The End of an Era

Shadow Team found itself mired in the quagmire of Pyrite Town.

When Liu Ge gave the order, trainers with top-notch equipment and powerful Pokémon emerged from every faction in Pyrite Town. They appeared just as those factions were being driven back, then turned on both sides.

At first, Shadow Team paid them little mind. But it soon discovered that while these trainers were fewer than the usual rabble, they were many times harder to deal with.

Then things took another turn.

A group appeared that shocked Shadow Team's commander even more.

"You said what? Trainers in red capes using Gyarados, Salamence, and Dragonite?" He stared at the Shadow Team member in disbelief.

The man nodded frantically, his face twisted with pain. "Yes! We don't know where they came from. The one leading them is an old man in a white hat. Look."

The Shadow Team member handed the commander a photograph he had taken.

"Dragon Tamers... Hoenn Elite Four..."

The commander's face turned ashen. His underlings might be good-for-nothing grunts who did nothing but eat, drink, and fool around, but he knew who these people were. Orre was hardly cut off from the outside world.

What he couldn't understand was why Hoenn's Elite Four had appeared alongside Dragon Tamers in this remote corner of the world. What could Pyrite Town possibly have to offer them?

"Bad news, boss! Bad news!"

Another battered Shadow Team member came running over. "The Champion! The Champion is here!"

"The Champion!?"

The commander's eyes widened. He seized the man. "You said the Champion? Which Champion? Where did a Champion come from?"

"It's the Hoenn Champion! Steven!" The Shadow Team member pointed at a flashing silver meteor on the horizon.

The meteor kept plummeting from the sky and shooting back up. Every descent brought a thunderous,