After Ken and Fennekin's first stop in Vermilion City had started to get weird nothing in the world made Ken happier than getting on the road again. The deliveryman and his new Pokémon partner were back on the toll road and heading to Pewter City. The run back up to Celadon City on the toll roll would be a proverbial piece of cake but after that all bets were off as the pair was forced to take the tricky Route 52 to have any chance of making it in time for their 7 p.m. delivery deadline.
Ken was in his element behind the wheel of the truck. Fennekin sat in the passenger's seat alongside him and just stared at his new trainer working. The little fox watched as Ken shifted the truck into the proper gear, checked his mirrors, then pushed the accelerator down as their truck picked up speed to pass a slow-moving car. He thought it looked kind of fun and part of him almost wanted to give it a try, he knew he never would but it was a neat thought for a moment.
It was now 2:15 p.m. as Ken eased his truck off the expressway into a roadside travel plaza for a quick stop, amid all the action in Vermilion City neither he nor his Pokémon partner had stopped for lunch. He also wanted to do a quick check on his truck's load of Poké Balls just to make sure everything was alright after the container had come off the ship from Kalos.
As far as cargoes went Poké Balls were a simple one. The demand for them was high and almost every driver carried a load of them at some point, Ken even hauled them a few times when he drove the little RatEx van. Poké Balls were designed for ultimate durability and drivers liked carrying them because they required little care. There was no need to refrigerate them, they weren't explosive, they were virtually watertight, and their inherent strength meant that unless you openly tried to hurt them they almost impossible to damage. The only risk to hauling the balls was on the driver not to crash the truck and spill them.
Pewter City and Viridian City were home to two of the busiest Poké Marts with the highest Poké Ball sale figures in Kanto. Their proximity to Pallet Town, where many of the region's Pokémon trainers started their journeys, and the Viridian Forest, where many of these newly-forged trainers first stocked up their teams with Pokémon from its abundant populations, meant that balls of almost every type flew off the shelves. Further their location close to Indigo Plateau and the land crossing to Johto meant experienced trainers crossing between regions or heading to the Pokémon League also kept even the most expensive, rare, and powerful balls flying off the shelves.
With a hiss from the brakes Truck #2,013 came to a stop in the truck parking area at the travel plaza. Ken liked this particular plaza and often stopped here when he drove the toll road. He and Fennekin both hopped out of the truck and proceeded around to the back of their big rig. Ken opened the massive back doors to the container and inspected his load. All of the Poké Balls aboard were still packed tight in their shipping crates with the crates piled right to the ceiling of the container. Each crate had a symbol for the ball contained on its end.
"Fennekin kin fen Fennekin," Fennekin said in awe.
"Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen this many at once either," Ken replied.
The pair could only see the crates at the very back of the truck. Ken recognized the standard Poké Ball, Great Ball, and Ultra Ball crates plus ones for the Premier Ball and Quick Ball, Sandra having familiarized him with the latter two over the years. However the one with a pink color and white swirls puzzled him.
"What do the pink and white ones do?" Ken asked Fennekin.
"Kin nen Fennekin fen," Fennekin replied with a quadrupedal shrug.
With the cargo safe Ken closed and locked the container up before heading into the travel plaza. The interior of the plaza included a rest room area, a gift shop selling various Kanto souvenirs, and a couple of fast food restaurants. Ken quickly purchased a grilled sandwich from one of the eateries and proceeded back out to the truck with Fennekin in pursuit. Once back to the truck Ken pulled out one of the food dishes he bought in Vermilion City and the bag of kibble which he then filled for Fennekin. The pair sat down at a table near the front of the plaza giving them a view of the highway and the traffic passing by as they eat quickly. Ken finished the sandwich quickly and cracked open a can of lemonade as his vulpine partner dug into his dish.
"Okay, so the way I see it we've probably got a three-hour drive if conditions are perfect," Ken said. "It's about 2:40 now so that will put us into Pewter at about 5:40 p.m. We should miss rush hour if that city is big enough to have one."
Fennekin looked up from his dish for an instant. Then dug right back in and finished it off.
"You ready to roll?" Ken asked.
"Fen," Fenneken responded.
"Well then let's do this," Ken said.
He picked up Fennekin's empty dish, wiped it out with a napkin, and then climbed back in Truck #2,013. His yellow partner was already in the passenger's seat by the time as he stowed the dish. Ken was actually quite impressed the truck's small living quarters contained an area sized just for storing Pokémon food and dishes. He only wondered if that was a standard feature or an option Mack had fitted. Given how many truckers apparently are trainers it made since the company would offer that. He quickly took a look at the starter kit and its other contents. It included a basic collection of potions and a revive. Sandra had told him about most of this stuff over the years and he was surprised at how quick it was coming back to him. He climbed back in the driver's seat, buckled up, and off they went. It was Pewter City or bust now.
There was something inherently weird for Ken passing straight by Celadon City and not turning for home. And yet there was some adventure to be had as he maneuvered the truck off the toll road and toward the turn to get on Route 52. The moment of truth arrived as the end of the pavement approached.
"You know I've never driven a truck off-road before," Ken said. "Of course I've never had a Pokémon before either so today is just full of firsts."
"Fen fen," Fennekin replied.
Ken shifted gears as their truck entered onto Route 52. A large dust cloud immediately began rising from the truck's wheels as the vehicle left the asphalt of Celadon City behind and started down the dirt road. Ken would have to drive at a moderate speed, because trainers walked on them regular routes had lower speed limits than the paved Intercity Routes most vehicles used. The limits were enforced with strict penalties to deter potential speed freaks. These rules were however mostly a formality on the virtually trainer-free routes like this one. The road was short enough if this worked he'd likely get to Pewter City faster than if he took I-Route 52 as he had initially planned before its Snorlax-related closure. Ken reached for his radio.
"This is Vulpix 3 to dispatch," Ken said. "I'm westbound and down on Route 52."
"Copy Vulpix 3," the dispatcher responded. "Be cautious of the dead zones and safe travels."
Fennekin noticeably perked up at the mention of the "dead zones." The little fire type had a worried look on its face.
"Oh, don't worry pal it's not a literal death place," Ken said. "It's just an where radio and phone signals can get spotty."
Ken may have said that sentence calmly but the look on his face was starting to show a little worry as he started to really think about what he just said. If something happened out here they were likely on their own. He looked over to Fennekin and thought back to Mack's mandate for all drivers to carry Pokémon. In places like this it did make sense.
As their truck continued down the road Ken was almost ready to loosen up a bit. Route 52 was proving rather smooth for a gravel road and they were indeed making good time. He smiled for a moment only for the truck to hit a small pothole and wipe the happy look off his face. The whole rig rocked for a moment. Fennekin caught a little air from the bump before he landed gripping the passenger seat in a panicked fashion with all four paws. Things began to return to normal.
"Well, that was wild," Ken said. "That'll keep you awake better than a strong coffee."
"Fen," Fennekin replied timidly.
Suddenly the truck began to shake again. The road conditions outside were getting rough and they were banging the truck around as it traversed them. Ken gripped the wheel and slowed down trying to balance for it. He could see why this road was so little used by truckers. With a load of sturdy Poké Balls they'd be fine but with a load of anything fragile they'd likely be paying for damages right about now. After a tense 20 minutes of rough driving the road finally started smoothing out again. However just at the moment Ken and Fennekin thought they would be in the clear disaster finally struck.
It was the loudest hit yet as the entire truck jerked to the right after hitting a bump. The truck's operation didn't go right back to normal as it had before. The truck was now pulling to the left and an ominous banging rubber sound was coming from the front of the truck. Fennekin looked over to his trainer and the worried look on Ken's face spelled out the situation all too well. They'd likely blown a tire. Ken had no choice but to stop and inspect the truck. He flipped the truck's four-way flashers on and pulled off to the side of the road. There were in a heavily wooded area between some mountains. Conditions were getting cloudy, it looked like rain was moving in.
"Stay here Fennekin," Ken said as he climbed out.
It only took one glance toward the front of the truck to find out the issue. The truck's left-front tire had been knocked clean off the rim. Ken looked it over and noted that it was only the rubber tire that had an issue, the rim itself was fine. The tire also didn't appear to have any punctures, it could likely be remounted. Commercial trucks typically don't carry their own spare tires and this truck was no exception. Ken would have to call for assistance and have someone else come out and change it. They were not going to make it to Pewter City in time.
Ken climbed back into the cab. Fennekin looked up at him.
"Fen?" the little fox asked.
"No, it's bad," Ken said. "We're going to need some help on this one."
He reached for the radio.
"Dispatch this is Vulpix 3, I've got a flat tire," Ken said. "Can we get roadside assistance out here. We're about halfway between Celadon and Pewter on Route 52."
The radio was silent. Ken awaited for a response but didn't get one. He tried again.
"Dispatch this is Vulpix 3, got your ears on," Ken said. "I've got a stuck truck."
Again there was no answer. Ken flipped the radio to a different channel.
"This is Vulpix 3 of GS Transport with a request for assistance," Ken said. "My truck is disabled on Route 52."
Again, there was no answer. Ken looked out at the mountains and the forests, almost assuredly knowing they and the darkening weather were interfering with the truck's radio. He pulled out his cell phone and the message on the screen reading "no signal" confirmed it. They were in a dead zone. Help wasn't going to come easily...if at all.
"Come with me," Ken told Fennekin as they both got out of the truck.
There were no easy solutions to this issue. Without a way to call for help Ken and Fennekin were likely in for a long walk to a town. A million questions began racing through Ken's head. They were about halfway down the route; would it be quicker to walk back toward Celadon City or walk ahead to Pewter City? Was there any sort of an outpost along the road they could stop at instead? They certainly didn't have enough daylight left to get to a town, would it be better to shelter in place inside the truck and hope someone came by who could help? Would GS send someone out to look when he ended up overdue to Pewter City? Was there any way to remount that tire and just drive out? Ken thought the last one was the best question and frantically flipped open an exterior compartment on the side of the cab marked "tools" to see if it contained anything helpful.
Fennekin stood behind Ken and looked around, scanning every inch of the forest in his line of sight. This was why he was here, protect Ken and protect the truck. He was ready if the need arose. A bush rustled and the little fox Pokémon zeroed in on it. A little Rattata ran out harmless and dashed into the distance. Fennekin couldn't help but be a little disappointed it wasn't something that looking to cause an issue.
Ken's search of the tool area netted some results, mainly a small air compressor and a very heavy-duty air jack. It was enough to get the front of the truck just slightly off the ground. Ken then noticed something non-standard in the compartment, a cooking grill and some flammable spray to start it. He grabbed the spray and glanced toward Fennekin. He remembered something he saw on a TV show once and thought about how it was likely their only chance to get the truck going without help.
Ken turned on the compressor and set up the jack at the front of the truck to lift it slightly. As the truck rose he worked to position the tire back on the rim than called Fennekin over.
"Alright, that tire is back on there as best as I can get it," Ken said. "This is where it gets dangerous. I'm going to spray this igniter stuff into the interior of the tire. Once I do I want you to do a low power ember attack on the tire. You're flame with ignite this stuff and the air inside the tire. The small explosion and resulting expansion should remount the tire. It won't be perfect but it will likely get us to Pewter City…if it works."
Ken unhooked the air compressor from the jack and prepared to use it to re-inflate the tire once it was back on the rim. Fennekin looked on nervously as Ken began spraying the liquid.
"You know if we screw this up we'll might blow the wheel off the truck," Ken said. "Oh well, at this point we're desperate."
Ken finished up.
"Moment of truth time," Ken said. "Fennekin, ember."
The little fox wound up and released his shower of orange sparks toward the tire as both he and Ken stood well back. One of the sparks connected with the gas and lit it off. The air inside the tire exploded as planned and pushed the rubber outward and back onto the rim with a hiss sound. It worked.
"YES!" Ken said, grabbing Fennekin and hugging the little starter in celebration.
Ken ran up to the tire, blew out some residual flames from the ember, and hooked up the compressor to pump air back into the repaired tire. Once finished he put the equipment away and prepared to depart. Ken pulled out two of the twigs from earlier and placed them on Fennekin's chair. The little fox happily hopped up to eat them.
"If we make this delivery on time I am going to get you a freaking steak tonight," Ken said as he started the truck and put it in gear. "Would you like that?"
"Kin," Fennekin replied.
"No?" Ken said shocked. "Then what do you want?"
"Fen," Fennekin said, extending his claw like he would for a scratch attack.
"A battle?" Ken said.
"Fen," Fennekin said.
"Alright, we'll get you a battle with someone or some Pokémon," Ken said, sensing this Pokémon had a bit of a fighting streak in him.
"Fen fen," said Fennekin excitedly.
Truck #2,013 was back on the road and its arrival in Pewter City couldn't come soon enough. But there was still a nice sized stretch of Route 52 they would have to traverse to get there.