Chapter 304: Zinnia's Shock [Bonus]
~Third POV~
[Hoenn Region, Meanwhile, Mt. Chimney – Jagged Pass (Magma's HQ)]
Elsewhere, unbeknownst to the Gym Leaders, as they grappled with the dire implications of their situation, Azure had finally arrived at the desolate landscape of Mt. Chimney. His Gardevoir stood beside him, its psychic senses attuned to the turbulent emotions swirling beneath the surface.
Absol, her fur bristling, confirmed the presence of Team Magma Grunts who had passed through using its Viridian Force to see her memories. A sense of anticipation, a thrill of the hunt, washed over Azure.
With Pikachu perched on his shoulder, its electrically charged cheeks crackling, and Eevee nestled comfortably atop his head, both ready for combat, Azure's gaze fell upon Jagged Pass. This, he knew, was the heart of Team Magma's operations.
The rusted iron gates of the Jagged Pass—Team Magma's hidden headquarters—creaked open as Azure stepped onto the volcanic ash‑covered path. The sky above was a tumult of dark clouds and occasional lightning, the air charged with a strange blend of heat and humidity.
Azure's eyes narrowed as he felt the tremor of the earth beneath his boots. A grin, sharp and determined, spread across his face.
He planned to dismantle their base and, in the process, hone his team to unparalleled perfection. Spotting the path ahead, he murmured, "So that rock is in the way, huh? I know just how to get rid of it. Swampert, I need ya buddy!"
*Pop*
Materializing out of the Poké Ball, released Swampert, the amphibious powerhouse splashing into a shallow crater. Awaiting his command, he called, his voice echoing across the barren landscape, "Alright, team. We've got a lot to do—training, battling, and—most importantly— taking down those Magma grunts."
They grinned, hearing the news. Turning their direction at the entrance of Jagged Path, he ordered calmly, "Swampert, use Rock Smash!"
*SMASH*
The ground cracked under the Pokémon's powerful strike. The rocks shattered, exposing a hidden tunnel beneath the volcanic rock.
The air crackled with the promise of an epic confrontation, a new journey unfolding with the seasoned trainer and his formidable team at its heart. Azure muttered, a grin widening as he declared his voice resolute, "Time to use these Team Magma punks as part of my training! Time to move out!"
*Zooom*
The team surged forward, a coordinated force of steel, fire, water, and psychic energy. Pikachu darted ahead, electric sparks dancing across its fur, while Eevee shifted forms, testing its evolutionary possibilities. Gardevoir hovered, using its slender body and psychic powers, ready to guard its trainer.
They moved deeper into the jagged labyrinth, the echo of their footsteps mingling with distant roars of molten rock. Azure unclipped his Poké Balls, allowing his Pokémon to gain a large amount of… EXP.
/////
~Zinnia POV~
[Hoenn Region, Meanwhile, Mt. Chimney – Jagged Pass (Magma's HQ)]
The stale, metallic scent of the Jagged Pass base always clung to me, a constant reminder of the shadows I operated within. Tonight, however, it felt heavier, suffocating, as I revisited the tangled threads of my past.
My fingers traced the rough, unpolished surface of a worn stone, a simple trinket to anyone else, but to me, it held the echo of a devastating loss. Aster, the previous Lorekeeper. The name still tasted like ash on my tongue.
Lorekeeper Aster…
She was more than a mentor, more than a friend. She was the embodiment of the Draconid spirit, her wisdom as vast and ancient as the legends we held dear. We, the Draconid people, revered her; her connection to Rayquaza was a sacred trust.
And then… Devon. Those bastards!
Their insatiable hunger for power, their arrogance in believing they could control what was not meant to be controlled. They took Aster.
The memory of her defeat, of Rayquaza's raw, untamed power unleashed in their misguided attempt to subdue it, was a wound that refused to heal. That day, I swore an oath. Not just to avenge Aster, but to honor her legacy, to protect the Draconid way of life.
The village elder, seeing the fire in my eyes, the unwavering resolve, had appointed me as Aster's successor. Aster's successor. But the weight of that title felt impossibly heavy when so many still mourned Aster, their grief a thick fog that obscured their vision.
They saw my ambition, my desperation, and they whispered that I was mixing my own agenda with the role. Perhaps they were right. Perhaps the pain had twisted my purpose, fueled by a desire for vengeance that threatened to consume me.
The prophecy of another great meteor loomed, a shadow cast over our land. It was a sign, a call to action, and I felt its pull with an intensity that bordered on obsession. The ancient texts spoke of a time when Rayquaza would descend, a savior or a destroyer, depending on who held the reins…
It was at that moment that I had to act. No rather… I knew I had to be the one. I needed to be the one.
My first move, a calculated gamble. I sent my Salamence, a creature of fierce loyalty and devastating power, to the facility where Rayquaza was held captive by the Pokémon Association in Goldenrod City.
It was a risky maneuver, fraught with potential pitfalls. And indeed, there was a hiccup, a brief, unlooked-for encounter with a trainer.
But even that temporary setback couldn't derail my ultimate goal. Salamence, battered but unbowed, managed to break Rayquaza free. The majestic Pokémon, unleashed from its prison, soared once more. A victory, albeit a messy one.
But freeing Rayquaza was only the first step. To truly fulfill the prophecy, to bond with Lord Rayquaza and guide its power, I needed to awaken its full potential.
The legends spoke of the primal forces that would answer its call. Kyogre and Groudon. My plan was audacious: to bring them forth, to create a spectacle that would draw Rayquaza to me, to the one who would be recognized as its Lorekeeper.
To orchestrate this, I infiltrated the very organizations that sought to control the legendary Pokémon: Team Magma and Team Aqua. I played their games, whispered suggestions, fanned their ambitions.
I discreetly passed information about the Blue and Red Orbs to Maxie, planting the seeds of their eventual awakening. It was a delicate dance, a dangerous game of manipulation, but one that needed to be done.
Hoenn and Devon Corp needed to pay for they're arrogance with blood. My aim was singular: to soar with Lord Rayquaza, to finally claim my rightful place.
All obstacles that blocked me were only the Gym Leaders, Elite 4, and their Champion, Steven Stone. That bastard son of Mr. Stone, the man who killed Aster and captured Lord Rayquaza, is attempting to control it… fools.
All of them are fools. I thought I would see my plan succeed, but then…
Then, that encounter.
My expression soured, the memory a bitter taste. Azure Sky. The name was etched into my mind, a symbol of my most profound failure.
I'd heard whispers of him, of his growing reputation, but Courtney, bless her foolish heart, had been so confident. She'd mentioned Daisy Oak, her friend, and how Azure was starting over, building a new team from scratch with Hoenn natives.
Courtney had assured me he was a novice, his current team no match for my experience, my Salamence. I'd been so wrong.
When I saw his Key Stone, that glint of ancient power, a desperate need seized me. I needed that Key Stone.
The legends whispered of multiple Key Stones, of the power they amplified, the power I required to achieve Rayquaza's Mega Evolution. I challenged him, confident in my victory. My Salamence, magnificent and fearsome, roared its challenge.
But Azure… he was different.
His Pikachu, a creature I'd dismissed as insignificant, moved with a speed and ferocity I hadn't anticipated. His Eevee, an unlikely warrior, stood its ground with unwavering courage. And then… the unknown.
*Shiver*
I felt a shiver run down my spine thinking it. A chilling presence, a spectral force I couldn't identify, one that struck with silent, deadly precision.
It knocked me out, not with a thunderous blow, but with an eerie finality. The world went dark after that.
When I came to, I was locked out of my Poké Balls. Not just me, but my most trusted Pokémon too. Fortunately, I had Salamance take me to where Tyrantrum and Altaria were stationed, with the Grunts guarding them woke up and took me away.
But that wasn't the worst of it. Oh no… it wasn't.
The worst of that encounter… he had taken them. My Mega Stones, the precious few I'd managed to acquire, along with several of my Key Stones.
He left me with only one, a spare I'd kept hidden, a cruel mockery of my ambition. But the deepest cut, the one that still burned with righteous fury, was the TM Scroll.
The Dragon Ascent TM Scroll. He had taken the very means for Rayquaza to learn its ultimate move.
The humiliation was a bitter pill to swallow. I, Zinnia of the Draconid, defeated by a mere trainer, stripped of my power, my dreams seemingly shattered. The rage that followed was a wildfire, consuming logic, fueling my actions.
I threw all my influence, both within Team Magma and Team Aqua, into orchestrating his downfall in assassination attempts or ambushes in the wild. I used every resource, every contact, to hunt him down, to reclaim what was mine while maintaining my secret identity, not allowing Maxie or Archie to be tipped.
But he proved more elusive, more resilient than I could have imagined. He didn't just evade me; he absorbed my attacks, using them as a crucible to forge his team. He trained, he grew stronger, his Pokémon becoming more formidable with each passing day.
The news of Team Aqua's base being destroyed in Lilycove City hit me like a physical blow. How? How did he find their most secret sanctuary? It was as if he possessed an uncanny foresight, a knowledge that defied explanation.
*RMBL*
*BOOOM*
My thoughts were violently interrupted by a deafening roar, followed by a tremor that shook the very foundations of Jagged Pass. An explosion.
My training kicked in, my instincts screaming danger. I was the only Admin here. Blaise and Tabitha were en route to Mt. Pyre, lost in their own futile quest for the Orbs. Courtney… well, Courtney was always off somewhere, chasing her own arcane interests. And Maxie, he was off on his own personal pilgrimage.
I was alone. That meant any responsibility for the base here is on my head. That's the last thing I need going on.
*Shiver*
But a chilling premonition, a serpent's whisper in the back of my mind, told me who was responsible. The Grunts, a chaotic tide of fear, scrambled away, some hurling themselves against invisible barriers, others tossed aside by gusts of razor-sharp wind or the unseen force of telekinesis.
It didn't take long for me to find him. Azure Sky, standing amidst the wreckage of our base, his Pokémon arrayed around him like a living shield, the scene eerily reminiscent of the destruction he'd wrought upon Team Aqua.
Gritting my teeth, my own rage boiling over, I stepped forward. Our eyes met. He, a calm, assessing gaze that belied the chaos he'd created.
Mine, burning with a fury that threatened to consume me. I roared, unleashing my loyal partner, "Salamance!"
*Pop*
He, or rather, it, was as incensed as I was, its eyes locked onto Azure, its roar a primal scream of indignation. It remembered the loss of its Mega Stone, too.
Azure, however, merely raised an eyebrow. A flicker of something I couldn't quite decipher crossed his face…
*Shiii*
Then, with a soft shimmer, his Gardevoir and Metagross appeared, their psychic abilities manifesting. Before Salamance could unleash its attack, before I could even utter another word, we were enveloped in a field of energy.
Azure's voice echoed, calm and measured, as we were whisked away from the crumbling base being destroyed in our charge, "Sorry, but I'm afraid you won't be needed, Zinnia. The time is not yet right to battle… Zinnia of the Draconid."
His words struck me like a physical blow. Zinnia of the Draconid.
Not just Zinnia, the Team Magma Admin, but Zinnia, a member of the ancient lineage. How? How could he possibly know?
*Shiver*
The implication sent a shiver of genuine fear down my spine, a sensation I hadn't experienced since Aster's death. He knew about the Draconid. He knew my identity, my heritage.
The carefully constructed walls around my past, my secrets, felt suddenly fragile, breached by this enigmatic trainer. As the familiar landscape of Hoenn returned, the whirlwind of my anger began to subside, replaced by a gnawing unease.
Who was Azure Sky?
How much did he truly know?
The implications of his words, his knowledge, were far more terrifying than any battle I had ever faced. The items he took were significant, yes, but his understanding of my lineage, my connection to the Draconid people… that was a threat on an entirely different level.
The meteor was coming, Rayquaza would awaken, and I was no longer sure if I was the one in control of the prophecy, or merely a pawn in a much larger, far more complex game orchestrated by a trainer who seemed to see right through my every mask. The fear, cold and sharp, began to take root.
How much, indeed, did this outsider truly know?
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A/N: Reach the goal of 100 PS to get a Bonus Chapter!