Chapter 2 – The Gallants

Ellie sat, shaken, in the dining room chair of the semi-strangers that she just met. She was quietly ecstatic about the fact that she could get home, but how would that be dangerous?

"I thought you said the portal was destroyed?" she questioned, turning toward Lyle. His deep brown eyes softened a bit.

"Remember when I told you that the blueprints were stolen? After the Professor Rowan's portal was destroyed, the blue prints were gone. It had Rocket written all over it." The name Rocket hung in the air, heavy and thick. Ellie looked at Lyle, hoping for more of an explanation.

"This is what I was trying to tell you before, Ms. Mansel. The Rockets have been in control of The Regions for almost 70 years now," Mr. Brennick confessed, putting a hand on the back of Ellie's chair.

"What do you mean? If this was 70 years ago…"

"Like I said, the games are a lot different from what really happened, " Mr. Brennick, slouched down in his chair, and ran his fingers through his salt and pepper hair. "You see, The Regions used to be a peace place, filled with the love and perfect balance between humans and Pokémon. Soon, the Rockets began to come around. At first, they were just a group of hooligans trying to steal other's Pokémon and their items. Then it started to turn bad.

"They enlisted the help of a rich man, Giovanni. He took the team and built a kind of…empire. With the army of Rockets, they started to take over each of the gyms, and taking everyone's Pokémon."

"They couldn't be stopped?" Ellie blurted, sitting at the edge of her chair.

"Nobody could stop them," Lyle injected. "They were too strong." A silence filled the air, as the three looked at their feet. Ellie sneaked a glance over at Lyle. He was grasping his hands tightly. Ellie had so many more questions, but was afraid to ask them.

"Where…where are they?" she stammered, finally. "Where are the Pokémon?"

"All over the place. They're kept in high voltage areas caged off to anyone except for executive Rockets. One of the areas is the Viridian Forrest, probably the biggest." Lyle explained.

"Viridian Forrest is just above Pallet town, right?"

"Right," Lyle smiled his crooked smile at Ellie. "You sure do know a lot about the area for being an earthling." Ellie smiled at his joke, proud of her knowledge.

"I used to play the game a lot. I remember most of the areas, but it's mostly the Pokémon that I've memorized." Lyle and his father's smile shortened, and their eyes grew wide.

"You know about Pokémon?" Mr. Brennick asked, scooting closer to her.

"Of course," Ellie paused. "Don't you?" Lyle and Mr. Brennick looked at each other carefully, as if they were reading one another's minds. Lyle breathed in a heavy sigh, and shifted his eyes towards the cinderblock wall.

"When Giovanni took over, he erased the memories of the most prestigious people in The Regions. Mostly gym leaders, and of course the Hanline brothers. "Many families were so afraid of having their memories wiped too; they kept quiet about the Pokémon. Most of the children these days don't even know they existed."

"That's terrible," Ellie searched for another word, another answer. She couldn't believe that this amazing world was now changed. But a name didn't sound familiar. "Who are the Hanline brothers?"

"Ah," Mr. Brennick smiled widely. "That's another thing different from the game. There are four of them: Oak, Elm, Birch and Rowan. Together, they were the reigning Pokémon Professors."

"But this was 70 years ago," Lyle interrupted. "Oak, Elm and Rowan have since passed away. Birch, however, has been rumored to be help captive in the Rocket headquarters. Who knows what's happened to him," Ellie sighed heavily, bringing a hand to her forehead.

"Ellie," Lyle said softly, leaning towards her. "Your knowledge of Pokémon is rare. It could serve us helpful," Ellie looked up at him.

"Serve who helpful?" Mr. Brennick took Lyle by the shoulder and gave him a stern look. Lyle quickly looked back at Ellie, just for a second, before turning to his father.

"You don't want to get her involved that that, Lyle." Mr. Brennick scolded.

"But father, we're coming so far along. She could really help—" Mr. Brennick sighed, and turned away, running a hand through his withering hair.

"You know how I feel about this, Lyle," he whispered. "Your mother would not approve."

"Well," Lyle replied. "Mother isn't here. Ellie is, and you know how much of a help she'd be to The Gallants." Ellie sat in her chair, speechless. She wasn't one to sit back and watch people argue, but she honestly had no idea what was going on. Lyle turned to her, a fire in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ellie." He apologized, showing off his crooked smile. "I'm sure you're confused."

"Very," Ellie smiled. Mr. Brennick sat back down in his chair, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop his son from whatever he was going to do.

"What the Rockets are doing is wrong, you understand that, right?" Lyle asked Ellie, staring right at her. Ellie quickly nodded her head. "Well, I'm part of a group that's trying to destroy them."

"They haven't gotten anywhere," Mr. Brennick interrupted, nervously stirring his tea. Lyle rolled his eyes at him, and crouched on the floor.

"We've been praying for something to help us, or someone. I think that you're that someone." Ellie looked over at Mr. Brennick, his wiry hair a mess, and his eyes full of worry. It reminded her of her own father. He would do anything to protect her.

"You need my knowledge of Pokémon, that's all?" she asked softly. Lyle nodded towards her.

"That's all." Ellie smiled, and closed her eyes. She thought quickly about the situation she was in. A new world, and some new friends; in only a matter of minutes, she'd be a big help to save their world. Even if this was a dream, it'd be a good damned dream.

"I'm in!" Ellie exclaimed, a big smile forming across her face. Mr. Brennick sighed heavily, while Lyle jumped up.

"Wait until Volkner hears about this," Lyle quickly said, jogging in place. That name rang a bell in Ellie's ear. Volkner was one of her favorite gym leaders in the 3rd generation.

"Volkner?" she questioned.

"You'll meet him later. A little rough around the edges, but you'll get used to him. He's the leader of The Gallants," Lyle smiled at Ellie. "I'll take you to the hideout now, if you'd like. We can get a bed set up for you." Ellie nodded at him, smiling back.

"Goodbye, Mr. Brennick. You've been really helpful towards me." Mr. Brennick, in his old age, looked up from his slouched position on the chair, with a crooked smile on his face.

"Take care, my dear. Don't let any of those boys tell you what to do," he grinned. Lyle lead Ellie through the house, and out the door. The sun was still shining brightly, a light breeze touched her face.

"We're right outside of Celadon City, so it's about an hours walk. I hope you don't mind," Lyle explained. Ellie looked over into the road that was set before her, wondering what it would bring her. Lyle stood on the very dirt patch that she woke up on, nodding in the direction of Viridian.