Chapter Thirty Six: Alaska Acevedo and the Electric Factory
Despite all the other surprises that had occurred that day, Alaska couldn't help but be taking aback when they stepped into the Power Plant.
It looked like something out of a science fiction movie, or a dystopian novel about a controlling government, but Alaska would rather stick with the lighter thought. It was world that was sparkling white and encased in metal and glass: the tiles blended into the wall, the only thing separating the entire interior from looking like a futuristic winter wonderland being the large amount of technology spread about. No matter what direction Alaska turned, there was some sort of computer or monitor or hard drive built into the wall, a coated technician staring towards the screen as their fingers rapidly typed or touched around.
The more they moved inside, the more Alaska became engrossed by the architectural beauty of the building. Dozens of walkways loomed overhead, made entirely of glass that made it look as if the people moving across and between floors were walking on thin air. Beautiful views were provided of the rushing river, the surrounding cliffs, the fields of green. It was an attractive view that could easily take your mind of the whirr of turbines and the moan of machinery that surrounded them, though none of the people working them seemed to have any free time to look at the amazing view outside. Despite the modern glitz and glamour the new Power Plant possessed, it was still just another workplace for some people no matter what it looked like.
"Isn't this place amazing?" Sandy whispered in Alaska's eye as the two walked side by side, Alaska still have to lean on her friend for support.
"It is a pretty impressive building," Alaska replied, voicing her thoughts aloud, "but I'm beginning to wonder what challenge possibly could have been set up for us in a power plant." She turned back towards the Amanda and the reality stars, who were all leading the way past doors to glass walled offices and hundreds more monitors and the scientists working there. Andy, the tour guide who usually led school and press trips, was walking alongside Amanda talking animatedly to her about the building as he led them to their area, though Alaska wondered if she even truly cared, simply smiling and nodding as the producer thought of how to get rid of the new pest on her trip. There was no shaking the rather surprising look Amanda had worn when she had first set eyes on them only a few minutes ago, and Alaska was trying her best to work out what it could mean but drawing no possible ideas asides from her being surprised to see them, though this look was a lot more than simply being shocked.
"Alright everyone," Andy called from the front, clapping his hands together excitedly. "We're now at your super special location for your challenge! I hope you are all excited to see what's behind this door," he said with a mega watt beam, but he didn't get the overly excited reaction he'd usually get from children and disappointedly turned to the door. Once his back was turned, Amanda turned around to face Alaska: she had a slight smirk on her face, clearly knowing what was on the other side and clearly intrigued to see how she would react. Alaska merely smiled back, not even going to give her any reason to be excited. The stars turned around once they caught Amanda's face, seeing how Alaska would react: Chloe was smirking as well, clearly excited for the chance to show her up, while Lachlan remained his usual uncertain self. But Alaska's eyes were drawn towards Damian, who was looking at her with a sense of worry that he always seemed to have. She never knew why he always looked at her in this rather sad, serious way, and it somehow made her more uncomfortable than the rest of them put together, though that was uncertain as well.
"Move along," the cameraman grunted behind her, and Alaska realised the door ahead had been unlocked, Amanda following Andy inside. Sandy smiled happily at Alaska as she led them forwards, heading towards the doorway and unaware what would await them on the other side.
"What makes you so sure this is going to go well?" Alaska hissed quietly as Damian disappeared through with one last glance back at them.
"Optimism is something I'm very good at," Sandy replied with a wink, and Alaska couldn't help but smile back: despite all that had apparently happened in her life, Sandy managed to keep a smile on her face for most of the day, and Alaska had to admire that in someone who had nearly been killed about five times since meeting her.
But all happy thoughts left her mind as they entered the cavernous room before them.
It seemed that one part of the building's design was a brilliant amount of soundproofing: though the roar of the turbines and generators that made all of this power could be heard, it was more of a distant sound as if it was coming from outside or the other side of the mountains. You almost wouldn't even know that they were even part of the building and simply carry on with your business, unaware of what lay below.
But stepping through that door shattered that vision. Alaska froze at the top of the stairs, staring at the scene before her: there was about three generators the size of her house moving rapidly before her eyes, so many cables the width of a human body coming off them that it would make Lt. Surge faint in surprise. It was a lot darker and much less nicely designed down here, with the walls mostly concrete and the walkways here bits of metal attached together in a relatively odd manner.
"Wow… just wow…," Alaska mumbled as the camera crew pushed past the two, the doors swinging shut behind them and letting out a clang that echoed above the noise of the generators. It seemed straight out of a science textbook on energy: the large room that must go below the ground, with scientists and technicians examining charts and older computers. This seemed like a rather interesting place for a challenge, but Alaska couldn't help but glance towards the giant whirring generators, knowing how much energy and electricity they must have inside and what exactly that challenge would be.
"Isn't this place so amazing?" Sandy said as Alaska moved, signalling for her to help her hobble down the ringing metal staircase. "To think that there is where the majority of energy in Kanto comes from! Just look at those cables! Think of all the possible places that that power is travelling to!"
"I'd rather focus on the possibilities down here," Alaska mumbled back as they reached the bottom of the staircase, where a technician passed them over an orange coat, yellow hard hat and safety goggles. Alaska would never be seen dead in such a fluorescent, sun-darkening shade of orange elsewhere, but thought it best to stick to the rules rather than be kicked out: as much as she felt uncertain about being near three high powered generators with Amanda, she was intrigued all the same to see where it went.
"Good to see you two join us!" Andy called, ever enthusiastic despite the mixed faces before him. "Now, I know your challenge is meant to be a big surprise for the camera, but we just need to go over some safety issues! Your are all wearing these jackets and hard hats because this is a very high voltage area due to the three power generators around us and the many moving underground to –,"
"How are hard hats going to protect us if one of these things blows up?" Alaska asked with a sweet smile, and the tour guide stopped in his tracks, thrown by the question. Amanda turned towards her and shot an eye bulging look, but Alaska ignored it and winked across at a shocked Chloe.
"Your challenge is to somehow get a flag that is up on the walkway," Andy continued, his only sign of the interruption being a slight loss of enthusiasm. "You can use two Pokemon, and they are only ones that can get up there. This can be achieved in any way, but you MUST make sure not to cause any damage to any of the equipment!" He said, looking a lot more serious now. "These generators and cables cost millions of dollars, but any sort of damage could result in a loss of power for any numbers of areas around Kanto and some locations in Johto. It took a lot of convincing to allow you to even come this far, so let's try and stay away from damaging any important equipment, alright?"
"If you damage anything, you will receive the bill," Amanda added, staring wide-eyed over at Alaska. Alaska tried to ignore the look, but she couldn't help but turn towards the whirring generators before them, knowing that anything being damaged would not end well for here, and that Amanda would probably find a way to blame any damage onto her.
"If we are all aware of the rules, than let's get ready to battle!" Andy said, clapping his hands and sounding enthusiastic once more. Amanda nodded and walked before him, basically shoving him out of the group now that his services were no longer required.
"Since we have yet a-a-another bother in our group," Amanda said, trying to stay calm but letting a stutter come in as she glared over at Alaska and Sandy, "we will do all of our filming after the challenge has been completed and we see who the winner is. Now choose the two Pokemon you will use in this challenge, w-we need to get started! Move along!" She snapped, turning away from everyone and strutting away, her high heels echoing around them. Chloe pulled Damian and Lachlan into a whispered conversation, leaving Alaska and Sandy alone as the crew set things up for the shoot.
"That's odd," Sandy mumbled to Sandy. "Have you ever heard her stutter before?"
"No, she is usually quite sure of herself," Alaska replied in a whisper, but paused before she said anymore, a distant memory rushing back to her. "Wait a second…," she hissed. "The first time I met her she stuttered, and I arrived unexpectedly then as well." On that first day of all their journeys, Alaska could remember Amanda's slight stutter, the producer thrown back when this new trainer arrived at the Viridian City Trainer's House and threw a spanner into the works. She had never stuttered again, almost as if Alaska appearing again wasn't a big surprise, but today Amanda had been thrown: combined with the overly surprised look, something was telling Alaska the producer had never expected to see her again.
"Why aren't they filming now either?" Sandy asked as the two grabbed PokeBalls they had only put away a few minutes ago, not allowed to strut them through the Power Plant above. "Do you think they are waiting to do something to us and then film once we're out of the way? Gosh Alaska, I'm starting to get scared!"
"You got us in this mess remember, so don't start complaining!" Alaska said with a slight glare. "However, I do think something's up: that's not exactly new when it comes to my thoughts on these people, but Amanda seems slightly odd today." Sandy raised a questioning eyebrow, but Alaska shook her head, eyeing the reality trio nearby. "I will stick to my promise, don't worry, but I'm not telling you here!" She stared pointedly at the trio, and Sandy made a rather loud 'aah' sound and nodded. The trio turned around, Chloe looking rather suspicious, but Alaska distracted them by unleashing two PokeBalls, sending Paige and Nadia.
"Ran Ran Nido Ran Ran!" Nadia said, beginning to run around excitedly yet with her normal vicious look on her face. Paige flexed her wings as if she had been cooped up for a while, looking around the wide open space with her look getting progressively grimmer.
"Otto Pidgey Pidge?" She said with a glare, and Alaska couldn't blame her: with the amount of electricity around them, it made the Vermilion Gym look like a static balloon.
"Just trust me on this," Alaska said as Butterfree and Bellsprout formed around Sandy. "I know that this looks hard, but all you have to do is fly up and get a flag off a walkway… I think," Alaska replied, staring uncertainly up at the metal above: now that she thought of it, she wasn't exactly sure what to do. Some men were moving swiftly along above as if they had many times before, placing a flag in the middle of the path. What exactly was their true intention when it came to this challenge? Were they supposed to collect the flag and be the only ones to bring it down? Were Amanda and Andy being deliberately vague on the rules in order to cause some confusion amongst her and Sandy? Alaska looked down at Paige, who merely looked grumpier at Alaska's uncertainty, while Nadia continued to run around eagerly.
"Let's just go with the flow," Alaska replied with a smile, and Paige rolled her eyes.
"Alright everyone, it's time to space out!" Andy called happily. "We have rolled a die, and Chloe is to stand directly in the middle, Lachlan and Damian on either side and Alaska and Sandy at each end."
"How subtle," Alaska mumbled, and she gave Sandy, Butterfree and Bellsprout a recurring smile before turning around, ready to head to her spot. However, she froze in shock, staring directly into one of the largest and more unattractive faces she'd ever encountered: it had a look that was both angry and pouty, with large lips, furious eyes and a blue crest that made its face look fierce. Alaska wasn't quite sure what to make of this head that was the same height as her, and looked around for some advice.
"I see you've met Gyarados," Damian said suddenly, emerging around the side and smirking. Alaska was still stunned and confused, and Damian pulled a blue PokeDex out. "Gyarados, Magikarp's evolved form? Have you never heard of it?" Alaska stared down at the computerized image just as the Gyarados manoeuvred around, showing his very long, almost segmented body, blue on the top and cream on the bottom, with fins showing its Water-type properties.
"Nice Pokemon," Alaska mumbled, looking down to see Paige was more obvious with showing her surprise at the very large Pokemon, while Nadia seemed to be contemplating how to defeat the beast before it. "I take it that this may have come from that fun fishing challenge I intruded in on?"
"Your right there," Damian said, still smiling. "It wasn't too hard to level Magikarp up: some clever switching and constantly winning against Chloe was quite handy in getting both Pokemon evolved." Alaska raised an eyebrow as they moved to the right of Chloe, but her question was answered as a mostly red Pokemon walked forwards, looking like a bigger, scarier Charmander, complete with sharper claws, longer tail and a point on his head.
"Charmeleon Char Char!" Charmeleon said, his voice reminding Alaska of an old smoker that use to live next door to her.
"Congratulations than, I think," Alaska said, moving onto a point marked out by Andy, Damian on her left and all their Pokemon moving in front of them. "I've been trying to train my Paras and Nadia here up, but I've been a bit occupied with other things that I haven't had the chance." Damian nodded, and Alaska was taken aback by this: it had been a long time since she had spoken about herself and not been asked a hundred questions about her life. It was a rather refreshing change, and she couldn't help but stare back at the reality star in an all new light, stunned to be having a proper conversation with a normal person for once.
"Alright, are we all in position?" Amanda called. Alaska turned away from Damian and glanced down towards Sandy, who had her determined face on as she stood alongside Lachlan with his Geodude and Wartortle, Squirtle's evolved form that, like Charmeleon, merely looked like a larger form of his predecessor. Chloe was the only one with no evolved Pokemon on her team, her Bulbasaur and Spearow dwarfed as Gyarados floated above them. "Excellent. Now, your task is to collect the flag from the walkway above, using your two Pokemon to do so, and you must get it back and to the top of the stairs we came down. You must protect the flag once you have it, as anyone else may take it, and be on the look out for any surprises along the way."
"Surprises?" Lachlan asked, sounding a touch nervous. "What do you mean by surprises?" Amanda's face twisted into an uncomfortable looking smile, flashing a set of almost pointed teeth to the crowd before her, and though her head was turned to Lachlan, Alaska caught her eyes flickering towards her.
"Oh, you'll just have to wait and see Mr Lynch," she replied, a hint of laughter behind her words. "Just wait and see." This wasn't particularly settling, and Alaska looked down at Paige, the Pidgeotto looking more concerned than annoyed now. "You have five minutes to complete this challenge, so let the games begin!" Amanda called, and quickly leapt out of the way.
"We're starting already?" Alaska asked, rather surprised, but got no response from Damian: he was already calling out his orders, sending Charmeleon onto Gyarados' back. Chloe's Spearow was hooking her claws into Bulbasaur's back, and Geodude was picking Wartortle up, his long wavy tail and stubby limbs retracting inside the shell. "I guess we're starting then…" she mumbled, eyeing Amanda as she and Andy rushed away, the camera crew moving closer to catch images of the trio commanding their teams. "Nadia, let's just go with the flow and have you on Paige's back, alright?"
"Ran Ran Ran!" The Nidoran said, leaping onto her teammates back before Paige had time to notice. The wind was knocked out of her and her eyes bulged, and Alaska couldn't help but laugh. She really didn't care about the competition and frankly didn't care if she won or not: her attention was on her team getting better, and if Paige and Nadia worked well together, than this long and irritating day would be worth it.
The laughter stopped as the generators exploded behind her.
I'll be the first to say it: I am not a big fan of this chapter, or a lot of this arc to be frank. My schoolwork is getting in the way and I'm not getting the proper time to focus on my writing like I get during the holidays, when I can just write for hours and have a clear, focussed idea. I apologise for the drop of quality that I feel has occurred, and that it has been relatively boring so far, but the last two chapters of this arc will hopefully turn things around with a lot of action and fighting, both Pokemon and human ;) So hang on till the next two parts, which should turned things around!
