Chapter 10: Redemption

Brokenheartedly, I walked over to the bike shop manager's son and untied him. He thanked me and told me to come visit him later in the bike shop. I walked out of the building, but instead of leaving the property, I wandered around back. My sadness from before was replaced with rage. I angrily kicked a rock. It flew through a bush, but instead of rustling like normal bushes do, it sounded a metallic CLANG!

Wait a minute. Bushes don't go clang!

I walked over to the bush in curiosity and looked through. Concealed by the bush was an old door. It was rusty, and there was a faded Team Galactic logo on it. It looked like it was an unused exit or entrance to a secret base. I pushed and it slowly creaked open into a tunnel. Peering inside, I could see a dim light shining from the distant end. Rumbling noises and faint voices echoed down the passage. I walked down the long, twisting hallway, leading downwards until I came to a dimly lit trucking yard.

Crates were stacked up to the ceiling. Team Galactic personnel were in every imaginable place, getting in trucks by the dozen and driving away.

They're probably evacuating. At least they won't bother the citizens of Eterna city anymore.

I tiptoed along behind boxes, looking around for a trace of Lucas or the much needed pokédex. There were two tunnels on the East side of the room with signs over them. One read 'Waterfall' and the other read 'Team Galactic headquarters, Veilstone city'. All of the trucks were headed in the Veilstone city tunnel.

"For Pete's sake! Why do we have to drag this kid everywhere with us?"

"Well we're not just going to leave him here! We need that data, remember?" another snapped. I whipped around and saw two grunts hoisting a large box onto a truck. As soon as they left, I dashed for the truck. I entered the back of the truck and opened the newly placed box.

Inside was none other than Lucas.

He looked up at me, his eyes wide in surprise and fear. Hurriedly, he blurted out,

"Quick! My pokédex! It's in my pocket, get it!" It was unnatural how quickly I reacted, almost like I was waiting for him to tell me. I reached into his pocket and grasped his pokédex. I pulled it out, and once he saw I had it, he said, "Now get out of here!"

"But what about you?" I asked in protest, straining hard to keep my voice from cracking.

"All that matters is getting that away from Team Galactic. Now go!" I looked at him one last time.

His eyes were determined, not afraid of the incredible danger he was in. But there was some sadness within the blue abyss. I could tell that another part of him was screaming to come with me, to be free. But he was being brave, he was putting other's safety before his own, and for that I honored him.

I closed the lid and jumped out of the truck just as it started. I hid behind some boxes and watched as the doors on the truck were closed and it drove through the Veilstone city tunnel.

I sat down, still holding the pokédex. I stared at it, nothing better to do. The final truck drove away, and the room was silent. The grumble of the trucks echoed down the long tunnel, it's gates now closed and locked.

I was so close to him, I was right next to him. And I couldn't do anything. The data is safe, but that's not enough. I need to get to Veilstone city. I wonder how far away that is. How long is this going to take?

After a few minutes of thinking, I looked at the map I had gotten from Stan. Following the path I had taken, I found where I was and where Veilstone city was. To get there, I had to get through Mt. Coronet. The closest way was just east of town. I headed over there, but found a huge boulder blocked it. I could have moved it if I had the ability to use the move strength outside of battle. But I would only be able to do that when I beat the Canalave city gym. That was too far away to wait for. Rechecking my map, I found the other way was south and the quickest route is to take the biking road. But I didn't have a bike, not yet at least.

The bike shop in Eterna city is the only one in the whole Sinnoh region. I headed down there and talked to the bike shop manager, and to my surprise, he gave me a bike! It was a thank-you gift for saving his son, and perhaps a pity gift. On my new mount, I sped away on the bike trail. I exited right outside of Oreburgh city. I turned east and headed straight to the other side of Mt. Coronet.

Mt. Coronet is the largest mountain in the Sinnoh region. The inside of it is even more intimidating than the outside. I entered the dark, spooky cavern with only a dim light guiding me. I reached the midway point; I could see the exit over a rock. I started to walk up the stairs, but a blue and haired man stood in the way.

He was looking around at the ceiling, holding a clipboard and writing down notes. When he noticed me, he lay down his clipboard and sat down upon a boulder, inviting to sit and hear about what he was researching. He told me of some of the folklore of Mt. Coronet, like the story of spear pillar. The story goes, when one possesses the magical object, the red chain, they can summon the legendary pokémon Dialga to do their bidding. However, the red chain takes an unimaginable amount of energy to create it. I listened attentively, even though I wished he would move out of the way. He said he was a scientist, and he was trying to get to spear pillar for research. He was hoping to find some ancient inscriptions to help tell him about early Sinnoh. When he was finally finished with his lecture, he left the way I came.

Okay, that was weird.

I continued on my way and exited the cave, coming to the outside part of route 208, which has numerous of cliffs and deadly falls. I kept to the center of the path, away from the treacherous edges. After crossing a raging river and field of tall grass, I went through the gateway building to Hearthome city.