Challenger - Omega Ruby Nuzlocke Novel

Stones

"I only have to delay you!" Grant roared, his voice carrying across the mountaintop. The grunt sounded as if he was attempting to reassure himself as his fearful body language betrayed his words. The grunt peered at Erik through the dimming daylight, the setting sun's heat continually waning as a chill slowly took to the air.

"How many times have I beaten you now?" Erik countered in a controlled tone, feeling a slight irritation at having to fight the Magma grunt. He had sighted a small wooden crate filled to the brim with various meteor fragments atop a small ridge. Mylos accompanied the box of stones, glaring down at him from beside the crate, clutching in his hand a ruby-red orb the size of Erik's fist. "And delay me for what?!" Erik followed.

Grant quickly glanced back to Mylos, searching for a response, but the admin remained stiff, as if he were awaiting something. The grunt turned back to Erik, casting his gaze over the rock-strewn battlefield. They stood atop Mt.Pyre, oblivious to the battles which raged mercilessly all around them. Aqua and Magma members clashed all the way from the base of the mountain to the summit.

"Erik," a gruff shout reached him from a couple of metres below. He turned to find a Sharpedo ramming into a Magma Numel and launching it off the edge, the fire type plummeting downwards to the calm waters of the lake which surrounded the mountain. "Don't let him distract you, we need to stop them from using the stones!" Archie barked, his fierce voice levitating over the sounds of battle, before the Aqua leader was engaged by two more Magma members clutching Pokeballs.

Erik threw his backpack to the ground, rapidly reaching into the bag to find only a single hyper potion. His team were weak, most of them barely able to stand. Both the climb and the Magma resistance as he ascended the mountainside had depleted them.

"Here," Cecilia shouted, throwing two bottles of soda water over a ledge to him. "I mixed in some healing powder, they should do the job." After throwing the bottles she immediately returned to her own battle, her freshly evolved Sceptile battling two koffings.

A huge explosion rattled the ground he stood on as he caught the bottles, followed by yells of help as both a Magma grunt and Aqua member were launched over the edge of the mountain by a Koffing self destructing halfway down Mt. Pyre. All that was left of that particular battle was a gaping hole in the cliffside. Erik tried focusing on task at hand, but his mind carelessly wandered through his memories, searching his brain to how he had gotten to this point...

--------------------------------------------

The crisp morning wind sailed through Erik's chestnut-brown hair as he inhaled deeply, taking in both the fresh, warm air and the view. Both Route 120 and Route 121 spread out from underneath Soar's body. The former was littered with ponds and small rivers, long grass and thick trees, all within a permanent mustiness. Route 121 however, was a single long path, carving its way through a vibrant rolling grassland.

Erik had added two new Pokemon to his team, who now rested within storage. A Gloom called Happy for the constant smile on its face, despite the grass type usually being a rather grumpy Pokemon, as well as a Pelipper which he had named Pelly, after Will's. The gym's trainer had inspired him somewhat, seeing the youthful enthusiasm and naivety that he himself used to contain.

Route 121's main attraction however, was the Safari Zone. The Safari was a massive open area, full of fresh grasslands and open pools of water, the whole Zone contained Pokemon who called it their home. Many people volunteered to work there and look after all sorts of creatures that inhabited the area, which was split into four zones. By law, a trainer was allowed to enter and capture a Pokemon from each zone, although the Hoenn rules still applied so only the first Pokemon they encountered could be caught.

The first of Erik's conquests of the Zone was a Psyduck, the water type chased out of a pond by Dive before Horde wrapped its tentacles around the Pokemon for Erik to easily capture his new partner, who he named "Quack".

Entering the second zone, he immediately spotted a Rhyhorn upon a manmade hill, the stone carved to resemble the natural habitat of certain Pokemon. Horde shot out leash like tentacles once more, wrapping the foe in them, before recoiling in agony. The Rhyhorn's sharp, rocky skin piercing the Tentacruel's arms. The rock and ground dual type charged at Horde, its horn like a knife on the front of its head. To defend himself, Erik's Pokemon shot out a powerful foamy blast of water, which did more damage than Erik had wanted. The Rhyhorn now lay lifeless on the ground, unable to be captured.

The third and fourth zones led to more success. A Xatu named Blitz and a Pinsir he called Warrior were Erik's final two captures from the Safari Zone.

--------------------------------------------

Erik's mind snapped back to the present as he withdrew Blaze back into his Pokeball after dousing the Blaziken's wounds with the hyper potion. Horde and Dancer sipped happily on the soda water, their health slowly restoring as the healing powder within the mixture hit their system.

He flashed a glance back to Grant, before almost falling backwards in shock. The Magma grunt's Koffing floated menacingly before him, before it closed its eyes and began to self destruct. Erik felt himself being hauled to the ground as the explosion shook the mountain, the force of whcih blasted Horde off of the edge. Dancer had tackled him to the ground just in time, but his Tentacruel wasn't so lucky.

Horde lashed out a dozen tentacles, grabbing onto anything and everything he could find. He managed to cling onto two large boulders which jutted out of the cliff side, and using the rocks to propel himself back up the mountain, barely managing to pull himself over.

Grant's Numel lay in wait for the Tentacruel, with Erik and Dancer still on the ground. The grunt's Pokemon immediately charged at Horde, lowering its rock-encased skull to ram Erik's Pokemon for a finishing blow, aiming to send the Tentacruel plummeting over the edge to his doom.

Horde instantly lashed out his tentacles once more, wrapping them around yet more boulders which protruded from the mountain's surface and swinging himself over the Numel. As Horde crashed back into the ground he fired a powerful water blast at his foe, launching Grant's creature over the edge.

The Tentacruel took a moment to pause for breath, inhaling and exhaling sharply whilst Erik fumbled around his belt for Horde's Pokeball. Until a Mightyena seemingly appeared from thin air and leapt onto Erik's Pokemon, grabbing onto the Tentacruel with jaws like a vicegrip. The force of the attack threw both Pokemon over the edge, Horde once more whipping out tentacles in an attempt to save himself, but the impact was too much. Grant's Mightyena attempted to launch itself off of Horde in a last ditch effort to save its own life, but the Tentacruel wrapped its whip-like arms around his foe. If Horde was going down, he was taking the Mightyena with him.

Erik ran over to the edge, seeing the duo crash into the mountainside time and time again as they continued their struggle. Each time Horde attempted to lash out tentacles and cling onto anything he could, the Mightyena simply bit down harder, causing Horde to recoil. The battle of the beasts ended abruptly as they crashed into a sharp crowd of rocks, almost out of sight. The lake that surrounded Mt. Pyre licking up and claiming the two lifeless Pokemon.

An overwhelming sadness took him, the powerful emotion making his limbs feel weak, until he forced himself to feel something else in its place. Anger.

Erik span on his heel at a sudden sharp sound to find himself face to face with an oncoming Mightyena, the beast looking to catch him unaware, until he was saved once again by Dancer. The Pikachu tackled Grant's new Mightyena to the ground, before quickly paralysing her foe with an electrical discharge.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Erik roared to Grant, his opponent ignoring his calls as the grunt kept his gaze fixed on the battle. "Coward!" Erik followed sharply.

Erik quickly realised what Grant had been staring at. He had assumed the paralysed Pokemon would've been easy prey for Dancer, but something had stopped her. The Pikachu held her hands over her eyes and stumbled backwards, confused and frightened. Erik quickly grabbed her Pokeball before she unknowingly tumbled off the edge, recalling her and sending out Soar in Dancer's place.

"What are you playing at?!" Erik passionately roared, he felt his hands clenched into two fists as his whole body shook from rage. Once again Grant ignored him, refusing to make eye contact.

"Erik," Cecilia shouted from below, she had just defeated two Magma grunts as she began her ascension to the summit. "Mylos," she followed, panting for breath after a short but treacherous climb.

Erik turned his head towards the ledge, catching a sadistic grin on Mylos's face. The admin clutched a circular stone as black as the night in his hand. The object seemed to shine brightly, despite its colouring, as if it had been polished unrelentingly for days.

"Interesting to see the effect these alien stones have on Pokemon isn't it?" Mylos called down, followed by a laugh that sounded more like a bark.

Erik held his tongue, clenching his jaw in an attempt to contain his fury as a shadow passed overhead. Soar.

The Latios had grabbed the paralysed Mightyena in his claws with little resistance, flew out over the mountain and far enough to ensure the drop would be lethal, and released Grant's penultimate Pokemon; sending the Mightyena flailing helplessly to the surface.

Soar rapidly flew back to the battlefield as Grant's Golbat aimed straight for the undefended Erik. The Latios emitted a burning wave of energy from his mouth; but instead of the pure darkness that emerged from his mega-evolved form, this attack was the opposite, a powerful blast of light which fried the Golbat within.

"No!" Grant yelled. "I lost again!"

"Not to worry," Mylos followed. "You've slowed him down enough."

"What do you mean?" Erik barked as both Cecilia and Archie climbed to meet him. He received no response as Mylos walked off out of sight on the raised ground.

Grant had taken a side pathway which led around the back of the ledge of which Mylos had stood upon. The trio followed in pursuit.


The peak of the mountain was also surprisingly flat. Grant had two new Pokeballs in one hand, digging through the crate with his other as he crouched beside the box of stones. Mylos stood before the trio, a Camerupt by his side who was, by the look of his empty belt, the admin's sole Pokemon.

"Where's Maxie?!" Erik roared, receiving a disarming look from Cecilia.

"Stay calm," she whispered, placing a hand on Erik's arm which he shrugged off.

"He's preoccupied," Mylos smirked. "I think we've served as an adequate distraction."

"If you're just a distraction then what's that?" Archie questioned, pointing at the crate of stones.

"Oh just a gift for that rich ponce and his son," Mylos responded, his and Archie's gravelly voices almost a perfect match for another. "Well," he followed, holding up the ruby red orb in his right hand, which caused Erik to notice that his left hand lay resting in his pocket. "This one is for us."

"What does it do?" Cecilia asked, before Erik could say anything.

"'Tis a surprise," Mylos replied instantly, a scowl on his face as he failed to recognise the woman.

"You still haven't explained why you're up here!" Erik roared. "Why not take the stones to whoever they're for?!" he shouted even louder, stepping forward to avoid another worried look from Cecilia.

"That would be Mr. Stone," Mylos responded. "We needed to test them first, we needed to cause a distraction, and.." he paused, feigning ignorance. "Oh yes, the red orb was up here somewhere, we just needed to find it. There was also supposed to be a blue orb but no idea where that got to."

"Why are you bribing the Stones' anyway?" Archie enquired.

"You stupid?" Mylos taunted. "The region rules and laws and stuff are decided by three voting members, we own two. Just need the third."

"Enough!" Erik almost screamed, grabbing Dive's Pokeball and launching it into the air. "If you're just a distraction I'm taking you down, then you're telling me where Maxie is!"

Cecilia reached for her Sceptile's Pokeball, before Archie stopped her with a hand on her wrist. "He needs this," the Aqua leader spoke in a hushed tone.

"Wait, what is that?" Archie followed as both he and Cecilia were taken by surprise by a mysterious object Mylos pulled from his pocket; a strange circular stone which reminded the duo of an eye. Clear all the way through apart from a stone grey and crimson red iris, matching the Camerupts colour pattern.

Erik wasn't only angry at Magma, Mylos and Grant, he was also angry at himself. Instead of charging into battle with the criminal gang, he should've stopped to think. It was obviously a distraction, but he couldn't have ignored his sighting of Wally on the mountain, as his thoughts raced back once more to how he had gotten here...

----------------------------------


"Watch out!" Erik warned Soar, spotting a barrage of fireballs honing in on them. His Latios swerved left and right in an attempt to dodge the plethora of flame, before being overwhelmed. Fire struck Soar in the face, another ball of flame clipping his wing as the Latios lost control in midair, Erik almost falling off the back of his Pokemon, managing to grab onto a wing with a hand as he held on for his life with a loose grip.

He used his free hand to grab Horde's Pokeball and release the Tentacruel into the lake below, releasing his feeble hold on Soar to avoid a fireball aiming directly at him. He crashed into the calm waters, colliding with an unaware Surskit who fired bubbles at him angrily in retaliation. Erik struggled to sight Horde through the murky waters as he gasped for breath, inhaling what seemed like an ocean's worth of water in the process.

As his vision slowly faded, he felt himself being swept up to the surface. Horde had grabbed him just in time as he coughed and spluttered, choking up streams of water. Soar hovered weakly ahead, battered and burnt.

Horde lifted up a tentacle to reveal the Surskit trapped in his embrace. Erik grabbed a Pokeball and threw it at his aggressor, naming it "Bubble", before withdrawing Soar into his own capsule.
Erik had only just exited the Safari Zone atop his Latios, the duo racing out towards Lilycove City.

He climbed to his feet, balancing carefully upon Horde's slimy skin and lifting his head to spot Mt. Pyre before him. The gigantic mountain which lay in the middle of a triangle of Lilycove, Fortree and Mauville painted Erik's entire view in the greys and browns of its surface.

He ascended the mountain with his eyes, spotting red figures swarming it. Magma.

The army of crimson criminals like ants erupting from their nest. A tide of blue surged up Mt. Pyre to confront Team Magma. Team Aqua were here as well.

"Something big must be happening," he whispered to Horde. "If both Team Magma and Team Aqua are here."

--------------------------------------

The Shuppet was caught, Dive's water blasts enough to weaken the creature enough for Erik to capture his new party member, who instantly zapped off to storage. "Welcome to the team, Ghost," he whispered quietly, almost to himself.

He had passed through the Pokemon graveyard which rested peacefully at the base of the mountain, carved by residents of nearby Lilycove City over a hundred years ago to bury their Pokemon that had died in a great civil war that had engulfed Hoenn. Two armies of trainers battling to decide how the region should be led. The rebels who fought for a fair voting system eventually defeating loyalists who believed Hoenn should be ruled by a single family.

Erik felt another war would come soon, in Kanto. The common folk fighting to overthrow Giovanni and Team Rocket who ruled supreme in the region. Or so he hoped as he passed through the serene graveyard, occasionally feeling the shakes and hearing the cries of battle raging above.

He climbed the steps which led to the upper levels of the mountain.

Back outside, he had to strain his neck as he looked up to see crimson and aqua clashing, the tides of battle moving back and forth. Suddenly, a flash of lime green caught his eye from nearby.

"Wally?" he whispered in question to himself, as he recalled the iconic bright green hair of his friend. The figure seemed to round a corner of rock but when Erik got there, it had vanished. "Maybe he climbed higher up?" he thought, beginning the pursuit.

---------------------------------


"Maybe it was just my imagination," Erik thought to himself. He had heard stories of strange sights in places like this, where the ghosts of deceased Pokemon haunted a location and appeared to be something they were not. If Wally had been here, he wasn't going to be found.

Erik had climbed the mountain at pace, battling Magma grunts as he ascended up the cliffsides and rocky spaces. His team were weak and tired from the struggle, but a fresh wave of energy flowed through them as they encountered both Archie and Cecilia.

"Joined Aqua now have you?" Erik joked to Cecilia, who wore white sports shoes with a matching bowl hat. A sky-blue tank top held up by a belt and red skirt, with a yellow bag wrapped around her waist. "And what are you wearing?!" he followed.

"My climbing clothes!" she snapped back, almost defensively, before responding to his first question. "And no, I was visiting the graveyard on my way to Lilycove when an army of Team Magma attacked the place, they're looking for something and I want to stop them."

"How'd they get so many members?" Erik enquired, more to Archie than Cecilia. It was the Aqua leader who answered.

"It's like Kanto, Team Rocket control the region so they can manipulate the rules and force people to join them if they wish to become a trainer," he started, staring upwards to where both Mylos and Grant sat atop a ledge, it was still a way to go to reach the duo, but at least now they were in sight of Erik. "When Hoenn banned trainers without a badge, a ton of people were left with a choice, join Magma or give up being a trainer completely. And you can bet this isn't all of them."

"Look out!" Cecilia yelled as a Golbat swept passed them, four Magma grunts in close pursuit.

"Erik," Archie growled. "Get up there and deal with Maxie or whoever's in charge. We'll hold these guys off and make our way to you."

---------------------------------------

Mylos pointed the megastone in his hand at Camerupt. His Pokemon reacted immediately, a startled roar bursting from his mouth which caused the entire mountain to shake.

Dive recoiled slightly, almost afraid of what was to come. Even Erik felt fearful, he had seen the effect a megastone had on Soar, his Pokemon enduring excruciating pain as the darkest sides of its soul took the Latios in its malevolent grasp.

The Camerupt let out a cry of agony as a cloud of pure darkness swallowed it whole. A few silent seconds passed until two red orbs pierced the black. The cloud faded, leaving in its wake a true monster. The beast measured at twice its previous size, with Camerupt's usually placid facial expression replaced by gnarling teeth and and a facial expression filled with hate. The two grey openings on its back replaced by a coal-black mini-volcano, the size of the creature itself.

Dive blasted water at the creature, who despite usually having a double type weakness to the Wailmer, let the attack ricochet off him as if he were made entirely of solid stone. The monster reacted angrily, the volcano on its back erupting slow-moving streams of molten lava which eased over the Camerupt's skin before hitting the ground, melting through the rock like acid. The megaevolved Pokemon opened its jaws, a huge jet of pure black lava escaping from within and encapsulated Dive. Once the attack had evaporated, the Wailmer had vanished. Dive had been disintegrated.

"What is that?!" Archie cried, grabbing his Sharpedo's Pokeball. Cecilia followed with Sceptile and Erik with Blaze.

The three powerful Pokemon combined attacks. Sceptile launching a barrage of razor-sharp leaves, Blaze igniting them as Sharpedo followed in, enclosing his robust jaws around the Camerupts mouth. Mylos's Pokemon simply shook off the attacks as if they didn't harm him, before replying with his own.

Mega Camerupt blasted black fire, the Sharpedo who was still wrapped around his mouth disintegrating immediately. Blaze acted swiftly, tackling Cecilia's Sceptile to the ground and saving her life.

"Get that Blaziken!" Mylos roared to his Pokemon in encouragement, almost laughing at his newfound power.

"Big mistake," Erik whispered to himself. He had felt it when Soar had megaevolved, the Pokemon was no longer under his control, it fought for only two things. Dominance and destruction.

The Mega Camerupt turned its lumbering frame slowly, each stomp of its foot seeming to cause a small earthquake as the entirety of the ground shook around them.

"What are you doing?!" Mylos roared at his Pokemon. Then he realised. Erik saw the admin's eagerness and pride turn to pure fear in his eyes as his own Pokemon had turned on him. Mylos sprinted towards the ledge.

"Run you idiot!" he barked at Grant, who leapt up and followed his boss in close pursuit as the Camerupt finished his rotation. The beast inhaled then erupted a powerful stream of black lava towards the Magma duo.

A huge explosion caused Erik to fall backwards.

As he strained to see through the resulting smoke, he spotted both Mylos and Grant huddled together, shaking. They had been saved by the box of stones which had reacted explosively on impact with the Camerupt's attack. Most of the stones within had shattered in the blast, but a few scorched remnants flew through the air, landing in various places across the mountaintop.

Blaze and Sceptile took their chance whilst the Mega Camerupt's back was turned. Leaves brimming with fresh flames collided with the beast but instantly deflected away off of the creature's rear as if the beast was composed of titanium.

Camerupt aimed another attack at the exposed Magma duo, before Mylos hurled the megastone at it. The object impacted against a blast of black fire and disintegrated like all before it. Surprisingly, the stone had managed to deflect the attack onto a large boulder beside both Grant and Mylos, which evaporated in the blast.

Mega Camerupt howled in pain, a piercing deathly screech that sounded like metal being dragged roughly across metal. It de-evolved, shrinking before Erik's eyes and its previous mega-features morphing back to how they were previously.

Blaze and Sceptile attacked relentlessly, launching both fire and nature attacks until the beast would never have gotten back up.

"Now tell me!" Erik ordered, storming over to the shaking duo. Mylos bolted, but Grant remained frozen in place. Blaze sprinted over and grabbed the grunt, pinning him up against a nearby boulder.

"Wha...Wha..." Grant tried to speak, petrified by what had just happened.

"Where's Maxie?!" Erik growled, struggling to hold himself back.

"Erik!" Cecilia screamed, but he paid her no heed.

"Slateport...Submarine..." Grant managed, shaking like a leaf in Blaze's grasp.

"Behind you!" he heard Cecilia shout again, but it was too late. Mylos barged him to one side.

As Erik fell to the ground he spotted the red orb in Mylos's left hand, and a clear megastone in the other. Blaze dropped Grant and span around to confront Mylos, but the admin was on him, placing the megastone against the Blaziken's chest. Erik sprung to his feet, sprinting over to Blaze who emitted a horrifying shriek as his body reacted with the megastone.

Mylos grabbed the two Pokeballs on Grant's belt, lobbing them into the air to reveal a couple of Golbats which the pair escaped on the back of, the red orb remaining in their possession.

"Blaze!" Erik shouted, trying to divert his Pokemon's attention from the pain it was enduring. "BLAZE!" he roared at the top of his lungs. The Blaziken's attention snapped to his trainer, Erik catching a glint of fear in his Pokemon's eyes as he wrapped both arms around his oldest friend.

"Please," he whispered to Blaze. "Hold on."

The Blaziken calmed, slouching to the ground in exhaustion. Erik recalled Blaze into his Pokeball before spotting the megastone on the ground. The clearness within had now been replaced by two intertwining orange and red lines in the centre. Part of Blaze's soul lay within, the Blaziken now linked to the stone.

--------------------------------------------

Daylight pierced through the clouds as Erik strolled through the cobbled streets of Slateport, unable to stop checking the stone in his hand. Blaze's Megastone seemed to haunt his every thought, he didn't have to use it, he knew that, but there was so much he didn't know about the stones. Could they be controlled by others? Would there come a day when temptation would boil over and he'd use it?

He shook his head in an attempt to force the thoughts out. To no avail.

Erik shoved the stone into his pocket, withdrawing the two gifts from Cecilia and Archie in an attempt to force his mind elsewhere. The pair had each handed him a unique stone atop Mt. Pyre, saving that he'd know what to do with them more than they would. The trio had planned to head in different directions to counter the Magma threat. Archie would search for their hidden hideout, knowing that it resided within the outskirts of Lilycove. Cecilia heading to Sootopolis, the city birthed within a crater containing ancient secrets that may help them discover Magma's plans.

Erik himself volunteered to avert Maxie's plans at Slateport, unable to overcome a punishing feeling within himself that he was too late. The climb and battles of Mt. Pyre, followed by the silent journey to the harbour town had taken him through the night and into the morning.

He stared at the two stones which lay in the palms of his hands. The first was a gift from Cecilia, a lime green circle with a large teardrop nestled in the centre which was a darker shade of the same colour. In his other hand rested the gift from Archie, a sand-coloured stone roughly in the shape of the sun. His mind remained clueless as to the uses of both objects, as he emptied his hands into his backpack.

"...Of our newly built submarine!" a voice bellowed through the wind as Erik rounded a corner. On landing in Slateport harbour he had buried both Dive and Horde at sea, before a quick visit to the local Pokemon Centre. From there he travelled to Stern's Shipyard, the captain's assistant informing him that his superior currently resided in the harbour, delivering a speech to unveil their new submarine.

Erik withdrew both Splash and Warriors' Pokeballs from his belt, holding one in each hand. He had chosen the former as a replacement water-type, and wished to see what a Magikarp could do in battle. The latter pick was an easy choice for him, Pinsir being his favourite bug-type Pokemon, he had desired to have one in his team since he was a child.

"I look forward to launching the expedition!" Capt. Stern finished to rapturous applause. A crowd of twenty or so civilians mixed in with sailors had gather around a small podium where Stern gave his speech. Erik joined the crowd, slowly pushing his way through the onlookers.

"Captain Stern!" a loud voice sounded, echoing through the harbour like a series of waves. "I presume you can hear me," Maxie followed, his voice flowing loudly out of a megaphone.

"What is the meaning of this?!" the captain demanded, scanning the area for the source of the voice. The crowd began whispered in hushed tones, confused as to what was taking place.

"Your submarine now belongs to Team Magma," Maxie continued. "Take pride in the fact that your invention will serve as a linchpin for the next great step in humanity's development."

Stern's facial expression switched suddenly from confusion to horror, before the captain bolted into the harbour's main building. Erik swiftly followed, barging his way through the crowd.

It was too late, the submarine finished submerging as the duo entered the building.

"Erik?!" Stern gasped as the trainer moved alongside him. "What is going on here?!"

"What does it look like," Erik snapped, in no mood to explain the obvious. "Do you have any idea what Team Magma would want with a submarine?"

"The same thing we did," Stern replied, deflated. "An ancient Pokemon long believed to be extinct has rumoured to be discovered, its location currently undisclosed but known to be deep within the depths near Sootopolis."

"Why are you going after something like that?" Erik was astonished, what would a shipyard captain want with the legendary Pokemon.

"Word came down from the authorities that they wanted a submarine built rapidly for the exploration of caves underneath Sootopolis, hoping to find this...erm... 'Groudon'. Oh dear, how are they going to get their submarine now."

"Dont worry," Erik answered bitterly, almost biting his tongue in disgust as he reached into his pocket and clasped Blaze's megastone in his hand. "They've got it."