Pokemon Azure Horizons/Story

Pokemon Azure Blue aims to tell a more complex story than is usual for mainline Pokemon game, with events occuring thousands of years ago and contemporaneously affecting the game's course of events, as well as multiple antagonist teams, each with their own leaders, admins and goals.
===Main Characters===
*The Player - A boy or girl from Pallet Town. He or she has just turned 10 years old, and is ready and eager to begin their Pokemon adventure.
*Tam - A old neighborhood friend and one of the player's rivals. She is an energetic tomboy who doesn't at all mind getting into scrapes. Although she can be blunt and rude, she's always willing to help those in need and has a very strong sense of justice. Will always pick the starter Pokemon that is strong against yours.
*Chris - The player's other friend and rival who lives in nearby Viridian City. He is a somewhat shy and retiring boy, who moved from the Unova region to Kanto not long ago. He enjoys Pokemon Contests and is a skilled Pokemon medic. Will always pick the starter Pokemon that is weak against yours.
*Professor Daisy Oak - Granddaugter of the renowned Pokemon Professor Samuel Oak, Professor Daisy Oak continues her predecessor's work, striving to improve the Pokedex and document all known Pokemon species. She works out of a laboratory just outside of Pallet Town, and gives Tam, Chris and the player their first Pokemon and their own Pokedexes.
*Looker - An aging but highly-experienced agent of the International Police. He comes to Kanto to investigate a rash of missing Pokemon reports, and has a hunch that the disappearances might have something to do with Kanto's existing crime organizations. His way of doing things, while sometimes unorthodox, are usually effective.
*Professor Burnet - An old friend of Professor Daisy Oak's hailing from the Alola region. Her expertise in dimensional portals proves invaluable as Kanto comes under siege from deteriorating spatial conditions. She sets up shop in the Azure Marina, a sort of hub for Kanto's expatriot population.
*Alexander Silph - Heir to the vast and powerful Silph Co. Corporation, Kanto's largest and most influential privately-held business. Known publically as a masterful entrepeneur and generous philanthrophist, Alexander has recently been working to solve the world's energy shortage. The nuclear power plant that he opened in Cobalt Town is believed by many to be a huge step towards providing Kanto with the energy it needs to continue is recent and unprecented economic boom.
*The Shadow Raiders - A shady group of criminals based in Kanto, who largely filled the power vacuum created when Team Rocket was disbanded roughly fifteen years ago. They specialize in the abduction and sale of valuable Pokemon on the black market. Unlike Team Rocket, the Shadow Raiders make a bigger effort to keep their existance, or at least their actions, covert; The general public is typically unaware of them.
**Alphonse Rex - Usually just known as "Rex", he is the leader of the Shadow Raiders. A sardonic man of few words, Alphonse's leadership position is largely based on his sheer effectiveness as a criminal. Not one afraid to get his hands dirty, Rex can be surprising savage if he need to be, though he does abide by the Shadow Raider's internal rules if at all possible. Most of his grunts and admins deeply respect him.
**Brutus - A high-ranking but bungling, sniveling, and cowardly member of the Shadow Raiders. If the Shadow Raiders need a field mission done, they usually send out Brutus and a couple of his underlings to do the job. Brutus failing at his mission and getting caught by the authorities is not an uncommon occurance. Why Rex keeps bailing him out of trouble is a mystery to the rest of the Shadow Raiders.
*The Loco Collective - A quasi-private brain trust based out of Saffron University and often employed by Alexander Silph. Although its members come from all sorts of different academic backgrounds, most are prominant and highly-educated scientists interested in advancing theoretical theories and technologies. All of its members claim to adhere to an inner voice advocating logic, technological and intellectual advancement, and the development of all humankind.
**Dr. Vys - Leader of the Loco Collective. She is known as a brilliant theoretical physicist, and in particular focuses on how to apply her field to new practical technologies. She is cool, clinical, and very effective at her job. She expects her subordinates within the Collective to follow her lead and emulate her detached, analytical personality and behaviors.
**Dr. Gonzo - Head of the Loco Collective's military technology branch, and second in the entire organization, answerable only to Dr. Vys. Although trained as a mechanical engineer, he fancies himself a brilliant and underappreciated artist, and does not hesitate to use the Collective's time and resources on his creations.
===Introduction===
Around 5,000 years ago, an alien automaton known as Armahedron arrived on Earth after drifting in stasis through space for untold ages. Armahedron, like others of its model, were constructed to find new worlds, terraform their surfaces and atmospheres to be conducive its alien builders, and eliminate any local resistance to it if necessary.
Armahedron landed in the region that would eventually become known as Orre, and immediately began the terraformation process, making the land uninhabitable and the air unbreathable to all of Earth's native lifeforms. The humans and the Pokemon in the vicinity soon began their efforts to destroy or drive out Armahedron, led by Orre's guardian legendary Pokemon, the serpant-like and life-giving Gaiyavern, the portal-wielding bird Pokemon Poratrix, and the flame-winged sprite Angeless. At Armahedron's impact crater there was a climactic battle, with many humans and Pokemon either succumbing to Armahedron's poisonous gases, its fearsome and brutal constructs, or its intense blasts of energy. However, gradually, Armahedron's opponents managed to wear it down.
Eventually, the damage taken by Armahedron was critical; It had to go into its standby mode and repair itself or risk becoming destroyed. Shedding its protective metal plates, the biomechanical core of Armahedron fled the battlefield. But Gaiyavern and Poratrix gave pursuit, determined to finish it off once and for all. Undeterred, Armahedron shot back at the two with the full power and concentration of its energy beams. Gaiyavern was hit directly, but due to Gaiyavern's innate restorative properties, its body was not destroyed, but warped into an altogether different form, one that spread desolation and pollution rather than revitalized earth and fresh air.
It was at this point that Poratrix unleashed its most powerful attack: The creation of a miniature black hole, which would suck up everything around it into a pocket dimension of Poratrix's own creation. Armahedron, a large portion of Orre's southwestern landscape, and a weakened Poratrix are all consumed by this black hole, which shortly afterwards dissipated. At this point, the existential crisis created by Armahedron was averted, although not without serious consequences. The land consumed by Poratrix's black hole was quickly filled in by sea. Meanwhile, Gaiyavern, now rendered an animalistic, corrupting and antagonistic force, was dispatched by a group of powerful Pokemon led by Angeless. In this fight, Angeless's wings were irrepairably damaged, and Gaiyavern was knocked out long enough for its body to be ripped apart and its bones scattered across the land, never to be reformed again. The combined environmental damage of Armahedron's initial terraforming, Gaiyavern's corrupting influence, and the battle itself rendered much of Orre an inhospitable desert, most of which has not yet recovered even up to the present day. Gaiyavern, Poratrix, and Angeless's names were all eventually forgotten, with only the slain serpent gaining the dreadful new title Leviacrude.
Inside of Poratrix's dimensional prison, the land consumed by the black hole eventually fell together as a small planetoid, which Armahedron settled upon. It formed around itself a black stone pyramid to protect its core, initiated the reconstrruction of its metal hull, and began to broadcast a distress signal. This distress signal, itself a powerful form of radiation, gradually broke down all of Poratrix's body and most of its frame of mind. In the end, Poratrix's corporal form was completely gone, and all that was left was an anomalous space of fluctuating properties with inconsistent laws of physics, with Poratrix's consciousness being the only thing left preventing it from being further torn apart.
...
In the present day, the Kanto region of the Pokemon world, like many other regions, has thrived. Its economy has expanded, new settlements and facilities have been established, and technology continues its rapid development, especially after the corrupting force of Team Rocket was driven out nearly 20 years ago. However, with this development has come a price, increased energy consumption, which Kanto, like many other parts of the world, is struggling to meet.
Alexander Silph, heir to the large and powerful Silph Co., takes it upon himself to develop Kanto's energy sources, but mostly meets with failure. Coal, natural gas, and oil are in too short of supply to meet the region's needs, solar power is not effective at Kanto's latitude, geothermal and tidal energy only work in localized areas, and region has minimal deposits of uranium or other nuclear material. Desperate, Alexander obtains the research conducted by the Devon Corporation of Infinity Energy, energy obtained by siphoning the life force from living things.
Alexander is deeply concerned about implementing the widespread use of Infinity Energy, because it will necessitate the weakening and eventual deaths of the Pokemon involved in the process. Instead, he conducts trial runs with a modified Infinity Energy aparatus, hoping to obtain energy from the environment rather than from individual living beings. However, the secret test site undergoes complete environmental collapse within six months, turning into a barren landscape unable to support plant life. With his scientists reporting that the entire Kanto region would meet a similar fate in under two years if implemented on a large enough scale to meet the region's energy needs, Alexander finally relents and begins the construction of a new power plant designed to obtain Infinity Energy by harvesting it from individual Pokemon. The public is told that the new plant runs on nuclear power, and a mine at Cobalt Town is established, obstensively to mine for the minerals that fuel the plant.
Alexander funds an existing but small criminal organization, the Shadow Raiders, to capture and poach Pokemon for use at the new power plant. While initially ignorant of Alexander's activities, the people of Kanto begin to notice the depletion of many wild Pokemon populations. The Shadow Raiders even occasionally unwittingly abduct trained and other domesticated Pokemon, not all of which are returned to their trainers or owners. Still, the vast majority of the people of Kanto are happy with the cheap energy supposedly provided by their nuclear power plant, and are completely unaware of the conspiracy perpetuated by Alexander and the Shadow Raiders.
...
Alexander Silph, personally, feels intense guilt for his involvement in the production of Kanto's Infinity Energy, and continues to desperately search for alternative sources of power. It is at this time that Poratrix's pocket dimension containing Armahedron begins to naturally degrade. Poratrix itself escapes into the skies near Fuchsia City when a chance opening from the Pokemon world to its pocket dimension autonomously opens. As the barrier between the two dimensional spaces continues to break down, Armahedron's distress signal begins to have a detrimental effect on the world, especially on people with a high aptitude for psychic powers. These people begin to hear a constant telepathic voice in their minds, wishing for freedom and salvation. Alexander himself hears this voice, and becomes convinced that the voice is offering him and the rest of the world salvation from the energy crisis, if only they can free it.
Alexander's subordinate at Silph's subsidiary Horizon Labs, Dr. Vys, detects a large energy spike in the skies near Fuchsia City, concludes that it is a particularly weak point in the barrier between dimensions, and that it may be the source of the voice heard by Alexander and others throughout the world. She assembles a group of other afflicted scientists, dubbed the Loco Collective, with the goal of breaking through to this other dimension. With Alexander's funding, the group successfully detonates a rocket filled with concentrated Infinity Energy at the weak point, hoping the explosion will pierce through to the other dimension. However, while this fails to have the intended effect, it instead causes local spatial conditions to suddenly degrade, spawning numerous portals to other regions within the Pokemon world and creating large, inpenetrable barriers in those regions, causing a flood of nonnative Pokemon to be funneled into Kanto.
The rocket explosion causing all this occurs shortly after the player chases some of the Shadow Raiders into an abandoned mine near Pewter City. Immediately afterwards, the player begins to encounter Pokemon from other regions, and eventually finds stable portals through which they can travel to other locations in the Pokemon world.
===In-Game Plot===
====First Steps====
The player begins in Pallet Town. On this day, the player and their neighbors, an energetic girl named Tam and a shy boy named Chris, will arrive at Professor Daisy Oak's lab to pick out a starter Pokemon and begin their journey. The available choices are Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. After the player picks a Pokemon, Tam will pick the one strong against the player's starter, while Chris obtains the one weak against the player's starter. After Tam challenges the player to their first fight, the three leave Pallet Town.
In Viridian City, Tam, Chris and the player meet Blue Oak, leader of the Viridian City gym and principal at the local Pokemon School. He offers to teach the three the basics of training and battling Pokemon (acting as an optional tutorial). After defeating all of Blue's pupils, he invites the group to challenge him at Viridian City's gym. The player defeats Gary's Diglett, Sandshrew and Eevee to obtain the Earth Badge. Elated, Gary recommends that the group next challenge Brock, the Rock-type gym leader of Pewter City. From here, Tam wants to capture some Pokemon on Route 22 while Chris wants to continue on to Viridian Forest, so the group splits up.
The player makes their way through Viridian Forest without much incident and challenges and beats Brock, obtaining the Boulder Badge. After exiting the gym, a panicked girl asks the player to pursue some thieves that have stolen her Pidgey. She tells the player that the thieves have fled to the abandoned mine shafts above the city. The player enters the mines and corners the thieves, lead by a man named Brutus. After beating them, a loud explosion is heard outside and the ground briefly shakes. The thieves take the opportunity to escape, but leave behind a Pidgey that the player returns to the girl in Pewter City.
====The Earth Shakes====
The player receives a phone call from Professor Daisy Oak, telling them that a flood of Pokemon not native to Kanto have began appearing everywhere, and asks them to meet her and Chris in Viridian Forest. There, the Professor, Chris and the player encounter an anomolous portal through which the thieves from Pewter City have fled. Professor Oak recognizes the location on the other side as the Alola region's Lush Jungle, and asks for Chris and the player's help in investigating the phenomenon.
In the Lush Jungle, the player and Chris travel together, with Chris assisting the player in battle and able to completely heal the player's party up to three times. Eventually the two encounter the thieves trying to take off with Lush Jungle's trial Lurantis. The Lurantis is far too strong for the thieves to deal with, so they decide to take out their frustrations on Chris and the player instead. The beating the thieves, and a grateful Mallow gives the Professor, Chris, and the player a Burst Ring, allowing them to pour their heart and souls into their Pokemon battles (this enables an analogue toPokemon Sun and Moon's Z-Moves and later, to Mega Evolution). Professor Oak mentions that she already has a Burst Ring, but that she'll send it off to Tam. The apprehended thieves confess to be members of a band of criminals called the Shadow Raiders, which Mallow promises she'll pass onto the authorities.
Back in Kanto, the player splits from the Professor and Chris and continues to Mt. Moon and Cerulean City, defeating Misty for her Cascade Badge. However, the player then discovers that they cannot leave Cerulean City to the south or east, thanks to strange, inpenetrable barriers. Misty doesn't know what is going on, but suggests that the player tries to reach Umber Point, a fuel depot for the S.S. Alexia oceanliner, by going north through Routes 24 and 25.
====From Here to There====
After crossing Nugget Bridge, the player discovers that the way to Umber Point is blocked by a flooded stream. A local resident named Broady deduces that somebody must have fully opened Breaker Dam in the waterfalls above and asks the player for their help in closing it. At Breaker Dam, the player discovers more Shadow Raider members who flee when beaten, but not before accidently telling the player that they are retreating to "the secret waterfall cave". Broady knows that they mean Damp Cave, and completely closes Breaker Dam so that they player has access to it. Inside, the player and Broady beat and apprenhend a band of Shadow Raiders, led once again by Brutus, and Broady recovers the lost Mamoswine he was looking for.
Broady invites the player to Broady's home of Isabelline Village, west of Route 25, for a feast with the residents of the village celebrating their victory. During the feast, however, they hear a large boom in the direction of Crescent Peak. Broady and the player go to investigate, and discover another anomolous portal on top of the mountain. This time the portal leads to Mount Coronet in the Sinnoh region. Broady notices artifical-looking supports at the bottom of the portal, and wonders if it could have been intentionally created.
The two enter into Mount Coronet and make their way up to Spear Pillar, noticing graffiti on the cave's walls and encounting members of a new group all wearing overalls stained with paint along the way. At Spear Pillar, the player encounters Dr. Vys, who introduces herself as the leader of the Loco Collective. Her subordinate asks if they can capture either Dialga or Palkia for their energy, but she rebuffs him, saying that her goal of studying the area's unique spatial properties has improved her equations and has been a success. She then tries to retreat from Mount Coronet, attempting to strand the player and Broady by disengaging the portal. The player beats her to the portal and defeats her on top of Crescent Peak, but a helicopter whisks her away before Broady and the player can detain her.
The player then continues to Umber Point, encountering Bill the PokeManiac along the way. Bill, who is Broady's uncle, thanks the player for their help by giving them tickets to board the S.S. Alexia. The player boards the S.S. Alexia, and helps the ship's Captain find their lost Farfetch'd, who is tending to her egg being heated up in the ship's engine room. As a reward, the Captain allow the player to use Farfetch'd's cutting skills at any time by using the Skill Pager device. The S.S. Alexia arrives in Vermilion city's harbor.
====A Weird Kind of Horror====
At Vermilion City, the player challenges its gym leader, the Electric-type user Charleen, and defeats her, getting the Thunder Badge in the process. A bystander named Colress is deeply impressed by the player's battling prowess, and invites the player to his Battle Institute located in Vermilion's upper-east corner. There, the player beats Colress's team twice, once under standard conditions and once in an Inversion Battle, where type strengths and weaknesses reverse. Colress then upgrades the player's Burst Ring to accomodate a Burst Keystone, allowing certain Pokemon to Burst Evolve (Mega Evolve). He also gives the player a Mawile that is capable of Burst evolving. Before leaving Vermilion, the player can also visit the head of the Pokemon Fan Club. Listening to his long and rambling story will allow the player to register his Rapidash onto their Skill Pager, allowing them to travel at a rapid pace.
Before the player leaves Vermilion, they can visit its harbor, where a new submarine, the Marine Hunter, is being built. A nearby engineer mentions that the client that ordered it built wishes to remain anonymous.
Because another anomolous barrier prevents the player from heading further east than Diglett's Cave, the only way to get out of Vermilion is to head north towards the warehouse and factory district. While passing through here, the player hears a call for help by a warehouse owner named Lucky. Arriving at his warehouse, the player finds Lucky surrounded by three hostile and unknown red-colored creatures, which the Pokedex doesn't recognize and are not able to be captured in Pokeballs.
After the player defeats the creatures and saves Lucky, he mentions that the creatures came from the direction of a factory that supposedly shut down years ago. The player enters the factory and finds that the creatures are being assembled and given life on the factory's conveyor belt system, which is manned by members of the Loco Collective. The player eventually finds that the material for the creatures is being harvested from a portal filled with a strange, viscous red substance. When the player manages to shut down the factory's machinery, they are confronted by the Loco Collective's second-in-command, Dr. Gonzo. Gonzo laments that the manufactured creatures, which he calls Crimson Constructs, lack a truly artisan and individualized touch. Therefore he's excited to introduce you to the Crimson Abstract, a much more powerful creation that Gonzo worked on himself. The player defeats the Crimson Abstract and Gonzo and his subordinates all flee to "the backup location" before the player can catch them. The Vermilion police investigate the scene and mention that they can't remove the portal containing the red substance or drain it, and can only seal it up for the time being.
====Digging Deep====
Moving on to the Saffron Metropolis, the player and his/her rivals encounter Alexander Silph, the world-famous president of Silph Co., having a big opening celebration for the New Kanto Power Plant, a new nuclear power plant that Alexander claims is the answer to Kanto's recent energy shortage. Alexander recognizes the player, and congradulates them on having shut down the mysterious factory and saving the people of Vermilion and Saffron. To reward them, Alexander allows the player to use his prized Staraptor to quickly fly to any location they previously visited in Kanto via the Skill Pager. He then leaves in his limo back to Silph Co.'s headquarters.
The player is told that Sabrina is not currently at Saffron's gym, due to a sudden affliction affecting her and her followers. Traveling to Celadon City, the player also discovers that the Celadon Gym has been boarded up years ago, due to Erica leaving to train in the Johto region. However, a note on the gym's door mentions that Wilfred of Aurelian Heights, a wealthy gated community just north of Celadon, can be challenged for the Venture Badge. The player meets and defeats Wilfred, who is impressed at the player's skill in battle. He asks the player to take over for him as Aurelian's gym leader so that he can retire. If the player accepts this duty, they can customize the layout and trainers of their gym, which acts as an extension of the Hidden Bases of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, which other players can challenge online.
After leaving Aurelian Heights, the player immediately meets Looker, a member of the international police, who says that large amounts of wild and domestic Pokemon in the Kanto region have gone missing and have attracted his organization's attention. Looker only has a vague idea that something is fishy in Celadon City, but with the player's investigative skills, he finds out from Celadon's residents that strange sounds have been heard coming from beneath the ground. While investigating, the player and Looker encounter Tam, who is being accosted in an alleyway by two Shadow Raiders. Together, Tam and the player easily defeat them. In their haste to escape, the Shadow Raiders drop a key-card.
Looker concludes that something must be going on in the old Rocket Hideout under Celadon, but all known entrances into the hideout remain sealed off. The Shadow Raiders must have made a new entrance somewhere. Wandering outside Celadon, the player and Looker encounter the locked entrance to the abandoned Underground Path, and Looker concludes that this must be the entrance into the Rocket Hideout. Looker tries unsuccessfully to pick the Underground Path's lock, then tries kicking the door down, and then resorts to a running kick. This works in opening the door, but breaks Looker's leg in the process. Tam takes Looker away to receive some medical attention, while Looker tells the player that they'll have to continue on alone. The player enters the Underground Path and soon discovers a large metal door leading to a newly-bored tunnel. The player uses the key-card to open the door and follows the tunnel to the old Rocket Hideout.
Inside the hideout, the player discovers hundreds of crates filled with scared-looking Pokemon. The player battles their way past Shadow Raider grunts to the bottom floor of the hideout. There, they meet Rex, the leader of the Shadow Raiders, chastising Brutus for having to be bailed out of jail twice and ordering him to go to the New Kanto Power Plant to make sure that the latest shipment of Pokemon arrive on time. Brutus promises that he'll do better this time, but panics once he sees the player. Rex, meanwhile, is apathetic about the players' presence, but still challenges them to a difficult battle. The player defeats him, but Rex claims that he has more pressing matters to attend to and leaves the room along with Brutus. When the player returns to the upper floors of the hideout, all the crates containing Pokemon are gone.
====It Comes to Light====
The player leaves the hideout and meets Tam, Chris, and Looker with his leg in a cast. The player tells Looker what they discovered and Looker mentions that the New Kanto Power Plant is located in Cobalt Town, north of Lavender Town and just across the Great Cobalt Mine. Tam, Chris, and the player then travel up to the Great Cobalt Mine together, where they are greeting by the mine's foreman, Rusty. Rusty is initially jovial and glad to meet the player, having heard of their great feats. When he's asked by Chris if the group can enter the New Kanto Power Plant, however, Rusty immediately becomes withdrawn, and mutters that they can't for security concerns. Undeterred, Tam, Chris and the player continue through the mine to Cobalt Town on the other side.
In Cobalt Town, Tam wonders if there is a way they could sneak into the power plant. In Cobalt Town, they meet Garret, Cobalt Town's geologist who brings his treasured Lapras everywhere he goes. Noting that Lapras seems depressed confined to a small pond behind his house in the mountain town, Garret suggests that his Lapras be registered to the player's Skill Pager, allowing the player to travel on water. Using Lapras, the group travels to the abandoned Kanto Power Plant, and navigate an underground service tunnel that leads to the New Kanto Power Plant.
Inside the new power plant, the trio are accosted by numerous Shadow Raider members, but with Tam providing offensive backup and Chris offering to heal the player's party (given that his supply of First Aid kits doesn't run out), make it through to the central generator. Guarding the door to the generator is Rusty, who begs the player to turn back, saying that they player's discovery will shut down the power plant and the mine, causing numerous people in Cobalt Town to lose their jobs. The player can decide to press on, causing Rusty to fight the player. After defeating Rusty, the player continues on to the plant's central generator room.
Here, the player sees hundreds, perhaps thousands of Pokemon attached to apparatuses in the walls, all weakened, all clearly in pain. Rex and Brutus suddenly appear, telling the player and their riveals that what they are witnessing is the production of Infinity Energy, the harvesting of life energy that will eventually kill whatever is subjected to it. While Rex says that he is personally disgusted by the conspiracy, his services to his boss are done strictly for money and that he has been tasked with eliminating the player. Rex and Brutus engage Tam and the player in a fight from which the player's team emerges victorious, but Rex says that this really doesn't matter, since there's nothing that anyone can do to stop what is going on.
After emerging from the New Kanto Power Plant, Tam, Chris, and the player are immediately apprehended by Cobalt Town's police. Tam and Chris stumble over themselves to tell them what is going on inside the Power Plant, but the police chief, Jasper, refuses to believe them and imprisons them in the local jail for trespassing, keeping the three inside a cell that doesn't allow them to release their Pokemon. When all seems lost, a Krokorok emerges from the cell's wall, having carved out a small passage through which the group can escape. The group make their way through the passage and sneak out of Cobalt Town through Route 9, the Great Cobalt Mine to the south having been sealed off.
====Carving Out the Past====
Free again, Tam and Chris leave the player, saying that they're going to try to spread the truth about the New Kanto Power Plant. On Route 9, the player encounters Ryan, a scientist trying to take temperature and humidity measurements. He says that while he would normally work in the nearby Weather Station, a giant inflatable Psyduck balloon has appeared above the station, making the weather impossible to observe there. The player travels with Ryan to the Weather Station via Dusty Mesa.
At the Weather Station, the player sees that, yes, there is a giant inflatable Psyduck in the skies. Loco Collective grunts seem to be moving heavy stone fragments from further along Dusty Mesa into the giant balloon's gondola. The player sneaks up Dusty Mesa (to avoid being blasted by the balloon's on-board ordinance) where they eventually find another portal, which Ryan recognizes as leading to N's Castle in the Unova region. The player steps into the portal and is whisked away.
Entering N's Castle from Unova's abandoned Victory Road route, the player makes their way into its deepest reaches, encountering nobody along the way. At a dead-end in the bottom floor, Dr. Gonzo suddenly appears, apologizing for being away from the player for so long and eager to show them his newest artistic creation, the Crimson Archetype. The player beats it, and Gono decides to start his creative process anew by looking for new inspiration, disposing both his creation and the player by causing the ground below them to give way.
Fortunately, the player lands on the belly of a sleeping Druddigon, breaking their fall. Unfortunately, this causes the Druddigon to attack the player. After beating or capturing the Druddigon, the player explores the caves beneath N's Castle. The player comes upon a massive mural, depicting a battle between many Pokemon and an unknown foe whose image has been chisled out. There are also inscriptions below the mural, some of which have also been chisled out. However, the Pokedex manages to translate what's left: 
"We came to this land from across the sea, our home having been destroyed in a terrible battle." </li></li></li>
"Many of our countrymen, people and Pokemon, died during the fighting." </li></li></li>
"Eventually, we emerged victorious against the scourge of Heaven, but with that victory we paid a terrible price." </li></li></li>
"Our kingdom has lost its three Guardians in the battle. Poratrix and Angeless have disappeared. We do not know where they are. Gaiyavern went mad from the ruined state of the land, and of its own body. We had to tear it apart in order to prevent it from committing further evil." </li></li></li>
"There is no reason to go back to our old home. The land has been ruined and the air is hard to breathe. No plant or Pokemon will come back to it. Without the help of our three Guardians, we fear that the kingdom we loved will forever remain in this desolate state." After leaving the mural room, the player travels through a series of tunnels that eventually leads back to the outside of N's Castle, but find that the portal is gone, seemingly shut down by the Loco Collective as they exited. Suddenly the portal reappears. The player steps through to find a groogy Ryan leaning against a wall. Ryan claims he had nothing to do with the portal reappearing, having been knocked out by the Loco Collective, but remembers seeing a weird depression in space that disappeared shortly before the portal reappeared. The Loco Collective, their business apparently finished, have left the scene, giant flying Psyduck and all.
====Some Powerful Friends and Enemies====
Exiting Dusty Mesa, the player receives a panicked text message from Tam, claiming that she and Chris were kidnapped by a large group of Shadow Raiders, and that they are being held in Silph Co.'s headquarters. The player travels to Silph Co.'s building, which is dark and seemingly empty. A voice on the ground floor's intercom instructs the player to take the lobby elevator to the top floor of the building if they want to see their friends again. The player boards the elevator and emerges on the top floor. In President Alexander's office is Dr. Vys, impressed but somewhat annoyed that the player has managed to trump the Shadow Raiders and Loco Collective's combined efforts to stop them. She's especially irritated that none of Gonzo's creations were able to stop the player, given the time and resources that were wasted on them. She then writes off Gonzo as being incompetent before unveiling her own Crimson creation, the Crimson Amorphous, which she orders to attack the player. The player defeats it and Dr. Vys is momentarily in awe of the player's strength, before regaining composure and tersely noting that nothing is going to stop the Loco Collective from achieving their goals. A helicopter arrives to retrieve Dr. Vys and she orders the pilot to fly to Horizon Labs.
The player exits the Silph Co. building and meets Looker, whose leg is has recovered and now only has to move about with crutches. He tells the player that Tam and Chris told him about the use of Infinity Energy at the New Kanto Power Plant and disappeared shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, Looker has tried to tell the authorities in Kanto about the Infinity Energy plot, but they all have rebuffed him. Furthermore, Looker's cell phone seems to be having all of its outside calls blocked. When the player tells Looker that they have to reach Horizon Labs, Looker says that Saffron University, in which the labs are located, is under lockdown and that the police are letting nobody in or out. However, Looker has heard that it may be possible to get into the University via Saffron's sewer system, which might be accessible through the Pokemon Catacombs in Lavender Town.
Rosemary, the caretaker of the Pokemon Catacombs, shows the player the entrance to the underground labyrinth, asking them to deal with the gang members that are rumored to be active down there. In the Catacombs, the player encounters multiple Shadow Raider members, including Brutus, who is attempting to capture Ghost-type Pokemon with a device he "saw in a movie". It fails horribly, as do most of the traps that Brutus has set up for you. One of Brutus's traps that does succeed is a strategically-placed Spiritomb, which must be beaten or captured before continuing on.
The player exits the catacombs into a seemingly-inhabited area of the underground. Speaking with the people there will reveal that its name is Shadow Town, home of an assortment of criminals, thieves, and other outcasts. It also happens to be the home base of the Shadow Raiders. A Shadow Raider grunt refuses to let the player through to the Saffron Sewers unless they get permission from Brutus first. When the player confronts Brutus, he springs yet another trap on them, a cage which falls from the ceiling onto the player. Immediately after this, a grunt informs Brutus that Rex has ordered him to let the player pass through Shadow Town undisturbed. Brutus is incredulous at this, having spent all night welding the cage together himself. Fortunately for the player, the bars on this cage are spaced way too far apart and they are able to easily escape from the cage right in front of Brutus's eyes. Livid beyond compare, Brutus ambushes the player, ordering all five of his Pokemon to attack the player at once in a Horde Battle. The player wins and Brutus panics, having defied an order from his boss and all out of Pokemon with which to defend himself. He bolts out of the Shadow Raider headquarters and the player is allowed to leave Shadow Town.
The player makes it through the Saffron Sewers and emerges from a manhole into Saffron University, from which they enter Horizon Labs. The high-tech labs are in chaos; Numerous Loco Collective grunts, dangerous Pokemon, and Crimson Compositions have been let loose in a desperate attempt to stop you. In Dr. Vys's office, you encounter both her and President Alexander. While Vys is rather irritated to see you, Alexander tries to reason with the player instead: He wishes that he didn't have to harvest Infinity Energy from Pokemon to generate power, but that all other sources of energy aren't practical at Kanto's current level of energy usage. All this time, however, he has been searching for an alternative to Infinity Energy, and believes that he may have found it in an alternative dimension said to be filled with massive amounts of energy, if only humans could get to it. This is where Dr. Vys has come in; Using large quantities of concentrated Infinity Energy, Vys hoped that a massive and forceful explosion at a weak point in the barrier separating the two dimensions would pierce through the barrier and allow access to the alternate dimension and its energy. The first attempt at this (conducted while you cornered the Shadow Raiders in the Old Pewter Mine) failed, only causing local spatial conditions to degrade, opening numerous portals to other locations within the Pokemon world. However, Dr. Vys has since improved her mathematical equations and has determined that she needs an even stronger form of Infinity Energy, which cannot be obtained from most Pokemon, for her plans to succeed. Fortunately for her, she has found a source of such Infinity Energy. All she needs to do is to obtain it and find a payload with which to carry it.
Just then Rex enters the room from behind the player. He says that he's finished working for Alexander and Vys, having grown more and more uneasy about the Pokemon that the Shadow Raiders captured for the production of Infinity Energy, and disgusted beyond belief when Dr. Vys ordered that Tam, Chris, and the player be kidnapped and disposed of. He continues to say that neither Dr. Vys or Alexander have any idea what they're doing: If their detonation of Infinity Energy caused their dimension to deteriorate so badly, then detonating a more powerful form of it might cause even more adverse effects. Alexander at this point cuts off Rex, saying that he and Vys were promised salvation, not ruin. Rex asks Alexander who told him this, and Alexander replies that it was a voice from a higher power, which Alexander, Vys, and all of the Loco Collective can hear. Rex chuckles, saying that they're all crazy and have to be stopped before they hurt anyone else. Rex teams up with the player against Alexander and Dr. Vys in a double-battle.
Having won the battle, Rex suggests that Alexander, Dr. Vys, and himself should turn themselves in for their crimes. Dr. Vys remains defiant and presses a button on her desk, generating a portal on the wall behind her. Alexander and her run through it and the portal quickly closes, with the button used to generate it now being unresponsive. Rex shrugs, saying that not all was lost, and takes the player to the cell where Tam and Chris are being held. Being alive and unharmed, Rex releases them and the four emerge from Horizon Labs. Rex, having gained respect for the player, wishes them luck on their quest to "save the world or whatever from those nutjobs", before slinking off, saying that he needs a drink. Tam and Chris both agree to travel back to Pallet Town to reassure their families that they are safe and leave the player.
After this, the player can challenge Sabrina, who has returned back to the Saffron Gym, and obtain the Marsh Badge. Before the player leaves, she explains her absence. She and all of her fellow psychic trainers had suffered from an incessant voice communicating directly into their minds, which repeated the same four phrases again and again: "Please send help." "I am trapped in here." "I want to be free." "I want to offer you salvation." Sabrina notes that using meditation, she and her followers have learned to cope with the voice, but that it has not stopped.
====Poaching Nature====
From here, the player's next steps become somewhat open-ended. Two sleeping Snorlaxes, which have been deposited by Dr. Gonzo to impede the player's progress, block the way west out of Celadon City and the intersection of Routes 11, 12 and 13. The player can travel back to Lavender Town and speak to Rosemary, who gives the player the Poke Flute in gratitude for clearing the Shadow Raiders out of the Pokemon Catacombs. Using the Poke Flute to rouse the sleeping beasts, the player can capture or defeat the two Snorlax blocking their progress. Defeating them causes them to wander away from their original spot.
With their way unimpeded, the player can travel south to Fuchsia City, where they can obtain the Soul Badge from gym leader Janine. However, the exit south of Fuchsia City is blocked due to an infestation of Crabrawlers on the beach. In order to lift the barricade, the player will have to meet four criteria:
****Obtain the Marsh Badge.
****Obtain the Soul Badge.
****Defeat Brutus in the Safari Zone.
****Defeat Dr. Vys at the Abandoned Team Flare HQ.
If the player decides to go down Cycling Road, they will encounter many bikers claiming to be part of the new "Shadow Riders" gang, who are said to be poaching Pokemon for profit and were each promised a big payoff by the group's boss. Arriving in Fuchsia City, the Director of the Safari Zone will tell the player that the Shadow Riders have driven him and his employees out, and seem to be intent on locating a rare Pokemon. The Director will allow the player to register his Machamp on their Skill Pager, which allows them to move large, heavy blocks and other obstacles.
The player makes their way through the Safari Zone, battling more Shadow Rider members, who tell the player that they are looking for a Pokemon called "Wizzog". The player soon finds Brutus near the Director's lodge, who claims to be the leader of the fearsome new Shadow Riders, and engages the player in battle. After the player wins, Brutus breaks down in tears and confesses what has happened to him since your last encounter with him in Shadow Town: Fearing for his life due to ignoring orders from Rex, Brutus hastily peeled off a small portion of the Shadow Raiders to his side by promising them large sums of cash. Momentarily safe but now obligated to make good on promises he couldn't possibly keep, Brutus forced himself and his group into the Safari Zone, under the pretense that they were going to seize the rare Pokemon Wizzog and sell it for lots of money on the black market. But in reality, this was all done to buy Brutus some time as he pondered ways to flee his men. As Brutus finishes talking to the player, a large group of Shadow Riders arrives, demanding to speak to Brutus at the Low-Tide Bar (south of the Cycling Road). With nowhere to go, Brutus relunctantly goes along with his gang.
The player can then go to the Low-Tide Bar, where inside members of the Shadow Riders are demanding their promised payment from Brutus. Brutus can't do much but stammer that he is having some problems getting the money. Just as his men are about to inflict physical violence upon him, Rex enters the bar, ordering the men to leave Brutus alone. Rex chastises Brutus for his ridiculous scheme and the lack of creativity he had when naming his group ("Seriously? The Shadow Riders?! All you did was change one letter!"). Brutus timidly asks if Rex is going to have him be punished. Rex says that, no, he wouldn't harm his own baby brother, and that the Shadow Raiders are like one big family anyways. For many of its members, the camaraderie they have with each other is the only real advantage they have in life, so all of its members are obligated to look out for each other, even after idiots like Brutus. However, Rex does say that Brutus will have to clean all of Shadow Town's toilets for some time in order to totally redeem himself. The members of the Shadow Riders then pipe up, demanding the large payments Brutus had promised them. Rex tells them that being allowed back into the Shadow Raiders after the stupid stunt they pulled is payment enough, and somewhat grudgingly, the ex-Shadow Riders, Brutus and Rex all return to Shadow Town.
If the player travels south of Lavender Town, they will encounter a startled little boy after beating or capturing the Snorlax blocking Routes 11, 12 and 13. The boy tells the player that strange men and women attacked his family farm and asks for your help. The boy will take the player to Evergreen Farms, located north of Route 11, which has indeed been trashed. Speaking to the boy's family, the player learns that the invaders forced their way into the farm and made their way to its far end, where they suddenly disappeared. As the player explores this area, they receive a call from Professor Daisy Oak. Studying the locations of the portals opened in Kanto to other parts of the world, she has developed the theory that where a portal is situated in Kanto will determine which part of the world the portal will lead to. Based on the player's location, Professor Oak believes that the farm's invaders may have generated a portal leading to what used to be Geosenge Town in the Kalos region, though she has no idea why they were trying to get there. Besides, the any portal that might have been generated has dissipated by now.
The player finds themselves at a dead end, when a swirling pattern of shapes slowly descends from the sky. Professor Oak is taken aback by the sudden appearance of this entity and asks the player to scan it with their Pokedex to determine if it is a Pokemon or not. The player does so and the Pokedex generates a short, corrupted entry titled "Missingno". Professor Oak tells the player that the Missingno entry is the Pokedex's default output if it recognizes something as a Pokemon but cannot determine its species. Believing that almost all species of Pokemon have by now been identified, the Missingno entry was more of a technical failsafe than anything else, preventing the Pokedex from crashing in the unlikely event that it scanned an undiscovered Pokemon.
The entity hovers around the player for a short while, with Professor Oak telling the player to be cautious, as the entity doesn't look entirely stable. Suddenly, a flash of bright light comes from the entity, and when the player regains their sight, a portal has opened in front of them. Professor Oak is astounded, as only a few Pokemon are known to be capable of generating portals leading to other locations. She also adds that the other side of the portal indeed looks like the remains of Geosenge Town, and is quite pleased that her predictive model of portal destinations is turning out to be correct. The entitty slowing climbs back into the sky, while the player steps through the new portal.
The player finds themselves in front of a gigantic tree in a dense forest, along the base of which are a few ruined log cabins and other buildings. The Pokedex identifies the huge tree as the Tree of Life, which quickly grew in the middle of Geosenge Town after the villainous Team Flare's plans for destruction were foiled and the legendary Pokemon of the Kalos region reawoke, causing a large concentration of life energy to accumulate on the spot. As the player explores the area, they find the entrance to the old Team Flare HQ, which is by now overrun by vegetation and gnarled by twisting roots at its lower levels. As the player explores the abandoned bunker, they can hear activity happening further down in the base.
Locating the source of the noise, the player finds Dr. Vys and other Loco Collective members, who are harvesting Infinity Energy from the captive Pokemon Zygarde. As soon as the player arrives, Zygarde breaks down and bursts into its component Cores and Cells (following this, the player can find 5 Zygarde Cores and 100 Zygarde Cells throughout the game's world to reconstruct the legendary Pokemon). Vys tells her underlings that they have already harvested all the Infinity Energy they will need, so Zygarde's collapse is no loss to them, and further instructs them to get out of the base and onto the surface. Vys then confronts the player in a fight, but not before initiating the detonation sequence on the Infinity Energy's specialized container. From here, the player has 5 minutes to defeat Dr. Vys, or else be destroyed in a tremendous explosion. After the battle is won, Vys mutters that it doesn't matter if the player won this time, because thanks to improvments the Loco Collective has made to their portal technology, they'll always manage to be one step ahead of the player from now on. Vys then cancels the detonation sequence and disappears with the harvested Infinity Energy in a flash of bright light.
After returning through the portal back to Kanto, the proprietors of Evergreen Farms thank the player for confronting the people that trashed their farm. Although the player has not returned with any of the interlopers, they still appreciate the player's time and effort. As a reward, they register their best Tauros to the player's Skill Pager, allowing the player to clear the path ahead of rocks and other breakable obstacles.
====The Breaking Point====
The beach below Fuchsia City has been reopened, and when the player travels there, they encounter a large group of people looking at something on the sea. What it turns out to be is the S.S. Alexia, with Dr. Gonzo directing Loco Collective members from its deck. He demands that all remaining passengers be forced off the ship, while a Loco Grunt approaches him and says that the captain of the ship has been located. Gonzo is pleased at this news, and says that they are ready to travel to the portal at once. The ship then begins moving off to the west. Tam finds the player on the beach and asks what she and the player just saw. The police chief of Fuchsia city then appears and says that the Loco Collective appeared, deploying many of its members and numerous strange monsters from a submarine, and took over the S.S. Alexia while it was picking up passengers. He says that he'll ignore the Tam and player's arrest warrant from Cobalt Town is they attempt to pursue the ship.
Tam and the player can now use Lapras's surfing ability to travel on the ocean south of Fuchsia City. If the player heads east on the ocean, they can encounter Battle Island, which contains a marvelous new battle facility that will be opening soon. The player can also travel up Boom Mountain on the island to encounter and capture Moltres if they wish. Otherwise, there isn't much to do on Battle Island just yet.
Traveling west on the ocean will allow the player to encounter the Seafoam Islands and the burgeoning New Cinnabar Town built on top of it. Dr. Fierno, the town's gym leader, is said to be away investigating strange volcanic activity. Asking the towns citizens, Tam and the player find out that people saw the S.S. Alexia disappear just south of the Seafoam Islands. After speaking to enough people, the player receives a phone call from Professor Oak, saying that Mossdeep City in the Hoenn Region has just been attacked by a group matching the Loco Collective's description. Using the predictive model of portal placements within Kanto, she believes that if a portal were opened on the southern tip of the Seafoam Islands that it would lead directly to Mossdeep City. Tam and the player find this place, but wonder how they can open a portal. Just then, the entity known as Missingno again descends from the sky. There is another bright flash of light and the portal leading to Mossdeep City appears. Tam and the player step through as Missingno ascends back into the sky.
On the other side, Tam and the player find Mossdeep City in chaos. Speaking to a scientist, the two discover that the Loco Collective have attacked Rocket Bay, the area north of the island where the rockets used in Hoenn's space program are launched. Tam and the player make it through Mossdeep and Rocket Bay, battling many Loco Collective grunts and the newest iteration of the mass-produced Crimson monsters, the Crimson Critiques, along the way. At one point, our two protagonists encounter a submarine from which Loco Collective members are emerging out of. Tam deduces that this must be the submarine they were told played a role in hijacking the S.S. Alexia. Tam decides to stay here and direct her Pokemon to attack the sub itself, so that it can hopefully be crippled and put out of commission.
The player continues onto the far end of Rocket Bay, where they find Dr. Gonzo and several grunts boarding a large rocket onto the S.S. Alexia's storage deck. Gonzo notices the player and regretfully informs them that he can't afford to spend time basking in the adulation of his fans at this critical time. He attacks the player with his team. The player defeats him, and Gonzo reflects that infamy and renown is more exhausting than he originally supposed and decides that he needs some space from the player. He tosses a small object between them and suddenly an impenetrable barrier, similar to those the player finds near Cerulean and Vermilion City, materializes between the player and Gonzo. Gonzo remarks that Dr. Vys's latest invention is good for keeping the paparazzi at bay, if nothing else. Gonzo finishes loading up the rocket into the S.S. Alexia, and the ship sails off to the east. Coming back the way they came, the player finds that Tam has damaged the submarine's outer haul, but is being outnumbered by Loco Collective grunts. Before the player can do anything, the grunts seize Tam and force her into the submarine, which then takes off to the east.
Arriving back at Mossdeep City, a scientist informs the player that the S.S. Alexia has disappeared just east of the island. However, there is radio activity being detected from the nearby Abysmal Trench, and the scientist offers to teach the player's Lapras how to safely dive in deep water in order to reach its location. With this new diving skill, the player reaches Abysmal Trench and spots the Loco Collective's submarine and several of its members in diving suits working on some sort of mechanism. A portal suddenly opens in front of the submarine, through which it enters. The player battles the technicians that worked on the portal, from which they learn that the submarine is returning to the Loco Collective's secondary base for repairs, and then follows the submarine and the technicians through the portal.
The player emerges in some sort of underground base, which seems to have copious amounts of magma coursing through it. The player encounters yet more Loco Collective grunts and Crimson Critiques, and discovers that the Crimson monsters are also being manufactured here. The player shuts down the geothermal generator powering the assembly line and then is able to access the higher levels of the base.
The player eventually finds a room containing the rock carvings, those that the player earlier saw taken from under N's Castle. As before, the Pokedex is equipped to translate: 
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"A strange interloper from another world fell from the stars to our kingdom." </li></li></li>
"When it reached the earth, it began to turn the air poisonous, summoned many fearsome and merciless beasts, and drained the very land itself of life. Many humans and Pokemon died before we were able to unite and mount a counterattack."</li></li></li>
 '"We called the invader 'Armahedron', after a terrible demon whose name is whispered in our kingdom's ancient lore." </li></li></li>
"As we began to subdue Armahedron, it shed its original form and flew away towards the southern mountains at a tremendous speed." </li></li></li>
"Gaiyavern and Poratrix pursued Armahedron. Gaiyavern fell when it was fatally injured by an attack. Poratrix alone persisted." </li></li></li>
"With the last of its strength, Poratrix formed a gigantic black orb, great, dark and terrifying, from which nothing nearby, not even the very earth itself, could resist being pulled in into." </li></li></li>
"Poratrix suffered the same fate as Armahedron, being pulled into the dark prison of its own creation." </li></li></li>
"After Poratrix and Armahedron had left this world, the dark orb began to contract, getting smaller and smaller, until there was a terrific flash of bright light. Following this, the orb had disappeared completely from the sky." </li></li></li>
"Although we are now at peace in this new country, many of the men who fought back against the end of the world still vividly remember the horrors of that day: The people and Pokemon slaughtered and maimed, the otherworldly and deadly beasts, the stench of the ruined landscape, the great wall of water that decimated many of the survivors after the southern mountains had vanished along with Poratrix and Armahedron, and many other terrible things too numerous and heinous to describe." </li></li></li>
"But the worst affected have been those few who heard what are thought to have been Armahedron's last words: 'Please send help.' 'I am trapped in here.' 'I want to be free.' 'I want to offer you salvation.' They fear for Armahedron's return." On the wall of this room, the player finds another stone carving, of an unknown hourglass-shaped figure.
Eventually, the player encounters Gonzo again, who apologizes to the player that he hasn't had much time to focus on his artistic creations for the player to enjoy.
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Category:Subpages
Category:Stories
Category:Story Modes