This is another long chapter, so those of you who have made it this far into Hakins' adventure will get to see a fair amount of progress here. There will also be another music recommendation here. As always, completely optional, but really sets the mood well in my opinion!
Our trio travels closer and closer to their objective, but trouble seems to follow these three around, and a revelation throws the whole journey in jeopardy...
About two hours had passed since we had left our temporary camp, and the current scenery wasn't anything noteworthy. Once we drove beyond the view of the trees, sloping dunes filled the landscape for miles in every direction. Rubble of varying sizes dotted the sands, some like glaciers with only a fraction of the full rusted shell sticking out from the dunes. The few wispy white clouds that dotted the sky did little to help shield the land from the sun, and by extension us. I was quickly becoming attached to the ice pack in the refrigeration compartment of Sergei's truck, pushing against it to get as much contact between the pack and my neck as possible.
I did not foresee how difficult the drives would be. When I thought of going on a Pokemon journey back on Citadark, I foresaw action from end to end; intense battles and beautiful locations everywhere I would go. Instead, however, a majority of my time in mainland Orre had been spent in the cockpit of a large truck. The main challenge wasn't the heat of the Orre sun, strong as it seemed like it was always going to be. It was the passage of time that proved the most difficult for me. Sat between my two companions with little room for movement, I could only look at an electronic screen for so long; my phone needed to be charged anyways.
In order to try and relax, I tried to gameplan in my head what to expect once we got to the Traveller's Oasis at first, quickly losing steam on any scheming due to a lack of information. Then, I tried to calm my racing mind with a sort of meditation, but once again attempted to do so unsuccessfully.
I heaved a sigh, and looked over my right shoulder. Dustin looked out the window, seeming to look for something unique amidst the rubble. Trapinch sat on his lap, trying to aid him in his search with an equal amount of focus. Despite the relatively mundane passtime, Dustin seemed content to do so.
How does he do it? I can't seem to settle down here… I thought.
I then looked over my opposite shoulder. Sergei had lowered his visor to block out the sun's forceful rays, icy blue eyes fixed on the road. His right hand was guiding his steering wheel, his left hanging freely out the window, tapping the exterior of the truck to some tune in his head. He too was content at the moment.
I returned my focus to my lap, and heard a chuckle from Sergei. I shook my head and chuckled too; it seemed obvious that he would notice.
"Everything alright, Hakins?" Sergei asked.
"Yeah," I replied, stretching in my seat a bit. "I haven't had this much time to just sit and think in a long time."
The man mountain smiled.
"There will be many more rides ahead," Sergei said, bringing his left hand back from the window to run through his beard. "You are here now, chuvak. Funny how people your age are too locked in the past and future. There is much to be gained by focusing on the present, yes, much to be gained."
I nodded. I turned my attention inwards, trying to do as Sergei said.
"Hey, what's that place?" Dustin asked, spoiling any chance of my attempt at staying grounded getting anywhere.
I leaned to look past him, and saw a moderately sized structure a fair distance away.
"That is going to be a pitstop, Dustin." Sergei replied. "We're going to need a fresh tank of fuel for the final leg of our journey. That's a gas station, owned by an old friend."
The truck made its way through a T-junction, weaving to the right. I was relieved to see that our temporary change in direction had oriented us away from the rising sun. Already feeling the difference in temperature, I placed the ice pack back into the compartment, leaving it open for a few moments to get more cold air before shutting it once again.
"I hope that fridge unit is portable, Sergei," Dustin said, catching my movements out of the corner of his eye. "I don't think he'll last the journey without it."
"Just you wait," I replied. "When you're dying out there and want water or cool air, I'll just give you shit too."
The gas station was closer than it had appeared, and the truck got to it just five minutes later. Seeing the structure up close, I saw why it looked like it was multiple colors from far away. The majority of the roof of the depot was various types of scrap metal, most having been rusted over. The roofing was clearly heavy, as well over a dozen vertical steel beams jutted from the ground to stabilize the whole overhang. By the harsh weld marks on most of the thing, it looked to have been made from salvaged parts. The roof itself was quite large, giving room for a truck of our size to find a space, and accommodate some eight or nine other pumps.
Sergei pulled the truck next to one of the pumps, putting the titan on park once we were lined up. Looking outside through the windshield, I could see a few other folks getting gas too, except that they were refueling motorbikes and small trucks. Remembering Sergei's warning from earlier, I tensed up.
"Are these the kinds of people that you told us about?" I asked.
Sergei took a moment to look around at the cast of characters getting gas for a moment, clearly scrutinizing each one. He then turned back to me.
"I know these people. They probably won't do anything crazy, but let's not gamble on that, ah? I have to let the owner know I'm here. He owes me a couple tanks of gas, so I need to make sure that he knows it's me."
Sergei opened the driver's side door, stepping out and disappearing out of view. Dustin and I followed suit, Trapinch in her Trainer's arms. The difference in temperature being shaded was noticeable, and Dustin seemed to notice this too, letting out a Whew as our feet met the rough pavement. Since there were no walls to the structure, I looked at what laid beyond the lonely gas station, seeing two other roads that stretched on beyond eyesight.
There's so much desolate land here, I thought. I see why people my age don't see Orre as the prime destination for an interesting journey.
Sergei met us on our side, and gestured up ahead of us. In the corner of the makeshift roofing was what looked to be a small shop, built right in between two of the steel beams holding the roof aloft. The patchwork indicated that it was made in much the same way as the rest of the gas station. The man mountain began making his way towards the building, Dustin and I following right behind him like a couple of baby Ducklett. The men refueling their vehicles stopped to look at us. While most of them quickly turned back to what they were doing, two particular thugs, younger-looking than the others, turned and muttered to each other. They were leaning up against one of the steel beams, nearby a green truck that hovered above the ground. They were both wiry, with goggles to presumably protect their eyes from the sand.
Catching myself starting to stare, I turned back and caught up with Dustin and Sergei. The man mountain turned to me as I skidded to a stop behind Dustin.
"Don't mind those two, Hakins. They're bounty hunters, but they won't bother us as long as you stick with me." Sergei said, slowing down as we neared the door to the shop.
A metal sign hung above the door, simply reading Gas Station Here. Sergei stopped at the door, and once again turned to us, a confident expression on his face.
"Do not fear the man hour are about to meet, gospoda. Though if he looks like he's trying to be menacing, it would help his confidence to cower a little." Sergei said, letting out a chuckle as he opened the scrap door.
We stepped inside, and I immediately felt moving air where I expected stagnant heat. The shop wasn't large by any means, with just enough room for three store shelves and the counter area. Looking at what stocked the shelves, it was an unconventional mix of rusted mechanical parts and the occasional piece for a Poke Ball. Rays of light shone through holes cut symetrically throughout the shop, which presumably also served to ventilate the building. A lonely lightbulb at the center of the interior was the only interior source of light, and the hum of a generator behind the counter could be heard as well.
Breathe Hakins, breathe… I reminded myself, feeling my nerves spiking in such unfamiliar territory.
Sitting behind the counter was a gruff looking man, who was reclined back in what looked to be an old rocking chair, sandals propped up next to an antique cash register. The beginning of wrinkles showed his age, but his build and full black hair to his shoulders hid it well. A messy beard, not quite as dense and large as Sergei's, decorated his chin. His baggy eyes were trained on about a dozen old monitors screwed into various parts of the section of wall behind the counter. He gave us a quick look as we walked in, double taking to raise an eyebrow as he caught sight of Sergei.
"It's been awhile." the man said, his voice pitched and ragged as it echoed across the shop.
"You should lay off the vodka, Pock. You look like shit." Sergei replied, making his way to the counter. Dustin and I followed suit, Dustin having to catch my arm after tripping on a cylindrical machine part on the floor.
Pock's right arm, which was hidden from sight before, revealed a small glass. The man took a swig, sliding the glass off to the side and pushing his feet off the counter. Taking one last look at the monitors, he finally turned his full attention to us. His eyes were dark brown to the point of almost looking black.
"Go ahead and fuel up, Sergei. But I've finally done the numbers on the debt you settled for me at Realgam Tower. After this top-off, we're even, got it?" Pock said, his eyes locked on Sergei with unflinching intensity.
"Agreed. I'd better not see you near that casino again. You know not many people can bail you out like I did." Sergei replied, watching as Pock got up from his rocking chair and moved to the back wall behind the counter. His white wife-beater hung loosely around him, so much so that he had to throw one of the straps back over his shoulder before flipping one of a dozen switches on the wall. An electric hum sounded.
Pock took another look at the monitors. Inspecting them more closely, I could see that they were all showing live footage of the gas station outside through various angles. Scratching his beard absentmindedly, he returned his attention to our trio.
"Who are these asshats?" Pock asked, rudely pointing at me and Dustin with an outstretched arm.
I paused, teetering between anger at being so blatantly insulted and dismissal in the interest of not looking stupid this early on.
"I am taking these gospoda to the Traveller's Oasis. They're going to catch Pokemon." Sergei replied, gesturing towards us.
Pock gave us an incredulous look for a moment before he seemed to have a thought. He grabbed his drinking glass off the counter, once again settling into his rocking chair.
"Still can't get used to this region and Wild Pokemon being uttered in the same breath…" Pock mused, taking a thoughtful (albeit large) sip from his glass. "These gonna be your first, boys?"
Dustin shook his head, briefly taking Trapinch's Poke Ball out of his pocket. Once Pock's dauntless gaze turned to me, I quickly nodded. Pock gave me a pitying look, the liquid from the glass in his hand swirling around.
"It's good you're older. Young trainers don't last long around here, and those that are still travelling around are pretty damn good. You're gonna have a lot of ground to make up." Pock said, chuckling.
"We won't do anything stupid," Dustin replied. I turned to him, surprised that he spoke up. "Plus, I've got Trapinch with me."
The ragged man rolled his eyes.
"You can act like havin' one Pokemon gives you some kind of edge, blondie," Pock continued, an unamused expression on his face. "But if your clothes and pansy-ass face tell me anything, you've probably never even gotten sand in your shoes before."
Dustin was silent after that, and the only sound for a few moments was the light reverberations of the sand outside hitting the scrap walls. Pock sighed, downing the last of his drink.
"Point is, I wish ya luck, boys. I won't hold my breath though..."
Pock placed the glass under the counter, and gestured towards the door.
"I've gotta make sure the loiterers don't siphon gas, so if you aren't buying anything, see yourselves out." Pock said, returning his attention to the monitors while stifling a yawn.
The three of us left the store, making our way back to the truck. The switch Pock flipped seem to unlock the pump. Sergei plugged the nozzle in and unlocked the car, so Dustin and I climbed in while the man mountain stood by his mighty vehicle.
"I really shouldn't have said anything." Dustin commented as he closed the passenger door behind us.
"I don't know. Having not said anything, I don't feel much better than you do." I replied, gazing back at the store. "I'm just glad we're almost there."
"Me too." Dustin echoed, shuddering for a moment before grabbing the Pokedex from his bag.
"I've gotten sand in my shoes plenty of times…" Dustin muttereed to himself before beginning to scroll through more Pokemon files.
Shortly after, the truck was finished refueling, and the driver's side door opened. The entire titan shifted as Sergei sat down, closing the door behind him and getting his key into the ignition. The noise of the engine roaring to life seemed like less of a headache now, more akin to white noise. We pulled out of the lot and began down one of the other roads. While I hadn't been paying particular attention to cardinal directions, I was fairly sure that we were going East.
"How the hell does Pock keep people from just stealing gas and bolting?" I asked Sergei after awhile, the gas station slowly shrinking behind us in the rear view mirror. "If they're anything like he is, they had to have at least tried."
Sergei's brow furrowed.
"Look, chuvak. Pock may not be the nicest man, or always have the best of intentions, but he has integrity. And integrity is something you do not get out here too often, so try not to be too sensitive. Think of their hostility sort of...like a different language, ah? Figure out what they're really saying behind all of the bad words."
Sergei let out a chuckle.
"And this goes without saying here on the mainland." Sergei continued, a smile on his face. "But you do not steal gas from Pock, as paranoid as he is. That mudak may go broke gambling, but he's got about a quarter of the thugs in Orre in debt to him for free fuel. We wouldn't get far if we tried."
I laughed at that, imagining hundreds of people stopping in the middle of the day to go on a manhunt for some sorry vagabond.
"And what stops those people from just ignoring that asshole too?" Dustin chimed in, showing that he was listening despite looking at some kind of habitat data for Chimecho.
"A deal is a deal." Sergei replied simply. "Take that honor away, and we'd just be a region full of savages, ah?"
The man mountain and I turned to look at Dustin briefly, seeing that he was bristling a bit.
"Salvator brought me onboard to protect you two from physical harm, not from hurt feelings." Sergei said. "You're going to have to get used to it, chuvak."
A bright flash appeared where Dustin was, and Trapinch was now perched on Dustin's lap, rubbing her jaw against his cheek.
"Ok ok I get it, you!" he cracked up, turning off his Pokedex and affectionately pushing Trapinch's head away.
Trapinch settled into Dustin's lap, eyeing me. Before I could come up with a snide comment for Dustin, I heard a loud dinging coming from my backpack. Confused, I rummaged through the pockets, the dinging consisting of three repeated notes. After closing the smallest compartment of my pack, I realized what the noise was, and unzipped the largest pocket. Reaching my hand through all of the loose items, I pulled out my PDA, seeing the blue and green light on it flashing in sequence with the ringing. I flicked the switch to turn it on, and nearly jumped out of my seat as the device projected a blue screen upwards, followed by a brief flare. When the flare dissipated, I was holding a small holographic model of Salvator in my hands. He was sat at a desk of some kind.
"Oh hey! Can you hear me with this thing?" I said, still not fully understanding the technology.
"I most certainly can." the SIM Master replied, tapping his fingers impatiently. "Save me the technological ignorance and put me on Sergei's dashboard."
I nodded, carefully perching the device at the edge of the console. By now, both Dustin and Sergei had noticed what was going on; Sergei had a smile on his face while Dustin gave me a look of confusion. Holographic Salvator cleared his throat before speaking.
"Hello, you three. I hope that you haven't gotten into too much trouble since departing earlier yesterday?"
Me and Dustin exchanged another look, subtly bumping our fists that were down by the seat.
"As little as we could be, my friend!" Sergei replied, slowing the truck down a bit to pay more attention to Salvator. "We just stopped at Pock's station, so we're getting close to our destination. Have you been able to get in touch with Duking?"
Salvator shook his head, his chin now resting on his interlocked hands.
"No, unfortunately not. But this PDA should be able to get a signal at the oasis. The old comms towers are still standing, according to satellite data."
"Uh, what the hell is going on?" Dustin asked aloud, looking from the hologram to me and Sergei several times. "Aren't we just catching Pokemon?"
Salvator sighed
"You must be Hakins' friend." Salvator said, adjusting his moustache with his thumb. "I am Salvator, the man who has organized this little field trip of yours. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Oh!" Dustin said, throwing his hands up due to the situation now seeming obvious. "Yeah, I'm Dustin. Nice to meet you!"
He then turned to me, his expression altering substantially.
"It never occurred to you to mention that there was more to this, Hakins?"
"Not a lot of emphasis was put on it, honestly." I replied. "We won't have to go out of our way to do this, and it'll help a lot of people out."
"Indeed it will." Salvator added. "Professor Krane wants me to thank you on his behalf. Any efforts to help protect the Relic Stones are a service to the whole region. Unfortunately, I am not just calling to prattle on about such things."
Sergei raised an eyebrow.
"You're referring to the prolonged blackout in the area, yes?" the man mountain asked, running a free hand through his facial hair.
"Precisely." Salvator replied, pulling out a tablet of some kind. "The satellite that provides wireless communication to the region normally misses that region of the desert on its rotation every couple of weeks. But something's not right; normally, the blackout zone will steadily move southwest, until it leaves Orre entirely. However, while such movement has been detected, there is a persistent interference around certain parts of that sector, including the Traveller's Oasis."
"Hmm…" Sergei pondered his words for a moment. "I'm not sold on it being an unforeseen scenario outside of your calculation nonsense, but this could be the work of the Outcasts as well."
"I am almost certain of it," Salvator said. "This group has gone too long without being apprehended, and should've been more of a cause for concern earlier."
The way in which they were mentioning the group was unsettling. Sergei's eyes seemed to be playing back memories from long ago, his hands mindlessly keeping us on the long straight road.
"Who are the Outcasts?" I finally asked, seeing Trapinch looking at the hologram out of my peripheral.
Sergei took a breath, raising his hand to speak as Salvator was about to answer.
"I have told you about the First Shadow Incident, but there was a second as well, just a few years ago. Cipher came back to Orre far more organized, and well funded, yes. They quickly fortified their positions in Orre, and were very aggressive in getting what they needed this time. Must've learned from the beating we gave them before...but anyways, they certainly got to work. Cipher stole an entire cargo ship full of Pokemon from the waters near Gateon, and had streamlined Shadow Pokemon production so successfully that a factory of theirs was able to convert dozens of them within the day. Orre went from Shadow Pokemon-free to infested within a week."
"Our fight the second time around was far more difficult," Salvator continued. "But Sergei and I managed to acquire and destroy the new Shadow Pokemon data at their factory, while a young man named Michael went to Citadark Isle and defeated Cipher's Grand Master. Despite this victory, Cipher's forces were vast, and even with help from law enforcement of other regions, a group of them managed to evade arrest. We've designated them the Outcasts, and while they had close to no resources when they fled a couple of years ago, we suspect that years of scavenging - alongside competent engineers amongst the group - have allowed them to accrue ample supplies."
"Not a lot of emphasis my ass." Dustin chimed in from my right. "You seriously just forgot to mention this, dude?"
"I didn't know about most of this stuff until now either." I replied defensively. I then turned back to the SIM Master. "What are we going into right now, Salvator?"
Salvator raised his head from his hands, intertwining them on his desk.
"We don't know for sure." the SIM Master replied. "But the Traveller's Oasis is fairly secure. Cipher may have more equipment, but they likely don't have more manpower. Additionally, the last time we spoke with the man running the oasis, he mentioned that Mt. Battle would be sending a group of Trainers to ensure its safety. The Oasis should be in good hands when you arrive."
"Why couldn't you have mentioned this in more detail back on Citadark?" I asked. "I wish I'd known earlier that my journey was actually an errand you needed somebody to run."
Salvator shook his head, giving me a grin.
"I will not pretend that this trip had nothing to do with this plan, Hakins. But I also could not ignore the signs that you might benefit from being out in Orre. Your future with Pokemon is bright, and I am here to help facilitate that. This "errand" was simply the perfect opportunity."
"It was originally going to just be me, chuvak." Sergei added. "But Salvator insisted that I could help a promising Pokemon Trainer in the process."
"Promising? I lost that battle in like five minutes!" I shot back, startling myself with how fresh the sting of defeat still felt.
"I have no interest in stoking your ego at the moment with more praise, so just trust that we're being honest with you, for crying out loud." Salvator replied, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head.
"Yeah, alright." I said, understanding that there were more important things than my personal feelings about a battle at play.
"Is there anything else that we should know before we get there?" Dustin asked, pushing his curly hair under his beanie.
"Ah yes, one more thing!" Salvator responded. "The Traveller's Oasis is not open to the public, so you're guests there. Be courteous, and try not to damage too much of the habitat with battling and such."
"We can do that." I answered. "We'll just focus on trying to catch some-"
The radio in the dashboard, which I had presumed was dead from the lack of music that had been played from it, began to emit loud static noise. Sergei looked over in surprise, and reached over to pull out a small connected radio from the device, bringing it to his face.
"Who is talking on this channel? There isn't anything to listen to here." Sergei said.
"Shut up Sergei," the voice responded through the intercom.
Given how recently we had heard him, I recognized the voice to be Pock's.
"Ah, that makes more sense." the man mountain said. "What's going on, my friend?"
"Thought you three might wanna know that two fellas that were hanging around the station just hopped in their truck and went down the road that you're on." Pock said.
"The ones with the green truck?" Sergei asked. "Trudly and Folly?"
"That's right! Yeah those two. Don't ever say I didn't look out for you, Sergei."
My heart clenched, as I realized that the two thugs eyeing us had to be those guys.
"How long were they there before we arrived?" Sergei asked.
"Don't got a clock in the shop, but I reckon...a couple of hours?" Pock replied. "Best of luck, ladies."
With that, the radio went silent. Sergei reattached the radio to the console.
"Excuse me, did he just say Trudly and Folly?" Salvator asked, standing up from behind his desk.
"They're probably just driving someplace else, my friend." Sergei replied. "They wouldn't mess with me again after last time. We will contact you when we arrive, yes?"
"And if they're not, Sergei?" Salvator posed.
"Then I certainly won't need a virtual backseat driver, ah?" Sergei answered. "End the call, chuvak."
Wishing that I could've done that while I was still on Citadark Isle, I did not hesitate, and shut the PDA off as Salvator began to explain why I shouldn't. Placing it back in my pocket, I then turned to Sergei.
"What would a couple of guys out here want with us?" I asked, seeing Dustin also nervous out of the corner of my eye.
"Nothing, most likely." Sergei replied. "They are bounty hunters, yes, but they know better than to mess with me. They like to loiter around, feel cool and all that."
Despite saying this, Sergei was throwing a lot more glances towards his rear view mirror. I looked at the one perched in the windshield, and caught my breath when I saw a green vehicle in the distance, descending on us quickly.
"How sure are you about that, Sergei?" I asked, still unconvinced that they weren't going straight for us.
The man mountain narrowed his icy blue eyes, sighing after a couple of seconds in silence.
"Ok you two, I want you to listen to me carefully." Sergei said, his more serious demeanor telling me that he at least considered it to be a possibility. "I'm going to open the hatch to the back of the truck. Go back there and find the thing that looks like a generator."
"Got it." I replied, moving over to Dustin's side as Sergei pulled the lever.
The middle of the bench flew forwards, the panels popping back, and I ducked my head as I entered the back of the truck. I looked back, and saw that Dustin seemed lost in his thoughts.
"Snap out of it Dustin; if we're lucky we won't have to use whatever Sergei is having us prepare." I said.
My friend seemed to snap out of whatever was keeping him still, turning and nodding. Dustin placed Trapinch in the front seat, stumbling in behind me shortly after. I could see from the gap between the ramp and the soft top of the truck that the vehicle was definitely the green truck from before, hovering quickly above the ground in our direction. Turning to the generator-like-device, it was much more like a stationary machine bank, with over a dozen wires protruding from it and running down into the chassis of the truck and out of sight. On the top of the thing were three simple red buttons.
"There are three buttons on this thing, Sergei. Which one?" I called out.
"You have to do them in sequence. Press the middle button now!" the man mountain responded.
I obliged, Dustin and I looking around as I heard several mechanical noises emanating from the sides of the truck. My eyes widened as I began to see narrow electrical channels receiving pulses of blue light, running from the front of the truck to various splits that ran into the chassis. I realized that most of this truck was made of some kind of very complicated electrical machinery.
"Left button!" Sergei said loudly from the cockpit.
Dustin swooped in to hit the button this time, causing the various cables attached to the device to let out their own pulses, all in different colors ranging from whites to magentas. These too disappeared into the bowels of the truck. The truck shook a couple of times, but Dustin and I held onto the adjacent bolted down appliances for support. Turning to look out the back of our titan again, the green truck was only about a couple hundred yards away, the two young men now visible in the front seats from where I was.
"Third button now, right?" I asked, wondering what the hell I was doing.
"Not yet, chuvak!" Sergei replied, tuning his radio. "Not until I say so!"
Seeming to finish with what he was doing, I saw Sergei reach for his radio, clicking it on.
"Drive around gospoda, we're a little slower than your tiny pickup." he said into it, seeming to be contacting the guys behind us.
The response was too filled with static and interference for me to hear from the back of the truck. I turned to Dustin tapping my ear, but he shook his head. Whatever the reply was had to have been brief, as Sergei ended the transmission shortly after.
"Ok, they're going to drive around us. Even Trudly and Folly know better than to pick a fight." Sergei said, his deep voice echoing even to the back of the truck.
Dustin made his way back towards the front. I took one last look at the green truck before turning back to return to my spot up front. However, some detail in that moment stuck in my mind, stopping me in my tracks. I turned my head around one last time, looking at the thugs driving behind us. They were close enough now to where I could clearly see them, and the one in the passenger's seat was reaching below his waist for something. I realized what I had seen in that brief moment before, and panic overtook me quickly.
"Sergei! One of them's taking out a Poke Ball!" I shouted, almost slipping to turn and run back towards the generator.
Sergei's eyes went wide, and after taking a quick glance at his rear view mirror, straightened up in his seat.
"RIGHT BUTTON NOW!" he yelled, having roused himself.
(Play Colosseum Theme 2 from XD Gale of Darkness Soundtrack [Channel Name: Official VGM])
I reacted quickly, slamming the righmost button on the console. Suddenly, the bottom of the truck emitted a noise much like an aircraft engine, the volume almost deafening. The electronic pulses running through the truck became much more frequent, and it seemed like the chassis was rocking to and fro. Meanwhile, a Pokemon had materialized next to the truck, a menacing single red eye glaring at us as it hovered over the ground alongside the thug's vehicle.
One last large shake rattled through our titan, and as we firmly regained our footing once more, the truck began to lift. We hadn't lost any of our speed, but were now floating about a foot off of the ground.
"Hold on gospoda!" Sergei shouted, putting the truck into another gear.
Some kind of booster was now on the back of the titan, because we launched forwards with a newfound speed. I got lower to the ground for stability, watching as the truck behind us was accelerating as well. Despite our increased speed, we weren't getting much further away.
The thug's Pokemon looked into the window of the green truck, the passenger inside barking orders at it. The sinister red eye of the Pokemon turned back to our truck, and the Pokemon barreled towards us. It held out its massive three-fingered hands, manifesting a black orb of energy within it.
"Shadow Ball incoming!" I called out.
"Da!" the man mountain called back. "Going offroad!"
Our truck swerved left, no longer needing the worn asphalt road. The change in movement sent me straight into the oven on my left, my shoulder taking the brunt of the impact. The Shadow Ball collided with the road, sending fragments of asphalt into the air. I caught my hands around some grips in the cast iron oven bolted to the truck, pulling myself back upright and heading towards the cockpit. My field of view was narrow, only the "window" between the upright ramp and the soft top at the back providing vision of what was going on. When I got back up there, I saw that we were now swerving around and over the many sand dunes. Sergei seemed to be cursing under his breath in another language, while Dustin was cradling Trapinch in his lap.
"So much for them not messing with you!" I yelled, my adrenaline beginning to set in as I leaned against the entryway back into the cockpit. "How did you deal with that thing last time you beat them, Sergei?"
"Not that simple this time!" Sergei shot back, taking another evasive turn to dodge a second Shadow Ball. "They're not going to play nice. If we stop and try to battle them, it won't end well!"
"Don't you have a Pokemon that can help out here?" I asked, looking back at our pursuers.
The passenger's side door on the green truck was swung open, and the thug on that side was climbing onto the back, which was similar to that of a flatbed pickup.
"Not at this speed, chuvak! My Pokemon would get left in the dust." Sergei replied, clearly straining to think of a gameplan.
"Can Golem use some of its moves from the back of the truck?" Dustin asked, jumping in his seat a bit as a plume of sand erupted to the right of our truck. It washed over the titan like a rain shower, visibility from the windshield returning a few moments later.
"We're all hand-to-hand unfortunately." Sergei replied. "And Earth Power can't be used without being on the ground!"
"What are we doing then? How are we going to stop their Pokemon?" I asked.
Sergei grimaced, not having a confident plan of attack this time. Turning to Dustin, I raised an eyebrow when I saw his eyes transfixed on Trapinch's. The Ant Pit Pokemon tilted her head at the stare.
"Wait...wait!" Dustin said, snapping his fingers.
"What?" I asked.
"Maybe it won't…" he trailed off, looking at his lap with a look of self-doubt.
I put my right hand on his shoulder, physically turning him back to face me.
"Anything helps right now, man!" I said. "Now is not the time for low self-esteem!"
A projectile connected with the left side of the truck, ripping off pieces of the soft top as it did. I steadied myself on the doorway.
"Literally anything!" I repeated.
"Ok, ok." Dustin replied. "We haven't practiced it much, but Trapinch knows a move that can help us out. But we'd need to be in direct contact with the sun, and I don't know how we'd do that…"
"Can the soft top in the back come off?" I asked, turning to Sergei.
"Not without a screwdriver and time that we do not have, chuvak!" the man mountain replied. "Only way to get to the sun now is to get up on the cockpit..."
Sergei's eyes lit up.
"Climb out your window, Dustin. I'll try and keep her steady."
"Any other ideas?" Dustin asked.
"Just shut up and roll down the window!" I replied, reaching over and pulling the hand crank on the side.
The window slowly rolled down; after what felt like an eternity, the window was completely open. The wind whipped outside loudly, particles of sand flying all over the place, displaced from whatever thrusters were keeping the titan afloat.
"Go up! I've got you!" I shouted, repositioning myself.
"Ok!" Dustin replied, scooping up Trapinch in one of his arms.
He lowered his head, holding himself close as he squeezed out the window. I held out my arms, holding onto his waist as he got further and further out.
"Taking a turn you two!" Sergei called out.
Our floating truck took a sharp right turn just in time to dodge another attack from the pursuing Pokemon, this time looking like a jagged blue bolt of ice. It collided with a nearby dune, sending an eruption of sand flying into the air. Dustin jerked to the right, his legs leaving the seat in the truck. I let out a grunt as I held firmly onto Dustin, the force of the turn sending me lurching forwards. Dustin seemed to regain his bearings, and finished climbing out the window, disappearing out of view.
I leaned out the window, seeing his legs disappear above the roof of the truck. The sound of footsteps from the roof could be heard from within the cockpit. I found myself agonizing at my friend alone on a moving vehicle, still not aware of what exactly his plan was.
"I'm going up there!" I called from out the window, flinching as another wave of sand came crashing down.
"Damn right you are!" Dustin replied, his voice reaching me through the roar of the engine.
Steeling myself for a moment, I pushed more of my body through the window, grabbing onto the top of the truck for a grip. As I swung my body to face the truck, the heat from the sun had left the metal shell hot, and I focused hard to keep my hands firmly planted. I pulled myself fully out the window, my feet resting on the open windowsill. A hand reached down to help me up, and I looked up to see Dustin giving me his free arm, Trapinch still tucked in the other. I accepted the assistance, stumbling forwards onto the roof of the titan.
Looking around, I could not see the road that we had driven on before. Our vehicle was speeding among the vast expanse of dunes and desert, the wind whipping painfully in my ears. Close by, the green truck had somehow predicted one of our turns, getting close to being side by side with us. The menacing red eyed Pokemon was still at the truck's side, glaring at Dustin and I. Like in the back of truck, I kept my stance low to maintain balance, Dustin following suit.
"Dude, you didn't tell me that the Pokemon after us was a Dusclops!" Dustin said, pointing at the Pokemon. "That thing is super tough!"
"Just get the attack ready, and we'll think of something!" I replied, spitting out sand from my mouth.
"Ok, Trapinch." Dustin said, holding the Ant Pit Pokemon at about head height. "Start getting ready."
Trapinch grew more serious, and she began to grimace.
Meanwhile, the green truck was well within view, parallel on our left side. The thug who was driving was steadily steering the truck closer to the right, their Dusclops sticking close to them while staying levitated off of the ground. I could tell that Sergei was hesitant to make any evasive moves with us on the roof, as we were staying on a straight course now.
The truck quickly got side by side with us, but the Dusclops stopped attacking. I saw the driver reach for something in his dashboard, fumbling with what looked like a radio. He wore a strange black beanie that had two round bumps, his goggles tinted red and covering his eyes. His buddy had goggles tinted blue, and orange-tipped blonde hair that resembled fire. The one on the back of the truck was busy cracking up while pointing at us.
"Settle down kid!" the thug called out, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice. "Contract says you need to be in one piece, so don't go jumping off a moving vehicle!"
I stepped forwards, putting myself between Dustin and the thugs.
"Just leave us alone. We aren't bothering anyone!" I shouted back. "If you want money, we can give you some!"
The thug cackled.
"Hear that Trudly? The squirt's gonna pay us!" the thug who I now assumed was Folly said. "Nah boys, people who hired us are packing a lot more bank than you ever could."
Man, I hope that Zook ain't behind this, I thought, still confused as to how he got bounty hunters on us so quick.
I looked behind my shoulder, seeing Trapinch beginning to glow with energy.
Gotta stall…
"Trudly may be trying to be all diplomatic in the car, but I'm running out of patience!" Folly shouted. "Grab the kid, Dusclops!"
Dusclops nodded, and lurched towards us. A rogue projectile flew from behind me, however, and nailed Dusclops right in the eye, sending it twirling back towards the truck. I caught movement from the corner of my eye, and saw that Trapinch had hopped out of Dustin's arms, taking a firm stance in front of her Trainer. Her energetic glow had increased even more since before.
Meanwhile, the Dusclops was still struggling to rub mud out of its eyes, its fists tightening in frustration.
"You son of a bitch!" Folly yelled. "You think that little Trapinch is gonna stop our Pokemon? Get real! You've got a one-way ticket to pound town!"
Time was dire, and I knew that if we didn't do something with our opportunity, that Dusclops would wipe the floor with Dustin's Pokemon. Scrambling for options, I did what came to mind. I dropped to one knee, pulling off one of my heavy boots. Folly gave me an incredulous look.
"The hell you doin-"
I didn't give him time to figure it out. Just like with Poke Balls, I was decently good at throwing things, and this was no exception. I chucked the boot hard and far to my right, knowing where the momentum would take it. The wind swept it back left, straight into the windshield of the green truck. I heard the sound of glass cracking.
"Can't see, Fol!" Trudly shouted, the truck briefly turning left and right.
I dove down to the driver's side of the roof.
"PUNCH IT!" I shouted as loud as I could.
There was no response, but our titan launched forwards, knocking me and Dustin off of our feet while getting some more distance between us and the thugs. Trapinch dug her legs in, the sound of crunching metal mixing with the roaring of the wind. Dustin and I stayed on our stomachs, struggling to get a grip on the smooth metal.
"Dustin, whatever you've gotta do, do it!"
"Are you ready Trapinch?" Dustin called out.
Trapinch locked eyes with her Trainer, now pulsating with energy, and nodded.
It hit me what Dustin had been scheming up, and I shimmied on my stomach to get shoulder to shoulder with my friend.
"Aim for the truck!" I said, pointing to the rapidly approaching vehicle.
"Hear that Trapinch?!" Dustin hollered. "Aim!"
The energy that had been causing Trapinch began to glow, focusing in an increasingly large orb of light manifesting in front of her jaw. Looking past Trapinch, I could see Folly practically leaning over the truck, his face contorted in anger.
"YOU AREN'T GETTIN' AWAY, KID!" Folly roared. "DUSCLOPS, SHADOW BALL, NO HOLDING BACK!"
Dusclops' eyes narrowed, as it strained to create a much larger dark orb between its hands.
"I won't be able to dodge this one!" Sergei shouted, seeming to concede that we would be caught.
The orb of light generated by Trapinch was getting really large, now dwarfing the small Pokemon in its sheer size.
"Almost…" Dustin said.
"What is that?" I heard Folly ask from the other truck.
Folly seemed to catch the orb of light being made by Trapinch. The thug's eyes went wide in horror.
"For Arceus' sake, HIT THAT THING DUSCLOPS!" Folly said, beginning to panic.
Dusclops fumbled with its energy creation briefly, trying to acquiesce to the new order. It was clearly too late, though. Dustin's Trapinch had created an energy ball as large as me.
"Now, Trapinch!" I yelled.
"SOLARBEAM!" Dustin commanded.
"TRA-PINCH!"
The massive orb burst, a blinding beam of light hurtling in the direction of our pursuers. I had to cover most of my vision with a free arm, but caught the fear plastered on the faces of Trudly and Folly.
"Oh shi-!"
The beam of light collided with the truck head on, a sonic boom pushing away all of the nearby sand in its radius. Scraps of metal erupted from the truck, as the entire front of the thing burst inwards and practically folded the vehicle. The sheer force of the blast stopped all of the truck's momentum, the vehicle tilting upwards and flipping into the sand. Dusclops managed to dodge the attack, but retreated back to its Trainers. As the attack subsided, Trapinch laid her head on the roof, panting heavily at the effort needed to launch the attack. Dustin let out a Woo! as we left our pursuers in the dust, the green truck quickly becoming a dot in the horizon behind us.
(End)
Just a few minutes after Trapinch defeated the pursuers, Sergei had gotten back onto the road, slowing the truck to a stop as we hovered over the asphalt.
I took a moment to catch my breath, watching Dustin climb down from the truck.
Could've been worse Hakins, I told myself. Your hands may be burnt to hell, but you're not being dragged away by bounty hunters.
Shaking my head a bit to keep myself grounded, I stood up and walked to the edge of the roof, climbing down to the step used to help passengers get into the truck. Dustin waited for me at the bottom, offering me an arm as I lowered myself to the ground, my feet hitting pavement. I landed awkwardly, grimacing as my right foot without a show pressed against the hot ground. Even then, I reveled in the feeling of solid ground, trying to counter the swaying that I began to do from the lack of motion.
"We should help Sergei get this thing back into truck mode." I said, rubbing my head with my hand.
"Yeah, sounds good." Dustin replied, putting Trapinch down. He gave her a loving pat on the head.
"We wouldn't have made it without you! Great job!" he continued. "Get some rest now. We never know when we'll need a rescue again."
"Pinch pinch!" Trapinch chirped happily, disappearing in a red flash back into her Poke Ball.
I began making my way to the back of the truck, Dustin following me after holstering Trapinch's Poke Ball.
Rounding the corner of the truck, I saw Sergei inspecting the damage caused by Dusclops, his mutterings muffled by the sound of the thrusters keeping the truck hovering. Looking down at the truck, I got a better look at the technology that kept us afloat.
The wheels of the titan were turned on their side, neon blue energy pushing at the ground in rings. At the back where I was, two of the wheels had shifted to become pushed against the back of the chassis, acting as thrusters for forward propulsion. I carefully walked around them, approaching the man mountain. He turned to look at us.
"My goodness, gospoda!" Sergei said enthusiastically, walking back towards his door. "That was some quick thinking. I didn't think your Trapinch was a mobile howitzer!"
He gave us both a pat on the shoulder.
"Alright, let's get our friend here back on its wheels."
With that, he pulled himself into the truck, disappearing under the opened doorway to the back of the truck. I climbed in, Dustin right behind me, and we ducked under the hatch, getting to work.
It was relatively quick, but we worked in total silence. Sergei had once again quieted while working, giving us a few glances to check if we were following his instructions correctly. The silence compounded when the thrusters turned off, and the truck's wheels settled back into place. After checking for any damage to the machine, Sergei lumbered back to the cockpit, Dustin and I following. The hatch was closed, and we were soon all once again in our places on the bench.
I sat expectantly, waiting to hear the engine roar to life and the truck to continue on to finish the last leg of our journey to the Oasis. When I didn't even hear the key go into the ignition, however, I looked to my left. Sergei locked eyes with me, then sighed.
"There is something we have to discuss before we continue on, gospoda." Sergei said, looking over his shoulder from the wheel. "One of you has not been entirely honest with me."
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
"Trudly and Folly would not have attacked without being paid to first." the man mountain replied. "Even they're not that reckless."
"Those guys were sent by Zook, right?" I asked, startled at the implication of what he was saying.
The man mountain shook his head, reaching into one of his pouches for a cigar.
"Zook doesn't have the money to hire bounty hunters like Trudly and Folly." he said.
He brought the flame of his lighter to the cigar. "I know what has happened here; in fact, I was told everything on the radio just before. But I am giving one of you the opportunity to tell us yourself."
The cockpit once again grew silent, smoke slowly drifting from Sergei's nostrils as he puffed his cigar expectedly. Given the lack of information, I was unsure as to whether there was some fault in this situation that I simply hadn't been aware of.
"Anything you want to share with us Dustin?" Sergei said at last, smoke exiting his mouth as he did.
I turned to my right, ready to see my friend on the defense about the accusation. Instead, I saw his gaze locked downwards, his mouth in a grimace.
"I…" Dustin began, putting his hands at his sides. "I didn't think it would be a problem."
I leaned back in surprise.
"Didn't think what would be a problem?" I asked.
Silence.
"Dustin, what are you talking about?" I said, trying to catch his gaze.
As he remained still, pieces of information began circulating in my head. Details that didn't seem important at the time, but pointed to a ludicrous conclusion…
"No...don't tell me you actually…" I shook my head. "Right when we first met up, you said that…"
He slowly nodded.
"I left without my parent's permission." he said at last. "And they clearly took it badly."
I put my head in my heads. The cockpit once again grew quiet, the sound of Sergei's burning cigar echoing through the front seat. Eventually, I returned to an upright position, my hands still near my head.
"What the hell did you think was gonna happen? No offense dude, but your parents are nuts! You know that better than I do! What the fuck were you thinking?"
Sergei had leaned back against the driver's side door, opting to remain quiet. Dustin sighed, his sea blue eyes finally looking up at me.
"Right after you called me...the night before you left for Gateon, I went and told my parents about your plans. They didn't even give me a chance to explain the circumstances; they said no right off the bat. Said they would never let their child go deeper into the mainland."
Dustin took a deep breath, his voice becoming more pitched.
"This was my only real chance to go on a journey. I didn't think that I would get a chance like this again. So I swallowed my anger, and pretended to agree with them completely. When they finally went to sleep, I packed my things, and left first thing in the morning. That day a boat had docked, so there was enough chaos to keep my parents occupied with work. I'm sorry."
I wanted to be in absolute disbelief of this revelation, but I could acknowledge that the hints were there throughout. Had it not been for the Zook encounter, I was certain that I would have pressed the issue more. I wanted to be more upset too, but I knew how long Dustin had wanted to get away from his parents for.
"Look, I get it Dustin; I really do. I know I'm lucky to have parents who trusted me." I began. "But where do we go from here? We may have gotten away this time, but can we say the same for the next? 'Cause I doubt your parents will just sit on their laurels after one failed attempt to get you back."
"I don't know, Hakins." Dustin replied, rising from his slouch to sit up straight. "But there are two things I know for sure right now. One: I don't want to go back home. Two: Salvator and the Professor need us to establish contact with the Oasis or whatever."
"He's right. We are too far along to turn back now." Sergei chimed in, tossing his cigar out the window. "But if you're hiding any other...eh...unpleasant surprises, you'd better share them now. Just because we are close does not mean that I won't throw you out of this truck myself if you lie again."
Dustin shook his head.
"No more secrets. Promise. And I'll do whatever I can to make sure that I pull my weight." he replied, eyes sparkling with determination.
I chuckled, giving my friend a pat on the shoulder.
"I think you and Trapinch made that abundantly clear today." I said, pointing to dents in the roof above me, suspiciously akin to Trapinch's feet.
Sergei turned the key into the ignition, the roar of the truck being quickly followed by a blast of air from the AC.
"Alright. We burned a bit of fuel in that exchange, but other mechanisms look alright otherwise." Sergei said. "It's going to take more than a Shadow Ball to bring this beast down."
I settled into my seat, beginning to comb through my hair with my hands. Sand rained down from it like light snowfall. As my eyes focus in on the particles of sand, their weight suddenly became clear. A steady ache began creeping up my body, starting from my legs and resting uncomfortably at my shoulders.
"Get some shut eye, Hakins." Sergei said to my left, his attention not needing to be focused on me to detect my discomfort. "We're just over an hour out from the Traveller's Oasis. We'll wake you up when we get there."
It wasn't until the man mountain had pointed it out that I realized just how exhausted I was. I prepared a response to assure Sergei that I was okay, but I felt the weight of my eyelids quickly making a downwards descent.
So I just nodded, drifting off quickly as my shoulders relaxed for the first time in hours...
I am working on the next chapter as I post this one. If you have any suggestions or want to see a particular Pokemon show up in this story, please let me know via PM. Stay safe, and have a good evening!