FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The flight to Sophian Island was mostly uneventful, save a few straggling Pinchers who got overconfident. There was one thing that slightly disturbed them, however: there were no pokémon flying for miles around. Summer was the first to point this out.

"Perhaps they're roosting somewhere," Ben suggested. "It might not be anything to worry about."

"I guess... but it still feels like something is off," Summer replied.

"We'll ask around on the island. Maybe Supurna knows something." Once they landed on the island docks, they changed form to avoid upsetting the elderly inhabitants and walked around. "This place really is quiet. No one's come shouting for us since we-"

"Oh, rangers! There you are!" they heard the bird pokémon watcher shout. Summer giggled quietly as Ben muttered something incoherent, then turned to face her.

"What's up, Supurna?"

"Oh, I'm really glad you remember me," she replied, smiling. "It's been a long while. I'm sorry to be abrupt, but I have an urgent question for you."

"What could be wrong?" Summer asked.

"Do you notice anything... off... when you look up at the sky?" Both rangers looked up at the sky. Summer sighed.

"It's just like I thought. Something really was off," she said. She then gasped in shock as she saw what looked to be Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno flying high in the sky.

"What are they doing flying around?" Ben wondered, worried about this. "They look upset. What could be causing this?"

"I'm not sure, but the bird pokémon have flown away in fear. Can you somehow capture Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno so that Oblivia's bird pokémon can return? I'm really worried."

"You can count on us!" Ben declared, giving his version of the "thumbs-up" sign. They headed into the forest to change forms and flew into the sky once more.

---

"This is strange. With the Golden Armor gone, they shouldn't be affected by it anymore," Summer said. "And yet... I can still feel its presence."

"It just doesn't add up," Ben agreed, "and I'm not too sure about the sky being so quiet."

"Hey, you two! It's been a while!" someone shouted from behind them. They quickly turned around, surprised by the loud person.

"Red Eyes!" they cried. Red Eyes soon appeared just as bewildered as they were due to being able to understand them. The shock threatened to throw him off his Z.Z. Flyer, but he quickly regained balance and composed himself.

"So the rumors are true. You two have changed a lot since we last met," the teen said. "Your voices still sound the same, I see, if only a little higher in pitch."

"You're not up to anything bad, are you?" Summer wondered. At this he smiled coyly.

"I'll leave that up to you to decide. I doubt anyone can capture you two, though." He took on a more serious expression. "Anyways, enough joking. What's going on up here? I don't see any pokémon up here except for the legendary birds. It's rather lonely."

"They're afraid of Moltres and the others and have gone into hiding," Ben explained. "We're looking into the matter now."

"I see. So that's why. Thanks for the info!" With that, he sped off before either Eon pokémon could question him further.

"Ugh, he could at least have told us where they are," Summer muttered in annoyance.

"Looks like we have no other choice but to search for them ourselves," Ben said. "Look, there's Moltres over there!" He pointed a claw at the distant firebird and sped off towards it, Summer not too far behind. "Moltres! What's going on?" Moltres only flapped its flaming wings harder in an unsuccessful attempt to outspeed the duo.

"The flying's awfully erratic," Summer noted. At that point Moltres dipped into the clouds, disappearing from view.

"Moltres is heading this way," their Stylers alerted them. They nimbly dodged Moltres as it barreled towards them. It looked like a second attempt was unlikely. "Moltres is now heading for Faldera Volcano."

"I wonder what's happening..." Ben said. "Maybe we should chase after the others, and see if they'll tell us anything." They followed his suggestion, only to get similar results. When they caught up to one of the legendary birds, said pokémon would dive into the clouds, then dart past them to their respective homes.

"It looks like we'll have to confront them at their homes. Let's start with Moltres," Summer suggested. As they sped toward Faldera Volcano, they saw an unusual amount of smoke coming from the base and decided to investigate. They cleared the smoke with their psychic abilities.

"Boy, it feels hotter than usual," Summer panted wearily.

"I agree. Something's just not right around here," Ben said. Just then, a magmortar and two weezing approached them, appearing heavily bothered by the conditions.

"They may be pokémon suited for this climate," Summer noticed, "but I guess even they can't stand this heat. We'll have to capture them." They made short work of the three pokémon and sent them away. "They're probably upset like Moltres was. We'd better hurry." With that, they flew to the top, taking extra care to dodge any fireballs sent their way from the angry pokémon. In moments, the duo found Moltres hovering frantically near what looked like a piece of the Golden Armor- the left gauntlet, to be specific.

"Golden Armor in a place like this?!" Ben asked, shocked to find the artifact here. "So this is where it disappeared to!"

"Get away!" Moltres screeched fearfully. Suddenly, a black aura formed around it as the gauntlet levitated. It latched onto the firebird by its neck as its eyes dimmed. "Ack! NO!"

"The armor appears to be controlling Moltres," the Styler analyzed. "Please use caution." Moltres flew a little higher, cloaked itself in flames, then dived towards the duo.

"Look out!" they cried as they flew away, barely dodging the attack.

"Summer, it looks like that flame shield won't let us get too close. I'll try to take it down with my power," Ben said. He cloaked the Styler in blue energy and fired its capture disc. He looped it around the pokémon five times before the line was broken by a Flamethrower. He glared at the shield, which seemed unfazed by his efforts.

"Hold on, Ben. I'll be back," Summer stated. Ben nodded as she flew off and focused on capturing the possessed Moltres. This time he shot a Heal Pulse to distract it before charging and firing the glowing disc once more. The move caught Moltres by surprise, allowing him to trail the disc around it eleven more times before he was forced to retract it. Before Moltres could launch a Fire Blast at him, it was suddenly struck with a large volume of water.

"Now!" the latias cried. Both Eon pokémon fired their Stylers at the stunned Moltres and drew as many loops as they could until the black aura it had was dispersed. Its eyes regained their luster as the gauntlet released its wing and fell to the rocky ground.

"Moltres has calmed down," Ben's Styler announced, "and is no longer a threat." Moltres shook itself, scattering embers everywhere, and landed on its perch.

"Ugh, what an ordeal," the firebird groaned. "Am I finally free from this wretched thing?" Ben and Summer looked at the gauntlet.

"Could this be the reason why you went crazy?" Summer asked, picking it up. It seemed to be completely inactive.

"This thing has been causing me grief ever since it showed up here. When I first saw it all those years ago, I wanted to destroy it immediately, but Ho-Oh said that would simply cause a much worse problem," Moltres explained tiredly. "Not that I didn't try anyway. It's tough!"

"Well, don't worry. We'll see to its disposal," Ben assured it. He took the dulled gauntlet away from Moltres's roost, eliciting a sigh of relief from the firebird.

"Good riddance. Thanks for your help. You'll help out my siblings, right?"

"Of course." Relieved, Moltres sat on its roost and quickly dozed off. Clutching the gauntlet tightly, they headed for Layuda Mountain.

---

They settled near the pile of wrecked Z.Z. Flyers and placed the disabled gauntlet underneath it, figuring no one would try and touch it. To their surprise, they found Luxray and Electivire standing just outside the mountain's cave.

"Hey, you two," she greeted them. Luxray's jaw dropped upon seeing them.

"Is this for real?" he asked his partner, who was just as shocked as he was. "Pinch me, I must be dreaming... Yow! I didn't mean that literally!" he snarled.

"It was not I," he replied, looking away. Summer chuckled silently at the bickering duo.

"Is something wrong?" she asked them, interrupting their argument. "The atmosphere feels different somehow."

"W-well, yes," Luxray hastily replied, taking a moment to get his nerves back. "It looks like everyone has lost their minds."

"They do not seem to recognize us ever since Lord Zapdos returned," Electivire explained. "We would have gone to see him to find out what happened, but our friends keep repelling us."

"Hmm... it might be better for us to fly to the top, then. Would you be willing to help us one more time?" Ben requested.

"Anything to get things back under control." The latios's eyes glowed as he used Psychic to hold Electivire. "Whoa, what's going on?"

"We can take you to him. With your help, we should be able to calm him down and remove the Golden Armor's influence on him, especially since you two are the only ones who are still calm."

"But I thought that thing disappeared like Lord Zapdos said! It showed up here?!" Luxray questioned, bewildered by the information. He soon found himself levitated by Summer, but unlike Electivire, he remained calm.

"Yes," the latias answered. "Moltres just went through the same thing and we suspect that Articuno is going through this as well. Let's hurry." Upon safely ascending to the top, they found Zapdos hovering near another of the Golden Armor's gauntlets. "It's just like we thought."

"Leave!" the thunderbird bellowed angrily at the quartet. Luxray and Electivire flinched at the command but stayed strong. The same black aura as before surrounded him as the gauntlet glowed. It latched onto his talons, draining the light from his eyes. "Save yourselves!"

"We'll need to get that gauntlet away from him. It's the only way we'll be able to save him," Summer explained. "We'll distract him while you two remove that armor." Luxray and Electivire landed on the ground and glared at the gauntlet possessing their lord.

"Don't touch that armor," Ben warned them as he readied his Styler, "or you'll be possessed too." He fired the capture disc, intentionally letting it touch Zapdos. The thunderbird ascended higher and flapped his wings at them, shooting an electric arrow at him. Ben shook it off with ease thanks to his typing and the Styler's energy.

"Ben, be careful! Your Styler's energy is in the yellow!" Summer cried. She shot a Mist Ball at Zapdos, hitting him directly in the back with it. She then fired her own capture disc at the stunned bird, getting seven loops in before he retaliated with Thunder. Ben tackled him, knocking him away several feet and suffering a minor electric shock in the process.

"Summer, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Look, Zapdos's aura is fading!" She pointed a claw at the now-transparent black aura surrounding Zapdos. Ben looked to Luxray and Electivire, noticing that the armor piece was no longer present.

"We knocked it off. It's on the cliff below here," Electivire spoke before Ben could ask his question. He then jumped at Zapdos and hit him with an Ice Punch, sending him crashing into the ground. "I'm sorry, my lord." The rangers took this opportunity to loop their discs around him once more. Once the aura disappeared, they fired a Heal Pulse, undoing the damage he had taken. Zapdos shook off the ice and groaned as he stood up.

"Ugh, my head... I wish I could rub it. Thanks for getting that dreadful thing away from me," he thanked. He then looked at Luxray and Electivire. "You two! You've done more for me than anyone else living here has. I would like to make you my new envoys."

"R-r-really?!" they gasped, flabbergasted by this news. "Wow, what an honor..."

"As for you two," Zapdos said, regarding Ben and Summer, "keep up the good work." Ben went to grab the disabled gauntlet as Summer flew next to Electivire and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Unlike his partner before him, who glared at him out of mild jealousy, Electivire simply smiled appreciatively.

"Thanks for your help." After grabbing the other gauntlet, they headed to Articuno's home on the top of Sorbet Mountain.

---

"It feels a little colder than usual. I'm surprised these scarves are still able to keep us warm," Ben observed.

"Well, every bit of our clothes were made to allow for survival in all climates," Summer said. "It also helps that we have this down on our bodies. If that isn't enough, our Stylers help protect us from all sorts of elemental conditions, but we'll need to move quickly." They soon spotted Articuno, who happened to be standing far away from the Golden Armor torso that lied in her roost. The icebird soon spotted the dragons flying towards her and smiled.

"Oh, hello. I understand you are here to take that thing away from me," Articuno said. "I have taken the liberty of freezing it the first chance I had. There is no way I would let myself fall to its power once more, though I could not shake the storm frenzy it threw me into." Both dragons smiled back.

"That was a brilliant move, Articuno," Ben complimented. Summer looped her capture disc around the ice block, causing the black aura surrounding it to disintegrate. She then smashed the block and secured the disabled armor.

"Well, I do have my moments," she said modestly. "I take it you have all the armor pieces now?"

"The ones that affected Moltres and Zapdos are in our possession, but we still need to find the shoulders and helmet."

"Hmm... well, as long as my siblings are safe, I will not be worried. The last pieces should turn up eventually. And look, the other pokémon are flying again. Thanks for helping us all out." Ben and Summer nodded, then headed back to Sophian Island's port to tell Supurna the good news.

---

"Thanks for all your help, rangers!" Supurna thanked. "I'm so glad to see my bird pokémon friends roaming the skies once more."

"No problem, Supurna," Ben replied. "We've got three of the four armor pieces, but everyone's safe for the moment. It's currently inactive, but who knows when it'll cause trouble again."

"When Rand comes back, I'd like to at least tell him about your great exploits. Again, thank you very much. It's a Mission Clear!" At that point, Summer's Styler started vibrating.

"It looks like I have a voicemail," Summer said. "Who could have sent it?" She opened her mail and tapped the message.

"Ummm... is it this button?" the voice said, confused for some reason. "Testing, testing, can you hear me? It's me. Red Eyes." Ben and Summer widened their eyes in surprise. "I watched you guys capture the legendary pokémon from afar. Very impressive, rangers. I have something I want to show you. Meet me at the base of Mount Sorbet. Umm, how do you turn this thing off? Oh, is this it?" The transmission ended. Ben and Summer laughed briefly at Red Eyes's surprising ineptitude with whatever communicator he was using.

"I wonder what he wants to show us. I doubt it'll be a trap," Summer said.

"It's far too late for traps anyway. Let's go see him."

After going through the short cavern and shedding their disguises again, they found Red Eyes, his Z.Z. Flyer, and a blaziken near a wall. Oddly enough, the blaziken did not appear to be under any sort of control. In fact, it looked as though it was with him by choice.

"What is it, Red Eyes?" Ben asked him. "Why call us out here?"

"I've been waiting, rangers!" he greeted them. "I want a two-on-one battle!"

"What?"

"...I'm just kidding. The truth is, I've also been wondering about those three legendary pokémon. I did terrible things to them, so I owe them a debt," Red Eyes confessed. "I thought I should do something when I saw them in that really agitated state."

"Red Eyes..." Summer said in admiration. "I didn't know you cared about pokémon."

"I have more to say. I searched the area they were flying around, and that's when I found this helmet." He stepped to the side, revealing the helmet part of the Golden Armor. The shoulders were bound to it.

"Why, that's the last piece of the Golden Armor!" Ben exclaimed.

"So there's more pieces..."

"We stored the other pieces elsewhere. They were in the legendary birds' nests."

"Even with the Evil Ruler gone, they were still affected by the armor's power..." Summer trailed off.

"I'll say this to defend their honor. I believe they were fighting the evil power, not submitting to it," Red Eyes stated.

"You might be right," she noted, recalling their encounters. "They only went back to their nests after loosening some of the power trying to control them."

"And then they waited for you to come and take the armor away," he added.

"You might be exactly right, Red Eyes," Ben said. "We'll take the armor back to the Ranger Union, so don't worry."

"I'd be grateful if you did... Well, this is a little abrupt, but... how about we put a price on this golden treasure?" Both Eon pokémon nearly face-faulted in disbelief.

"What?! You plan to sell us that helmet?!" Ben shouted, stumped by the teen's sudden change in behavior.

"Well, of course. I'm no hipster," he replied gleefully.

"And here I was foolish enough to be moved!" Summer exclaimed, outraged and ashamed by him. Both Eon pokémon sighed in disappointment.

"Don't be so glum. Think on it... and in the meantime, let's have a fair fight, for old times's sake! Blaziken, use Blaze Kick!" Blaziken stepped forward and launched a flaming kick at the duo. They were caught off guard as the kick slammed into their sides and sent them flying a good few feet. They looked at each other and nodded as they floated back upwards. Ben cloaked his body in harsh light and flew at the blaziken. "Knock him back with Flamethrower!" The flames hit him, but did not stop him thanks to the Styler absorbing the energy. The latios released his Luster Purge attack once he was close enough, dazing both Red Eyes and Blaziken for a short time. He took the opportunity to loop his capture disc around his foe thirteen times.

"What's going on?" he wondered, trying to see through the harsh light. "Whatever it is, Blaziken, use Overheat!" The blinded pokémon charged a large fireball that instantly turned the ice into water vapor before firing it at what it hoped was a foe. Ben withdrew his capture disc just in time.

"Not so fast!" Summer cried. The latias quickly fired a Mist Ball at the fireball, destroying it in an instant. The remnants of the attack scattered all over Red Eyes and Blaziken, scattering a light red mist everywhere and allowing her to use her Styler on his pokémon.

"Return!" He pulled out a poké ball and recalled his pokémon once it became clear that it would not battle anymore. He sighed, then smiled. "I'm not too shocked I lost to you two anymore," he said good-naturedly. Maybe it's because you're legendary pokémon now? Anyways, I concede. I have one last thing to say: I'm not using a Control Gauntlet anymore. You can count on that. Oh, and rest assured, I have no intent on trying to catch you."

"Hey, Red Eyes..." Summer spoke reluctantly, not really wanting to have this conversation. "About the money for the armor... we'll talk to the Union. Can you give us a little time?"

"Heh heh... You thought I was serious? I was just joking. I just wanted one more heated battle. As long as you dispose of this, that's all I care about." He then stepped aside, revealing the helmet once more, and jumped on his Z.Z. Flyer. "Ben! Summer! I hope we meet again somewhere! Give my regards to that Pichu with the ukulele."

"You really have changed, have you, Red Eyes?" Summer said. "I take back everything I said about you."

"Aww, don't get all soppy on me now, Heroes of Oblivia... even if it does make both of you look cute." Red Eyes muttered the last part before zooming away to who knows where. Both dragons looked at the teen's disappearing figure before gazing at the helmet and shoulders that lied on the ground. They appeared to be completely powerless.

"...He wasn't all bad, I guess," Ben said after a moment of silence. "Maybe we can meet him again someday. Still, when you think about it, this Golden Armor was the source of everything bad in Oblivia, and now that it's out of power..." he trailed off. A moment later, Ben's Styler rang, and she answered it.

"Hello! Can you hear me? It's me, it's me!" Professor Hastings's voice impatiently erupted from the Styler. "If you can hear me, would you just respond!"

"We hear you loud and clear, Professor Hastings!" Ben spoke.

"I couldn't use the Union, so I rode a bird pokémon while clinging to a ranger name Wendy and came to Oblivia!" the professor continued. "This flying this is really not my style..."

"What? Wow... Where are you now, sir?" Summer inquired.

"Rand's house. A lady named Supurna visited, and I heard from her about what happened."

"We took care of that. Also, we found out what caused the legendary birds to be so frustrated. It was the Golden Armor pieces and the evil power they contained. It's been disabled thanks to our Stylers, and we have all the pieces. The last one was given to us by a former foe."

"Former enemy, you say? Hurry over here and fill me in!" Once they secured every piece in their possession, they sped over to Rand's house.

---

"...I see. So that's the reason," Hastings said once he was briefed. He looked at the armor pieces on the table curiously.

"We should smash it into a billion pieces!" Nema suggested, rightfully unhappy about the artifacts.

"Now, now. We can't do that just yet. We'll need to do some research first at the Ranger Union. Until then, it needs to be put somewhere safe."

"I've got it! Let's put it in my special safe. It'll be safe for sure." She grabbed a gauntlet and walked into her invention room. "It's this way."

"...I'm not too sure about the name on it, but it will do."

"Alright, everyone. Grab a piece and move it in here."

"I'm still tired from the trip," Hastings groaned.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" This time the impatient professor couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of the scenario. Everyone grabbed a piece and moved it into the safe.

---

Days later, the professor walked into Rand's house accompanied by the Eon pokémon and Pichu.

"Oh, hello everyone! Welcome back!" Nema greeted them.

"Hello, Nema. They showed me around the Oblivia Ruins. Now I know about nearly every place related to that incident," Hastings explained. "I'm still reeling a little from the flight, to be honest."

"Thanks for coming along, sir," Ben said. "Now we just need to wait for the Union to return."

"Well, there's actually one more place I want to visit. I can't go home just yet. I'll explain later." Just then there was a knock on the door. Rand, Leanne, and Murph walked in.

"Welcome home, Mom and Papa!" Nema greeted them.

"Thanks for watching the house, Nema," Leanne said.

"Ben and Summer, I'm sure you've been busy," Rand stated. "Thanks for your hard work. Welcome, Professor Hastings. I'm glad to see you're well. I'm not sure if I should be the one to say this," he said with a smile, "but the paper was really well received."

"I'm sure it was! A professional archaeologist and a pokémon professional did their best to write that paper, after all. You and your wife worked really hard."

"I heard about it all via wireless, but still... I'm amazed the Golden Armor pieces appeared where they did."

"Perhaps it wasn't a coincidence," the professor proposed. "It may have chosen a safe place to wait for the next Evil Ruler to appear sometime in the future. It tried to make Moltres and the others protect it, but they resisted mightily to keep that from happening."

"That makes a lot of sense," Leanne said.

"Those three and these two rangers may have just saved Oblivia's future," he commended.

"Wow, I've got goosebumps!" Murph exclaimed. "That's pretty exciting!"

"I want to hear about your trip next, Mom and Papa," Nema said excitedly. "I'll pour some tea for everyone!" She and her mother immediately went to work to prepare the tea.

"Well... Ummm... I can't think of anything to do, so how about a cool pose?" Murph said before doing his signature dance-like pose. The professor chuckled slightly.

"Murph, you're the same as ever." He then looked at the two Eon pokémon. "By the way, as for what you need to do now, you should go on patrol and tend to the requests of the citizens here in Oblivia."

"Professor Hastings has been saying he'd like to give you two a vacation as a reward for all of your hard work," Murph added. "A little relaxing is good, too." Ben and Summer beamed at the professor.

"Murph, you say this, but you're probably tired of relaxing, right? You can go back early in a little boat if you want." Murph visibly tensed at this.

"Professor Hastings, you're picking on me!" Murph complained, eliciting a laugh from everyone.