Hard Enough - Chapter 345 - The Storm

I allowed the sun to wash over me as I fiddled with the bracer on my arm. My toes wiggled into cooler sand as I absent-mindedly reached for the pebbles that were all around. 

Jessie, James, Meowth, Forrest, and Erika were arranged in a line of laid out towels in various states of relaxation or exhaustion.

Forrest shot James and Jessie annoyed looks as the human pair of the trio lounged and sipped from fruity drinks. The glare must have been not very effective as they didn’t so much as acknowledge the glare from behind their giant sunglasses.

Erika lay on her towel with a sarong around her hips. “Ahhhh nothing beats some sunlight after a hard training session!” she proclaimed.

Forrest turned his head into the towel beneath himself as he gave up glaring at James and Jessie. “Mmmmrgh!” he replied to Erika childishly. 

I reached over and nudged him to make sure he wasn’t denying himself oxygen.

Erika sat up and gave Forrest a worried look. “Did you really need to throw your brother and his friends into the same training as Visquez and I?” she asked.

“Yup!” I replied, popping the P with a level of enjoyment. 

Forrest’s glare directed my way was just as ineffective. I glanced back at him. “What? You wanted to stick around after knowing what was at risk,” I pointed out. “I offered to help train you.” 

I leveled an imperious finger at him. “You accepted.”

“Oh, bad move there kiddo!” added James. 

“Showing poor tactical judgement there!” said Meowth.

Forrest twitched and turned his head quickly. “Argh! Jessibel I understand, but you two always wig me out! I swear I’ve heard other people with voices like yours!” he growled.

“Must have good taste!” replied James without a lick of shame.

Meowth nodded appreciatively. Erika giggled at the show but lifted her head as a round of cheering rang out. 

I glanced up in time to watch Visquez make a running spike serve that rocketed through the air and past the two opponents she and Sabrina were facing. 

Sabrina was wearing a tasteful bikini that supported her but I was rather enjoying watching her jump around with how much agility was needed, beach volleyball definitely was a good sport. 

Sabrina and Visquez both high-fived and Visquez marched up to the net. “And that’s match! You’re gone losers! Who’s brave enough to take on the undefeated champs?!” she roared.

Her fighting spirit caused more than a few people’s heads to snap around as she laid down a challenge. 

She instantly had more people crowding around the field and even Ash was there, clamouring to fight her. 

Erika tilted her head. “Wasn’t that the first match they’ve won? How can they be undefeated after only one match?” she asked innocently.

“Visquez is quite the hypewoman,” I suggested. “Also, I don’t think she’s the sort to get caught up in minor details like that.” I waved as Sabrina shot me a V for victory. 

Visquez stole a glance our way, upon seeing Erika was watching, she posed and flexed slightly, causing her huge body to ripple.

She was quite muscular but I saw people like Trixie work out enough to not find her gains all that impressive. 

Forrest stared turning his head from Visquez to Erika. “What am I watching right now?” 

I put a hand over my lips to hold back a laugh. Oh there were a lot of answers I could give to that.

Meowth, a pokemon not caring for human sensibilities, spoke up. “Seems like the mating rituals of a useless les—” James swatted him before he could finish his answer. 

“That’s not nice, nor the proper way to discuss this sort of thing Meowth!” James chastised. 

“Yeah Meowth, you wouldn’t want to give ickle Forrest here the wrong idea!” Jessie added, only to turn her head as she held back giggles.

I snorted and had to turn away as Forrest turned, shooting me a clueless look.

Oh, the irony of Team Rocket worrying about what sort of lesson they imparted to Forrest of all people was just…

I paused. Then again, seeing as the two trios of friends were done fighting each other these days, the older trio might just get their enjoyment from messing with the younger trio.

Hmmmm, yeah, I had no issues with this. It was teasing, but if the kids in question didn’t even understand what was happening, then could it really impact them?

Huh, now that was a philosophical question. Reminded me of the, if a tree fell in the woods questions.

“I’m too tired to bother thinking about this!” Forrest groaned, flopping his head back into the sand.

As though the universe was listening for that very admission, Ash chose that moment to catch sight of Forrest. 

“Forrest! Forrest! Get up, I need a second person for the volleyball competition!” Ash shouted, sprinting towards us. “Come on, Visquez is offering anyone that can beat her a limited edition Volleyball badge!” he bellowed. I could almost see the fire in his eyes as his brain short-circuited at the idea of a challenge awarding a badge.

I turned my head away, knowing what was about to happen.

Ash performed a perfect heel slide, which sent a wave of sand washing over everyone. 

Forrest spluttered, spitting out sand, sitting up only for Ash to use the action as leverage to heave him upright. He dragged my brother towards the volleyball competition as Jessie, James, and Meowth all spluttered and snorted. 

“Well, that might have just been karma playing out,” I mused aloud as I turned back to observe the small mounds of sand piled up on the former rocket trio.

“Our beverages!” wailed James as he held up his drink which was now more mud than drink.

“My tanning oil spread!” Jessie cried out as she stood and stared at all the sand that was now clinging to her. “Now I’m going to have to start all over again!” I watched as the ears of no less than ten men within earshot twitched. 

Jessie shook her head. “I’m going to have to get someone to apply it all over again!” she lamented.

Instantly, those ten men’s heads snapped around and began to raise their hands, volunteering themselves as tribute for this ‘odious’ task, only for Jessie to snatch James off the beach. “Come on, you’re helping me!” she ordered. 

“Ooooh, but my drink!” whined James as he was dragged away.

I chuckled only to blink. Wait, I was forgetting someone!

I glanced over only to find that Erika had pulled out an umbrella to shield herself in time to stop herself getting the same spray. 

“Huh, you’re surprisingly in tune with how Ash thinks,” I said.

Erika nodded. “I saw it coming,” she replied with a pleased look. She gave me a look over and narrowed her eyes at me. “I also know how you deal with excess sand,” she pointed out.

“Ah,” I replied, knowing that I was caught. I stood and shook myself off like a growlithe, causing sand to fly everywhere once more. Erika lowered her umbrella and Meowth spluttered. 

“Argh! You’re as bad as the twerp!” groaned Meowth as she pulled out a comb to begin grooming himself.

“Brock! I thought I’d find you lollygagging around here!” called Elder Tobias. 

I turned, preparing myself for the old man to attempt to get me to do some work only for me to catch sight of two other people following in his wake.

I straightened up. “Look alive Erika we’ve got some VIP’s,” I muttered to her. 

Erika glanced over her shoulder only to shoot to her feet alongside me. 

Meowth gave the approaching humans a glance before going back to grooming himself.  

“Elder Tobias, I see you took my words seriously,” I said, flicking my eyes to the taller man walking behind Tobias. 

Yuji smirked and stopped past Tobias. “Well I had to see who was raising a fuss in the Orange Islands, I have to say… your profile does you justice, Gym Leader Brock,” Yuji said, reaching out and offering his hand.

I accepted it to shake only to hold back a smirk as he tried to exert some pressure. I squeezed back lightly to let him know I noticed, and that I could crush him if I wanted to. 

Yuji’s eyes widened slightly and he smirked back as our gazes locked. “Champion Yuji,” I said politely. “Congratulations on your ascension,” I offered as I drew my hand back.

A snort from the side made me look at the other participant. “Gym Leader Luana,” I offered with a polite nod only for her to shoot me  and Yuji a cocky look.

“Oh good, you two are done ‘manning up’ on each other?” she chided. I chuckled sheepishly while Yuji huffed. 

Erika’s small cough sounded like a poor attempt at hiding a laugh which caused Luana’s smile to grow. I tilted my head. There was something about Luana that I was forgetting… what was it?

Erika stepped forward. “Boys will be boys,” she offered, giving Luana and Yuji a polite nod. “Well met.”

Yuji frowned. “Another Gym Leader of Kanto… I understand your reasons for being here Brock but I haven’t seen any paperwork for yourself Erika of Celadon,” Yuji said.

Erika blinked. “Ah, that is because I am not here as Gym Leader of Celadon, but rather as a stakeholder of Silph Co, some proprietary tech has been stolen and we have strong reason to believe it will resurface here,” she responded smoothly. 

She gestured to herself and Visquez. “My… associate and I are purely interested in that angle.”

“Your associate?” Yuji asked as he turned towards Visquez who was at that moment posing like a muscleman against her fallen opponents. “Her?” he questioned, tone dripping with doubt.

“She’s strong, not just in body but spirit!” Erika defended earnestly and I held back a smile. If Visquez knew what Erika was saying she’d get a big head.

“She’s just playing around,” I offered when Yuji continued to stare dubiously. “She’s been training up and needs to blow off some steam.”

“Hmmm, so you say,” Yuji muttered. 

Erika’s smile didn’t become strained in the least but her eyes lost a little of their light. “I do say so. My uncle has empowered me in this role as Silph Co Investigator. Is that going to be a problem, Champion Yuji? If so, I can talk to President Arashi about any concerns you might have.”

I wanted to whistle. It was rather impressive watching Erika work her magic. Without mentioning anything threatening she shifted the conversation back on course and solidified her and Visquez’s position in a way Yuji couldn’t refute. 

There was also the unspoken threat of her words. Silph Co controlled markets and did deals on the international scale. While most nations had turned over greater than them easily, their business could still impact a solid percentage of a nation’s economy. 

“We’ll start on Shamouti island,” Yuji stated to push the conversation along with a small nod to Erika, conceding that she had won that little exchange. 

She bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement. “We shall do the same. Depending on how the situation develops we may redeploy. Officially the main focus of our investigation will be locking down the proprietary technology, however I will state that the local populace is going to trump that.”

“I appreciate that,” Yuji said with another nod. “I look forward to working with you both.” He turned only to almost bump into the other woman who’d been lingering behind him. 

Luana smiled up at him and raised an eyebrow. She stepped around him and I felt something flicker over my body for a moment causing me to frown. 

“If you’re looking to get into another match with Sabrina you know there are better ways to go about it,” I stated as I recalled a small factoid about Luana.

She was psychic. Albeit in a small way. To compare her to Sabrina would be like comparing a Smoochum to an Alakazam. 

When we’d first come through the Orange islands in the down period of the major Circuits on our shared Journey Sabrina and Luana had butted heads. 

Or rather, Sabrina had ignored Luana and dismantled any and all of the older woman’s attempts to humble her. 

Luana gave me a fake looking smile. “Brock, you were a cute kid when you came around but its been years and I’ve gotten way stronger since then. Now, where is she?”

I held up a hand to forestall her humiliation only for her to catch sight of Sabrina jumping up to spike a volleyball past Ash. Volleyball really was a good sport, Sabrina jumping was never a bad thing. 

Luana grinned as she started glaring at the volleyball with a gleeful expression. “Pay back tim—” was as far as she got as a nearby bucket of water that a child had been using to form a sandcastle whipped up and splashed Luana.

She stood there with her hand outstretched. “That was… bad timing,” she muttered as she took a breath and made to correct her mistake. 

A nearby towel flung itself into her face, despite there not being that much wind. 

Luana stumbled. “A freak gust of wind!” she growled. 

I sighed and gestured for Erika to sit back down while giving Yuji a small wave farewell. Yuji stared at Luana, obviously unaware of Luana’s history with Sabrina. 

The older woman flung the towel away, missing out that it soared back to where it had been to lay perfectly flat. 

My lips twitched as I noticed that Sabrina pointedly wasn’t looking at Luana as all these ‘freak occurrences’ played out. 

“She’s got to realise sooner or later right?” Erika asked them quietly. 

“Luana’s a proud woman, just enjoy the show,” I replied, offering Erika a bowl of popcorn. I hadn’t expected this but it made sense that Yuji would bring with him the only other long term Gym Leader and theoretically strongest trainer in the Orange Archipelago. 

It was just a shame that she got on with Sabrina like a Cranidos would against a sleeping Alakazam. Each and every attempt was met with a deflection or distraction that grew more and more unbelievable. 

Meowth shifted over to grab his own share of popcorn as a beachball gained weight and speed which deflected off a barrier that Luana raised. 

“Ha!” she crowed, only to miss the flung ice cream cone splatting down on top of her head. 

“She looks like an ice-type Ponyta,” Erika giggled. 

Luana glowered at Sabrina’s back. “YOU’RE NOT CUTE!” she roared. 

Sabrina set a ball to Visquez and then leapt upwards to deliver the finishing blow to my brother and Ash’s hopes of winning the ‘Volleyball badge of Shamouti’. As she drifted through the air the sunlight seemed to catch her perfectly.

Her hair was flowing and glistening vibrantly and her skin glowed. Her eyes sparked and her lips turned just slightly upwards as she scored the final point in both her matches.

Luana slumped, finally conceding her defeat as Ash and Forrest yowled in defeat. 

Sabrina turned then and smiled at us. Luana fled but we all knew she was going to try again.

“So I take it we’re going to have to keep her away from Sabrina?” Erika asked.

“Yup!” I replied. I shook my head sadly. “I’m not sure Yuji could have picked a worse person to back him up, but then again it’s not like the other two Gym Leaders would have her strength,” I mused with a shake of my head. 

Erika twitched. “Should we have offered to spar with them to get a feel for each other?”

I glanced up at the sky. “I don’t think Yuji would accept training with us and adding Luana to our sessions…” 

Meowth chose that moment to speak up. “Would that be like throwing red paint on a wall of a Tauros stable!” 

I could only agree with Meowth’s rather apt metaphor. 

If only all of the allies we had could get along. 

Then again perhaps that would be too easy, I thought as I watched some clouds begin to appear on the horizon. I opened up my Xtransceiver and sighed at the announcements that were starting to come in over the various news sites.

Apparently, mass pokemon migrations were occurring much to the confusion of the various Ranger groups.

To everyone else this was a freak occurrence. 

To me it was the beginning of the Shamouti incident, and if I hadn’t been close with Sabrina, it would have been the first indicator that I had that things were about to go south.

I spared another glance at the forming storm clouds. “I think we’re going to have to train in the rain tomorrow,” I mused.

“We’ll be ready,” Erika declared firmly.

I nodded, not saying ‘we better be’ aloud.

_____________________

The Shamouti festival had been open for a few days before the actual main event as it was known in canon. The stalls of various locals and nearby residents were open for business and more than a few tourists were happy to spend big in the days leading up to the festival honouring the Prophecy of the chosen one and Lugia. 

Each night, local women would don costumes and race around the festival grounds with streamers of blue, yellow, or red trailing after them. It sort of reminded me of Chinese New Year in my previous life with the parades and bright lanterns with everyone dressing up and enjoying themselves. 

Then again, they had an almost copy-perfect Lion-dragon outfit worn by a team of men that was actually depicting a raging Gyarados moving about the streets. When it spotted young children it would make a show of ‘chasing’ them down only for the occasional brave child to stand up to the raging ‘pokemon’ and chase it off. 

I kept an eye out for such kids and made sure to keep a mental note of them. They had good hearts, but they were also the most likely kids to rush towards any danger and therefore make all the work we were doing to protect the people that much harder.

One thing I hadn’t considered but perhaps should of, was how Ash would become the ‘Chosen one’ in this year’s Festival. 

Tobias had approached us while we were training. He’d observed us all and while Erika, Sabrina, I and Visquez were clearly the stronger trainers, something about how Ash just would not stay down or how he adjusted had caught Tobias’ eye. 

He’d asked Ash to be the Chosen One right then and there.

This had led to Melody meeting Ash. She’d taken one look at him and decided she liked her role of Festival Maiden. She’d demanded practice sessions with Ash five times a day where she showed him the ropes. 

He’d argued her down to a mere two times a day.

Misty had been very amused the first time Ash had come back, grumpy as a Meowth chased by some playful Growlithe. He’d had lipstick marks all over him. 

“She keeps messing up her lines and having to repeat them!” he growled in exasperation.

Forrest had facepalmed. “Ash… there should be limits to stupidity.” 

“Yeah, tell me about it! She flubbed the last line like five times!” Ash agreed, which only caused Misty to fall to the ground where she lost control of her laughter. 

Interestingly enough, Lugia, while mentioned many times during the recitals of the prophecy that was told at various points throughout the lead up, never got its own parade or maiden running around dressed up like them. 

I chalked this up to Lugia being a rather well-hidden pokemon. Still, when questioned about this ‘missing’ Legendary by tourists the locals were all adamant in its existence. 

I had to admit they did a wonderful job building the mystery around Lugia with songs and flashing shadows used in puppet shows and retelling to make people wonder.

The local weather hadn’t been as accommodating with rain attempting to dampen a lot of people’s spirits but in the world of pokemon such impacts on large events like bad weather were merely quitter talk. 

More than a few fire or grass type pokemon had emerged with Sunny Day appearing at crucial positions around Shamouti which allowed the event to stay warm and dry for the most part.

The pokemon themselves needed to be cycled out regularly and I did notice that with each day we got closer to the event that the rain became heavier, and therefore more draining on the various pokemon attempting to keep things upbeat.

We’d made good on enjoying the festival in the lead up to today but the true festival itself, the celebration of the Legendary Prophecy. 

Starting outside town right where the main street cut off the Elders and locals had dressed themselves up in masks and outfits that were made from straw or colourful clothes. They chanted, beat drums and danced around. 

In the centre of it all Ash stood out like a Houndoom in a pack of Growlithe due to standing still and not joining in.

Ash stood out all the more due to his lack of traditional garb. He wore what I liked to think of as his everyday wear. 

White and blue jacket with jeans with the limited edition pokemon cap atop his head. 

Elder Tobias finished off his chant before whirling about to face Ash. 

“Come forth Chosen one in our hour of need!” he shouted, waving his hands theatrically, a small mic on him carried his words to the speakers around the town, letting people know the festivities for the day were about to begin. 

Ash stepped confidently. “I will help you!” he shouted and through a neat trick, Ash’s voice was overlaid with that of other ‘Chosen’ from previous Festivals. 

I could just make out my own voice out there from a few years ago. 

Forrest stiffened, likely having caught it as well. 

The chanting, dancing, and music resumed but now the Chosen one and his selected comrades were invited to walk with the parade down the main street. 

I, along with the other Gym Leaders moved to the back of the group to allow Ash and the others their time in the spotlight. 

A large wooden mask bristled as I approached. “Bringing back some memories?” asked Carol from behind the mask. 

“Yeah, it is,” I replied as I waved to the crowds that were assembled along the main street. People cheered and clapped for Ash as he marched along with the procession. A few did double-takes when they spotted a group of notable Gym Leaders from Kanto at the back. 

When we reached large totems that had been set up around the town the parade performed a slow circuit of them with people being invited to join in to show their thanks by dancing along.

This resulted in a very festive mood. 

From there the parade was led to a large hall that was open for everyone. Locals, Elders, and the Chosen one were allowed to sit within while others enjoyed a buffet-style meal.

Elder Tobias, rather than sitting with us, had instead set up a table specifically for Yuji, Luana, and other prominent members of the island council.

Our group sat with Carol, and to my surprise, Maron, who was acquainted with each other.

Carol grinned as everyone sat down and began to tear into the food. She gave Maron a wink. “So I saw you and a gentleman last night~. How’d it go for you?” she teased. 

Maron smirked. “Heh! Yeah he was alright. He kept up with me on the booze so I gave him a tumble but then he tried to get clingy in the morning.” 

Maron’s smirk grew toothy. “So I gave him a fright when I told him I had Krabbys!” she announced with a grin.

Sabrina snorted at the joke and I chuckled. Visquez grinned while Erika blushed. “That poor man must have had a heart attack,” she murmured. 

“Started to sprint straight off my boat only to realise what I’d said! Hah! It still worked to get rid of him!” Maron crowed happily.  

Before any more jokes could be shared Melody skipped onto the stage and began to play a hauntingly beautiful song, on one an ocarina that was shaped like a shell. 

As she skipped and twirled the veil about her flared, catching in the light of the various fires about the hall causing her form to sparkle like a diamond. 

When she was done she sprinted off the stage and moved directly towards Ash. 

“Hear ye all! From the Trio of Islands! Ancient Spheres shall you take! From between life and death all the difference you’ll make,” she declared as she knelt in front of Ash.

“Oh Chosen one, you must climb to the Shrine, right what is wrong!” Here she leaned in and took Ash’s hand in hers.

“And the world will be healed by the Guardian in song!” she finished, smiling up at Ash.

Ash blinked, staring at Melody like he’d never seen her.

“You’re… you’re beautiful,” he muttered, causing Melody to recoil in shock as a full blush spread across her face. 

Visquez whistled quietly. “Damn, for an idiot he can be smooth when he wants to,” she whispered. 

Melody coughed. “Oh, thank you Chosen one… but you need to complete your task before we…” she blushed and looked away.

Ash nodded slowly before straightening up. “Alright! What should I do?”

Melody twitched and stared at him. “I just told you though?”

“Oh… I was distracted,” he muttered, causing the blush to return to Melody’s face with a vengeance. 

“Oh don’t worry. It’s not very hard. Not for you. And besides, almost all our chosen ones return alive!” she said with a playful wink. 

Carol coughed. “Melody!” she hissed. 

I glanced over to Elder Tobias as he coughed. “There is a reason we only allow young healthy boys to undertake the role of Chosen one…” 

Melody then explained how Ash needed to get the orbs from the various islands before she would sing a song and celebrate the completion of the ‘quest’ with a reward. 

Ash perked up. “Like a prize?” he gushed. 

Melody tapped her lips knowingly. “One of the best prizes around!” she said playfully. 

“You can set off tomorrow!” Melody said only for Ash to stand. 

“No way! I’m ready now! Forrest! Misty! Let’s go!” he roared, surprising all the locals. 

I snorted and began to laugh. This kid!

Around us people began to protest only for Ash to be deaf to their complaints. “Let’s go!” he bellowed as he charged out, leaving Pikachu, Misty and Forrest to sprint after him. 

Forrest must have been expecting it as he took a bag of food with him as they ran. Heh, seemed like he was well-versed on how Ash thought. 

Elder Tobias rose. “The Chosen One sets off now!” he declared with a manic gleam in his eyes. Around the room a few people continued to shout protests having only just sat down to eat. Elder Tobias scowled at them. 

“Come! We must see them off!” he announced as he raced after Ash. This led to the room emptying. 

Visquez started to rise to follow only to notice how Sabrina and I were still leisurely eating. Erika, I noted, also hadn’t moved. 

Visquez blinked before smirking and sitting down. “Oh right. Ain’t nothing faster than a teleporter,” she mused. “I can get a ride right?” she questioned.

Sabrina nodded and Visquez grinned as she turned to a now empty table which she dragged over, claiming the food on it for herself. Erika made a small strangled noise in the back of her throat that caused Visquez to cough.

“What? It takes a lot of calories to be me!” she replied as she tore into a pidgey drumstick.

Ten minutes later we all rose and teleported to the port where Ash was releasing his Lapras. “Let’s go Lapras!” he shouted. 

“Ash, you do this every time!” Forrest bellowed as he leapt after Ash. 

Misty followed with a practised leapt that saw Lapras bobbing in the water as the kids landed on its back. “Pras!” sang the happy little pokemon only for a ship to intercept them.

“Hey what gives?” Ash called as Maron appeared on the deck. 

“Hi there! Nice water type pokemon. Great for endurance and cost but you need speed right now. I was supposed to be paid up for tomorrow but I’ll ship out tonight for you, my chosen one!” Maron called. 

Ash, Forrest and Misty all shared a look at that with Ash gaining a blush. “Right that… makes sense,” he muttered, climbing up onto the shipdeck. 

“That kid is a whole class of clowns on his own,” Visquez laughed only to look up as lightning split the sky. Around us the Sunny Day orbs that had been holding the rain at bay all failed the festival grounds as one as the storm that had been building for days announced itself properly. 

Waves began to wash onto shore, and I hummed, glad that Ash had seen reason. His smaller Lapras might have been good to get around in good weather but a boat was perhaps the better bet during a storm at night. 

Most of the festival goers seeked cover as the rain came down in earnest. Our group merely donned our raincoats. 

We watched the boat zoom towards fire island and I glanced towards Sabrina. “Shall we?” I asked and she nodded.

Just before we departed, I saw a shadow shift up on the cliff. A quick look up revealed Slowking staring out at sea with a glum look on his face. If memory served me right, he was reciting part of the prophecy. 

We vanished with a flash and reappeared on a cliff overlooking the shrine of Fire. 

Straight away, the heat of the island began to seep up through my shoes and while there was still rain falling, it sizzled and exploded into steam the moment it hit the ground. 

I looked up towards where a soft glow was emanating from the top of the peak of Fire Island, which was of course a volcano. 

“Still sensing Moltres?” I asked. Sabrina nodded a moment later and I relaxed. In the movies Moltres had been the first target Lawrence had snatched up. 

Our group settled in and watched as Maron docked her boat on the shore of Fire Island and Ash sprinted straight up the hill. 

Everyone in our group stared. 

“He… he does realise there are stairs built into the hill doesn’t he?” Erika asked as we all watched Ash literally take the most direct and possibly hardest route up the hill. 

“Sometimes he just leaps before the thought of slowing down to look can even occur to him,” I offered with a shrug. “He’ll wear himself out and think things through in a moment.”

Sure enough he got halfway up the hill when he paused for a breather. It was then that he spotted the stairs where Misty and Forrest were standing. 

Forrest dutifully raised his wrist and took a photo of Ash’s face. 

“Whole class of clowns,” Visquez repeated to herself. 

Ash made his way into the shrine and acquired the Fire orb without a hint of anything being off. We kept eyes on him the entire way back to the boat.

“Alright that’s one down,” I murmured, glancing towards the next island. 

Visquez grinned as we vanished into another teleport. 

Much like Fire island, Lightning Island had its own unique feel to it and as our feet touched the ground all of us twitched like a static shock had bitten us.

“Urgh, like I touched metal,” Erika grumbled.

Visquez shifted. “Oh, damn that felt goooooood!” she crowed. 

I chuckled at her antics and settled in to watch as Maron piloted her boat to Lightning island. She once more docked and Ash threw himself off the side of the boat. This time he paused and looked around before taking off up the stairs towards the shrine. 

“He can learn,” Sabrina commented. 

“Awww, I was gonna enjoy him being an idiot for longer,” Visquez said. 

As Ash ascended the stairs, something must have been slippery as he suddenly crashed to the ground. Pikachu landed off to the side and made a grab for a red orb that Ash had dropped as he fell. 

Pikachu leapt only to miss and the orb crashed to the ground on a patch of grass, that sparked and lit up momentarily only for the rain to put the fire out quickly. 

That might have worried me in another situation but what did have me straightening up was how the orb, as soon as it made contact with the ground, had released a pulse of energy.

“Did you feel that?” I asked aloud. 

Visquez and Erika blinked and shook their heads while Sabrina nodded with a grim set to her lips. 

A shriek form above us caused us to whirl about as a Zapdos that was easily six metres tall rocketed off the peak and into the clouds. 

A blinding spray of lightning flashed out and a heartbeat later the air around us rumbled as thunder rolled through our bones. 

I grimaced, drawing up my rock energy to resist the force while bracing Sabrina and Erika. 

Visquez looked more alive than I’d ever seen her as she stared right into the heart of the storm.

“Zapdos…” she whispered reverently. 

“Oh shit,” I muttered. 

Sabrina stiffened, her gaze snapping down to the beach. She pressed a button on her wrist. “Contact,” she shouted. 

I looked down and found a cluster of what had to be twenty people in silver and black armour standing on a beach that had been hidden in shadow before the lightning had lit them up.

They stared up and locked eyes with us and I could tell a fight was about to break out. 

One of them wasn’t wearing armour and he smirked as he raised a flare gun into the sky and shot it up high. From each Ice, Fire, and Shamouti island, answering flares began to shoot upwards. 

Something I had no doubt the various Legendary birds noticed straight away as Zapdos’s beak snapped towards the flare and another blast of lightning lit up the sky. On Fire Island, I could see Moltres announcing itself while Ice Island seemed dormant for the moment.

“Double shit,” I muttered.

We’d been hoping to catch Team Cipher on the way in but that wasn’t going to be possible.

They were already here.

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A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support.

It also goes to Twmmy for proofreading this chapter!