Pokémon Heroes of Hoenn

Absol-utely Unbeatable

We rushed outside to find someone lying on the ground, staring up at a relatively large white Pokémon. Emerald gasped upon seeing it, her eyes widening in the process.
"I-it's an... Absol!" Emerald exclaimed. I pulled out my Pokédex for a second, finding out that Absol was indeed the Pokémon before us.
"But... the Pokédex says that they live in the mountains. What's it doing here?" I questioned.
"I don't know... but legend has it that wherever Absol go, disaster is sure to follow!" Emerald stated shakily.
"Wh-what?!" I gasped. Absol leaped directly in front of Emerald, staring into her bright green eyes with its red ones. Emerald froze as they stared at each other, Absol softly growling, as if waiting for Emerald to do something.
"I... I think it wants us to.... go with it." Emerald murmured. Absol nodded, squatting down and calling its name as if telling Emerald to get on. "Sapphire, you come too." Emerald called as she got on to Absol's back.
"Come on, Leaf. We can both ride on Flygon's back." I offered as I released said Pokémon. After climbing on to Flygon, Absol nodded to us and began to sprint out of town, leading the way as Flygon followed from in the air. I watched the direction we were going in closely, realizing that we were headed towards Mauville City. We raced through Mauville, taking a right in the middle of town and watching in awe as Absol leaped over a pretty wide body of water.
"That Absol sure has a lot of stamina. It's been running none stop with two kids on its back for miles." Leaf stated, a tone of sympathy hinted in his voice. I stayed silent as Flygon continued to follow Absol over a large marshland, and I began to spot a building off in the distance. Curious, I pulled out my rarely used Pokénav and checked the Town Map future.
"That's the... Weather Institute!" I exclaimed in awe.
"Weather Institute? Is that where Absol is taking us?" Leaf asked curiously.
"It sure seems that way. Absol could only sense natural disasters. So does that mean the weather's all out of whack?" I murmured, staring curiously down at Absol. Sure enough, Absol stopped a few feet away from the Weather Institute, hiding behind a bush and signaling us to hide in another not to far away from it. I returned Flygon after we landed, Leaf and I peeking out from behind the bush to observe our surroundings.
"See anything, Ruby?" Leaf whispered.
"Nothing yet... Emerald, can you tell what Absol is stressed about?" I whispered just loud enough for Emerald to hear, being a few feet away from me. She shook her head no, a look of concern on her face as she glanced back at Absol. Sapphire suddenly locked her gaze with something, a shocked look appearing on her face as she did so. Emerald was about to ask her what was up when Sapphire suddenly grabbed a Pokéball and ran out from her hiding place.
"Sapphire, what're you doing?! Sapphire!!" Emerald hissed as she reached to grab Sapphire's wrist and missed.
"Come on out, Marshtomp!!" Sapphire called out as she released her partner and ran into the Weather Institute.
"Let's go!" I called back to Leaf as I ran after Sapphire, releasing Blaziken in the process. Leaf and Emerald followed after me, Absol sticking close behind Emerald. Upon entering the building, I realized it was swarming with Team Aqua Grunts.
"It's you guys again! Why can't I go the wrest of my journey without putting up with your stupid plans?!" I growled as the Aqua Grunts turned their attention to us.
"Intruders!! Get them!!" one of the Grunts yelled out.
"Marshtomp, use Mud Bomb!!" Sapphire yelled out as she jumped in front of me. Marshtomp knocked out every Pokémon that the Grunts threw at us, causing them to stare at her in shock.
"S-Sapphire..." I stuttered out, dumbfounded by her sudden show of power. She turned to me with a look on her face that legitimately scared me. She looked serious, like she was ready to take on any and everything that got in her way.
"Don't worry about me, Marshtomp and I'll wipe the floor with these guys!" Sapphire exclaimed in her usual cheeky tone, winking at me and giving me a quick thumbs up before rushing past the Aqua Grunts and racing up the stairs to the back far right of the building.
".... H-huh?" I squeaked out, staring ahead at where Sapphire was previously standing.
Since when did she start battling? And why is she acting so... Not Sapphire-ish?!
Emerald grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me up the stairs, leading us to the second floor that was also filled with Grunts. However these Grunts had already faced the wrath of Sapphire before we could even make it up the stairs. I jumped behind Emerald, placing my hands on her shoulders and hiding my face from the version of Sapphire I'm calling Battle Sapphire.
"Ruby, stop hiding behind me. Now." Emerald deadpanned.
I stepped aside from behind Emerald, staring nervously at Sapphire as she stood before a woman with long, curly red hair. Marshtomp was holding back the woman's Mightyena as it tried to attack Marshtomp with Bite.
"You'll never be able to defeat me. I am Aqua Admin Shelly! You're just a puny little kid with no understanding of our ambitions!" the woman, now revealed to be Shelly, exclaimed rudely.
"Grovyle, Leaf Blade!!" Emerald ordered out of the blue. Grovyle shot forward, knocking Shelly's Mightyena back with a powerful Leaf Blade to the chest. "That's where you're wrong, Seashell, or whatever your name is! Sapphire's not just a kid!" Emerald exclaimed.
"That's right, she's one of us, the Heroes of Hoenn!!" I called out as I came to Emerald's side.
"Yeah, so you better quit underestimatin' her!" Leaf added on with a smirk on his face. Sapphire smiled gratefully, taking a stand beside Emerald.
"Ha, very funny. A couple of kids couldn't protect all of Hoenn from Kyogre!" Shelly exclaimed mockingly.
"What're you talking about? Who is Kyogre?!" I asked demandingly.
"I don't have to answer to you, foolish boy! Mightyena, Take Down!!" Shelly ordered. Mightyena locked it's gaze with mine and sprinted straight for me, causing me to gasp and raise my arms defensively.
"Grovyle, Bullet Seed!!" Emerald ordered.
"Marshtomp, Water Pulse!!" Sapphire commanded. Both Pokémon landed their attacks as Mightyena bounded into the air, knocking it out instantly.
"What are you, crazy?! You just tried to attack me directly with a Pokémon move!!" I hissed, glaring up at Shelly as I did so. She simply smirked in response.
"Listen up, fools. You may think you've defeated me, but the real battle hasn't even started yet. When Kyogre awakens, the world as you know it will perish." Shelly stated in a dangerously low tone, slowly making her exit as she spoke. We watched her go, too shaken up to stop her from escaping with the rest of the Grunts.
"What does that mean... the world as we know it... will perish...?" Emerald asked shakily. I let out a low growl in frustration, balling my fists as I stared at the ground, trying to fix the puzzle in my head.
"That won't happen." Leaf stated softly. My eyes widened as he spoke, and I raised my gaze to him. "Professor Birch said that we were chosen by destiny to defend the Hoenn region, right? That means we won't let that happen. The Hoenn region will be forever safe, so long as the Heroes of Hoenn are together!" Leaf exclaimed proudly, earning a grin from each of us in response.
"Leaf's right, now's not the time to get down because of what someone said to us. We have to rise and fight together!" Sapphire cheered.
"Ya know what, Sapphire? I think I owe you an apology. I underestimated you myself. I thought that because all you ever did was participate in Contests that you weren't really strong or good in battle. But I was wrong. You're a lot stronger than I thought. All of you are. So now I think it's time for me to officially ask you... will you all be my allies in this fight to protect Hoenn?" I asked warmly, a genuine smile on my face as I spoke. Sapphire, Emerald, and Leaf each smiled back in return, a look of determination in their eyes as they stood up straighter.
"Of course. There's no better team fit to face the battle for Hoenn!" Leaf exclaimed proudly. Everyone laughed in response, afterwards checking to be sure everyone in the Weather Institute was safe and well. As we exited the building we spotted Absol waiting for us outside, staring intently into our eyes.
"We stopped Team Aqua from creating any problems.... so why is Absol still here?" Leaf murmured. Absol slowly turned to walk away in response, probably a little hurt by Leaf's words.
"Hey, wait!" Emerald called, rushing to Absol's side as she spoke. Absol froze in its tracks, turning to face Emerald with a curious look in its eyes. Emerald kneeled in front of it, smiling sympathetically as she stared into its bright red eyes. "I've heard stories about Absols. People always thought that wherever you go, disasters follow, so... they blamed them on you." Emerald stated softly. Though Absol was a tough Pokémon with a good capability of hiding its emotions, it couldn't help a pained expression. "But that's wrong, isn't it? Your species travels to warn people about the calamities. But because they built a hatred towards you, you hid in the mountains, away from civilization. But you know what, Absol? I like you. If it weren't for you, Team Aqua would've gotten away with whatever they were trying to do in the Weather Institute. I'd like it if you helped us out some more." Absol tilted its head in confusion, not understanding what Emerald wanted. "What I mean is... Absol, would you like to travel with me?" Emerald asked. Absol's eyes widened a bit, but it paused to take what Emerald said into consideration. After a moment, Absol turned to Emerald with a smirk on its face and nodded in response to her question. Emerald caught Absol and welcomed it to the team through the Pokéball.
"Wow, Emerald. That was really nice of you to take in Absol. I'm sure it'll be happy with us, especially with you as its trainer." Leaf chuckled.
"Haha, thanks! Everyone, no matter who they are, should have a friend to help them through difficult times. Absol is no different than anybody else." Emerald stated softly.
"Agreed. So what do you guys say we head to Fortree City? I got another Badge to get after all." I stated casually. Everyone nodded in agreement and turned to face the road we would need to take to get to Fortree City.

And so, with Absol as the newest addition to our growing family, we set out to strengthen our minds and bodies to face the upcoming challenges that await.