Pokémon: The Silver Savior
Chapter 4: Destined Encounters, Part 3
Howl of the North Winds
Alex looks at Suicune, then back to Eusine. "But Eusine, haven't you been trying to find Suicune your entire life? If anyone, you should be the one battle it."
"My reasons for wanting to catch Suicune are different. I chased it to fulfill a childhood dream, and a promise to my grandfather. You on the other hand…Deep down, you now have the desire to prevent a major disaster that this group may cause. Then again, you also have a stronger idea as to what they might want in Sinnoh. Does that summarize it?" Eusine looks Alex square in the eyes.
Alex returns the gesture. "I suppose…"
"It's settled then. Just promise me one thing though: Whatever group that guy may belong to, if he isn't a lone wolf…take them down! I'll join you if you need help along the way at any point." Eusine backs away after registering his number with Alex. "Besides…Suicune was clearly looking towards you anyways. You know what to do now."
Alex faces Suicune. "Right Eusine, and consider it done. Suicune…guess it's you and me now." He approaches the ledge where Suicune is waiting for him. Upon taking his place, Suicune lets out a loud howl indicating that it is ready to battle, even though it was still recovering from earlier.
"Alright…Empoleon, let's do this!" The ball opens and unleashes Empoleon.
"Empoleon!"
"Empoleon, start with Steel Wing!" Suicune fires a Bubblebeam at Empoleon. Both attacks connect, but don't inflict much damage. The legendary beast starts meditating…
"That must be Calm Mind. Alex…be careful!" Eusine yells.
Alex nods. "Right. Empoleon…time to use Brine this time!" Though not overly effective, Brine still inflicts some damage on Suicune due to its injuries. It responds by using Water Gun. It also doesn't do much damage.
"Empoleon, return!" Alex recalls Empoleon. "Pyro, and Dig Dig, would not stand much of a chance against Suicune. My only other option is…" "Tundra, you're up!" The shiny legendary bird emerges from its ball. "Let's slow it down…Ice Beam!" Ice Beam pierces through a Bubblebeam. That attack doesn't do much damage either, but it does cause some ice to form on Suicune.
"Now's your chance. Make it count Alex." Eusine eagerly awaits in anticipation.
A ball is grabbed from his bag. "Ultra Ball…Go!" The ball connects. It shakes once…twice…three times…then opens back up again. Suicune uses Water Gun on Tundra. "Hang on buddy, we're almost there. Let's try this once again." Alex hurls another Ultra Ball at Suicune. This one shakes once…twice…same result. Bubblebeam is fired after Suicune escapes this time. "Third time's the charm I guess." Alex pulls out another random ball from his bag. This time it was an extremely rare Master Ball given to him as gift by Archie, the leader of Hoenn's Team Aqua. It was given after Alex stopped a group of Team Magma goons from harming Shelly, one of Aqua's admins and Archie's love interest. "The Master Ball? Archie…I owe you one, you old sea dog. Go!" The Master Ball makes the connection with Suicune. It shakes three times, then… *Ding*
Eusine walks over to Alex to congratulate him on his newest catch. "A Master Ball? Didn't expect to see that. Regardless, you've earned this one."
"Thanks, Eusine. This has been a rather entertaining day to say the least. It would have been nice if he didn't have to mention Sinnoh though." Alex retrieves the ball with his newest ally. "What should I name this one?"
"Hmm…I would not know what to say. It's up to you on that one." Eusine looks off towards the horizon. "Deep down, something tells me that my journey has yet to conclude."
Alex nods "You might be right about that." A blue and purple blur runs past the duo at a high speed just before the bridge back to the city. "Wait a second. Was that what I think it was?"
"Guess we were both right Alex. Looks like my journey IS far from over. See you again." Eusine waves goodbye and starts running off in the direction of the newly spotted Suicune.
"I'm sure you will find your destiny one day as well, Eusine." As for Alex, he begins to contemplate what he may call Suicune. After about ten minutes of resting… "Hmm…I think Aurora should work nicely for you. Still…what could they possibly want in Sinnoh of all places." Alex ponders for a moment. "He said something about taking out or enslaving humanity using legendary Pokémon. Hmm…" It dawns on him that one specific Pokémon from Sinnoh lore would possess that much power. "That's impossible though. Arceus is only a myth. If it was real, wouldn't they need to find the Azure Flute to open its lair atop Mt. Coronet…if that relic exists at all?" Soon after that, Alex heads back to the Cerulean City Pokémon Center to heal his Pokémon. Just like in Fuchsia City, this Nurse Joy jumps at the sight of a legendary Pokémon, two of them no less.
"H…here you g…go." Nurse stutters slightly when returning his Pokémon.
Alex puts the four Pokeballs on his belt. "Oh, Nurse Joy. Do you by chance know how I could get to the Hoenn Region? I have some business to take care of in that area."
"Your best bet to reach the Hoenn Region is to take the train from Saffron City to Goldenrod City. From there, head for Olivine City and take a ship. You should be able to find one to get you to Slateport City if I'm not mistaken." Nurse Joy writes the information down for good measure, then hands the notes to Alex. Upon receiving them, Alex thanks Nurse Joy and starts heading south towards Saffron City. Before reaching the city limits of Cerulean, Alex is stopped by a woman who happens to be one of the Gym Leaders of Cerulean Gym.
"So like, you're Alex correct? I'm Daisy, one of the Gym Leaders of Cerulean Gym. I was asked to find you before you left the area." Daisy says to him.
Alex responds by raising an eyebrow "Yeah, I might be him. Why do you ask?"
Daisy holds out her hand. In it, she has a badge shaped like a tear drop. "It might seem improper, but I heard from Nurse Joy that you thwarted the guy who had sabotaged our show and tried to cause a lot of misfortune. My sisters and I all agreed that you ought to get this much for your trouble. It's the Cascade Badge of Cerulean Gym. Take it."
"It was no trouble at all, and I don't exactly feel right about taking a gym badge if I haven't rightfully battled for it." Alex tries to gently push her hand away, to no avail.
Daisy chuckles. "I was told that you would probably react this way. Please, my sisters and I would be insulted if you didn't take the badge. What you did for us…no, the entire city…is more than most trainers would have done. Seriously, just take the badge already!"
Reluctant, Alex caves in and takes the Cascade Badge from Daisy. He adds it to his other Kanto badge collection, which now makes four: Thunder, Soul, Volcano, and now the Cascade. "Thanks I guess, but won't the Pokemon League administration object to this?"
"Ohhhh, don't worry. They already know about what happened. Like, it just so happened that one of the board members was in town for our show. We cleared this with him, so no need to worry." Daisy retrieves a small brown envelope and hands it to Alex. "Here's a little something else from me and my other sisters." Daisy smiles and starts walking back towards the gym.
"Thanks Daisy. Stay safe." Alex waves goodbye to Daisy. After she is gone, and nobody else is around, Alex decides to look in the envelope. Inside is an advanced video copy of their newest performance. He puts it back in the envelope and hides it in his bag. From there, he heads back to Saffron City to try to locate a place to stay for the night.
6:00 PM
Once back in Saffron, Alex messages Surge about battling the next day.
(Conversation)
Hey Sparky, are you and Blaine busy tomorrow?
Sparky? You should come up with a better line next time, baby. As for tomorrow, schedule's open so far. Why?
Battle. 11AM sharp? Taking a train to Johto tomorrow afternoon.
I'll check with Chrome Dome.
Alright.
(A few minutes later)
Chrome Dome said he will be here by 10AM tomorrow morning.
Alright. I'll be there.
(End Conversation)
"The gym appears to be open, and it looks like Sabrina might still be around. I should see what she is up to right now." Alex walks in to the gym's lobby, where a male receptionist stops him.
"I'm sorry sir, but the gym is closing and Miss Sabrina is done battling for the day. You will have to come back tomorrow for a gym battle." The receptionist walks in front of Alex and bars him from trying to go any further.
Alex rolls his eyes at the receptionist. "Well, I hate to inform you, but Sabrina gave me an invitation earlier this morning. The gym isn't closing for another hour. Under Pokémon League Policy 025.09 Subsection 2a, any gym that has set hours posted must remain open for all challengers until the designated time has elapsed, or if a sign is posted on the door that informs trainers accordingly. There is no sign on the door, so…I want to see Sabrina."
The receptionist glares at Alex, and goes to his computer. He grimaces seeing that Alex was right. "No matter, I won't let you pass. Leave…now." The receptionist blocks his path again.
"Now see here, you little prick…" Alex is starting get ticked off. "Sabrina told me this morning to come here when I had time. I am now giving you three choices. The first is that you shut up, and let me pass so I can see Sabrina. Two, I could document this entire incident and report it to the Kanto League Headquarters on the Indigo Plateau, potentially getting the gym shut down. As for the third, if you want me to do things the hard way, I could always introduce you to a very irritable…and hungry Charizard." Alex starts reaching for Pyro's ball.
The receptionist's eyes widen. "You wouldn't!"
"Try me." Just as Alex is about to deliver on his word, his body suddenly freezes still while the receptionist is pushed against a wall and held down telepathically. Sabrina warps in, with a ticked off look on her face and eyes glowing red.
"My apologies. Let me handle him." She turns to face her receptionist. "Jack, this is the third time this week that you've pulled this little stunt! I hate to break it to you, but yes…I did invite Alex to come here when I saw him earlier today. Yes, he is right about League policies. Yes, he fully intended to deliver on his word, especially on the Charizard. The gym is open for another hour, and I will battle anyone if my Pokémon are still up to it. I've had enough of this laziness out of you, especially when my career and reputation are both at risk. Grab your things and get out! Your services to the Saffron Gym are no longer required. Make it quick, or I will let him handle it." Sabrina releases her telepathic hold on Jack. He grabs his belongings and quickly runs out of the gym, afraid of dealing with a hungry Charizard, or an angry Sabrina.
Once Jack leaves, Sabrina releases her hold on Alex with an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry about that. Didn't exactly want you to end up with homicide on your record, let alone having Interpol knowing your possible whereabouts either."
"Yeah, guess you have a good point. What will you do now?" Alex makes sure that he has full control over his body again.
"Well, I suppose I must close the gym early, and reopen later tomorrow." Sabrina writes on a piece of paper, then tapes it to the door of the gym.
Due to an unforeseen staffing issue, the Saffron City Gym will be closing early tonight. We will resume normal operations after noon tomorrow. – Sabrina, Saffron City Gym Leader
"I'm sure you already know why I came here." Alex sits down on a nearby sofa.
Sabrina joins him soon after. "Yeah. Unfortunately, that will have to wait until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow will not work on that. I'm supposed to be in Vermillion City before 11AM for a Tag Team battle with Surge and Blaine both. After that, I'm boarding a train to Goldenrod City in the Johto region, then from Olivine to Slateport by ship." Alex relaxes into the sofa a little more. "Are you willing to do a one on one battle with me?"
Sabrina grins a little "Gladly. Follow me to the gym floor." She sends a message to one of the referees to be waiting at the main gym floor, and that it is an official gym battle.
As they take their respective places, the referee approaches her pedestal. "This will be an official gym battle between Sabrina, the Saffron City Gym Leader, and the challenger Alexander, of Fortree City in Hoenn. Each competitor will be allowed one Pokémon. Begin!"
8:00 PM
Alex finds himself standing just outside the gym, with Sabrina standing by the door.
Sabrina smiles a little. "I'm glad that you decided to stop by today."
"So am I, Sabrina. I suppose I should probably go back to Vermillion and get a hotel room again."
Sabrina rests her hand on his shoulder. "Yeah. Still, I hope you aren't right about Sinnoh."
"Reading my thoughts, eh? I ought to do something about that." Alex gets a contemplative look on his face.
Sabrina gives him a funny look in response "Oh? What will you do about it?"
"In due time. Until then, good day Sabrina." Alex starts back towards Vermillion City, while Sabrina heads to her house for the night.
This chapter was much longer than I had planned. It was supposed to be a one-part chapter initially. In case anyone was going to bring up Gen. VII, I started writing this before Sun and Moon were ever announced, so all move pools will be based on what was featured in Gen. VI. Alola Region Pokémon will not be involved in the story at all.
As for later chapters, I may or may not decide to have Cynthia keeping her promise to Alex when the story gets to that point. 10 years is a long time to wait for someone (Then again, my ex thought 3 weeks after I graduated college was too long).
Next chapter: Homeward Bound - Return to Slateport City
