Chapter 12

It was morning in Cerulean City; the sliding doors to the Pokémon Center opened and Chase ran out with a grin on his face. "Next stop: Saffron City!" he exclaimed. He ran down an empty dirt road that led out of town.

Once out on Route five, one of his Poké Balls popped open and Charmander took form. They looked into each other's eyes, and Chase said, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" The two began racing. Charmander started off in the lead because its Trainer gave it a head start, but it ended up tripping. Chase looked back and laughed to himself, but ran into a tree. Charmander passed him by, giggling. The Trainer rubbed his nose and tried to catch up with the Fire-type. "Get back here!" he called out playfully.

It was almost evening when they reached the gates to Saffron City, both tired from their journey. Chase leaned up against a small tree while Charmander fell flat on its face out of exhaustion. It had been a long trek.

"Charmander?" the Trainer panted. "Are you okay?" The Pokémon gave a muffled response from beneath the dirt. "Glad you're all right."

The gate that lead into Saffron was barricaded with a guard standing by, and the city was in shambles; the top portion of a tall skyscraper had been blown off.

"What?" Chase gasped.

"They won't let you in there," a voice called out. Chase looked around, startled. His vision fell upon an elderly man with spiky gray hair.

"Who are you?" the young Trainer asked.

"My name is Yosocky. What's yours, sonny?"

"I'm Chase. I'm a Pokémon Trainer!" he announced proudly.

"Really? I don't see any Pokémon."

"My Charmander's right over there." Chase's Pokémon still lay on the ground, resting.

"Ah, so that's your Pokémon."

"Yes."

"I say, why is it eating dirt?"

"Huh? Oh, no, it's just resting." Charmander made a muffled sound in agreement.

The old man smiled. "I was only joking. Nice to meet you, Chase."

Yosocky reached out a hand and Chase shook it.

"Nice to meet you," the boy smiled.

"So, are you collecting Gym Badges to compete in the Pokémon League?"

"Yes, I am. Isn't there a Gym here in Saffron?"

"Well, yes, but it was pretty banged up," Yosocky explained. "The city was damaged from the attacks earlier."

"Who attacked them?"

"I wasn't around at the time, but the news said Team Rocket did. I tell you, they've done some pretty bad things in the past, but this takes the cake." Yosocky turned and looked up at the tallest building in Saffron, its top floors destroyed. "They attacked a lot of the important buildings, including the Silph Co. building. Fortunately, no one was hurt. But as you can see, it's going to take some time to fix. The Gym Leader, Sabrina, is helping to rebuild the city, so she is very busy right now. You'll have to come back later if you want a match with her"

"Okay, then. Are they letting people into the city at all?"

"No, you'll have to turn back." Chase looked at his feet, a little disappointed. "You better get a move on, it'll be getting dark soon."

"Yeah, I guess I'll have to camp out tonight. But what about you?"

"Oh, don't worry about me," he assured the boy. Chase nodded, but noticed something on Yosocky's belt.

"Hey, what is that?"

"Ah, you've noticed my Apricorn."

"Apricorn?" Chase echoed.

"Yes, it's what they used to make Poké Balls out of back in the day. I got this one from an old friend of mine a long time ago."

"Wow, that sounds interesting. Can I see it?"

"Just don't fool around with it." Yosocky took the Apricorn off of his belt and handed it to Chase. It looked just like a Poké Ball, except the top was gold in color, and its bottom was silver with the middle line where the button was located being made out of crystal.

"Awesome." Chase gave it back to Yosocky, who put it back on his belt. "Whoever made it really outdid himself."

"He was always very elaborate in his detail. But, anyway, I must be on my way. Perhaps we'll run into each other again."

"Yes. Take care!"

Yosocky smiled. "Oh, one more thing. Go down Route 9 and follow it to Route 10. There you will find a cave that leads to Lavender Town. It may take longer, but it will certainly get you around Saffron." Chase nodded and thanked him, and then they said good-bye and parted ways. With the help of Charmander and his other Pokémon, Chase was able to set up his tent.

Noon earlier that same day, Bill walked out of the Pewter Gym, holding up the Boulder Badge.

"Cool," he marveled. He was about to put it in his pocket when he heard someone call his name.

"Bill!" the voice shouted. Bill turned and saw a girl about his age run up to him.

"Lanette?" Bill exclaimed in surprise.

"Hi, Bill! Long time no see!" Lanette said happily. She had long, red hair, and wore a green dress.

"Yeah, but what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was here for a computer convention."

"There was a convention here? Darn. I wish I would have known about it. So, what did I miss?"

"Oh, there was so many different new programs and equipment! You would have loved to see it all. By the way, I have some great news! I just got a call from Celio; he told me he was offered a job up in the Sinnoh Region!"

"Really? What for?"

"Well, Galactic Corporation offered Celio a job because he was the one who created the GTS. The CEO said he'd be honored to have Celio work there up at the main building as a programmer! Maybe he'll get the chance to visit Bebe while he's in the region!"

"Wow! That's great! When's he leaving?"

"He should have left by now. But, don't worry; he's taking his cell phone if you want to talk to him. Say, what do you have in your hand?"

"The Boulder Badge," Bill answered.

"So, you've started your Pokémon journey, huh? That's great, Bill!"

"Thanks!"

"You're welcome! I wish I had more time to hear about it, but I have a plane to catch to get back to Hoenn. I hope to see you soon, Bill!"

"Me, too. It's too bad you have to leave now, but that's okay. It was really nice seeing you again! Goodbye!" With that, Lanette walked off to make her flight.

Bill gazed at his Gym Badge again; he held it up towards the sun to see it glimmer. "Good luck, Celio," he smiled.

A plane touched down in Veilstone Airport. The runway was damp from a recent rain shower, and the sky held the remnants of the storm. Celio gathered up his luggage and waited to exit. With his trusty laptop under his right arm and his suitcase in his left hand, he stepped off the plane. He was very excited about his new position. He'd never had dreamed he would get a job offer from Galactic Corporation. It had many affiliates and offices around the world with many possibilities for advancement.

As Celio walked out into the concourse, he saw a man holding up a sign with his name on it. The programmer walked over to him and said, "Hi, I'm Celio."

"Hello, I'm here to pick you up. May I take your bag?"

With that, the chauffeur led Celio to a black limousine and opened the back door for him. There sitting in the back seat and waiting for him was a man who had spiky blue hair and wore a black suit with a big yellow "G" sewn onto his breast pocket.

"I'm Cyrus, the CEO of Galactic Corporation," he said. "It's nice to meet you in person!"

"I'm honored, sir. Thank you for this opportunity! I'll do my best!"

"I'm very excited to meet the inventor of the Global Trade Station!"

"Well, thank you, sir."

Cyrus instructed the driver to head for the Galactic Corporation Building.

The interior of the limousine was very impressive; the seats were leather, and the floor was finely carpeted.

"So, when do I get started?" Celio asked.

"We can go by the office and I'll show you where you'll be working. I have taken the liberty of reserving a hotel room for you, at the company's expense, for the weekend. Here is a list of apartment buildings that are close by; you should be able to secure one quickly."

Soon, they arrived at the Galactic Corporation Building. It was a forty-story, glass-enclosed building. The chauffeur pulled into the private entrance, then Cyrus and Celio got into the executive elevator that was waiting for them.

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