IX
We emerged from Ilex Forest with the sun high in the sky. My feet were tired, and I'm guessing Ash's were, too. Pikachu was snoozing in his Poke Ball, and I was considering hitching a ride on my Meganium, but decided against it. We did fight one or two trainers along the way. Sometimes I fought them myself, and sometimes Ash helped me. My Pokemon were truly outstanding. They make me so proud.
Shortly, Ash pointed to a tall building in the distance.
"See that?" he said, "That's Olivine's Lighthouse."
"Oh, right." I said, "That's where Amphy hangs out, right?"
Ash turned sharply. "How did you know that? I thought you had only just arrived here."
I laughed. "Just forget about it."
At length, we arrived in the port town of Olivine. It had the aura of the sea around it. It smelled of salt water on the wind. Sailors were hanging out near the docks, Fishermen were dropping lines at the harbor, and people were hustling and bustling about. All the factors of a seaside city.
Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulders and started running around, checking everything out. "Piiiiika? PIKA!"
I looked around, taking everything in. "Nice place," I said. "Must get a lot of ships here, huh?"
"Oh yeah, ships come from all over the world to Olivine." Said Ash. "Well, it's almost 3:00. We should go meet Gold at the port."
The port was bustling enough to be a city in itself. Sailors running back and forth, people buying tickets, fishermen on the docks, all the makings of a port. We stood by the pier for a while, and soon the Fast Ship S.S. Aqua came chugging up to the dock. When it stopped, the stairs were extended, and trainers came streaming out the door.
Presently, we saw a young man about Ash's age, with a backwards hat and Pokegear around his wrist. This must be Gold, the hero of Johto. Ash waved.
"Gold! Yo, Gold! Over here!"
"Piiiika!"
Gold found the source of the voice and walked over.
"Hey, Ash, wassup man?" he exclaimed as they shook hands. "Man, is that ship stinky! The sailors don't take showers between cruises, methinks. And who's this?" he asked, gesturing to me.
"Oh, this is my new friend, Paul. We met earlier today and I saw that he's a pro at Pokemon, so we're hanging out together."
"Howdy-do," I said, pumping Gold's hand, "It's a great pleasure to meet you!"
"Uh, thanks. Same here. How many badges do you have?"
"Um, in actuality or in the video game?"
"Video game? What are you talking about?"
I sighed. "Never mind."
"So Gold," began Ash, "what's the big news you had for us?"
Gold looked from side to side. "Not here… let's go to the diner and talk."
"Alrighty, then." We said, and took a stroll out of the port and to the small café next to the Pokemon Center.
A few minutes later, we were seated around an ill-lit table in the café. I was munching on a Bellossom Burger with Flaffy Fries. Gold and Ash were splitting a Scyther sirloin, and Pikachu was slurping at a Charizard Chocolate Shake. Finally, with our meals completed and our bellies full, Gold leaned in and began telling us the "big news."
"I heard this when I was on Cinnabar Island," he said. "You all know that Cinnabar is the birthplace of Mewtwo, right?"
"Yes…"
"Okay, well, after Mewtwo escaped, the scientists built a scanner that reacts to Psychic energy. They were hoping it would return, and they wanted to track it." He leaned in closer. "Well, a few days ago, the scanner began going nuts. It was beeping and squawking like crazy."
"Did Mewtwo return?" I asked.
"See, that's the thing. They can't find him at all. And what's more, the scanner was picking up so much psychic energy that it exploded!"
"Pikaa?"
"So I did some sleuthing around." Gold continued. "I went to Saffron City, the metropolis of Kanto, to see if I could learn anything from the locals. Not much luck, however. Finally, when I was on the verge of giving up, I spotted Jessie and James in a dark alley behind Silph Co."
Jessie and James were two members of Team Rocket that thrived on making Ash's life miserable. They appeared frequently in the games and on the show.
Ash balled his fists. "Those two! I hate them! What could they be planning now?!"
Gold went on. "So I hid behind a trash can and listened. I didn't hear much, but they said they were on their way to Blackthorn City to tell the Boss some big news."
The "Boss" was Giovanni, former Viridian Gym Leader and head of Team Rocket.
"So I took the Magnet Train over to Blackthorn as quickly as I could, just in time to see a bunch of Rockets going into Dragon's Den. So I followed them in. Once inside, I found all the Rockets surrounding Giovanni, and I tried to edge close enough to hear the meeting."
"What did you hear?" I asked.
"Well, Giovanni was talking about the Ilex Forest protector, named Celebi. Apparently, it has materialized after 5,000 years on the other side. And it's angry at the whole world for taking Pokemon for granted, and it's amassing an army and it's planning to take the entire world by force."
"Really?"
"Piii?"
"Yeah. And to top it off, the army consists of about a million Mewtwo clones! That's why the scanner was going nuts."
There was a brief silence. Finally, I said, "What are we going to do about it?"
There was another brief silence, then Gold said, "Well, I don't think it's wise for us to just jump right in and start a war by ourselves. I think we should find out as much as we can, and get some good people to help us."
"Hear, hear." Said Ash.
"Pika, Pika!"
"Alright," I said to Gold, "You're the boss."
Just then the check came, and I became aware of some unfriendly glances directed at me. Finally Ash said, "Don't get stingy on us, Glicklin."
* * * * * * * * * *
We exited the diner and were greeted immediately by the salty sea air of Olivine.
"So now where do we go?" I asked.
Gold thought for a moment, then said, "Well, there's a wise man named Kurt who lives in Azalea Town, southeast of here. It's on the other side of Union Cove."
Union Cave was a junction between Violet City and Azalea Town in the video game. It seemed small at first, but once you learned Surf, you were proven wrong.
"I was actually on my way to see him, anyway," Gold continued, "to pick up some Balls that he's making me. So we can kill two birds with one stone."
"Sounds like a plan." Said Ash.
"Piiika-CHU!"
"Let's go!" I cried, dashing off. Ash and Gold just looked at each other, exchanged shrugs, and ran off after me, with Pikachu close behind.
We emerged from Ilex Forest with the sun high in the sky. My feet were tired, and I'm guessing Ash's were, too. Pikachu was snoozing in his Poke Ball, and I was considering hitching a ride on my Meganium, but decided against it. We did fight one or two trainers along the way. Sometimes I fought them myself, and sometimes Ash helped me. My Pokemon were truly outstanding. They make me so proud.
Shortly, Ash pointed to a tall building in the distance.
"See that?" he said, "That's Olivine's Lighthouse."
"Oh, right." I said, "That's where Amphy hangs out, right?"
Ash turned sharply. "How did you know that? I thought you had only just arrived here."
I laughed. "Just forget about it."
At length, we arrived in the port town of Olivine. It had the aura of the sea around it. It smelled of salt water on the wind. Sailors were hanging out near the docks, Fishermen were dropping lines at the harbor, and people were hustling and bustling about. All the factors of a seaside city.
Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulders and started running around, checking everything out. "Piiiiika? PIKA!"
I looked around, taking everything in. "Nice place," I said. "Must get a lot of ships here, huh?"
"Oh yeah, ships come from all over the world to Olivine." Said Ash. "Well, it's almost 3:00. We should go meet Gold at the port."
The port was bustling enough to be a city in itself. Sailors running back and forth, people buying tickets, fishermen on the docks, all the makings of a port. We stood by the pier for a while, and soon the Fast Ship S.S. Aqua came chugging up to the dock. When it stopped, the stairs were extended, and trainers came streaming out the door.
Presently, we saw a young man about Ash's age, with a backwards hat and Pokegear around his wrist. This must be Gold, the hero of Johto. Ash waved.
"Gold! Yo, Gold! Over here!"
"Piiiika!"
Gold found the source of the voice and walked over.
"Hey, Ash, wassup man?" he exclaimed as they shook hands. "Man, is that ship stinky! The sailors don't take showers between cruises, methinks. And who's this?" he asked, gesturing to me.
"Oh, this is my new friend, Paul. We met earlier today and I saw that he's a pro at Pokemon, so we're hanging out together."
"Howdy-do," I said, pumping Gold's hand, "It's a great pleasure to meet you!"
"Uh, thanks. Same here. How many badges do you have?"
"Um, in actuality or in the video game?"
"Video game? What are you talking about?"
I sighed. "Never mind."
"So Gold," began Ash, "what's the big news you had for us?"
Gold looked from side to side. "Not here… let's go to the diner and talk."
"Alrighty, then." We said, and took a stroll out of the port and to the small café next to the Pokemon Center.
A few minutes later, we were seated around an ill-lit table in the café. I was munching on a Bellossom Burger with Flaffy Fries. Gold and Ash were splitting a Scyther sirloin, and Pikachu was slurping at a Charizard Chocolate Shake. Finally, with our meals completed and our bellies full, Gold leaned in and began telling us the "big news."
"I heard this when I was on Cinnabar Island," he said. "You all know that Cinnabar is the birthplace of Mewtwo, right?"
"Yes…"
"Okay, well, after Mewtwo escaped, the scientists built a scanner that reacts to Psychic energy. They were hoping it would return, and they wanted to track it." He leaned in closer. "Well, a few days ago, the scanner began going nuts. It was beeping and squawking like crazy."
"Did Mewtwo return?" I asked.
"See, that's the thing. They can't find him at all. And what's more, the scanner was picking up so much psychic energy that it exploded!"
"Pikaa?"
"So I did some sleuthing around." Gold continued. "I went to Saffron City, the metropolis of Kanto, to see if I could learn anything from the locals. Not much luck, however. Finally, when I was on the verge of giving up, I spotted Jessie and James in a dark alley behind Silph Co."
Jessie and James were two members of Team Rocket that thrived on making Ash's life miserable. They appeared frequently in the games and on the show.
Ash balled his fists. "Those two! I hate them! What could they be planning now?!"
Gold went on. "So I hid behind a trash can and listened. I didn't hear much, but they said they were on their way to Blackthorn City to tell the Boss some big news."
The "Boss" was Giovanni, former Viridian Gym Leader and head of Team Rocket.
"So I took the Magnet Train over to Blackthorn as quickly as I could, just in time to see a bunch of Rockets going into Dragon's Den. So I followed them in. Once inside, I found all the Rockets surrounding Giovanni, and I tried to edge close enough to hear the meeting."
"What did you hear?" I asked.
"Well, Giovanni was talking about the Ilex Forest protector, named Celebi. Apparently, it has materialized after 5,000 years on the other side. And it's angry at the whole world for taking Pokemon for granted, and it's amassing an army and it's planning to take the entire world by force."
"Really?"
"Piii?"
"Yeah. And to top it off, the army consists of about a million Mewtwo clones! That's why the scanner was going nuts."
There was a brief silence. Finally, I said, "What are we going to do about it?"
There was another brief silence, then Gold said, "Well, I don't think it's wise for us to just jump right in and start a war by ourselves. I think we should find out as much as we can, and get some good people to help us."
"Hear, hear." Said Ash.
"Pika, Pika!"
"Alright," I said to Gold, "You're the boss."
Just then the check came, and I became aware of some unfriendly glances directed at me. Finally Ash said, "Don't get stingy on us, Glicklin."
* * * * * * * * * *
We exited the diner and were greeted immediately by the salty sea air of Olivine.
"So now where do we go?" I asked.
Gold thought for a moment, then said, "Well, there's a wise man named Kurt who lives in Azalea Town, southeast of here. It's on the other side of Union Cove."
Union Cave was a junction between Violet City and Azalea Town in the video game. It seemed small at first, but once you learned Surf, you were proven wrong.
"I was actually on my way to see him, anyway," Gold continued, "to pick up some Balls that he's making me. So we can kill two birds with one stone."
"Sounds like a plan." Said Ash.
"Piiika-CHU!"
"Let's go!" I cried, dashing off. Ash and Gold just looked at each other, exchanged shrugs, and ran off after me, with Pikachu close behind.