The Chosen Ones

Chapter 4

In the corner of the cabin had been a trap door. Under it was a ladder leading to a brightly lit, tiled room. At the opposite end of the room, guarded by two soldiers, were two large, metal doors controlled electronically. At that point, everyone was given ID cards so that they could come and go as they pleased. Then they walked into the secret, underground base.

As they were led deeper underground, the Rebel leaders noticed that this base was much similar to the one that had been in Cerulean. Finally, ten levels down, they found themselves in an elaborately decorated hallway. Instead of tiled floor, there was carpet. Statues of legendary pokemon lined the walls. At the end of the hall were two large, polished marble doors.

Walking through the doors, the group found themselves in a larger version of the conference room in Cerulean. They all took a seat as the Commander entered the room and headed to the large television screen mounted on the far wall. Once there, he stopped and turned around to face the group. Immediately, they all started to talk at once. Somehow, through the babble of voices, the Commander managed to make his voice heard.

"Everyone please, please quiet down! I promise to listen to all of your questions one at a time and answer them the best I can." Josh sighed thankfully as everyone stopped talking, "Before I start taking questions, there are some things that I must explain. First off is our mutual friend, Ash Ketchum. According to a source of ours in Cerulean, he is not dead. The 'Shadow Emperor', as he is more formally known as, had Ash sent somewhere, and I assure you that we are doing our hardest to figure out where.

"Right now though, our top priority is finding the other chosen one. Believe it or not, this is extremely difficult. Ash did not tell you the whole prophecy, only bits and pieces of it. He was the only one who knew the whole prophecy besides the Shadow Emperor, but we have reason to believe that his memory of it was lost when he claimed the title of Emperor. There is a specific object that we must look for to learn the whole prophecy."

Josh pressed a button on a control panel that was wired to the table in front of him. Once again, a hologram shimmered to life a foot above the center of the table. The hologram showed an old book, its cover made of leather, with fine, intricate, gold designs woven into it. Planted in the center of the book was a large sapphire gem.

"This is the "Book of Legends". Only two copies were ever made." Josh explained, "The prophecy is inside both copies, as well as many other things pertaining to the Chosen Ones. We had almost secured one of the copies, but the Emperor arrived and snatched right from under our noses. Now we are searching for the other one, which we believe may rest somewhere in Sinnoh."

"What of Ash's powers? How did he get those?" Max asked.

"He was born with them." Josh answered, "He and the other Chosen One were born with amazing and unknown powers. It takes someone with similar powers to awaken them though, as the Emperor did with Ash."

"Then what good is finding the other Chosen One if we can't awaken their powers?" May asked as the others nodded in agreement.

"We are hoping to find another way in the book." Josh replied.

"Now that you have all demonstrated your excellent skill in battle, when we learn of the Book's location, you shall lead a team to retrieve it. We are sure that, with the trouble Team Rocket and the Shadow Emperor are currently giving us, complications will arise." Josh stood there and looked at everyone as silence filled the large room, "If there are no more questions, then you are dismissed."

* * *

The Emperor smiled wickedly as he shut the old book. He ran a finger along the faded, gold patterns sewn into the old leather. He hummed a strange tune as he brushed dust from the sapphire in the center. Now that he had read the whole prophecy again, memories from before he became the Shadow Emperor flashed through his mind. Memories of when he had traveled with Ash Ketchum, the broken hearted Pokemon Master from Pallet Town.

His grin grew wider as he remembered one important memory. The second night that they had been traveling together. The deep and hidden secret that Ash had told him. Then, he hadn't realised how vital that information would be. Ash had willingly and unknowingly told the Emperor the identity of the other Chosen One!

Suddenly the door at the end of the long, dark throne room opened. Three soldiers marched in: one in front, the other two behind him dragging a barely consciouse figure which they dropped a few feet from the throne.

"We have brought the prisoner as you ordered your Majesty." the lead soldier said as he and the others knelt before the Emperor.

"Thank you, you are dismissed." The Emperor's cold, deep voice echoed in the room as the trio stood and left.

The Emperor stood, placed the book on the throne and walked down the steps to the young man at the bottom. He sighed and shook his head before speaking in a sad voice, "You are a sad sight to see my friend. Once so vibrant and strong, now weak and frail. My offer is still open, this is the last time I will offer it."

"Then for the last time, NO!" the young man spat with as much determination as he could muster.

"Are you sure? I for one would not like to see you die. We were like brothers, but your duty to defend them made us enemies. Then there's her. You went out of your way to protect her, you had planned to give your heart to her, but she crushed it. She's already found a replacement for you, they all have.....Rudy. I see you kneeling before me and I know what that witch has done to you. She stole your reason and will to live, making you nothing more that a pitiful, empty shell." The Emperor bent down and wispered in the man's ear, "But I can change that. Accept my offer and I will give you a purpose again, a reason to live. Then, we will destroy those who have done this to you."

The Emperor stood straight as the young man's head slowly turned towards him. What he then saw put a smile on his face again. What he saw was the surrender of Ash Ketchum.

* * *

Dawn sighed as she looked around the empty town of Alamos. The citizens had been evacuated in light of an imminent attack. Dawn was alone at the moment, so began to take a walk down memory lane, remembering when she had last been here, with Ash.

It had been four months since she and her friends had discovered that Ash was alive. Only a few days ago, they had been called together by the Commander once again and told that the Book of Legends had been discovered. It rested in the hidden catacombs beneath this very city. They had also been given another bit of information, the Emperor also knew where it was and was preparing an attack.

Dawn inspected her watch. Misty, Rudy, May, Drew, and Tracy had gone into the catacombs four hours ago. That meant that the Shadow Emperor's force was probably seven hours away, judging by its speed and last known position. Dawn looked down at her feet where Piplup lay asleep. Pikachu had gone into the catacombs with Misty, so Piplup was worried about its best pokemon friend.

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Had Dawn looked out the flap of her tent, she might have noticed the familiar trio that tiptoed its way down the street. Giovanni had reassigned them suddenly for some reason. He said that he wanted to know what the Chosen One's Army was up to in Alamos Town. Upon arriving, it hadn't taken long to discover that whatever they were looking for, it was in some hidden catacombs under the city. Also, the had learned that the Shadow Emperor planned on attacking the city, soon.

Jessie, James, and Meowth ran and hid inside some bushes planted along the wall of one of the houses. They peered around the corner into a back street that was crawling with gaurds. Luckily for them, they had been able to find some spare uniforms to wear in case of something like this. They casually climbed out of the bush and made their way down the street, stopping in front of a heavily gaurded building.

"Commander Brock has ordered that join the team in the catacombs." Jessie said in a slightly shaky voice.

They bought it. The seargent in charge led them into the cellar of the building, where part of the wall had been removed to reveal a passage way leading deep underground. The tunnel was lit by electric lights placed every ten feet by the search team. Nervously, they made their way into the tunnel.

* * *

May sneezed again as the team entered another large room with four passage ways leading from it. Exasperated, she began to complain, "How long is this stupid thing! We've been walking for hours with not even a sign that we are going the right way!"

"Calm down May," Drew said as he put an arm around her, "we know we're going the right way because we are following those." He pointed to a symbol above one of exits, the same symbol that was woven onto the cover of the object they were searching for.

"But we've been down here for hours! My feet hurt and my stomach's growling.... I'm hungry enough to rival Ash!"

Drew and May didn't notice it, but Rudy and Tracy saw Misty flinch a little at the sound of Ash's name. Rudy had noticed that Misty had been less friendly towards him in the past few months. The anxiety of what this might mean was killing him. It was time for him to know for sure.

"Let's stop here and have lunch." Rudy suggested. Everyone more than happily agreed. After everyone had found a spot and were all ravaging their food, Rudy pulled Misty aside, "Misty, I have noticed you acting a little...... distant towards me. I want to know why. Do you still love me?"

Misty stared at him for a few seconds, then looked at the ground. Tears began to run down her face as she managed to choke out an "I don't know".

Rudy couldn't stand to see her like this. He had a strong feeling that he knew exactly what the problem was, "It's Ash isn't it? You love Ash."

Unable to speak, Misty meerly nodded. Rudy was about to walk away, disappointed and angry, when Misty suddenly grabbed his arm. Without warning, she launched herself into him and began to sob into his shoulder. All Rudy could do was pat her back comfortingly.

She's scared to death about him. Maybe they really are meant for each other.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Misty whispered.

"Its alright, I finally understand."

After a few minutes, Misty stopped crying and they rejoined the group. Lunch having been finished, they decided to continue their search for the book. The corridor they entered slanted downward at a rather steep angle. After about fifteen minutes, it began to level out.

The group stopped as they entered another large, rectangular room. Right away, they saw the huge gap in the floor separating the two ends of the room. There was no bridge, and as Tracy kicked a rock over the edge, they discovered that it was a long way down.

"And now it starts to get interesting." May said, "Does anyone have any flying pokemon?"

One of the soldiers stepped forward and released a Fearow. He ordered it to fly across the room, but it didn't get very far. Not long after leaving the ledge, an arrow flew out of the wall at the bird. The fearow flew higher to avoid it, only to unleash more arrows. Luckily, it managed to get back unharmed.

There must be a switch or something." One of the soldiers thought out loud.

"Your right. Everyone spread out, look for a switch." Drew ordered.

As the group spread outward, something caught Pikachu's eye. On the wall to the left, something was shining. Pikachu ran over to investigate, only to find that it was out of his reach.

"Pikachupi pi pika pikachu chu pi." (Misty, there is something on the wall over here.)

"Really? Let me look at it." She walked over and examined the corner of a brick. It shone in the light and seemed to be made out of metal. She felt the rest of the brick and discovered that it was clay. Quickly she brushed it off to reveal a shining, metal brick. After taking a few seconds to think, Misty pushed the brick into the wall.

At first, nothing. Then, a rumbling sound reached their ears as a bridge came out of the far ledge and connected with the one they were on. It was followed by a series of clicking noises from the wall that had shot at the fearow.

After everyone exchanged looks, Drew decided to step up. "I'll go across first." He volunteered.

"Be careful Drew," May said worriedly, "please."

"Dont worry about me." Drew reassured her. He began to slowly cross the bridge. He was a fourth of the way across: no arrows. Half-way, still no arrows. He crossed the rest of the bridge safely, then turned to smile at the others as they crossed.

Once everyone was across, they continued down another tunnel. After a short time, they entered a dimly lit, colossal room. It had huge pillars running down the sides to keep the ceiling from falling. Then they saw it. There, at the far end of the room, was an old book sitting on a stone table.

Before anyone could stop him, Tracy started to run across the room. He was about halfway when the ground began to shake. Everyone watched in horror as a hidden panel in the floor right in front of the book slid away. A platform rose to take its place. Chained to the platform, was a huge Tyrannitar, and it looked angry.

Suddenly, torches mounted to the walls were lit with flames, flooding the room with light. The sudden light irritated the enormous creature even further, causing it to roar in anger and snap the chains that had held it captive. It stepped forward off the platform, and then Rudy noticed another thing that had been hidden in the dark.

"Guys," Rudy's voice shook, "we are in an underground stadium."

Everyone looked at the ground to see that he was right. The Tyrannitar, however, wasn't going to wait while they examined the floor. Without warning, it charged at Tracy, the ground shaking with every step. With a swipe of its hand, the giant threw Tracy into one of the columns. It turned towards him again and was about to attack when a new challenger stepped up.

"Pikachu!" The yellow, mouse-like pokemon had ran forward. He stood his ground and glared at the Tyrannitar as it roared furiously. Sparks flew from Pikachu's cheeks as he prepared his first attack.

"Good idea Pikachu!" Misty yelled, "C'mon everyone. Marill go!"

Misty's Marill, along with several other pokemon, joined Pikachu on the battleground. With a roar, the Tyrannitar charged at them. Pikachu led the others as they unleashed a variety of attacks on their opponent, then dodged out of the way as it continued at them. Most of the pokemon succeeded in avoiding the attack, but not all of them.

Pikachu landed on his feet and didn't waste any time in unleashing another thunderbolt on the Tyrannitar. Other pokemon attacked it too, but their attacks only served to anger it further. As pokemon dodged around it and attacked, the beast quickly diminished their numbers. Finally, it turned to see Pikachu and Marill standing next to each other, ready to attack. They were the last ones left.

"PIKACHU!"

"MARILL!"

As Marill used squirt gun, Pikachu used thunderbolt. The two attacks intertwined, becoming stronger as they collided with the Tyrannitar. When the smoke from the resulting explosion cleared, the Tyrannitar was still standing. Now, though, it had a huge scorch mark on its front and it was completely enraged. With another roar, it unleashed a powerful hyper beam attack on the two, sending them flying.

The abnormally large pokemon was getting ready to finish them off when a newcomer appeared out of thin air in front of it. The trainers, who had been too shocked by the Tyrannitar's power to do anything, gasped. The new challenger raised a three-fingered hand as his eyes began to glow a bright blue.

"You shall not harm them any further!"

Careful to avoid the giant creature, the trainers ran to their pokemon. One of the soldiers got potions out of the pack he had been carrying to heal the pokemon. After they had been fully recovered and returned, the trainers turned to thank Mewtwo.

"It was no problem, I am glad that I could help." Mewtwo replied to their thanks, "Now, I believe you came here for that." He nodded towards the book, which Tracy walked over and picked up.

Realizing what this meant, May jumped for joy and yelled, "We got the book! We got the book! Now we can leave!"

Everyone would have laughed, if not for the low rumble from the surface that occured at that moment. Accompanied with it, the ceiling shook as dirt fell from it. The group exchanged worried faces.

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Well? How was it? Please review! I have decided that I'm going to make this story the first in the Chosen One Saga. I already have ideas for the other adventures. I'll update again soon!