"Red! Dawn! Hold up a second!"
My voice echoed through the large, empty cave. I didn't care about the dozens of wild pokemon who stared on as I sprinted at full speed to catch up to the two trainers ahead of me.
"Aaron! I should have known you'd be back here."
As I joined the two elite trainers, Dragonite returned to her pokeball, waiting for her time. Now that I had regrouped with the others, I told them about Elaine and May. Unsurprisingly, they didn't say much, not particularly shocked that either of them had taken off so quickly.
"..."
I followed Red's gaze as he looked on. Just ahead of us, the cave opened up to the outside. I could hear the howling winds blowing by at unnatural speeds, the snowstorm threatening to burst through the mountain walls from the outside.
"We don't have any time to waste. They'll be at the top of the mountain, just like last time."
Dawn nodded to the two of us before leading the way as we exited through the opening ahead of us. The moment we stepped out, it became more and more difficult to just see ahead of us. With each passing step, the snowstorm raged on, meaning we were nearly blind as we navigated the treacherous mountain route. Thankfully, Dawn had some experience with this area, using any knowledge she had to make sure we didn't fall to our deaths.
"Hold up, do you hear that?"
The blunette froze in her tracks, stopping on the spot. Red and I came to a stop behind her, our eyes darting around to see what Dawn had seen.
A sharp screech cut through the wind like a knife, deafening us as it rang out once again. The bitter cold was cutting against my skin, forcing me to close my eyes to avoid losing my sight permanently. I heard Red shuffle beside me and guessed he did the same.
Through the gaps between my fingers I looked on, seeing Dawn standing unfazed by the extreme weather. She held her hand by her belt, ready to reach for a pokeball at any moment.
Then all of a sudden, the skies cleared, the snowstorm subsiding. Red and I lifted our gaze, seeing that it was easier for us to see everything now. As we stood below the mountain summit, I could see that we were already far above the cloud line, now in an entirely new world in the skies.
Just as I opened my mouth to speak, three blurs flashed in front of us, blocking off the path to the summit. My eyes adjusted, seeing three familiar faces stood on the thin path before us.
"Hey Aaron! Long time no see, you're as fine as ever!"
A familiar voice called out and as I looked up, I locked eyes with Mars, the red head lieutenant of Team Galactic. Just like the last time we met, her voice was filled with a certain fervour that I shrugged off quickly.
"You three aren't going anywhere." Saturn cut off the red head beside him before she could continue. He reached for a pokeball but before he could call out a pokemon, a torrent of water was swept the blue haired lieutenant off his feet.
I looked to my side, seeing both Dawn and Empoleon on standby for battle. Both of their eyes were fixed on the three commanders in front of them, their determination tangible in the freezing cold air.
"You two can't be held up here, and especially not by these scrubs."
No more needed to be said as Red and I exchanged knowing looks. We were both confident in the blunette's abilities even if she was outnumbered.
Without looking back, Red and I sped past the three commanders who could only watch on as Empoleon kept them back, allowing us to pass.
As we turned a corner, the four trainers were out of sight, the mountain summit now in clear view. The skies had finally cleared up, allowing us to see where were running ahead to. There was an opening ahead of us and I could see that it lead directly to the top.
Our friends were working hard to make sure Red and I could make it this far uninterrupted. May was somewhere in the depths below us, Elaine somewhere beneath an underground lake. Dawn was now far behind us, the path laid out for the two of us as we pushed on.
Soon enough, the clear skies could be seen at the other end of the tunnel. The pure, blue sky filtered through the cave, lighting up the entrance where the summit met the cave.
Red and I pushed on, making our way to the top of the mountain. The moment we stepped out of the opening, we were met by a set of stairs that led upward to the peak of Mount Coronet.
As we stepped onto the clean stone plateau, the open sky shone down on us, the sun glowing fiercely above. I quickly looked around, processing the unfamiliar environment, seeing dozens of destroyed stone pillars dotted all over the plateau. Debris lined the floor, the clean stone patterns ruined by time.
Then I looked dead ahead, seeing the outline of two people stood at the center of the plateau. The ground rose ever so slightly but it was just enough that the two people were stood a level above Red and I.
I looked over to the silent trainer, his ruby red eyes fixed on the two people ahead of us. We exchanged quick nods, reaching for our pokeballs as we continued on.
"So you finally reached us."
A calm deep voice echoed through the mountain, both people turning to face Red and I.
On one side, stood a man wearing an ice blue mask. The eye holes were dark, the face behind the mask completely hidden. He wore a pitch black cloak that covered his tall body, the wind blowing gently over his cape as is billowed slightly.
To his right, a man I had finally come face to face with. Short pearlescent blue hair atop his head, his cheeks sunken and his skin pale. The man's eyes held no emotion, dead behind his cobalt irises. He wore the traditional Team Galactic gear which I thought was a little outdated but Cyrus managed to rock the look.
"Why don't you both make this easier for yourselves? Actually, we haven't come all this way for nothing so maybe put up some fight." I held a pokeball in my hand, ready at any moment.
Red held a pokeball in his hand and a quick nod between the two of us was all that we needed for our thoughts to sync. We looked to the two people stood ahead of us, neither of them fazed by my taunt.
"Hmph, I expected no less from either of you." Cyrus looked over to the masked man whose gaze hadn't moved from Red. "Maybe I should have increased the prices on your heads because it looks like it wasn't enough."
A tense silence settled in the air, no one foolish enough to make the first move. I thought back to what Red had told me about the masked man, remembering that he was no joke as a fighter. I expected no less from Cyrus who stood at the head of this whole operation. Neither of these two would go down easily but I was knew I was stood next to one of the greatest fighters of all time.
Before anyone made the first move, there was a loud rumbling that echoed through the mountain. The summit started to shake, pillars crumbling to our left and right. Red and I fell to one knee as we felt the fabric of time and space shake us to our core.
I looked up, seeing Cyrus' stern face twist into a smirk. His eyes glowed with a sinister flare as he flashed his malicious smile to us.
Debris started to stir from where it rested, flying all over the plateau. A large mass welled up behind where Cyrus and the masked man were stood, neither of them flinching. The huge mass shifted in colour rapidly before stabilising at a pitch black. Rubble and bits of rock flew into the portal as it opened up.
The moment I saw Cyrus turn away from us, I knew what he was planning. Without hesitating, I pulled out Dragonite's pokeball, releasing her into the space next to me. She had a serious look on her face, her eyes fixed on the portal ahead of us.
"No you don't Cyrus! You're staying right here!"
I jumped up from where I was stood, fighting against the pull of the portal. Dragonite flew under my feet, catching me on her back as I landed. The dragon type raced ahead, pushing against the intense gravity that was spewing out from the mass ahead of us.
Cyrus didn't stutter, turning on his feet as he disappeared through the portal. Dragonite beat her wings, summoning a burst of strength as she pushed on, closing in on the portal. I felt the gravity wane slightly, the portal decreasing in size with every passing second. Dragonite didn't let up, forcing herself onward as she flew through the portal at great speed.
On the other side, there was nothing. We had fallen into a void of nothingness. We were surrounded by pitch black, a heavy fog blinding me as I felt a force take me away.