Revival of the Burned

Chapter 3: Researchers

In Route 42 to the east of Ecruteak, Nathan and his friends walked carefully through the woods. Nathan held his Pokégear in front of him, examining its screen.

"The picture of Entei I got from that Amanda girl should help the Pokégear track Entei's movement," Nathan explained. "If it's still nearby, we should come across it."

"I dunno, Nate," Anna crossed her arms. "I don't like the fact that you lied to that girl as to why you wanted that photo. 'It'd look cool as my new wallpaper,' is sort of a lame excuse. What if she finds out that you tracked it down and caught it because of her picture? She'd probably feel like it should've been hers to catch, ya know?"

"Well, the whole 'my Flareon died and became an Entei' thing trumps 'I took a picture' anyway, so who cares?"

"Oh my Arceus, Nathan!" Zach shouted angrily. "When are you going to give up on this ridiculous idea that this Entei is somehow your zombie Flareon?"

"What'd you just say?" Nathan stopped in his tracks.

"Booster died. I'm sorry and it sucks, I know. But you can't hold out for some half-baked idea that he's back from the dead because your love was so strong. You sound like a delusional child who thinks that wishes and dreams always come true and that nothing bad ever happens. Because guess what? Something bad did happen! You can't just make everything okay by claiming that they're not gone after all! And you can't erase the fact that it's your fault that it happened!"

"My fault?! I always knew that you blamed me," Nathan said, clearly hurt by his friend's words.

"Zach, come on," Anna tried to diffuse the situation. "You know it's not fair to point fingers at Nathan."

"Well, it's true," Zach huffed. "We wouldn't have gone back up that tower if he hadn't wanted to play hero."

"You're not the only one who blames me, Zach. I blame me, too. But there is hope. This Entei. These Legendary Beasts. In my gut, no, in my heart I know that they're our Pokémon."

Zach rolled his eyes.

"I look into this Entei's eyes and I know that they're Booster's eyes," Nathan said.

"They don't even look remotely similar, Nathan," Zach disagreed. "You're only seeing what you want to see."

Nathan grinded his teeth together as he held back his annoyance. While the shape and color were different, it was the intangible essence that was same. Nathan knew that much. But he wasn't going to waste time arguing about it. Zach could believe it or not. Nathan continued walking with his Pokégear held forward, determined to prove that his instincts were right.

"Come on, Zach," Anna encouraged. "Everyone grieves in different ways. Maybe he needs this to find closure."

The three of them continued down the path through Route 42. Mt. Mortar stood high on the horizon. Various wild Pokémon inhabited the area: a group of Ekans slithered about the ground, a family of Mankey hung from the trees, and dozens of Spearow flew overhead.

After a few hours, the three teens came across a camp clearing. Technical equipment laid about, seemingly discarded. Several tents stood haphazardly constructed, each one seemed to be more disarrayed than the last. Two voices came from the area.

"Doctor," a female voice said, "the readings are unmistakable. It is definitely close! We have to hurry, before it moves again."

"Yes, I know that Cristina," the other voice, a man, said.

"Um, hello," Anna announced her and her friends' presence. "Anyone here?"

A young woman popped out of one tent. She looked very overworked and tired and she wore an assistant's lab coat. "Excuse me, who are you three?" she questioned them.

"I'm Anna, and these are my friends, Zach and Nathan. We're traveling Pokémon trainers."

"Then travel somewhere else," the assistant, whose name was probably Cristina, shooed them away. "We're doing very time-sensitive research here and our window is closing."

"I didn't mean to overhear," Nathan stepped forward, "but are you tracking something? Would that happen to be the Legendary Pokémon, Entei?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes we are. If you know of Entei, you probably also know that it doesn't stay in one place for long. So, the doctor and I must be leaving soon."

A man exited from the same tent Cristina had moments ago. "Don't be so rude, Cristina. These young ones are guests in our camp." He turned toward the teens to greet them. "Hello, you can call me Dr. Kaiji. I'm a researcher in study of the Legendary Ho-Oh. In my study, I found that there is a connection between Ho-Oh and the three Beasts: Entei, Suicune, and Raikou. My assistant and I are here to learn about that connection."

"Ho-Oh?" Nathan repeated. "That's the Pokémon that lived in the Tin Tower opposite the Brass Tower that Lugia lived at, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Dr. Kaiji confirmed. "Six months ago, Ho-Oh was spotted in Ecruteak City just after the Brass Tower burned down. Reportedly, it created a rainbow which reversed time itself and granted life to the dead, bringing back the souls of three Pokémon who died in that tragic event. And it granted them new power and new bodies, as the Legendary Beasts."

"I knew it!" Nathan shouted with excitement. "Those three Pokémon who died were our Pokémon. My Flareon became Entei!"

Nathan's gut twisted as butterflies danced in nervous and excited glee. He was right all along. Booster was alive and well. As a legendary Pokémon, no less!

"Oh, my! What a spectacular occurrence!" Dr. Kaiji exclaimed. "To think that I would run into you three at the exact moment when Entei becomes so close."

"Do you see, Zach?" Nathan turned to his friend. "Is my idea still ridiculous now?"

Zach didn't respond but turned his head the other way with a pout.

"It is indeed spectacular, Doctor," Cristina interrupted, "But, we still need to get going. Before Entei flees again."

"Right you are. Young one, Nathan was it? We'll need you and your friends to come along with us. No doubt that if Entei truly is your Flareon, your presence will surely help us find it."

"Doctor, are you sure that's wise?" Cristina whispered, but not quiet enough to avoid being heard. "What if they-"

"Nonsense, Assistant. Like I said, they may be integral to our mission's success. Now that that's settled, we'll take my jeep."

Kaiji and Cristina led the others to their all-terrain vehicle, which looked like something out of an action movie. They rode on the dirt path through the woods while Cristina used her Pokégear to point the direction of Entei. Knowing their reunion was at hand, Nathan felt more excited than he had ever before. Nervous butterflies and hopeful glee continued to toss around inside him.

"Booster, I'm coming to see you again," he said as he watched the height of Mount Mortar draw closer.

Zach watched as Kaiji and Cristina navigated the Pokégear's map, which had a blipping red dot that indicated their target. They seemed engrossed enough in the navigation that they wouldn't hear him whisper to his friends, as the teens were in the back seat.

"Hey, guys," Zach leaned in to get closer to Anna and Nathan. "I'm not sure about this."

"Yeah, I know what you're about to say," Nathan pouted and changed his voice into a mocking tone. "'Entei isn't your Flareon. Everything is your fault.' You know Zach, it wouldn't kill you have a positive attitude just this one time."

"That's not what I was going to say, and keep your voice down," Zach whispered. "What I meant was that I have a funny feeling about these two researchers. What if they're like those Team Rocket gangsters you hear about on the news all the time? What if they're trying to capture Entei, to capture Booster, for some greedy plot?"

"So, are you finally admitting that Entei is Booster?" Nathan replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Not important. So? Do you think we can actually trust these two?"

"I don't see why not," Anna said. "Just because they're looking for a rare Pokémon, doesn't mean that they're part of an evil team. That said, we should probably be careful around them. Just in case."

The jeep pulled over as the road came to a dead end.

"Do we have to make the rest of the trip on foot?" Nathan asked the doctor.

"No need," he answered. "Our sensor tells us that Entei is right on top of us. It is in our presence now, somewhere."

"Booster?" Nathan called out. "Booster?!"

He looked around. All he could see were trees and more trees. And a low sloping hill. Nathan looked up to the top of the hill. And there he was. Entei. Booster.