TJ, diye, and the Black Rayquaza. Pt I

TJ had been looking for it for a year. All his other research had been halted for the entire time. He heard a rumour of a rare Pokémon, but this was rare even by TJ's standards. He had collected many rare Pokémon throughout his ten years as a Pokémon trainer, but this amazed even him.

For the long year, there had been no news, no sign of it, nothing. Many of his colleagues told him to give up the search; that it wasn't worth his time. This only fuelled him more, though. To prove them wrong, to catch it. The Shiny Rayquaza.

His only proof of its existence was a photo taken by an amateur Pokémon photographer. It was a blurry picture, but still intriguing. It showed a long snakelike figure flying high in the sky. TJ recognised it instantly as a Rayquaza, but while the figure should have been green, it was black. The picture was presented to the scientific community, consisting of some of the best Pokémon professors in the world. It was instantly dismissed as a hoax by the majority, but TJ would not give up so easily. He found the photographer who took its picture and asked him questions about it.

He learned that it could be found at Sky Pillar. TJ had been to Sky Pillar only a few times, but every time he returned with a Rayquaza. But the shiny Rayquaza was special. Different. Rare. Rare even for Rayquaza, which many people thought there was only one. TJ knew better. There was more than one, and he had proof with the few of them he had managed to capture. But the shiny Rayquaza would be invaluable for his research. Alternate-coloured Pokémon were rare enough already, but a shiny legendary Pokémon was a chance he couldn't let slip by.

"diye, are you still willing to go on this trip? It's not too late to decline if you feel that you're not up to it." asked TJ while rummaging through cabinets and drawers in his lab. TJ was a thin young man with short brown hair. Rectangular glasses framed his brown eyes.

diye was a young Pokémon trainer, a teenager, but was quite talented. She had managed to capture Kyogre on her own, and with TJ's help, even managed to find and obtain a Mew. She was fairly tall, and had bright red hair and blue eyes.

"Yes, I still want to do this mission. I realise how important this is. Besides, it's not my first time doing something like this." replied diye.

diye's first mission, when she first became an assistant of TJ, was not an easy one. TJ had, as a sort of initiation, sent her off to find Regice, Regirock, and Registeel. He gave her only a set of coordinates, which seemed to be an unremarkable spot the middle of the ocean west of Pacifidlog town. The puzzle of where to find them was hers alone. She performed flawlessly, capturing all three and returning to TJ within a week.

"True, and your first mission was much more of a puzzle than this. However, none of the trio of Pokémon that you caught can compare to the sheer power of Rayquaza. It's among some of the most powerful Pokémon in our known world. It won't be easy" said TJ.

"I can do it." said diye confidently.

"Alright then. Here's what you have to do. You leave for Hoenn in the morning. I've been monitoring Sky Pillar for a year, and I'm certain the black Rayquaza will be there soon." TJ told her.

"I don't mean to doubt you, but how can you know?" she asked.

TJ glanced at a Pokéball on his desk, containing a Xatu, a Pokémon he'd obtained in Hoenn. He looked back at diye. "The right eye of Xatu."

"Oh, of course. It can see the future, right?" diye responded.

"That's right. It saw the shiny Rayquaza land at Sky Pillar, and that's why you need to leave tomorrow. It will land in only a few days." TJ said.

"I understand. What are my instructions?" the young Pokémon trainer asked.

"I've given you a set of coordinates for longitude, latitude, and altitude, as well as the time it will be there. When it lands, challenge it to a battle--" TJ was interrupted.

"Weaken it and catch it, I know what I'm doing." diye said.

"No, diye. This time is different. You are not to attack it at all. You cannot risk making it faint. I might have been lucky to only have searched for a year to find it. If it faints, there's no guarantee it will even be found again. If you need to, you may use this." Tj said while opening a cabinet. He pulled out a masterball and handed it to diye.

"Is this a masterball?! Where did you even get this?" diye said.

"I've been saving it for a special occasion. I think this qualifies." TJ said. "Now, do you understand your instructions?"

"Yes. I'm ready." said diye.

"Then that's all. You have your instructions. It's in your hands now." said TJ.

diye turned to leave the lab, walked to the door and then stopped. She turned around and said to TJ, "Don't you worry a bit. I won't fail you." and then walked out the door.

TJ glanced again at the Pokéball containing Xatu, and said quietly to himself, "I know."