| abstract
| - Ray and Zinnia crawled through the narrow tunnels of Mt. Chimney trying to reach Team Magma's hideout. The hot volcano churned magma in its depths and generated a lot of steam and heat. As a result, the two of them were sweating profusely. They thought it would be best for them to spy on Team Magma for a bit to see what they were up to. If Ray's suspicions were right about Maxie and Archie wanting the orbs, then it would take extensive planning and spying. Since Zinnia had already spied on both teams at one point, she was able to lead Ray where he wanted to go. "Do you know how far fetched this idea sounds?" Zinnia asked as they continued to crawl through the hot, narrow tunnels. "It's better to be prepared than to be caught off guard," Ray answered as he followed closely behind her. "If I'm right and we aren't able to counter this, then we're fucked." "Well, if it means anything, I trust you," Zinnia admitted. "Thank you," Ray nodded. The two of them continued crawling through the tunnels until Zinnia could eventually see a faint light. She crawled faster and faster until she was close enough to the light to notice that it came through a hole. She carefully peered through the hole and could see that they were in the Magma Hideout. "Here we are," she informed him. "Do we jump or something?" Ray asked curiously. Since he was stuck behind Zinnia, he didn't have a clear view of the hole. "Yeah, it's a pretty steep jump, but we have no choice." "Let's do it." The pair jumped from the hole and into the hideout. It was simply just another part of the tunnels that was wide open and lit up by powerful light-bulbs hanging from the ceiling. There were massive weapons and vehicles scattered throughout the hideout that looked like they were designed for digging. Streams and pools of lava flowed in between and formed walkways in the stone. "What have these guys been doing down here?" Ray asked. "They're really up to no good, aren't they?" Zinnia chuckled lightly. "Too bad they can't see the wrong in their ways." The two of them walked through the halls of the Magma hideout. Surprisingly, they did not run into any Grunts on their way. Since Zinnia had visited previously, she knew her way around the hideout quite well. "Maxie's room is somewhere here," Zinnia informed Ray as they both crept down the halls. "I can't remember which one it is, though..." "Is it that one?" Ray asked and pointed to a regal looking door to their right side that was plated in gold chrome. "Yes it is," Zinnia nodded and walked over to the golden door. "Let's go in." They slowly opened the door, hoping not to startle Maxie and set off any alarms. When they entered the room, they could see Maxie sitting in his chair with his back towards them. He slowly turned his chair to face them. Maxie's room was massive chamber with a giant screen on each wall. Behind Maxie's desk was a large panel of windows. However, due to the hideout's underground location, the only thing visible from the windows was bright lava. "So it's you two," Maxie sighed and stood up from his seat. "What brings you here?" "We're here to tell you that you're making a grave mistake," Ray made a fist. "We know what you want to do and we can't let you do it." "That's quite unfortunate," Maxie mumbled. "You see, I still intend on carrying out my plans exactly as I see fit." "You're making a mistake..." Zinnia growled. "That's your opinion," Maxie told her. "I have a powerful vision of the Hoenn region - scratch that - the whole world being absolutely nothing but land. The only water we would need can be kept underground in aquifers and what not. This way, we can expand the way that our race is able to live. We will truly become the most dominant of all species." "You intend to do this to Pokémon?" Ray hissed. "What about them?" "What about Pokémon?" Maxie asked harshly. "Pokémon are nothing but tools for our own benefit. It is us humans that run the world." "What do you intend to do with the legendary Pokémon?" Zinnia asked. "And why would I tell you that?" "Because we're going to find out either way. We know you've documented your plans somewhere." "Is that a threat?" Maxie asked with a laugh. "I'm not scared of you. I have my documents locked up somewhere here you'll never find." "Good for you," Ray replied sarcastically and pulled out a PokéBall from his belt. He looked to Zinnia. "I'll take him on, you go look for those documents." Zinnia nodded and ran out of Maxie's room in search of his documents. Maxie shook his head and picked up a PokéBall from his desk. "You fools," he said softly. "You think we don't take security precautions well. The minute your friend finds out where we hide anything we need to, we will have Grunts swarming her left, right, and center." "She's too strong for that." "That's what I thought you would say," Maxie shook his head and held up his PokéBall. "If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you're going to get. Charizard, I choose you!" Maxie flung his PokéBall forward and the orange Lizard Pokémon took form in front of him. It roared once before shooting a menacing look at Ray. "A Charizard? Interesting choice..." Ray observed. "Latios, you know what to do!" Ray threw his PokéBall forward and sent out his blue Eon Pokémon. It took form in front of Maxie's Charizard and cried out once. "Charizard, use Fire Blast!" Maxie commanded. "Latios, use Shadow Ball!" Ray fired back. Charizard roared and spat a ball of fire out of its mouth. The ball flew at Latios and eventually took the shape of '大' at it got closer. Before it could hit Latios, however, Latios formed a giant ball of dark purple ectoplasm and fired it at Charizard's attack. Latios's Shadow Ball ripped straight through Charizard's Fire Blast and went on to hit it dead in the stomach. "Score!" Ray cheered and pumped his fist. Charizard growled and fell to its knees. It shook off the hit and stomped the ground ferociously. "Charizard, use Fire Blast again!" "Latios, get it again with another Shadow Ball!" Charizard fired its second Fire Blast attack at Latios. However, with Latios being a legendary Pokémon, its attack power was more powerful than Charizard's. After charging another Shadow Ball, it fired it straight at Charizard and destroyed its Fire Blast attack. Charizard once again fell to its knees in pain. "Your Latios is too strong..." Maxie growled. "Getting stressed out?" Ray taunted his opponent. "Give me your best shot." "Charizard, use Dragon Claw!" Charizard stood up again and charged its claws with flames. It flew forward and launched itself at Latios. As it made contact with the Eon Pokémon, it slashed it once with each of its claws. Latios flew back from the super effective hit. "Latios, get it with a Thunderbolt!" Latios closed its eyes and tapped into its interior electrical current. After becoming one with its electrical energy, it let loose shock waves of lightning at Charizard. The powerful Electric-type attack left Charizard in a state of shock in the air. When Latios's lightning assault finally ended, Charizard fell to the ground and was unable to battle. Maxie grunted and called it back to its PokéBall. "You wear down my patience..." Maxie mumbled and put Charizard's PokéBall back on his desk. He picked up another one and tossed it forward. "You took out Charizard, but let's see if Heatran can put you to a test!" "H-Heatran?" Ray asked softly with wide eyes. "So you managed to catch the legendary Pokémon of the Scorched Slab after all..." The legendary Lava Dome Pokémon flew out of its PokéBall and took form in front of Maxie. It let out a high-pitched roar and took slow steps towards Latios. "You're trembling." Maxie observed his opponent with a smirk. "Now allow for me to show you the true power of Fire-types." Elsewhere in the Magma Hideout, Zinnia was running around from one end to another looking for where Maxie would keep his documents. It would have to be easily accessible by all members, so she figured it wouldn't be too hidden. As she ran through the halls, she noticed a chubby Team Magma Admin which she had spied on earlier take a turn down a corridor. Clearly, he was going somewhere important, so Zinnia thought it would be best if she followed. He kept on walking down the corridor and Zinnia crept silently behind. He approached a scanner door and scanned his Team Magma ID at the door's key. The door opened upwards and he walked through. Zinnia quickly snuck in behind him before the door had the chance to close up on her. On the other side of the door was a massive stone staircase which led to a large metal vault. "This must be it..." Zinnia whispered to herself. "They keep a lot of things hidden." The Magma Admin kept on walking up the stairs until he reached the base of the vault. He scanned his ID and opened the main door of the vault. "Stop in the name of Hoenn!" Zinnia shouted to him. "What's going on?" He asked as he turned around to face her. "You're Tabitha, aren't you?" Zinnia asked. "Yes, and who are you?" Tabitha asked back. "That doesn't matter," Zinnia replied and pulled out a PokéBall. "Give me your leader's plans from inside the vault or you'll regret it." "Oh, do we have a cocky one here?" Tabitha asked and pulled out his PokéBall as well. "I'm giving you ten seconds to leave before I wipe the floor with you." "If that's what it's going to come down to," Zinnia said and threw her PokéBall forward. "Flygon, I choose you! Use Dragon Pulse!" "Camerupt, show your true power! Use Flamethrower!" Camerupt and Flygon appeared from their PokéBalls and took the field in front of their respective trainers. They each let out powerful roars and charged up their attacks. At the same time as each other, they launched their attacks straight ahead. The impact was powerful enough to cause a loud explosion in the middle, but both attacks fizzled out. "Flygon, get back at it with Sand Tomb!" Zinnia roared and swung her fist. "Camerupt, use Solar Beam!" Due to the fact that sunlight did not reach the Magma Hideout, Camerupt had to spend a great deal of time charging its Solar Beam attack. Flygon took advantage of this opportunity and fired a beam of sand out of its mouth at its opponent. The sand collected at Camerupt's legs and trapped it in place. "You think Camerupt will go down that easily?" Tabitha taunted. "Unleash your true power!" Camerupt looked to the ceiling and roared loudly. It charged its attack to the max capacity and fired a beam of powerful sunlight at Flygon. The attack exploded on impact with the Dragon-type Pokémon. "Flygon!" Zinnia cried out. "No!" When the smoke from the explosion cleared, Flygon lay on the ground. With slow movements, it was able to get itself back up in the air. "That's how we do it, Flygon!" Zinnia cheered as her Pokémon recovered from the attack. Over in Maxie's chamber, the two legendary Pokémon were evenly matched in a stalemate. Heatran's high defense power was a good match-up for Latios's stealthy attacking strategy. "Heatran, use Protect to cover yourself and then Magma Storm!" Maxie commanded. "Latios, break through its shielding with a Thunderbolt!" Heatran covered itself in a glowing purple shell as Latios unleashed its attack on it. With each strike of lightning, Heatran's force field flashed a brilliant white light. The moment Heatran blew a vortex of fire out of its mouth, Latios's Thunderbolt attack broke through the shield. Heatran braved through the attack and shot the storm of fire at Latios. It spun around the Eon Pokémon brilliantly as it was trapped in the tornado. "Latios!" Ray growled. "Get outta there!" "Heatran, finish the job with a Metal Claw!" Heatran leapt into the storm of fire and slashed at Latios viciously. Due to Heatran's natural ability, the fire was able to power up its attacks. When the vortex finally died out, Latios fell to the ground in defeat. "No, Latios!" Ray shouted and called it back to its PokéBall. In the vault chamber, Flygon was able to recover from the powerful Solar Beam attack. It leapt into the air and flapped its wings and braved through the pain. "Flygon, use Sand Tomb and then Faint Attack!" Zinnia commanded her Pokémon. "Camerupt, don't let her do that and use another Solar Beam!" Tabitha fired back. "And this time, make sure it takes it out!" Camerupt stood in place again and charged itself with the power of the sun. As it was doing this, Flygon shot another beam of sand at Camerupt's legs. When Camerupt was stuck in place, Flygon disappeared into the shadows and attacked it relentlessly with its Faint Attack. Camerupt fell to the ground in defeat before it was able to charge its own attack. "Damn it!" Tabitha cursed loudly and called Camerupt back to its PokéBall. "Come back..." "Now unlock the vault and give me Maxie's secret documents!" Zinnia instructed me. "And nobody gets hurt..." "Okay! Okay!" Tabitha nodded in fear and raised his hands defensively. He went into the vault and typed in a security code. The vault's door opened up slowly and Tabitha pulled out a thick set of papers. "Take them and get out of here!" "Good," Zinnia said sternly and snatched the documents out of Tabitha's hands. "I'll make sure that these plans are stopped." Back in Maxie's room, Ray put Latios's PokéBall back into his belt. It was rare that his Eon Pokémon ever faced defeat, but it was not like it had never happened before. Ray was very used to defeat. "Since I used two Pokémon, it is only honorable for me to allow you to use another one," Maxie said calmly. "Go ahead, make your choice." "I'll finish this right now," Ray mumbled and pulled out another PokéBall from his belt. "They always say to fight fire with fire, right? Volcarona, I choose you!" The Sun Pokémon burst out of its PokéBall in a brilliant display of flames and danced around the battlefield. It spun around in circles and finally took its place in front of its trainer. "Get at me," Ray told his opponent. "Very well, then," Maxie sighed. "Heatran, dispose of it quickly with another Magma Storm." "Oh no you don't! Volcarona, collect the fire with Quiver Dance!" Heatran fired a vortex of flames out at Volcarona. In response, Volcarona danced around the fire in intricate circles and collected it onto its wings. When Heatran's attack ended, Volcarona was able to collect all of the flames on its wings and fluttered in the air with no damage on it. "Just like we practiced it," Ray smirked. "Now direct its attack back at it with a combination of Fiery Dance!" Volcarona spun in hypnotic circles around Heatran. Heatran tried its best not to look at the Pokémon, but Volcarona's dance was too dazzling for it not to watch. When Heatran least expected it, Volcarona blew the flames off of its wings and back at Heatran. "Don't you know that Heatran's ability prevents fire damage?" Maxie asked, drawn into Volcarona's attack as well. "That's what Volcarona would make you think," Ray said. "Finish it off!" The flames surrounded Heatran as the legendary Pokémon felt the heat of its own attack. Despite its ability, the fire did massive damage to it. Heatran grunted loudly and crashed to the ground. "Heatran!" Maxie shouted and held its PokéBall in the air. In a light flash of red light, it went back to its PokéBall. "But how?" "Tell me your plans!" Ray shouted and ran over to Maxie with Volcarona closely behind him. He held the leader of Team Magma by his collar when he did not respond. "I said tell me your fucking plans!" Just then, Zinnia burst through the doors again holding the stack of documents. She ran over to Ray and tugged on his shoulder, urging him to let Maxie go. "Ray, I got the papers!" Zinnia told him. "Let's get out of here!" "I won't spare you next time," Ray muttered into Maxie's ear and slowly backed away alongside Zinnia and Volcarona. "The next time we find ourselves in this situation, I promise that you'll be begging for your life." "Do what you want with those documents," Maxie laughed loudly and sat back on his throne. "My attack on the Hoenn Region has already begun. It won't be long before I summon Lord Groudon and shape the planet into my own image. You just wait and see!" "Good luck with that," Zinnia growled and pulled Ray out of the room. Ray, Zinnia, and Volcarona quickly fled the hideout. If Maxie's attack had already begun, then they would have to get to work quickly. It would be only a matter of time before the next Hoenn war would start and they would have to do everything in their power to prevent it.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)