Pokemon Tales: Red Chapter 7: Off the Rails.

After defeating Brock and getting the Boulder badge Red was ready to get some answers about what happened to him in Viridian City.

"My question is..." the boy began.

"Wait. Is it going to take long?"

"Uuh... Kinda depends on you."

"Then let's sit down in the backroom." Brock said while pointing with his thumb to the opposite side of the room they were in.

"Okay. Pikachu, return." Red called back his Pokemon and soon the three humans went around the arena, into a corridor and through automatic doors to reach the place Brock mentioned.

It was clear that the backroom wasn't what is normally understood when someone uses that word. It had a bed, a sink, a small table with a portable oven on it, a tv, a wooden chest, a bookshelf, a device similar to the one used in Pokemon Centers to heal Pokemon and two sofas. Brock made a gesture towards the sofas, telling the guests to take their seats while he walked over to the chest and took out a jar which immediately after being opened, released a strong aroma of tea leaves.

"You want some?" he said to the trainers while filling the kettle with water.

Both of them shook their heads from side to side, so he stopped before he would have more water than he needed. He put the kettle on the portable oven and sat on the sofa opposite to the one the teenagers were already on.

"So, what did you want to ask me?" the leader asked while leaning forward intently.

"Oh, man. How to phrase this?" Red tried to think of a way to get to the truth the as quick as possible "I... What do you know about the Gym in Viridian City?"

Brock looked slightly surprised, but immediately regained his composure and proceeded to respond "Well... There are some things that I could tell you about it and some that I can't. Not because I don't want to... It's just... That place and the leader that owns it are both very mysterious."

"What do you mean?" Blue also became interested.

"I'm sure you guys both know that there are 8 Gyms in Kanto. What you may not know is that for a long time there were only 7. There isn't a specific rule for how many Gyms a region needs. I heard there are some where they don't have Gyms at all. But it is kind of assumed that you need 8 Gyms to hold an official Pokemon League tournament. The problem was that the Kanto Pokemon League Organization Committee just didn't have enough money. Then, about 10 years ago, a mysterious man offered to help create an eight Gym under the condition that he be the leader and the gym would still be privately owned by him, so he could close it down any time he wanted. It seems he was very rich and beside building that Gym, he invested in the other ones, in the Pokemon League stadiums and in promoting the lifestyle of a Pokemon trainer."

A whistle interrupted Brock so he turned off the oven and poured the hot water into a cup filled with tea leaves, after which he sat back down.

"He seems like a great guy." Blue commented.

"Yeah. I wasn't a leader back then. I got this job after my father passed 2 years ago. But, while that man helped us all greatly, he was also a very mysterious person. Most of the leaders, while not being obligated to do it, attend the Pokemon League as spectators. After battling many trainers, some of us pick favorites who we'd like to see win the League, and you can't get better seats than ours. During my first year as a leader, this man was the only one that didn't attend the League. I tried asking the others about him. It seems that Mr. Koga and Doctor Blaine both know him, although the first one doesn't seem to like him, while both of them, didn't reveal anything particularly interesting about him. I know he's a male, that he uses ground type Pokemon and is very strong. He also helped Doctor Blaine in his research, although I have no idea what's that about either."

Brock took a quick break to regain his breath.

"He caused some problems for the League. He insisted that he'd be the last leader that every trainer had to face but he didn't announce it anywhere so many trainers would complain to other leaders about being turned away at his door."

"Maybe that's what happened to me?" Red wondered.

"When were you there?"

"2 weeks ago? I think."

"Then that's not it. After helping develop the League and the causing problems for the people his campaign encouraged to be trainers, he suddenly disappeared about a couple months before the last League. They sent some people to contact him, but the Gym was closed and nobody could come into contact with him. Many trainers couldn't attend the League because they didn't get the last badge. This time around, we are back to needing only 7 badges to get into the League. Of course, there are different ways, like letters of recommendation and such."

"That all seems very suspicious. Especially after what I encountered there."

"Why did you go there anyway?"

"I just searched the internet for the closest Gym. I only looked up the location and didn't notice the note that said it was closed down."

"I see. So what happened there?"

"Was it Team Rocket?" Blue interjected.

"Team Rocket?!" Brock was so shocked that he stood up.

"Yes. You could say that I'm not really into news so I haven't heard about them before meeting one of their members in front of the Viridian City Gym." Red responded.

"What was he doing there?" the girl asked.

"It seemed like he was protecting it. He spotted me when I was trying to get inside and tried to get rid off me. He really didn't want anybody to know that I saw him there. I beat him in a Pokemon battle and he ran away. What do you think about it?"

Brock started pacing around the room with an expression filled with concern. He gave a couple quick glances to Red and finally stopped next to his tea and took a few sips to calm himself down.

"I'm sure that you're telling the truth. You really don't seem like a bad person. But I will have to ask you to not pursue this any longer. Team Rocket are very dangerous, especially when they act as a group. I'll contact the League and the police to try to learn what's going on. I'll make sure to call you if I learn anything. Is that fine with you?" the leader said and extended his hand to the trainer.

Red stood up and answered with a handshake and the words "You got it."

Soon after that, the trainers left and Brock was left alone to ponder the possibilities of the connection between the mysterious Gym leader and Team Rocket.

. . .

Several days later, the colorful duo arrived at Mount Moon and were resting at the Pokemon Center located close to the entrance of a cave system which led to the other side and further to Cerulean City. Blue returned to the corner in which Red was playing with Pikachu, and attached both of the pokeballs housing her Pokemon to her belt. Red squinted his eyes at her and seeing that, Pikachu tried to mimic him.

"What?" Blue was startled after seeing their faces.

"You went out to train?"

"Yeah."

"And you used your other Pokemon."

"Yeah.

"When are you gonna show it to me?"

"Oh, give it a rest. I want it to be a surprise. You won't see him until I'll need to save your ass."

"My ass? I can take care of it by myself! Hmph."

"Excuse me?" a sweet sounding, quiet voice reached their ears.

Both of them looked to the side to see a bald, slightly overweight, old man with a kind smile.

"Good morning, youngsters. Do you have some time to spare?"

"Sure. What is it?" Blue answered.

"I see that you are Pokemon trainers. I was once a Pokemon trainer myself but as you see I'm too old for this stuff. That's why I decided to give out my Pokemon. I can give you a very rare Pokemon. Not for free, of course. I have to gather money for my retirement."

"Uhh... I'm not sure. What Pokemon is it?" Red asked.

"I can't tell. If I tell, you'll probably try to haggle. You have to pay 500 gold upfront and there's also no take backs. I warn you, but it's still a really great deal. So, how about it?"

Red looked at the man with a helpless expression. He thought about how he wouldn't like to release the Pokemon, even if he was not satisfied with it.

"I don't want it." Blue said nonchalantly.

"What? Are you sure?!" the man went into panic.

"Yeah. I have to conserve money so I decided that I'm only gonna use 6 Pokemon on this journey. I don't want to take chances with something that could prove not useful. No offense."

"How about you, boy?" the man asked with a helpless tone.

"I..." Red started.

"Help!" a yell ringed out from the entrance to the Pokemon Center.

Red immediately stood up to see what's going on. He saw a male trainer who was out of breath and had a badly hurt Butterfree in his arms. The nurse immediately ran over to him and proceeded to put the Pokemon in a restorative chamber. Red noticed that the boy had four pokeballs attached to his belt but one of them was cracked. Ignoring the old man who was still trying to get him to buy the supposedly rare Pokemon, the teenager quickly approached the trainer who was trying to wipe off tears from his face.

"What happened?" Red asked.

The trainer looked up and saw not only Red, but also Blue who reached out with a hand holding a napkin. The person took it and wipe away the tears.

"It was Team Rocket." he said.

Red felt a cold chill run through his spine. Blue was very shocked, but still more curious about what her friends reaction was like so she glanced at his face. She jumped a little while she saw that Red was grinning from ear to ear. His eyes looked like the ones of a hungry beast seeing its prey.

"They are inside Mount Moon." the trainer continued while looking down, so he didn't notice how his words affected the duo "I think they are trying to gather Moon Stones, but they are attacking every Pokemon and trainer who sees them. They beat all my Pokemon and destroyed Butterfree's pokeball... I..."

He started crying again.

"Don't worry." Red said while passing him and patting on the back "I'm gonna get them."

Blue followed him outside the Pokemon Center.

"What do you mean "I'm gonna get them"? What are you planning to do exactly?" the girl asked.

"Brock didn't contact us yet. Aren't you curious about why a Team Rocket member protected the Gym in Viridian?"

"I am. But don't you remember what he said? They are dangerous. You saw what happened to that guy." she tried to reason with him but judging by his face, she saw that her efforts were futile.

As they walked onward, Red's expression lessened in intensity. He looked back at Blue who although visibly worried, still walked a couple steps behind him.

"Hey. If you're scared, you don't have to come with me."

"What?!"

After spending some time with her, Red knew how to press her buttons so that she wouldn't be down.

"I'm sure that I'll kick more Team Rocket butt than you!" she yelled out without giving it much thought.

"Yeah. Especially with that secret weapons of yours."

Finally realizing what the boy was trying to do, the girl blushed in embarrassment and stuck out her tongue at him.

. . .

They finally reached the entrance. It was so big that a stone hallway was lit up by the sunlight falling into the cave system. Nevertheless, Red called out Pikachu so that he could use his electricity to light up the way later on. After a couple meters of walking, they reached a room which had multiple openings leading in different directions. The trainers began looking around to decide which one to enter since at first glance all seemed the same.

"This one leads to Cerulean City" Blue noted after spotting a sign above one of the openings.

"We don't know that they're not in one of the other ones." Red said while looking from one hallway to another "We should have asked that guy about the way."

"Whose fault is this?" Blue said with annoyance in her voice.

"I have an idea."

"What is it?"

"Let's get Pikachu to decide."

"Why do you think that's a good idea?"

"Pikachu has a nose for treasures. And Moon Stones are like treasures, aren't they? So he'll know the way."

"There's so much wrong with that logic, but we're not gonna reach any other conclusion so we might as well."

The mouse Pokemon sniffed around some of the hallways while visible avoiding other ones. He finally decided on one and let out a happy cry "Pipikapi!"

"See?" Red looked at Blue pridefully.

"Okay, okay. Let's go."

They took only a couple steps before Blue tripped. Red helped her up and they both noticed that the hallway they have chosen had tracks going through it. As they followed them, the walls got further and further, until they reached another room. The tracks went further to another opening, and the place was filled with broken pickaxes and helmets.

"This must have been a mine." The girl noted.

"Hey. Look at this!" Red yelled out in excitement.

As it turned out, the tracks split into two ways, with one of them ending in the room and a minecart in a fairly good condition being placed on them. There was a lever next to it which by Red's judgement would not only put the vehicle into motion, but also switch the tracks so that it could leave the room. He turned to Blue with a big smile on his face.

"Oh no. You aren't thinking abouwooah!" she was interrupted when Red grabbed her by the waist and quickly put her in the cart.

"No! Wait!" she yelled while trying to get out but was too late.

Red and Pikachu jumped inside, not leaving a lot of space and the boy pulled the lever. The minecart began moving, slowly but steadily. It still was too quick to the point where Blue wasn't sure if she would land safely after jumping out. After leaving the room, they began gaining on speed while going through a narrow hallway.

Soon, the tracks stopped being laid out on the ground, instead being held up by stilts. Blue made the mistake of looking down and got even more scared when she realized that she couldn't see the bottom of the cave because of how high they were. They must have been going about 60 kilometers per hour. Red held onto the front of the cart, while the other two grabbed onto him.

"Why are you grabbing me?!" Red yelled out in surprise after feeling Blue's touch.

"I'm scared! Whose fault do you think it is?!"

"Oh!"

"What "Oh!"?"

"The tracks are ending!"

"What do you mean the tracks are..." Blue said as she leaned to the side to see past Red.

She yelled out and incomprehensible exclamation when she saw that the tracks were in fact ending, and it seemed like they were doomed to fall to their deaths.

"What are wo gonna do?!" she started tearing up.

"Don't worry." Red said while turning to her with a calm smile "I'm sure we'll meet in heaven."

"You're going to hell!" those were her last words as the cart fell off the tracks.

Red managed to grab onto Pikachu and the trainers jumped to different sides while hoping for some way to save themselves.


It's the next chapter. There wasn't really much to this one so I'll try to be short. I wonder if Blue's mystery Pokemon is really a mystery to any of the readers. I mean, it's a mystery to Red but otherwise it should be painfully obvious.

What else? We finally learn something about the Viridian Gym. It's another thing that should be obvious but I gave it some more thought. You can look over Brock's words and find things that may be clues to some things that will happen in the future or have already happened in the past. Last thing is, I don't want anybody to take Red's attitude the wrong way. He's not as insane as he sometimes seems. That's it, folks.