Pokémon - The Final Journey in Fenyuu
Chapter 44: This can't be happening....
"Last name, please?"
"Tenks," Matt replied. Some typing noises could be heard in the background as Matt looked around the registration and resignation area. It took longer to get to the place than Matt originally contemplated; he blames that with the continuous interruption of Ace.
"Reason of departure?"
"Personal reasons..." Matt replied hesitantly, "s...something's going on at home." He didn't really like the idea of lying, but at this point, he would like to get it over with.
"Temporary or permanent?"
Matt blinked, seeming quite surprised with the option. "Pardon me?"
"Yes, would you like to put your license on a suspension so that you could continue where you left off, or would you like to leave completely?"
"Hmm," Matt replied. "I never knew we had this option. Okay, put my license on suspension for the meantime."
Some more typing noises could be heard, as the final touch-ups were being made. After a few moments of silence, the woman at the front desk smiled.
"Okay, everything seems to be in order. Your license will be suspended for thirty days. After that you must make a decision whether you want to return or not. Okay?"
"Thirty...? Well, what if I need longer than that?"
"Sorry, but this new budget won't allow departing trainers to be gone for longer than that. Surely you can get everything settled in that amount of time. However, if you as a matter of fact DO need more time, I'll see what I can do. Talented trainers such as yourselves should take all the time off necessary."
"Thanks..." Matt responded with a somewhat nervous smile. He looked over at Lizzie who recently walked in towards him. "Ready to go?"
Lizzie responded with a nod.
"Okay, exit's this way."
They were lead down a long hall by a security guard, but stopped half way as he pointed out the gate. He entered a code which allowed the gate to open. Matt and Lizzie passed through it, and before they knew it, they were no longer in the Fenyuu League.
"How come you've been so quiet lately?" Matt asked. "Usually you would be trying to spark up some conversation, but you haven't said a thing at all today."
"Oh? I'm sorry," Lizzie replied.
"Why are you apologizing? I'm just curious; do you have a lot on your mind? It's about this whole ridiculous protest, isn't it?"
"A little bit, I guess. Perhaps I'm just not up for talking today."
"I understand," Matt said, pulling out a map. "Okay, we're really close to Route 1. If we walk up this road here, we'll be really close to Viridian City. But, if you want us to go home right away, we could go down this route. It'll almost be close to midnight if we do, though."
"It doesn't matter to me."
"Viridian is bustling, and with this whole riot, it's probably not a good idea to go there. I guess we'll have to go home. It's a non-stop trip; are you up for it?"
Lizzie nodded in response.
"Don't worry. Once this whole mess blows over, we'll come back to Fenyuu." Matt folded up the map, and placed it in his backpack. After zipping it up, he slung it back oover his shoulders. "Okay, let's go."
The path to Route 1 was long, but not necessarily difficult. Usually the fields were bustling with Pokémon trainers. However, due to the current protest, hardly any was seen at all. The only few ones they had seen that day were only in Fenyuu.
Looking around, they found Rattatas, Pidgies and Caterpies everywhere. Memories flooded Matt's mind. He remembered how it only took him just over a a year to get where he was currently.
Lizzie continued to be quiet. Matt looked at her from time to time, and sometimes their eyes would meet, but when they were looking ahead, Lizzie's head was aimed towards the ground, watching her feet as they walked along.
"Hey!" Matt shouted. "A payphone! Perfect!" He quickly dashed up to it, and pulled out some change. "Hopefully this'll be enough." He slid in some coins, as the phone rang.
Eventually there was a click, and a message. "Hello, you have reached the Tenks' residence. Unfortunately we are unable to reach the phone right now, but please leave your name, number, and a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks!" A beep followed.
"Hey, mom, it's just me. Don't worry, I'm not paying long distance to make this call; I'm almost at Route 1. Um...something happened at Fenyuu and I'm going to be coming home for a little bit. We might be a little late, but please don't wait up for me if you're not up to it. It's a long story, and I'd rather give you the details tomorrow. Thanks, bye," Matt slowly put down the receiver.
"Can't get any luck, huh?" Lizzie asked. "That's twice you called and they weren't home."
"Well, I've noticed how much more out-going they've been since I came home for the Indigo championships, so perhaps they went out. I remember Jessie telling me that they usually spend two weekends a month away from home. And if I'm not mistaken, today's Friday."
"Does that mean they won't be home until Monday?"
"It's possible. But how can we be sure if they're out? Knowing them, they probably won't go to sleep until I'm home. How about you? Are you feeling any better?"
"What do you mean? I'm not sick or anything!" Lizzie retorted.
"Whoa, whoa, don't get all defensive, it's just that you haven't been speaking."
"I know, but that doesn't really mean that I'm sick or anything, now does it?"
"Looks like you're feeling better," Matt responded with a grin.
"What are you talking about?!"
Matt laughed and started to run towards Route 1.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Lizzie dashed behind to catch up.
* * *
Matt finished the last quarter of the water in his water bottle and threw the plastic bottle into a nearby trash bin. He looked at his watch; he realized that he was almost home. Lizzie stood up to stretch. This was their first rest since leaving Fenyuu, so they decided to take a small break. Matt stood up once again.
"We're almost there. Just about a few more minutes, and we'll be home!" Matt replied.
With a burst of energy, he quickly dashed towards the entrance gate. Lizzie began to dash as well, and it didn't take her long to catch up to her.
"I'll race ya!"
"You're on!"
Quickly with the remaining energy left in both of them, they dashed as fast as they could, leaving only dust behind them from the sandy path. Faster and faster which each step, until suddenly fatigue became a factor with both of them, as they started to reduce speed to reserve energy.
"Ha! I'm going to win!" Lizzie shouted.
"We've only just begun!" Matt replied.
They started dashing farther and farther, until they finally saw the gate. At this point, Lizzie was a significant distance ahead of Matt, as he finally slowed down.
"Okay, okay, I give. You win!"
Lizzie stopped and turned around. "Quitter!"
"Hey, running's not my thing. I'll take walking any day."
"You're so full of excuses!" Lizzie replied, sticking out her tongue in a jesting fashion. "Come on! Let's go!"
Lizzie politely waited for Matt to catch up, as they finally reached the entrance gate to Pallet. Much to Matt's surprise, it was strangely quiet. Not only that, he saw two officers at the gate. One of them was without a surprise, Officer Jenny.
"What's going on?" Lizzie asked.
"I don't know," Matt replied, panting from the long run. "Let's see."
As they gradually walked towards the gate, both Lizzie and Matt could hear the conversation between the three officers. At first it was somewhat faint, and vague, but eventually, they could both hear clearly what they were talking about.
"...the only place left open is Professor Oak's. He has far too much Pokémon to leave them behind unattended. They could probably fend off for a while, but if they were maimed or kidnapped by the protestors, this could become a problem."
"Why would protestors who feel so strongly against Pokémon training want to kidnap a Pokémon? You think they would be more interested in releasing them, wouldn't you think?" Officer Jenny asked.
"Yeah, she does make a good point. But you can't be sure that they're really protestors. I've been hearing rumours that it's actually Team Rocket trying to get a rise out of everyone."
"Black Rocket," the officer corrected, "trust me, you don't want to make a mistake about the two organizations; Black Rocket is far worse and are subject to more than thrice of what Team Rocket is capable of doing."
At this point, Matt and Lizzie were at the gate, with all three officers looking at them.
"Kids, you shouldn't be here. You should be in Viridian," Officer Jenny said.
"Why? What's going on?" Matt asked.
"You haven't heard? Everyone in Pallet has been forced to evacuate their homes. They've all gone to shelters in Viridian City."
"I haven't heard such a thing, and I've been paying attention to the news all day. I was hoping to come home for a while from my Pokémon journeys," Matt replied.
"I'm sure you've traveled a long way, but regardless nobody's allowed into the town right now. You're going to have to either camp out or go rest in Viridian City," another officer said.
"But we've been walking all day, and we just came from Viridian!" Lizzie complained.
"I'm sorry, but we can't give you access into the town. Your only other option is to camp out."
"It's far too dangerous for them to camp out with all the protestors around," Jenny replied. "Since there's nobody around except for Professor Oak, it would probably benefit them if they could stay at his laboratory for tonight."
"Are you sure it's such a good idea? Other security will be here within the next hour."
"We can't wait that long; we've been standing and waiting around for them all day. For all we know, the protestors have been holding them back," Jenny replied harsly. She then looked back towards Matt and Lizzie. "Since Professor Oak's home is nearby, we'll send you there for the night. But make sure you're up early tomorrow morning; we'll have to send you to Viridian City right away."
"All right," Matt responded, then turned his attention towards Lizzie. "Is that all right with you?"
"I really don't care. I just want to sleep somewhere," Lizzie said.
"Okay, we'll call Professor Oak and tell him that you're both on your way. Be careful, you two," Jenny said, moving aside so both Matt and Lizzie could pass through.
"Good night," Matt said.
"See you in the morning," Lizzie added.
As they were walking along the path to Professor Oak's laboratory, all that surrounded the two Pokémon trainers was complete and total silence. The only sounds that could be heard were their footfalls stepping onto the dirt path below them.
"I guess we know why there was no answer back at home," Lizzie commented.
As they both approached the front door of Professor Oak's laboratory, Matt knocked on the door. Surprisingly enough to him, the door wasn't even locked, nor closed. Cautiously he opened the door into a completely dark room.
"Hello? Professor Oak?" Matt called. He turned on a few lights and continued to look around. "Hello...?"
"Sorry for barging in!" Lizzie said, putting her backpack on the floor.
"NOW!" a voice called out. Matt turned around.
A heavy net had fallen fron the ceiling and had trapped Lizzie from above. Suddenly, officers ran and secured the net, making sure she couldn't escape.
"What the hell is going on?!" Matt exclaimed.
"I'm afraid this is the end for you, Matt," a voice called out from the kitchen.
Matt turned around and saw Professor Oak standing there. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Is this some kind of sick joke?!"
"I should have known," he replied with a sound of guilt in his voice. "I had always suspected something. I was wondering how you two were always so talented, but now I finally realized it."
"What?!"
"Using strong Pokémon, and stolen information to cheat in the Indigo league; commiting several homocide attempts; and now finally to use this protest as a trick to destroy the lives of even more people."
"Damn it, professor, do you have any idea what the hell you're saying?!"
"Yes, Matt, I do. You knew that Lizzie was a Black Rocket member. Why else did you run away from Fenyuu? In fear that you would both get caught? Regardless, you've helped us in our success to capturing this treacherous villain, however, your refusal to turn her in is also a felony on your behalf."
"You're spewing absolute nonsense! Neither her or I have anything to do with Black Rocket!"
"I'm afraid you've had your chance to prove yourself as a responsible citizen and a Pokémon trainer." He held out his hand with his palm facing upward. "Now, hand me your Pokédex; your trainer's license is to be terminated at once."
TO BE CONTINUED.
Chapter 44: This can't be happening....
"Last name, please?"
"Tenks," Matt replied. Some typing noises could be heard in the background as Matt looked around the registration and resignation area. It took longer to get to the place than Matt originally contemplated; he blames that with the continuous interruption of Ace.
"Reason of departure?"
"Personal reasons..." Matt replied hesitantly, "s...something's going on at home." He didn't really like the idea of lying, but at this point, he would like to get it over with.
"Temporary or permanent?"
Matt blinked, seeming quite surprised with the option. "Pardon me?"
"Yes, would you like to put your license on a suspension so that you could continue where you left off, or would you like to leave completely?"
"Hmm," Matt replied. "I never knew we had this option. Okay, put my license on suspension for the meantime."
Some more typing noises could be heard, as the final touch-ups were being made. After a few moments of silence, the woman at the front desk smiled.
"Okay, everything seems to be in order. Your license will be suspended for thirty days. After that you must make a decision whether you want to return or not. Okay?"
"Thirty...? Well, what if I need longer than that?"
"Sorry, but this new budget won't allow departing trainers to be gone for longer than that. Surely you can get everything settled in that amount of time. However, if you as a matter of fact DO need more time, I'll see what I can do. Talented trainers such as yourselves should take all the time off necessary."
"Thanks..." Matt responded with a somewhat nervous smile. He looked over at Lizzie who recently walked in towards him. "Ready to go?"
Lizzie responded with a nod.
"Okay, exit's this way."
They were lead down a long hall by a security guard, but stopped half way as he pointed out the gate. He entered a code which allowed the gate to open. Matt and Lizzie passed through it, and before they knew it, they were no longer in the Fenyuu League.
"How come you've been so quiet lately?" Matt asked. "Usually you would be trying to spark up some conversation, but you haven't said a thing at all today."
"Oh? I'm sorry," Lizzie replied.
"Why are you apologizing? I'm just curious; do you have a lot on your mind? It's about this whole ridiculous protest, isn't it?"
"A little bit, I guess. Perhaps I'm just not up for talking today."
"I understand," Matt said, pulling out a map. "Okay, we're really close to Route 1. If we walk up this road here, we'll be really close to Viridian City. But, if you want us to go home right away, we could go down this route. It'll almost be close to midnight if we do, though."
"It doesn't matter to me."
"Viridian is bustling, and with this whole riot, it's probably not a good idea to go there. I guess we'll have to go home. It's a non-stop trip; are you up for it?"
Lizzie nodded in response.
"Don't worry. Once this whole mess blows over, we'll come back to Fenyuu." Matt folded up the map, and placed it in his backpack. After zipping it up, he slung it back oover his shoulders. "Okay, let's go."
The path to Route 1 was long, but not necessarily difficult. Usually the fields were bustling with Pokémon trainers. However, due to the current protest, hardly any was seen at all. The only few ones they had seen that day were only in Fenyuu.
Looking around, they found Rattatas, Pidgies and Caterpies everywhere. Memories flooded Matt's mind. He remembered how it only took him just over a a year to get where he was currently.
Lizzie continued to be quiet. Matt looked at her from time to time, and sometimes their eyes would meet, but when they were looking ahead, Lizzie's head was aimed towards the ground, watching her feet as they walked along.
"Hey!" Matt shouted. "A payphone! Perfect!" He quickly dashed up to it, and pulled out some change. "Hopefully this'll be enough." He slid in some coins, as the phone rang.
Eventually there was a click, and a message. "Hello, you have reached the Tenks' residence. Unfortunately we are unable to reach the phone right now, but please leave your name, number, and a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks!" A beep followed.
"Hey, mom, it's just me. Don't worry, I'm not paying long distance to make this call; I'm almost at Route 1. Um...something happened at Fenyuu and I'm going to be coming home for a little bit. We might be a little late, but please don't wait up for me if you're not up to it. It's a long story, and I'd rather give you the details tomorrow. Thanks, bye," Matt slowly put down the receiver.
"Can't get any luck, huh?" Lizzie asked. "That's twice you called and they weren't home."
"Well, I've noticed how much more out-going they've been since I came home for the Indigo championships, so perhaps they went out. I remember Jessie telling me that they usually spend two weekends a month away from home. And if I'm not mistaken, today's Friday."
"Does that mean they won't be home until Monday?"
"It's possible. But how can we be sure if they're out? Knowing them, they probably won't go to sleep until I'm home. How about you? Are you feeling any better?"
"What do you mean? I'm not sick or anything!" Lizzie retorted.
"Whoa, whoa, don't get all defensive, it's just that you haven't been speaking."
"I know, but that doesn't really mean that I'm sick or anything, now does it?"
"Looks like you're feeling better," Matt responded with a grin.
"What are you talking about?!"
Matt laughed and started to run towards Route 1.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Lizzie dashed behind to catch up.
* * *
Matt finished the last quarter of the water in his water bottle and threw the plastic bottle into a nearby trash bin. He looked at his watch; he realized that he was almost home. Lizzie stood up to stretch. This was their first rest since leaving Fenyuu, so they decided to take a small break. Matt stood up once again.
"We're almost there. Just about a few more minutes, and we'll be home!" Matt replied.
With a burst of energy, he quickly dashed towards the entrance gate. Lizzie began to dash as well, and it didn't take her long to catch up to her.
"I'll race ya!"
"You're on!"
Quickly with the remaining energy left in both of them, they dashed as fast as they could, leaving only dust behind them from the sandy path. Faster and faster which each step, until suddenly fatigue became a factor with both of them, as they started to reduce speed to reserve energy.
"Ha! I'm going to win!" Lizzie shouted.
"We've only just begun!" Matt replied.
They started dashing farther and farther, until they finally saw the gate. At this point, Lizzie was a significant distance ahead of Matt, as he finally slowed down.
"Okay, okay, I give. You win!"
Lizzie stopped and turned around. "Quitter!"
"Hey, running's not my thing. I'll take walking any day."
"You're so full of excuses!" Lizzie replied, sticking out her tongue in a jesting fashion. "Come on! Let's go!"
Lizzie politely waited for Matt to catch up, as they finally reached the entrance gate to Pallet. Much to Matt's surprise, it was strangely quiet. Not only that, he saw two officers at the gate. One of them was without a surprise, Officer Jenny.
"What's going on?" Lizzie asked.
"I don't know," Matt replied, panting from the long run. "Let's see."
As they gradually walked towards the gate, both Lizzie and Matt could hear the conversation between the three officers. At first it was somewhat faint, and vague, but eventually, they could both hear clearly what they were talking about.
"...the only place left open is Professor Oak's. He has far too much Pokémon to leave them behind unattended. They could probably fend off for a while, but if they were maimed or kidnapped by the protestors, this could become a problem."
"Why would protestors who feel so strongly against Pokémon training want to kidnap a Pokémon? You think they would be more interested in releasing them, wouldn't you think?" Officer Jenny asked.
"Yeah, she does make a good point. But you can't be sure that they're really protestors. I've been hearing rumours that it's actually Team Rocket trying to get a rise out of everyone."
"Black Rocket," the officer corrected, "trust me, you don't want to make a mistake about the two organizations; Black Rocket is far worse and are subject to more than thrice of what Team Rocket is capable of doing."
At this point, Matt and Lizzie were at the gate, with all three officers looking at them.
"Kids, you shouldn't be here. You should be in Viridian," Officer Jenny said.
"Why? What's going on?" Matt asked.
"You haven't heard? Everyone in Pallet has been forced to evacuate their homes. They've all gone to shelters in Viridian City."
"I haven't heard such a thing, and I've been paying attention to the news all day. I was hoping to come home for a while from my Pokémon journeys," Matt replied.
"I'm sure you've traveled a long way, but regardless nobody's allowed into the town right now. You're going to have to either camp out or go rest in Viridian City," another officer said.
"But we've been walking all day, and we just came from Viridian!" Lizzie complained.
"I'm sorry, but we can't give you access into the town. Your only other option is to camp out."
"It's far too dangerous for them to camp out with all the protestors around," Jenny replied. "Since there's nobody around except for Professor Oak, it would probably benefit them if they could stay at his laboratory for tonight."
"Are you sure it's such a good idea? Other security will be here within the next hour."
"We can't wait that long; we've been standing and waiting around for them all day. For all we know, the protestors have been holding them back," Jenny replied harsly. She then looked back towards Matt and Lizzie. "Since Professor Oak's home is nearby, we'll send you there for the night. But make sure you're up early tomorrow morning; we'll have to send you to Viridian City right away."
"All right," Matt responded, then turned his attention towards Lizzie. "Is that all right with you?"
"I really don't care. I just want to sleep somewhere," Lizzie said.
"Okay, we'll call Professor Oak and tell him that you're both on your way. Be careful, you two," Jenny said, moving aside so both Matt and Lizzie could pass through.
"Good night," Matt said.
"See you in the morning," Lizzie added.
As they were walking along the path to Professor Oak's laboratory, all that surrounded the two Pokémon trainers was complete and total silence. The only sounds that could be heard were their footfalls stepping onto the dirt path below them.
"I guess we know why there was no answer back at home," Lizzie commented.
As they both approached the front door of Professor Oak's laboratory, Matt knocked on the door. Surprisingly enough to him, the door wasn't even locked, nor closed. Cautiously he opened the door into a completely dark room.
"Hello? Professor Oak?" Matt called. He turned on a few lights and continued to look around. "Hello...?"
"Sorry for barging in!" Lizzie said, putting her backpack on the floor.
"NOW!" a voice called out. Matt turned around.
A heavy net had fallen fron the ceiling and had trapped Lizzie from above. Suddenly, officers ran and secured the net, making sure she couldn't escape.
"What the hell is going on?!" Matt exclaimed.
"I'm afraid this is the end for you, Matt," a voice called out from the kitchen.
Matt turned around and saw Professor Oak standing there. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Is this some kind of sick joke?!"
"I should have known," he replied with a sound of guilt in his voice. "I had always suspected something. I was wondering how you two were always so talented, but now I finally realized it."
"What?!"
"Using strong Pokémon, and stolen information to cheat in the Indigo league; commiting several homocide attempts; and now finally to use this protest as a trick to destroy the lives of even more people."
"Damn it, professor, do you have any idea what the hell you're saying?!"
"Yes, Matt, I do. You knew that Lizzie was a Black Rocket member. Why else did you run away from Fenyuu? In fear that you would both get caught? Regardless, you've helped us in our success to capturing this treacherous villain, however, your refusal to turn her in is also a felony on your behalf."
"You're spewing absolute nonsense! Neither her or I have anything to do with Black Rocket!"
"I'm afraid you've had your chance to prove yourself as a responsible citizen and a Pokémon trainer." He held out his hand with his palm facing upward. "Now, hand me your Pokédex; your trainer's license is to be terminated at once."
TO BE CONTINUED.
