@Scytherwolf; @Soups;

Episode 53: Enter Galactic

"My third badge, a new companion--can this adventure get any better?" Ash smiled as he snuggled his new Riolu.

"Well, if you really want to end your visit to Veilstone with a bang, I can take you to see the Three Heavenly Jewels." Reggie offered. "They are three meteors with large jeweled chunks inside that supposedly hit the earth millions of years ago."

"It's possible for jewels to be made in space?" Dawn gasped.

Reggie nodded. "Diamonds, peridots, and all kinds of other jewels have been documented in space. The Three Heavenly Jewels are three of the largest cosmic jewels that have been found on earth. The Flame Jewel has a chunk of ruby inside, the Earth Jewel a chunk of emerald, and the Sea Jewel a chunk of sapphire."

"Where are they?" Ash asked.

"On a mountain overlooking town." Reggie replied. "Many say the Three Heavenly Jewels guard the city, and they've inspired Arceus knows how many comic books, movies, TV shows, and games."

"I remember my science teacher talking about them as a kid." Dawn remembered. "She told us that they supposedly came from a 'super-Earth' made of gems. This made it all the more amazing when the news announced some weeks ago that scientists had found that same planet."

She grinned. "I never dreamed I'd see a scientific marvel up close on this trip!"

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Meanwhile, Saturn emerged from a helicopter at an undisclosed location in Veilstone. After taking the heliport's elevator down inside the building, he followed a hallway towards a briefing room.

Cheers met him from the hundreds of grunts in the room. "Okay, everyone--today is a vital first step in bringing about our new world." he began.

More cheers went up at this. "The mission so far is to energize the Spear Key with the cosmic energy from the Three Heavenly Jewels. You guys have received your instructions, so Team Flame, go with Mars, Team Earth, go with Jupiter, and Team Droplet, come with me. If you were not assigned to a team, your job is to maintain upkeep on the mission from the base."

"Yes, Sir Saturn!" the grunts chorused before dispersing.

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"So, where do I go from here in getting a badge?" Ash asked as he waited for his team to return from the exam room.

"You could try Pastoria City." Nurse Joy suggested. "It's also home to the Great Marsh..."

In the tech lounge, Reggie carried on a conversation with Paul. "Bring all you've got, bro--Ash is a formidable opponent."

"Formidable my foot!" Paul shot back. "I've beaten him so many times, and the few times he did win, it was by the skin of his teeth!"

"That may be true, but Ash is not the type to give up." Reggie calmly replied. "He will do everything in his power to win, even if it is by the skin of his teeth."

Paul sighed. "Let's just talk about something else, okay?"

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Back at the meteor field, Saturn stepped out of the helicopter from before with his team of grunts. "Inside this box, is the Spear Key." he explained as he opened the box.

The grunts oohed and ahhed as the cube-like key reformed into a spear-like shape. Saturn then held the key skyward, sending red, blue, and green light into the sky.

"Grunt Vega to Admin Saturn, are we go to run the scrambler?" came a female voice on Saturn's communicator.

Saturn smiled. "Scrambler is go."

In the Pokemon Center, Reggie balked as the videophone crashed. "What the--the videophone went down!"

"Internet is down too!" Ash reported as he fruitlessly tried every computer in the tech lounge, only to get a "This page cannot be displayed" error in every browser.

"Wi-Fi is down, save for private hotspots, gaming services are down..." Brock reported. "Good thing I have a private hotspot. Every public hotspot, gaming, communication, and media service is down, save for medically necessary communications, vehicles...

"...and Galactic equipment." Officer Jenny added as she arrived to calm the Pokemon Center's patrons. "Everyone, I've already dispatched teams across the city. The ISPs in the area have been notified about this massive crash, and they are working to get your service up and running as soon as possible. Social media is still up, so watch those pages for updates."

"I have a bad feeling that the Three Jewels are in danger." Dawn worried as the patrons started nervously speculating why nearly the entire infrastructure of the city had crashed.

"Let's head back to the Jeweled Hill!" Ash suggested. "Maybe the mastermind behind this is there!"

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Ash growled as he spotted Saturn on the hill. "You again...is this what you were doing in the ruins?" he demanded.

Saturn smirked. "So you remember me, hat-boy...you're just in time to watch the birth of a new world."

Then, an idea occurred to him. "In fact, let's have Mantella see if you're worthy for this golden opportunity!"

"What IS that?" Dawn asked as Saturn summoned a large purple frog-like Pokemon with a red sac and a point on its head.

"Toxicroak, the toxic mouth Pokemon. It has a poison sac at its throat. When it croaks, the stored poison is churned for greater potency." Ash's Pokedex explained.

Brock gasped as he watched the Toxicroak charge a pulsating black orb. "Hit the dirt!"

[AURA SPHERE!!!!] a familiar voice called as the group dove to the ground.

"Kiiroha!" Dawn smiled when she saw Maylene and Kiiroha staring down Saturn and his Toxicroak Mantella.

"My attendants told me everything." Maylene explained. "But it seems Kiiroha's attack had no effect besides dissipating that Dark Pulse...."

"This is no ordinary opponent, Maylene. " Officer Jenny cautioned. "This is Admin Saturn of the notorious Team Galactic. Not only do they want to create a new world by destroying this one, they want to recreate the entire universe itself!"

Way to ruin my epic moment... Saturn thought as Mars' and Jupiter's teams arrived. "Everyone, unleash the Golbats!"

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"There's too many!" Dawn cried as Lola desperately tried freezing some Golbats. Kori rushed to help, but more Golbats flew in to replace the frozen ones.

[To the rescue!] another familiar voice called as a massive Thunderbolt knocked out many of the Golbats.

"Surge?" Ash gasped as he saw Reggie and Surge attempt to help contain the Golbats.

Imultaos, ame no hao bakezo... Brock sang, creating a blinding green flash that dispersed the Golbats surrounding Surge.

[You okay?] Tintri asked as Surge collected himself.

[I think so--you're actually stronger than you look, Super-chu.] Surge smiled.

He suddenly spotted a Shadow Ball headed for Tintri! [Look out!]

[HI-YA!] Tarina leaped over a rock and whacked away the Shadow Ball, which exploded against a wall.

[Thanks, Tarina!] Tintri squeaked before the whirs of helicopters overhead got his attention. [What's going on?]

"Everyone! Aim for the cables attached to the meteors!" Ash called, pointing out some heavy cables attached to the Three Heavenly Jewels.

[Here, Magi-chu, let me boost your spell a little...] Surge offered, powering Tarina's Thundershock into a Thunderbolt.

[Thanks!] Tarina smiled. [Swirling bolts, gather and strike with power!]

[Ha!] Kiiroha cried as she cut one cable with a bone. A sparking arrow from Brock cut another, and Tintri eagerly charged Brock's next shot.

"Kori, use Whirlpool to protect the Three Heavenly Jewels!" Dawn called.

Saturn sighed as the three meteors swirled in a tornado of water. "Retreat, everyone--it appears we must re-think our strategy..."

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"Jenny, I am so sorry..." Ash sighed. "I wanted to catch the Galactic admins, but in all the confusion, they got away..."

"You did more than enough." Officer Jenny assured Ash. "What matters is that communication is back up, the Three Heavenly Jewels are safe, and no one was hurt in all this."

"Besides, we'll have a chance to stop Team Galactic soon enough." Brock agreed as Officer Jenny draped a medallion of valor around each Pokemon...

To Be Continued...