The early morning sun barely climbed above the horizon before Alex, Victini, and Gold Bar prepared for departure.
Having rested throughout the night and devoured nearly all the sweet berries Alex could find, Gold Bar looked completely recharged. Its golden-and-white body gleamed under the dawn light, wings humming with eager energy.
"Alright," Alex said, securing his custom console in his inner jacket and climbing onto the sleek back of the young Latias. "Just a steady, gentle flight toward the west, okay? Nothing too cra—"
SWOOOSH!!
Before Alex could even finish the word, Gold Bar shot forward like a fired missile.
"AAAAAHHH!!"
Alex's cheeks were instantly pulled back by the sheer force of the wind. His eyes watered uncontrollably as the ocean surface turned into an unrecognizable blue blur beneath them.
Victini, clinging for dear life to Alex's collar, flapped like a tiny orange flag in a hurricane. It let out a barrage of muffled, furious squeaks, shooting Alex a look that practically screamed: Whose bright idea was this?!
"I—regret—everything!!" Alex yelled through the screaming gale, his voice tearing into fragments.
Even as a baby, a Latias was built like a jet. Gold Bar seemed entirely oblivious to their torment, happily accelerating as if trying to show off just how fast it could go. Alex and Victini could do nothing but grit their teeth and endure the roller coaster from hell.
After nearly forty agonizing minutes of breaking the sound barrier, green patches finally dotted the horizon.
They bypassed two small, uninhabited islets before spotting the third island. Unlike the wild crater they had left behind, this one had paved docks, colorful wooden roofs, and fishing boats anchored along the coast.
Civilization.
"Down! Put us down over there!" Alex shouted, pointing weakly toward a secluded stretch of sand away from the docks.
Gold Bar banked sharply, skimming across the water before sliding to a smooth stop on the beach.
Alex practically rolled off its back, collapsing onto the warm sand on all fours, his legs trembling violently. Victini slumped face-first beside him, its little tongue sticking out, dizzy spirals spinning in its eyes.
"Good job, Gold Bar..." Alex wheezed, giving the proud dragon a weak thumbs-up. "Next time... warning... please."
Gold Bar chirped happily, puffing out its chest.
Knowing a golden Legendary dragon wandering onto a public beach would cause an immediate regional crisis, Alex tapped the Premier Ball. A beam of red light pulled Gold Bar back inside, and he hung the sphere safely beneath his collar.
Alex pulled out his console.
The screen blinked, refreshed, and the harsh red alert finally vanished: NETWORK CONNECTED.
Five bars of crystal-clear signal.
Alex didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. He punched in his family's private line and hit call, simultaneously broadcasting his GPS coordinates.
The call connected before the first ring even finished.
"ALEX?!"
His mother's voice blasted through the speaker so loudly that the console vibrated. In the background, his father Draven was practically shouting over her shoulder, his voice cracking with pure emotion.
"Alex! By Arceus, where are you?! Are you hurt?! Are you safe?!"
"Mom, Dad, I'm okay," Alex said quickly, relief washing through him as his eyes stung with sudden warmth. "I'm alive. I reached an island with a town."
"Thank goodness... oh, thank goodness..." Draven choked up, openly weeping on the other end.
Then, Elara's voice sharpened into pure ice, though it trembled slightly with suppressed tears. Another connection beeped—Cynthia had joined the encrypted line the moment the signal registered.
"Cynthia," Elara said, her tone sending a chill through the entire channel. "You listen to me very carefully. You are to bring my son back in one piece immediately. Do not stop. Do not get distracted by ruins. Grandma is already at our house, and she is waiting for her great-grandson. If you fail, you can explain it to her yourself."
On the other end of the line, the reigning Sinnoh Champion sounded genuinely terrified.
"I know, Elara, I know! I'm already en route!" Cynthia replied with a voice full of guilt and panic. She addressed Alex next: "Alex! Stay right where you are. I've already contacted the local Pokémon Center. Go there right now and do not wander off!"
"Understood," Alex agreed obediently.
He pocketed the console, let Victini turn invisible atop his head, and hurried toward the town.
At the local Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy was already standing outside the sliding doors, looking around anxiously. The moment she spotted a four-year-old matching the description, she rushed forward.
Inside, Alex learned where he had actually landed: a populated island within the vast Decolore Islands archipelago, located between Kanto and Unova.
Alex quietly broke out into cold sweat. If Gold Bar hadn't guided them west toward this chain of islands, he and Victini would have drifted endlessly into the open ocean.
Nurse Joy performed a full medical scan, bandaged a few minor sand scrapes, and brought out a warm, hearty meal. Alex ate gratefully, while also ordering several large plates of sweet berry salads and specialty dishes, carrying them to a private rest room so Victini and Gold Bar could feast without drawing unwanted eyes.
By early afternoon, the sound of powerful wingbeats shook the air outside the Center.
A sleek Dragonite touched down near the entrance, followed closely by an Officer Jenny on a police motorcycle.
The doors slid open, and Cynthia practically burst into the lobby. She spotted Alex sitting on the waiting couch, sprinted across the floor, and swept him into a tight, breathless hug.
"You're alright... you're really alright..." she whispered, burying her face into his shoulder. She pulled back and began frantically checking him from head to toe, inspecting his arms, head, and face like a panicked mother.
Nurse Joy smiled gently from behind the desk. "Champion Cynthia, please rest assured. The young boy is completely healthy, just a little exhausted."
Only then did Cynthia let out a long, shaky breath and release him.
Officer Jenny took a brief, formal report about the plane crash. Alex kept his explanation simple and believable: the aircraft suffered a sudden explosion, he fell into the water, and was mysteriously carried to safety by a wild Pokémon he couldn't identify before washing ashore.
Satisfied, Officer Jenny wrapped up the investigation to coordinate rescue efforts for the wreckage.
With official matters cleared, Cynthia led Alex out of the center and took him to a quiet coastal restaurant for lunch.
Sitting across from him, she crossed her arms, her sharp greyish-blue eyes narrowing playfully. "Alright, you little brat. Now tell me the real story. No official reports, just the truth."
Alex grinned. He leaned forward, lowered his voice, and began recounting the entire sequence of events—the free fall, sliding into the ancient crater, discovering the volcanic ruins, the terrifying arrival of Moltres, and the aerial clash with Latios and Latias.
Cynthia listened in stunned silence.
Then, Alex smirked, unhooked the chain from his neck, and set the pristine Premier Ball gently onto the table.
"And while Moltres was fighting outside, Victini and I raided its nest."
He tapped his console, playing the crystal-clear video recordings: the smoking crater, the bird's-eye scans, Moltres clashing in the sky, and the glowing magma chamber.
Cynthia stared at the footage, completely speechless.
She looked at Alex, then at the invisible spot on his head where Victini usually rested.
"You survived a mid-air plane explosion, fell into an uncharted crater, witnessed a battle between three Legendaries, robbed a Moltres, and caught a Shiny Latias... with an empty Premier Ball?" Cynthia rubbed her temples, letting out a dazed laugh. "You little brat, Victini isn't just a Mythical Pokémon. It's an absolute walking cheat code. Next time I go exploring ancient ruins, I'm taking it with me."
Above Alex's head, Victini puffed out its chest proudly.
After lunch, they walked down to an empty, secluded cove along the rocky shoreline.
"Let me see it," Cynthia urged, curiosity and excitement practically burning in her eyes.
Alex tapped the Premier Ball. In a flash of light, Gold Bar appeared on the sand.
The moment the light dissipated, Cynthia gasped, her breath catching in her throat. Her eyes went completely wide, filled with pure thrill and wonder.
"Arceus above... it's really a Latias!" Cynthia exclaimed, her voice shaking with excitement. Up until now, she had only read about the Eon duo in dusty ancient manuscripts, folklore tablets, and mythological scriptures. She had never actually seen one in the flesh—let alone up this close!
"Wait, look at its color!" Cynthia leaned down instantly, her hands trembling with scholarly and battler fascination alike. "Every single ancient scroll and historical mural in Hoenn describes Latias as having vibrant scarlet and pure white feathers... but this one is completely golden-yellow! It's definitely different from the standard legends! A genuine Shiny Legendary... this is unbelievable!"
She reached out enthusiastically, wanting to inspect every single inch of its rare scales.
Gold Bar squeaked in absolute alarm, startled by the tall, over-excited blonde woman lunging toward it, and instantly scrambled behind Alex's legs, peeking out with wide, terrified eyes.
Alex patted the little dragon's head and chuckled. "Relax, Gold Bar. This is Aunt Cynthia. She's just a giant nerd who gets way too excited about rare things. She's also the Sinnoh Champion—basically the strongest person in the room. And she can easily beat up that big fiery bird that bullied you."
Gold Bar's eyes widened. It looked at Cynthia, then at Alex, before letting out a soft, approving "Lati!" Only then did it cautiously step forward, allowing Cynthia to gently stroke its smooth, golden head.
Cynthia's fingers lingered on the gleaming scales, her thrill shifting into the unmistakable, dangerous spark of an elite battler. "An injured Moltres resting inside an ancient crater, huh...?"
Alex saw the fierce glint in his aunt's eyes and chimed in with a sly smirk.
"You know, Aunt Cynthia... Mom is furious right now, and Grandma is waiting at our house. If you show up empty-handed, you're going to get scolded for three days straight. But if you bring an actual Moltres home to show Mom and Grandma... they might go easy on you."
Cynthia froze. She looked at Alex, then gave him a playful shove on the shoulder, breaking into a brilliant, adventurous grin.
"Little brat," Cynthia laughed, reaching into her coat pocket, "sometimes you're an absolute evil genius."
She pulled out a sleek, uniquely designed ball that looked distinct from standard issue—its black shell accented with glowing metallic gold bands and intricate circuit-like grooves.
"Besides, I've been dying to test this," Cynthia said with a mischievous smirk, tossing the capsule lightly in her hand. "It's Devon Corporation's latest prototype Ultra Ball. I won it in a bet against that annoying Stone when his Metagross couldn't handle my Garchomp. Steven looked like he wanted to cry when he handed it over! Let's see if his fancy tech can actually hold a Legendary."
With a flick of her wrist, she called out another ball from her belt. With a deafening roar, a massive Garchomp materialized on the sand, its sharp dorsal fin slicing through the breeze.
Cynthia leaped onto Garchomp's back, while Alex mounted Gold Bar once more.
"Lead the way, Gold Bar," Cynthia commanded with a confident smirk. "Let's go pay our flaming friend a visit."
Without a second of hesitation, both Pokémon shot into the sky, streaking straight back toward the hidden crater of Moltres.