Chapter 50: Leaping Towards the Dream

Goh started walking in search of Ninetales. But after an hour of searching, he had come up with nothing, not even a trace of the foreign Pokemon, and nightfall was approaching.

"Come on, where is it? I know it's a big mountain, but it couldn't have gotten that far!"

Just ahead, he saw an orange light, presumably a campfire. It was small, but still noticeable.

"That must be the other candidate Danika mentioned. Maybe they've seen it?"

Curious, Goh made his way towards the campsite. Sure enough, he found a brown haired girl huddled around a campfire, her Kantonian Ninetales helping to keep it going. When she saw him approach, she instinctively backed away, her NInetales growling and getting ready to protect her.

"Woah, woah, it's okay! I'm not going to hurt you. Are you with Project Mew?"

The girl, seeing that he was a friend, relaxed, gently coaxing her Pokemon to back down.

"Sorry, you just kind of snuck up on me. Yeah, are you looking for that Alolan Ninetales too?"

"Sure am. I need to find it, or I'll be kicked out of Project Mew!"

"Same. They didn't tell me I would have help, but I appreciate it! My name's Green, what's yours?"

"My name is Goh. So, Green?"

"Yeah, i Know. My parents really suck at naming kids.

And so Goh joined her, the two of them got to talking, sharing their dreams and aspirations. Goh had just finished telling her about his dream to capture Mew.

"What about you? Why do you want to join Project Mew?"

Green pushed a few strands of hair out of her face before continuing.

"Honestly? I don't have any particular motives. Just trying to find something to do with my life. Tried the Pokemon League in Kanto, and lost round 1. Then I tried the Contest Circuit. Bungled my first performance so much that I got the lowest score of the lot. FIgured that wasn't for me. After that, I kind of just started the regions, occasionally taking part in tournaments but nothing major. I first heard about this Project Mew thing while I was in Jubilife City, and figured it might be worth a shot. But honestly, I don't even know what I'll do if I do become a Chaser."

Goh nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry about it, you'll figure it out. I have a friend back home who's still trying to decide what she wants to be. Her dad's a Pokemon Professor, but she doesn't know if that's what she wants to be yet."

"Man, I can't imagine having a legacy like that to live up to."

"She makes it work. But I know that whatever she chooses to be, she'll be great at it!"

Suddenly, they heard a growling coming from above. Looking up, they saw the target Ninetales glaring down at them.

"Well, that was easy."

"Yeah, but now comes the hard part. Ninetales, use Flamethrower!"

Green's Ninetales shot out her burst of fire, but her Alolan variant dodged it gracefully before hitting her with a Sheer Cold, knocking her out instantly. Green could only watch in disbelief.

"No way…"

"Don't worry Green, I've got this. Go, Raboot! Use Fire Pledge!"

"Goh, don't!"

But Green's warning came too late, as Raboot sent out a wave of fire towards his enemy. The attack struck Ninetales, sending her flying.

"Alright, that ought to keep her down. Now to…"

"Goh, look out!"

"Huh? AAAAAAAAAAAAAH-"

Goh's scream was cut short as the avalanche hit him and Green, sweeping them down the mountain. Goh tossed and tumbled for a while before passing out.

When Goh woke up, he found that he wasn't buried underneath a mountain of snow and ice, but inside a cave around a fire. Green was sitting next to him, also confused.

"You're awake. Good."
It was then that they noticed their rescuer, a red-headed teen in an orange parka like their own, his Weavile keeping watch with him as they observed the storm raging outside.

"Once the storm settles, you two need to leave. You've been disqualified from Project Mew."

Green shot up, angry by this declaration.

"What? That's ridiculous, we still have 3 more hours!"

"After the stunt you two pulled? Forget it, you're clearly too much of a risk. If I hadn't seen everything and rescued you, the two of you would be dead."

"Hey now, that was all him! I tried to warn him, but he wouldn't listen!"

"Don't drag me into this! At least Raboot didn't go down in one hit!"

"ENOUGH! Go home, you're done."

"Yeah?" Green challenged. "And just who are you and what gives you the right to disqualify us anyway?"

"My name is Quillon, and I'm a chaser with Project Mew. Part of my duties is to evaluate the challengers and see if they have what it takes to make it on the expedition team. And clearly, you two do not."

Green tried to get up and attack him, but Goh held her back.

"Alright, but first will you answer a question?"

Quillon sighed, clearly annoyed.

"What?"

"How'd that Ninetales get here? This is pretty far from Alola."

Quillon scowled, but told the story anyway.

"She was kidnapped by Pokemon Poachers. They were trying to sell her to some crazy rich guy trying to open up a zoo in Johto, but their plane got caught in a blizzard and crashed. In the chaos, the ninetales escaped. The poachers were apprehended and taken into custody, but the Ninetales was unaccounted for until our drones caught footage of her."

Goh nodded, taking it all in. At long last, the storm let up.

"Alright, get going, I've already radioed Danika, and she'll be here to pick you kids up."

"Kids? Why, I ought to-"

"No. I'm not giving up just yet."

Quillon's face twitched, annoyed by Goh's persistence.

"I told you, you're done. Leave this to the professionals…"

"According to my phone, I still have one hour before the time limit is up. And I intend to use every last minute of that time."

Quillon remained silent, and left the two on their own.

"Do you really think we can still catch her?"

"I do, and you're going to help."
"Me?"

"Come on, don't you at least want to say you've given this your best shot."

Green thought for a minute, then followed him out of the cave. After a while of hiking, they came to a small alcove.

"Alright, so what's your plan now?"

"I got to thinking, if the Ninetales was taken from her home in Alola, Mount Lanakila, then she'd probably be looking for a place that reminds her of her home. I remembered seeing this little area while searching, and thought it looked like the peak of that mountain. If she's anywhere around here, odds are it'll be here."

Sure enough, they found their target glowering at them, icy breath coming out in furious snorts. Green took out a Pokeball, ready to fight, but Goh pushed her hand down gently.

"Goh, what're you-"

"Don't worry, I've got this."

"You'd better."

Slowly, Goh began to approach her. The Ninetales growled and prepared to attack, but Goh raised his hands to show her he meant no harm.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. In fact, I want to help you."

The Ninetales growled, but didn't move to attack, which Goh took as a sign to keep moving forward.

"I know you're hurt, I don't blame you for attacking us. You're in a foreign land, you're scared, you were taken against your will. But I promise on my honor as a Pokemon trainer that I will get you home. We want to help you, trust me."

Slowly, Goh approached her, his hand outstretched towards her. For a minute, she didn't move, just stared at him intensely. Green held her breath, afraid of what would happen next…

Only to be relieved when Ninetales pressed open an empty Pokeball on Goh's belt with her nose, allowing herself to be captured. Goh just breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew! And with 10 minutes to spare."

"That was amazing, Goh! How'd you know that would work."

"I didn't. Now come on, we still need to get to the pickup location."

But before either of them could move, a giant burst of ice erupted from behind them, sending them ducking for cover. When they looked up once more, they found a Regice towering over them, preparing to fire an Ice Beam.

"Urshifu, use Close Combat!"

Suddenly, a large Bear like Pokemon charged in and saved them, batting Regice away. Quillon came running up behind them, shooing them away.

"Go, I've got this! Get back to the base."

"Right!"

Goh and Green took off running, leaving Quillon to take on Regice alone. Unfettered by the Legendary Titan, the chaser drew an Ultra Ball.

"You're mine."

At the pickup point, Danika was checking her watch, worried.

"Only a minute left. Where could they…"

"Make way!"

Right on time, Green and Goh came running up, Danika helping them into the base as it took off, right on time. Goh wiped the sweat from his forehead, before brandishing Ninetales's Pokeball proudly.

"Mission accomplished!"

Once the helicopter had landed, Goh and Green were sitting in the conference room, blankets draped over them with a cup of hot chocolate in hand. Danika and Professor Willow came in.

"The Ninetales is perfectly healthy and resting. We'll return her to Alola tomorrow."

"Good work, Danika. But I suppose the congratulations go to these two trainers here. If it weren't for them, Who knows what would've happened?"

Just then, the doors slid open, revealing Quillon. Professor Willow moved to debrief him.

"Ah, Quillon! Goh here told me you took on Regice. Any luck?"

Quillon brushed past the Professor and moved towards the back counter, accepting a mug of hot chocolate from Danika.

"It got away before I could capture it."

"A shame. The Legendary Titans may be key to our research."

Danika cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention.

"As interesting as that is, Professor, I believe we still have business to attend to here. Goh and Green, I'm happy to enstate both of you as challengers of Project Mew."

"Yes! Way to go, Goh! High-Five!"

Goh smiled, and reciprocated the action.

"Now you'll be able to receive missions from Project Mew. Missions that will test your combat abilities, ingenuity, and most of all your teamwork. The road ahead will be full of challenges. Work hard, and you may have what it takes to join us. Is that clear?"

Goh and Green nodded.

"Good, now get home and get some rest. We'll be sending you your first missions shortly."

Goh and Green nodded, and started to leave. As they were heading down the ramp, however, Quillon stopped them.

"You did good, kid. Don't make me regret giving you another chance."

"Um, yes sir."

Quillon disappeared into the base, leaving Green and Goh alone. Before they went their separate ways, Green had something to say to Goh.

"Goh, you realize that from here on out we're rivals, right? Only three challengers can make the expedition team, and if it comes down to it we may have to fight each other for the last spot."

"Yeah."

"So just promise me that, should that happen, that you won't hold anything back. If I'm going to become a chaser, I need to be able to hold my own."

"I promise, but you better do the same!"

"Deal!"

And so, the two rivals departed, each on a separate path that would lead them to the same goal: Project Mew.