On The Road

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Why are we heading to Sootopolis?" Bina asked as she and Wally held onto Steven's Metagross.

"Kyogre and Groudon are heading there," Steven replied from his Skarmory, pointing at the Pokemon below them. "And so will Teams Aqua And Magma."

"What did they want with Larance?" Wally asked.

"It's something that only Larance can tell you if he finds out," came the reply.

The sun suddenly began to shine bright while it began to downpour.

"What's with this weather?" Bina asked. "It's hot on my side but Wally's getting drenched."

"This is the power of Kyogre and Groudon," Steven replied, frowning. "We must hurry."

As he said that, Kyogre let out a cry and attacked Groudon. Groudon dodged, making the attack hit Metagross. 

"Bina!" Steven yelled as the two friends plummeted towards the water below. "Wally! Hang on!"

Steven tried to steer his Skarmory towards them while returning Metagross. Another attack flew through the sky and he dodged, getting farther away from the friends.

"Swellow!" Bina released her Pokemon. 

Swellow grabbed his trainer's shoulders with his claws, as Bina tried to grab Wally. Her hand grabbed air as Wally slipped out of her reach.

"WALLY!" she screamed as she watched her friend fall.

Wally braced himself for the impact of hitting the water, but he felt someone grab his arm instead. He opened his eyes to see Wallace, standing on his Milotic's head, holding onto him.

"Hang on!" Wallace yelled, the sound of the rain softening his voice.

Wally did as he was told and soon both of them were on Milotic's head. Swellow flew down to them, Bina still in his claws.

"Where's Steven?" Wallace asked, trying to see through the rain.

"We were separated," Bina replied. "We don't know where he is."

"Bina, take Wally and get to Sootopolis as quickly as possible," Wallace comanded.

"How did-" Wally asked in confusion.

"Steven told me all of your names," Wallace replied, pushing Wally towards Bina. "Now, hurry!"

Bina and Wally held onto each other as Swellow took off into the sky, Wallace's Milotic heading off to find Steven. 

***

Arriete's breath caught in her throat as she took in what Larance just told her.

"So..." Arriete began, finally finding her voice. "This is why Prof. Birch wanted us to stay away from Team Magma. I don't get what Team Aqua has to do with this though."

"Archie would have used Larance against me," Maxie replied as he wiped his eyes and stood. "When I became the new leader of Team Magma, he quickly found out who I was. So, with what little respect Birch still had for me helped in trying to make sure that none of you didn't get near either teams. I guess we didn't try hard enough."