AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is Chapter 52 of the adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu as they continue their journey through Kanto. Professor Charles Goodshow and Giovanni from the anime make appearances in this chapter. As a reminder, I do NOT own Pokémon. Pokémon, Pikachu, and all other character names are trademarks of Nintendo. As always, please feel free to read and review, and remember, feedback of any kind is always welcome.
TEASER: Tristan and Hillary are now waiting for the Pokémon League tournament to begin, but first, they'll have to find Moltres and its flame, or there will be no tournament! But why is Moltres attacking everyone and everything?
Chapter 52: THE NAME OF THE FLAME
Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu have finally arrived at the Indigo Plateau, site of the Pokémon League Competition. They seem to be very excited for this special event, including their grandparents, Veronica and Eric.
"Thanks for taking us here, guys," said Tristan to his grandparents, Veronica and Eric. "I can hardly wait to compete."
"We can hardly wait to see you compete," replied Veronica.
"Listen up, kids, we'll be staying over at the hotel until the opening ceremonies," said Eric. "Tristan, you can use this time to prepare by training as much as possible before the league begins."
"I will," replied Tristan.
"And I'll make sure he does," added Hillary.
"Goodbye, kids," called Veronica as she and Eric began to leave. "We'll see you again soon!"
"Bye, Grandma! Bye, Grandpa!" called Tristan and Hillary. They and Pikachu waved until Veronica and Eric were out of sight.
"Well, what do you say we get started?" suggested Tristan. "After all, I don't have a lot of time before the tournament begins."
"Great idea," replied Hillary.
Suddenly, multiple Officer Jennies in police attire came running by, and they were in a really big hurry.
Tristan and Hillary tried to ask one of them what's going on.
"Officer Jenny, what's happening?" asked Tristan to one of them.
But the Officer Jenny he asked was already gone.
"Can you tell me..." began Hillary, but the other Officer Jenny she asked was gone, too.
Tristan and Hillary were confused.
"I wish I knew what was going on here," said Hillary.
Presently, an old man with long white hair and a bead came running by. He wore green shorts, a red short-sleeved shirt, and a blue baseball cap. "This is awful! This is terrible!" he cried.
Tristan tried to stop him. "Excuse me, sir, what's going on?"
"I don't have time to answer that, young man!" called the man. "But Moltres is missing, and I need to find it! Otherwise, we can't start the Pokémon League Competition!" And he ran off to catch up with the many Officer Jennies.
"Moltres is missing?" repeated Hillary. "I wonder why it's such a big deal."
"Hmmm," said Tristan as he took out his Pokédex. "I'm going to check to see what Dexter has to say about Moltres." He pushed a few buttons on his Pokédex and found Moltres' entry.
"Moltres: The Flame Pokémon," said Dexter. "Moltres is known as the 'Legendary Bird of Fire.' Every flap of its wings creates a dazzling flash of flames. The virtues of this Legendary Pokémon symbolize the Pokémon League Competitions."
Tristan and Hillary gasped in horror because they knew that there would be no competition if there was no sign of Moltres or its flame.
Presently, a purple bipedal catlike Pokémon descended from the sky.
"It's Mewtwo!" said Tristan excitedly.
"It's nice to see you!" added Hillary. "What are you doing here?"
"I need your help," replied Mewtwo. "I need you both to come with me for just a minute." And it used its Psychic powers to lift Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu into the air. A hole opened up in the sky and they all disappeared into it as it closed behind them.
Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu opened their eyes and noticed that they were in familiar territory.
"It's the Chamber of Legends!" gasped Tristan.
"But why are we here of all places?" asked Hillary.
"I brought you here because I need your help to find a missing Legendary Pokémon," answered Mewtwo. "This is the Pokémon." And it showed them an image of what it looked like. It had red and pink flames on its wings, forehead, and tail.
"Hey, that's Moltres!" gasped Hillary.
"It's the same one that the old man just mentioned!" added Tristan.
"That's right," replied Mewtwo. "I saw that Moltres was missing in your world. Your task is to find Moltres, befriend it, and bring it back to the Indigo Plateau so that your Pokémon League tournament can begin. Of course, I don't see what the reason is for me to compete."
"Well, I managed to collect eight badges," said Tristan.
"That's your accomplishment," said Mewtwo. It clearly wasn't interested in collecting badges like most trainers were. "Besides, I'd crush any Trainer in no time flat."
"I'm sure Tristan didn't mean to offend you, Mewtwo," said Hillary innocently.
"I know," replied Mewtwo. It was feeling remorseful. "However, you two need to find Moltres and bring it to the Indigo Plateau so the competition in your world can begin. Besides, you may get a new friend to add to the friends you have here in the Chamber of Legends."
"Leave it to us, Mewtwo," said Hillary.
"We're on the job," added Tristan.
"Thank you," replied Mewtwo. "Best of luck."
Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu all glowed in a white color, then they disappeared into thin air.
They found themselves back at the Indigo Plateau a moment later.
"I don't know where to begin, Tristan," said Hillary. "Do you have any ideas?"
"Finding Moltres isn't going to be easy," replied Tristan. "But maybe we can help by searching from the sky."
"How do we do that?" asked Hillary.
"Like this," answered Tristan as he took out two Pokéballs and threw them. "Charizard, Pidgeot, I choose you!"
Charizard and Pidgeot materialized from the white lights that shot out of the balls.
"We need you two to help us find Moltres," instructed Tristan. "Could you give us a ride, please?"
Charizard and Pidgeot nodded. They were happy to have passengers flying along with them, so they crouched down.
"Hillary, you can ride on Pidgeot," said Tristan.
"Okay," replied Hillary.
Tristan and Hillary got on Charizard and Pidgeot, respectively. Pikachu got on with Tristan.
"Ready, guys?" asked Tristan.
"Ready!" called Hillary.
Charizard, Pidgeot, and Pikachu all nodded.
"Then let's go!" said Tristan.
Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu held on tight as Charizard and Pidgeot flapped their wings, then they all took off into the sky.
Even though they were enjoying the view in the air, Tristan and Hillary weren't having much luck finding Moltres in the first hour of flying.
"We've been searching for Moltres for awhile now," said Hillary. "What do we do?"
"I think it would be best to split up," suggested Tristan. "That way if one of us finds Moltres first, we'll bring it back to the Indigo Plateau."
"Okay, let's do it," replied Hillary.
Hillary and Pidgeot flew off to the north while Tristan, Pikachu, and Charizard flew to the south.
Meanwhile in a secret location far away, a man in an orange suit was looking proudly at his latest catch inside a cage. The man was Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket.
Inside the cage sat a large avian Pokémon with gold plumage. It had red and pink flames on its head, wings, and tail. It was Moltres, and it was very miserable.
Giovanni had seized Moltres to have it carry out his latest plan. "Ah, Moltres, how you wish to be free," smiled Giovanni. "It's such a pity that you'll have to attack anything that stands in your way; however, that's the price you pay when you get caught by evil people." He chuckled evilly, then inserted a device around Moltres' neck. "I promise you won't feel a thing as long as you obey my commands." Sparks sizzled around the device as it was put into place. He opened the cage. "Now, Moltres, go and spread terror. Show the world your absolute power."
Moltres opened its eyes, which glowed in a red color. It screeched and flew out of the building into the sky.
Giovanni smiled wickedly as he watched the TV. He saw Tristan, Pikachu, and Charizard flying in the sky in one direction. "This is a perfect opportunity to get rid of that kid once and for all." Then he saw Hillary and Pidgeot flying in a different direction on a different monitor. "What's this? So, the kids have split up. Seizing victory is going to be more interesting than I thought."
Tristan, Pikachu, and Charizard continued to fly through the air in search of Moltres in the hopes of finding it before the opening day.
"We just have to find it," said Tristan. "The Pokémon League won't be able to start without it."
Just then, Pikachu spotted something flying toward them.
"What do you see, Pikachu?" asked Tristan.
(Music Cue: A Fight! Real vs. Copy Pokémon)
The approaching object was coming toward them at tremendous speed. It had red and pink flames on its wings, head, and tail.
"It's Moltres!" said Tristan excitedly. "Let's go meet it."
Little did they know that they were flying straight into danger.
Giovanni watched them fly toward Moltres on his monitor. "Now, I've got you, you fools," he smiled wickedly. He spoke into the microphone. "Moltres, attack!"
Moltres immediately shot a searing Flamethrower from its beak at Tristan, Pikachu, and Charizard.
"Quick, dodge it!" shouted Tristan.
Charizard quickly flew higher as Tristan and Pikachu held on tight.
They then confronted Moltres.
"Hey, what did you attack us for?!" asked Tristan.
Moltres shot another powerful Flamethrower at Charizard.
"Charizard, counterattack with your Flamethrower!" commanded Tristan.
Charizard shot a powerful stream of fire at Moltres' Flamethrower.
The two Flamethrowers collided, creating a tremendous explosion in the sky.
Tristan, Pikachu, and Charizard once again confronted Moltres.
"Moltres, please, you have to listen to us," implored Tristan. "We're not your enemies. We just want you to be friends with us. We need you to be with us at the Indigo Plateau."
But Moltres wasn't listening. It shot another Flamethrower at Charizard to show its power.
"Dodge it now, Charizard!" commanded Tristan.
Charizard quickly flew higher with Tristan and Pikachu hanging on tight, but that was the opening Moltres needed to get away.
"Now where's Moltres going?" asked Tristan nervously. "Charizard, go after it!"
Chrizard flew after Moltres just as it Moltres continued to shoot multiple Flamethrower attacks in the forest below. A forest fire soon ignited from the attacks, and there were Pokémon on the ground that were desperately trying to get away from the approaching fire as fast as they could.
As Tristan watched, he saw the fire get bigger by the second. "This is bad!" he said. "Moltres' Flamethrower must have caused that fire to go out of control in the forest. Come on, Charizard! We need to get down there now!"
Charizard dove down toward the ground. As soon as it landed, Tristan and Pikachu jumped off of Charizard.
"Blastoise, I choose you!" shouted Tristan as he threw its Pokéball.
Blastoise emerged from the ball and awaited Tristan's directions.
"Blastoise, use your Hydro Pump attack to put out that fire!" ordered Tristan.
Blastoise shot two powerful blasts of water at the large fire as dozens of Pokémon fled from it.
"Charizard, I need you to help out and get the residing Pokémon to safety," instructed Tristan.
Charizard roared and flew off to find as many Pokémon as possible as fast as it could. It could resist a little forest fire easily since it was a Fire-type.
Many more Pokémon came to Tristan and Blastoise as Charizard quickly and safely carried the small Pokémon in its arms. All the while, Blastoise was making good progress putting out that fire.
"Great job, guys," said Tristan. "Keep up the good work." Then he thought, If Moltres is attacking everyone and everything, then I've got a bad feeling that everyone is going to be in major trouble. And I don't have much time to figure out why. I just hope Hillary isn't in any danger right now.
Meanwhile, Hillary and Pidgeot were still searching for Moltres in the air.
"Do you see any sign of Moltres, Pidgeot?" asked Hillary.
Pidgeot shook its head.
"Well, we'll just have to keep looking," said Hillary.
Suddenly, a Flamethrower shot out of nowhere at Pidgeot from behind.
Pidgeot sensed the attack coming and quickly flew higher as Hillary barely hung on.
(Music Cue: Flying Pokéball Chaos)
They turned around to see Moltres staring directly at them, and it wasn't happy to see them.
"It's that same Moltres that the old man and Mewtwo were talking about!" gasped Hillary. Then she looked at Moltres. "Hey, hot beak! Watch where you shoot your Flamethrower!"
Moltres was offended by the latest remark that Hillary made and prepared to shoot a hotter Flamethrower than the last one.
"I don't think it likes the insult," said Hillary.
Moltres shot its Flamethrower again, only hotter and faster this time.
"Quick, Pidgeot, you've gotta dodge it!" shouted Hillary.
Pidgeot flew higher and easily dodged Moltres' Flamethrower.
Meanwhile in his secret location, Giovanni watched with satisfaction. "It looks like I'll soon have my first victim," he said. "There's no way the girl and that Pidgeot will be able to survive this. And I know just how to make her defenseless." He spoke into the microphone and commanded, "Now, Moltres, let's have a little fun with the girl."
Moltres flew above Pidgeot and disappeared from Hillary's view.
"Where'd it go?" asked Hillary as she frantically searched for it. Suddenly, she felt herself being picked up off of Pidgeot's back.
Moltres had used its talons to grab her!
"Aaah! Pidgeot, help!" cried Hillary. She struggled in vain to break free from Moltres' grip. "Let me go, you hot-tempered Pokémon!"
Pidgeot squawked angrily at Moltres and launched a Quick Attack. Despite Motres' flames on its wings, head, and tail, Pidgeot successfully scored a direct hit on it, causing it to lose its grip on Hillary.
Hillary screamed as she fell.
Judging the speed of Hillary's fall, Pidgeot quickly dove down and caught her safely on its back.
"Whoa, that was a close one!" said Hillary. "Thanks a lot, Pidgeot."
Pidgeot replied happily as it flew higher to catch up with Moltres.
Moltres shot another Flamethrower, but Pidgeot managed to dodge it.
"I don't understand why Moltres is attacking us for no reason," said Hillary.
Moltres shot multiple Flamethrower attacks, but Pidgeot did many evasive maneuvers in the sky as Hillary clung on for dear life.
That was when Hillary noticed something around its neck. It had the letter R on it. "So, Team Rocket's behind this!" she fumed. "I should've known they'd try something that low!" As she spoke, she felt the heat of another Flamethrower close in on her. "Pidgeot, watch out!"
Pidgeot and Hillary flew higher to avoid Moltres' Flamethrower. Moltres had apparently tried a sneak attack on the two of them.
Giovanni watched them through his monitor. "All right, Moltres, I think they've had enough," he said through the microphone. "It's time to make yourself known, so go to the Indigo Plateau and spread fear to the citizens."
Moltres screeched and flew off to carry out Giovanni's commands.
"Well, I hope we've seen the last of that thing," said Hillary to Pidgeot.
Pidgeot agreed with her.
Suddenly, Hillary noticed a thick layer of smoke coming from below. She knew what it was and gasped in horror. "Moltres' Flamethrower must have started a wildfire!" she cried. "Come on, Pidgeot, let's hurry!"
Pidgeot squawked and dove down toward the fire. It landed and Hillary immediately dismounted.
Hillary then saw numerous Pokémon fleeing from the approaching fire. "Moltres has been causing a lot of trouble for the Pokémon, too."
Suddenly, a burning tree branch dropped from a tree above and was headed straight toward Hillary!
Pidgeot squawked loudly to alert her, but a timely Hydro Pump attack blasted the tree branch out of the way.
(Music Cue: Opening 1997-1998 (M01B)
Presently, Blastoise arrived on the scene followed by a distant roar followed by the arrival of Charizard.
"It's Blastoise and Charizard!" said Hillary excitedly. "Boy, are we happy to see you!"
Blastoise and Charizard gladly gave a reply.
"Hillary!" called a voice.
Hillary knew it instantly. "It's Tristan and Pikachu!"
Sure enough, Tristan and Pikachu met up with his other Pokémon and came to Hillary.
"Did you find Moltres yet?" asked Tristan.
"We found it, all right," replied Hillary. "It attacked us and it nearly separated me from Pidgeot."
"Same as us," said Tristan. "If it wanted to attack you and me, I've got a sneaking suspicion of who's behind it all."
"Team Rocket," answered Hillary. "Apparently, there's some weird gadget they've attached around its neck."
"I knew it," replied Tristan. He was clearly disgusted. "And if we don't stop it, then there's gonna be more trouble."
"But first, we have to put out this massive fire," said Hillary.
"Lapras can help us with that," replied Tristan as he took out his Pokéball. "Lapras, go!"
(Music Cue: Title Screen 1997-1998 (M01C)
Lapras materialized from the white light that shot out of the ball.
"Lapras, Blastoise, put out the fire with Hydro Pump!" ordered Tristan.
Lapras shot a powerful blast of water from its mouth while Blastoise shot two of them from its cannons. The two combined their attacks, and sure enough, the fire was put out in no time.
"Now, on to the issue at hand," said Tristan. "Did you get a good look at where Moltres was going?"
"I thought I saw it headed north, but I'm not sure," replied Hillary.
"We really have to hurry, then," said Tristan. "I'm afraid of what Moltres could do if we don't stop it." He returned Blastoise and Lapras to their Pokéballs as he and Pikachu mounted Charizard.
Hillary mounted Pidgeot. But then, she said, "Wait a minute! If Moltres is headed north, does that mean...?"
"Grandma and Grandpa!" they gasped together.
"To the Indigo Plateau, guys!" commanded Tristan. "And step on it!"
Charizard and Pidgeot spread their wings and they all took off into the sky, racing to the Indigo Plateau as fast as they could.
Meanwhile, the residents of the Indigo Plateau, including Veronica and Eric, were looking at souvenirs at the stands.
"What do you say, dear? Does this flame replica make me look hot?" asked Eric.
"It sure does, Eric," smiled Veronica.
(Music Cue: Kanto Champion Battle)
Presently, they saw Moltres flying overhead, and it was getting ready to attack.
"Boy, that Pokémon is really making things hot here," remarked Eric. "I can really feel the heat."
Moltres shot a powerful Flamethrower attack at Veronica, Eric, and the stands.
"Never mind that! RUN!" shouted Veronica as she dragged Eric away from Moltres' incoming Flamethrower attack just in time.
The people managed to get away from the stands before they got burned.
Presently, air raid sirens began to go off all over the Indigo Plateau.
Officer Jenny made an announcement on her bullhorn. "Attention all residents and visitors. We have a Pokémon that has gone berserk at the Indigo Plateau. Evacuate immediately. I repeat: evacuate immediately. This is NOT a drill."
All the residents began to scurry away as Moltres fired Flamethrower attacks at them.
Fortunately, none of the attacks hit the civilians.
Veronica and Eric managed to get to a safe spot as they continued to look on at Moltres.
"What in the world is that thing?" asked Eric.
"I think it's a Moltres," answered Veronica. "It's a Legendary Pokémon not soon to be forgotten. Its legendary flame symbolizes the Pokémon League Competitions from what I've heard. I've been fortunate enough to encounter a Moltres on my travels, but I've never seen one attacking innocent people before. Something must be going on."
"Can't you do something to stop it?" asked Eric.
"But what can I do?" replied Veronica. "Even with all five of my Eevee attacking it all at once, they wouldn't stand a chance against a Pokémon that powerful. Besides, they can't fly while Moltres can."
Moltres continued to fire its Flamethrower mercilessly at the fleeing residents. Things took a turn for the worse, for while one man was running away from Moltres' attacks, he tripped and fell on the ground, injuring his leg.
Veronica quickly rushed to his aid. "Are you okay?" she asked him.
"I can't move!" he groaned. "My leg won't let me!"
"Eric, I need your help over here!" shouted Veronica. "I can't move this guy on my own!"
Eric rushed to help Veronica and the man just as Moltres got ready for another attack.
Veronica, Eric, and the man all knew they wouldn't be able to avoid Moltres' Flamethrower attack this time.
Moltres shot its most powerful Flamethrower attack at the three of them, but another Flamethrower from out of nowhere blocked Moltres' attack.
Veronica and Eric turned around to see Charizard and Pidgeot, who had shown up just in time. Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu were with them.
"It's our grandchildren!" cried Veronica.
"And timely grandchildren, too," added Eric.
Hillary turned to Tristan. "It looks like Grandma and Grandpa could use some help with that man down there."
"All right, Hillary," replied Tristan. "You and Pidgeot should go help them to safety. Charizard, Pikachu, and I will distract Moltres and destroy that thing around its neck. Now, let's hurry."
(Music Cue: Kanto Trainer Battle (as heard in "Pokémon Double Trouble"))
"We're on the job," said Hillary. And she and Pidgeot raced down to the ground to help the others.
"Let's go, Charizard!" commanded Tristan.
Charizard roared and flew higher to catch up with Moltres.
Pidgeot landed on the ground and Hillary immediately jumped off its back.
"Are you okay, guys?" asked Hillary.
"We're fine," answered Veronica. "But I'm afraid this poor man may have sprained his ankle."
"Let's get somewhere safe," said Hillary. "Pidgeot, can you help carry this man to the Pokémon Center?"
Pidgeot replied and gently picked up the man by its talons.
"Come on, guys, let's follow them," advised Hillary. And she led Veronica and Eric to follow Pidgeot.
Meanwhile, Moltres was shooting off Flamethrower attacks at Charizard, but Charizard easily managed to avoid them as Tristan and Pikachu held on tight.
"Charizard, use your Flamethrower attack!" ordered Tristan.
Charizard fired a powerful stream of fire from its mouth at Moltres, but Moltres flew higher to dodge it.
Moltres counterattacked by using a Flamethrower attack of its own.
"Dodge it!" shouted Tristan.
Charizard quickly dove down to avoid Moltres' attack.
The battle between both flying Fire-type Pokémon was evenly matched. Neither one couldn't seem to get in the necessary hit to finish the battle.
Giovanni was starting to lose his patience from his secret location. "What are you doing, Moltres?! Attack that kid now!"
It was then that Tristan heard what was going on from that device. He knew whose voice it was. "So, it was Giovanni!" he fumed. Then he had an idea. "Charizard, I'm going to need your help to keep Moltres distracted. Then, Pikachu, you'll jump on Moltres and destroy that device."
Charizard and Pikachu understood their instructions.
"Charizard, Fire Spin now!" commanded Tristan.
Charizard shot another flame from its mouth and struck Moltres, but this time, Moltres was surround by a wall of fire so it couldn't fly away.
"Okay, your turn, Pikachu," said Tristan. "Jump onto Moltres and use your Thunderbolt attack!"
Pikachu jumped off of Charizard and landed neatly onto Moltres. Then, grabbing onto the device, it launched a powerful electric attack at it and Moltres, destroying the device.
Moltres' eyes stopped glowing red and it immediately stopped attacking. It didn't remember what it was doing in the first place.
"We did it!" cheered Tristan. "Great job, guys!"
Pikachu and Charizard gave happy replies.
"Hey, Moltres, are you okay?" called Tristan.
Moltres gave a happy reply. It was happy to be free as a bird again.
"Thank goodness," sighed Tristan. "Now all we have to do is get Moltres' flame to the old man, and we'll finally be able to participate in the Pokémon League."
Meanwhile in his secret location, Giovanni grumbled at his latest defeat, but somehow smiled. "That kid is much more resourceful than I thought. This will make things a lot more interesting in the future."
Some time later, Moltres was flying alongside Tristan, Pikachu, and Charizard, who were all headed to the Pokémon Center. Presently, Mewtwo appeared flying alongside them all.
"Hi, Mewtwo," said Tristan. "We found Moltres. It was controlled by Team Rocket, so that's why it was missing."
"I see," replied Mewtwo as it spoke telepathically. "Well done. I knew you and Hillary could do it."
"We couldn't have done it without our Pokémon friends here," added Tristan. He turned to Moltres. "Hey, Moltres, after that experience, I know you'll want to be friends with us, right?"
Moltres nodded. It knew that Tristan went to great lengths to free it from Team Rocket's control.
"Then it's settled," said Mewtwo. "You now have a new legendary friend you can use in case you run into any trouble."
"Thanks a lot," replied Tristan.
"And I have something for you," added Mewtwo as it psychically made a lantern appear.
Tristan marveled at it. "This'll be the perfect place for Moltres' flame." He turned to Moltres. "Hey, Moltres, do you think you can gently light the flame on this lantern?"
Moltres nodded and used a gentle Flamethrower to light up the lantern.
Then, Tristan sealed up the lantern and took it by the handle.
"Thanks a lot, guys," said Tristan to Mewtwo and Moltres.
"We should thank you," replied Mewtwo. "I don't know what we could have done without you. You can use that flame for your tournament. Good luck." And with that, Mewtwo and Moltres flew off into the distance as Tristan, Pikachu, and Charizard looked on.
"Hey!" called Tristan as he made his way back to Hillary, Veronica, and Eric in front of the Pokémon Center sometime later. "I got Moltres' flame!"
(Music Cue: Fighting Spirit)
Sure enough, he had Moltres' flame in hand, and it was safe and sound inside the lantern he was carrying.
"Yeah, way to go, Tristan!" replied Hillary.
"We'll be sure to give this to the old man," said Tristan.
"That's our first priority," added Hillary.
"And what about my first priority?" asked a voice.
Tristan and Hillary turned around to see the old man from earlier. "I see that you have safely obtained Moltres' flame safe and sound. Thank you very much."
"You're very welcome, sir," replied Tristan. Then he realized whom he was talking with. "You're the man we saw before!"
The old man chuckled. "There isn't a person who's seen me at least once who doesn't remember what I look like."
"We never got to introduce ourselves," added Hillary. "My name's Hillary, and this is my older brother, Tristan."
"Well, you kids are in for a big surprise yourselves," said the man. "I am known as the honorable Professor Charles Goodshow, president of the Pokémon League Torch Committee. And I see that you two have energetic spirits. Are you both planning to participate in the Pokémon League tournament?"
"I am, anyway," answered Tristan.
"Well, how would you two like to be honorable torch bearers and run with the torch to the Indigo Stadium for the opening ceremonies?" asked Professor Goodshow.
"We'd love to, Professor Goodshow!" answered Tristan excitedly. He turned to Hillary. "Do you hear that, Hillary? We get to run with the torch with Moltres' flame to the opening ceremonies at the Indigo Stadium."
"It's a real honor," said Hillary.
Pikachu agreed.
"I'm looking forward to your finest efforts in the coming days," smiled Professor Goodshow. "Bye for now!" And he left to prepare for the tournament.
Veronica and Eric stood proudly looking at Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu.
"I think we raised our grandchildren quite well," smiled Veronica.
"You said it, dear," replied Eric. "And I have a feeling that the kids and Pikachu have raised each other quite well, too."
And so, with the Pokémon League Competition just days away, Tristan and Hillary have helped secure Moltres' flame, and the tournament can now proceed as scheduled. Now, Tristan just has to train hard in what little time he has left so he and his Pokémon can be well rested for the big tournament. How will Tristan do? With nonstop thrilling battle action on everyone's minds, you've just got to stay tuned!
TO BE CONTINUED...
