"Dialga and Palkia! What are they doing here?"

Palkia roared, a massive pressure fell upon us. When we opened our eyes again, the city was no longer falling.

"The city. It got stabilized." Tess noted, observing the people who got up slowly. "However, we still need to find a way to help everyone.

I looked at Dialga, who also roared. The force that came with it opened a portal right below us, causing us to fall in. Absol and Cinderace fell in too.

When we came to, everything was in gray. We were in an unfamiliar room, and nobody seems to be moving except for us.

"What happened?" Tess asked after regaining her senses.

"We're in the sewers again. Everything's in gray, and nobody's moving." I replied. Tess looked around as well.

"It looks like it. This must be Dialga's power. We're back in the sewers, and it looks like time has stopped. This might be during our confrontation with Cypress, because Zinx isn't here." Tess pointed at our surroundings. Sure enough, Zinx didn't teleport anywhere near here.

"That might actually be because he was captured as well."

"...True, but my watch says the time. It's frozen exactly as we were going out of the sewers." She shows the watch, and I nod in agreement.

"Well, anyway," I stand up. "Let's go find the power core. If it's just as you said, then that means Tyler hasn't set the explosives yet. We should be able to find him and stop him." I return Absol and Cinderace to their Pokeballs.

Tess nods. "I'm with you. The power core is opposite the route we traveled to the park. It should be near where we entered in the first place."

We took the other route to the power core, which wasn't far from here. Once we entered, everything became colored again, and Tess noted her watch was working as well.

The power core was lit up by the cylinder-shaped center, which I assumed was the core.

I decided to alert Tyler of our presence.

"ALRIGHT, GIVE THE EFF UP!"

Tyler was startled, nearly detonating the bombs right then and there. "How-"

"That doesn't matter! Stop what you're doing and leave!"

Tyler stood protectively in front of the bombs. "You're not getting rid of me that easily! I'll rip your Pokemon to shreds!"

"You want to try?" I sent out Cinderace, who was just about ready to beat Tyler up.

"Sure, you can try. Electrode!" He sent out the Electric-type, and I command Cinderace to use Pyro Ball.

"Not so fast! You won't get the chance! Electrode, Explosion!"

Electrode detonated, knocking itself out and doing massive damage on Cinderace.

Darn. I don't have any Ghost-types...

Tyler sends out two more Electrodes with the same results as I decide to rotate my team so nobody takes too much damage.

Then Tyler sends out Solrock. It does the same thing as the Electrodes, which was explode.

"Seriously?! I've fought four of your Pokemon, and all you did was Explosion! Is that the only move you know?" I shouted in disbelief.

Tyler shrugged at my response, much to my indignation.

How was he even an admin?

He sends out Lunatone, who basically does Explosion again.

His entire team just...explodes.

"Damn, I lost before I could break you." Tyler sighed.

"Gee, I wonder why. Please get better movesets."

"Don't need your input. Explosions are my life, after all. But, don't get too cocky, kid. You may have stopped the attack on the city, but we still got what we were after. The plan to destroy this world hasn't ended yet. Keep that in mind, would you?"

With that, he stalked out of the core room. Tess cheered as I disposed of the bombs. Once we were done, another portal opened up below us and we fell in again.

When we came to, we were back at the park where we confronted Cypress. The airship, Jake, and Zinx were nowhere to be seen, so they must've left already.

"Alright!" Tess suddenly yelled, startling me and Cinderace. "We're going to go save Jake, right? They've messed with the wrong person if they think they can mess with my friends!"

She suddenly had fire in her eyes, signaling her rapidly growing determination. I chuckled.

"You're right. But how do we even find him?" I questioned.

"Well, I think I know." A voice interrupted us. We turn around to see Gerald came running.

"Oh, Gerald...you found something out?" Tess asked. Gerald nodded.

"In fact, I did. You remember the item the organization wanted? I did some research, and I learned that yes, the Prison Bottle is somehow tied to the legend surrounding the Mythical Pokemon Hoopa. The legend says that that bottle contains Hoopa's true power. When opened, that energy will be unleashed."

"Yeah...Cypress said something about that." I said.

"He also said they plan to use that power to get them and Pokemon to the new world." Tess added. Gerald thought it over.

"You know, the Prison Bottle may contain Hoopa's power, but...that's only a part of it. The bottle's useless if you don't know where Hoopa is."

Now we were confused. "What do you mean?" Tess asked.

"I was fairly sure all you need is the Prison Bottle," I added. "What else do they need?"

Gerald shakes his head. "No. The bottle merely unleashes Hoopa from its bound form. Team Eclipse doesn't know that Hoopa is currently dormant, resting in a tomb somewhere beneath Crescent Island."

"Oh."

"After all, legend has it that Hoopa was at one point with great power, but lacked control and caused destruction over the region. The Creator of the Universe, Arceus, saw this destruction and immediately sealed some of Hoopa's power in the Prison Bottle. As an added measure, Arceus also sealed Hoopa in the tomb, which requires a special key to open."

"A key? What exactly is it?" I questioned.

"I'll get to that. Your parents were smart enough to only give Team Eclipse only half of the information in order to satisfy them."

"So Team Eclipse doesn't have the key? Dang, your parents are smart." Tess said to me.

I nod in agreement. Seriously, these guys are maliciously complying to their captor's orders, huh?

"In fact, I think Nadia's parents found and deliberately hid the key somewhere...right under their noses. Somewhere Team Eclipse never thought to look." Gerald finished.

Tess looked a bit bewildered. "I'm not sure what you mean...can you tell us what it looks like?" She asked. Gerald smiled.

"There are many stories surrounding the physical appearance of the key. Some say it's a large, golden key. Others believe it's metaphorical, and is actually a password, or a code of some sort. And according to Nadia's parents..." He leaned in a little, which caused us to do the same. He lowered his voice, and said, "it could even be something like a small brick."

Both Tess's and my eyes widened. "A small brick?" Tess reiterated. Gerald nodded.

"Precisely."

"Wait, but then..." Tess pointed to my necklace, which was, in fact, a small brick. "It would mean the necklace Nadia's parents made was actually the key to a powerful Pokemon's tomb?"

"Keep your voice down, but yes. Nadia's parents must've found the key and placed in your hands without your knowing, disguising it in the form of a necklace. They must've had a feeling someone would go after it. I really have to commend your parents, Nadia. They're absolute geniuses..." Gerald chuckled at the irony of it all, placing a hand over his face in a failed attempt to quell the laughter.

Seriously, my parents are smart.

After we shared a bit of laughing (at Team Eclipse's gullibility), we decided the necklace is the key to the tomb of a destructive Pokemon, since Tess pointed out that it had summoned Dialga and Palkia in a dire situation because Arceus was the one who crafted the brick in the first place.

Gerald stopped laughing. "Wait, what's this about Dialga and Palkia?"

Tess dismissed it with a wave of her hand. I chuckled a little, but honestly, without Dialga and Palkia, the city would've become similar to a meteor coming down to Earth.

"Well, in that case..." He inhaled. "Alright. You know what our next step is, right?"

I nod. "We need to find Team Eclipse, but at the same time, we need to get stronger to confront them again."

Gerald nodded. "You've proven you're strong enough and I know there isn't anyone better for that job."

"Gerald's right," Tess agreed. "Sure, we need to train a bit more, but right now, you're the only person that can stop them. You've already done that so many times."

"This is only the fourth..."

"In any case, you will need to travel to Crescent Island, as that is their base of operations. It would make sense, since that is the general area Hoopa's tomb is located. You can't fly there, though, as the winds are far too strong for any Pokemon or aircraft to resist. You'll need to travel through the mainland to get to Port Decca and get a boat there." Gerald explained. "Port Decca is east, so you'll have to go through many routes and cities before you get there. I should also say you need to go to the Peaks again and use the Sky Train to get to Route 11. Here, you'll need a pass to access the train." He handed over a card bearing the logo for the train.

"Thanks."

"By the way, I think I'll stay in Anthian City for a while. I'll find information with Gerald about Team Eclipse. I want nothing more than to help my friend in need. Jake was the best friend I've ever had, aside from you, so I want to do all I can to repay his kindness." Tess suggested.

"That's fine by me." I said, but in the back of my mind I kind of pity Jake for getting friendzoned indirectly. Tess, unaware of the affect she has on Jake, smiles, happy with her decision and my affirmation.

"That's fine by me too." Gerald added, and Tess cheered at the response.

"Nadia, when we find more info, I'll fly to your location immediately and share all that I know." Tess says.

"Okay-"

"Oh! And-" She dug around in her bag before producing a TM...no wait, that's a Hidden Machine, an HM. "This contains Fly. You should be able to use it outside of battle now that you've beaten Anthian Gym."

"That'll be useful, thanks." I put it in my bag.

"Wonderful. Tess and I will search for the details. When we find something, we will let you know immediately." Gerald says to me.

"Got it."

"Mm. Let's continue working together to ensure Roria and its people will be safe. There's no telling what catastrophic events may occur if Team Eclipse is left unchecked." Gerald says. "Well then, we should start on searching. If there's an issue, you know where I am."

"Alright, let's do this!" Tess cheered.

"Yeah!" I exclaim with just as much enthusiasm.

"Nadia, I just know we can save Jake, Zinx, and your parents together. I'll do my best to help."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll get stronger to fight that whole base, too." I hold out my hand for a handshake. Tess accepts it, and we shake on it.

"I didn't get to say this earlier because of the chaos, but I want to thank you for being a great friend." Tess grinned, and I returned that grin with one of my own.

"Thank you too for being a great friend and companion!" I reply.

"No, I thank you more!"

"Hey, don't turn this into a competition!"

Gerald chuckled. "Well, I'll leave you to finish bickering. I'll get back to the shop." He then left the park.

"Gerald, wait up!" Tess turned to give chase, but then stopped. "Oh, yeah. Nadia?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's get everyone back...together."

It's been an objective since my parents got captured, but it solidified with the collective resolve to rescue two good friends from the organization that plagues this region.

"Yeah, let's."