Oh no. Cris was frozen in fear, but Az looked far worse. The poor boy was practically shivering with fear, especially with his past experience with these elite trainers. "You really thought you could get away huh?"

The trainer with the Beartic said. "We have our own Audino for tracking down rebels like you." said the other trainer, the one beside the Weavile. "We're not rebels! We aren't even citizens of Sapphire City." Bliss retorted, hoping they would let them go. But Cris thought, Well we were planning to rescue a bunch of prisoners they captured.

The Trainer Guard with the Beartic just laughed, "We don't care if you're from here. No one is allowed out on the streets. We'll be taking you and your Pokemon hostage now." Not without a fight! Cris thought fiercely.

Sensing Cris' strong feelings and intentions, Lucario used Power-Up Punch to set their feet free of the ice, and jumped forward into action, giving a howl of intimidation.

"We're not going down without a fight! Come on Gardevoir! You too Absol!" Bliss' Gardevoir positioned itself beside Lucario and Bliss threw out Absol's Pokeball, releasing her newly caught Pokemon.

Should I bring out my Kirlia? Cris thought. It still needs rest so it won't be fighting at its best. And I still need to get Kirlia to trust me so I can make friends with it.

Cris asked Az, "Hey Az, think you could give us a hand here?" His friend have him a shaky but determined nod and called Yamper forward alongside Bliss' Audino. The three Trainer Guards just laughed at Cris and his friends.

The one with the Beartic said, "Ooh fighters are you? Alright then, we'll play along with this." Cris noticed that the Trainer Guards weren't adults. He guessed they were around a few years older than he and Bliss were.

A slow, tense moment passed and the battle began.

"Aura Sphere!"
"Psychic!"
"Night Slash!"
"Hyper Voice!"
"Thunderbolt!"

Cris' side all called out their moves to their respective Pokemon, with Az giving out moves to Bliss' Audino. A few more chuckles were heard from the Guard as they called moves to their Pokemon to counter Cris and his friends' attacks.

The Beartic used Ice beam, while the Scizor used Air Slash, and the Weavile used Dark Pulse. All of the attacks connected in the middle of the two groups and a blast of power, wind, and dirt was blown across a long strip of the street they were in. When the winds and flying dirt cleared off, Cris saw that none of the Pokemon had been hit by any of their moves.

"Hah" The Trainer Guard remarked, "Gotta hand it to you, your three have skill. What do you say you join our Guard? We'll talk to the boss about it if you ask nicely. Then we won't have to have this pointless battle." It was Cris' turn to look smug to show he wasn't intimidated, "Two words: No way." Then Bliss added, "Yeah, what's wrong with this Pokemon battle? Afraid you guys are gonna lose to us kids?"

This made the older kids more angry and annoyed. "Fine! Let's battle then. You three'd be on the bottom of the elite Trainer Guard ranks anyway." The Beartic trainer spat. Cris and his friends just looked at them defiantly.

"Lucario, Extreme Speed!" Cris said suddenly, right after the guard spoke. Bliss and Az followed right after him, each of their Pokemon advancing in on the three Trainer Guards' Pokemon. Lucario hit the Weavile with a swift jab of Extreme Speed, knocking it back at a distance. Absol used Shadow Claw on the Beartic. Gardevoir was using Mystical Fire, which started burning the Scizor.

Then Yamper used Iron Tail on the Beartic while being supported with Audino using Protect. In the quick flurry of attacks, the Trainer Guards were, ironically, caught off guard. Right as their trainers spoke a command move, the three Pokemon were hit by all of Cris' team's attacks. They took the hit directly which dealt a lot of damage.

"Hey, should we call for back up?" Cris heard one of the guards say to the one with the Beartic. He saw the guard shake his head and said something like they could handle them, and they were just a hunch of kids.

This annoyed Cris and he called to them, "We can hear you. Even if we're kids, it looks like this battle is almost over. Lucario finish it up with Dragon Pulse!" As Bliss heard the move, she also called for Gardevoir and Absol's strongest moves, "Gardevoir use Moonblast! Use Night Slash, Absol!" Az followed them up with Yamper's Wild Charge and Audino used Protect again to shield all of their Pokemon this time from attacks.

The Trainer Guards issued commands to their Pokemon again, this time reacting quickly and without hesitation. The Beartic used Ice Punch, the Scizor used Metal Claw, and the Weavile used Slash. The guards' Pokemon attacks were blocked however by Audino's Protect and they received a critical hit from most of the attacks. In a dramatically slow way, all three of the Trainer Guards' Pokemon fell to the floor, fainted.

There was silence for a few seconds before Bliss and Az started celebrating, and the Trainer Guards returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs. Cris said to his companions, "Uh guys? Let's celebrate later. They're calling for back up." The defeated trainers were yelling something into small earpieces. Without hesitating, Cris and the rest of them slipped into a different street and began running, bringing back most of their Pokemon back into their Pokeballs.

"Follow me!" Az yelled to them as they ran once again in dizzying directions, taking streets left and right hoping they can lose the squad of Guards before more of them came. During their run, they saw a few Trainer Guards as they ran past them on different streets. The ones they ran by were only in ones or in pairs as they patrolled, but even one Guard was enough to alarm the rest of them to make a plan to corner Cris and his friends eventually.

Az led them to the other side of the city, near the other exit which led to Molten Mountain and a small path going around it to the other cities and places in the region. They stopped running when they didn't hear anymore stray footsteps chasing after them.

Az said nearly out of breath, "We have two options at this point. The first one is we can try to find more of my grandfather's hidden bunkers, a little risky. The second option is we do this rescue mission thing right now. I already have a rough route that will lead us as close to the top as we can but without bumping into their base. I'm actually still not sure if their prison is up there or not."

Bliss said suddenly, "Hey, we can ask Audino if their base is up there. Its hearing is really good. How about it, Audino?" With a little chuck, Bliss brought Audino back out of its Pokeball again. She repeated the instruction as simply as she could so Audino could understand.

When it didn't do what it was asked and just looked at Bliss with a confused expression, Cris asked Lucario, "Lucario, could you maybe ask Audino what we're trying to ask it? I know at least you can kind of understand me, right?"

Lucario nodded slowly and used its Aura to try to give a message similar to what Bliss wants. Audino gave an agreeing sound and turned its head, or her ears more specifically, and concentrated. They waited for a few minutes while Audino listened, its large pink ears twitching every now and then at the faintest sounds.

When Audino turned to face Lucario, it gave a happy yip. Lucario then looked at Cris and nodded again. Cris said, "Well I guess that means the Sapphire City citizens are up there." Bliss agreed but Az looked a bit doubtful, "Really? We're just going to trust your Lucario and Bliss' Audino? How do we know they understood what you said?"

Bliss patiently explained, "First of all, we all saw Audino listening with its head facing the mountain. And secondly, you can trust that Cris understands Lucario. They've been together since the start of Cris' journey, and Lucario is his only Pokemon anyway."

"Not anymore, remember?" Cris said with a sly grin. He brought out his Pokeball that contained his recent catch. With an enthusiastic throw, Cris sent out his rare Kirlia.

As soon as Az realized it was a different color, he exclaimed, "Amazing... I've never seen a Kirlia with different colors instead of their usual green. That's so rare!"

Cris agreed, "Yeah, just when a I felt like giving up 'cus we found a Ralts that teleported away really quickly."

The Kirlia gave a bit of a confused expression then saw Cris and instantly made an annoyed face. Not an angry or hostile one, but just annoyed. Cris tried talking to Kirlia, "Hey Kirlia. I'm sorry if Lucario beat you in battle, but I promise to make it up to you by training you to be as strong as Lucario."

Kirlia didn't look convinced. Cris thought for a minute then he tried again in a more persuasive tone, "I'll even help you make some more dance moves...?"

The Kirlia seemed to be swayed by this and slowly approached Cris with a half curious, half excited face. He tried patting it, and Kirlia nuzzled its head closer to his hand.

Then Bliss said, "Also, Lucario is one of the few Pokemon ever that is known to communicate or at least understand what people are thinking and feeling so I'm like ninety percent sure about the hidden base location."

Az yielded and said with a slight chuckle, "Alright alright I get it. Let's go save my dad and the rest of the citizens then." They exited the city as quietly as they could and then made a break for the short and thin layer of woods surrounding the base of the mountain.

When they got far enough into the small forest, Cris said, "Alright. Az, where is the entrance for these tunnels?" His friend replied, "Well they're not exactly tunnels, they're pipes for the hot springs. I can only tell you where it's buried in the ground then I thought we could just make a hole in it to get in?"

Bliss made a humph sound, "Okay then... Where is the pipe that we're supposed to go in, buried?" Az brought out a small laptop and opened up some image files and checked their location before declaring and pointing ahead and to the right, "That way."

Cris and the rest of them began walking in that direction, carefully traversing through the trees and shrubs and bushes around them. There was no dirt path here, unlike in Stone Forest, so they were extra careful not to step on branches or make so much noise while wading through thickets.

"Do you go travelling around the region Az?" Cris asked in a soft voice, trying to lighten their mood. Az shook his head, "Nope, I'm not usually allowed to be out even in the city on my own, let alone anywhere else in the region."

"But do you want to?" Bliss asked curiously, stepping over a bush the height of her knees.

Az was silent for a little while before responding, "I guess I kind of want to go to other places besides going from my house to supermarkets." Az checked his laptop again and turned a little more to the right while walking ahead. The rest of them followed.

Cris asked another question, ".... Do you want to come with us?" Az stopped walking abruptly, a bit startled by the question. He faced Cris and looked a bit excited, "Really? You're asking me to go with you? To where? How long will it take? Should I start packing?"

Cris and Bliss just smiled at each other, then Bliss reminded him, "Umm, we still have some citizens to save remember?"

"Oh right" Az said, laughing a little feeling embarrassed.

Cris answered one of his questions, "Bliss and I were planning to go around the entire region. I'm on my journey because I want to find my goal in life to achieve with my Pokemon by my side. Bliss here-"

"Just wants to go places that isn't Quartz City" Bliss interrupted with a polite smile. "Right" Cris said.

Az looked at both of them and thought about it. Then he said, "Alright I'll go along with you! But I still gotta convince my parents to let me leave to go with you guys." Cris nodded understandingly, "It's okay, we'll still stick around Sapphire City when we've stopped GEODE INC. We haven't exactly seen any festivals that your city is so famous for."

They continued walking through the woods until finally, at around early afternoon, Az stopped and said, "Okay, I think we're here. We're right on top of the pipe that will lead us close to the top where structures are usually built on mountains."

Cris breathed in deeply and sat down on a log nearby, "So how do we get to the pipe?" To their surprise, Az brought out three wide but small shovels. Pressing a button on one of the mini shovels, Az held it apart from the rest as the shovel suddenly grew and snapped into its original, longer form.

Az tossed one shovel to Cris and the other to Bliss. They both held out the contracted shovels and pressed the button on the shaft. Immediately both of the shovels became as long as the one Az was holding.

Both of them looked at Az in surprise. Az just gave them a slightly confused look, "What? I'm the son of an architect and the grandson of an engineer. To them, I'm kind of like their little construction worker."

Bliss giggled at this and Cris said, "Nice, I thought we'd have to use our shoes to dig to the tunnel." This time Az laughed. Together they started digging at the spot Az mentioned. At first it started out slow, but later on Cris got himself into a rhythm of digging.

By the time they heard their shovels strike the metal piping system, it was beginning to be evening. When Cris and the others finally managed to dig out half of the pipe's girth, they stopped and Bliss suggested, "It's almost night, maybe we should get some rest and rescue them in the morning?"

Cris internally agreed with this, his hands feeling tired and shaky from so much digging. Az however was shaking his head rapidly, "No, no, nope. We've gotta save them now. This is the perfect time for a rescue. We'll get them all out in the cover of darkness and the Trainer Guards will never know where we are."

"But we won't be able to defend against Trainer Guards that will catch us if we try it tonight since we're all so tired." Both Az and Bliss looked to Cris for either of their votes.

Aw man, don't make me choose. I can do almost everything but make a decision. Cris' thoughts were floating around his head as he tried to find a compromise to their situation instead of voting. Then Cris looked at both of them with a bright face.

"How about this," he explained, "We'll make the entrance hole of this pipe tonight, and we'll also go scout ahead for a short distance before we return here and think of more plans if the one we're doing goes wrong."

Both of Cris' companions thought this over and agreed, a little reluctantly since both of them looked like they wanted to go with their own plan. Carefully, Cris and Lucario headed to the half-dug out pipe and positioned themselves at the center of the exposed part.

Quietly, Cris said, "Use Power-Up Punch in the middle of this pipe Lucario." Lucario nodded a bit and began imbuing its fist with power. Before Lucario punched the pipe, Cris suddenly moved in front of Lucario to stop it. "Wait wait, sorry. I forgot to mention you should try to use a more quiet Power-Up Punch? So we don't attract anyone that might be close by."

Lucario gave Cris a puzzled expression, as if saying 'Won't that take much longer to make the hole?' Cris  responded as if Lucario actually said it, "I know, but we have to be cautious just in case." Lucario nodded understandingly and began powering up its fist again.

When it was at its least power and most quiet, Lucario hit the metal pipe. Even with Lucario using its least powerful punch, the move still made the pipe itself sound out. Gong-like ringing filled the small strip of forest they were in and they all froze, expecting to hear someone yell at them. When no one was heard coming for them, Cris signaled for Lucario to continue using Power-Up Punch.

Each hit from Lucario's fist made a dent in the metal piping. Over some time, the pipe slowly began to cave in at the spot Lucario was hitting it over and over again. At last, with one last weak Power-Up Punch, Lucario finally punched right through the metal pipe and Cris and the others cheered quietly.

Lucario tried punching around the hole in the pipe some more to make it bigger, but only managed to make it big enough for a small person to fit through before Lucario sat down on the pipe nearly fainting with exhaustion. Cris held Lucario in his arms and whispered, "Great job Lucario. It's okay, you can rest now." Bliss suggested, "Hey guys, bring out all your Pokemon." Cris and Az did just that and Bliss brought out her own.

"Audino, could you use Heal Pulse on our Pokemon friends?" Bliss asked. Audino immediately understood and began emitting a calming wave of glowing energy that soothed and healed all of the Pokemon. When the Heal Pulse hit Cris, he felt Audino's energy flow past and through him, giving him some form of comfort as well.

When Audino finished, they all brought their Pokemon back in. Bliss thanked Audino and sent it into its ball to rest for the night. "Alright, who can fit?" Cris said, pertaining to the pipe entrance that Lucario made. Bliss answered, "No way, I may be thinner than you guys, but I can't fit in there." Cris turned to Az, "How about you Az? You look like you could fit through the hole. Bliss and I are too big for it. How old are you by the way?"

Az sighed a little as he looked at the foreboding dark hole in the pipe, "Apparently young enough to fit in that." He climbed down to the ditch where the pipe entrance was with Bliss helping him down while Cris helped him to get to the bottom safely. Now that both of them were aware of Az's age being younger than theirs, Cris and his other friend were more careful and caring with Az, trying to be like older siblings to him.

Az looked into the dark hole and slowly walked toward it. Peering into the blackness, Az carefully sat down on the pipe and placed his legs into it, while Cris continued to keep him steady. Slowly, Az descended into the dark hole. When his upper body was the only thing left before he was completely in, he said, "The pipe's too deep, I have to jump down." Cris replied worriedly, "O-okay Az. I'll count to three. One, two, three!"

Cris let go of Az's arms and Az stopped tensing his muscles that held on to the pipe and he fell silently into the shadows. Cris heard a thud as Az landed, then saw a faint light as Az opened a flashlight to scout the tunnel they were going to use. They heard Az's footsteps echo and steadily fade out as he ventured upward into the piping system. When Cris couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, both he and Bliss silently waited in anticipation for any signs of Az returning. After a few short minutes, they heard Az coming back.

He was running.

"Ahh! Guys get me out of here!" Az's scream echoed out to Cris and Bliss. Cris started panicking and called into the hole, "Hang on, I'm coming!" He turned to Lucario, "Lucario we need your help again, could you make this hole big enough to fit me?" Despite Audino's Heal Pulse, Lucario's paws still seemed too sore to do any punching.

Then Bliss called out to her Gardevoir, "Gardevoir, can you please use Psychic to make the hole in the pipe bigger?" Sensing the dire situation, Gardevoir's eyes glowed as it tried prying the metal of the pipe to make it wider. Gardevoir managed to enlarge the hole enough for Cris and his Lucario to get in. Promptly, they jumped into the hole, then Bliss sent Gardevoir down with them for extra help.

Cris dropped down to the cold inside of the pipe. As soon as he landed, he saw Az running to them, a large pack of bug Pokemon chasing after him. Cris quickly thought up a solution as both Lucario and Gardevoir arrived at the bottom of the pipe. "Gardevoir, use Mystical Fire when Az ducks. Lucario, you catch him" Gardevoir gave a quick nod and Lucario grunted its response.

Cris yelled to the running boy, "Az, on my signal you have to dive to the floor! Lucario will catch you." Az yelled back, "Okay!" When Az was almost to where he was, Cris yelled, "Now! Dive now Az!" The younger boy ducked and dove to the ground in front of Cris, then Gardevoir sent its burning little projectiles hurtling right at the horde of bug Pokemon.

On contact, most of the bug Pokemon, Ariados, Venipede, Parasect and the like, fled as the fire raged and threatened to burn them. The last of the bug Pokemon were more docile and weren't looking to chase Az at all, so they just wandered about their business without paying the two boys and Pokemon any attention.

When Az got up he ran to Cris and gave him an unexpected, and strong hug. "I was so scared. I couldn't do anything to fight back, I didn't have Bisharp..." Cris returned the hug a bit awkwardly since he was standing up and Az was kneeling down hugging his torso.

Cris pulled Az's hands away and knelt down too so he could hug him properly. "It's alright, they're gone now. As for your Bisharp... we'll get him back. I promise." Az hugged Cris tighter and they sat there quietly in the dark with Lucario and Gardevoir guarding the front and back ways of the tunnel. Cris heard a voice call to them, "Heyy, are you guys alright in there?" It was Bliss, "You guys need any hel- ahh!"

At the sound of Bliss' scream, Cris immediately stood up and looked up at the hole. He motioned for Az and the two Pokemon to stay quiet.

Asking for a boost from Gardevoir, since Lucario's paws still ached, Cris slowly poked his head out of the hole and peeked up at where Bliss should be standing. Indeed she was standing where he last saw her, but this time her hands were behind her back.

Cris was confused at his friend's awkward position until he finally noticed the two figures beside Bliss. They were just standing right beside Bliss ominously. They were wearing an all black uniform except for the three glittering gems that made up their emblem. Trainer Guards.