The Chaos Spreads, Chapter 78
The sign for the condominiums stared back at me. Not too long ago, the possibility of staying there until that dark cloud appeared was my short term goal. Now, I was rushing to see it stopped entirely. All of this wasn't news to me, but I felt it sink in deep as I stood in front of the sign. Giovanni had tried several plans to take power, each of them foiled in some way; I just happened to be nearby for each of them. This time, however, I'd take the fight right to him.
"Come on, girl," I told Vulpix, now that we'd recovered our strength a bit. "Let's hurry to the Pokemon Center."
And what a surprised awaited me inside the center. I turned in my Pokemon for a quick refresher, and took notice of someone sitting in the lobby. Her hair hair tied up to almost resemble rabbit ears, still clad in the simplistic white gown. After handing over my Pokemon to the local nurse, I ran over to make sure.
"Jasmine? Is that you?" The girl put down her book, and I confirmed her identity.
"Why, hello Star! I never thought I'd run into you out here."
"I could say the same! I stopped by the gym in Olivine City, but they told me you went away for a while." I took a seat next to her. She seemed a lot more open now, considering how quiet and reserved she was back when we first met.
"Lance let me take some time off, and closed the gym. I honestly didn't mind continuing my duties there, but a vacation couldn't hurt. How about you? What brings you up here to Sinnoh?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I replied. Naturally this sparked her interest, so I ended up giving her the short version. More importantly, once she had taken it all in, she seemed determined to help out in any way she could.
"As a gym leader, I can't just sit around and do nothing," she said, with a fierceness in her voice almost out of character.
"If you want, you can come with me! I'm on my way to Mt Coronet, so we can team up against Team Rocket!"
"Right, we'll leave as soon as your Pokemon are healed up!" I was beginning to feel confused.
"Are you the same Jasmine I met before? You seem so different, now," I told her. After that, it looked like her her awkwardness kicked into gear, and she sat back down. That was more of the Jasmine I knew.
"Sorry, I can get a bit carried away," she replied in a whisper.
"It's okay. We'll leave tomorrow, first thing in the morning. Truth is, I'm tired, and I could sure use a good, long rest." Though a couch wasn't exactly the sort of bed I was looking forward to. Fortunately, Jasmine had me covered.
"I have a room in the Jubilife Condominiums," she added. "There's a spare bedroom, if you'd like. I rented out the place for a month while I traveled here."
"You know something? I was actually looking forward to getting a place there, myself." I said with a smile. It was as if everything went my way, in the end.
~o~
The next morning, we got up a while before sunrise. In order to make good time, we'd eat out instead of in, and take off from there. Before that, I also told Jasmine about stopping by the local bike shop, to make use of Professor Oak's gift. Not to mention that bike would come in handy soon enough. So after we finished breakfast, Jasmine led the way to the shop, being familiar with all of Jubilife after having lived in the city for a few days.
"Why were you in the Pokemon Center last night?" I asked her along the way.
"I visit there almost every night," she replied with a cheerful smile. "Gets a bit lonely in the condo on my own. I usually hung out with Amphy at the lighthouse back home, since I didn't have many friends."
"How is Amphy doing? I didn't get a chance to pay him a visit when I was in Olivine a couple weeks ago."
"I haven't seen him in a few weeks myself, but I'm sure he's doing just fine. Here we are!"
The bike shop was simple in appearance. Come to think of it, it was almost identical to the one in Vermillion City! Of course the odds of running into that same guy from all that time ago was were low, so I went in without a second thought. The store clerk was excited to see a pair of customers, as was typical.
"Welcome to the Jubilife Cycle Shop! Can I help you two young ladies with anything?"
"I'd like to buy a bike, please. Anything you have that's cheap and fast!" Wasn't exactly the most graceful way of going about it, but we needed to be on our way. The clerk got right to work with his presentations of various models.
"Well, this here is our latest model: the Acro Bike! It's got various speed settings, allowing you to-"
"Listen, I'm sorry," I said, cutting him off, "but I really need to get going. Do you have anything like a folding bike?"
"Oh, you want one of those, eh?" His enthusiasm seemed to go out the window. Slowly, he dragged his feet to a corner of the store, where there were various colors to choose from. A yellow one that looked identical to mine was amongst them.
"These are our best sellers," he said sadly. "For as low as ¥9999, you can own of these revolutionary bikes."
"I'll take the yellow one! Jasmine?"
"The red one, please." The clerk sighed, releasing the two bikes from their lock and chain in the corner. I didn't seem to understand why he was so down about two sales this early in the morning.
"Excuse me, but why didn't you want to sell these?" I asked, curiosity too great to let it pass.
"Ever since that model hit the market, no one buys anything but those. The store gets business with them, sure, but they don't help us out. Heard some guy in Viridian City or something like that in Kanto invented them."
"Vermillion City," I corrected him, remembering the salesperson from that time.
"Yeah, whatever. Now he's filthy rich after only a few months because every trainer wants one, and they're amazingly cheap compared to other models. I don't know how that guy did it." I had something of a clue, to be sure.
We each paid for our own bikes, Oak's money just barely covering the expense. Once that was over, we left the shop and prepared to move on to Oreburgh City. That's when we heard and saw several police cars rushing towards the center of the city.
"What's going on?" I wondered aloud.
"They're heading to the Jubilife TV station," Jasmine said with a look of worry on her face.
"We should get going," I said, mounting my bike. Just then, another couple police cars zoomed towards the scene, which I admit was tempting me to chase after them to see what was going on.
"Star, shouldn't we go see what's happening? What if Team Rocket is involved in some way?" I sighed, almost laughing at Jasmine's suggestion. She was just the push I needed to answer the call to arms.
"Let's go. They might try something like they did back in Saffron City a few months ago."
~o~
Sure enough, there was a huge crowd gathered around the TV station, along with all those police cars barricading the entrance. People in the crowd were spreading rumors of what was going on inside the station, but the most prevalent one was of Team Rocket taking over the station. Of course, the crowd didn't have to wait too long before the gigantic TV on the front of the building switched on. On it was a man in the typical Team Rocket uniform, ready to deliver a message to everyone.
"People of Jubilife City," he started, his voice echoing throughout the plaza, "let this be a warning to anyone who tries to enter the building to rescue our hostages! If you try anything, they will be killed!"
The crowd erupted into a frenzy, fearful of the grunt's threat. If the police in the area didn't calm them down, things would only get worse from here.
"Our demands are simple: We want ¥10,000,000 delivered to us before the end of the day, or things get ugly! This money will allow our leader Giovanni to finally return from his hiding, and retake control of Team Rocket. Then, the world!" The grunt's cackle was the last thing to be sent out over the screen before it went black.
"This isn't good," I said.
"Do you think the police will do something to help those people? Actually, do you think Team Rocket will really hurt them?"
"I've seen Giovanni himself do some really nasty things," I told Jasmine, "but his grunts? Something's wrong here. The grunts at the lake knew Giovanni was back, they were even working under direct orders..."
"It's a distraction," Jasmine added.
"So maybe they're bluffing about killing anyone?"
"Maybe, but the police probably won't do anything until they're given the all clear. But why would Team Rocket want money if they're on their way to Mt Coronet for another reason?"
"Another distraction," I added. "They just want the police focused on them here, while Giovanni prepares at Mt Coronet."
"Then it's safe to say they have people making these kinds of stunts in other cities around Sinnoh, maybe even Kanto and Johto." I was starting to see where Jasmine was going with this.
"Should we try to help here? Or head for Mt Coronet? There's not much we can do here, then. Right?"
"I'm sorry, Star, but I can't just leave. I'll see what I can do to help the police here, since I am a gym leader, maybe I can do something. You should go on without me to Mt Coronet."
"What? If you're staying, I'll stay and help too!"
"Don't worry about me, Star. Or those hostages. I'll make sure they make it out safely, trust me. You need to hurry and stop Giovanni." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What could Jasmine possibly hope to accomplish other than...
"You're going to make yourself a hostage, aren't you?"
"Yes. If they release the others, I'll let myself be taken. My being a captive will garner the attention of the League, and they'll mobilize quicker. Trust me, Star; I know what I'm doing."
Jasmine's eyes showed a fierce determination I hadn't seen in some time. In my travels of late, I've always moved forward with nothing but lofty goals in front of me. Her resolve in this matter was like a beacon in the darkness, and I knew what I had to do. I got back on my bike, ready to depart for Oreburgh City.
"Be careful, Jasmine. Okay?" She gave me a warm smile.
"I'll be fine. You're the one who should be careful! Don't underestimate Giovanni; you don't know what he's capable of."
"I think I have some idea," I said, remembering only some of the tragedies he was responsible for.
"Well, go on! I'll have the police send a message to the League before I go in. Hurry!"
Nodding, I sped off on my bike, Vulpix still in the front basket. To think, I came all this way to run into Jasmine again, only to have her throw herself into this mess. As I felt my mind start blaming myself for all this, I mentally slapped myself.
"I didn't cause any of this. It was Giovanni. And even if I hadn't met up with Jasmine, I'm sure she would've done the same thing." Vulpix barked, agreeing with my vocal thoughts. I gave her a smile, and sped up even more. If I could make it to Oreburgh City before the end of the day, I'd be that much closer to Mt Coronet.
~o~
"Stop right there, kid!" A pair of Team Rocket grunts stood near the entrance to Oreburgh City, patrolling to make sure so one interfered at this point. I knew that whatever Giovanni was up to, he was getting close to completion. I had to get past these grunts.
"I'm just trying to get to Oreburgh City," I pleaded, hoping if I played the innocence card they'd let me pass.
"Sorry, but this road is off limits until further notice. Turn around and go back the way you came." The grunt took hold of one of the Pokeballs on his belt, and I knew they weren't going to budge. I got off my bike, and placed it aside. Vulpix stood in front of me, and the two grunts took it as a sign of hostility.
"Stubborn brat! Now you'll get what's coming to you!" The grunt released his Pokemon, a large purple creature that hovered in the air. The second grunt, whom had remained silent this entire time, released his own Pokemon, one resembling Vaporeon, but a pitch black color; an Umbreon. I took out my Pokedex to scan the flying one quickly.
"Gliscor, the Fang Scorp Pokemon. It observes prey while hanging inverted from branches. When the chance presents itself, it swoops!"
"Gliscor, use Thunder Fang!"
"Umbreon, Faint Attack!" Right off the bat they were out to finish me. I needed some backup for Vulpix.
"Vulpix, hold them off with Flamethrower!"
As Vulpix held her ground and kept the aerial Pokemon at bay, I released Vaporeon to back her up. Umbreon reappeared, knocking Vulpix back, but leaving himself open to a counterattack from Vaporeon.
"Aurora Beam, Vaporeon!"
The distance was sufficiently close, making it an instant attack that sent the much weaker Umbreon flying back. As it tried to get up, he was returned by the owner, looking to replace him for the fight.
"Gliscor, Thunder Fang!"
The purple Pokemon swooped in from up on high, latching onto Vaporeon and delivering a jolt of powerful electricity directly through the fangs.
"Vulpix, jump on top of Gliscor and blast him with Flamethrower!"
Recovering quickly, Vulpix used me as footing to fly across the field onto Gliscor's back, just as the Pokemon took off into the air again. Vulpix gripped onto the aerial Pokemon with her claws, and breathed down hard on Gliscor's back. The Pokemon wasn't able to stay in the air for long, as the flames scorched his back.
"Houndoom, Crunch!"
Having almost forgotten the other grunt, I looked to his newly released Pokemon, a large doglike critter ready to attack Vulpix once Gliscor crashed into the ground. I had to act quickly.
"Vaporeon, Water Gun!"
Vaporeon had taken quite a bit of damage, so he was having trouble getting up to follow my order. Vulpix knew Houndoom awaited her on the ground, so she prepared to fight off the larger Pokemon as best she could. And try as Vaporeon might, he couldn't seem to get up to keep fighting. I had to switch tactics.
"Vaporeon, try and recover your strength! Vulpix, Will-O-Wisp!"
Gliscor finally crashed into the ground, and instantly Houndoom leapt towards Vulpix. Prepared, Vulpix released the purple flames, covering Houndoom all over in burns and scorch marks. That did little to impede the Pokemon, though, and he clamped down hard on Vulpix's body. I watched in horror as she yelped in pain as Houndoom's jaws sank deep into her body. Vaporeon also took notice, and worked up newfound strength to help out his comrade.
His entire body flashing momentarily, Vaporeon unleashed a deluge upon Houndoom, sending the Pokemon slamming against a tree and pinning him there. The force of Vaporeon's Pokemon Power, the Hydro Pump, even caused the tree itself to snap in two, crushing Houndoom underneath the fallen tree. Both of the grunts were left shocked at this display of power, but hesitantly reached for new Pokemon to continue the battle. With Vulpix badly injured, perhaps even in grave danger, and Vaporeon now collapsed from exhaustion, they thought they had me beat.
I released two new Pokemon, Milotic and Haunter, just before they released their own critters. Upon seeing their injured friends, both Pokemon slowly approached the grunts, the look of fear now clearly displayed on their faces. Instead of continuing the battle, the grunts called back their Pokemon, and took off in the direction of the forest, away from Oreburgh City. My act of intimidation had worked, so I called back Milotic and Vaporeon, but left Haunter out for surveillance. I scooped up Vulpix, and had to calm myself down immediately afterward.
There was a red substance all over my hands and Vulpix, a red substance I knew so very little about. It stuck to my dress, ruining it permanently. Vulpix was having trouble breathing, and I knew there wasn't much time. Oreburgh wasn't far, no more than a few minutes if I ran as fast as I could. Though my bike was just behind me, I couldn't let Vulpix go.
"Haunter, bring my bike here, quick!"
The ghost Pokemon wasted no time in bringing my bike, which he held steady as I climbed aboard with Vulpix in my arms. This was a difficult thing to accomplish, let me tell you, but thanks to his help I climbed aboard and put my feet on the pedals. I didn't even have to explain what I needed him to do beyond that point. I started pedaling, while Haunter held the bike steady. We sped down the road to Oreburgh, the entire time praying that Vulpix held on long enough.
I was so worried about her, that I didn't even notice that evening when the dark cloud appeared over Mt Coronet. Giovanni had succeeded in whatever he was planning.