"What the heck was that?!"

I race back into the Shopping District to notify Tess and Jake, almost forgetting Zinx existed. Fortunately, the boy caught up to me just as I exited the Battle District.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know, but that airship might have something to do with it," I answer him and continue running to the Pokeball Emporium, just as Tess and Gerald come out. Tess spots me and sighs in relief.

"Oh thank the heavens, Nadia! Something terrible happened. And it's all my fault too..." Tess looked down guiltily. I pat her back.

"First thing's first, nothing is anyone's fault. If something happened, then it was completely out of your control. Secondly, tell me exactly what happened."

Before Tess could answer, I hear Gerald mumble, "That boy is going to get himself into trouble..." That's when I realize that one person was missing.

"Wait. Where's Jake?"

"He...ran off. Team Eclipse returned to Anthian City, and he ran off to face them alone! I couldn't stop him! He wanted to save your parents and protect us...I should've gone with him."

Tess couldn't help but sniffle a bit. I could tell she's holding back tears.

"Alright." I tap Tess's shoulder. She looks up at me. "Try breathing in slowly, then exhale slowly."

Tess takes a few deep breaths and Gerald takes over, explaining things while rubbing Tess's back. "What Tess is saying is true, Team Eclipse has returned to the city. They must be after the Prison Bottle again. That boy is a fool for going after them, he could get captured for all we know."

"What else?"

"Team Eclipse docked in the park, and I spotted a few members heading to the Housing District. Your friend Jake decided to go after them as soon as he heard they were there. There's not much you can do for him. Hopefully, they don't see him as a threat and let him go." Gerald sighed. Tess suddenly looked up, more panicked than before.

"What if he does get captured though?" Tess blurted out. "Jake is my friend, and if I were in trouble, I know he'd want to help me just as much. Maybe I'm still not strong enough to take on the organization, but Nadia and Zinx are strong enough to! After all, they just got the gym badge, didn't they?"

She points to us. We both nod, and I speak up.

"Tess is right. We gotta go after Jake. He's just as much of a friend and companion as he is to Tess. I say we try to get him out of danger before he becomes the center of it."

Tess nods and looks at Gerald, determined. "Please, Gerald. As long as we have them on our side, nobody will be able to stop us."

Gerald sighs heavily this time, rubbing his temple. "I guess you retain some of your father's attributes, huh, Tess? There's really no stopping you, I can see it in your eyes. You won't take a no for an answer, so...huh. If Nadia and Zinx are going to accompany you, then go right ahead." He produces a key and hands it to me. "Use this to get to the Park District safely. This key is one to the basement below the shop, which connects to the Park. Since goons are blocking the Park's entrance above ground, I think you should take the Anthian Sewers down instead of having to fight nine people at once."

"Thanks." I pocket the key.

"Yeah, thank you, Gerald!" Tess brightened immediately. "Don't worry about us. I promise we'll return safely."

Gerald nods. "If you need anything, I'm in the shop. I need to call some friends to see if they're okay."

He's about to enter the shop before pausing and saying one last "Good luck" before disappearing into the store. Tess turns to us.

"Alright! Let's go find those sewers!"

We scour the exterior of the shop for a few minutes before I spotted the door to the basement and motion for Tess and Zinx to follow.

"By the way, if we run into a battle, I'll heal your Pokemon up again right after." Tess offered. "You can still run some last-minute errands if you need to. Hurry though, we need to go find Jake."

"Got it," I nod and race to the Pokemon Center and back. Zinx and Tess already went inside, so I entered right behind them.

The basement was small, and Tess and Zinx were waiting by a doorway. Tess comments about the sewer's smell, and the three of us head through the sewers. Due to the battles, each of my Pokemon got a chance to fight and by the time we reached the end, everyone's Pokemon got stronger.

We entered a narrow corridor and Tess exclaims that she can hear the wind. At the end of the corridor was a single red door. Tess immediately goes through it, motioning for us to follow.

Once outside, we breathed heavily, savoring the taste of fresh air before Tess rounds a corner and finds Jake. We immediately follow and find Jake surrounded by Team Eclipse grunts.

"Well, well, well." A familiar-looking hat guy sneers. "What do we have here? It's the friend of that meddling kid."

"Yeah, where's your little friend now?" Harry joins in, purposely getting in Jake's face menacingly. "You made a big mistake, thinking you can challenge us."

Jake looked pensive but became relieved when he saw us coming up behind them. "Tess, Nadia, Zinx! You guys really came!"

"Jake! Yeah, we're here! Everything's fine now!" Tess exclaims. Harry and hat guy turn around, smirking when they see us.

"Wouldja look at that, the brat actually came," Hat guy remarks. "You're really persistent, you know that?"

"Do ya miss your mommy and daddy, kid?" Harry adds, putting on a really exaggerated baby voice at the mention of my parents. "We've been taking really good care of them. We keep them cozily locked away at-"

I became aggravated and, on impulse, kicked him where the sun definitely does not shine. That was the best moment I had, I swear. Harry doubles over, groaning in pain, and hat guy facepalms.

"She really did not need to know that, imbecile. Look where that put you."

"I won't hesitate on you either, bi-"

Tess shut my mouth with her hand before I can get the swear word out. Jake chuckled slightly at Harry's pain before someone kicked him in the shin.

"Sorry, guys." He spoke, alerting all of us. "I just wanted to help, and uh...I got caught. I just wanted to protect everyone, but I couldn't. I'm not as strong as I thought, I guess."

He frowned, and I pulled Tess's hand away from my mouth to speak. "Jake, just because you got captured by the evil team doesn't mean you're weak. You did all you can, right? That's what matters."

Jake smiles slightly at the statement, and Tess nods in agreement. However, the hat guy ruins the moment. Of hecking course.

"Zip it, kid. You do what we say now." He sneers, pushing Jake harshly to the point where he stumbles a little. "You don't challenge Team Eclipse without facing serious consequences."

Harry recovers from the pain of getting kicked in the testicles and looks at his brother. "Gabe, what do you think we should do with this kid?"

"We'll discuss that later." Hat guy-I mean Gabe-shushes him and starts speaking again, this time at us. "We'll be taking your friend hostage now. Say goodbye now, or never."

"You can't do that!" Tess protested. "He's our friend, we're not just going to hand him over!"

I could see Jake looking astonished at Tess's determination to get him back.

Oh my god, he's smitten.

Harry scoffs. "You say it like he has a choice. As soon as we're done here, we'll be sailing off with another loved one of yours, brat. How fun is that?"

I can feel myself getting aggravated again. "You call that fun, huh?"

"We did tell you not to meddle with us, but you didn't listen-"

I can't believe I spared his children. I did sock him in the stomach, though. Harry doubles over in pain and Gabe facepalms again.

"Well, we will be leaving soon anyway," He faced us, smiling wickedly. "Our team members have acquired what we wanted from this city. We're waiting on Tyler to finish his part of the mission."

Tess wondered who Tyler was and I wondered what mission this was.

"He should...he should be back...s-soon," Harry managed through his pain. "The boss...doesn't like w-waiting after all..."

"That's true."

The door to the airship suddenly opens, and Gabe says, "Speaking of, here comes the boss right now."

A familiar man clad in a black suit, pants, and glasses walked down the ramp onto the ground.

"Whoa. No freakin' way." My eyes widened when I realized who it was.

"Professor Cypress? What are you doing here?" Jake asked as if he didn't just hear Gabe call him the boss.

Cypress ignored Jake and walked towards us, the group parting to let him pass.

He greeted me as if I was an old friend of his. "Hello Nadia, it's been a while," he starts. "I believe I saw you last at the Rosecove Gym."

"What..." Jake suddenly realized. "You can't be telling me that you're..."

"Haha, I guess I should explain." Cypress chuckles, but it was cold. Deceiving, even. "Yes, I am the Pokemon Professor of Roria. However..."

He threw off his suit, revealing the red-and-black abomination that the organization wears. "I'm also the Team Eclipse Boss. Quite a plot twist, don't you think?"

I completely ignore that question and instead remark his choice of clothing. "Dude, black looks way better on you compared to this abomination."

Zinx snorts in the background, and Cypress shoots him a subtle glare.

"Alright, but why?" Jake demanded. "What happened that made you this way?"

Cypress looks at Jake from behind his shoulder. "Well, let me tell you a story, then. You see, long ago, when I first started as a Pokemon Professor, I wanted to help Pokemon. Growing up, I had no friends. My only companions were Pokemon. I loved my Pokemon dearly and wanted the best for every species."

"But that doesn't explain-"

"But when I delved into my research in the relationships between humans and Pokemon, I realized I was naive. Humans do not share the same love and respect for their Pokemon as their companions do, unlike what I expected. There have been Pokemon who are mistreated by their trainers and are used as mere tools. The fact that some force their Pokemon to pointlessly battle over trivial things such as the strongest trainer is a prime example."

Ah, there it is.

"I cannot stand idly by and watch this unfold. Not any longer. Pokemon should only battle to secure their freedom. But then again..."

Oh geez. This geezer wants to destroy the world.

"Why initiate war when there's a simpler way to solve things?" He lifted his arms. "What if I just take Pokemon to a different place? Where they'll be safe? Wouldn't that be amazing? What if I send to somewhere better, where mankind is constructed on the basis that Pokemon should be free from humans? You know, it's not that far now as I can see. I'm close to the world I desire, where people and Pokemon live freely and independently."

Oh wait, this whole thing explains the Linda situation. Not the revelation I wanted to make at the moment, but this dude's monologuing is making me bored.

"When you got your first Pokemon that day, your parents revealed that they found something. It was a part of a legend that told of an ancient Pokemon named Hoopa. They didn't specify what they found, but I was told it had the power to unlock Hoopa's hidden potential. I asked for more information, but they refused. As a result, I had my admins take them for further questioning. With their admittedly reluctant help, we grow ever closer to our goals. We have almost discovered Hoopa's location.

"Hoopa has the power to open portals to new worlds across time and space. We need that power to reach our ultimate destination. We will not be stopped, and those who resist will be left to the destruction of this world." Cypress smiled. "That is my goal."

Just then, a second hat guy appears. "The explosives are in place, sir. We are ready to go."

Explosives?

Cypress nods. "Very well. Let's head out."

Before Cypress could leave, Tess asked what he meant by explosives. Cypress turned again and chuckled.

"Ah, yes. We prepared a little...present...if you will. We were less than welcome the last time we were here, so we decided to repay their generosity with this: we'll explode the power core, which keeps this city afloat. Once we leave, the bombs will detonate, obliterating the core, and sending the city towards the ground."

Tess looked completely shocked. I don't blame her, Cypress is heartless.

"How can you do that? You know how much destruction that would cause? You're a Professor of Pokemon, not a terrorist!" Tess shouted.

"It can't be helped if this world will be destroyed soon anyway." He smirked. "We can't afford to be stopped this time."

"How do you even justify that?!" Jake yelled, but the admins restrained him with a gag so all that came out were muffled yells.

"It's not justice, it's revenge. There's a glaring difference. Pokemon have been subjected to terrible offense for far too long." He turns to the second hat guy, who turned out to be Tyler. "Get everyone on board and ready to go." Tyler nods and ushers everyone towards the airship.

"Ciao!" He says in Italian, then turns towards the airship, ready to leave.

...

...

...

"WAIT A MINUTE!"

Tess yells at the top of her lungs, startling us and Cypress.

"We're still not letting you go that easily! Not without a fight!" She looks at me and Zinx. "You two are the only ones I know strong enough to fight him. Please, they're going to leave with Jake if we don't."

Zinx looked a tad reluctant, but I nodded violently. Cypress looked incredulous.

"You're thinking of forcing me into a Pokemon battle. You have got to be kidding. You heard me earlier, I don't think putting Pokemon against Pokemon is right."

I decided it was a good idea to provoke him. "Unless you're saying you're a coward, you'd fight us. And we'd like to fight."

Cypress rolled his eyes. "You know what? I'll take you on. I may be opposed to Pokemon battles, but that doesn't mean I won't be prepared for one."

He held out two Pokeballs. "What say you and I have a double battle?"

"Oh, yeah, sure, let's do that."