Normally with just two trucks on the road I-Route 3 would be a peaceful stretch of pavement at this early hour. That was not the case this morning as between the two trucks there was only one set of working brakes and they were all that stood between the big rigs and disaster. Rookie driver Ken Worth had the pedal to the medal and was giving his Truck #2,013 everything it had to stay in front of the runaway Truck #9. Haul master Peter Biltmore was at the wheel of the second truck and using every one of the skills he had acquired over the years to try and maintain something resembling control. In the back of Truck #2,013 Fennekin stared out open doors at the other truck. The little fox was starting to have a hard time believing that he was about to try and weld the bumpers of the two trucks together at speed to give his partner Ken a better shot at stopping them.
Both of the speeding big rigs whipped around corners on the mountain pass as they fast approached a steep decline leading into a one-mile stretch of flat, level road. If Ken and Fennekin were going to pull this off that single mile of asphalt would be their only chance to do so because at its end of it lay the 180 degree "Clefairy's Hairpin," a tight turn that neither truck would make it around at these speeds. The tires on both trucks screeched wildly, barely holding traction, as the big rigs blasted around the turns.
In all his years behind the wheel Peter had faced a wide variety of issues but never a loss of all braking power like this. Looking over at the two cases aboard his truck that contained a secret cargo though put the thought in the back of his head this incident may not just the be the result of normal wear and tear on his vehicle. He was glad he didn't have any of his six Pokémon out of their balls at this moment. If he survived this he was honestly looking forward to seeing the footage from his dash camera of this one.
Both trucks were now roaring down the mountain at more than 75 clicks. As both trucks hit the final straightway before the decline the headlights from Truck #9 fully illuminated the back of Ken's truck, giving Peter his first good look at Fennekin strapped in the back and ready for action. The realization of what he and Ken were going to try hit him instantly and he reached for the radio.
"Vulpix 3, please tell me your Fennekin isn't about to do what I think he is," Peter said. "That welding ember thing the guys at the garage teach is a party trick."
"I could tell you that Squirtle 1 but it would be a lie," Ken responded. "It's only got to hold for a moment."
Both drivers immediately went back to a serious demeanor.
"What's your speed?" Ken asked.
"I'm up to 80," Peter said. "Repeat. Eight-Zero."
"10-4," Ken replied. "Here we go."
In the back of the Truck #2,013 Fennekin muttered a brave "Fenne ne kin" in virtually the same tone. The two trucks screamed around the corner and onto the declining section of road. Ken looked down at his speedometer and its reading of 73 and gave the accelerator a final slam so his truck would get a last burst of speed before the inevitable collision. Getting hit by a speeding truck doing 80 would be lethal standing still but if he could get it up to 79 or so it would be almost nothing. Ken and Fennekin both let out a final gulp as the speeding Truck #9 came roaring down on them.
BANG!
A few sparks kicked off the bumpers in front of Fennekin as the trucks came together, now both doing 82. Ken and Peter were both jerked forward in their cabs by the hit but it didn't stop Ken from giving his truck's horn the two loud blasts he said he would to signal Fennekin. The sound of the horn echoed off the mountain pass as the little fox scurried to the back of the truck, fighting the gravity from the road's gradient. With everything he had Fennekin ignited his ember and put his muzzle right down to the bumpers, racing across the back of the truck to hook them together. In the cab Ken slightly touched the brakes to assure the two trucks wouldn't come apart as Fennekin worked. Peter could hardly believe what he was seeing and angled his dash camera down so it could see Fennekin. The little fox completed his assignment with remarkable speed and flicked the last of his ember out the side of the truck so Ken could see it in their truck's mirror. The truck's hit a bump in the road that popped Fennekin into the air for a moment but the bumpers stayed locked together thanks to his weld.
"Good job fire type," Ken said.
In the back, Fennekin now reversed direction and ran as far into the truck as the strap holding him in would allow. He knew what was coming next.
"Is he done back there Peter?" Ken asked over the radio.
"Your little fox is clear," Peter said. "You two are either geniuses or crazy."
"No one ever said those two things were mutually exclusive," Ken replied.
Ken released the radio.
"Alright Fennekin," Ken said to himself. "I trust your work buddy."
Ken steadied himself as the two trucks reached the bottom of the incline. The trucks had picked up a little speed after the weld and now had to go from 85 to zero. The instant the road leveled out he slammed the brake pedal straight to the floor. The brake rotors instantly went from a cool black to a burning cherry red color as Truck #2,013's stopping power was pushed to the limit. The two trucks blitzed past the first two markers indicting 0.9 and 0.8 clicks left until the hairpin but they were shaving speed fast. The needle on both truck's speedometers was now dropping like a rock.
In the back of Truck #2,013 Fennekin held on as best he could as the truck rocked back and forth while holding back Truck #9. Up front Ken looked down at the speedometer which now read just 51 as the trucks rocketed by the 0.5 marker. They needed more stopping power and Ken slammed the emergency brake buttons on truck's dashboard. Dynamiting the brakes like this was a risky move that released all of his truck's braking power at once but it wasn't like he had a choice now.
The move immediately sent the speedometer needle plummeting even faster but not without cost as the truck's back tires locked up and Truck #9's weight began pushing even harder against it. Fennekin knew his weld wasn't going to hold much longer as the bumpers started shaking as if about to break apart. The trucks flew past the 0.3 mile mark now only doing 23 but smoke was pouring from the brakes and tires on Ken's truck. Peter was hanging on dear life in the cab of his truck, all he could do was hold the steering wheel as straight as he could and hope for the best.
The two rigs were now only doing 14 clicks as they passed the 0.25 marker. For a moment Ken and Fennekin thought they were in the clear when it finally happened. The rear bumper broke, the entire bumper gave way and ripped off their truck with Fennekin's weld giving way a second later, sending the bumper crashing to the ground where it bounced up and jammed into the undercarriage of Truck #9. Truck #2,013 was starting to slide out of control even as Truck #9 slowed to a stop on the side of the road, sparks flying from the bumper now jammed beneath it as a makeshift brake. The little fox covered his head with his paws as the other truck fell back from them. With no more braking power Ken released the brakes and hit the accelerator for a moment, sliding his truck into an almost drift-like motion for a moment. The tactic was just enough to cause the truck's momentum to swing it around into a 360-degree spin that shaved off its remaining speed. Truck #2,013 came to a stop just inches from the guardrail at "Clefairy's Hairpin." The smoke from the tires and the brakes began to dissipate as they cooled down.
"Sweet Moltres on a motorcycle!" Ken shouted. "We made it!"
The brakes hissed as they reset with Ken now setting his parking brake. He flung open the cab of his truck and ran to the back of his rig. Spearow flew in for a landing just as Ken pulled himself up into the container to check on his partner.
"Fennekin?" Ken asked. "Fennekin are you alright?"
With the truck stopped Fennekin stood up proudly as Ken came running.
"Fen, kin ne Fennekin kin fen," the fox replied with a smile, almost certainly saying something like "yeah, but let's not do that again for a while."
Peter opened the door of his truck and climbed out. He kissed the ground out of the sheer joy that he had survived this wild ride. Wiping a tear from his eye he pulled a flashlight from his pocket and immediately went to check his truck's brake lines. Something stank to high heaven about this incident and his worst fears were confirmed the moment the lines came into the view. All of them had failed in a way indicting they were cut before the damage grew to the point of failure. Peter felt stupid for being in too much of a hurry and not checking these lines earlier. This was no accident; his truck had been sabotaged. And now his attention immediately turned back to the two cases bound for Professor Oak.
Ken unstrapped Fennekin from the container and alongside Spearow the trio walked over to Peter's truck with enough strut in their step that one would almost think they'd just won the Pokémon League championship. Peter was already back in his cab grabbing the cases and his dash cam as they arrived. He casually switched a new memory card into his camera and stored the one with the footage of this wild ride in his pocket as Ken arrived.
"Wow!" Ken said. "I can't believe we made it. That was awesome!"
"Yeah great, pat yourself on the back later because we've got to go," Peter said. "Is your truck still running after all that?"
"Yeah, it should be," Ken replied. "I kept it off the guardrail."
"Good, we got to go now," Peter said, climbing down with the cases. "I need to get these to Pallet Town ASAP. This wasn't an accident, someone sabotaged my truck and tried to kill me just to get these."
"Wait, what?" Ken asked, taken aback by what Peter just said. "I've got a load to pick up in Cerulean City and are you really just going to leave your damaged truck sitting on the side of the road here?"
"Trust me, these cases are more valuable than whatever you were scheduled to haul in Cerulean," Peter said. "We'll call the mechanics in Terracotta Town to come take care of the truck but we need to get on the road. These cases have to get to Pallet Town."
"What's in them?" Ken asked. "What could possibly be so valuable that you'd be willing to reroute me and leave your rig on the side of the road to move them?"
"You don't need to know that," Peter responded.
"Yes, I do," Ken said. "How do I know that's not Pokémon steroids or drugs or something else illegal. Whatever's in there is apparently worth killing over."
"Alright, you want to know?" Peter asked. "Fine."
He pulled out the key to the cases and unlocked the first one, revealing the Capture Stylers. Ken, Fennekin, and Spearow looked on.
"You know what these are?" Peter asked.
"Capture Stylers, the Pokémon Ranger's best friend," Ken said. "That's some powerful stuff. Is that really worth killing over though?"
"I doubt it," Peter said. "They were almost certainly after the contents of the second case."
Peter closed and locked the first case before unlocking and opening the second. Ken's jaw hit the floor when he saw its contents.
"Do you see why they were so willing to go after me now?" Peter said. "I don't know how they found out about these but they did. They're on their delivery run from the factory in Kalos to the professor."
Ken reached into the case and pulled out a single Poké Ball, specifically a purple-and-pink model adorned with a small "M" symbol. This was a Master Ball, the most powerful model there was. Toss it and it was an instant capture; no mess and no fuss no matter what Pokémon you were after. Ken looked over the rest of the contents of the case, there were about 20 Master Balls inside it in total.
"Professor Oak has requested these for research purposes," Peter said. "It's the largest number of them ever in one place at one time. Those balls could nab any Pokémon there is right up to the legendary ones. Do you know the kind of world-altering changes that could happen if any organization like Team Rocket got their hands on those? Can you imagine the horrors they could unleash with the power of Lugia or Kyogre or Articuno on their side?"
Ken placed the ball back in the case. He never thought he'd see a Master Ball much less 20 of them. There were rare enough some people even considered them a myth.
"How long have you been a Pokémon trainer Ken?" Peter asked.
"About 20 hours give or take an hour," Ken replied.
"Congratulations Ken," Peter said sarcastically. "With that case in your hand you are now already the most powerful Pokémon trainer on the planet."
Ken closed the case, now all too aware of what was at stake, before Peter locked it.
"We've got to go now," Ken said.
"Fen, Fennekin ne fen," Fennekin barked.
Ken, his Pokemon, and Peter began to make their way toward Truck #2,013 when suddenly a pair of headlights peaked around the hill on the top of the incline. A small, slow moving tow truck came into sight. The truck had two occupants, one of whom appeared to be talking on a radio to someone. Peter handed the cases, his dash cam, and the key to Ken.
"Take these and secure them," Peter said. "I'll handle these guys."
"Got it," Ken said.
"If this goes south you take off," Peter said. "Drive straight to Pallet Town, don't stop for anything under any circumstance. Oak's place is a big one up on the hill with a windmill. You can't miss it. And if things get nasty don't be afraid to use the chrome horn."
The chrome horn comment needed no explanation. Peter was referring to the big chrome bumper on the front of Truck #2,013. When a truck was as speed there was little the chrome horn wouldn't kick aside if a driver was actually pushed to the point of using it.
As Ken and his Pokémon climbed into their truck as the tow truck came to a stop alongside Peter's rig. The little tow truck was based on a pickup model and while more than adequate for towing a car it would stand no realistic chance of moving Peter's heavy truck. That fact sent a chill up Peter's spine as a man and a woman got out of the truck with their Pokémon, an Alolan Persian. Ken watched on and started up his truck.
"Well howdy buckaroo," said the male driver. "They call me Stonewall and this partner Jackson. We heard you were having some brake issues and thought it would be might neighborly of us to give you and your truck a lift to Pewter City."
"Your wrecker is too small to pull my truck," Peter replied. "I appreciate the thought but we should be okay. I'm calling some repair guys from our company to handle it."
"We know a thing or two about fixing trucks," Jackson said with a fake smile. "Certainly we can be of some assistance."
"Nope," Peter said. "We've got it under control. So you can head on out."
Stonewall and Jackson glanced to each other.
"Look pal, perhaps you don't understand," Stonewall said. "We want to help and we're not going to take no for an answer. With a load as important as the one you have you need all the help you can get."
"And just what load of mine are you talking about?" Peter asked.
He gave the pair a death glare. The jig was up. Stonewall signaled Jackson and in an instant both flung Poké Balls decorated with the Team Rocket logo from their belts.
"Fine, if you want to play rough then we'll play rough," Stonewall said. "Go Houndoom!"
"Go Golbat!" said Jackson.
In a flash both of the Pokemon were out of their balls and ready to battle. Peter let out two of his own Pokémon before turning to Ken and signaling him to go.
"Blastoise, Samurott, let's rock and roll!" Peter said. "GO! Deliver the cargo, I'll take these guys! GET OUT OF HERE!"
Ken immediately threw his truck in gear and backed away from the guardrail.
"Golbat, swift!" yelled Jackson
"Houndoom, fire fang!" added Stonewall. "Stop that truck."
"Hydro pump!" Peter yelled with both of his Pokémon responding. "We're built tough and you have no idea who you are dealing with here."
Ken put his truck into a forward gear and began to pull away as Blastoise and Samurott's attacks nailed their opposition with devastating force. Ken slowed for a moment to see if Peter had won and would still be coming along only to see the Houndoom and the Golbat get back up. As the battle raged Ken geared up and raced off into the night.
Truck #2,013 stormed down the mountain and back toward Pewter City. As much as Ken, Fennekin, and Spearow had hoped their second day would be a quieter one. All that was out the window now as they desperately raced toward Pallet Town with an invaluable cargo aboard and Team Rocket seemingly already on to them. Ken grabbed another gear and kept accelerating.
"Hang on you two," he said to his Pokémon. "This is going to be a wild ride."
AUTHOR NOTES
Happy Fennekin Day! Let's celebrate with a new chapter.
The runaway truck scene and some of the rescue were loosely inspired by an episode of "Rescue 911" of all things. The episode recreated a real incident that occurred in Nova Scotia in 1984.