Open The Elites

Blue's X-Transceiver began to vibrate in his pocket. "Urgh," he murmured. "Not now." "What was that?" his partner hollered from across the field. "Shut it, kid," Blue snapped at his sister. He had been training her for her journey that would begin soon-- but was now interrupting.
The screen of the X-Transceiver said the caller's name: "Cynthia is calling!" Blue cursed under his breath. "The hell is it this time... Hold on, sis!" He flipped open the device and came face-to-face with a digital Cynthia. "There is something I need to speak to you all about. Please hurry over to the-," she said like a machine, but Blue harshly cut her off. "Save your breath, I know the drill," he spat. And he closed his X-Transceiver.
"Hey sis, I gotta call off the battle," Blue announced. Daisy gave an absolutely grievous look. "Why, Blue?" She was at least fourteen now, but had been too scared to begin her journey. In fact, the adventure might not be her kind of thing. But Blue didn't tell her that-- it would break her fragile heart.
"Erm," he stammered, not quite sure why he was nervous about it. "I gotta go do important Champion things." "But you're not a Champion anymore!" his younger sibling exclaimed. Blue furrowed his eyebrows. "At my own expense. I'm still technically considered a Champion," he exclaimed. "That's dumb!" she expressed. "Can't you just be, like... a Cool Trainer or something?" An Elite, Blue thought. No, I couldn't be... those guys outrank me.
"No," Blue replied with a forced smile. "I gotta go, okay? I'll see you. Aerodactly, take me to Lily of the Valley Island!"

=========================

Blue came bursting through the doors, panting. "Hey," he managed. All of the other Champions were there, staring at him like he was purple. He caught his breath and sat down. "What'd I miss?"
Cynthia shot him a dirty look. "We were just discussing the strange happenings lately," she explained, a certain anger in her voice. "Strange happenings?" Blue said. "I haven't noticed anything strange." Cynthia shrugged. "Most people haven't. But coincidentally, a large number of people were attacked last night. All they can remember is red eyes." Blue frowned. "Damn this imperfect world," he said. "Nothing is ever good." Cynthia grinned. "Well, it makes good RPs As a Champion, I was informed of these things. I fear this is the beginning of another catastrophe." Iris grinned. "That means we call in the Elites."
Blue flipped out his X-Transceiver. "Time for me to resume my old job." Everyone flipped out their own X-Transceivers as well, even Alder. "Oh."
And all of the Elites were called.

Epifanio's plane hadn't even landed in Unova when his PokéGear started ringing. He expected it to be his mom, worried as usual, but he was surprised as it read 'Cynthia'. What could it be? he wondered. "Switch to X-Transreceiver mode?" said a mechanical voice. "Yes, Pika" he told the machine. He just loved the PokéGear his grandparents got him; it was able to simulate the X-Transreceiver. Cynthia's likeness appeared on the screen. "Please report to Lily of the Valley Island" she said. He closed the phone. This is what he loved about being an Elite. Champions needed and personally contacted you. That must be every Trainer's dream! He then tapped on the pilot's arm. "Excuse me, sir, but could you take me to Lily of the Valley Island? It's urgent." he asked. "Sure, but you'll need to pay extra" the pilot answered. "Deal" said Epifanio as the pilot veered off course.

*******

After a while, the plane landed on the island. Epi paid the extra fare to the pilot and entered the big building he saw. When he entered, he saw every single Champion talking to each other. "So, what seems to be the problem?" he asked in a casual tone.

"Woops, sorry!" said Freya, whom was battling alongside her sister at the Saffron City Gym. A Channeler had challenged them both, but her Gastly was beaten by Freya's Reuniclus. "Better luck next time! You can challenge us whenever you feel like when you bond with your Pokemon more." said Sabrina. The Channeler bowed, and left the gym through the warp panel puzzle.
"Break time!" said Freya.
"Okay, I suppose," said Sabrina. "Where to?"
"The cafe again?"
"Sure, why not." The sisters left the gym and approached the doors. Suddenly, Freya's X-transeiver and Sabrina's PokeGear were ringing.
"Hello?" answered Freya.
"Freya?" said a familiar voice through the static.
"Blue? Is that you?" she asked.
"Thank goodness, said Blue. Listen, we need to meet up, pronto.
"What now?" asked Freya.
"No time to explain now. Sabrina should be talking with Cynthia now. I think we are sending Cynthia to pick you guys up." And with that, Blue hung up.
"Whatever is going on, it's not good." said Freya.
"We might as well wait for Cynthia." said Sabrina as she waited at their table, waiting for either their food or the Sinnoh champion to show up.

Alder hunched over Mohac. "This is not good," he murmured. "Not good at all. I've seen these likes before, years and years ago." He grimaced at a very anxious looking Nurse Joy who stood at the door, fidgeting incessantly. "It appears he's been attacked by a Modified Pokèmon," Alder decided. "A Modified Pokèmon!?" Nurse Joy exclaimed, a look of sheer horror on her face. "Wait-- what is that?" Alder smiled. "A Modified Pokèmon is a Pokèmon that has been genetically mutated to make it more intelligent. The last known successful Modified Pokèmon was Genesect, and Mewtwo before that. But back before all these fancy villainous teams, Modified Pokèmon were actually quite common. It was a lot like doping your Pokèmon; it was frowned upon, but not uncommon.
"Anyway, it was ruled illegal by the Champion League before I became a part of it. The Pokèmon we know today-- slightly naive, yet powerful all the same- came then. Previous to this, all Pokèmon were incredibly intelligent. It is a common belief that Modification was banned to prevent Pokèmon overthrowing us humans.
"Anyway, it seems they're at it again, but this time, it seems like rather than making Pokèmon intelligent, they've been transformed into vicious blood-suckers."
Nurse Joy smiled weakly. "Uh... yeah," she said. Alder grinned. "You're adorable." He hefted Mohac over his shoulder then, but the unconscious man barely noticed. He only wheezed a little.
"Well, I'm off," Alder announced. "Maybe I'll see you around." With a forced chuckle, he took off on his Volcarona.

Sabrina and Freya waited around, looking for Cynthia. It had been a half hour already and she was nowhere to be seen.
"I'm going to call her," said Sabrina. "Might learn something." She dialed her number in her PokeGear. No answer.
"Then I'll call Mohac." She dialed the number. No answer.
"Alder?!" she said, getting frustrated that no one was responding. She dialed the number. ring, ring....
"Hello?" said a voice. It was Alder.
"Alder! What the heck is going on around here?" shouted Sabrina, soon smiling at the waitress that brought her and Freya's food.

"Well, I don't know how to put this. Sabrina can probably explain it to you, she's likely familliar with the concept. Mohac has been attacked by a Modified Pokèmon. An evilly Modified one. On top of the fact that it happened at all, we must take into account that it's happening worldwide and that they're not merely Modified-- they're evilly Modified. We need to find the source and stop it there. Spread the word, I suppose we don't need a whole meeting for it. Meet somewhere you can all reach-- Hearthome City, perhaps. Bye." And Alder hung up.

Jayden knocked on the door. He didn't think she would be here, but he wasn't sure where else she would be. Sophia and Charlie both had strongly cautioned him against visting Danielle. But she was his only lead. To his suprise, she answered the door.
"Who do you think you are, coming over here?" Danielle asked.
"I'm sorry." Jayden said. He then explained why he was here.
"So you think I did it?" Danielle asked.
"No...I just know that you and Micheala Sol used to be very good friends." He explained.
"So you want my help? You want meI] to help you?" She asked.
"...I understand why you hate me so much. I don't know what I would do if I lost Dragonfly..." He said.
"Well, I'm glad that I'll be able to use my talents for good. I'll help you, but not for you. For her. And for me." She explained. At that moment his PokeNav rang. He saw the message was from Cynthia.
"I have to leave. And I don't think you should come with me." Jayden explained.
"Oh, believe me, I'll be there. It's just that no one will see me." She explained. Jayden sent out Dragonfly and flew away towards Hearthrome City.

Alder hung up. "Oh come on," said Sabrina. "Thanks Alder, you'd be the winner on every episode of Vague."
"What's the problem?" asked Freya.
"Apparently, Mohac was attacked by a Modified Pokemon. Something similar to Genesect or Mewtwo."
Freya had a shocked expression. The last time she saw Mohac was when they faced Cyrus and stopped Dialga, Palkia, Giratina and freed Arceus. She rubbed her cheek, now scarred from when Mohac had punched her. She put some gauze on, wrapping around her face and head.
"Anything else?" asked Freya.
"Alder said we should meet up at Hearthome," said Sabrina. She swallowed the last of her sandwich. "So let's go." They both walked out the door. Freya pulled out her Poke Ball containing her Dodrio.
"Bobby, fly us to Hearthome. It's a long way and an emergency, so fly a bit faster, okay?" The bird nodded. Within an hour, they reached Hearthome City. Bobby was put back in the Poke Ball and the sisters started roaming the streets, looking for signs of Alder and/or Mohac.

Mohac saw Freya walk by, and winced. He had found her so approachable before-- he could not lie, he liked her in those days-- but after what happened, he could not speak to her. The guilt ate at him, and had silenced him, just as a previous experience had before. It usually took an experience of equal influence to unmute him, and it would be even more difficult this time. Being tackled by a magma spider just wouldn't cut it now.
But he longed to talk to her! To apologize, truly, for he had not done it before! But he could not, out of fear that he would be rejected. It had happened to him quite often before. He had no family or friends, probably for this reason. He was a dangerous nuisance whose cons outweighed his pros.
But he had to speak to her eventually! Like it or not, they were undergoing a possibly catastrophe. And, on top of that, a very select few people knew the catastrophe existed. It was up to them to be missionaries of the burden, a necessary precaution. He could not put his own selfish desires above the survival of innocent people.
"I'm sorry," he said to himself. "I am really, truly sorry." He approached Freya and said the words again, to her this time.

Freya noticed that Mohac was approaching her. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't decide whether or not to forgive him for hurting her. Freya heard him say "I'm sorry" to her. She smiled and gave him a hug. "It's alright, I'm okay." She pulled away. "We obviously have a crisis at hand, so we'll let you and Alder explain everything, alright?" she said.

Epifanio called Alder, who told him they'd meet up in Hearthome. He then sighed, took out Turtok and surfed his way over there. When he arrived at the city, he called Freya. "Freya? Where are you guys? I've been searching all over!" he said.

"Epifanio, is that you?" asked Freya. She got a call from him on her xtranseiver. "We're by the Poffin House, get over here!"

He had apologized. And Freya had gone beyond accepting it-- she even gave him a hug? So why did the world still seem grey?
He knew the answer. It was not Freya's forgiveness that mattered-- she was a forgiving person, and for that he was lucky. Still, that was expected. He had made it clear that it was purely out of instinct, or at least he told himself that. But he could never forgive himself for that, that he shed the blood of an innocent woman...
Mohac shook himself. He could not cling to things, that would get him nowhere fast. He waited for Epi to arrive, trying not to look at Freya all the while.

Epifanio burst into the Poffin House, with the air smelling delicious as ever. "So, what's the deal, guys? Who attacked you, Mohac?" he asked, waiting to get up to speed.

Jayden entered the Poffin House, followed by Sophia and Charlie.
"Hey...Uh, what happened?" he asked. He then realized he hadn't introduced Sophia and Charlie.
"This is Sophia Robinson and Charlie Sol. They're going to be with me for a while." Jayden explained.

Mohac shook their hands and looked them in the eyes. They looked shaken, and he could only imagine the horrors they had witnessed. He shuddered a little and tried to put it out of his mind.
Then he looked to Jayden and smiled, wrapping him in a friendly hug. Yet he said nothing... he was to ashamed. Anything he could say might be offensive, and he knew it...
Beaming and feeling cheerful, they had a good reunion as the smell of Poffins wafted about.

Suddenly Jayden's PokeNav rang. He knew exactly who it was. He stepped outside to take the call.
"I've found a lead." said Danielle.
"How did you find something that quickly?" Jayden explained.
"I have my methods. I looked around some. It turns out that not all of them are missing." Danielle explained.
"What are you saying?" Jayden replied.
"Alexis and Micheala are both on their journeys. No one has been able to contact them, not even Charlie, so they were presumed missing like their parents and their little sister. But they could simply be in a dead zone, or their X-tranceivers could have stopped working, or something like that. They might not even know about what happened. After all, Richard, Annie, and Heather Sol were only reported missing three days ago." Danielle explained.
"I thought of that. But I still think it's highly unlikely." Jayden replied.
"The last time Alexis was seen she was near Cherrygrove City. Micheala is in Jhoto as well, but she isn't traveling with her sister. Micheala was last seen near Ekrutek, and it seems that before they disappeared the rest of the family had plans to vist relatives in Fallarbor Town." Danielle explained.
"Good to know, and thanks. But seriously, how did you find this stuff out?" Jayden asked.
"Some of my methods are borderline illegal. If you have enough money or power, people will do whatever you want them to." Danielle explained.
"...I'll just ignore that for now." Jayden said.
"By the way, I'm having Auraeolus keep up with you and what you're doing. So if you feel someone watching you or your friends...you know why." Danielle explained.
"Thanks." Jayden said. Then he hung up and went back inside.

Mohac did a quick survey. Yes, everyone was here. He needed to tell them what had happened-- that much he owed them. Yet he felt bad, and he knew he had no self control. He didn't want to black out on them again, and to hurt anyone. On the opposite side of that same coin, it was his responsibility. He was the only one that really knew what was really going on. It was not an obligation, it was necessary.
He cleared his throat to attract their attention, but quickly realized he was not ready to speak. Too late now!
"Um," he stuttered. He had not spoken for a long time. It felt good in his throat. "Obviously there's a catastrophe in the making. That much we all know. It is my job to tell you what it is, as I have an understanding of it that none of you do. Epi, you asked me who attacked me, and as much as I would like to answer that, I cannot. It was a quadruped, and it had glowing red eyes and a shadowy figure.
"Alder said something about Modification, and I picked something up from it. A good deal of it was nonsense to me, but I heard him say that it was similar to Mewtwo and Genesect. Now, that lead me to think... what do Mewtwo and Genesect have in common? And it came to me-- neither of them are natural. Mewtwo is the result of Mew's rearranged genes, and Genesect was modified by Team Plasma. I'm thinking that this means that genetically, a Pokèmon is altered, or Modified, to become a better version of itself. Stronger. Quicker. Smarter. And it seems these ones have been engineered for the worse.
"Now, obviously Modified Pokèmon are a problem. However, the main source of our issues may not be the Pokèmon themselves, but rather their creators. What will happen if they get a grasp on something like a Hydreigon? A Dialga? Even Arceus! This could be, certainly, catastrophic.
"And yet, terminating these Modified Pokèmon one at a time is not the answer. Eventually, they will become too powerful a force, and overcome even the most powerful Trainers in the world, the Elites. We must stop the issue at its source-- their creators.
"Danielle," Mohac continued. "You said Aurareolus is watching us. Be mindful and watchful. If someone were to get a hold of it and Modify it-- well, we'd have an enemy behind friendly lines. Watch out."
He took in a deep breath of air. That wasn't too tough. "Now," he said. "To plan how this is all going to go down."

"But what can we do about it?" asked Sabrina. "How are we going to stop the modification of Pokemon? We don't even know who's responsible?" Freya nodded. "Perhaps some people around here know what's going on? Or are we going to do the best we can to not involve others?"

Epi stood in silence as the others discussed the plan. "I don't think we should hide it. Sooner or later, people will know what's up. We should ask people with connections like that cool guy who gives away stuff, or Fantina. Wouldn't they know things?" he said. "Sabrina, do other Gym Leaders know what's going on?"