A/N: Another note at the end of the chapter, so not to spoil anything :) Also, so I can keep the title centered on FF. :)
Pokemon Journey: Indigo League
Chapter 16 – Trouble at the Plant Part 1
Lumiose City, Kalos Region
Kelly smiles, shutting the laptop down. She just finished watching Brandon's gym match against Misty, something she was looking forward to. Behind her, street lights are going out, signaling a new day.
"That's my brother," she says proudly, standing up. Beside her, a small green reptilian Pokemon with a blunt spike on its head looks up at her with curiosity. "That was my first time watching him challenging a gym."
"Larv?" Larvitar asks.
"Oh right. You weren't there to meet him," Kelly smiles, rubbing Larvitar's spike affectionately. "That person we just watched is my brother. He's on his own journey, traveling around my home region. Someday, you will meet him and my family. For now, though, our focus is on our next gym match, in Laverre City."
"Larv!" Larvitar nods, hopping onto the bed.
Kelly was moving around the room, making sure everything was packed. In truth, she already did that last night. She's just keeping busy, hoping Brandon will call her shortly. She places her bag by the door, and flops on the bed, arms resting across her chest, staring at the ceiling. Beside her on the table was a black bracelet with an empty oval on top.
Somewhere near the Power Plant, Kanto Region
5 hours before the gym match
"You are sure?"a cold, calculating voice booms in the room.
"Yes sir!" 3 voices answer at once.
"Good. Make sure everything is ready. We commence with part one of our plan tonight!" the cold voice speaks, before leaving the room.
Stomping down the hall, the figure shrugs off his minions before entering his own private room, closing and locking his door.
He stands in a circular chamber, with a bed in the middle of the room. Beside the bed was a nightstand with a picture, though the picture is blurry at the moment. Sitting along the far side of the room was a computer, which had three Pokemon on the screen: Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno. The three legendary bird Pokemon in Kanto.
Stomping towards the computer, he pulls up information on Zapdos. He rereads it, noting that Zapdos is frequently seen at the Power Plant, helping to power Kanto Region. He then pulls up a black silhouette with the word buyer underneath it.
"I hope this will be worth it," he growls. "It better not be a waste of my time."
With that, he slumps in his bed, closing his eyes. The picture on his nightstand comes into focus, as a woman with silver hair and a black coat on.
Cerulean City, Kanto Region
Present time
"Your Pokemon have fully recovered," Nurse Joy says, handing over Brandon's three Pokeballs. "Have a great day and congratulations."
"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Brandon says gratefully, grabbing the balls and clipping them onto his belt. He rejoins Bill, Melanie, and Ava at the table. It is the next day, with Brandon and Ava wondering where to go from here.
"So now what?" Ava asks.
"Well, the S.S Anne doesn't arrive for 3 more weeks," Brandon states, thinking. "Misty told me that it takes about a week to get to Vermillion City, so we could set out now but that would mean at least 2 weeks of just sitting there."
"As I mentioned, I do have to head towards Lavendar Town today," Bill replies. He finishes his meal. "Nurse Joy said something about the power fluctuating."
"That sounds bad," Ava says, also finishing her meal.
"Nidoqueen and I have to get back to the village," Melanie responds, standing up. She bows to them. "Thank you for allowing us to watch the gym match Brandon, and congratulations."
"Thanks for coming," Brandon says, getting up to walk her out. Once outside, Brandon stops for a second and hands her his number. "If you need anything, just call."
"Thanks, Brandon. Take care of yourself and Nidoran," Melanie says, waving goodbye before disappearing down the road.
Brandon turns around and re-enters the Pokemon Center just as Bill is about to leave. Bill extends his hand towards Brandon. "Nice meeting you Brandon. Take care of yourself alright?"
As Brandon shakes his hand, the lights flicker in the Pokemon Center, causing people to look up at Nurse Joy. Before Nurse Joy can respond, the power suddenly went out. Bill frowns, glancing at Nurse Joy. Nurse Joy shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders, before disappearing into the back room. Bill quickly follows her, curious why the power went out.
Brandon rejoins Ava at the table, looking at each other unsure what to do. At that moment, Misty enters the building. Spotting Brandon and Ava, she makes a beeline for them.
"Have you guys seen Bill?" Misty asks immediately.
"Yeah. He and Nurse Joy entered the back room," Brandon replies, pointing towards a door.
"Thank you," Misty responds. She quickly makes her way through the door, leaving Brandon and Ava confused.
"Should we go back there and see what's going on?" Brandon asks though Ava shakes her head.
"We don't need to," Ava says, looking out the window. She points out into the city. "Cerulean City has lost power."
"I wonder if this is a regular thing," Brandon says, walking over to Ava and looking out into the city.
"No," Misty's voice responds. Brandon and Ava turns around seeing Misty, Bill and Nurse Joy standing there. "This only happens if something breaks at the Power Plant."
"Looks like my trip to Lavender Town will be put on hold," Bill says. "I'll drive up to the Power Plant right now. I've tried calling the place but no one is answering."
"Do you need help?" Brandon asks.
"I should be alright," Bill responds with a smile. "I think Misty and Nurse Joy will need more help here."
"Thanks, Bill," Misty tells him. "Let us know if you need help."
"I will," Bill started to say when he got a phone call. He quickly answered it, his face paling. He hangs up and looks at the party. "That was one of my contacts in Lavender Town. He told me that a group took over the power plant."
"A group? Seriously? I thought they were already defeated?" Misty huffs out.
"My contact never said what group," Bill responds.
"Who else would it be?" Misty retorts.
"Not sure. But this changes things," Bill tells her. He turns towards Brandon and Ava. "If you guys are willing, I can definitely use help now."
"Of course," Ava responds.
"Count me in," Brandon says.
"Great. Follow me then," Bill says, leading the way towards the parking lot. He takes out his phone, calling someone though Brandon and Ava couldn't hear the conversation as a giant lightning bolt in the distance cracks in the sky, illuminating the darkness. Brandon sent Kelly a quick text, saying he will call her later.
"That doesn't look good," Ava mutters.
"Let's go," Bill says, climbing into his truck. Brandon and Ava jump into the vehicle, fasten their seat belts before Bill tore out of the parking lot. "I realize this might not be the way you wanted to visit the power plant, or if you guys even had plans too."
"We should worry about that later," Brandon says, as another lightning bolt crashes in the sky. "What's the plan?"
"First, we need a way into the plant itself and restore power to the region," Bill tells him, speeding through the quiet streets. Even at this speed, it will take them about 20 minutes to get to Rock Tunnel. "We can't have all the Pokemon Centers without power for too long."
"Right," Ava nods, keeping an eye on the sky. "Sounds like we might need to fight our way through whoever holds it."
Bill smiles as he continues to drive. "We would if we wanted to enter through the main doors. Fortunately for us, I know of a side entrance that should bypass the group. And it leads us directly to the server room."
"Is that why we are going towards rock tunnel?" Brandon asks.
"Right. I have a small boat that should get us to the building undetected," Bill nods.
"Guess this answers your question," Brandon says, looking at Ava with a chuckle.
"My question?" Ava replies, trying to remember what she asked. She then remembers it. "Right. Just hope we can make the cruise in time."
"Don't worry," Bill tells them. "I will personally drive you down there if you guys need it. Alright, here's rock tunnel."
Bill stops and parks the truck at the Pokemon Center. He quickly enters the building before coming back out. He mentions for Brandon and Ava to follow him.
"I had to check and see if this Pokemon Center also was out of power," Bill explains, leading them away from the mountain and towards a fenced-off place. Bill quickly unlocks the fence, opening it for Brandon and Ava. Once they were through, Bill closes it and locks it. "This is a back route towards the power plant. This route is off-limits to all but the employees of the plant."
"We're quiet about it," Brandon replies as Bill leads them towards a small dock.
"It's not so much as being quiet about it," Bill says, hopping into the small speeder boat. "It's just a direct path to the Pokemon Center, in case of an emergency."
The trio jumps into the speeder boat, and soon Bill has the boat gliding across the water. He has the engines on low power, hoping to keep quiet as they make their way towards the plant.
"We should be there in about 5 minutes," Bill tells them. "Make sure you follow me alright?"
"You bet," Ava nods her head. Suddenly, a big, magnificent spiked yellow bird comes flying right at them, causing Bill to spin the boat to the right. "What the hell was that?"
"Watch out, it's coming back around!" Brandon shouts, pointing it.
The bird Pokemon circles back around, dive-bombing the boat again. This time, the beak of it his the side, causing a hole to appear. It flew back up in the air, turning around and watching the trio.
"Damn it," Bill spits out angrily. He tries to maneuver the boat to the shore, or as close as he can but the boat began taking in water at a rapid pace. "We need to bail out. Swim towards the shore on the right!"
Bill, Brandon, and Ava dive into the water before resurfacing. Together the trio began swimming for the shore, with the bird Pokemon still hovering in the sky. Seeing the boat sink, the bird Pokemon caws and flies towards the power plant.
Brandon is the first to reach the shore. He pulls himself up, turns around, and helps Ava up. Once she's on top of the shore, he helps Bill up as well. The sun began to set.
"What the heck was that?" Ava asks, shivering.
"It looked like Zapdos, though I couldn't get a great look," Bill replies. "Look, I know you might have questions but right now, we need to find a place to lay low and dry off. And I know the place."
Bill leads them towards a small wooden shelter, which had the bare necessities of surviving. It had a single bed, a couch, and a chair. There is a mini-fridge, a grill stovetop you take camping, and a dryer. There was one door, which lead to a simple toilet and sink. Bill leads them to a cabinet and retrieves three sets of clothes. One by one, they change before throwing their clothes into the dryer. Bill quickly made a snack.
"What is this place?" Brandon asks, sitting on the chair.
"This is one of the plant's research outlets," Bill explains, sitting on the couch. "You probably didn't see it, but there are voltorb nests all around this shelter. It's a great place to study them since they help keep the power running."
"Yeah, yeah," Ava says, waving it off. "What I want to know, is why did that Zapdos attack us?"
"That is a good question," Bill says, thinking. "I don't have much information on Zapdos, other than he's part of the three legendary bird Pokemon for the Kanto Region."
"Zapdos could have killed us," Brandon says slowly as if trying to work something out in his head. "It could have easily fired off an attack but all it did was dive bomb the boat."
"I would say that is enough damage," Ava replies.
"Yeah, but I think Brandon might be onto something here," Bill says as the dryer dings. "Zapdos clearly could have killed us but why just damage the boat?"
"Whatever the reason, we need to be careful," Ava says before grabbing her clothes and changing in the bathroom.
"She's right," Bill tells Brandon, getting up and washing their dishes. "If a legendary Pokemon is involved, we need to be careful. We get in, restart the power and then back away. Let Officer Jenny take care of things."
"Can we still enter the side entrance?" Brandon asks as Ava steps out of the bathroom. He grabs his clothes and heads for the bathroom, waiting for Bill's response.
"We can," Bill responds.
Brandon nods, enters the bathroom and quickly gets changed. He rejoins the other two before Bill does the same as the other two. Soon, all three were back in dry clothes, with Bill pulling out a map of the Power Plant.
"This is the entrance we will be using," Bill points to a place on the map. He traces a line between the entrance and the server room. "This is the server room. We should be able to walk along the walls and enter the room undetected. Still, I called in someone I can trust to help out."
"So what are our parts?" Brandon asks.
"If we run into anyone, I want you and Ava to hold them off," Bill explains. "Give me time to get the servers back up and running."
"Got it," Ava nods, looking at Brandon, who also nods.
"Good. Let's go," Bill says, putting the map back.
The trio peeks out of the door, and seeing the coast is clear, they quickly left, staying in the shadows. Lucky for them, clouds began to roll in, blocking the moonlight. Soon, they are upon the entrance that Bill was talking about. Taking a quick look around, Bill opens the door quietly, motioning for Brandon and Ava to quickly go inside. Once they were inside, Bill enters and quietly closes the door. He nods, leading the way towards the server room, when they heard voices and footsteps coming towards them. The trio hides behind random boxes.
"...This is boring," a voice says, sulking. "I want some action."
"Be thankful you were invited," a second voice sneers at him. "Good help is hard to find these days."
"And what exactly are we helping with?" the first voice asks.
"I'm not stupid enough to ask," the second voice replies. "We were told to watch this hall, so I'm going to watch this hall."
"But I want to be out there, battling," the first voice whines.
"By all means, go ahead," the other voice says, his footsteps fading into the distance. "You better make sure you win or get killed. Otherwise, the boss will rip you a new one..."
Bill peeks around the box, looking around for the guards. Not hearing or seeing them, he nods his head and resumes his walk towards the server room. He whispers to others. "Whatever you do, don't..." BOOM!
The entire room shook, knocking out the reserve power. Brandon blinks his eyes, as soot and dust cover his face. His hand was moving towards the ground as Bill was trying to warn them.
"You tried to pick up a Pokeball, didn't you?" Bill asks, trying to suppress his laughter. Beside him, Ava was failing, a wide grin on her face. That quickly changed to fear, as the two guards from earlier came rushing onto the scene, trying to spot the reason for the explosion.
Luckily, with the lights out, the trio are able to hide in the shadows a lot better. Finally, the guards gave up and walked back the way they came, with one glancing over his shoulder. Once they were out of sight, Bill exhaled, not realizing he was holding his breath.
"As I was about to say, don't pick up anything that looks like a Pokeball," Bill whispers, leading them once again. "Odds are, they are voltorb. And Brandon has learned, they don't like to be picked up."
"Tell me about it," Brandon mutters, as they finally get to the server room. Slipping inside, Bill got right to work, as Brandon and Ava watched the door.
It took Bill all of ten minutes to get the power-up and running again. With a click, the outside generators began running, giving power out to the rest of the Kanto Region. Bill immediately calls Officer Jenny just as they heard footsteps running towards the room. Bill quickly ends the call and with a nod at Brandon and Ava, readied a Pokeball. Brandon and Ava both readied one as the door bursts open.
"Well, looks like you got your wish," the second guard says, pulling out a radio. They were both dressed in complete black attire, from their heads to their feet. There is no markings at all on the attire. "Boss, we got three intruders in the server room."
"So? Take care of them," a cold voice cackles back. "I swear, the incompetence is astounding."
"You heard the boss," the first one says, pulling out a Pokeball. "Raticate, show these punks who's boss."
"Arbok, help Raticate," the second one says.
A big black mouse with puffy cheeks and a brown underbelly materializes, growling at the three. Beside him, a purple cobra materializes, hissing at them.
"Squirtle, I need your help!" Brandon shouts, throwing his Pokeball. Squirtle lands in front of the Raticate.
"Eevee, come on out!" Ava shouts also releasing the fox-like Pokemon, who stands beside Squirtle, while Brandon takes out his dex and scans the two Pokemon. At that moment, the power flickered before shutting down again, causing Bill to curse.
"Raticate, Alolan variant. The Mouse Pokemon. Dark/Normal-type and the evolved form of Rattata. Its hind feet are webbed. They act as flippers, so it can swim in rivers and hunt for prey."
"Arbok, the Cobra Pokemon. Poison Type and the evolved form of Ekans. The frightening patterns on its belly have been studied. Six variations have been confirmed."
"When you are done with that," Bill calls out, heading back to the servers. "I need you to keep these two off my back until I can fully restore the power."
"You got it, Bill," Brandon says firmly, glaring at the two people in the doorway. Squirtle also was glaring at them.
"Do your thing, Bill. We got this," Ava says confidently. She also was glaring at them. Eevee, who normally is a playful Pokemon, also was barring her teeth.
"Come out Jolteon," Bill says, summoning a partner. "I need your help."
"Now's not the time," Ava hisses at Brandon, who was about to scan Jolteon.
'Right," Brandon nods, putting away his dex.
"If you can, try not to damage any of the servers," Bill calls out.
"Well, that just made this battle a little harder," Brandon mutters. "Alright, Squirtle, use water gun on Raticate!"
"Eevee, run at Arbok and use double kick!" Ava shouts.
Squirtle unleashes a water gun, hitting Raticate dead in the stomach though it didn't appear to do any damage. Beside him, Eevee charges at Arbok, plants her front feet, pivots, and sends both hind legs in with a swift double kick, though, like Squirtle, it didn't do much damage.
"Pathetic," the first guard taunts Brandon. "Raticate, show this Squirtle how an attack is supposed to look like. Use super fang!"
"Arbok, show Eevee a real attack. Use crunch!" the second guard shouts, as footsteps are heard fast approaching the server room.
Raticate grabs a hold of Squirtle and sinks his fang on his arm, causing Squirtle to cry out in pain. His partner, Arbok, catches Eevee with his tail and sinks her teeth into Eevee, causing Eevee to shriek in pain.
Meanwhile, Bill continues to fiddle with the gauges and realizes what is going on. "Jolteon, use thunderbolt on this panel and give it everything you have!"
"Jolt!" Jolteon roars, hitting the panel with an electric attack, increasing the power of the attack.
"Don't give up!" Bill encourages him. Out of the corner of his eye, he follows the battle.
"Squirtle, you alright?" Brandon calls out. Squirtle nods, giving him a thumbs up. "In that case, use tackle and try to break free."
"Eevee, use quick attack to escape Arbok!" Ava shouts.
Squirtle, instead of using tackle, sinks his teeth into Raticate, causing Raticate to let go of Squirtle. Eevee tries to speed out of Arbok's tail but couldn't. At this time, four more guards show up, ready to back up the original two.
"Raticate, use super fang again on Squirtle!" the first guard commands.
"Arbok, squeeze Eevee!" the second guard says, grinning at the look on Ava's face.
Raticate sinks his fang into Squirtle once again, causing more damage as Arbok began to crush Eevee, causing Eevee to really cry out. Behind them, the four other guards all primed their Pokeballs, ready to send out back up.
"SQUIRTLE!" Brandon yells out, fear in his eyes.
"EEVEE!" Ava shouts out, tears in her eyes.
At the same time, both Squirtle and Eevee began to glow a white color, illuminating the space around them. Brandon, Ava and Bill all watch in awe, while the six guards have frightened looks on their faces.
A/N: Well, I think that's a good place to end this chapter :P. I'm hoping I will have the second part up in a day or so. Again, I didn't plan the double evolution. In fact, I had another eveeulation in mind but I will roll with the punches :). Anyways, enjoy this one :)
Team Listings:
Brandon Adams:
Squirtle - Male, Torrent ability. Knows Water Gun, tackle, Withdraw, Rapid Spin
Tangela - Male, Leaf Guard ability. Knows Bind, Stun Spore, Mega Drain, Growth
Nidoran – Female – Poison Point ability. Knows Growl, Poison Sting, Double Kick
Ava Mcarthur:
Eevee - Female. Run Away ability. Knows growl , Quick Attack, Double Kick,
Omanyte - Male. Weak Armor ability. Knows: Withdraw, Constrict
Growlithe – Female. Flash Fire. Knows: Ember.