Born of Sacred Fire

Chapter 13

In the skies

As the three hot air balloons crossed the strange sky filled with dark purple clouds, several Starly started to attack their balloons. Ash, Misty, and Brock were still in the Pikachu hot air balloon. Erika, Gary, Ritchie, and Barry were still in the Eevee hot air balloon. Paul, Ranee, Dawn, and Kenny were still in the Piplup hot air balloon.

Everyone was surprised that mere Starly were giving them trouble but what surprised them more was the strange attacks that they were using. Sparky (Ritchie's Pikachu) and Ranee's Ampharos were doing a fair job against them but they needed more help from more Pokémon.

"Pika pika..." Sparky breathed tiredly.

Ampharos seemed to have barked, a bit tired. Everyone looked at each other and nodded. They knew what they had to do and they had to do it fast before the air balloons got popped by the Starly. Gary got out a Pokeball and threw it. With a flash of light, Gary's Skarmory appeared.

"Skar!" Skarmory screeched.

Erika got out a Pokeball and threw it into the skies. With another flash of light, Erika's Altaria appeared.

"Alt!" Altaria hummed.

Paul got out a Pokeball and threw it into the skies, knowing that he had to help with battling the Starly that had gone mad. With a third flash of light, Paul's Honchkrow appeared.

"Honchkrow!" Honchkrow crowed.

Ash was about to help but that's when they heard a bird call. All of the Starly were repealed quickly as a Pidgeot flew alongside the Pikachu balloon. Ash couldn't believe it but somehow, this was his Pidgeot.

He breathed, "Pidgeot...?"

Pidgeot cooed as Erika, Gary, Ritchie, Barry, Paul, Ranee, Dawn, and Kenny all looked confused by this. However, Misty and Brock looked quite relieved.

Misty gushed, "I can't believe that it is your Pidgeot, Ash!"

Brock stated, "We haven't seen it since you left it to help out those wild Pidgey and Pidgeotto."

Ash looked at Pidgeot and stated, "Thanks Pidgeot and I'm sorry that I didn't come back for you like I promised but we do need your help as you saw."

Pidgeot cooed again, understanding the situation. The birds all flew out as Sparky got on Altaria's back and Ampharos got on Honchkrow's back. Ritchie smiled as he knew that Sparky would enjoy that flight. Barry got out a Pokeball and let out his Staraptor as Brock let out Croagunk. Misty let out her Corsola as it got on Pidgeot's back. Kenny got out his Alakazam who used Psychic to levitate it and Piplup into the skies.

All of the Pokémon were ready for any type of situation, even the worse. Misty looked over at Ash and started to wonder if they were ready like their Pokémon. Erika couldn't help but frown as she remembered something.

...

-Flashback-

As morning shone over Eclo Canyon, with not a single sign of life in sight, Gonzap stood on the hideout roof and looked over the desolate wastes like a king surveying his kingdom.

Eventually, Gonzap went back inside to his office, where a large group of Snagems stood at attention in front of his desk. They were ready to do anything for their boss, without question or hesitation.

Gonzap took his seat and stated, "Alright, boys. This is it. In less than an hour, the first group of buses will be rolling through, and that's where the big money lies. We've got people coming from as far as Hoenn, and that means all sorts of rare and powerful Pokémon. I want every Snag Machine armed and every Snagem ready to attack. We pull this off, and we'll have all the cash we need to retire in style."

"Yes, sir!"

Gonzap got out a clipboard and shouted, "Anyway, roll call!" Gonzap read off of it and added, "Wakin, Biden, Agrev! You're all here, of course. Jedo and Driton... check. Fuston here. Wes... Wes..." He looked around the room impatiently and asked, "Wes?"

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the entire hideout, sending Snagems running every which way in confusion and fear. After a moment, Wakin looked up.

Wakin shouted, "That came from the garage!"

In an instant, Gonzap was leading virtually every Snagem in the hideout towards the garage. As they arrived, they saw what could only be described as intentional sabotage. Flames were burning madly. Various mechanical deviced were slagged beyond repair.

All the Rumblers were completely totaled save for one as its unmistakable engine noise sounded from outside a large hole in the wall. Gonzap and his band dashed outside, just in time to see it down the canyon... plus its driver.

One of them shouted, "It's Wes!"

Indeed, Wes had turned to wave at his ex-teammates.

He shouted, "Thanks for the dirtbike, dirtbags!"

With that, his vehicle vanished from sight. As he reached the edge of the canyon, Wes reached for a detonator and hit the button, blowing the rest of the Snagem Hideout to complete pieces.

With a laugh, Wes floored the gas and left Eclo Canyon, pausing only to steal a glance at a strange package that was sitting in the sidecar with his Eons. As the Snagems ran for cover from the debris and flames, Gonzap merely stood there, clutching his fingers and cursing a blue streak.

Gonzap huffed, "You little... After all I've... I... You..." With a scream, the Snagem leader turned to his grunts. He yelled, "You four, put out the fires! Rest of you, salvage anything you can from the wreckage!"

Wakin ran up to him and yelped, "Gonzap, sir! You've got a call in your office. It's him..." He wiped his head in a fearful sweat and asked, "What do I tell him?"

Gonzap morosely replied, "Tell him... that we've got a problem." Gonzap then gritted his teeth in anger and added, "And I'm going to fix it."

-End of Flashback-

...

In the skies

Erika sighed as she knew that she had to do something soon. She was afraid that she was going to expose her secret. Ranee had fallen asleep on Paul's shoulder, whom was blushing like mad.

Kenny took Dawn's hand, making both of them blushed.

Erika turned to Kenny and asked, "When we get to our destination, can you help me with something?"

Kenny nodded and answered, "Sure, be happy to."

Dawn gushed, "We both will!"

Erika replied, "Thanks guys. I want to check on my hutch."

...

Wishmaker1028: I hope everyone stays tuned! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!