Birds and Ruins, Chapter 26

Morning came, and with it the shadow of a gym battle. If what Rebecca told me still proved true, the leader would be using flying Pokemon, a type I really had little advantage over with my Pokemon. Still, I held my head high as I marched towards the gym that morning, confident in my ability to win a badge. If I had beaten masters of psychic or fire Pokemon, I couldn't see how a flying type master would be any tougher.

Rebecca was waiting for me outside the gym, a Victreebel leaning against her. Before I got any closer, Vulpix begged me to carry her, so I did, believing she was just afraid of the large plant Pokemon.

"Is that your Weepinbell?" I reached out and stroked the large plant's side. It was surprisingly smooth and soft.

"Yeah, he finally evolved. He likes taking in the morning sun, so I let him roam around outside while I'm at the Sprout Tower. So, you ready?"

"Much as I'll ever be, let's go!"

Unlike the gyms of Kanto, I'd later learn that all the gyms in Johto shared a similar building structure. Though much like Kanto, the insides of these buildings took on the themes of their respective leaders. Since flying Pokemon was the theme in Violet, the gym here was... empty!

I looked around, seeing only a small platform with the Pokeball logo of the League on it. I walked over to it, but didn't step on it just yet. The area ahead had a large shadow of a Pokeball, which drew my gave upwards. About twenty or so feet in the air, there was an arena, hanging off the rafters of the gym itself.

"Well, certainly wasn't like this the last time I was here," said Rebecca, shielding her eyes from the sunlight coming through the open roof.

"Then I guess this platform is an elevator. Let's hop on together."

I grabbed her hand, and we both jumped onto the brown mark on the floor. It shook, then shot us up into the air at blazing speeds. It only took a few seconds to reach the top, but by then we were both on our butts from the sudden rise. After getting back on our feet, we looked across to see the gym leader standing on the other end of the arena, or what was left of it. Rather than a solid fighting space, only the outline of the Pokeball symbol was stable ground. The arena was designed for flying types.

"Welcome to the Violet Gym. Have both of you come to challenge me for the Zephyrbadge?" The leader was a teenager, roughly fifteen or so. He spoke in an overly deep voice, like he was trying too hard to sound older than he really was.

"My name is Star," I said, stepping forward slightly. "I'm the one who's here to challenge you."

"I am Falkner. The rules are: two Pokemon versus two. If your Pokemon falls through the arena below, they are automatically disqualified."

"That seems a bit unfair to the challenger," I said, momentarily forgetting my place.

"I don't have time to bend to every challenger that walks through my gym," Falkner snapped, catching me off guard. "If you don't like my rules in my gym, then run on home."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it." I apologized. I had almost forgotten that gym leaders did have every right to remove the trainer's card.

"Select your Pokemon, or leave my gym." Falkner said, crossing his arms. Every mention of the word 'my' seemed to be emphasized, I noticed. Guess he really took his position and the gym seriously. And that meant I had to watch my mouth around him.

I took another look at the supposed 'arena'. There was hardly enough floor to walk on safely enough for Vulpix, let alone Lapras, whose Ice Beam could've made the fight easier. I reached for Farfetch'd's Pokeball, as flying versus flying was the best choice here. I released my Pokemon, and Falkner threw his first Pokeball out, releasing a Fearow.

I hadn't noticed it before, but there was a large bell hanging from the center of the of the Pokeball catwalk. With a single push, the large bronze bell let out a loud gong, and the battle had begun.

"Fearow, Drill Peck!"

"Farfetch'd, Fury Attack!"

Both birds took to the air, with Farfetch'd carrying his leek in his talons this time. Fearow was a much larger critter, so it had an easier time closing in on Farfetch'd, its pointy beak flying straight for my Pokemon. Farfetch'd spread open its legs as much as it could, evading Fearow's attack by trapping the other bird's head between his legs and the leek underneath. Farfetch'd then got straight to work pecking like mad on Fearow's neck.

"Fearow, Pluck!"

"Farfetch'd, another Fury Attack!"

With Fearow still trapped between his legs, Farfetch'd had little trouble pounding away at the large bird's neck. Finally, Fearow broke free, diving his neck in for a swift strike not at Farfetch'd, but his leek. The larger bird snatched the item right out of his talons, snapping it in two. Farfetch'd was left stunned at the sight.

"Fearow, finish him off with Drill Peck!"

"Farfetch'd, Agility!"

Farfetch'd didn't listen to my order, though, instead letting out several angry quacks before bum rushing his opponent. Fearow's Drill Peck managed to strike him directly, but Farfetch'd shrugged off the attack, glowing a bright blue as it rammed right into Fearow. Confused, I pulled out my Pokedex to see just what Farfetch'd was doing. The move came up on the screen as 'Brave Bird', one of the greatest flying type abilities in the world.

After the attack, Fearow fell onto the Pokeball catwalk, unable to move anymore. Falkner recalled his Pokemon, preparing his next. At that instant, Farfetch'd returned to my side, visibly battered up and tired, not to mention down on his spirits after losing his leek. Since there was no way he could continue, I put him back in his Pokeball. Falkner released his final Pokemon, a Pidgeotto. I matched him with Dratini.

"Pidgeotto, Quick Attack!"

"Dratini, wrap yourself around the walkway!"

The bird disappeared, but gave Dratini enough chance to coil around the thin ground underneath. Pidgeotto came in strong, hurting Dratini pretty badly for a first attack.

"Pidgeotto, Quick Attack again!"

"Dratini, Dragon Rage!"

The small serpent spat out a wave of blue and green flames, but the attack missed as Pidgeotto once again vanished from sight. It came up right behind Dratini, striking hard and loosening her grip further. If Falkner kept up the strategy, Dratini wouldn't make it.

"One more time!" He called out, confirming my fears.

"Dratini, hold on!"

She looked at me like I was crazy, only to catch as the bird disappeared again. She braced herself for the pain she was about receive. Just before Pidgeotto swooped in, I called my attack.

"Dratini, Thunder Wave now!"

The nub on her head began to glow, and she let the attack go off just as Pidgeotto reappeared in front of her. The electric waves struck head on, paralyzing Pidgeotto right in front of her. The bird was trying desperately to flap its wings to stay above the arena.

"Dratini, Slam now!"

Loosening her grip on the ground, Dratini swung her tail around the side, slamming directly into the paralyzed bird, and sending it crashing down towards the first floor of the gym. Pidgeotto managed to recover just in time to avoid the crash, but it didn't matter. According to Falkner's own rules, his bird Pokemon had been disqualified. And that knowledge made him visibly angry, even from my end of the arena.

~o~

"You've earned yourself the Zephybadge, Star," said Falkner, handing me the small trinket. It was shaped the wings of a bird, a fitting design. Falkner's tone was clearly annoyed, and I wondered just how much trouble he was going through to keep a lid on his rage. He had just lost to a trainer with a weaker flying Pokemon, and on an arena that was designed to hinder every other type.

"Thanks, that was a great battle. You sure know how to, uh," I stuttered, not sure how to compliment him without outright pointing at the arena above and call it a cheat. After a moment of silence, Falkner spoke up.

"I sure know how to what?"

"Oh nothing, slipped my mind. Anyway, thank you for the badge, and I'll be seeing you!"

I picked up Vulpix and grabbed onto Rebecca's arm, dragging her out of the gym, and never looking back on Falkner. Once outside, I wiped the few droplets of sweat that had formed on the spot. Rebecca chuckled, giving me a pat on the back.

"Couldn't come up with some lie about the fairness of the battle, huh?"

"Usually I can," I sighed. "But he just made it next to impossible to win. Can gym leaders do that?"

"I read they can do that, and a lot more. Their only true restrictions are in the Pokemon they use, and staying away from banned moves. Even then, I've heard they can go for months, even years without being investigated by the Pokemon League." Falkner was one example, but my thoughts turned to Giovanni in Viridian City. He didn't even care about killing other Pokemon right in his own gym.

"I don't get why trainers put up with the gym leaders, then."

"Not all of them are like Falkner, Star. He's probably just acting all tough because he has some pretty big shoes to fill. His father was a much better trainer."

"I could name a few that act like him," I said, though as I thought back on the names I wanted to say, not a one of them save Giovanni ever manipulated the arena to their advantage. Sabrina and Surge were pretty brutal fights, but they never made it hard for the trainer. They just flat out beat the crap out of them. Thankfully, Blaine's arena was completely solid, if a little wobbly.

"Why are you complaining? You're taking the challenge because you want to. If it's too much-" I quickly cut her off.

"No! Forget I said anything." I turned on my Pokegear, researching the map for my next destination. Just a short ways north, through a thicket was Ecruteak City, further west Goldenrod City, and far to the south was Azalea Town. Each of them had a gym to visit, so it was really just a matter of pick-and-choose. Azalea Town was the farthest away, but it was home to Kurt, the guy who could make Pokeballs, according to the man I met on Route 30. Seemed like a good place to start.

"So, where are you headed now? Ecruteak City?" Rebecca asked,

"Azalea Town. I heard there's someone there who can make Pokeballs out of apricorns. Plus, there's a gym down there, as well." I turned off the little device, and looked at Rebecca. "You wanna come with me?"

"Sorry, I'll pass. If you head to Ecruteak, maybe I'll go with you, though. It's been a long time since I've visited."

"Well, how about after I visit Azalea and Goldenrod?" I turned on my Pokegear again, making sure the plan was solid. "Look, I have to take Route 32 all the way to Azalea. I can visit there, come up Route 34 to Goldenrod, and then make another stop by here!"

"You sure? You don't have to go out of your way just so we can go together, you know."

"It won't be a problem! I'll be back as soon as I can, so just see about getting ready quickly when I return. That's if you want to come with me, of course." Rebecca put her hand on her chin, thinking about the proposition for a moment.

"Well, alright! I'll tell Elder Li today and get started on my chores in the tower. If I get everything done before you return, we can go together!"

"Then it's a deal. I'll see you when I get back from Goldenrod City, Rebecca."

~o~

When I stopped traveling with David, I was under the belief that a Pokemon journey had to be a solo affair. And this was still true, but I wasn't on a journey for badges or rewards now, just traveling the countryside. Though this was still something I wanted to do on my own, having Rebecca accompany me for a small part of the trip wouldn't be too bad. Plus, Rebecca was a girl, unlike the slightly snobby David. She'd be much easier to talk to.

I was starting to see a pattern with the roads of Johto. Kanto's roads were also pretty rural, but at least there were beaten paths to follow for the most part. Here, every route seemed less and less traveled, which meant more grassy patches for wild Pokemon to hide out in. I met a few new kinds of Pokemon out here, though, like the soft and cuddly Mareep, or the morning bug Ledyba. I also started to notice a new desire burning up inside me: the urge to capture more and more cuddly critters. As I resisted the urge to order Vulpix to attack the third Mareep on the road, I couldn't seem to remember a suitable reason for having captured Hoppip the other day.

In the end, I didn't capture anymore Pokemon, partly because I was all out of Pokeballs to use, save for that unique purple one I had 'acquired' back on the Seafoam Islands from Team Rocket. Struck me as strange that I had gone through the motion of moving it from my old bag to my new one, and didn't remember to ask Professor Oak about it. Either way, I wasn't about to use such a rare item on a common Mareep. Another reason that kept me from running back to Violet's market, was a small road leading west from Route 32.

The Pokegear's map said there was a place called the Ruins of Alph just beyond the small road, but said there wasn't much there to see. Being the curious cat I was, though, I turned right and followed the dirt path through a canyon. Beyond the last rock wall, I walked into the center of a small city, or what was left of one, anyway. Several worn down buildings, all of them missing roofs and a few missing walls lined the sides of the road. The only thing that seemed out of place there was a small hut in the corner, a place for the scientists studying the ruins to rest. Before wandering into the ruins proper, I let myself into the hut.

Inside, I saw a few people dressed in safari outfits, all of them circling a blackboard with an ugly picture on it. I walked up behind them, taking a look at the picture crudely drawn on there. It resembled a Kabuto, an ancient Pokemon that was now extinct. I stood there amongst them, finding it harder with every passing second not to laugh. Either every scientist in the world was deaf and blind to the world outside their focus, or I had a magical gift for sneaking around them. When a giggle finally managed to escape me, all three of them jumped back once they saw I was there.

"How'd you get in here?" One of them asked, after the initial shock had died down.

"The door's unlocked," I said, pointing at the door behind me. "There wasn't any sign that said 'Do Not Enter', so I just stopped by."

"I'll have no lip from a lass, thank you. Why are you here?" The head scientist was older than the other two, naturally, and pretty agitated with me.

"I'm a Pokemon trainer," I said, offering my hand to him. "My name is Star."

"Charles," he said, shaking my hand, "and these are my assistants, Benjamin and Rupert. You still haven't answered my question, young lady."

"I just wandered into the ruins, and came in here to say hello. That picture, by the way," I said, pointing to the blackboard, "isn't very good."

"Very good? You don't even have the slightest clue what it is!"

"Actually, I do. It looks a lot like a Kabuto, but some of the parts are drawn wrong." The three men turned towards the picture, trying to see this mystery Pokemon hidden in the lines.

"Kabuto, you say? I don't see it!" Charles traced the picture's edge from top to bottom.

"Because you have it on its side." I pointed to a large white dot on the left side of the picture. "See that? That's one of its eyes."

"Charles, I think she's right! No wonder we haven't had any luck! We've been viewing the picture from the wrong angle!" Rupert ran over to a desk on the other side of the hut, scrambling for his notepad.

"You're welcome," I told them, a smile on my face.

"Star, was it? You're telling me you could piece this picture together the correct way?"

"Well, I can't really draw, but I could try."

"Not draw, lass! It's a puzzle! We've been trying to piece it together for a few weeks now, but with no success. We assumed the pieces already placed on the board belonged there, so of course it never seemed to work!"

"If you need help, I'm free." I offered. After all, I was in no particular rush to get to Azalea Town today.

"Then come with me. Rupert, Benjamin, grab your gear and double time it to the site!"

Charles tore the picture from the blackboard, rolling it up into a tube and running out the door. I picked up Vulpix and followed after him, the other two scientists close behind. Charles went into one of the more intact buildings at the site, showing me the puzzle they were talking about on a large stone tablet. Scattered around the floor were half a dozen spare pieces, with the majority of them already nearly lodged into slots on the tablet. They were clearly in the wrong spots.

"Well, can you fix it?" Charles asked me.

"I think so," I said, picking up a piece from the ground. "Why haven't you guys tried it?"

"Like I said, we thought the pieces already on the tablet belonged there. What's more, it would take some time to find a picture of this Kabuto Pokemon, now. If you know what it looks like, please help us out!"

I shrugged my shoulders, getting right to work on the puzzle. It was pretty strange how something as simple and childish as a jigsaw puzzle would baffle grown-ups like this. What if I had never come this way? How long would it have taken them to figure this out on their own? Well, skipping over the few minutes that I consumed piecing the puzzle together, I was finally down to the last piece.

"My word!" Exclaimed Charles, seeing the near-finished result. "To think the answer was so simple!"

"This is the last piece," I said, taking a deep breath before I slipped into the slot. Once I did, we all felt the floor rumble slightly. Right after, the ground right in front of the tablet fell through, taking me and Vulpix with it. Fortunately, the fall wasn't far, and I managed to land on my legs just right to avoid breaking them on the way down. If I were a fox like Vulpix, I could've landed perfectly.

"Star! Are you alright, lass?" Charles called out from above. I could see their silhouettes, but not their faces.

"Yeah, I'm okay!" I took a look around. This wasn't just some cave underground, but another part of the ruins themselves. The walls were covered in strange markings, resembling letters just closely enough to make out words. I couldn't see enough to actually read anything, though.

"What's down there?" Charles asked.

"More ruins! You should come down here and see!"

"We'll be down as soon as we can! We'll need to get some rope!"

The chamber was actually a hallway, and it was pitch black beyond the small bit of light I was standing in. Still, waiting for Charles and his assistants to pull me out was no fun, so I told Vulpix to follow me into the darkness. With my arms outstretched, I felt around in the dark until I came to the wall. Feeling my way across, I eventually came upon something sticking out from the wall. I reached over to it, feeling it was made of wood, a torch. I yanked it off the wall, and ran back towards the light.

"Light this, Vulpix." She opened her mouth and breathed a small flame on the end of the torch, setting it ablaze.

With a light source in my hands, I boldly marched down the hallway. I expected there to be some kind of Pokemon living down there, as was the norm. Didn't matter if the place had been sealed shut for centuries, somehow they always got in. Well, I was both proven wrong and right at the same time that day. Out from the darkness came a floating letter, or at least it looked like a letter. Either way, it had a huge eyeball in the center, which just creeped me out and sent me running and screaming in the opposite direction.

I didn't know if Vulpix followed me or stayed behind to fight the monster, all I knew was that within seconds I was back at the spot where the sunlight poured down on me. I turned around, looking into the darkness, trying to see if that thing was chasing me. Vulpix wasn't at my feet for a moment, and she finally came out of the darkness to join me. I grabbed her and held her close, ready to order her to attack if it showed up again.

"Star? Something happen?" Charles called out from up top.

"There's something down here with a large eyeball!" I said, screaming up to Charles. He had the rope in his hands, and threw it down to me. I picked up the rope with one hand, and took another look into the darkness. That floating eyeball was just hovering right in front of my eyes. The last thing I remember was hearing Vulpix bark at it, and then I just passed out completely.

~o~

I woke up inside the hut, roughly a few hours later. Vulpix was sitting on a chair by the cot where I was lying down, and she instantly jumped on me once she saw I was awake. The last time I passed out like that was back in Kanto, when I met Bill for the first time. That time it was more of a shock, while this time was pretty much the ultimate jump scare. I got off the cot and walked outside the hut. It was getting dark out, but that's not what caught my attention. Floating all around us were those strange letters with eyeballs. Together they were chanting something, but it was in some strange language I didn't understand.

"Star! You're finally awake! You're alright, I hope?" Charles ran over to my side, but he was so taken back by the sight in the skies I don't think he was paying much attention to anything I was saying.

"What are they?" I asked, just as amazed by the sight as he was.

"Pokemon! At least, we think they're Pokemon. After you passed out down there, they just started flowing out of the passage you were in. They just float around up there, singing that strange song."

Remembering my Pokedex, I reached into my bag and pulled it out. I aimed at the sky, hoping I was close enough to scan one of them.

"Unown, the Symbol Pokemon. Their shapes look like hieroglyphs on ancient tablets. It is said that the two are somehow related."

"Then they are Pokemon! What a discovery! I've already sent Benjamin and Rupert back to Goldenrod City to find more help. Thanks to you, Star, we may have unearthed a huge part of Pokemon history!"

"I was happy to help, Charles," I said, giving the man a smile. "Can I ask you for one favor?"

"Anything! Name it!"

"Can I stay in the hut tonight? I'd rather not camp out on the road to Azalea Town tonight."

"That all? Of course! Just take the cot you woke up in, I doubt I'll be sleeping tonight!"

I left Charles outside, watching for a while as he followed the strange Pokemon around, studying them in close detail. Though I was just as intrigued at this strange new critter, I honestly didn't find them intriguing enough to warrant anymore of my attention. I was sure Charles would right detailed articles on all his discoveries. When I grew up, I'm sure they'd be recommended reading for adults.