It's been a while since I wrote. Feels good to continue this story.
Chapter 33: Climbing Mount Shelf
What are the odds of that? Those were my thoughts as I saw a bunch of firemen try to put out the fire that had engulfed the arcade. Just when we were planning on using it, it caught fire. Did I do something bad? Is this karma?
Ember, Ziggy, Rocky and I thought we had a brilliant solution to train Ziggy for the upcoming contest which involved using the dancing game at the arcade. Our spirits were up as we approached our destination. Then, just as we were caught sight of the building, lightning struck a car that was parked next to the building.
Apparently it had enough fuel to cause an explosion, either that or someone with mob connections called a hit on the one who owned the car and had a bomb placed in his vehicle, which was prematurely detonated due to electricity. It was probably the latter, since the explosion was big enough to cause the explosion to launch the car ten feet into the air.
Anyways, the explosion hit the arcade too and caused it to catch fire. This was all a perfectly good explanation except for the fact that there was not a single cloud in the sky.
Where the hell does lightning come from in those conditions?
"Hey, guys!" Ember called as he approached us. He volunteered to go close to the burning arcade and ask any nearby pokemon what were the chances of the dancing machine surviving the fire. "I've got good news!"
"Good news?! Seriously?!" I said surprised. I hardly got to hear that phrase. 'Good news'. Sounds like candy.
"I found a Growlithe who worked with the firemen! He said that if the fire doesn't spread to the gas pipes, then almost all the arcade games are as good as saved!"
"Great! Good thing you found that… Growlithe? They have a Growlithe at the fire station?"
"Yes. Is that weird?" He answered. I pondered that thought for a while before deciding to drop the matter.
"So I'll be able to trade in the arcade?" Ziggy asked, while my horns picked up a feeling of anticipation.
"Seems that way," I responded, earning a big smile from the Zigzagoon.
"Um, Ember, What happens if the fire reaches the gas pipes?" Rocky asked. Suddenly, the arcade exploded, leaving not a single wall standing.
"… Something like that," Ember responded. The feelings in my horns instantly did a 180. While they had been gleeful and excited the last few seconds, they now felt gloomy and sad. I didn't have to think long about who was the cause of these emotions.
"W-What about m-my training?" Ziggy asked. Little drops of tears were already beginning to form at the corners of her eyes.
Great, now what? I began to think of a way to train Ziggy that didn't involve the now absent arcade. A couple of thoughts crossed my mind. One involved drawing arrows on the sidewalk with chalk while we showed her flashcards with arrows on them, but we wouldn't be able to generate the rhythm from the games. Another idea was using the radio and teaching her to dance ourselves, but what do any of us know about dancing? Well, Ember knows a bit, but I doubt hip hop is an acceptable genre of music at pokemon contests.
Coming up with an idea was beginning to get harder, since Ziggy had now commenced to cry out loud. My horns didn't help either. But despite the circumstances, I managed to come up with an idea. "I've got it!" I said aloud.
"(Sob) W-Wha-What is (sniff) i-it?" Ziggy asked.
"Well, we can't use the crater that we used to call the arcade, that is evident."
"What's evident mean?" Rocky interrupted.
"It means 'that is clear.' Anyways, if we can't use the arcade, then we'll have to try training Ziggy elsewhere."
"Where else can we train her?" Ember asked.
"Glad you asked."
--
"I just don't know why I did that," said the store keeper to an employee he had working around his store, not noticing the door swinging open. "The little guy was holding a nugget. I could've just taken it from him. It's not like anyone would care if a pokemon lost a valuable item. Someone else would've probably stolen it from them if they hadn't reached my store."
"Well in the end, you still got the nugget," the employee said as we walked past them.
"Yes, but it was a pokemon! People catch these things for a living!" The store keeper said as we looked at a bunch of boxes that were on a shelf at the end of one of the aisles.
"Well, why didn't you try and catch it?" the employee said as I pointed at one of the boxes.
"The thought didn't cross my mind," the store keeper responded while we formed a tower to reach the box we were trying to get. "Besides, they all had something around their necks. They probably belonged to a trainer."
"Well, it's all in the past now. Why don't you imagine that they were humans?" the employee suggested as we got the box and walked towards them.
"(Sigh) That may help," the store keeper said as he absentmindedly took the box and 4999 credits we put on the counter.
"There you go! Now don't you feel better about the whole thing?" the employee said as the store keeper handed back the box and a single credit to me.
"Yes, I do feel better. I'm glad I talked to you about this," the store keeper said as we formed a tower to open the door.
"Not a problem boss," the employee said as we left. "I'll get back to work now."
--
"Well, that was uneventful," I said as I climbed through the window.
"Why didn't the store keeper try and take our money?" Rocky asked.
"He was probably distracted talking to his friend," Ember answered. He then reached out the window and pulled in the box we bought at the store. "How did you know about this thing?"
"I saw an ad for it on the internet. The game was popular enough for video game companies to make a home version," I answered.
"So I'll be able to do all my training here?" Ziggy asked.
"Yep. And it won't cost you a single credit."
"What about the money we used to buy this?"
"That doesn't count," I then turned to Ember, "Ember, could you use your claws to open the box?"
"Yes, sir!" He exclaimed, then tore the plastic off the casing, and shortly after ripped the front cover of the game's box off.
"Did the situation really call for you to rip the cover off the game's box?" I asked. His response was a shrug.
Dropping the matter, I turned back to the box. It was bigger than other normal boxes due to the fact that it had a mat stuffed in it as well. Since people's homes didn't come equipped with flashing arrows on the floor, the mat had to be used so one would be able to actually dance to the music. So after plugging in the mat, which is something you normally don't do with mats, and putting in the game, I turned on the power and sat down on the couch with Ember and Rocky to see Ziggy train.
Then the menu appeared.
I had forgotten that Mark had traded his old console long ago for one of the new ones that were recently released. Unlike the old consoles, where you just popped in the game and waited for it to load, this new console had a menu where a large variety of options were available, including internet connection.
Of course, in order to play the game we needed to choose it from the menu. And in order to choose it from the menu, we needed the control. There was no problem here, except for the fact that there was no wire connecting the control to the console, so it was easy to lose.
"Damnit, it couldn't've just been lying in plain view, could it?"
"Don't worry, Jonathan," Ember said, "Mark always puts the control back in the same place every time he's done playing."
"Really? That's good, where is it?"
"Up there," Ember was pointing at one of the shelves. It was well within the reach of any ten year old boy, since it was five feet off the ground, but even if there were four of me standing on top of each other I doubt I would be able to reach the bottom shelf.
"So how do you normally reach it?" I asked.
"Well, at times Mark forgets to put it back. I usually have full access to the games then. However, if you look at the edge of the shelf, you can see part of the control." I looked to where he pointed and saw the white, rectangular end of the remote shaped control. On the top shelf.
I sat down to think of a way to get up there. Looking around the room, I saw items such as a large pile of books, a stool, and a small, three foot high ladder. The stool was also three feet, and there were enough books to form two feet. It took my mind only a few seconds to think of a plan.
I had Ziggy push the stool next to the shelves while Ember took the ladder and placed it next to the stool. While they were doing that, Rocky and I brought the books, climber the ladder, and put them on the stool. The task took us a few minutes since there were a lot of books, but once done we had a tower tall enough to reach the bottom shelf.
"Alright, then," I muttered to myself as I climbed up the stack of books. Once on top of the books, I wobbled a bit before regaining my balance. I thought I was alright, but I felt the books fall from under my feet. I flailed my arms around to find something to hold and gave a sigh of relief when I grabbed on to the edge of the shelf. On retrospect, maybe I should've had one of the others, who are natural climbers, go instead of me.
Should've sent Rocky or Ziggy, I though as I hung four feet off the ground. As pathetic as that sounds, it'd be too much of a bother to put the books back in place. Oh well, I'm a good enough climber, I thought to myself as I pulled myself up.
"Hey, Jonathan, how'd you grab on to the edge without any fingers?" Rocky asked.
"I ask myself that question all the time," I answered as I reached for the second shelf. The top shelf was only three feet above the bottom shelf, so I only had to climb three shelves to get to the top. Wait a minute, I though to myself. If the top shelf's three feet off the bottom shelf, and the bottom shelf is five feet off the ground, then the top shelf's eight feet off the ground. How the hell did a ten year old reach that high then?!
Pushing that thought to the back of my mind, I pulled myself up to the second shelf then reached for the third. Unfortunately, once I began to pull myself up, a piece of paper that was lying on the spot I was grabbing myself onto slipped and caused me to have a heart attack as I flailed my arms again for something to hold onto. Thankfully, I caught the top shelf on time.
Panting heavily, mostly in fright, I pulled myself up onto the top shelf. I felt a great sense of accomplishment as I turned towards the item I climbed up to get. The white rectangle was lying just a foot from me, easily within reach. There was nothing stopping me from grabbing it. Unfortunately, there was a problem with it that would make it unusable in allowing us to play the game. I took hold of it and showed it to the rest down on the floor, and they immediately knew why.
"Ember, why the hell is there a stick of butter on the top shelf!?"
"A stick of butter? How should I know how it got up there?"
"I thought you said Mark always put the control on the shelf!"
"Hmmm… I did find it strange that it was on the top shelf. Mark can't normally reach there." I then noticed Rocky had his bead dug into the cushions between the sofa.
"What are you doing, Rocky?" I asked.
Rocky then pulled his head out of the sofa, "I was wondering what was in here. I found some credits and dirt. Also this white thing," he responded pulling out some credits, lint, and the control we were looking for. I gave a deep sigh and sat down.
"So does this mean I'll be able to train now?" Ziggy asked.
"I guess so," Ember answered. I then looked around and realized my current position.
"Um… how am I supposed to get down?"