Author Notes: Sorry for the late update. I had major writers block for the next couple of chapters so I needed to collect my ideas and create a plan. With that I should be updating quite regularly. Thanks Eli. W and Maymist for reviewing.
Jack span round with his gut clenching in terror, his mouth open to provide some desperately fabricated explanation for his snooping. A slim hand was roughly jammed over Jack's mouth and he was pulled into an intricate, wood panelled alcove cut into the wall. The man began to talk quickly and quietly as he jammed the breadth of a long object into Jack's throat, crushing the air from the pipe as the boy choked.
'Don't scream, don't shout,' the man whispered, 'I don't work for Indigo. My name is Gold and I work for the League.' Jack's eyes widened and he stopped struggling against his captor, enabling the man to remove the object pressed against his neck and to begin to twirl what turned out to be a golden snooker cue around idly.
'I am investigated Indigo because of certain....irregularities in his affairs. We have nothing concrete against him, but many more questions have been created on close scrutiny of that man.'
Jack realised that what he had heard would be of use to the man and he hurriedly outlined what he had heard. As he was talking Gold's surprisingly young face began to pale, the man looking like a corpse after Jack mentioned what he had heard about Giratina. Then the door which Jack had so diligently eavesdropped through began to open and Jack swore under his breath, telling Gold that Indigo was his sponsor.
As Giovanni exited, followed by the dark suited Indigo, his face hidden by enormous, orange, wraparound goggles that hid most of his features, Gold shoved Jack hard out into the corridor and struck him across the back with his snooker cue. The cue was definitely not gold, if the eruption of pain across Jack's broad back was anything to go by, and Gold used it to devastating effect as he beat Jack onto the floor, though Jack did get the impression that the man was holding back.
Pretending not to see the emerging men Gold began to viciously jab Jack in the ribs with his boot whilst he whispered fiercely, 'tell me everything you know about Indigo!'
Giovanni looked at Indigo, as if for permission, before releasing two hulking brutes of Pokémon. Though both were around four feet tall, they were both wider than that at the shoulder and plated with thick, keratin armour. One, purple skinned and muscle bound, looked particularly vicious with protruding canines, tree trunk limbs and an enormous horn proudly mounting its titanic skull. The other was less muscle-bound, though that didn't mean it still was not powerful, with a row of needle sharp, poisonous spines lining its spine.
Gold doesn't hesitate in matching the earth gym leader's Pokémon with two of his own – a flame-collared Typhlosion and a cute, green frog with one wispy, curled hair adorning its otherwise smooth skull. Gold was kneeling down next to the bruised Jack when he released his Pokémon and he quietly whispered something that created bubbles of laughter inside Jack's stomach. Bubbles which threatened to force their way out of his mouth, however much he clenched his jaw, struggling to stop their escape.
The purple Pokémon of the two, a Nidoking according to his Pokédex, barrelled into the Typhlosion, crashing into the creature's stomach with its purple, plated shoulder. The Typhlosion tightened its core muscles to cushion the blow before retaliating with a vicious flurry of blows that scored deep trenches through the Nidoking's armour.
As the Nidoking retreated from the hulking Typhlosion the other Pokémon, a Nidoqueen, attacked the helpless-looking frog with poisonous intentions in mind. Before the creature reached its small opponent the frog bounced directly over the attack to crash heavily onto its back, narrowly avoiding the toxic barbs.
The Nidoqueen was crushed to the floor, but recovered well and landed a powerful punch onto the giant frog's face. Surprisingly the frog easily shook off the attack and bunched its fist, now crackling with bright white energy. The Nidoqueen was still slightly dazed from the collision and waited for twenty seconds before attacking again. It was a mistake.
With its fist wrapped in crackling energy the Pokémon launched a crushing punch to the to the Nidoqueen's jaw, snapping it instantly and smashing the creature to the floor.
The Nidoqueen somehow heaved itself off the floor, its white lower jaw hanging limply, and staggered towards the green frog. The frog opened its mouth and released a solid wave of sound that instantly burst the eardrums of the Nidoqueen, overwhelming its senses so much so that its brain automatically shut down and the creature succumbed to unconsciousness.
The ease of which his Pokémon was dispatched disturbed Giovanni, and his worry was very obvious on his face. The Nidoking and Typhlosion were engaged in a one-sided wrestling match whilst this was taking place. The Typhlosion obviously wasn't using fire because of the close proximity of the trainers and its extremely flammable surroundings, so it had to rely on its brute strength instead.
Its demolition of the Nidoking was a very impressive display of just that strength. A powerful shove sent the earth Pokémon reeling and a brutal left-right combo of punches knocked it to the floor.
The Nidoking quickly rearranged its body so it was on its hands and knees and exploded towards the Typhlosion with its dangerous horn held in line with the creature's heart. The Typhlosion gripped the Nidoking's enormous horn with both hands and began to lift the creature into the air. Jack could actually see the distinct separation of each part of the deltoid muscle as the Nidoking began to rise into the air.
Suddenly, when it had lifted the Nidoking above its head, the Typhlosion smashed the creature down on to the rocky floor with such force that its keratin armour cracked like eggshells. The finishing move seemed to be timed to coincide with the finishing move of its partner, and both of Giovanni's Pokémon were knocked out at the exact same moment.
Gold returned his Pokémon, fixing Indigo and Giovanni with a fierce glare, before running off. As he ran he viciously kicked out at Jack's leg. A small device attached to the tip of his shoe was transferred into the light covering of hair on Jack's leg and in a room far away a small blip appeared on a large plasma screen.
As Jack lay groaning on the floor he could hear Indigo berate Giovanni for being weak. 'You're such a pathetic wimp Giovanni,' exclaimed Indigo, 'I don't even know why I bother with you. First the clone incident and then this......you let yourself get defeated to easily.' Giovanni's face flushed red with anger as he was put down.
'That is unfair and you know it. I'm not even going to talk about the clone incident, you already know whose fault that was, and this isn't my fault either. Do you know who that was?' Indigo paused before quietly admitting that he did not. Giovanni's voice rose with triumph. 'That was Gold. He is the Kanto and Johto Champion. Of course he's going to beat me. He beat Red for God's sake.'
Indigo silenced Giovanni with one gesture and walked towards Jack who was still groaning on the floor, his body screaming with pain from the long bruises ripening along his back, chest and legs. Indigo roughly grabbed Jack's hand and hauled him to his feet with little visible effort, transfixing him with a gaze made disturbing by the distorted goggles.
Jack's explanation tumbled confusedly out of his mouth under that gaze. 'I was just entering the door for our meeting when that man set upon me,' he stated, not at all calmly. 'He hit me in the back of the head with that golden stick, knocking me to the floor, and hit me a few more times.' Jack managed to stem the flow of words to gauge Indigo's reaction, but the man wasn't giving anything away.
'He then began to threaten me, asking me for information about you. I told him that you were just my sponsor and I had only met you once....but he didn't listen.' Indigo's face was totally unreadable as he takes in Jack's "tale of woe" and the silence between them dragged out uncomfortably.
Finally Indigo apologised. 'Sorry Jack. I don't like getting my sponsors into trouble. Don't worry about that man, my guards will catch him.' His apology sounded very sincere, and Jack marvelled at the man's fantastic acting. Indigo ushered Jack into the meeting room which he had just exited, completely ignoring Giovanni as he did so.
'So Jack,' said Indigo suddenly, 'let's talk about the Gold Conference.' In the hazy edges of his peripheral vision Jack could see Giovanni pull face, though he couldn't fathom why. 'It will be difficult for you. The trainers there all have a lot more experience than you and have all received all of their gym badges. They know what it takes. They don't feel pressure, they know their Pokémon better, they have picked up more tricks and most importantly their bond with their Pokémon is better developed. I think you can do well if you practice a lot before hand. You have the raw talent.'
'You are fantastic at raising strong Pokémon, so much so that you rarely need to order them in battle. Your connection with them is strong and soon, or I hope so anyway, you will be connected on the telepathic level with all of your Pokémon. However, to give you a chance of winning this I can only do so much. Most of it can be remedied with practice; however what you do is all up to do. I will give you a practice arena and just hope you excel yourself.'
He finished his speech and began to crack his knuckles quietly, letting his small speech sink in. As he was waiting Giovanni sidled up to him, his face twisted in disgust, and whispered something in his ear.
Indigo nodded and turned back to Jack. 'I haven't introduced you to my colleague, have I? Jack, this is the Viridian City gym leader, Giovanni. Giovanni, this is one of my most promising sponsors, Jack.' The tension in the air was palpable as the two shook hands; Jack's eyes alight with hatred whilst Giovanni's eyes sparked with anger. Jack wondered if Indigo actually knew their history and was purposefully doing this as the man looked completely unaware of the tension.
Jack squeezed Giovanni's hand hard before releasing. If looks could kill Giovanni would have dropped dead minutes ago. 'My colleague has reminded me of something,' continued Indigo blithely, 'I have organised fights with all the remaining gym leaders, ending with Giovanni himself. These fights will occur sometime before the Conference starts and they will give you good battle practice.'
He snapped his fingers and two uniformed men entered the room. 'Show this trainer to the Village please,' he ordered, 'his room will be number thirteen.' The men gave their assent and ushered Jack out of the waiting room into a waiting limbo, closing the door to the plushly upholstered haven with a dull thump.
Jack looked out of his velvet bubble into the beautiful surroundings. The Village was built in the beautiful forest that covered most if Indigo's grounds. The forest itself was stunning. The trees were smooth and sweeping with lovely silver bark and vividly coloured leaves. The sun shone through in patches, creating an aura of mystery that shrouded the whole forest.
Pidgey, their feathers muted beige and brown, nested in the arc-like branches creating intricately designed constructions for their nests. Every now and then a flash of bright yellow signified the escape of a spooked Pikachu and the elusive Vileplume wafted beautiful odours through the air, the scent recognisable but the source never seen. As they progressed further into the forest the quiet aura of mystery was shattered by trainers fighting.
The Village was truly titanic in scale. The more specialised training facilities were positioned in the outskirts. A small clearing in the forest had been created for air combat, a small copse of trees positioned so close together that the branches created an elaborate organic maze was used for tree combat, a large complex of tunnels had been dug, their entrance a crumbling pit, to simulate underground combat and that was barely scratching the surface.
Nearer to the centre was a ring of strategically placed gyms for both Pokémon and human. There was a wide multitude of equipment for humans including bench press, LAT pull-down and leg press as well as an even larger range of machines for Pokémon. Some were extremely innovative. There was a wall in which the Pokémon could pit their strength against a machine – great for increasing muscle power in the whole body.
There was a complicated structure consisting of parallel bars and a mixture of ropes and rigs hanging down at widely spaced intervals. A Pokémon had to swing from one side to the other using only its arms. That improved dexterity, agility and upper body strength. Very near to the centre was an enormous assault course.
It was over five kilometres in length - a mixture of underground, water and aerial courses that tested a Pokémon to its limit - and created a large ring around the central complex of apartments, restaurants, shops, hospitals and, of course, the battle rings.
Jack did not progress far into the central complex. As the huge sprawling mass of log cabins came into view his limo stopped and the door was opened. The apartment complex was a mixture of one and two stories and built out of roughly cut logs kept together by thick steel poles stabbed through each log and deep into the soil. The largest and most extravagant cabin was labelled number "one" in elaborate calligraphy.
Every cabin subsequent to the first became slightly smaller and less expensive until you reached cabin number "twenty-one" which signalled the beginning of the shared apartments that housed the weaker trainers and the staff. As Jack was led towards apartment "thirteen" Indigo seemed to materialise in the shadows beside him.
'Are the apartments to your liking?' asked the man inquisitively, looking appreciatively at the mass of cabins. 'I should hope so anyway,' he stated, cutting off Jack from replying, 'it cost my ten million pounds to have it built.' Chuckling Indigo opened the door.
The inside of the apartment was on a whole new level of comfort that Jack had never seen before. The kitchen was filled with brand-new stainless steel appliances. Incredibly comfortable sofas were positioned in front of the forty inch plasma TV. A huge holographic projector connecting to the newest battle simulator dominated the games room, which also featured a table tennis table and a pool table as well as enormous bean bags which were impossible to rise from once you've made the mistake of seating yourself upon them.
The bedroom was incredibly comfortable with a ridiculously large feather bed and another wall-mounted plasma TV – though this one was only thirty-two inches. A power shower and massage-bath was the crowning glory of the colourfully tiled en suite bathroom.
Jack's favourite object in the whole cabin was none of these things. It was the quaint wooden balcony with stunning views over the forest that Jack favoured. As soon as he sat down upon the intricately carved rocking chair he could feel himself become at home here.
It was a thought that scared him thoroughly, knowing that Indigo was completely insane.
Whilst Jack explored the house Indigo was chattering inanely next to him. Suddenly Indigo said something that caught Jack's attention. 'I think I'll ask one of the more experienced trainers here to show you around. She will help you train by showing you the ropes with all the unfamiliar equipment as well as introducing you to other trainers that will help you improve.'
He whipped out a mobile phone from his pocket and quickly dialled in the numbers on the sleek, black appliance. Lowering his voice Indigo uttered a few words that Jack couldn't quite make out before closing his phone with an abrupt snap. Your guide will be here shortly Jack. You can have a tinker with all the machines and games if you want.'
Jack nodded and headed immediately for the battle simulator – something that he had always wanted to own, but was always denied by his parents.
He chose Pokémon from other regions that he had no experience with to test his skill. A Tyranitar, a Metagross, a Salamence, a Slaking, an Absol and a Luxray all seemed competent Pokémon to him so he assembled his team as such. He immediately chose a random opponent and began to fight. He marvelled at the quality of the graphics, which were so realistic that the battle could have been real.
As he battled he found that the Tyranitar, Metagross and Salamence were ridiculously powerful in battle. They each easily steamrollered their opponents at the gentle urging of Jack. He also found from the power gauge at the side of the screen that the Slaking was in fact the most powerful. If it wasn't for its lazy mindset it would be unbelievably powerful, almost legendarily powerful. Jack immediately recognised a tactic that could be used to full effect with the Slaking and was just filing the knowledge away when his game was interrupted by Indigo.
Jack sighed as he turned off the simulator and turned to face Indigo and his strange goggles.
'Your guide has arrived Jack. This trainer is an extremely skilful and innovative battler with powerful Pokémon, though they're not on the same level as yours.' He gestured patiently to the door. 'Come in Lelana.'