Pokémon Heroes of Hoenn

Weathering Down Winona

"Manectric, use Thunderbolt!!" I commanded loudly, sliding to the left to avoid the remaining Air Slash from Winona's Swellow. Our battle had gotten under way quickly, Flygon easily took out Winona's Altaria, though Pelliper put up much more of a fight against Mightyena. Now it was down to two Pokémon each, my Manectric and Milotic, and Winona's Swellow and Skarmory.
Manectric shot its Thunderbolt straight at Swellow, landing a direct hit on the Flying type Pokémon. Swellow fell to the ground, trying in vain to get back up again.
"No, Swellow..." Winona growled through gritted teeth, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her head as she stared on nervously towards the battlefield.
"That's the way!! Wrap it up, Manectric! Use Discharge!" I ordered enthusiastically. Manectric let out a battle cry as it released electricity in multiple directions, hitting Swellow and ending our third match with Winona. "Alright, wait to go, Manectric!!" I cheered, snapping my fingers as I swung my arm enthusiastically. Manectric turned to face me and barked happily, grinning proudly as it did so.
"Skarmory, you're up!" Winona called as she released her partner Pokémon. I smiled softly at Manectric as I returned it to its Pokéball, earning a look of confusion from Winona.
"I've been waiting to save you for the final match. This will be our first battle together, so let's see how well we blend. Come on out, Milotic!!" I cried out happily as I released the beautiful Pokémon from its Pokéball. Milotic let out a song-like cry, locking eyes with Skarmory as it did so.
"That's the Milotic you caught just yesterday, isn't it? I must say, I'm impressed that you gained the trust of such a rare Pokémon by falling off a bridge. What are the odds, huh?" Winona teased, taking a battle stance as she spoke. "Regardless, the bond you have with a Pokémon you just caught is weak. You'll never be able to defeat Skarmory and I. You're Blaziken would've been a better choice with its Fire type moves. Skarmory, Steel Wing!!" Winona ordered swiftly.
"Oh, that's one of my favorite moves!" Steven exclaimed cheerfully.
"Who's side are you on?" Emerald muttered, giving Steven a mildly annoyed look.
"Milotic, dodge it!!" I commanded with a grin on my face, ignoring the short sidebar conversation Emerald and Steven had. Milotic did exactly what I expected it to, it slammed its tail to the ground, giving it enough pressure to push itself into the air above Skarmory. Winona gasped, completely shocked by the way we avoided her attack. "Use Ice Beam!!" I called out. Milotic shot an Ice Beam directly towards Skarmory from above, adding on to the attack power.
"Skarmory, Aerial Ace!!" Winona ordered firmly. Skarmory recovered quickly from our attack, landing a powerful Aerial Ace on my Milotic, who roughly hit the ground due to the pressure of the move.
"Hang tough, Milotic! Use Hydro Pump!" I commanded.
"Dodge it and use Aerial Ace again!!" Winona cried out. Skarmory flew right around the blast of water that Milotic shot at it, aiming for another direct hit with Aerial Ace when an idea popped into my mind.
"Milotic, block it with your tail!!" I cried out. Milotic raised its tail swiftly, stopping the powerfully Skarmory with only its tail fin. Winona gasped at the fact that our tactic actually worked while I smirked victoriously, calling this battle my own. "Use Scald!!" I ordered. Milotic slammed Skarmory into the ground with its fin, blasting a stream of steaming hot water directly at it before it could recover. Just as I thought, the attack caused Skarmory to faint, earning me my sixth Gym Badge, otherwise known as the Feather Badge. Winona returned her Skarmory quietly and came to my side with a soft smile on her face.
"Nice job, Ruby. Another well earned Badge." Winona complemented as she handed me my Feather Badge. I was about to respond to that when something strange happened to me all of a sudden. For an instant, I had seen a flash of red and a loud, deafening roar emitted through my mind and rang in my ears, making my heart pound. "Ruby? Are you alright?" Winona asked softly, snapping me out of my current state as she rested a hand on my shoulder.
"Wh-what was that?" I asked shakily, stumbling back a few steps from the pure shock I was feeling.
"What was what?" Leaf asked as he rushed to my side, a look of concern on his face. Just as I had planned to speak up to Leaf, I was cut off again by Emerald.
"Hey, Sapphire! Get a grip!!" Emerald yelled with a highly concerned tone. I jolted around to face them, Emerald and Steven shaking Sapphire out of the same state I was in.
"Th-that was scary!!" Sapphire exclaimed with the same shaky tone I had used, her eyes growing teary as she spoke.
"They both appear to be in some sort of shock... Come, let's get them back to the Pokémon Center!" Steven ordered, rising to his feet and helping Sapphire up as well. Steven Lea her out for the bleachers and to my side, waiting for us to follow.
I suddenly heard a violent rattling sound coming from somewhere around us, only to see Emerald turn to look at the Pokéballs on her belt. Absol suddenly bursted out of its Pokéball, causing Emerald to gasp in shock and retract the hand she was reaching towards Absol's Pokéball.
"A-Absol, what're you doing?!" Emerald squeaked, watching as the well built Dark type turned to look her in the eye and cried out to her. Something clicked in my head when Absol continued to gaze firmly into Emerald's eyes and cry out almost angrily, and I somehow understood what Absol wanted from us.
"Absol sensed something...! Absol, please lead the way." I asked, earning a firm nod from Absol in response. Grabbing Sapphire by the wrist, I sprinted after Absol as it began to sprint out of the Gym, leaving Emerald, Leaf, Steven, and Winona to ponder over what was happening. Absol lead the way out of Fortree City and through a large marshland-like terrain, growling quietly as it sprinted through the grass that was taller than all of us. I held Sapphire's hand tightly, pulling her along as my heart began to race in anticipation. Absol ran  into a clearing that lead to a stone dock, gazing off in the distance at a thick mountain that stood in the middle of the water.
"Absol, do you... want us to go there?" Sapphire asked hesitantly, staring up at the mountain fearfully. Absol nodded firmly, scratching at the ground desperately as it stared towards the mountain before us. Sapphire called out her Altaria while I called out Flygon so we could fly to the entrance of the mountain, both of us desperate to see what awaited us.
"Hey, don't forget about us!" Leaf called as he sprinted over to us, releasing his Swellow in the process. Sapphire and I jumped onto Altaria's and Flygon's back while Swellow picked Leaf up from the back of his shirt, all of us determined to head to the mountain.
"Wait, what about me!! I don't have a Flying Pokémon!!" Emerald called out in frustration, suddenly being swept off her feet by Winona's Skarmory. Steven was also riding his own Skarmory beside Winona, glancing down to be sure Emerald was alright.
"Now you do. Let's go!" Winona ordered, each of us following her lead to the other side of the mountain.
"Mt. Pyre.... the mountain where spirits of Pokémon have rested and always will rest: past, present, and future..." I murmured as I looked up from my Pokénav, repeating what I had read in the map description. Winona led us up to where the air grew foggy and dropped Emerald off just underneath that area.
"This is as far as I go. Skarmory doesn't like the fog, so you'll have to see this through without me. I wish you the best of luck." Winona stated genuinely before flying off on Skarmory without giving us a moment to respond.
"What could be wrong with Mt. Pyre?" Steven murmured to himself, seemingly deep in thought. I ignored his thought process, running ahead to find the source of the problem.
"Emerald, release Absol again!" I called back, Emerald quickly doing as told and releasing Absol, who she had returned so we could fly here. Absol rushed to my side and gave me a quick nod before continuing to lead the way up Mt. Pyre. The fog was beginning to thin out the higher we went for some reason, and I could begin to see the outlines of people in the distance. Absol growled harshly at them, making a wave of concern wash over me. "Everyone stay close. This might get dangerous." I stated calmly, Sapphire rushing to my side and grabbing my arm for comfort.
Though this action would usually bother me, now was not the time to worry about the little things.
As we slowly approached the people before us, I began to recognize them by the clothes they wore.
"No.... no, it can't be.... It can't be!" I groaned in distress, rushing forward only for the group to turn and face me, my eyes widening as I recognized them as Team Aqua.
"It's you!!" Sapphire exclaimed, a hateful tone in her voice.
The Team Aqua Grunts all turned to face the man standing on the mountain peak as he turned to face us with a smirk on his face. My eyes widened as I stared at the red pearl thing in his hand, and the memory of the flash of red and deafening roar flashed through my mind once more.
"So we meet again.... I've been waiting for this day. Unfortunately I'm in a hurry, so our meeting will be cut short." Archie stated casually, smirking down at us as he spoke. The tension in the air grew ten sizes, nearly crushing me with the weight of it. The only thing that could process in my mind right then was something was happening, and it was bad.

Whatever Team Aqua was planning to do now, I know we have to stop it. It's our duty as the Heroes of Hoenn to protect the people and Pokémon of the Hoenn region from evil people such as Team Magma and Team Aqua, and that's exactly what we're going to do!