Route 115

I almost don’t recognise the area around the cave exit what with all the craters around. Eventually I find my bearings and head for the city.

Nearing the city limits I notice the air doing that wavy wobbly thing again, I take a deep breath and press onwards.

Rustboro City

While making my way to the pokémon center I spot myself coming from the opposite direction. I instinctively dive behind a building, out of view of the other me. After a moment I take a peek and see the other me head for the Devon building and disappear inside.

I make a dash for the pokémon center, take the silver ball from my bag and place it on the PC. Zinnia’s image appears above it.

Oh, you’re ready for another batch already?

- Yeah, we might need to hurry on this one.

Fine, fine. Huh… it’s not working. I can’t establish a connection.

Zinnia turns away for a moment, talking to someone else.

What do you mean “not valid”? It’s not like he’s in a– oh crap.

She turns back to me.

Why did you say you’re in a hurry, again?

- Because there’s another me in town and I think he’ll be heading to the pokémon center soon!

Get out! Leave the city right now! You’re in another rift and this one has looped you back on yourself! Run!

Route 116

I probably wouldn’t have noticed passing through another wall of wibbly wobbly air had it not made me feel so dizzy. I have to stop to catch my breath and wait for my head to stop spinning.

By the time I feel I can raise my head again I notice the other me on the other side of the twisting wobbling wall. He doesn’t seem to notice me and as he walks in my direction he just vanishes upon contact with the wall. The air quickly returns to normal.

Rusturf Tunnel

Just my luck. The pokémon in here finally calm down and now the drill borer breaks. I’ll never reach the other side at this rate!

I notice only a couple of large rocks are just blocking the way, I can see a little light coming through from the other side. I have Choppa smash the rocks and pound them into a fine gravel, opening the way to the other side.

Oh, thank you kind stranger! I can’t thank you enough!

He starts sprinting to the other side.

Wanda, my love! I finally did it!

Verdanturf Town

I see you got clear of that rift. I think we can try to connect to the PC again. Ready?

- Yeah.

We’re still only able to send two at a time. Do you know where you’re going next?

- I have to climb the mountain to get to Lavaridge.

Be careful, we’ve been getting odd readings from up there.

I draw Luchenko from the PC and get moving.

Route 117

I get to work immediately in training Luchenko, battling with other trainers on my way towards Mauville. As I approach the city I don’t see any city at all. I barely notice the way north to route 111.

Looking back down southwards I notice a small settlement near the lake, a couple of log cabins and an old cart where the city should be. I try not to think about it and carry on.

Route 112

With nobody blocking the way to the cable car I take a seat and wait for the car to take me up.

About halfway up my leg starts to hurt a little. A dull, cold ache that feels like it’s coming from the bone itself. This pain has always been with me since what happened in Unova but it’s usually mild enough to ignore. The scar hasn’t particularly faded yet either.

Mt. Chimney

I reach the top to see a battlefield. The magma cult seem to be fighting… everyone else.

Do you even realise what’s at stake here? We will stop you!

Ha! You couldn’t possibly understand the Captain’s plan!

In the distance, over the mouth of the volcano, I see Archie next to a machine on a gantry leaning over the lava pool. I start my approach.

You call that an attack? Poochyena, use bite!

I’ll show you! Poochyena, give him a real bite!

When we’re done with you I’m gonna throw you into the volcano myself!

That’ll be a neat trick once I’ve buried you!

You came to the wrong volcano today!

I’m right where I need to be, sister!

I make my way through the battlefield largely unnoticed, I dodge a couple of errant attacks. Taken by surprise I find a familiar face, more familiar than I first thought too.

Caldar! It’s been a long time! I had hopes you’d show up!

- Maxie, where are your glasses? What’s going on?

It’ll take longer than we have to explain, we’ve got to stop this Archie! He’s gone mad!

- No argument there, I’ll get to him!

I’ll give you an opening! Hey! Over here, useless goons! I bet your captain would give you a promotion for defeating me, Maxie the leader of Team Magma!

Get him!

He’s mine!

Promotion?

I get past the goons with ease. As I round a large rock the start of the gantry is revealed and standing in my way is…

- Zinzolin!

You!

My leg is throbbing with that cold ache.

- Looks like you’ve ran out of goons and mad scientists to hide behind! Where’s your Kyurem powered skyship now?

And yet you will go no further!

Leg. Hurts.

Where’s that smart-mouthed calculator of yours? Can’t think of any one-liners by yourself?

- …

I suppose this is where we battle. I’m going to enjoy this!

I break into a sprint and my vision narrows, my sole focus is Zinzolin. Every step I take feels like a sledgehammer to the shin. Before he realises what’s happening I shove Zinzolin, causing him to stumble back onto the gantry.

Wha-!

I put all the force I can muster into kicking him upside the head. Zinzolin staggers around, covering his face. I kick him in the gut and he doubles over. I give him a swift uppercut to the head, he stumbles back further and slips off the edge.

Uaaaaaaghhh!

Zinzolin tumbles down the mouth of the volcano, snapping every limb on the way down before dashing his brains across the jagged rocks below. His twitching corpse slips into the lava with a satisfying sizzling sound.

- Huh… it doesn’t hurt anymore.

I turn my attention to Archie, who’d taken notice of my little scuffle with Zinzolin.

Yarr! Yer quite th’ scrappy little scamp!

- What are you doing here, Archie?

There be a lot o’ energy in this mountain. If we put it in this ‘ere chunk ‘o meteorite it’d make somethin’ more powerful than a mega stone! Then I can awaken th’ super-ancient pokémon!

- Archie, no! That’s not how it’s done. And if you did wake Kyogre you’ll cause a disaster that’ll threaten the whole planet!

Oho! So y’know how it be done? I don’t s’pose ye be forthcomin’ with that knowledge?

- Hells no!

Then I’ll beat it out o’ ye! Go Mightyena!

- Go Choppa!

- Dragon rage!

Assurance!

Mightyena slaps Choppa on the head with it’s paw, Choppa spits a ball of dragonfire in mightyena’s face.

- Dragon rage!

Swagger!

Mightyena shows off it’s swag, confusing and enraging Choppa who gobs another ball of dragonfire in mightyena’s face. Mightyena collapses to the floor, smoke billowing from it’s charred face.

Go Sharpedo!

- Choppa return! Go Ivanova!

Ice fang!

Icicles form on sharpedo’s teeth before it bites Ivanova’s leg.

- Thunder fang!

Swagger!

Sharpedo gets schwifty, angering Ivanova. She leaps towards sharpedo but chomps down on the machine at the end of the gantry, breaking a tooth or two.

- Thunder fang!

Assurance!

Sharpedo smacks Ivanova atop the head with it’s fin, before Ivanova sinks her teeth into sharpedo and channels electricity into it. Sharpedo flops to the floor, twitching while the pain from contacting sharpedo’s rough skin makes Ivanova recoil and lose her footing at the edge of the gantry. Ivanova falls into the lava pool below.

- Ivanova! Ivanova, noooo!

Yaharr! We’re not done yet!

- Go Susan!

Go Golbat!

- Ice shard!

Wing attack!

Susan swiftly throws shards of ice at golbat, digging into it’s flesh and ripping away at it’s wings a little. Golbat swoops down and strikes Susan with it’s wing.

- Ice shard!

Confuse ray!

More ice shards fly at golbat while it fires a ray of many colours at Susan’s face.

- Ice shard!

Wing attack!

Susan throws a bunch of ice shards in golbat’s direction, one of them hits and pins it to the machine behind Archie.

Aargh! Ye think yer won? Think again! It’s been a while since I’ve cut loose and unleashed me mega!

Archie grasps his anchor talisman, I suddenly notice the multicoloured gleam of a keystone. This one is missing the helix motif too, in it’s place is a pair of stars.

He reaches for another pokéball but something seems to distract him. He instead takes a cellphone from his pocket and answers a call.

Avast!… Hmm?… Oho… Mount Pyre? Haharr!

He hangs up.

Ahoy crewmates! We set sail for Mount Pyre! Post haste!

He rips the meteorite from the machine and throws it to my feet.

Just a useless shiny rock. Looks like ye got yerself a reprieve, matey!

Archie makes a quick retreat down the mountain path with the rest of his goons, the magma cult make chase.

The meteorite at my feet glimmers and I feel compelled to pick it up. I grasp it tightly as I look down to where Ivanova fell, and watch my tears fall into the lava below.