Pokémon Heroes of Hoenn

Psyching Up Tate and Liza

"You got it! We're both the Gym Leaders of Mossdeep City." Tate confirmed my previous question, chuckling softly as he spoke.
"Which means if you want your Mind Badge you'll have to battle both of us." Liza stated teasingly.
"We already know who's here to challenge us... it's you, Ruby of Goldenrod City..." Tate stated as he pointed directly at me and called me by name.
"And you, Leaf of Pallet Town." Liza finished, pointing to Leaf as she spoke. Leaf and I both gazed at them with wide eyes, taken aback by their knowledge of us.
"H-how do you know us...?" I asked hesitantly.
"And how did you know that only Ruby and I were here to challenge you?" Leaf asked, a drop of sweat rolling down the side of his head because of how nervous he was.
"Because we're Psychic Pokémon trainers. We've developed a certain amount of Psychic ability ourselves as well." Liza explained proudly.
"But we haven't exactly mastered our talents yet. After all, we're still pretty young for Pokémon trainers." Tate stated nervously.
"Yeah, I thought you were." Leaf murmured.
"Say, since there are two of you and two of us, why don't you pare up? If you win, you'll both receive the Mind Badge from us." Liza suggested.
"Right, and if one of you loses then the other can get his Badge if you manage to single handedly defeat us, but your tag battle partner will not receive our Badge." Tate added calmly. Leaf and I exchanged glances, taking in the offer we were given.
"What do you think, Leaf? We've never had a double battle before, and with all the trouble going around we haven't been able to loosen up and enjoy ourselves either." I listed, smiling softly as I had a pretty good idea of what Leaf was going to say.
"I say bring it on!! I'd love to have a double battle with ya! But even with everything goin' around I'm still your rival and I still plan on beating you one day!" Leaf exclaimed competitively.
"Yeah! Well then, Tate, Liza..." I began calmly.
"We accept your challenge!!" Leaf and I chorused as we took a pose side by side and pointed directly at Liza and Tate, our arms brushing against each other for a moment as we did so.
"Great, then we'll have a four on four Pokémon battle." Tate stated, smiling competitively at us as he pulled out a Pokéball.
"So two Pokémon per trainer. Alright then, Leaf?" I questioned with a smirk, Leaf and I already having an idea on how to start this battle.
"You got it, Ruby! Eevee, let's go!" Leaf called out as he released Eevee from its Pokéball.
"Mightyena, you're up too!" I exclaimed readily as Mightyena emerged from its Pokéball and let out a battle cry.
"Eevee and Mightyena, huh? Then let's try this! Solrock!" Tate called out enthusiastically.
"Lunatone, let's go!!" Liza cheered with equal enthusiasm.
"Okay Mightyena, use Crunch!!" I commanded.
"Eevee, you use Shadow Ball!!" Leaf commanded.
"Ha, that won't work! Lunatone, Light Screen!!" Liza ordered confidently.
"Solrock, Flamethrower!!" Tate commanded.
Lunatone blocked Eevee's attack with its Light Screen while Solrock attacked Mightyena with Flamethrower, rendering both of our attacks useless.
"Come on, let's not let that bring us down!" Leaf encouraged me, pumping his fist enthusiastically to emphasize his determination.
"Right, let's keep it going! Mightyena, Take Down!" I commanded enthusiastically.
"Yeah, and Eevee, you use Quick Attack!" Leaf ordered.
"Solrock, use Sunny Day!!" Tate cried out.
"Lunatone, use Psychic on Eevee!!" Liza commanded. The light that came from Solrock's Sunny Day flashed in Mightyena's eyes, momentarily blinding it and causing it to freeze in its tracks. Eevee on the other hand had been attacked by a powerful wave of Psychic energy, doing a ton of damage to the small Pokémon.
"Eevee, are you okay?!" Leaf cried worriedly.
"Hang tough, Mightyena!" I called out, trying to cheer on my weakened Pokémon.
"The battle just got started and Ruby and Leaf are already to a bad start..." Sapphire murmured sympathetically.
"Yeah... let's just see how the boys pull out of this one." My eyes suddenly widened in realization as I came to an understanding of Liza and Tate's strategy.
"Leaf, I get it!! I've figured out their strategy!" I exclaimed.
"What? How?" Leaf questioned.
"Haven't you noticed? They attack one Pokémon while keeping the other from attacking to chip away at our strength and then go in for the final blow!" I explained knowingly.
"I get it now... So what're we gonna do to counter that?" Leaf murmured, earning a smirk from me in response.
"Play them at their own game, that's what." I stated with a confident wink. Leaf winked back understandingly and took a battle stance beside me once more.
"If you won't attack..." Tate began.
"Then we will! Lunatone, use Psychic!" Liza ordered.
"Solrock, Solar Beam!!" Tate called out. Leaf and I exchanged glances and returned our attention back to that battle.
"Eevee, Protect!" Leaf commanded.
"Mightyena, Crunch!!" I ordered loudly. Eevee created a protective seafoam green aura around itself while Mightyena clamped down on Lunatone with its sharp teeth and flung it into the ground. "Mightyena, on the defense, now!" I ordered enthusiastically, Mightyena jumping back to be out of range of their attacks.
"Now it's our turn. Eevee, use Swift!!" Leaf commanded. Before Liza and Tate had a chance to counter attack they were hit by Eevee's Swift attack, which caused a little more damage than expected.
"What the- your bonds, they're..." Liza gasped.
"Incredible!" Tate said breathlessly, both twins staring at us wide eyed as our power seemed to increase by the minute.
Leaf and I never really have battled side by side, so seeing how well we're doing on our first double battle really shows how far we've come on our journey together.
"Yeah, well we're just getting ready to finish this up!" Leaf exclaimed competitively.
"Not on our watch! Solrock, give them one more taste of your Flamethrower attack!!" Tate ordered enthusiastically.
"Lunatone, help out Solrock! Use Psychic one more time!!" Liza commanded.
"Ready, Leaf?" I asked as a smirk crossed my lips.
"You bet I am! Alright then, Eevee!!" Leaf called out.
"Mightyena!!" I yelled.
"Use Shadow Ball!!" Leaf and I chorused. Mightyena and Eevee leaped into the air side by side, both launching their attacks at the same moment, as if our Pokémon were in complete sync with each other. Solrock and Lunatone didn't have the time to attack or dodge when our attacks hit, causing a small blast in the process. Leaf and I stared out towards the battlefield intently, waiting for the debris to clear so we could see the outcome of our attack. When the dust cleared out, there were Solrock and Lunatone, fainted from our last attack and out cold on the ground. Leaf and I beamed at each other, cheering out for each other and giving one another a high five.
"Our bond...." Tate murmured.
"Was outdone by them." Liza sighed, the twin siblings returning their Pokémon as they spoke. The twins made their way to our side, a genuine smile making its way to both of their faces.
"Regardless, that was an honorable victory, Ruby, Leaf." Tate stated warmly.
"Agreed. It was well earned, even if it is upsetting to lose." Liza added in calmly with a soft smile on her face.
"Thanks, that was a really fun battle!" I exclaimed excitedly.
"It sure was! I'd love to battle ya again someday. This is definitely a Gym battle to remember." Leaf added on cheerfully.
"Well come back whenever you'd like, we'd love to have a rematch with you!" Liza offered warmly.
"Yeah, but until then, we want you both to have this. It's the Mind Badge, the proof that you two have defeated us." Tate explained softly.
"Thank you." Leaf and I said genuinely as we accepted our Badges and pinned them to our chosen places. Liza and Tate waved goodbye as we exited the Gym, heading back inside to handle their own business.
"That was a really nice comeback. You guys ought to be proud." Emerald stated warmly.
"Thanks. Say, I wonder if Steven's okay... Do you think he fended off Team Magma by himself?" I asked softly, curious about the situation. Just as I spoke, the ground began to rumble softly, but noticeably, causing us all to exchange nervous glances. As quickly as it came, the rumbling stopped, leaving us all dumbfounded in the middle of the island.
"What was that...?" Emerald murmured, her eyes wide and alert as she spoke. In a matter of seconds, an ear splitting explosion sound surrounded us, causing us to scream and reach to cover our ears. I found the source to be a green pillar of light rising up from the ocean to the sky. I turned to glance at Sapphire and noticed something off-putting about her.
Unlike everyone else who had their eyes half lidded why they covered their ears, Sapphire's eyes remained wide open as she stood staring at the ground with a shocked look on her face.
The sound soon died down, and the first thing I did was race to Sapphire's side.
"Sapphire, what's wrong?" I called, holding her up by the shoulders as she wobbled a bit
"Th-they found it... they found Kyogre's resting place." Sapphire strained out, shaking nervously as she spoke. My eyes widened in response, my mind denying all truth behind her words.
"Ruby!!" a panicked voice called out through the gathering crowd. Steven pushed his way to my side with a desperate look on his face, earning my attention instantly. "Ruby!! Team Magma got away! They're headed to Mt. Chimney to awaken Groudon right now!" Steven exclaimed anxiously. My heart dropped upon hearing Steven's words, and all I could do was lock my gaze with his own at that moment.

Something tells me something unbelievably bad is about to happen.