21.

SABOTAGE ON THE SPF LINE!

The next morning I arrive at the Mimarar City train station fairly early. Now that I have my Combat Badge, I see no reason to stay in this town any longer, and I want to keep heading onwards whilst I'm on a roll. The next Gym is located in Creater Town which, conveniently enough, is only a forty-five minute train ride away through the desert that covers the majority of northern Silvari.

The train arrives after we have been waiting for it only a few minutes. I proceed onward and find a seat near the window, and Reo takes the seat opposite me. I can feel the little bundle of fur I have recently obtained quivering in my arms.

"Don't worry, Eevee," I reassure him. "No one's going to abandon you on the train this time."

"Vee…" Eevee murmurs, still uncertain.

After we have been going for a few minutes, a woman comes along the train selling guidebooks about Creater Town. I purchase one despite the ridiculously high price tag, wanting to get as much intelligence about the town, and particularly the Gym Leader, before we arrive.

"Anything interesting in there?" Reo asks me after a moment.

"Creater Town is one of the oldest settlements in Silvari," I read to him. "It was founded nearly two hundred years ago at the foot of Creation Mountain, the oldest known peak in the region. Though dormant for a long time, the peak's volcanic soil allowed the settlers to grow an abundance of fruit and vegetables to sell to travellers, and over time, the town began to prosper."

"So it's situated by a volcano, then," Reo summarises with a nod. "Keep going."

I skim through the rest of the text until I come to a paragraph that catches my attention. "The Creater Town Pokémon Gym was first opened twenty-seven years ago by Bernie Fewell, who still serves as Leader to this day. He is a much respected figure in the local community and his wisdom…etc etc etc… Ah! When he is not taking on challengers at the Gym, he spends his time inside Creation Mountain training his Fire-type Pokémon," I finish, looking up at Reo.

"So he's a user of the Fire-type?" Reo grimaces. "A pity. I don't match up overly well against Fire-type Pokémon."

"Well I can't say I'm really surprised," I say reasonably. "After all, he does live on the doorstep of a volcano. There're probably loads of Fire-type Pokémon around there…"

A smile crosses Reo's face. "You sound like you're hatching a plan there, young Luke," he says.

I shrug. "Well, I don't have a Fire-type Pokémon of my own yet. It'd probably be useful to catch one, don't you think?"

Before Reo can respond to this, the train suddenly slams on its brakes, filling the air with a deafening screeching noise and almost sending me clean out of my seat and onto the floor. Eevee gives a frightened whimpering noise and buries his face in my arms as the train slowly grinds to a halt.

I massage my aching ears and take a look around. "What's going on?" I wonder out loud. Looking around the cabin, I can see several of the other passengers surveying the surroundings with equal confusion, and several of them are muttering in frustration and checking their watches, clearly not wanting to be late for some appointment.

"Maybe we've broken down," Reo suggests, getting up to peer out of the window.

A voice speaks over the train's speaker system. "Ladies and gentlemen, we apologise for the delay. There seems to be an obstruction on the track ahead. Please remain in your seats while we investigate. We hope to be on our way again shortly." A click sounds as the intercom is switched off.

The confused muttering increases in volume. I turn to look at Reo with a slight feeling of unease. "What do they mean by 'an obstruction'? We're in the middle of the desert," I say, indicating the window, which shows the barren surroundings as far as the eye can see. "What could possibly be obstructing the line way out here?"

"I don't know…" Reo mutters, his brow furrowed. "I don't like this…"

"Vee…" Eevee squeaks, clearly in agreement.

"Don't worry about it Eevee," I try and reassure him. "They said we'll be going again in a minute. I'm sure it's nothing."

What happens next completely destroys that theory.

A huge explosion ripples through the carriage, sending it flying into the air clean off the tracks. The force of the explosion hurls me from my seat straight into the carriage roof where I bash my head against the ceiling; instinctively I reach up to nurse my injury, dropping Eevee at the same time, who falls to the floor and scurries away, terrified.

"Eevee, come back!" I cry as I drop to my seat. I try to run after him but another huge impact, this time from behind, sends me hurtling across the carriage and crashing down onto the floor. The thick black smoke that fills the air is choking, and through it I see no signs of Eevee. I strain my eyes, but still see nothing, and my vision seems to grow somewhat blurry. I cough heavily under the force of the smoke.

"Luke!"

Reo's voice sounds, and two strong arms lift me from the floor and pull me to my feet. Through the thick smoke I see his concerned face, barely three inches from my own.

"Come on, Luke, we have to get off this train," Reo says urgently. He takes my hand and leads me towards the end of the carriage, where he smashes the door open with a Force Palm. The heat from the desert air fills the room and the bright sunlight pierces through the smoke. Reo and I jump forward out into the open air, where I take several relieved breaths of the smoke-free air.

"What just happened?" I ask Reo once my lungs are clear of smoke.

"See for yourself," Reo says grimly, indicating the train. I look back towards it and gasp in horror. The entire front of the train has been torn apart, with all that remains a few twisted lumps of metal. The carriage that we were sitting in sits a few feet behind, off the rails but still upright, with the carriage behind that leaning against it, with the front half on the roof of ours. The remaining two carriages are still on the rails some distance behind; clearly they did not bear the brunt of the explosion, although there are still several dents and scorch marks on each one.

"Someone tried to blow up the train," Reo summarises, the grim tone still in his voice. "I don't know who, or why, but they've clearly caused a lot of damage. It would take someone completely insane to try a feat as bold as this in broad daylight."

I suddenly realise that something is missing. I look down at my arms, blackened by the smoke, in horror. "Eevee, where's Eevee?" I call urgently.

"You must have let go of him when the carriage was thrown off the rails," Reo reminds me. "He should still be around here somewhere."

"We've got to go look for him," I say, heading back towards the train's entrance, but Reo's strong arms hold me back.

"Hold it, Luke," he says urgently. "We can't go back in there now. That smoke would have us unconscious in an instant. We have to wait until it clears, then we can go and search for Eevee. I only hope he has found a way off the train and is hiding somewhere safe…"

I sigh and turn to face him. "OK, I understand. But we should at least try and get an inkling of what's going on. Come on, let's take a look around."

Reo and I proceed down the length of the train slowly and carefully, as though we expect another explosion to echo from within any time soon. As we pass by the tilted third carriage we stop and look towards the remaining two carriages that are still on the rails. A small crowd of scared-looking people is standing just to the left of the nearest carriage, the doors of which are open, and just inside them I can see a tall figure dressed in black leather, with a straight tower of bright red hair.

"Oh, no…" I whisper to myself.

"That's right, hand all your Pokémon to me," Reddic is saying to, I assume, the people still remaining in the carriage. "There's no reason for you to get hurt if you co-operate with our demands. Hand us your Pokémon, and you may leave the train before we destroy it."

One by one, the carriage's inhabitants exit the train past Reddic and join the crowd standing to the left. After a few minutes, Reddic gives a nod of satisfaction, turns and steps down, his arms full of Poké Balls. Instinctively I pull myself out of sight so that he cannot see me, but continue to listen to what is being said.

"Thank you so much for your kind donations," Reddic says in a sneering voice to the passengers of the train. "The Silvari Pokémon Force will put them to work at once. Who knows? When we eventually conquer the world, you might see your old Pokémon on the news someday as our accomplices!" He gives a cold laugh, which none of the crowd echo.

"Unbelievable…" Reo growls from beside me. "So it was Team SPF all this time."

"Sir!" A different voice sounds. "We've finished evacuating the other carriages and have collected all the Pokémon from the Trainers on board."

"Excellent," Reddic says. "Looks like we're done here then. Will one of you take these off my hands? I can't ride properly with my arms full of Poké Balls."

"Sir, what should we do with this one?" a third voice asks. "We found it cowering by the wreckage of the front carriage."

There is a pause. "It's a Pokémon, isn't it?" Reddic says eventually. "Chuck it in the sack with the others. You know our motto: we take all Silvari Pokémon, wild or trained."

"Yes sir!" the voice confirms. It is followed by a small, terrified cry.

"Vee!" the Pokémon cries out in fear.

I gasp out loud. "That's Eevee!" I cry, not troubling to keep my voice down. Without a second thought I jump out from my hiding place and run across to Reddic, who has just turned to leave.

"Hey!" I call to him. "Reddic!"

Reddic stops and turns to behold me, and upon seeing who it is his eyes fill with rage. "What?! You again! What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" I repeat incredulously. "What the heck are you guys doing here? Stealing other people's Pokémon, as usual?"

"Hmph! Why do you care? Can't you just leave us alone, just this once?" Reddic calls across to me, turning to leave again.

"No, I can't. Because, you see, that Eevee you've captured just so happens to be mine."

Reddic stops dead in his tracks and turns slowly to face me, a gleeful smile on his face. "It's yours?" he repeats, and I nod furiously. Reddic bursts into laughter. "Ahahahahaha! Fantastic! We have a hostage!" He grins at me evilly. "You won't dare to interfere with us now we have one of your own Pokémon, will you, Luke?"

"If that's honestly what you think, then you seriously don't understand what it means to care for your Pokémon," I retaliate. "If you take Eevee, it'll only make me more determined to chase after you to get him back."

Reddic gives another laugh. "You think so? We'll see if you still think that after I turn him over to my colleague."

"Your colleague?" I repeat. "Who's that?"

"Yoo-hoo! Up here, Lukey-boy!"

The blood in my veins runs cold for a moment as I recognise the slightly distorted, high-pitched singsong voice. I turn in its direction, and atop the nearest train carriage I see him: The Blue One, standing there proudly as though he's some kind of superhero.

The Blue One jumps down from the carriage roof, causing a great crashing noise as his metal armour collides with the desert floor. He straightens up and gives a maniacal laugh as he waves at me as though we are long-lost friends. "Long time no see, eh?"

"The Blue One," I mutter darkly. "What an undeniable pleasure to see you again."

"Oh, so you two know each other already?" Reddic says with a sneer. "That's good. Saves me the bother of introducing our inventor-in-chief here."

"And scientist! Your forgot scientist-in-chief, too!" The Blue One admonishes, waggling a finger irritatingly at Reddic.

"Yes, all right, scientist-in-chief too," Reddic adds, rolling his eyes, and The Blue One gives another silly giggle. Reddic turns his attention back to me. "The point is, you know what will happen if I turn your Eevee over to Blue, don't you?"

A shiver passes down my back. "What… What do you mean?" I ask worriedly.

The Blue One giggles yet again. "Such a cute Pokémon… Oh! The fun he and I could have together in my laboratory! So many different ways to make him squeal!"

"You wouldn't dare…" I say hoarsely.

"Well, whether or not I would or wouldn't dare rather depends on you," Reddic informs me. "I offer you a choice, Luke. Leave us alone and I will personally ensure that no harm comes to your Eevee. But if you try and resist us, then I will turn it over to Blue, to use for whatever purpose he sees fit." Another giggle from The Blue One, who rubs his metal-gloved hands together in delight. "Of course, we will be taking your Eevee either way."

This sentence strengthens my resolve, and I unclip a Poké Ball from my belt and lock eyes with Reddic determinedly. "I won't let you do that," I say to him.

"So you choose to resist then? Very well." Reddic turns to his underling. "Hand Eevee to Blue," he instructs, and the SPF member obligingly walks across and gives Eevee to The Blue One, who snuggles him close against his armour as though he is a pet, while Eevee squirms to get away.

"Hello, my darling!" The Blue One cries out in delight. "We're going to become such good friends, I just know it!" He holds Eevee up to his face, and even from my distance I can see his cold blue eyes staring at my Eevee with something of a hunger in them.

"You asked for this, Luke!" Reddic calls over to me. "Don't try and follow us, or it'll get all the worse for your Eevee!" He turns to The Blue One. "Come on, Blue, let's get out of here."

"Oh, dear Reddic, I can't do that!" The Blue One cries, lowering Eevee and looking at his fellow commander. "Where are your manners? Luke has challenged you to a Pokémon battle. Look, he has the Poké Ball in his hand right now! You can't deny him this opportunity to face you once more! Come now, be a good sport. Battle Luke for me, pretty please?"

Reddic glares at The Blue One. "That wasn't the plan…" he mumbles.

"Plans change," The Blue One says with a shrug. "Battle Luke, and if you win we'll go along with your plan. But if you refuse, then I'm afraid this little one will go right back to his owner, and you'll be the laughingstock of all Team SPF for backing down from a challenge against a child."

Reddic sighs deeply, eyes closed. "Fine, I'll battle him, if you're that desperate," he snaps, glaring at The Blue One once more. "I'm gonna get you back for this though, I hope you know that."

"Ooh, I shall await that day with great excitement!" The Blue One says with a giggle.

Reddic steps forward and unclips his own Poké Ball, facing off against me. "I hope you know this is totally against my better judgement," he informs me angrily. "It's only 'cause our leader values Blue's input so much that I'm doing this. If you beat me…then we'll give back all the Pokémon we stole."

"Oh, do we have to use that word?" The Blue One chips in from behind him. "Stealing… It sounds so dull. I prefer 'forcefully acquiring'. Much more dramatic."

Reddic chooses to ignore this remark, and we stare each other down a moment longer, before finally releasing our Pokémon at the same time.

"Go, Golbat!" Reddic calls.

"Come on out, Staravia!" I cry.

The two Flying Pokémon emerge and hover opposite each other, Reddic's enormous bat Pokémon facing off against my bird, who seems suddenly very small in comparison.

"Good luck, Luke," Reo encourages from beside me. "Under no circumstances can we let Eevee go to that maniac. There's no telling what he'll try and do to him…" He gives a shudder. Once again my partner's consuming fear of The Blue One surprises me, but I decide to save questioning him on this for a more suitable time.

"OK Staravia, get things going with a Quick Attack!" I order. Staravia darts at Golbat, striking it repeatedly.

"Golbat, Air Cutter!" Reddic calls, and Golbat begins to flap its wings, trying to blow Staravia away, but Staravia resists, flying against the current with all her might and drawing slowly closer and closer to Golbat.

"That's it, Staravia!" I encourage. "Now, Wing Attack it when you get close!"

"Golbat, Bite it!" Reddic orders, and Golbat opens its huge mouth ready to strike, but Staravia is quicker. She spreads her wings wide and strikes Golbat once with each one, buffeting it and knocking it to the ground.

"Now, finish it with a final Quick Attack!" I order, and Staravia dives down at Golbat, ramming her beak into its head and knocking it out.

"All right!" I cry in delight. "You were awesome, Staravia. Return."

"Rats," Reddic curses as he recalls his Golbat. "I don't believe this… But I'm not done yet!" He extracts his second, and final, Poké Ball. "I'll crush you with Golem! Gooooooooo!"

Reddic unleashes his Pokémon, which drops to the dusty floor with a thud. It appears to be an enormous, round rock with small arms, legs and a little head, which is glaring at me severely. I extract my Pokédex to get details on this tough-looking monster.

"Golem. The Megaton Pokémon. The evolved form of Graveler and Geodude's final evolutionary stage. Its boulder-like body is extremely hard. It can easily withstand dynamite blasts without damage."

"So that's what Graveler evolves into…" I summarise out loud. "In that case, why don't we have a rematch from Translucent Cave?" I select my second Poké Ball and throw it into battle opposite Golem. "Go, Swadloon!"

Swadloon emerges and sits opposite Golem: one ball-shaped Pokémon facing off against another, although mine is not as large.

"Ha! Easy! Golem, Rock Slide!" Reddic orders. Golem jumps into the air and comes crashing down onto the ground, causing several chunks of rock to rise into the air, which then hurtle towards Swadloon.

"Swadloon, use Protect!" I command, and Swadloon wraps his leafy coat around himself as the rocks collide, but they simply bounce off and cause no damage. "Great work! Now hit it with a Razor Leaf!"

Swadloon opens its leafy coat once more, and a flurry of razor-sharp leaves is blown forward from within. The leaves collide with Golem, slashing away at its shell, and although it can apparently repel dynamite blasts, the move seems to cause it great pain.

"Golem's super weak to Grass attacks!" Reo calls from beside me. "It can't take it!" Sure enough, once all the leaves have blown away, Golem's thick legs quiver, and it falls to the ground, unable to launch another attack.

"That's not possible…" Reddic murmurs. "Defeated in a single hit? But how?"

"Oh dear, Reddic, I think it's fair to say that you were totally annihilated there," The Blue One says, shaking his head. "What a shame. And I was so looking forward to spending some time with this delightful Eevee here."

"Hey, you're the one who decided to make up that stupid rule!" Reddic yells, wheeling around to stare at The Blue One angrily. "If it wasn't for your crazy schemes, we'd be long gone with these Pokémon by now!"

"Ah well, it's of no real importance," The Blue One says with a shrug. He kneels down and places Eevee on the ground, and he immediately scurries over to me. I pick him up and feel that he is still trembling.

"It's all right, Eevee, you're safe now," I say in relief, holding him close to me.

"What do you mean, no real importance?!" Reddic cries in outrage. "Do you remember who we are?" Reddic and his minions as one raise their right arm and place it across their chests to perform Reddic's salute, but in doing so, the minion with the sack drops it to the floor and it falls open, spilling Poké Balls everywhere.

Within seconds, the crowd from the carriage have rushed over and stampeded through the Team SPF villains, all fighting to regain their Pokémon. Amidst the confusion, I notice a shape rise from the crowd, and after a moment I recognise it as The Blue One, hovering above them astride his strange levitating blue metal Pokémon.

"Toodle-oo, Lukey-boy!" he jeers down at me. "I shall look forward to our next encounter!" Before I can even call a response back, his Pokémon has turned and is carrying him away into the distance, far from where we stand.

"Come on then guys, I think it's time to get out of here," I tell my Pokémon. "Come back, Swadloon." I attempt to recall Swadloon to his Poké Ball, but he turns to look at me, affronted for some reason, and the beam of light simply rebounds off. "Huh? What's going on?" I wonder. "That Golem didn't use Mean Look on Swadloon or something like that, did it?"

"I don't think so," Reo says, pointing at Swadloon. "Look."

I watch as Swadloon slowly begins to glow brighter and brighter, until finally his body is consumed by a bright light, which after a moment I recognise as the light of evolution. Swadloon's body grows slimmer and slimmer and he steadily gets taller until finally the light fades and I find myself looking, not at Swadloon, but at what I assume is his evolved form. The Pokémon stands on two spindly legs and is still yellow in colour and wrapped in leaves, but much taller and more elegant and graceful.

"Wow!" I cry out in excitement. I cross over to my new Pokémon, which is just a few inches shorter than me. "Hiya, buddy! What should I call you, then?" I point my Pokédex at the creature.

"Leavanny. The Nurturing Pokémon. The evolved form of Swadloon and Sewaddle's final evolutionary stage. It keeps its eggs warm with heat from fermenting leaves. It also uses leaves to make warm wrappings for Sewaddle."

"Leavanny…" I repeat. "That's so cool…" I replace my Pokédex in my pocket and pick up Leavanny's Poké Ball. "What do you think then, Leavanny? Are you ready to come back now?"

"Leavanny!" my new Pokémon cries happily, and I recall him back to the safety of his Poké Ball. I chuckle to myself and turn to Reo.

"So then, Reo, what do you think we should do next?" I ask him.

"Well… The line is totally blocked by that train wreckage. I doubt they'll clear that for another few days, weeks maybe. So the only way to get to Creater Town now would be…through the desert."

"Oh…" My excitement from Sewaddle's evolution begins to fade rapidly at the thought of having to trek through the desert on foot. "That doesn't sound fun… But we have to get to Creater Town somehow." I look down at Eevee, nestled comfortably in my arms and much more relaxed now that Team SPF are out of the picture. "What do you think, Eevee? Are you up for an adventure in the desert?"

"Eevee," Eevee chirrups, seeming unfazed either way.

I turn to Reo. "What about you, Reo? Are you up for this?"

Reo smiles and nods. "Of course I am. Lead on, my friend."

"OK…" I turn my glance forwards, my determination beginning to build. "Through the desert it is then. Onwards to Creater Town."