Diamond Dust

Woo! Another place to post my enormous fic! Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 1


It was a bright
day in Littleroot Town, a day like many others. But today was special
for a group of young friends who lived in the town.

Jet and
his two friends, Dawn and Blaze, were waiting anxiously outside Jet’s
house. Jet was a medium sized ten-year old, with brown hair that was
chin level in the back and sides, and covered his forehead in the front.
He had blue eyes that were often the source of compliments. He was
quite laid back when he wasn’t being serious, but when he was riled up
like he was while waiting, he was perky and hasty.

Jet tapped
his foot while leaning against the side of his house, Blaze right next
to him, and Dawn lying down in the grass in front of them. They had all
one thing in mind; when Jet’s father was going to get home with their
first Pokemon.

Blaze began to whistle off-key out of boredom.
He was a tad bit shorter than Jet, with wild blonde hair that stuck up
in the back and on the sides. He was the most impatient of the three,
and of many people he knew. Waiting was not his cup of tea, especially
when it concerned Pokemon.

Dawn sighed and stretched out on
the grass, tying to doze off to lessen the wait. She was a short girl
compared to her two friends, due in part that she was a year younger
than Jet and Blaze, who were both ten. Dawn had long blue hair than
went down past her shoulders, and had light blue eyes, eyes not as deep
and calm as. She was more patient than Blaze and Jet, and always kept
them happy when things were looking bad. She didn’t mind the wait,
because she liked quiet afternoons like the one she was experiencing,
and it was all the better with her two best friends alongside her.


Blaze was about to complain, when Jet looked this left towards the
road going to Route 201. “There!” Jet exclaimed. “There’s the truck! My
dad’s here!”

Indeed, a truck was driving towards the town,
driven by a short and black haired man with a smile on his face. Norman
was a Pokemon trainer who loved everything about Pokemon, especially
catching them. He had always promised his son and his friends a Pokemon,
but it had taken him quite a while to find a gap in his work schedule
to take the time and catch some. Norman was the gym leader of Petalburg
city, a town not too far from Littleroot, often reputed to be one of the
friendliest cities in Hoenn.

Norman parked the truck
outside the house and got out, with a box in his arms. “Alright, you
three. These Pokemon come from a man I know well, a friend of mine named
Bill from all the way in Kanto. They haven’t any Pokeballs to
themselves, so I hope you all brought the ones I gave you.”


Jet, Dawn, and Blaze each grabbed the Pokeballs that Norman had
custom-made for them. Jet’s was a dark blue with a white snowflake on
the top, while Blaze’s was red with an orange flame decal on the top.
Dawn’s was a green pokeball with a leaf icon on the top. Norman looked
at the three kids and nodded, then put the box down and opened it.


Inside were three Eevees, small fox-like Pokemon that were known for
their unstable genetic codes. Two were brown, while the third was a
shining silver.

“They’re all about six weeks old. The two
brown ones are brother and sister, and the silver one had a brother,
another silver Eevee, who escaped from Bill for some reason. Bill takes
great care of his Pokemon, so I have no idea why one would run away from
him. The little one’s been taking it hard.”

Jet bent over
and looked at the three. The two brown ones were standing up with their
paws on the edges of the boxes. The one on the left, an excited little
male, was scraping at the edges, while the one on the right, a calm
female, eyed Jet eagerly. The silver male was curled up, eyeing Jet with
a curious expression. Jet went to pick the silver Eevee up, who sniffed
his hands and looked at the boy timidly. Jet carefully lifted him under
the arms and held the Eevee up. “I’ll take the silver one, dad. I’ll
make him feel better, don’t worry.” Jet said.

The silver
Eevee leapt back a little from Jet’s feet when he was put down, but then
walked back slowly. Jet set his poke ball on the ground in front of the
little Pokemon, who sniffed it. The silver Eevee leant forward and
tapped on the middle button of the ball, which opened with a light blue
beam that engulfed the Eevee. The Eevee squeaked at first, but then
disappeared into the beam, which went back into the ball. The ball shook
three times, and then laid still.

Jet clenched his fist in
joy at his first catch. “Alright! No problems at all!” Norman patted his
son on the back. “Nicely done. Take care of him.” Jet nodded and looked
at the poke ball. “I’ll name him Union. It sounds neat.” Norman looked
at his son. “Ah, you’re nicknaming it? Most trainers decide against
nicknaming their Pokemon.” Jet shook his head. “Dawn, and Blaze and I
decided we’re gonna nickname our Pokemon so we don’t get them confused
with others. It makes them stand out!” Norman nodded, smiling. “Alright.
Take care of Union then.”

Blaze ran up to the box next.
“Hey, you’re pretty excited, huh little fella?” He said as he picked up
the little brown male Eevee. It wriggled out of Blaze’s grasp and leapt
onto his face, licking furiously. Blaze fell to the ground, startled.
“Whoa! Whoa! Chill out, buddy! Chill out!” He said, as he plucked the
baby Eevee from his face. The Eevee ran leapt up and down at Blaze’s
feet as he readied his poke ball. He tossed the ball up, and it landed
on the Eevee. A red beam, akin to the one that came from Jet’s ball with
a different color, engulfed the Eevee. The ball didn’t shake once; the
Eevee willingly allowed capture.

Blaze leapt from his feet.
“Yahoo!” he yelled as he picked up the ball, cherishing his first
Pokemon. “I’ll name you… Pyro. Yea, that’s it! And I’ll make sure to get
a Fire stone to turn you into a Flareon when you’re older!”




Dawn chuckled at him, and then peeked into the box. “Hi, little girl!”
She said to the last Eevee. The Eevee responded with a happy squeal.
Dawn lifted her out of the box and then set the Eevee at her feet. “Aw,
you’re so cute! I’m glad you were the last one!” She said as she
scratched the Eevee gently on the head. “You ready? You’ll be mine from
now on.” Dawn said as she laid the green ball on the ground. The Eevee
calmly walked to the ball and nudged the button with her nose. The ball
opened and shot out a green beam that caught the Eevee like the two
before it. Dawn bent over to grab the ball, smiling. “I’ll call her Nei,
I think.” She said, staring at the pokeball.

Norman smiled
as the three children eyed their pokeballs. “Take care of them, you
three. Now, go ahead and let them out. They’ve been boxed up for a
while, they could use some exercise.”

The three kids
complied and opened the pokeballs. Union, Pyro, and Nei materialized
from the beams in front of their eyes. Dawn knelt in front of Nei and
scratched her like before. Blaze tried to get Pyro to use moves, but
Pyro just stood at his trainer’s feet, confused at the commands.


Jet knelt by his Eevee. “You wanna go play with them, Union?” The
silver Eevee looked at his trainer, his ears drooped. Jet frowned. “Aw,
don’t be that way. You still miss your brother, huh?” Union walked a
bit closer to Jet, listening intently. “Don’t worry! One day, we’ll find
him. I mean, how hard can finding a silver Eevee be? We’ll go to Kanto
someday and look for him. I promise!” Union’s ears bolted up, his eyes
bright. “Eevee?” he squealed, a happy look on his face. Jet nodded and
nodded, and Union sprung up to Jet’s face and licked it. Jet laughed and
pointed at Nei and Pyro, who were engaged in a battle by heed of their
trainers. “They’re busy, so you’re stuck with me for now.”


Union leapt a little bit backwards, and crouched, indicating he wanted
to play. Jet stood up and stepped forward, and Union sprang off at a
high speed, running around Jet’s house. Norman stared at the silver
blur, amazed. “He’s fast, Jet. Faster than any Eevee I’ve ever seen,
that’s for sure. I’ve seen Jolteons that Union could outrun. How’d you
get him so excited?” Jet shrugged. “I just talked to him.” Norman
nodded. “Eevee is a smart species that understands human speech easily.
You’ve picked a special Eevee, that’s for sure. A different colored one
with unnatural speed. You’d do well to train him to use that speed to
your advantage.” He said. Jet nodded, and then gave chase after Union.


Norman stood and smiled. He looked forward to the day his son would be
ready to face him, and he didn’t doubt one bit that Union and Jet would
be a near unstoppable combination.

__________________



Jet awoke from his nap suddenly, Dawn’s voice calling his name. He
opened his eyes and saw Dawn and her Leafeon, Nei, standing over him.
“You and Union dozed off against your house, Jet. Come on, get up. Your
mom wants you inside, it’s late.” Jet looked to his right, at the white
and blue Glaceon at his side, a special Glaceon opposed to the normally
turquoise-blue Glaceon. Union always seemed to be shiny, especially when
in the moonlight like he was. Jet leant over and patted his Glaceon on
the back. “Union, get up, we’ve gotta go inside.” He said. Union
groggily opened his eyelids. “Glai?” the Glaceon said, still sleepy. Jet
stood up, and Union got up as well, stretching out on the grass.


Dawn tapped Jet on the shoulder. “Jet, you do remember what day it is
tomorrow, right?” Jet thought for a little while, and the answer dawned
upon him. “It’s your fourteenth birthday tomorrow, Dawn. I wouldn’t
forget!” Dawn frowned. “You forgot last year.” She said sadly. “I know, I
know. Don’t worry; I’ll make it up this time.” Dawn smiled again.
“Promise?” she said. Jet nodded. “Promise.” Dawn smiled. “C’mon, Nei,
let’s go home.” She said. Nei leapt onto Dawn’s pink skirt and propelled
herself up to Dawn’s shoulder, and then to the top of Dawn’s white
beanie. “See you tomorrow, Jet!”

Jet stared at Dawn’s back as
she walked away. He had remembered her birthday at that moment, but he
had forgotten to get her a present from the market in Oldale. “I’m dead,
Union. I forgot all about it.” Union looked up at his trainer with a
curious look. “Glai?” he said again. Jet shook his head. “I’ll think of
something. Come on, let’s head inside.

Jet’s mom, Elizabeth,
was reading to Dawn’s Togepi, Tipi, on the couch, while Jet’s sister,
Lui, was playing with her Vulpix, named Vully. Elizabeth had been taking
care of Tipi for Dawn, because Norman had insisted that Togepis needed
special attention early in their lives, and if anyone could provide it,
it was Jet’s mom, who was a professional Pokemon breeder. Union
immediately ran to the couch and stood up to Tipi. Tipi smiled and
squealed “Togi!” as the white Glaceon curled around her. Union had taken
up an older brother position among the younger Pokemon in the house in
the past five years since Jet caught him, especially the baby Tipi, and
Union played with Vully often, who wasn’t much older than Tipi, having
been born to Elizabeth’s Ninetales two year earlier. Tipi, on the other
hand, was discovered as an egg in route 202 by Dawn, who was taking a
walk with Nei.

“Sorry, mom, I dozed off.” Elizabeth laughed.
“I know. If it weren’t for Dawn coming to check up on Tipi, I would have
had to come and get you myself.” Jet sighed. When his mom came to wake
him up, she often used her Exploud, Screech, to wake Jet up. “I’ll thank
Dawn later, then.” Jet said, chuckling. Jet’s mom nodded. “Remember,
it’s her birthday tomorrow. Don’t sleep in.” Jet sighed again. “I won’t,
I won’t. I don’t wanna have to deal with Screech, after all. Come on,
Union, let’s get to bed.” Union flicked Tipi gently with his tail, and
followed Jet up the stairs to his room.

After getting ready
for bed, Jet stepped out of his bathroom to see his white Glaceon
already asleep at the foot of his bed. Union never did like being inside
his poke ball, even when asleep, but he went when he had too. Jet
smiled, and then went to the chair beside his window. It was calm and
cloudless outside, so Jet opened the window. Across from the window was
the window to Dawn’s room in her house, and across the road from Dawn’s
house was Blaze’s house, part of it still blackened and charred from an
accident when Blaze’s Flareon, Pyro, tried to use ember during a battle
with Union, who easily dodged.

Jet looked at the window to
Dawn’s room, the curtain down and the window closed. He could see the
silhouettes of Dawn and Nei laying in the bed, watching TV together. Jet
frowned and clasped his hands over his face, leaning over. He looked up
again towards the night sky, dotted with stars. He stared at the beauty
of all the stars, sparkling in the sky, so lost in their glitter that
he almost missed the sight of a shooting star flying across the sky.
“Wow…” Jet said as he witnessed the nearly once-in-a-lifetime
occurrence.

Jet never really believed in wishing upon
shooting stars; in fact, the very idea seemed childish to him, but
something compelled him to do just that. “I wish I could find something
great to give to Dawn tomorrow, something that’ll make up for forgetting
last year. Something unique.”

He stared at the sky for a
little longer, and then got up out of his chair and looked at his bed.
On it rested a small jewelry box with a red bow on top. “Huh?” Jet
inquired. He opened the box, and in it was a necklace, a masterfully
crafted necklace with a golden chain and a thin emerald in the shape of a
leaf on the end, with the word ‘Nei’ engraved on the emerald.


Jet stared in awe at the piece of jewelry. It was definitely unique,
just like he had wished. Astonished, Jet ran back to the window and
leant over, his head sticking outside. He saw nothing in the sky and
nothing to his right, but when he looked to his left, there floated a
small, white creature with a yellow, star shaped head, with blue tags
hanging from three of the tips of its head. Jet gasped and backed away
from the window and shook Union, who woke up. The small figure floated
in front of the window and timidly landed on the windowsill, eyeing Jet.
“Jira? Jira-chi?” the small Pokemon said.

Jet stared at it
as his brain rushed to find where and when he had heard that word.
‘Jirachi…’ thought Jet. He remembered suddenly. “Are you a Jirachi? The
wish making Pokemon?” Jet asked, remembering what his dad and the local
Pokemon Professor, Professor Birch, had said about the legendary
Pokemon.. Jirachi floated up and did a small somersault in the air,
pointing upwards while exclaiming “Jira-chiii!” Jet stood mouth agape,
while Union stared at the small figure.

Jet shook his head.
“Well, if you made that present appear, thanks a lot. You really saved
me there. Is there anything you need? Anything at all? I really wanna
make it up to you.” he said, while Jirachi listened intently. The small
figure floated towards Jet and turned around, showing a cut on its’
back. Jet made a sucking noise with his teeth as he looked at the wound.
“You’re hurt pretty bad, huh? Sure, I’ll help you, it’s the least I
could do for you.” Jirachi smiled as Jet walked to his desk and looked
for a box of bandages. Union just sat on the bed, while Jirachi floated
around him, inspecting the unusually white Glaceon. Jet came back with a
few bandages. “Okay, Jirachi, stay still for me.” He said. He sprayed a
bit of a potion on Jirachi’s back, which made Jirachi jump a little,
but it floated back. Jet then wrapped an adhesive bandage around
Jirachi, covering the cut. “There. All better, right?” Jirachi squealed
in joy as it flew around the room.

Jirachi landed and sat on
Jet’s head. “You know, you’re welcome to stay here for a while, if you
want, so whatever’s chasing you will leave you alone. Me and Union here
will make sure you’re okay.” Jirachi flew up off of Jet’s head and
landed on the bed, looking at Jet with wide eyes. “Alright, you can stay
here. But there’s one condition. I’ve got to show you to dad and
Professor Birch. The professor really wants to know more about you,
Jirachi.” Jirachi made a sigh-like sound. “Please, Jirachi? They won’t
hurt you, I promise.” Jirachi put a hand to its chin, and then nodded,
smiling. “Alright then! Come on, let’s go see dad first. Come on Union.”
Union hopped off the bed, rather angry that he had only seen a few
minutes of sleep today.

Norman was walking down the hall from
up the stairs, carrying a few binders filled with papers concerning the
Pokemon gym in Petalburg. He looked at Jet sleepily as his son walked
out of the room, Union following him. “Yes, Jet? What is it?” Jet had
his hands behind his back. “Dad, this might be a shock to you, so be
prepared for a surprise.” Norman put a free hand to his face, a little
irritated and ready to go to bed. “Show me, Jet, so I can go to bed.”
Jet put his hands to his sides, and Jirachi floated from behind him.
Norman’s jaw opened from surprise, and the stack of binders he was
holding hit the ground hard. “Oh my god.” Norman said.

Jet
held Jirachi in his arms. “I told you so.” He said, still a little
shocked by his father’s reaction. Norman stared at Jirachi for a little
while, until he spoke to Jet. “Put some better clothes on. We’re going
see Professor Birch.”

_____________________

Their
car pulled up outside Professor Birch’s lab a few minutes later. Union
followed Norman and Jet, who still had Jirachi in his arms, into the
lab.

“Professor,” Norman said as he walked inside. “Come see
who Jet found.” Professor Birch rubbed his eyes. “This late, Norman? I
hope it’s good.” Norman laughed. “I think you’ll like what you see.” He
said. Jet walked in, Jirachi in his arms, and Birch went through the
same reaction as Norman. “This… this is impossible. We’ve searched for
Jirachi for years, and all it takes to find him is a teenager to sit
around? Jet… have you ever considered the Pokemon Professor career? You
could make decent money if Jirachi simply showed up to you.” Jet laughed
a little. “Jirachi agreed to let you research him, but only if you keep
it to a minimum. And don’t do anything startling, please. He’s really
scared of people. He was scared of me at first until I patched up a cut
on his back.”

Birch nodded. “It can talk?” he asked, but Jet
shook his head. “He understands, though, and he can nod or shake his
head to let you know. Be careful with him, please.” Birch shook his
head. “I think this situation is a bit beyond my level. Will Jirachi
stay with you if you bring him home?” Birch asked. Jet nodded. “I said
he could stay so he could get better so he could go back home.” Birch
nodded. “Let’s hope he stays for a little while. I’m calling Professor
Oak.” Norman gasped. “Oak? I haven’t seen Professor Oak in years. It’ll
be good to see him again. Is this really that big of an occurrence?”
Norman asked. Professor Birch nodded. “This is a once in a lifetime
chance, Norman. We can’t let this opportunity pass us by without letting
Oak look at Jirachi. Jet, you’ve done us a great thing by showing
Jirachi to us.” Jet nodded. “Hear that, Jirachi? They’re not gonna hurt
you.” He said to Jirachi, who floated around Professor Birch’s head.
“Amazing…” Birch remarked.

______________________


Jet woke up the next morning, relieved to see Jirachi still sleeping,
cuddled up with a curled up Union. He crawled out of bed and put his
favorite black shirt on, a long sleeved black shirt with a blue line
going down the middle where it could be unbuttoned. Jet put some jeans
on as well, and unbuttoned the shirt at the bottom so that it spread out
a little at the bottom, showing a bit of his white undershirt. Union
awoke slowly like he always did, and Jirachi floated up to Jet’s head.
“Jirachi, I know you don’t like people very much, and Union and I are
going to a party today, so we’ll leave you here with my dad, my mom, my
sister, and a few Pokemon for you to play with, okay?” Jirachi floated
around Jet’s head while upside down, saying it’s name a few times. “Heh,
I’ll take that as a yes.” Jet remarked. “

Jet left Jirachi
with his family and walked over to Dawn’s house, present in hand, and
Union at his right side. He knocked on the door, and Dawn opened it.
“Hey, Jet!” she said as she hugged him. “Hey, Dawn. Happy birthday!” Jet
said back as Dawn stepped back. “Blaze and Pyro are already here. Oh,
and that reminds me, Hi Union!” Dawn said as she patted the shining
Glaceon. The three walked inside, where Blaze and his Flareon sat back
on the couch. “What took you so long, Jet? I’m gonna fine you a whole
lot this time!” he said. Dawn sighed. “You only got here recently too,
Blaze. Stop trying to make a quick buck.” She said, a hint of laughter
in her voice. Blaze chuckled. “You know I’m just joking, Dawn. Sheesh.”


The doorbell rang soon after, and Jet answered it. Standing in the
doorway was a man in his mid 60’s, wearing a lab coat and holding three
small gadgets. “Hello there. I’m Professor Oak, from Kanto. I’m looking
for Jet, Dawn, and Blaze.” Jet smiled and shook the man’s hand as Blaze
and Dawn walked to his sides. “Well, you can stop looking, professor.
I’m Jet, Norman’s son. How’d you get here from Kanto so fast, sir?”


Professor Oak tapped a Pokeball hanging from his belt. “I have my
ways. So Jet, tell me, do you know what a Pokedex is?” Jet nodded. “My
dad has one. It’s a dictionary of Pokemon, right?” Professor Oak nodded,
and handed a small, dark blue, rectangular gadget to Frost, a red one
to Blaze, and a green one to Dawn. “I’ve asked many young trainers this,
and I’ll ask again. I’m much too old to continue my field work, and I
must rely on the children of the world to continue my research for me.
They’ve been updated with the pages for your respective companions; Jet
has a Glaceon page, Dawn has a Leafeon page, and Blaze has a Flareon
page. I hope you all use them well, whether or not you leave Littleroot
town at all.”

The three kids immediately opened their
Pokedexes and began messing around with the features. “Thank you,
Professor!” Dawn remarked as she closed hers. Professor Oak smiled. “Of
course, young lady. Consider it a present. It is your birthday, isn’t
it?” Dawn smiled and nodded. “Yes sir, it is. Thank you very much!” Oak
nodded to them and turned around away from the door. “I must go see
Norman and Professor Birch. Thank you for what you’ve done, Jet, and
happy birthday, Dawn.” Professor said, before he stopped and turned
around. “Ah, and Blaze, tell your father I said hello.” He said before
continuing his walk.

“Wow.” Blaze said. “He must really be
important if he knows my dad. Look at this piece of work, Pyro! Isn’t it
awesome? Look, it even has a picture of you.” He said. Jet shook his
head, grinning, and then turned to Dawn. “What did you do, Jet?” the
blue haired girl inquired. “It’s a long story, Dawn. Anyway, since all
six of us are here, let’s get the party started, shall we?” Jet said.
Dawn continued her inquisitive look, but shook it off and nodded. “Sure!
My mom made a cake, so let’s have at it!” she said.

Dawn and
her two friends ate the cake, Jet and Blaze eating more than half, as
they often ate a humongous amount when they were hungry. It was a small
party, but Dawn and her friends were the only kids their age in
Littleroot, and Dawn preferred it like that. The three Pokemon ate a few
puffins that Johanna, Dawn’s mother, set out for them, and Jet, Dawn,
and Blaze sat around a table, ready to open presents.

Jet
laid the gift from Jirachi on the table, while Blaze put a small bag
next to it. “They’re a bit small this year, but you’ll like them.” Blaze
said, acting as if he knew what Jet had gotten her. Dawn nodded and
opened Blaze’s gift first. Inside was a case containing a few poke ball
seals. “Seals? Oh, Blaze, how did you know I was saving up for these?”
she asked. Blaze grinned, quite full of himself. “Just intuition.” Blaze
said, chuckling. Jet laughed. “That and hearing her talk about it for
about a month.” The brown haired trainer added. Dawn opened a few other
presents, some from her parents and a few others, all containing Pokemon
related gifts, until she had one present left; the one from Jet.


Dawn looked at the small box. “Looks like you didn’t forget after all,
Jet!” she said as she picked it up. Jet shrugged. “Y-Yup, didn’t
forget, no sirree.” He said, lying about remembering. He was extremely
glad that Jirachi had arrived when it did.

Dawn’s face turned
red when she saw the beautiful emerald necklace. She stared at it for a
few seconds, and then took it out and clipped it on. “Aw, Jet, it’s
perfect! You’re the BEST!” She said as she gave Jet a flying hug.
“G-Glad you like it.” Jet said, a bit uncomfortable from the death-grip
of a hug from Dawn.

Dawn stood up and stared at it again.
“It’s even got Nei’s name on it! This must have cost you a fortune,
Jet!” Jet smiled, trying to think of a clever story. “I-I ran in on some
money. Some rich kid was paying big for someone who could beat him in a
battle. I got it custom made for you in Petal-I mean, Rustboro.” Jet
said, remembering that Petalburg didn’t have a jewelry store. Dawn knelt
over and showed it to her Leafeon. “Look at how pretty it is, Nei! Say
thanks to Jet, okay?” Nei leapt up to Jet’s lap and licked his face in
thanks.

“Hey guys,” Blaze said, kneeling on a sofa and
looking out of a window. “You two have any idea of what ‘Team Galactic’
is?” he asked. Jet knelt next to Blaze and looked outside to see a few
men in strange suits with strange, dome-like hair, and a few others,
obviously officers, with different colored hair and more elaborate
suits. A truck with the words ‘Team Galactic’ sat parked outside.


“Never heard of them.” Jet said. Dawn joined them on the sofa, looking
out of the window. “Me neither.” She said. The men in strange suits and
their four officers walked into the town and met up with Norman. “Huh. I
wonder what those freaks are up to.” Jet said. A tall man with light
blue, spiky hair, obviously the leader, stood up to Norman with a
demanding look. He said a few words to Norman, who retaliated rather
harshly with a few sentences, inaudible from the window. “Uh oh. I don’t
think that Galactic guy has good intentions.” Blaze said.


Norman finished what he was saying to the man. The tall man stood there
for a moment, and then raised his hand to deliver a hard backhanded
slap to Norman’s face. “Dad!” Jet said as his father flew to the ground.
“Glaci!” Union yelled as it charged to the door. The three friends
rushed out of the house with their Pokemon following them, and they
stood behind Norman, kneeling on the ground. “Dad! Are you okay?” Jet
asked. Norman got to a knee, nodding. “Y-yea. Get your Pokemon out. I’ll
need some help.” Norman said, as he stood up and turned his face to Jet
and his friends. He was bleeding from his nose. “Jet and Dawn, help me
out. Blaze, hurry and go fetch Professor Oak and Professor Rowan.
Hurry!” Blaze nodded and ran towards the lab, while Jet and Dawn ordered
their Pokemon to stand in front of them.

The tall man
laughed at the group. “Two kids and a gym leader. Alright then. Let’s
see your pitiful effort.” He said, tossing three poke balls to the
ground. Out came a Houndoom, a Weavile, and a Gyarodos, three extremely
powerful Pokemon. “Alright then. Go, Zangoose!” Norman yelled, as his
white-furred Pokemon appeared.

Jet looked at Dawn. “This is
serious if he’s using Zangoose. That’s his most powerful Pokemon!” he
said. Nei and Union cowered in the presence of the huge Gyarodos, but
their trainers reassured them.


“Zangoose! Use
slash!” Norman yelled. Zangoose’s claws flashed white, and it slashed
the mysterious man’s Weavile hard. The Weavile flew back a few feet and
rolled to its feet. “Union! Icy Wind!” Jet yelled. Union took in air and
blew hard at the Houndoom, sending a harsh wind and several ice
crystals at the large Pokemon. Houndoom crouched back and unleashed a
cone of fire from its mouth, melting the ice crystals instantly. Dawn
smiled wickedly at the Gyarodos, knowing she had a type advantage
according to what Norman had taught her and her two friends. “Nei! Use
Magical Leaf!” Dawn yelled. A dozen colorful leaves materialized over
Nei, who sent them flying at the Gyarados. The leaves struck home and
Gyarados backed away in pain, and then slithered back.

The
man laughed. “Fools. Your futile attempts are nothing compared to the
great dream of I, Cyrus!” he pointed forward. “Weavile! Use Night
Slash!” he commanded. The black Pokemon dashed off at quick speed, so
fast that it seemed to disappear. It reappeared soon after behind
Zangoose, who turned around to meet a harsh slash that sent it flying
back. Zangoose rolled away and struggled to get up, eventually getting
back on its two feet. “Gyarados! Waste no time! Use Giga Impact!” Cyrus
yelled. The Gyarados’ eyes turned red, and its’ whole body seemed to
glow. It backed up, roared loudly, and rammed full speed into Nei, whose
small frame was hurled away into the wall of Jet’s house. “Nei!” Dawn
yelled as she ran to help her Pokemon. “Dad!” Jet yelled. “I’ve got her
covered.” Norman said as he tossed another poke ball to the ground. Out
came Norman’s Hitmonlee, a Pokemon he never used in gym battles due to
his position as the ‘Normal’ type gym leader.

“Houndoom!”
Cyrus yelled. “Use Flamethrower!” The Houndoom repeated the cone of
fire, this time aiming towards Union. “Union! Get out the way!” Jet
yelled. Union dashed away at a supernatural speed, away from the
Houndoom’s attack, and behind the Houndoom itself. “Now! Use Aqua Tail!”
Jet yelled. Union’s tail glowed blue, and it leapt in the air, flipping
and striking the Houndoom on the back with its tail. The Houndoom fell
to the ground, fainted from the super effective attack. “Impressive,
young one. Quite an unusual Glaceon, with a different coloration and a
high speed… it would make a fine addition to my team.” Jet scooped up a
rock and tossed it at Cyrus, who was hit in the forehead. He clutched
his head out of anger more than out of pain. “Very well then…” Cyrus
said through gritted teeth. “Go! Crobat!” he yelled.

A Crobat
appeared out of the ball and fluttered above the ground, as Norman had
his Hitmonlee kick the Weavile, making the Pokemon faint. Cyrus growled
angrily at his Weavile. “We can do this all day, Norman!” he yelled as
he threw his Honchkrow’s poke ball onto the field. “I’ll be getting
Jirachi one way or another!”

“Ah, you’re here for Jirachi,
then.” Said an old voice behind Norman. Professor Oak walked next to
Norman and held a poke ball, with Professor Birch, Elizabeth, and Blaze
behind him. “I see you’ve followed me around, Cyrus. You’ve given up
living in Sunyshore, and formed a gang, I see? A shame. You would have
made a fine technician.” Cyrus gritted his teeth again. “Oak, you come
and mock me, I see? You’ll share the same fate as the gym leader and his
son, you old fool.

Professor Oak chuckled. “Fool, hm?” he
said as he gently tossed the poke ball to the ground. “Norman, call
Zangoose back. I’ll help you.” Norman did so, and Oak’s poke ball opened
to reveal a Skarmory. “I may be old, Cyrus, but age makes no difference
in battle. Skarmory! Use Steel Wing! Teach Cyrus a lesson!” he said.
Skarmory screeched loudly as it flew towards Gyarados, its left wing
shining. It struck the huge snakelike Pokemon at high speed, and
Gyarados fell over.

“So you’ve still got a bit of use in
you, old man. Very well. Gyarados! Come back.” Cyrus yelled. “Crobat!
Use Cross Poison!” he yelled. Crobat’s fangs turned purple, but before
it could attack, it was hit by a flying fireball. Cyrus was startled.
“What? Who dares?” he yelled. From Route 201 ran a large group of men
and women in ridiculous red suits, with large M’s imprinted on them.
“Team Magma! Attack!” Yelled a red haired man wearing a much less
ridiculous suit, a simple red jacket and black pants. The man himself
sent out a Camerupt.

Norman and Professor Oak looked
around the town. “Cyrus! What is going on?” Norman demanded. Cyrus
scowled. “It appears I have some competition. Mars! Saturn! Jupiter! You
know what to do.” Cyrus yelled to his officers. The three officers
riled the men, and a large number of Pokemon appeared, mostly Glameows
and Stunkies. Team Magma retaliated with a large number of fire type
Pokemon.

Norman stared at the scene. “Looks like they’re
going to battle it amongst themselves…” he remarked. Suddenly, a burst
of water came from Route 201. The leader of Team Magma seemed outraged.
“Team Aqua! They’ve followed us!” he yelled. Another group of grunts and
commanders charged into Littleroot, wearing striped shirts and blue
scarves with skulls on them on their heads. Professor Birch sent out a
Lairon, while Elizabeth used Vixen, her nicknamed Ninetales.


The group from Littleroot town battle fiercely against stragglers from
the three teams focusing on them and not their rival teams, but none
were strong enough to stand up to Professor Oak’s Skarmory. The fight
continued on until yet another explosion was heard. A huge black ball
emerged from route 201 and hit a Wailord that was on the battlefield.
Yet another team of thugs charged in, these thugs wearing black trench
coats with white C’s on them. They unleashed a large amount of dark,
ghost, and psychic Pokemon, and joined the five-way battle.


“Jet!” Norman yelled over the commotion. “Go get Blaze and Dawn, and
take Jirachi out of here! Get to Rustboro and find Roxanne! She’ll be
able to help you!” Jet nodded and returned Union to his poke ball. Oak
patted the boy on the shoulder and handed him a bag. “Inside this bag
are my supplies for field work. You’ll need them.” Oak said. Jet nodded
and ran off with Blaze to Jet’s house, where Dawn was.


“Dawn!” Jet yelled. “Dawn, are you alright?” Dawn looked up, tears in
her eyes. “I’m alright, b-but… Nei’s hurt real bad!” Jet patted her on
the back while looking at the unconscious Leafeon. “I’ll see if the
Professor had anything here to help…” he said, rummaging through the bag
until he withdrew a diamond shaped medicine tablet. “Here’s a revive.
That should make her feel better until we can get to a Pokemon Center.”
Jet said. Dawn stood up and thanked Jet. “We’re going somewhere?” she
asked. Jet nodded. “Dad said we have to take Jirachi and get to
Rustboro. You should go get Tipi inside while Blaze and I get Jirachi.
Hurry!” he said. “Jirachi?” Blaze and Dawn asked simultaneously, but Jet
held up his hand. “Later! Hurry!”

Dawn ran inside the house,
Nei in her poke ball, to go fetch Tipi, while Blaze charged toward the
lab. The two boys sent out their Pokemon in case there was trouble
inside the lab. They opened up the door and saw Jirachi floating behind a
desk, scared of the outside conflict. “Jirachi! It’s Jet! Come on,
we’re here to get you out of here!” Jet yelled. Jirachi hurriedly flew
to Jet, who unbuttoned the top of his over shirt. “Get in here! Hurry!”
he said. Jirachi snuggled against Jet’s undershirt and stuck its head
out, like a baby kangaroo. “Let’s go, Blaze!” Jet yelled. The two boys
and their Pokemon ran out of the lab, where they met Dawn and Tipi.


“Jet, how will we get around them?” Dawn asked. “Remember the forest
path we used to play in when we were older? It leads to Oldale. We can
use that.” Dawn nodded, and looked at Jirachi. “So this is Jirachi?” she
asked. “Yea, it is. C’mon, let’s get out of here!” Jet shouted. Blaze
took off with Pyro, and Jet and Dawn, along with Union followed.


Norman gripped another poke ball. “We may not be the prime target, but
we’re losing.” He said to Oak. Professor Oak’s Skarmory had just
fainted after taking out numerous grunts. “I’m afraid it’s up to you,
old friend.” Oak said to a poke ball, which released a Charizard when he
threw it. The Charizard began to spew fire at the many Pokemon opposing
each other, while Norman looked back at the lab. “Stay safe, kids.” He
whispered.

___________________

Jet, Dawn, and Blaze
quickly maneuvered through the forest, avoiding Spinaraks and other
Pokemon, before they finally got to Oldale town an hour later. It was
late by the time they arrived, and no one was outside. The sounds of
conflict in Littleroot were still heard, but barely. Jet looked around
and saw nothing out of the ordinary, and started toward the Pokemon
Center when Union cried out. Jet quickly turned to see an Umbreon
crouching angrily at Union, who was contrarily sitting with a submissive
look. “That Umbreon isn’t normal.” Dawn remarked. “The rings on its
tail, neck, and legs aren’t yellow. They’re blue! He’s differently
colored just like…” Jet gasped. “Just like Union.”

A masked
man emerged from behind the building the Umbreon was standing in front
of. “I see you’ve met Oblivix, my Umbreon.” Said the masked man. He had
black hair and stood tall, but not as tall as Cyrus, and wore a black
jacket with a white C imprinted on the middle, and dark red pants. His
most prominent feature was his mask, which was like a headband that
covered one of his eyes and had a hole for the other. His revealed eye
was a bright red, and the pupil seemed motionless.

“We’re
done with you and those other goons. Leave us alone!” Blaze remarked,
Pyro crouching beside him. The masked man laughed. “I am not one of
those goons, child.” He said, walking forward. “I am Axis, leader of
Team Chaos. We are above those pitiful Magmas, Aquas, and Galactics. We
strive for something greater. And to achieve such, we need Jirachi. And
it seems you’ve saved me the trouble of finding him.”

Union
looked at Oblivix with a loving stare that wasn’t returned. “And it
appears we’ve met another differently colored, or ‘shiny’, Eevee. A
Glaceon now, I see. He seems to be a bit reluctant to attack Oblivix,
hm?” Jet scowled at the man. “It’s because he thinks Oblivix is his
brother than ran away when he was a baby, but I doubt it. No Pokemon
related to Union could work with an evil guy like you.” Axis laughed.
“He didn’t run. Oblivix was captured by yours truly, my boy. He was the
best of two, eager to leave while his weak brother sat and slept. And I
obliged, of course, breaking into Bill’s lab and stealing Oblivix and
raising him until he became the very powerful Umbreon he is now. I
didn’t expect it ever happening I see that he’s met his brother once
again, and it’s very apparent how they feel about each other, hm?”


Jet looked at Union, still not willing to attack his long lost
brother. He was surprised that the angry Oblivix didn’t attack when it
looked so willing. It must have at least remembered Union to not want to
attack.

Axis pointed at Jet. “I will give you one week, son
of Norman. Three days, and then I shall come and seize Jirachi, whether
you like it or not. You can comply and hand it over at our Headquarters
near Mossdeep city, or you can keep traveling this futile journey and
let me take it by force. Either way, you cannot protect Jirachi.” Jet
angrily stared at Axis, shaking his head. “Never.” Jet said.


Axis withdrew Oblivix into a black poke ball, and he held it with two
fingers. Slowly, it rose into the air, seemingly by Axis’s doing. It
rose and eventually was at Axis’s eye level, where it suddenly caught on
fire. “As you can see, I command power greater than your young minds
can comprehend. I wouldn’t take me and my team so lightly.” Axis said as
his poke ball lost the fire and fell back to his hands. “One week.”
Axis said before a column of flame engulfed him and disappeared, taking
it along with him.

“Glai…?” Union said sadly as his
brother’s trainer disappeared. “Union, let’s go.” Jet said as he called
Union back to his poke ball. The three walked into the Pokemon Center
and were greeted by a Nurse named Joy.

“My my, isn’t it a bit
late for you kids to be out?” Nurse Joy asked. “We just need a place to
stay for the night, ma’am.” Dawn said. “We need to get to Rustboro in
the morning.” She finished. Nurse Joy nodded. “You’re welcome to stay,
you three. Make yourselves comfortable while I take care of your
Pokemon.” She said. The three put their poke balls on a tray, and Nurse
Joy took the tray to the healing machine.

The three sat on
cushions, the most comfortable thing they could find. Jirachi and Tipi
were sound asleep along with Blaze, while Jet and Dawn stayed up,
watching a Pokemon contest on TV. Their Pokemon were returned to them
soon after Blaze fell asleep, and Jet and Dawn let Nei and Union out to
sleep with them.

“Dawn?” Jet said. “Yea?” she replied. “I’m…
sorry all of this happened on your birthday. It’s sort of my fault for
wishing for something and getting Jirachi’s attention.” Dawn smiled. “It
wasn’t your fault, Jet. And besides, I get to travel for a while now,
and that’s a great present, even better than the necklace you gave me.
Sure, I’m worried about everyone back home, but we’ve got a job to do,
and we might as well have fun doing it.” Jet nodded. “That reminds me.
We’ve got to protect Jirachi until we find a way to avoid Axis. I wonder
how Roxanne will help if she’s only a few years older than us.” Jet
asked. Dawn shrugged. “She’s a gym leader for a reason, Jet. She’ll know
something.”

Dawn stretched and laid back on a cushion next
to a fully recovered Nei, and Jet laid next to Union, ready to call it a
night.

“Dawn?” Jet said again. “Hm?” his friend said
sleepily.

“Happy birthday.”