Free Web NovelChapter 579: The start of the end of Hoenn
The submarine slowly came out of the water inside a cavern. The hatch opened once they saw it was clear, and grunts marched out and stood in a line.
Archie was the first of the more important people to come out of the submarine, "Ooh! This is the Seafloor Cavern!" He looked around and grinned, "Fantastic. We’ve set foot in the deepest part of the ocean where no one has gone before. I take my hat off to Captain Stern and the Devon Corporation’s technological prowess!"
Maxie stepped out next and got a wild grin on his face, "I can already feel it as I stand here!!"
"The energy of the sea! The heartbeat of the pouring rain!!" Archie finished.
But Maxie spoke anyway, "The energy of the land! The heartbeat of the burning heat!!"
As the two were looking at the cavern like madmen, Amber cleared his throat and stepped up between them, "Ahem, the path splits in two here," he said, pointing down the walls.
Maxie noticed and nodded before looking back at Archie, "This is the part where we part ways."
Archie gave his usual smirk, "The next time we meet...hehe...you’ll find out which one of us is correct."
Maxie continued to grin, "Whatever. Only if you survive to tell the tale!"
Then both groups separated, with Magma going down the right path and Aqua going down the left, marching.
And of course Maxie was the most confident, since he still had the orbs. Of course he didn’t give Archie one of them. What is he, an idiot?
Maxie didn’t say a peep about the orbs during the entire ride, and he aimed to keep it that way, because if he had both orbs, that actually meant he could control both Groudon and Kyogre.
But then, as the two groups went further, they both found something at the same time.
With Team Aqua, inside a pool, they found Kyogre sleeping inside crystal.
And with Team Magma, they found Groudon sleeping inside magma crystal.
Both Archie and Maxie began to laugh, because finally, their plan was about to start.
Immediately Archie pointed forward and commanded all the grunts and Amber to start shooting water at Kyogre to wake it up.
Meanwhile, while they were distracted, Audrey smirked slightly and started taking a few steps back before sneaking off to find Team Magma.
Her plan was simple, she knew Team Magma had the orbs. She had her own sources in the Association after all. And she planned to steal the Blue Orb and take Kyogre from Archie.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Team Magma felt the cavern shake. Tabitha clicked his tongue, "Looks like Team Aqua already started before us."
But Maxie scoffed, "Let them have their head start. After all..." he muttered as a cold smirk grew on his face and he looked back at Tabitha, "Bring them out for me."
Tabitha complied, and with his gloved hands reached behind him and pulled out the two orbs—the Red Orb and the Blue Orb, "These, right boss?"
"Exactly." Maxie’s smirk grew as he looked down at them.
"As long as we have these orbs, I don’t care what happens. I can control both from down here! Hahaha!" He began laughing like a madman.
Meanwhile the grunts and Tabitha took that as their signal and began blasting the fire crystal to try and wake up Groudon.
But while this happened, Zenith was in the back leaning casually against the wall when suddenly he heard something that sounded like footsteps.
He got a cold smirk.
Well, looks like he would have some entertainment before he betrays Maxie.
After all, he had a similar goal, once they did all the hard work, he’d steal the Red Orb and use it to take Groudon. But that might take a while since it didn’t look like they were making much progress yet.
So Zenith pushed himself off the wall and walked down the hall, getting back to the same room the submarine was in. There he ran into Audrey, who was just now running through, and they locked eyes.
"Well, Audrey, didn’t think I’d see you playing with Team Aqua. I guess we got the same idea," Zenith said as he grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt.
Audrey stopped walking and narrowed her eyes. Trying to act friendly, she took a step back and gave a fake smile, "Well, this is awkward."
Zenith rolled his shoulders and looked over to where the submarine was, a nice thing to take note of for later, "Funny. I was thinking the opposite."
Audrey tilted her head innocently, "Oh?"
"Yeah." Zenith smirked as he tapped the Poké Ball in his hand, "Because if we’re both here, then that means one thing."
Audrey crossed her arms, "We’re both traitors?"
Zenith laughed, "No, no. That part was obvious." Then he smirked even wider, so wide it almost looked unnatural, "It means only one of us gets to win."
Audrey scoffed, dropping her friendly look as she quickly grabbed a Poké Ball off her belt, "You’re still as annoying and corny as ever."
Then they both threw out their Poké Balls in a flash of light.
—
{Meanwhile, a few hours ago}
The gang finally saw Sootopolis City in the distance. They’d been sailing for a while, and seeing land was great. They were still wearing their winter outfits since it was cold, but at least it wasn’t snowing.
Max nearly jumped as he looked over the railing excitedly, "There it is!"
"Hey, Max, be careful," Wally protested quickly, trying to make sure Max didn’t accidentally fall off the ship.
Brock chuckled, then looked out at the town as it came closer. He got an idea and immediately pulled out his phone and started recording, "Lucy will love this view. Oh, I should pick her up and get her here with me!"
His words made Max and Wally freeze and slowly look at him. Then they slowly turned to each other and both sighed helplessly. Why was Brock like this?
Meanwhile, in the back, May and Ash were sitting and looking out over the water as Ash’s Vee and May’s Glaceon sat on their laps. One of them was visibly more comfortable than the other, and it clearly wasn’t May.
May shook her head to get her mind off the cold coming from Glaceon, and she noticed there was another cruise ship coming closer to them, "Oh, look at that."
At May’s words, Ash turned his head and looked over, where he narrowed his eyes, "Wait a minute." He stood up and leaned against the edge of the ship, holding onto the railing with one hand. He leaned so far that Wally and May almost thought he was going to slip, but he didn’t.
Then Ash’s eyes widened, "Yo, that’s my boy right there! It’s Brendan!" Ash shouted, catching everyone’s attention.
May tried squinting toward the ship, but it was too far away, "Are you sure? I can’t see anything."
"You just have bad eyes," Ash teased.
"Wha!?" May blurted out, and just when she was about to poke at Ash, Brock pulled out a pair of binoculars and handed them to the closest person, which was Wally.
Wally took them and thanked Brock before using them. There, on the ship, he saw Brendan standing near the edge, "Oh, Ash is right."
"Really?" May asked, exasperated, "How? There is no way." She quickly took the binoculars and checked for herself, "Oh my Mew, you’re right. How?" May asked, looking at Ash.
"Get good and eat carrots," Ash smirked as he took the binoculars with one hand and dialed Brendan’s number on his phone with the other.
Brendan, on the ship, felt his phone ring, and when he saw it was Ash, he answered, "Yo, Ash!"
Ash grinned and leaned farther over the railing, "Brendan! What are you doing here?"
Brendan looked confused as he looked around himself before spotting another cruise ship off in the distance. He squinted, but he couldn’t make anything out, "Are you guys on that other ship?"
"You know it. So what are you doing here? I thought you were busy with the work for your dad," Ash asked.
"I mean, I was, but I finished that, and since I have some free time, I thought I’d come to Sootopolis for my last badge."
"Same for me and Wally," Ash responded.
"Hey, Wally is still with you guys? Awesome! Man, I wish I was on that ship with you guys," Brendan sighed.
"Well, we’re going to the same place, so we can hang out there, after I get my badge first, of course~" Ash said with a smirk.
"Ha, you wish. I’m getting that badge first, and you can’t stop me!" Brendan responded with just as much gusto.
Ash laughed, "I’d like to see you try."
Meanwhile, in the back, May, Max, Wally, and Brock watched the two go back and forth.
"You know, they really do get along scarily well," May said.
"You can say that again," Brock said with his arms crossed. He and Ash didn’t even get along that well at first.
As the ships arrived at the port, the gang quickly got off and met up with Brendan, who ran up to them and gave each of them an excited high five.
"Man, it’s great to see you guys again. It was getting lonely going on my own after what we went through."
"Yeah, let’s not talk about that," May sighed, still giving Ash a side-eye, "I’d rather not think about that again."
"Ah, yeah, no, that’s fair," Brendan nodded, patting Ash on the shoulder sympathetically. Then he smirked, pushed Ash back, and got a head start, "But that doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you. You snooze, you lose. I’ll get to the Gym first."
Ash stumbled slightly, but he caught himself. Then he smirked, "Oh, really? Wanna play like that?"
Pikachu and Vee didn’t even need to be told. Vee jumped into Ash’s bag first. Ash held his hand out, and Pikachu jumped up and grabbed it, getting pulled in too.
Once they were both in Ash’s bag, he took off running after Brendan, leaving the rest of the gang to chase them down.
Ash and Brendan ran down the street, but as they did, they noticed fireworks going off around them, making them slow down slightly. Well, it was more because Brendan was out of breath, and he noticed Ash wasn’t even breathing hard yet, so he graciously called it a draw.
When they slowed down, they saw there really wasn’t anyone out on the streets. Everyone was gathered around the town square.
They walked over to where the crowd was, and by then the rest of the gang had caught up. They were also curious.
As they got closer, they saw the reason everyone in town was there. The Gym Leader, Juan, was giving a performance for everyone to see, and immediately May was hooked.
Before anyone could say anything, she grabbed the boys and pushed them all down so they could sit in the closest available seats.
The performance lasted a good few minutes, with encores and celebrations from everyone. Eventually, it ended, and Juan stepped aside to sign a few autographs.
Now, Ash was not the kind of guy to push his way to the front of a crowd to publicly challenge Juan to a battle. To be honest, if Ash did that, he was pretty sure he’d die of embarrassment.
Unfortunately for him, Brendan was still a thirteen-year-old kid and acted like one. In a way that reminded Ash of his younger self, Brendan slid through the crowd quickly, forcing the rest of the gang to squeeze through after him.
Brendan pushed through the crowd, jumped to the front, and pointed dramatically, "Juan! Me and my friends challenge you for your Gym Badge!"
Juan stared for a second before smiling politely, "Well now, this is always a good sight to see. Such an enthusiastic young trainer."
Then he looked at his watch, "Ah, I apologize. I would like to accept, but I have a meeting I must attend with the other Gym Leaders. I’m afraid I’ve already gone over time, and it would be bad if I were to keep them waiting any longer."
Brendan immediately deflated, but then Juan smiled, "But I would be more than honored if we could battle tomorrow. I will clear my schedule for you and your friends," Juan said politely.
It wasn’t an act, not really. He was used to kids challenging him after his shows, but he didn’t think he’d get another one so close to the Ever Grande Conference.
Most young trainers in town gave up and chose to challenge him during the next season. Even if they were to get the badge now, they wouldn’t be able to qualify for the conference, and it would give them less time to use it since badges expire after two years.
Juan thought Brendan probably had five or six badges already. That was why he was so hot-headed, so Juan decided to humor him since it had been a while since he’d had a good battle.
Brendan immediately looked pumped up for it, and just as he was about to say something, the ground suddenly began shaking.
People around them were startled and quickly tried grabbing onto something as the earthquake passed.
Meanwhile, Juan stood his ground with a frown, and he noticed something, something so small that anyone else wouldn’t have been able to tell unless they spent an absurd amount of time near water, or possessed an absurd level of perception.
The water level was rising.
It was barely anything, maybe half an inch, but he noticed, and that wasn’t normal. When the water level rose, it was usually during a natural event, and he kept track of those. Even if he acted like a showman, he was not an idiot.
Something was wrong.
When the tremors stopped, Juan bowed.
"I must take my leave. I hope you all stay safe here," he said quickly before turning and heading toward his Gym.
That left everyone else trying to process what had just happened.
Meanwhile, Ash’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the water, and he cursed under his breath.
He was too late.
He had thought he had more time after all he had done to make them hate each other, but it wasn’t enough.
So it looked like it was time for Plan B.
—
{In Fortree City}
The Gym Leaders agreed to come back here since today was the agreed-upon day for the second Gym Leader meeting to discuss how they were going to deal with the Team situation and the growing divide.
Norman decided not to show up at all since he knew it was going to be the same thing as last time, which annoyed people like Winona, who felt he was ignoring his duties.
But when she tried to call him out, Norman simply looked at her and told her that he had his priorities exactly where they should be before hanging up on her. freёwebnovel.com
At least the Tate and Liza situation had been cleared up, even if it wasn’t in the best way. What was worse was that they couldn’t come to this meeting because the Pokémon Association had called them in to discuss something, so they were unable to attend.
That left Roxanne, Brawly, Wattson, Flannery, and Winona in the meeting room while they waited for Juan to call in, since he was the last one who had said he would attend.
Roxanne tapped her fingers lightly on the table, her eyes scanning the empty seat at the head of the room.
Brawly leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, pretending he wasn’t impatient. Wattson hummed softly to himself as if he were trying to ignore the silence. Flannery kept glancing toward the door. Winona stood near the window, arms folded, eyes narrowed at the horizon.
"Juan should have called by now," Winona sighed.
"Cut him some slack. He’s probably doing one of his radical shows," Brawly said casually, though he was already thinking about what exercises to do when he got back home.
"Really? I mean, you could at least try to—" Roxanne started, but suddenly everything began shaking as an earthquake struck.
They all scrambled to hold onto something to avoid falling. Since they were in a treehouse, the drop would be a long one.
After a few moments, the shaking stopped, and everyone caught their breath, "What the heck was that?!" Flannery exclaimed, looking shocked and still rattled.
"I’m quite—" Wattson began, about to make a pun to lighten the mood.
Suddenly, the screens that Winona had installed around the meeting room all turned on at once. They displayed footage from the major towns across Hoenn, excluding Fortree.
While Sootopolis City looked relatively normal since it was already surrounded by water and prepared for situations like this, the other towns were not.
Because the earthquakes were only the beginning, Dewford Town, Slateport City, and Littleroot Town were the first to be hit. A small tidal wave surged out of the sea and slammed into each town, causing streets to begin flooding.
"A tidal wave!" Winona said as she rushed to one of the monitors and started reading the incoming reports, "And it looks like that was just the first one. This is a Level 8 emergency! The towns across Hoenn are getting flooded!"
Wattson quickly moved beside her and saw that a second wave was coming soon, "And it’s not over yet..." he said grimly, "Another tidal wave could be coming at any moment!"
Winona looked visibly stressed as she spun around to face everyone, "We need to figure out what’s happening and decide what to do!"
Before anyone else could say anything, one of the screens flickered, a familiar face appeared, it was a man with a small frilly afro, the Chairman of the Pokémon Association.
Now, here’s the important thing, this was the Chairman, not the President. That distinction is important for later, so let’s put a pin in that.
Winona immediately straightened and turned toward the screen, "Chairman, what are your orders?!"
"I just got off the phone with Captain Stern," the Chairman explained as he transmitted information to the room’s computers.
The Gym Leaders quickly looked over the incoming data that appeared to be a radar scan of the region. And as they studied it, they noticed a single source of energy that was slowly beginning to grow.
"Something is happening that is causing all of this, but we don’t know what it is. We are monitoring it constantly. At the moment, it is still only an Emergency Level 8, but it’s rising fast."
"We’re thinking of splitting up to cover various towns and aid in the rescue efforts," Winona suggested.
But the Chairman shook his head, "Listen carefully. I’m afraid things are much worse than you think," the Chairman said.
Brawly, however, was too in shock as he looked at the computer displaying Dewford Town sinking beneath the waves.
He quickly turned, "My hometown is underwater! I have to go help!"
"Hold it, Brawly!" the Chairman said quickly.
Brawly was already at the door, but he turned with his hand still on the handle, "Why are you stopping me?!" he demanded.
"Because I’m not finished," the Chairman said gravely, "The computers have also revealed that a second powerful energy source is awakening."
As he said this, Brawly opened the door, they all expected to feel the chill of the December winter. Instead, they were blasted by a wave of heat that felt like the middle of summer.
Those wearing winter clothes immediately had to start taking layers off because it was so hot. Wattson quickly removed his scarf and vest, Roxanne shrugged off her coat, and Flannery was already turning her shirt into a crop top again.
Meanwhile, Flannery glanced outside, and her eyes widened so much it looked like they might fall out of her head, "Winona!!!"
Winona and everyone else quickly rushed over to see what Flannery had spotted. The moment they looked outside, they understood.
All of the plant life was beginning to dry out, the trees, the leaves, everything, it was all begging to dry out
"What?! That’s impossible! The reports said Hoenn’s humidity was the highest it’s been in years!" Roxanne cried out in shock.
The Chairman continued speaking, "This is what I was trying to tell you. Two different catastrophes are simultaneously tearing the Hoenn region apart, and eventually they will collide in the center."
"No..." Flannery covered her mouth in horror.
"And the other regions?" Winona immediately asked.
"As far as we know, based on our readings, nearby regions such as Kanto are only experiencing slight increases in wave activity. However, if Hoenn is destroyed, it is likely Kanto will be next, followed by every other region," the Chairman explained.
Then the Chairman pushed up his glasses and spoke in a firm voice, "So, Gym Leaders, here are your orders. Brawly and Roxanne, you two will go to North Hoenn. Wattson and Flannery, you will head to South Hoenn."
"You are to help citizens evacuate to safety and locate the source of this catastrophe."
"To safety?" Roxanne exclaimed.
Brawly immediately pointed at the screen, "Where in Hoenn is that?!" he demanded.
This time, Wattson spoke up, "There is one place that should be safe," he said, crossing his arms.
Now was he realizing why Ash had insisted that the project be completed as quickly as possible. He was both confused and grateful, though he would have to ask some questions later.
"New Mauville has been restored. It’s underground and built like a bunker. It should be strong enough to serve as a shelter for everyone."
Everyone nodded except Brawly, who was still worried, so the Chairman spoke, "Brawly, I know you’re worried about your town, but you have to face this catastrophe as a Gym Leader."
Brawly gulped, but then he slapped himself on the cheeks and nodded, "Okay!"
The Chairman nodded, then looked at Winona, "I will see about contacting Juan, Tate, and Liza. Then I’ll try to contact the League to get Wallace and the Elite Four’s assistance."
"And what about me?" Winona asked. She didn’t want to just sit around doing nothing.
"Winona, you’re the leader. Your job is to give orders from the center of Hoenn, the spot where the two catastrophes will meet," the Chairman explained, "But you can also assist in the rescue efforts as you do it. Just remember your priorities."
Winona would admit she didn’t like the way he said that. It sounded as though he was telling her that if she saw someone dying, it would be acceptable to let them if it served the greater good.
But she bit her tongue for now, "I have one final question. What about the Association President?"
The Chairman looked down, they couldn’t see it, but he clenched his fists, "He said he wanted to keep this situation quiet and that the Gym Leaders were not to get involved. He claimed everything would fix itself on its own."
"What?!" everyone said in unison.
"I know. And since then, he’s gone missing. I wouldn’t be surprised if that greedy waste of oxygen locked himself away in his own bunker. So yes, I am working in direct opposition to the President, but I don’t care. Hoenn is more important than my stupid job," the Chairman explained.
Ironically, even parts of the Pokémon Association didn’t like the Pokémon Association. This was a cartoonish level of Evil, the Chairman himself was a good person, or well let me rephrase that he had good intentions
It was the shareholders and the President who held the pens that made all the decisions. And of course, since the Chairman was acting directly against the Association’s orders, agreeing to help him meant that when this was all over, the Gym Leaders would most likely lose their positions as well
But when the Chairman was about to explain that, he could already see that none of them cared.
That brought a faint smile to his face, "I wish you all luck, and may Arceus help us all. I will send a message to every town. The rest is up to you."
All of the Gym Leaders took a deep breath, looked at one another, and nodded. Then they turned on their heels and started running out. As they rushed through the town, they heard the emergency speakers broadcasting across the region.
"THIS IS AN EMERGENCY MESSAGE FROM THE POKÉMON ASSOCIATION TO ALL TOWNS AND CITIES. YOU MUST EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY! WE HAVE A LEVEL 8 EMERGENCY. ALL CITIZENS ARE TO EVACUATE TO MAUVILLE CITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. MORE INFORMATION WILL ARRIVE SHORTLY, BUT FOR NOW, EVERYONE STAY SAFE!"
—
{Meanwhile, in the Underground Lab}
Jaern sat in his chair, casually rolling the green orb in his hand while watching the monitors displaying the chaos unfolding across Hoenn. To be honest, he wasn’t surprised, nor did he particularly care. Not as long as he had this.
Professor Yanase Berlitz walked up to him, "Sir, did you see the—"
"I saw it," Jaern said, waving his hand lazily, "I’ll deal with the Chairman and the Gym Leaders afterward, but for now, I think it’s about time we start."
Professor Yanase Berlitz gulped as she looked at the screen, "And you’re sure this will work? You can stop this? No other regions will be affected, right?" she asked. She was worried because, based on the reports, if this didn’t stop, then after Hoenn was destroyed, Kanto would be next, then Sinnoh.
And she had her beloved niece there, Dawn Berlitz. She loved her like the daughter she never had, and if anything happened to her, she didn’t know what she would do.
Jaern waved his hand, brushing off her concerns, "Don’t worry about it. After all..." A cold smirk spread across his face, "Once I use this and take Rayquaza, Hoenn will never fear anything ever again."
Jaern’s plan was simple: let Hoenn burn for a while as he went and captured Rayquaza, the creature he’d been after for years. After all, he was the one behind the original Rayquaza capture mission.
And it wasn’t just Aster whom he had killed. The Draconid people, you ever wonder why they are on the verge of extinction even though Zinnia said they were superior to normal people, well it was simple, he had ordered their massacre as well.
That was why there had originally been hundreds of them, but now saying there were 50 left would have been generous,
But the Draconid incident was not something he openly took credit for. It had already been difficult enough fooling people like Joseph Stone, Drake, and Mr. Briney into ’accidentally’ killing that one Draconid girl, Aster
If he had told them the truth, they surely would have turned against him.
And then there was Norman, oh, simple Norman, he’d gotten soft ever since he had kids. All Jaern needed to do was bring up their names once, and Norman was dancing in the palm of his hand.
You might wonder what Norman had been doing. Well, let’s just say Jaern gave him orders and didn’t leave him much room to negotiate. But enough about that, time was money.
Once he captured Rayquaza, he would swoop in at the end and become the Hero of Hoenn. After that, all that would matter was expansion, after all, when he had Rayquaza, who could stop him? Just the thought made him laugh like a madman
Meanwhile, Professor Yanase Berlitz gulped. Beneath her coat, her hand clenched into a fist as she looked at this madman, she wasn’t sure she could trust his word anymore, and that meant it might be time to make a plan
