Pokémon Heroes of Johto

Until The End

After we patched up our injuries, I explained to Gold and Silver the situation in private, and we then sat with my father in the lobby in silence for awhile.
It feels like a dream... my dad is back with me after all this time.
"So.... you're a Pokémon Trainer now?" dad asked hesitantly.
"Yes. I actually beat the Johto Pokémon League. I have fifteen Badges and I was just on my way to get my last Badge before all of this." I stated calmly. Dad took off his cap and ran his fingers through his raven hair.
"Wow.... I really did miss everything, didn't I? How can I call myself your father? I don't even deserve kids." dad muttered. I felt awful about this. Did he really blame himself that much?
"Don't talk like that, dad. I know you weren't leaving on purpose." I said warmly, gently placing a hand on his arm.
"Yeah...... can I meet them? Your Pokémon, I mean." dad asked softly. I nodded, releasing my team from their Pokéballs. He stared in awe of them for a long moment before interacting with them. Trickshot nuzzled him warmly, Asuna made herself comfortable on his lap, Rina poked at him curiously while Pietro simply stared. Umbre let himself be pet for a while without any protests, and Typhlo and dad had a long moment of silence. "This one's your partner, right?" dad asked, petting Typhlo on the head.
"That's right. we've been together for almost two years now." I stated warmly, giving Typhlo a loving grin.
"I can't believe how much you've grown..... how much I've missed." dad murmured.
The pained look in his eyes jabbed at my heart.
All this time that's passed...
"Dad..... where..... where have you been all these years?" I asked hesitantly, staring at him for any negative signs.
"It was.... like I said. I had went on a business trip to Saffron's Silph Co. But there were Team Rocket sightings in the area lately, and they chose me to investigate. I thought it would be easy, but I was gravely mistaken. I was captured and held captive for, believe it or not, five years. They wanted to stop me from giving the police information on their missions. I was trapped there all that time that I thought was a few days or weeks tops, since I had lost track of time, until another international police officer, Mr. Looker, rescued me. I informed Looker on everything that I knew about Team Rocket's plans, and when I had been captured. That was when he told me I had been there for five years. I was in such shock, Mr. Looker had to take me to the hospital because he thought I'd stopped breathing. For the past two years, I've been regathering my sanity and trying to put a stop to Team Rocket." dad explained thoroughly. Gold, Silver, and I exchanged sorrowful glances before looking back at him.
My father.... they kidnapped my father... who would do such an awful thing to such a kind and loving man like him?
"Team Rocket.... they caused us a lot of trouble on our journey. We were the ones who made them disband again." I murmured. This made dad jolt his head up.
"Disband? Wait.... disband again?! When did they do that?!" dad asked in shock. I glanced back at Silver and Gold before hesitantly speaking up.
"Red..... Red made them disband. He gave their Boss, Giovanni Rocket, a change in heart because of his persistency. Giovanni decided to put an abrupt stop to Team Rocket and go on a journey to find himself." I explained. Silver gave a bothered look to the floor, trying to hide it from the rest of us.
He doesn't believe that, does he? Silver... if only you knew what I know now.
"Red? My own son...... put a stop to Team Rocket? Where is he now? I need to see my son again." dad stated longingly. I dropped my gaze to the floor, earning a confused look from dad.
"I.... I don't know."

...

I explained to him that Red had gone missing two years ago, and no one knows how or why. He freaked. Dad started pacing, pulling his hair in stress, and mumbling things to himself. When I tried to calm him, he broke down and started to cry, throwing his back into the wall and sliding to the ground as another river of tears flowed from his eyes. He had cried himself to sleep right there. I sat beside him, refusing to move from his side. Silver and Gold tried there best to help me. Silver would bring me water to calm me, and Gold came over and comforted me whenever I felt like I was gonna cry.
Dad finally woke up, and the first thing he did once he recalled what had happened was rush to the public phone and dial a number.
He spoke to someone on the phone for a few minutes, leaving Gold, Silver and I to wait impatiently in the lobby. When he came back, dad kept staring at the entrance of the Pokémon Center until a man in a long trench coat entered the door.
"Looker, thank you for taking the time to come here." dad said as he shook the man's hand.
That was.... Mr. Looker? The man who saved my father...
"You're very welcome, Mr. Ventura. This situation is just as important as Team Rocket, if not more so!" the man exclaimed.
"Excuse me, Looker, is it? What situation are we talking about?" I asked, though I had a pretty good idea.
"You're Fire, right? We're gonna do everything we can to find your brother, Red. That, I promise you." Looker stated with a warm smile. I smiled widely in return, shocked that I was finally getting some outside help.
"Oh, thank you so much, Looker!!" I exclaimed with a grateful bow.
"No problem, kid. You're on your way to get your sixteenth Badge, right? Your father told me you were. Fire, I think you should go get that Badge and complete the Pokémon League while your father and I investigate, do you agree?" Looker asked. I glanced back at Gold and Silver, who nodded in agreement.
"Yes sir, will do. Dad, you'll be ok, won't you?" I asked hesitantly.
I don't want to leave you, I just found you... but I will if I must.
"Yes, I will. Looker and I will work non stop on this most terrible case. And once we find Red, we'll go home and make up for all these years." dad stated warmly. I nodded in agreement, afterwards putting Looker's and dad's numbers into my Pokégear. With one last embrace with my father, Gold, Silver and I headed for Viridian City.
It took us about three and a half days to get there, but once we did, we were all extremely relieved. We decided to take the remainder of the day to rest at Silver's place and challenge the Gym tomorrow. I couldn't stop thinking about everything that had previously happened. We were attacked by Proton of Team Rocket, and then dad showed up.... it was all so sudden, like I was dreaming it. But I wasn't. This was real. And I was really one step closer to being with Red again. It felt so nice to know that my father was alive.... that I could see him again, and Blaze too. The feeling of joy filling my heart was overwhelming in such a beautiful way. Typhlo came over to the side of the bed and rested his head next to mine.
I pet his forehead, earning a loving pur.
"You finally got to meet dad and Blaze, huh Typhlo? Doesn't it feel like our family's growing?" I asked softly. Typhlo nodded in response, nuzzling up to me. "The truth is that our family is only coming back together, buddy. But we've still gotta find Red, and when we do, we'll battle him and show him how strong we are now." I whispered with a determined grin. Typhlo returned the look with a little nod. I drifted off to sleep, hugging my partner close as I dreamed of the future.
The next day, right after breakfast, I went straight to the Pokémon Gym. I entered and stared straight ahead at the one trainer who crossed lines with my brother as rivals.
"Well, well, didn't expect to see you here today. It's a bit of a surprise, actually." the spiky haired brunette stated with a smirk.
"Green Oak.... I am Fire Ventura of Pallet Town! And I challenge you to a battle!!" I exclaimed loudly. Green plucked a Pokéball off of his belt.
Of course I know he knows who I am, but that was my signal that I meant business.
"Sure thing.... but listen close, just because your the little sister of the one trainer who could beat me..... doesn't mean I'm losing to you!! Let's go, Exeggcutor!!" Green called.
"Trickshot, I choose you!!" I called out.
And so the battle of Green Oak of Pallet Town against me, Fire Ventura of Pallet Town, began. The battle we fought was fierce, but I had the upper hand until halfway through the match. Arcanine and Rhydon were just so strong, they powered through most of my team. I managed to knock Rhydon out with Pietro's Surf, but Arcanine knocked Pietro out with Thunder Fang. Typhlo was my last Pokémon of course, but Green still had Arcanine at half health and a fully prepared Pidgeot. It'd be hard to win my way through this one.
Arcanine put up a huge fight, but we managed to win with a full on Earthquake. Typhlo had taken a decent amount of damage from Arcanine though, so I feared the worst from Pidgeot.
I was right to be afraid.
Pidgeot was fast! It smacked Typhlo around mercilessly with Aerial Ace, and we only managed to land two Flamethrowers so far. This was looking bad.
"Come on, Fire!! You can do it!!" Silver called out.
"Show them your real power!!" Gold cheered. I glanced over at them and smiled brightly. I realized something in that moment; it doesn't matter what I'm going through, or where I am, there's always someone cheering me on, pushing me forward. And this battle was no exception.
"Alright, let's wrap this up! Pidgeot, Aerial Ace!!" Green commanded.
"Typhlo, dodge and use Thunder Punch!!" I cried out. Though very weak and barely standing, Typhlo locked his gaze with Pidgeot's as it dove towards him. Just as Pidgeot was about to land its attack, Typhlo stomped his right foot down hard on the battlefield, building up enough pressure just fast enough to shift and dodge to the left. Electricity surrounded its right paw as Typhlo turned and slammed it into Pidgeot's back while it was still in shock from the avoided move. Pidgeot was sent flying into the wall hard and was deemed unable to battle by the referee.
I fell to my knees in exhaustion, as did Typhlo. It felt like I had been holding my breath forever. Green stood in shock as Gold and Silver ran at me in pure joy, confirming his loss.
"That was great, Fire!! You had me worried for a moment, but you pulled it off beautifully!!" Gold exclaimed.
"Yeah, but I'm really shocked. Aerial Ace is supposed to be an unavoidable move." Silver stated calmly.
"Even the impossible can become possible when you put your mind to it. Great job, Fire. Here, your Earth Badge." Green said coolly, tossing the Badge at me. I smile softly at him in response. I never thought I'd see the day I'd beat Green. I guess I really don't know my own strength.
"So, you're headed to the Champion League now, right?" Green asked, an amused smirk on his face.
"Yeah, I think I'm ready to head there soon." I stated calmly, catching my breath.
"Here's my advise to you, You'll be facing five trainers in a row, the Elite Four, and then the Champion. You're gonna have to fight 'em for his place. So my advise is this; you know all these people, your friends, your family, and your Pokémon are all cheering you on, right? Use that encouragement as your strength, and win that League. If there's anyone who knows you can do it, it's me. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go rest up my Pokémon. Smell ya later." Green said cockily. He looked over his shoulder and smirked at me one last time before heading off to the Pokémon Center through the back door. I knew what that last look meant. He was telling me that he'd be behind me every step of the way.
And I know that he meant it from the bottom of his heart.
I held my Pokéball necklace to my heart, thinking of all the people who were cheering me on. I smirked up to the sky as I began to feel the rush of power course through me.

Now... with all of my friends and family pushing me forward, it's finally time.... time to begin my Champion League challenge!