic finally saw the buildings in the distance.
"At last. Civilization".
Returning to a normal path, Sonic came to a halt and felt into his body, trying to determine if he was exhausted.
No exhaustion.
"Hm… I'm ok. Weird. After Forina I thought I would be fully drained. This is rather inconsistent. Maybe I should give Tails a call when I get a chance. Tell him about this. Maybe he can give me some info on this".
As Sonic finally walked into town, he tried to find the constant variable that determined whether using his powers was corrosive or not.
Through the last two weeks, there had been many instances that he used his abilities normally and several during which he was weakened after use.
But there wasn't any singular common element between those instances.
Tails' insight would be crucial.
First things first, Sonic quickly rushed to a mega mart and grabbed something to eat quick both for himself and his team. Restocking completely would require planning.
And after all, he had to look around, find team Magma and get in their way if they were up to no good.
Question was, what was the definition of no good now?
Team rocket was hurting pokemon. That was obviously evil.
But if team Magma wasn't actively hurting them, was it really right for Sonic to get in their way?
Sure Shadow was horrible. He was literally feared across Hoenn as the enforcer. But at the end of the day what harm did he really cause?
Not that theft and fear mongering was a good thing but was it something Sonic wouldn't be able to ignore?
Having travelled halfway across Hoenn already, he never noticed anything suspicious. The region seemed peaceful.
The only encounter he had had with team Magma apart from Shadow was at the museum. And that wasn't enough to label them as evil. They were thugs but not necessarily criminals.
"I need to learn more about them. Not just surface level stuff. But who could give me such intel? Mr Stone?"
Unlikely. Mr Stone himself was unsure of the connection between Socexp and team Magma.
"There's gotta be someone who knows about team Magma on a deeper level. But who?"
As the hedgehog pondered those questions, he received a message.
"Hey there. How are you doing? We arrived in Fallarbor town yesterday. The Fallarbor Contest is in two days. Is there any chance we could spar if you're in Fallarbor? There's some moves I would love to show you. May".
Sonic smiled at the prospect. At least someone from that faction didn't find the situation awkward.
"Sure. Tomorrow afternoon work for you?" he typed and pressed send.
As he went to pocket his phone, it was snatched right out of his hand.
"Hey!"
The thief retreated into an alley.
Sonic gave chase.
Unwilling to crash into pedestrians, Sonic refrained from using his speed. That made the chase longer but he was going fast enough to keep his eye on the thief.
The latter retreated into an empty pokemon arena, in the city's rec center, from an unlocked side door.
Sonic entered as well and saw the thief, a beautiful young woman with black long hair having stopped and facing the door, playfully holding his phone.
"Alright lady. Playtime's over. Give it back".
"You can have it back honey. It was only a means to end" she said flirtatiously as she threw it back to Sonic.
"A means to an end? If you wanted my number so badly all you had to do was ask" Sonic teased her amused.
"Who said anything about your number? It is you I wanted. Here. Alone".
Sonic's smile was wiped off his face.
This had gone from 0 to 60 way too fast.
A shadow then covered the entrance.
"Bwahaha. Long time no see scumpo".
Sonic recognized the voice.
"Too long. Archie".
Archie walked in, followed by another, muscular young man.
Sonic looked back and forth at Archie and his henchman and the young lady who had baited him here.
"So what am I to asume from this… meeting?"
"Rumor has it you have had another run-in with the enforcer recently. And that you actually bested him".
"And who's exactly spreading those rumors?"
"We are not here to address those rumors" Archie lip curled upwards.
His henchman cracked his knuckles.
"Are you looking for a fight? Because I'm warning you, I don't have to play by the rules here".
"Not a fight sugar, a battle" the young woman corrected him as she sent out a pokemon that Sonic could only imagine was an evolution of Corphish but had no time to verify.
But before the battle could begin, Archie's henchman also sent out a pokemon. A mightyena.
"Let's see you take on both of us" he taunted Sonic.
Sonic chuckled.
"It's a fair fight! Raichu!"
Raichu came out, growling at his opponents.
"Oh it's like that? Ok! Let's up the stakes shall we? Walrein! Mightyena" the young woman sent out another 2 pokemon.
"Muk! Golbat!"
Raichu was now against 6 opponents.
"Now this could be a challenge" Sonic replied, still confident they were no match for Raichu.
Archie chuckled and whistled.
6 grunts came out of hiding from various places throughout the arena. Each sent out a poochyena.
12 against 1.
"We're boxed in" Sonic thought as he looked around "thankfully this isn't the first time. Can you handle them all or do we do this together?"
"Rai rai!"
"Leave it to me!"
Sonic grinned.
"Give them hell! Quick attack!"
Raichu moved like a blur, striking at 4 of the poochyenas with the one quick attack.
Archie had seen Sonic's Raichu battle in the museum and knew it was going to try and ricochet before going for a different move. Therefore he had instructed his admins to capitalize on the opening.
"Crawdaunt! Bubble beam!"
"Grimer sludge bomb!"
The attacks headed for Raichu.
"Iron tail!"
Raichu span, using iron tail to deflect the sludge bombs on one of the poochyenas, knocking it out and lowering their opponent count to 7.
But that left it open to bubble beam.
Thankfully the water attack didn't do a lot. But Raichu's now wet back was a perfect target.
"Ice beam!" the woman called out.
Raichu's back froze as Sonic felt the same freezing burn on his back.
"Now you've done it! Thunder punch!"
"Golbat confuse ray!"
The confuse ray landed, confusing Raichu and also affecting Sonic which he had never experienced before. He had no idea he could feel status effects that plagued Raichu.
With his head spinning, Sonic also felt several attacks as the remaining poochyena and the mightyena attacked Raichu with bite.
To his luck, static kicked in, paralyzing the two dark types, buying Raichu a much needed moment to breathe.
Shaking his head and focusing his attention on Walrein, Sonic called out the attack again.
"Thunder punch!"
Raichu moved like a blur, striking at Walrein's chest, before using the momentum to spin and deliver a horizontal brick break at Walrein, knocking it out while completing the turn, bringing it face to face with Crawdaunt, Golbat and Muk.
"Ready to finish this partner?"
"Rai rai!"
"Just go already!"
Sonic grinned.
"Quick attack, then brick break Crawdaunt!"
"Muk screech! Golbat astonish!"
The sound wave created from Muk plus the astonish would normally bring any pokemon to a halt.
But not Raichu.
The electric type plowed through, slamming into Muk with quick attack, silencing it up, then delivering a powerful brick break on Crawdaunt, knocking it out.
"Now for that golbat!" Sonic thought.
The thought was heard by Raichu that jumped, dodging a sludge bomb from Muk and landing another thunder punch into Golbat easily disposing of it.
"And then there were 3" Sonic teased his opponents.
But he had forgotten the second Mightyena.
The sharps fangs of the second Mightyena sank into Raichu's side.
"Gaah!" Sonic screamed as he knelt.
"You alright?" the young woman called out to Sonic.
Archie's eyes narrowed. He had noticed this in the museum too.
He crossed his arms, waiting to see what would happen next.
"Iron tail!"
Raichu, feeling the battle rush surging through it by harnessing Sonic's frustration and pain and changing into power, whipped its tail perfectly, striking Mightyena in the back, causing it to release Raichu.
"Thunder punch!"
Raichu hopped back, realizing what Sonic was planning for it to do.
It grinned. Their thought connection was a really useful asset.
Letting out a loud cry, and mustering all its strength as electricity crackled on its body beginning from its electrified paw, Raichu sent Mightyena straight into the still paralyzed Mightyena and poochyena.
The two paralyzed pokemon were also carried forward by the extreme force applied by the thunder punch. All 3 dark types together crashed into Muk, resulting in a mass fainting.
"Strike 3 and you're out!" Sonic exclaimed as Raichu cried out towards their opponents.
Archie's jaw was hanging open.
The circumstances were the same and Sonic had prevailed.
"Bwahahahaha! Bwahahahaha! You are something else scumpo! You truly are!"
"I hate to admit it, but you are" the muscular man admitted as he recalled his pokemon.
"You sure know how to handle yourself" the young woman said to Sonic, her face an inch away from his as her hand wrapped around his shoulders.
"I didn't become the hero of Kanto by accident you know" Sonic replied back with a slightly flirtatious tone as well, wanting to use her own weapon against her.
The grunts all recalled their poochyenas and left as Archie approached Sonic.
"Your display here was very impressive kid. Beating my two admins plus 6 grunts is no small feat".
"The only one who has ever defeated me is big bro Archie here but you are not half bad yourself. I'm Matt".
Sonic shook Matt's hand.
"And I'm Shelly. I don't need to ask your name though" she told Sonic, her arm still around him.
"I'd be surprised if you needed to at this point" Sonic replied. He could continue this confident back and forth a lot more but it was time for some answers. He gently took the Shelly's hand off his shoulders.
"It sure wasn't a walk in the park, that I admit. But what is the reason behind this… test?"
Archie sized up the hedgehog for a moment as if he was searching for the words.
"There are no few words to describe the reason. But if you walk with me for a while I can explain in the required detail".
"Ok" Sonic shrugged.
"There will be a rematch in the future so be ready" Matt challenged Sonic with a fist bump and a grin.
Sonic returned the gesture, but couldn't help but wonder what gave Matt this impression.
"We'll be seeing each other soon handsome" Shelly told Sonic as she went to join Matt.
"Anytime you want gorgeous" Sonic teased her.
From his end it was merely a tease. But it actually caused her to blush, making Sonic wonder if he had pushed a little too far with that one.
Shelly hurriedly left after this. Archie removed his bandana and motioned for Sonic to follow him. With his tanned skin and blue outfit already making him stand out, he didn't need the bandana in public view. Team Magma could be watching.
And if they did so would the enforcer.
As the two hit the central street of the town, Sonic initiated the conversation.
"So. What was the reason for that test? Why test me to begin with?"
"We needed to test you scumpo".
"Sure but why?"
"To see if you're the real deal of course. To see if you truly have the potential to rival the enforcer".
"My pokemon are far from ready for a full battle with him. Plus I don't even have a full party here".
"I'm not talking about trivial stuff like the numbers on your team. I'm saying that I wanted to see if you have the heart to stand up to him".
Sonic was perplexed by this statement.
"Elaborate a little?"
"Before the enforcer's arrival at Hoenn, we had managed to plant a spy inside team Magma. We were hoping to have inside knowledge for our actions against them. That spy was there… when the enforcer was tested".
"Tested?"
"Yes. The boss of team Magma had him prove himself to join. He provided him with his Salamence and had him battle the two admins of team Magma plus a dozen grunts. The enforcer crashed them all. As if he was born to be partners with that Salamence".
"And you recreated that trial with me? Why?"
Archie sighed.
"I can't beat him kid. Team Aqua is dedicated to using water pokemon for the most part. I have tried rounding out my team by teaching my pokemon moves to counteract the enforcer's pokemon but he remains unstoppable".
"Only water pokemon? Why inhibit yourself like that?"
"Remember what team Aqua is?"
"You said you guys are environmental activists".
"We are. And the main target of our movement is Socexp and its president Maxie, who claimed that humanity would prosper if we had more land to work with, in other words if the oceans were drained and the pokemon of the sea had a lot less space for themselves".
"So… you're only using water types as a statement?"
"Yes. We have been showing Hoenn that we are dedicated to protecting our oceans and nature in general from the profiteering of Socexp and Maxie".
"I heard from somewhere that Maxie has claimed he is doing all he is doing to raise the standard living of humans. You think he is lying?"
"Worse scumpo. I think he is truthful. And that's a lot worse. Sure there are a lot of executives in Socexp who only care about profit but Maxie might be telling the truth. And someone who has a purpose like that and all the resources to fulfill it is hard to stop".
"I see… but still. What do you want from me?"
"Isn't it obvious? We want your help".
Sonic sighed.
"I told you man, I am not interested in joining your team. Things have become way more complicated since the museum brawl. I don't have time to help you with all your activities".
Archie didn't reply.
Instead he pulled out a phone and showed Sonic some pictures.
"This was from a few months ago. This factory is all about paper mill. And guess where all the effluents go".
He scrolled.
Sonic was horrified.
The water near the factory had been completely contaminated.
And to prove his point, Maxie even showed him the photos' time stamps.
The photo where the factory was visible but the water was clean was was taken a month prior to the one with the contaminated water.
"Wha…"
"And another point. Do you know how paper is made? By logging".
He showed Sonic a picture of a cutover forest, with a swablu walking through the cut trees, having nowhere to land.
And then another photo. Of a seedot family begging the photographer for help. This time the family leader was the final form, shiftry.
"I can't watch anymore" Sonic looked away.
"And guess who built the factory? Socexp. They enabled all of this. The company that hired them to build the factory is known to overlogging. And yet Maxie not only supported them but tried to sway the public to their side by stating trivial positive aspects of the situation".
"What good are the positives if pokemon are suffering as a result?"
Archie nodded in apparent sadness.
"We in team Aqua organized many rallies against the factory in front of Socexp with a lot of people on our side. We even tried to sabotage the project altogether. But we failed every time. Care to guess why?"
Sonic didn't need to.
"Shadow stopped you".
Archie nodded.
"Time and again that menace pulverized us. Unlike team Magma who mostly use fire and ground types, he has no type restrictions. His sceptile especially is a pain to deal with".
Sonic found himself torn.
On the one hand he was planning to just investigate and leave, believing there would be no need to intervene.
But now it was obvious that team Magma was hurting pokemon. Just indirectly.
"What are they up to in this town?"
"We don't know. Since there is no Socexp project here we couldn't organize a rally to investigate. Me and my admins came here along with some of our forces. But I fear we won't be able to make a difference. Not without you Sonic".
The use of his name from Archie made Sonic contemplate his response. He didn't feel outright no was right anymore.
"What you're asking is no small favor. I know it's the selfish option but…"
"I know kid. I know. You're going through a lot. And I respect that. I'll let you think about it. See you around hedgehog".
And with those words Archie left, leaving Sonic to process all the new information and understand what was really at stake.