The FireRed/LeafGreen/WaterBlue Chronicles

Chapter X

Pokémon Tower

"The Silph Scope." Green explained. "It's a one-of-a-kind prototype. It never went into production."

"What does it do?" Red asked, staring at the gadget, which looked like a helmet and binoculars combined.

"It was supposed to enable trainers to see wild ghost-types that had turned invisible as a self-defense mechanism. But it worked in a way they never could've imagined."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone who watched the presentation video saw what happened. The exec put the Scope on his head, and he started crying. No one knew what was going on. The Gastly they had used for the presentation made itself visible, and it seemed as confused as everyone else." Green paused. He wasn't sure he would have believed the next part, if he had not witnessed it himself. "The exec uttered one word: Donald."

"Who was Donald?" Red asked.

"It was his first Pokémon. A Psyduck. Apparently, he could see it, and even talk to it. So he took it off, and put it on his assistant. The assistant started crying too. Apparently, he saw the Vulpix he'd lost as a child. Red, you realize what I'm telling you? They saw their deceased Pokémon."

Red was speechless.

"The exec tried to put it on once more to see his Psyduck again, but it didn't work anymore. It turned out to be a one-time deal."

Red didn't completely understand. "Why didn't they mass-produce these things? People would pay anything to see their lost Pokémon!"

"Yes, they would. But the board decided it was morally wrong. Dead means dead. They felt it was too cruel to let people see their lost ones only one time, and then they were gone forever again. They figured that people had to let go, like they've always done. They didn't want to mess with the way life works."

Red rubbed his head. It was a lot to take in. "But we're gonna do it anyway?"

Green nodded. "I have to say goodbye, Red. I can't let the last time I saw Raticate be on that ship."

Red agreed. "I know what you mean. But why do we have to go to Lavender Town to do it?"

"The Psyduck and the Vulpix had died with their owners near them, so their spirits were connected to them and could appear next to them no matter where they were. But it's been a while between we last saw our Pokémon and when they..." Green stopped himself from uttering the words he couldn't bear say, and skipped to the next sentence. "Lavender Town is called the town of spirits. The Pokémon tower is one huge graveyard, and many people choose to store their Pokémon's ashes there."

"Does that mean Wigglytuff and Raticate's spirits will be there?" Red asked.

"There's no way to be sure," Green replied, "but if their spirits have connected to somewhere, why not the place in Kanto with the most concentrated spiritual energy?" He shrugged, as if he was uncertain whether he believed his own words or not. "You know... if you believe in that stuff."

Red clenched his fist with determination. "We'll have to believe!" He stood up from the park bench and grabbed his backpack. He seemed ready to run back to the quiet town.

"Wait a second, Red. I have one more thing to discuss."

Red stopped in his tracks. "What is it?"

Green held a Pokéball in his hand. "I propose a trade."

Red was surprised. "A trade? Really?"

"Yes." Green continued. "Earlier, you did a pretty okay job controlling my Eevee. You seemed to, despite your lesser skills and knowledge, understand it on a level I don't. And I was clearly superior to you when it came to controlling your Growlithe. So I propose we make it a permanent trade."

Red ignored the thinly-veiled insults and grabbed Growlithe's Pokéball. "I want what's best for my Pokémon. And... you did seem to understand Growlithe in a way I didn't."

"So it's a deal? We're doing the trade?"

Red smiled. "Yes."

As the sun rose to shine a golden light over the quaint little place known as Lavender Town, the two teenagers strolled into town.

"This place looks so boring" Red mentioned to his rival.

"Sure does." Green replied without a trace of interest in his voice.

Red noticed. "It's hard to care about anything else right now, isn't it" he commented, knowing they both felt the same at this moment.

Green stopped. So did Red. They stared up at the large Pokémon Tower in front of them.

"Here it is." Green stated.

"We should go in... right?" Red asked hesitantly.

Several seconds passed before Green answered him. "Definitely. We should. Absolutely. No reason not to."

Red couldn't help but smile a little. "You sure?" he asked, poking fun at Green's numerous answers to his question.

Green scoffed. "This is no time for jokes, Red."

Red's smile faded. "I know. Just trying to lighten the mood, that's all."

His rival looked around them. "Where is everyone?"

The town was quiet. Too quiet.

Red and Green jumped in surprise as they were both tapped on their shoulder by two frail fingers. They turned around to discover the person that had tapped them was an old lady.

"What do you two think you're doing?"

Green was quick to answer. "We're here to pay tribute to our fallen Pokémon. Why do you care?"

Red noticed the look on her face. Her eyes were shifty. There was no hint of a smile on her lips. Her fingers were shaking. He realized instantly what was wrong with her. "She's scared."

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Clearly, you two don't pay attention to the news." she replied. "If you did, you would know that the tower has been sieged by Team Rocket."

"WHAT?!" Red and Green exclaimed upon hearing what the old lady had revealed.

Green was furious. "Why aren't the police doing anything?"

"They're right outside of the town in a cabin, figuring out what they should do. They're in contact with the Rocket-men inside, trying to negotiate."

"Why not just storm the tower and take them down?" Red asked.

"They can't. Not while Team Rocket has my husband held hostage up there. They say they will kill him if they see police trying to get up there."

Green put his hands behind his head in frustration. "What a horrific situation."

Red clenched his fists. "They don't want police up there? Fine." He looked at Green. "We'll go."

The old lady was taken aback. "I can't make you do that!"

Red and Green had already turned their backs to her and started walking toward the entrance.

"You don't have to." Green answered her, his back against her still. "We have unfinished business with them."

The two teenagers were completely silent as they ascended the stairs within the tower, until they got to the third floor where Red decided to break the silence.

"Unfinished business?" he whispered. "They've wiped the floor with us both times we've fought them."

"I know." Green whispered back. "But we have to put that behind us and believe in ourselves enough to defeat them this time."

"Alright." Red replied. "I'm just glad you're walking in front of me. That way, I'll be able to come up with a strategy while they're busy kicking your weak ass."

Green chuckled. "That's the spirit."

Though the two tried to force confidence, their surroundings did its best to deny them it. The stairs were creaking. The lights were out. And on every floor there were dozens of gravestones with urns in front of them.

Red couldn't help but be creeped out. "Green. Do you realize we're surrounded by dead Pokémon?"

Green kept going forward with a determined look on his face. "Let's focus on what's in front of us, Red. Team Rocket won't know what hit them." He stopped.

"What's wrong, Green?"

"Do you hear that?" he whispered.

Red focused on hearing what Green meant:"Talking".

Green grabbed a Pokéball. Red did the same.

"Are you ready?" Green asked.

"Are you?" Red replied.

"I can honestly say I have no idea. But do we have a choice?"

"Nope." Red smiled nervously. "Too late to turn now. Do you have a plan?"

Green shook his head.

"Then let's just go in there and take them down!" Red declared.

The two raised their feet and kicked in the door separating the hallway from the fifth floor main room. The dust swirled in the light let in by the windows as the two teenagers stepped inside.

A familiar voice spoke upon seeing the two; "Sup?"

They froze. Only for a moment, but enough to show their opponent that they were not as self-confident as they let on. In front of them stood three Rocket-members. Two average grunts, both dressed in the standard Team Rocket-suit. But behind those two stood a man Red and Green had met before. A large, tall, and chubby man. A man who had stood with Giallo on the S.S. Anne, defeated them, and taken their Pokémon. A man who along with Giallo was responsible for Wigglytuff and Raticate's deaths.

Sascha.

"Been a while since I last saw you two." he stated. "Heard you two were responsible for putting Giallo and Ms. Zuka in jail. That's not cool."

Red gritted his teeth. "We'll send you there too!"

Sascha laughed. "That's cute. The way I heard it, you two were destroyed by the boss. And if Giallo and Ms. Zuka had managed to release their Pokémon, they would've probably destroyed you first."

Green's fingers were twitching. "What's your point?"

Sascha grinned. "I won't make it as easy for you." He nodded toward his two subordinates, and they grabbed a Pokéball each.

Green motioned to Red. "I'll take the one on the left."

"Alright." Red replied. "Which one should I take?"

"... the one on the right."

"Yeah. That makes sense."

The two teenagers and the two Rocket-grunts released four Pokémon into the room.

Red and Green released Charmeleon and Ivysaur. The two grunts released a Wigglytuff and a Raticate.

The teenagers were instantly reminded of their lost Pokémon, and hesitated to make a move.

"Hah!" Sascha bellowed. "Just as I thought. Play a little with people's heads, and they're easy to finish off. Good thing we had some guys on lookout. Once they saw you coming, there was no problem in getting these two Pokémon sent here." he explained. "But enough exposition. Guys, get 'em"

As commanded, the two Rocket-grunts gave their orders to their Pokémon.

"Wigglytuff, Body Slam!"

"Raticate, Sucker Punch!"

Both Pokémon hurled their bodies toward Red and Green's starters.

Red and Green raised their left hand and gave their command simultaneously; "Return!"

Charmeleon and Ivysaur flexed all the muscles in their bodies, anticipating the opponent's Pokémon. Just before the attacks connected, the teenagers' Pokémon dodged and hit back. Charmeleon punched Raticate, while Ivysaur kicked Wigglytuff. The two Pokémon belonging to the Rockets were launched into their owners, sending all four into a wall.

Both the grunts and the Pokémon were now unconscious.

Sascha had an impressed look on his face. "Hmm. Return. A move that's more effective the stronger the bond between trainer and Pokémon. Not bad."

Red and Green stared at Sascha with a determined focus in their eyes.

"Enough mindgames." Green stated.

"Do you think we don't know the difference between our Pokémon and other Pokémon of the same species?" Red added.

"Alright then." Sascha smiled slyly. "Time to get serious."

The large man grabbed two Pokéballs with one hand, and threw them. "Go, Golbat, Drowzee!"

The bat Pokémon and the hypnosis Pokémon appeared from their Pokéballs, ready for a fight. Charmeleon and Ivysaur were both returned and switched out with Butterfree and Kadabra.

Sascha smirked. "Don't think you'll win just because you have the type advantage. Drowzee, Hypnosis!"

Drowzee waved its hands, releasing multiple multicolored circles from its face at Red and Green's Pokémon, causing them both to fall asleep.

"Golbat, Swift!"

Golbat waved its wings, and several white stars came out of them, flying toward Butterfree and Kadabra. Right before the stars were about to hit, both Pokémon opened their eyes as they woke up.

Red and Green shouted in unison; "Dodge!"

Butterfree flew over the stars, while Kadabra ducked. The stars crashed into the wall behind them, leaving several singed marks on it.

"Butterfree, Tailwind!" Red ordered.

Butterfree waved its wings at Drowzee, causing a strong whirlwind that blew it to the other side of the room.

Meanwhile, Green had ordered a Charge Beam from Kadabra. Kadabra lowered its head slightly and an orb of yellow electricity formed in front of its mouth. It then headbutted the orb, firing a beam of yellow electricity from the orb at Golbat.

The bat, with its quick reflexes, managed to dodge it.

At the same time, a multicolored beam hit Butterfree, causing it to crash down on the floor.

"Nice Psybeam." Sascha complimented his Drowzee, which had returned to his side.

Green knew the battle wasn't going their way. Drowzee, though weak against bug-moves, was overpowering Butterfree due to the strength of its special-attacks. And Kadabra was too slow to even touch Golbat, who's speed and evasiveness was far greater than Green's psychic Pokémon.

"Green, Golbat's too fast and Drowzee's special moves are too good." Red whispered. "Let's switch temporarily. I'll make Golbat slower and you make Drowzee's special attack weaker."

Green was surprised by Red's quick thinking, but he liked it. "Alright!"

"Butterfree, Stun Spore!"

"Kadabra, Light Screen on Butterfree!"

Butterfree flew over Golbat, and an orange mist came out of the butterfly's wings. The mist was too expansive for Golbat to dodge, and Sascha could see his Pokémon's movements becoming stiffer.

Immediately after Butterfree was done and returned to its trainer's side, Kadabra's eyes glowed yellow and six glowing yellow walls appeared around Butterfree, forming a box around it.

"Green, I paralyzed it, so it should be easier to hit now."

"Nice. Light Screen will halve the power of special moves, so Butterfree should be good too."

The two young trainers signaled their Pokémon that they were going to switch opponents again.

Sascha was not amused. The two trainers had turned the tide. "Golbat, Air Slash! Drowzee, Psyshock!"

Golbat tried to move its wings, but it had become so stiff that it couldn't even stay airborne.

Drowzee crouched its body together and three thick masses of light blue, dark blue and purple energy formed around the front of its body. Drowzee then fired the masses at Butterfree. However, one after the other, they were shrunk to half their size as they went through the Light Screen, and Butterfree didn't seem to take much damage from the one mass it failed to dodge.

Sascha stomped the floor. "Dammit!"

Red grinned. "Payback time! Butterfree, Bug Buzz!"

Butterfree's wings glowed red, and it pointed its antennae in the air. Its antennae then started vibrating, and red soundwaves came out of them, creating a siren-like sound which visibly hurt Drowzee.

"Kadabra, Psycho Cut!"

Kadabra's forearms glowed light blue, and both of them grew and extended in the back. Kadabra then swung its arms repeatedly and multiple light blue crescent blades came out of them and hit Golbat.

"Let's finish this, Red!" Green called out to his rival.

"Fine by me!"

Kadabra leaped toward Golbat, while Butterfree's soundwaves came together and formed a red orb in its arms. Kadabra sliced Golbat with its forearms, while Butterfree fired the orb as a red beam at Drowzee.

Sascha's Pokémon fainted.

"Sascha. You're going to stay here until the police arrives, or we will have our Pokémon take you down the same way they took down Giallo and Zuka." Green ordered the Rocket man.

Sascha laughed. "Oh, really? Guys." he whistled.

The two Rocket-grunts from before, who had apparently woken up and gone to a side-room, reappeared with an old man. The old man had his hands tied behind his back.

"This is Mr. Fuji." Sascha explained. "The man we're holding hostage, in case you'd forgotten. And guess what? If you two don't surrender yourselves to me right now... I'll kill him."

Red and Green were shocked by how evil the words coming out of Sascha's mouth were.

"What?" he asked, noticing their expressions. "Did you think Giallo was the only one who was smart and cruel enough to come up with things like this?" He looked over at Mr. Fuji. "What do you say, old man? Do you want to die?"

Mr. Fuji, a bald, short, and wrinkly old man, looked weak physically, but his eyes were burning with determination. "Kids," he said, looking straight at the two boys, "Don't let these awful men threaten you. If something happens to me, so be it, but don't let him take you too."

"Return your Pokémon. Now." Sascha ordered.

Red and Green looked at each other, trying to see what the other one was thinking. They both closed their eyes and sighed, before they returned their Pokémon.

"Good! Now we're getting somewhere." Sascha said with a smile on his chubby face.

"No!" Red shouted. "We're not going anywhere!"

Sascha let out an annoyed sigh. "Fine. So an old man isn't enough, huh? Then how about his Pokémon?!"

One of the grunts hurried back to the side-room, and returned with an obviously drugged Marowak. It also had its hands tied behind its back. Sascha grabbed its neck.

"Marrow..." Fuji said softly.

"Are you going to give yourselves up, or am I going to have to hurt his one?" Sascha asked, his hands firmly around Marowak's head.

Red and Green were frozen with fright.

"He's insane." Green thought.

"We can't!" Red started shouting, with desperation in his voice. "If we give ourselves up, then it's all over! We won't be able to save our friends, or anyone else for that matter! We... We cant..."

Green was unable to say anything.

Sascha looked at Red with a deadpan expression. "Boo. Hoo. Do you think I'm playing around here?"

CRACK!

"Noooooo!" Mr. Fuji screamed out as he saw Sascha twist Marowak's head around.

Red and Green's eyes widened as they realized what had happened.

Sascha let go of the Pokémon, and its lifeless body fell to the floor.

Fuji started weeping.

The two grunts appeared to get angry. "What the hell, man?!" one of them yelled out. The other one grabbed Sascha's shirt. "How could you do that?!"

Sascha seemed confused. "I did my job. Like you should, so let go of me."

"No way!" the grunt who wasn't grabbing him exclaimed. He grabbed a cell phone.

Sascha tried to get to him before he could dial, but the other grunt was strong, and managed to hold him back.

"This is one of the members of Team Rocket who's taken the tower. We give ourselves up."

"You called the cops?!" Sascha shouted. He kicked the grunt who was holding him in the shin. The grunt yelled out in pain and lost his grip. Sascha then turned to a window and ran toward it. He grabbed two Pokéballs and tossed them out the window, releasing two Zubats. As he jumped out the window, the two bats grabbed his shoulders and flew away with him.

Red and Green were still in shock.

The two Rocket grunts untied Mr. Fuji, and fell to their knees. "We're... we're so sorry." "We... didn't know."

Mr. Fuji took one look at them, and touched their shoulders. "I can see that." he said, with compassion in his voice. "You are two people who made some bad choices along the way, but I can tell you're not bad people, deep inside. I hope you will rethink your lives while you're in prison."

The two started crying and thanked the old man.

Mr. Fuji walked over to his Marowak and closed its eyes with his hand. He removed his sweater and put it over it. "This wasn't the way you were supposed to go, but we had a long run, old friend."

Green finally managed to say something. "How can you be so calm?" he asked.

Fuji, with tears in his eyes, looked at the brown-haired boy. "I have to remember all the good times, instead of this one horrible moment. I have to celebrate its life, instead of losing myself in despair over its death. I just... just wished we could have had one last good memory together before it went."

Red snapped out of his shock as well. He grabbed the Silph Scope from Green's backpack, and handed it to Mr. Fuji. "Put it on. Trust me."

Mr. Fuji did, and a huge smile appeared on his face as he hugged something that to everyone else seemed not to be there.

When Fuji finally said goodbye and removed the scope, an hour had passed, and the police had taken the grunts away. He noticed that the two teenagers were not there anymore.

A police officer, who was reading a magazine, saw that he had removed the scope. "Oh. Right. Uhm, I was supposed to just leave you alone until you were done with... whatever it was you were doing, and tell you that you need to leave the crime scene now."

Mr. Fuji did, and when he stepped outside, he could see the two teenagers fighting.

He observed as Green hit Red, and pushed him to the ground.

Green's eyes were as filled with sadness as they were with fury. "It's all your fault! If you had just stayed calm and not started shouting and stuff his Pokémon would still be alive! And you let him use the Scope for way too long! Its battery is drained by now, and we'll never!" He kicked Red in the stomach. "See them!" He kicked once more. "Again!"

Red was lying on the ground, holding his stomach. He didn't say anything, because deep down, he agreed with Green.

"I can't believe I thought we could be fr-" Green stopped himself. "I stopped trusting you years ago. I should've known better than to do so again! You're holding me back as a trainer, and this was the last straw. We're not just rivals anymore. From now on, the next time I see you, it'll be as an enemy. You and I are done!"

Red buried his face in the ground as Green walked away.

Mr. Fuji walked over to Red and helped him to his feet. "Hey, kid. Why don't I take you home and fix these scratches?" he suggested, noting Red's wounds from his beatdown.

"Sure." Red replied absentmindedly.

"You tried to save me. What happened up there... it wasn't your fault."

"It feels like it is."

"But it's not. Come on."

The following week, Red stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Fuji while his wounds healed, and gradually, with the help of Mr. Fuji's kind words, he managed to let go of some of the guilt. After nine days had passed, he knew he had to move on. Red said goodbye to the old couple, promising to never forget them. Fuji's last words to Red were demanding that he had to look forward. To never forget the past, but not let it limit him from seeing the future. Red promised.

And so, Red continued his journey, setting his sights on Fuchsia City...

To be continued...

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