Pyro blinked, "That was their name? The guy in the dress was all screamy and no fun."
Almost as if reality turned into a television sitcom, the world went all wavy as the boy flashed back to many years ago...
A tall man with red, slicked-back, hair cut to the base of his neck loomed over the young trainers and laughed maniacally as if fate plucked him from an old movie serial. Volcanic ash gently snowed from the dull gray sky as he raised one hand to the heavens while other hand gripped the switch to activate the complex machinery at the crater’s edge.
"The power contained in the Meteorite... By amplifying its power with this machine, Mt. Chimney's volcanic activity will instantly intensify,” he gloated, “Fufufu... the volcano will erupt, spewing lava that will cool and harden. It will expand the landmass...”
Young Quickie paused to absorb the fanatics monologue and gave Young PB a quizzical look, “Nothing about his plan even remotely makes sense. That meteorite. It’s only a rock, and how would it intensify volcanic activity? And wouldn’t an eruption of that magnitude kill all the human and Pokemon on the island anyway?”
“All the more reason to stop him!” Young PB boisterously replied and reached for the Pokeballs on his belt, “GO COMMANDER BUZZ! LET’S DAZZLE HIM WITH OUR SUPERIOR BATTLING SKILLS!”
He threw the Pokeball in the steep arc in front of him and it opened to release his Electabuzz. The Electric Pokemon smashed its fists together to release a discharge that scorched the ground before the Team Magma leader’s feet. Maxie let go of the switch and glared back at the audacious young trainer.
“Presumptuous young whelp!” He snarled and tossed three Pokeballs that released a Mightyena, Golbat, and Camerupt, “I will teach you a lesson in humility!”
“HA, HA!” Young PB placed his hand on his hips and chuckled some more at Maxie’s threat, “Three against one? That hardly seems fair. For you, I mean.”
“Eliminate the interloper!” Maxie shouted to his Pokemon who were all too willing to oblige him by rushing Commander Buzz at the same type. Lightning crackled around the Electabuzz’s forearm as he prepared for battle. Young Quickie was about her have her Pokemon join the melee when she heard a roar coming from the clouds above.
A beam of sunshine sliced through ashen cloak and in it she could she a shadow emerge from it. A slender serpentine form sailed through the jet streams and more details like fins became visible as it drew closer and it stared back with a pair of burning yellow eyes. It was the legendary Rayquaza, but was more surprising than his entrance was the boy mounted on his back. He had to be no older than ten with fire engine red hair with a black streak through his bangs; his black t-shirt bore the likeness of the Heat Badge from Lavaridge Gym.
The boy smiled as he sang.
“Make believe I’m everywhere
Hidden in the lines
Written in the pages
Is the answer to a never-ending story…”
Maxie’s face went pale at the sight of the mythical Pokemon who casually fired Hyper Beams at the hapless Team Magma and Team Aqua grunts. Many of them abandoned the battle and fled for the Jagged Pass. Maxie clenched his fists and screamed, “Cowards!”
His glare then focused on Young PB who laughed at the havoc Rayquaza had wrought, “So much for your loyal troops! Now my companion and shall ELECTRIFY you through the power of friendship!”
“Enough!” Maxie screamed, “Mightyena! Use Bite!”
The Mightyena snarled as it lunged forth at Commander Buzz and threatened to sink its fangs into the Electabuzz’s arm. Quickie acted swiftly (as her name suggested) to throw her Pokeball and summon the Charmeleon in who used Slash to temporarily blind the Mightyena. Maxie’s Golbat then positioned itself behind the defending Pokemon and flapped its wing and let loose with a Supersonic attack that left Commander Buzz and Charmeleon in a bewildered state. The Magma leader smirked.
“Camerupt! Magnitude!”
“Cam!” The Camerupt reared on its hind legs before bringing its front hooves on the ground to unleash a tremor that hit seven. Both Commander Buzz and Charmeleon reeled back from the attack but proved more tenacious than Maxie expected.
“Use Thunderbolt on that Golbat,” Young PB barked to Commander Buzz who had just shook off the effects of Golbat’s Supersonic. Commander Buzz raised his arms and fired a lightning bolt at the Golbat, which fainted it in one hit, but left him open to Mightyena’s Bite.
Commander Buzz protected himself with his forearm and winched in pain as the Mightyena’s teeth sank deeper into his skin. A grave mistake as the Electabuzz’s ability, Static, kicked in and sent an electric surge through the Mightyena’s nervous system to make its muscles seize and stiffed.
“HA, HA!” Young PB bellowed, “You forgot my Pokemon’s ability! The battle is mine! Commander Buzz, hit him with Brick Break.”
While Mightyena quivered as Commander Buzz struck him twice at its crucial pressure points with his free hands and brought down his hand with a perfectly aimed karate chop. The fighting type move immediately fell Mightyena, and forced Maxie to withdraw it and Golbat. That left only Camerupt, who still held the type advantage over his electric-types, not that it dissuaded the exceedingly confident trainer.
Young PB smiled at Quickie, “Need some help with this one?”
Quickie grinned back and him and unclipped another Pokeball from the shoulder strap of her bag after she withdrew Charmeleon from the fight. His confidence must have rubbed off on her as she replied, “I got this one. Go! Marril!”
The plump little water mouse materialized in front of the much larger Camerupt who snorted out two wisps of smoke in disdain. Marril flapped its armed and wiggled its tale in anticipation. Down to his last Pokemon and jarred at the arrival of a water-type, he frantically thrust his arm forward at Marril.
“Flatten that insignificant rodent with Tackle,” he ordered and the Camerupt obeyed by charging at the Aqua Mouse.
Quickie waved a finger at him, “Marril finish him with Water Gun!”
“Marril!” Marril then took in a huge breath and fired a massive jet of water to hose down Camerupt. The force sent which sent the Camerupt flying back to Maxie’s feet soaking wet and out colder than the icy depths of Shoal Cave.
“Very nice, quick one,” Young PB said proudly, “You have done well under my tutelage!”
Maxie screamed and nearly yanked out his thinning hair, “Bested by children? I cannot accept this! TEAM MAGMA DEFEND YOUR LEADER!”
“You heard the man!” Tabitha, his second-in-command, gestured to the handful remaining grunts and then charged at Young PB and Quickie, “Let’s flatten these brats!”
Meanwhile, Rayquaza observed the fleeing grunts below to see that both Maxie’s Administrators and the grunts converge upon the trainers. Sensing their ill intentions, he let out a roar and his passenger seemed to understand what he was trying to say. The boy looked down and nodded.
“Yeah, that looks like some bad mojo,” he said and proceeded to stand up on the great dragon’s back, “Thanks for the ride, Ray. See you at Sky Pillar!”
He then leaped from Rayquaza’s back and plummeted towards the rapidly approaching ground. The boy showed no fear and was actually laughing as he maneuvered towards Tabitha and landed on him. He bounced off the poor admin’s back and pulled out two Pokeballs to toss in the air and he effortlessly executed a back flip in midair. “Go Firebrawl! Go Mr. Spook!” Two Pokemon emerged from them: one a Combusken and the other a Haunter that cackled malevolently when he saw Maxie. The boy landed behind Young PB and Quickie and pulled two more Pokeballs from his belt.
“I just love dropping in on parties,” he said with a beaming smile, “Who brought the chips?”
“More children?” Maxie said, each syllable laced with disbelief and revulsion, “And this one is even younger! Eliminate them all!”
“So no one brought the chips?” The boy asked and then shook his head at the Team Magma leader, “You’re not a very good host.”
An exasperated Maxie scream out again and pulled out two clumps of hair from his sides but Quickie could not help but snort at the kid’s remark. She turned her head only enough to see him in the far corner of her vision.
“So who might you be?” she asked him.
“I’m Pyro,” he replied, “Well I think so anyway. That’s what everyone calls me before they run away. So is this a party or what?”
“Then we need a few more guests to really ENERGIZE this bash! GO SOUL SHOCKER! DAZZLE them with your abilities!” Young PB reached for another Pokeball and laughed as he threw it into the air and out popped a Magnemite. The grunts also called out their standard issue Pokemon, which numbered in almost two dozen. The trio found themselves surrounded by an army of Zubats, Poocheynas, and Numels. Tabitha slowly rose back to his feet and rubbed his fingers along his sore back. His eyes focused on Pyro with an intense glare.
“The runt is mine,” he growled and called out his out Pokemon, “Go! MIGHTYENA! NUMEL! CAMERUPT!”
Pyro’s ears perked at the mention of the word “runt” and elatedly hopped around before he abruptly appeared on Tabitha’s shoulders. “Ooh, I love Runts!” he said, “Can I have some?”
“Gah!” Tabitha nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt the young trainer sitting on his shoulders. He reached back to grab Pyro by the shoulder and threw him off, “You obnoxious little snot! The only thing I’ll give you is a beating! NUMEL! CAMERUPT! TAKE DOWN!”
Pyro rolled to a stop at Young PB and Quickie’s heels but seemed as buoyant as ever as he quickly jumped to his feet and spun around on his heel, “Time to pump yourself up and kick this shindig up a notch, Firebrawl!”
The Combusken nodded in acknowledgement and first used Bulk Up to raise his defenses to weather both Take Down attack, and then retaliated with a series of Double Kicks that knocked out the Numel. Firebrawl then turned around to hammer the Camerupt with a Sky Uppercut. Meanwhile, Tabitha’s Mightyena attempted to use its Intimidate on Mr. Spook but the Haunter appeared to take it as a challenge and responded by warping itself into a monstrously misshapen form. Several more eyes appeared across the Haunter’s body and its tongue, once round and harmless looking, turned forked as it wormed its way towards Tabitha’s Mightyena, dripped with green slime. Tabitha’s Mightyena lost its resolve and returned to its Pokeball with a whimper.
“Hauuuuuunter,” Mr. Spook laughed as he snapped back to his normal appearance.
Even Quickie found herself unnerved by the ghost Pokemon’s monstrous form and nearly recoiled in PB who adjusted his sunglasses. Something the young trainer seemed a bit off to her. Pyro seemed to be in his own world while remaining completely oblivious to the severity of the situation but what surprised her more what the fact that he was getting the better of Tabitha and the Team Magma grunts. She could see how he pushed them to the limits of their sanity by that wild fury in their eyes. All the while Pyro spun on his heel and danced with his Haunter spiraling around him, which only served to aggravate Team Magma even more.
“Coward!” Tabitha snarled at the quivering Pokeball and tightened his grip on it. His furious stare turned towards the grunts and he roared, “Rush the runt and his friends!”
“He’s quite an— eccentric trainer,” Young Quickie awkwardly remarked, “Isn’t he?”
“HA!” Young PB boisterously chortle though his tone was one of amusement, “But he has a spark that drives him and his Pokemon to do the impossible! Come Quickie! Let’s mop these thugs up and save all of HOENN!”
A poised smirk made its up Young Quickie’s lips as she reached for two more Pokeballs on her belt, “I thought you would never ask.”
Young PB pointed back at the horde, “Commander Buzz! Soul Shocker! Thunderbolt!”
An Umbreon and A Scizor popped out from the Pokeballs and she extended her finger, “Umbreon, Faint Attack! Scizor, Fury Cutter!”
What happened next was almost a complete blur to young PB and Quickie. Soul Shocker and Commander Buzz fired off lightning bolts from their magnets and antennae at the incoming Zubat formation. Their barrage hit the first few Zubats, who crashed into the ground, but the rest broke formation and scattered so the next barrage missed and scorched the rock formation behind them. Meanwhile, Quickie’s Umbreon faded from view to reappear behind a nearby Numel and strike it hard. Her Scizor appeared to relish the battle a little too much as he struck the Poochyena horde hard. Every strike increasing in strength until each swipe from its claws sent flying by the dozen. Even Firebrawl and Mr. Spook rejoined the fray; whenever a thunderbolt missed, Mr. Spook dispatched with a Shadow Ball and Firebrawl kept kicking furiously. Within the span of three minutes, the sextet left their vanquished foes scattered across the landscape.
Maxie, Tabitha, and the grunts stood a gape at the three young trainers who defeated them. Pyro jumped around the battlefield and hollered in excitement rather than victory. He appeared before Maxie and moonwalked past him as the Team Magma bossed ground his teeth like a millstone while his eyes turned bloodshot and his skin a hue of deep sanguine.
“Oh yeah! After party at my place!” Pyro shouted. His attention abruptly switched to the machine when he eyed the meteorite and pried it loose, “Ooh! Shiny! I want!”
Maxie finally erupted in a fit of rage that dwarfed anything Mt. Chimney could muster, “YOU BRATS RUINED MY FLAWLESS PLAN!”
Young Quickie snickered, “It can’t be that flawless if two teenagers and a kid could dismantle it.”
Maxie glared at her, “No matter! We will awaken Groudon once more and continue our dream of expanding the world’s landmass.”
He then pulled a flash bomb from inside his coat pocket and threw it on the ground. The incredibly bright light momentarily blinded the trio and their Pokemon and when it subsided, Team Magma had vanished! Pyro looked around and could not hide the disappointment on his quivering lip.
“But you didn’t get your goodie bags!” he called out.
Young Quickie and PB walked up to the boy who pouted. His expression switched from disappointment to cheeriness at breakneck speed when he saw them; it was almost as if he had completely forgotten about Team Magma. He looked up at the pair, tilted his head, and blinked.
Caught off-guard my his sudden change in emotion young Quickie hesitated for a moment before she spoke, “Um, thanks for the assist—it’s Pyro, right?”
The boy vigorous nodded and pulled out a platypus from his backpack and held it out to her and asked, “Would you like to pet my platypus?”
Young Quickie paused and then stroked the writhing monotreme’s fur. The platypus chirred happily and closed it eyes as she worked her way up to its sweet spot. PB, on the other hand, loomed large over Pyro with Commander Buzz standing by his side and Soul Shocker hovering over his shoulder.
“YOUR SPARK COMPLIMENTS OUR DAZZLING BATTLE STYLE!” he boomed with his hands placed over his hips, “WE CAN USE ANOTHER COMPANION IN OUR PARTY! WILL YOU JOIN US?”
Pyro blinked again, “Will there be cake?”
“I CAN PROMISE YOU MORE THAN CAKE,” Young PB pointed in the direction of Evergrande City, “I PROMISE YOU AN ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME.”
Pyro smiled back and walked with the pair towards the Jagged Pass. After a minute he asked, “What does adventure taste like?”
"We should we get some music for the party. I know a guy who can do polka!" Pyro said after his flashback ended, "And adventure tasted like Rawst Berries!"
