MATURE: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 100

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 34

@Alaskapigeon@WinterVines

Chapter Thirty Five: Tart, Slapper, Cow, ETC.

"Oh HEEEEY there Chloe! How are you? Love the nose job, is that Doctor Leroy's work?" Alaska said with a false cheery smile spread across her face. Sandy let out a laugh that sounding more like a war cry as she suddenly silenced herself by covering her mouth with her hands, but continued to snigger as they both turned towards Chloe. The blonde's eyes were nearly sticking out of her head in shock, and Alaska was trying her best to keep the smile up despite the fact she was ready to burst into giggles as well. Standing behind them was the usual shocked and stupid looking film crew, alongside Damian and Lachlan, who were hurrying over with equally surprised looks. There was a building in the background and the sound of rushing water around them, but Alaska was more focussed on the furious looking Chloe looming before her.

"YOU!" She bellowed again. "What are you whores doing here?"

"Excuse me? We're the whores?" Alaska tutted. "Who was ready and waiting to spread her legs for the first guy in our year that was able to get one up, you selfish little –,"

"Alaska," Damian interrupted as he appeared before them, looking casual in a tight shirt and jeans that resembled Alaska's own. "Why don't we change things up a bit and just both carry on our individual journeys, alright?"

"NO!" Chloe snarled furiously. "Look at what that psychotic bitch did to my nose?"

"What did she do? It looks the same as always," Sandy snapped, and Alaska turned and gave her an approving nod at the comeback. Chloe snarled but at the same time self consciously touched her nose, which was bound with tape and looked rather inflamed after its meeting with Paige's beak. Lachlan appeared alongside as well, looking a tad more breathless than Damian did, at the same time the four Pokemon made their way forwards as well.

"Look, she even already has some Pokemon out!" Chloe snapped, smiling widely as she grabbed her own PokeBall. "Come on Alaska, let's see how well you fair against me this time!" Alaska sighed as she got to her feet, though instantly regretted at as she forgot about the fact she no longer had a cane to lean on. Sandy swooped in though to cover this up, standing close to her and slyly propping her right shoulder under Alaska's left armpit to help balance her.

"Chloe, I would love to battle you and crush you for the… fourth time? Fifth? I've lost count it's been so many, but I really don't have time for this," Alaska purred with a sweet smile. "I don't even know where we have just arrived at, how we arrived or why we arrived, and I would like to solve these questions before I have any more dealings with the likes of you." Chloe looked frustrated at this, but Alaska wanted to keep moving and didn't care about the reality stars at the moment: she needed to find out where they were and how to move on to the next gym.

"What is this place exactly?" Alaska asked, turning around to take in the views. As well as the cliffs looming over them from all sides, Alaska could see that they were standing in the middle of a rather large field of neatly trimmed green grass. It surrounded them as much as the cliffs did, and it seemed to stretch on forever. A sparkling blue river cut between the mountains and the field, moving so quickly that Alaska wasn't quite sure what direction it was moving in, but the beautiful water was rather entrancing. She became almost absorbed in staring towards it, wondering if it was from here that Suicune had unleashed them into this tense situation, or if they had somehow moved through the rocky cliffs around them.

"This is the Power Plant," Lachlan explained. "Haven't you been here before?"

"Oh please, Alaska can't even afford to walk across the road," Chloe said with a catty smile, though Alaska ignored the jibe as she turned towards the building she'd seen before. It was a towering structure that looked a lot like a mansion or a castle, except it was made out of metal, glass and the concrete was painted blue to match the river. It was a very modern building that could easily pass for a flash business headquarters, and Alaska was actually rather impressed to show up here.

"Hang on a second… I thought the Power Plant was in ruins?" Alaska asked.

"It was for a long time, but I think they decided to rebuild it when something to do with Team Rocket caused the old building to complete collapse and they decided to rebuild," Sandy explained in her ear, and suddenly an excited look spread across her face. "Ooooh, why don't we go in and have a look around? I hear that they use Electric Pokemon to help at power plants: I could get some information on caring for my Pichu when it finally hatches!"

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea," Alaska said with a shrug. In reality, she didn't really want to spend time in a power plant when her Pokemon needed training, but she didn't want to upset Sandy any more by upsetting her. "You lot up for a fun adventure into the fascinating world of electricity?"

"Pidgeotto Pidge Pidgey," Paige said sarcastically, and Alaska merely laughed as they made to move forwards, Butterfree, Frances and Nadia already moving ahead. However, they had barely taken two steps before Chloe appeared before her.

"You can't go in there Alaska, it isn't public access!" Chloe snapped, a smug look spreading across her face. Alaska glared back at her and began to ready a comeback, but Damian moved over once again to settle the two.

"She is telling the truth," he said assertively. "Amanda has to go in and sign some paperwork before we go in, and we're just doing some shots and interviews out here. This area is open to everyone though, and you can get around by simply surfing up the river."

"Oh of course, how simple!" Alaska said sarcastically with a smile to match, turning towards Sandy. "Say Alexandra, why don't we send Onix up and Surf up on the river on his back? Isn't that a smashing idea?"

"Well, to be fair, with his height, he could very well –,"

"Shush," Alaska said sternly before turning back to the stars before her. "I don't care what the 'rules' are: I've just spent several days in hospital after nearly getting blown up twice in two days and now have a very sore leg, so I don't really have time to waste away signing paperwork just to get to the other side."

"They have Electabuzz guards, I wouldn't go in if I was you," Lachlan warned.

"Electabuzz, eh?" Alaska asked with raised eyebrows. "Why don't you go ask Lt. Surge about our gym battle while he repairs the holes I left in his walls and then try and warn me about Electabuzz." Sandy let out another laugh, and Damian and Lachlan merely exchanged looks and shrugs before standing aside. Alaska did a false curtsey before limping forwards with her weight mostly on Sandy, trying her best to remain calm and avoid eye contact with them.

"They look really pissed with you," Sandy whispered as they walked away.

"Don't you think I realise this?" Alaska hissed back with her mouth barely moving, watching as their heads turned to watch them as they walked away. It was not comfortable being around any of them, especially not Chloe and her lust to defeat Alaska and get revenge, and she simply wanted to get away. She would love the chance to defeat Chloe once more, but Alaska needed to focus on her proper journey: all the explosions and injuries had hindered her travels and prevented her from properly training her Pokemon, and she needed to work on the various issues her team had. And then Alaska wanted to sit down and talk with Sandy and discuss what had happened back in the tunnel, just to make sure the air was clear before they moved on.

However, the two had barely moved three metres before someone appeared who seemed to have a different idea on their plans.

"Alright you lot, those stuck up nerds have finally given us the go ahead," Amanda Anderson yelled as she strutted out from the Power Plant, staring down at the forms she clutched in her hands, unaware of who was waiting in front of her. Alaska and Sandy came to a halt in an attempt to not draw attention to themselves, but the tense silence that covered the field was enough to draw the producer's eyes upwards.

Alaska wasn't quite sure what to make of the look at the time. She had been expecting the producer to come across as angry or furious like she had previously been at the girl that continued to ruin her production, and that was something Alaska probably wouldn't have minded as she really didn't want to see her either. However, she wasn't expecting the initial look across Amanda's usually blank face: her eyes had bulged and her jaw had dropped in surprise, and the forms she held nearly fell to the ground. Alaska wasn't sure why Amanda looked so surprised, but the completely shocked look was enough to freeze both of them in their tracks.

"Wh-wha-what are you d-doing h-here?" The producer stammered, her usual strict and organised composure thrown out by the sudden appearance of Alaska and Sandy. Alaska was still trying to work out why she was so shocked as the stars ran forwards, Chloe looking close to bursting with excitement.

"These two just suddenly appeared on the grass a few minutes ago, but they don't even know where they are or why they are here!" She explained, grinning at the two with a devilishly happy smile. "And now they can't get away because they don't have a Pokemon that could Surf, boo hoo!" Chloe added with a sneer, keeping the delighted smile on her face for the whole time.

"Oh bite me," Alaska snapped. "We are just going to walk right through the Power Plant, and there is nothing you can do about it!"

"Well, actually Alaska, you can't legally walk through the Power Plant unless you have been authorized," Lachlan reminded her, though he fell silent after having a glare thrown in his direction. Alaska was rather annoyed at arriving in an area infested with the stars, and even more so that she seemingly couldn't escape. Amanda straightened the papers in her hands and looked up with a snobby look back on her face: her surprised reaction had been a shock, but the producer was ignoring it and getting back to her usual demeanour.

"Lachlan is very correct Miss Acevedo," Amanda said rapidly with acid seeping through every word, "this is a very prestigious, important and private building, not some amusement park you can just wander through at your own accord! As much as we always have fun whenever we meet, you are going to have to stay here until you find a way to get back to public land." And with that, Amanda turned and beckoned for her stars to follow without another word. Alaska rolled her eyes and mentally groaned in annoyance: she should have just kept on walking and not cared about what they said, but now they were going to be stuck here for who knows how long. At least if they had landed back in Diglett's Cave she would be having a nice little rest right now.

"Wait!" A shout suddenly rang out, and all eyes turned as Damian moved between the two groups. "Amanda, what if we let them fight for their right to go through the plant?" Alaska was rather taken aback by this, and it appeared that all the stars and the crew were surprised as well.

"Whatever do you mean Damian?" Amanda asked in what she must have thought was a sweet voice, but it had the tone and bitterness that implied he should have just shut up.

"Well, we always end up battling them anyway, so why don't we make it a more fair competition this time?" Damian suggested. "We are doing some challenge in the plant, so let's let the two compete alongside us, and if one of them wins, they are allowed to leave the plant with us?"

"Oh yes, that actually sounds fun!" Sandy said, beaming brightly at the idea. Alaska, however, was less certain: she had never quite worked out Damian, not sure if he was part of the brainless reality stars or had a kind soul within. Darwin had nearly killed his Charmander last time they met, so what if it was all part of an elaborate revenge plan, or was he really just concerned about them making it out of the area?

"Can we do this?" Chloe asked excitedly. "I want the chance to cream Alaska when our cameras are actually rolling!" Amanda was looking rather uncomfortable, another expression Alaska had never seen her use before, and could see the producer was rapidly thinking things through.

"Alright, fine!" She huffed, looking rather annoyed, and pointed an accusing finger towards Alaska. "However, this is the LAST time we will ever cross paths! From now on, we will do our best to avoid each other, agreed?"

"I couldn't be happier with the arrangement," Alaska said with a sarcastic smile. Sandy and Chloe both looked rather happy with this, while Damian merely looked across at Alaska and gave her a half smile and a nod. She wasn't sure what this was supposed to mean and ignored him, turning back towards her Pokemon instead.

"Ready for a challenge?" She asked, and Paige, Nadia and Butterfree all nodded in agreement. Alaska was glad they were happy about the situation, as she would rather have just sat down and had a discussion about things for a moment: why had Amanda looked so shocked, and why had Suicune sent them here? Why had Suicune even appeared in the first place? Alaska had more pressing issues to deal with then vengeful reality stars, but a competition could be the chance to train her Pokemon that she had been looking for, and if it was going to get them moving once more, than Alaska was happy for the chance.




Sorry for the rather slow and uneventful chapter: it was a bit of a struggle to write a relatively boring chapter, so also sorry on the delay. The last three chapters of this arc will be very exciting though, so stay tuned for them to arrive hopefully sooner rather than later

 

[Flaze]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 35

I just finished chapter 34 I still have 35 to read but i wanted to do a quick post. First of all I'm glad that you focused on expanding Alaska's and Sandy's friendship as well as Sandy's past. However I feel like chapter 34 lacked a little bit I'm not saying it was bad it's just that I didn't like the fact that most of the chapter was about falling also I think you should space your paragraphs a little more but that's just a suggestion.

Also I actually like it when the Reality Stars appear xD it gives us a lot of comedy and it's the reason Alaska left on her journey to begin with so you don't have to worry about people not liking it.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 35

What do you mean by spacing out the paragraphs more? I am not going to unnecessarily double space between lines or anything, but thanks for the suggestion. Glad you like the chapter and the reality stars, though it is funny: everyone complained about them appearing too often, yet now they are all in love with them

 

[Flaze]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 35

All right I caught up once more and now I can say that I'm expecting a lot out of this competition xD you probably already have this planned out and stuff but I would for one suggest having Alaska lose just to keep things even. Also I didn't say this in my last post but Sandy has just become one of my favorite characters mostly because we kind of have a similar past.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 35

You'll just have to wait and see what the result is However, Alaska losing to the reality stars I feel would make her strive to try and beat them again, and I want her to focus upon her journey at hand and the issues in her team, but I can promise a different result. And I am glad but at the same time sorry you relate to Sandy: I have always seen her as more relatable and has more aspects of me in her than Alaska does

 

[Flaze]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 35

Well everyone has had those moments in which you just don't know how other people expect you to act and just have to shut up about it sadly.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 35

@WinterVines @Alaskapigeon

Chapter Thirty Six: Alaska Acevedo and the Electric Factory

Despite all the other surprises that had occurred that day, Alaska couldn't help but be taking aback when they stepped into the Power Plant.

It looked like something out of a science fiction movie, or a dystopian novel about a controlling government, but Alaska would rather stick with the lighter thought. It was world that was sparkling white and encased in metal and glass: the tiles blended into the wall, the only thing separating the entire interior from looking like a futuristic winter wonderland being the large amount of technology spread about. No matter what direction Alaska turned, there was some sort of computer or monitor or hard drive built into the wall, a coated technician staring towards the screen as their fingers rapidly typed or touched around.

The more they moved inside, the more Alaska became engrossed by the architectural beauty of the building. Dozens of walkways loomed overhead, made entirely of glass that made it look as if the people moving across and between floors were walking on thin air. Beautiful views were provided of the rushing river, the surrounding cliffs, the fields of green. It was an attractive view that could easily take your mind of the whirr of turbines and the moan of machinery that surrounded them, though none of the people working them seemed to have any free time to look at the amazing view outside. Despite the modern glitz and glamour the new Power Plant possessed, it was still just another workplace for some people no matter what it looked like.

"Isn't this place amazing?" Sandy whispered in Alaska's eye as the two walked side by side, Alaska still have to lean on her friend for support.

"It is a pretty impressive building," Alaska replied, voicing her thoughts aloud, "but I'm beginning to wonder what challenge possibly could have been set up for us in a power plant." She turned back towards the Amanda and the reality stars, who were all leading the way past doors to glass walled offices and hundreds more monitors and the scientists working there. Andy, the tour guide who usually led school and press trips, was walking alongside Amanda talking animatedly to her about the building as he led them to their area, though Alaska wondered if she even truly cared, simply smiling and nodding as the producer thought of how to get rid of the new pest on her trip. There was no shaking the rather surprising look Amanda had worn when she had first set eyes on them only a few minutes ago, and Alaska was trying her best to work out what it could mean but drawing no possible ideas asides from her being surprised to see them, though this look was a lot more than simply being shocked.

"Alright everyone," Andy called from the front, clapping his hands together excitedly. "We're now at your super special location for your challenge! I hope you are all excited to see what's behind this door," he said with a mega watt beam, but he didn't get the overly excited reaction he'd usually get from children and disappointedly turned to the door. Once his back was turned, Amanda turned around to face Alaska: she had a slight smirk on her face, clearly knowing what was on the other side and clearly intrigued to see how she would react. Alaska merely smiled back, not even going to give her any reason to be excited. The stars turned around once they caught Amanda's face, seeing how Alaska would react: Chloe was smirking as well, clearly excited for the chance to show her up, while Lachlan remained his usual uncertain self. But Alaska's eyes were drawn towards Damian, who was looking at her with a sense of worry that he always seemed to have. She never knew why he always looked at her in this rather sad, serious way, and it somehow made her more uncomfortable than the rest of them put together, though that was uncertain as well.

"Move along," the cameraman grunted behind her, and Alaska realised the door ahead had been unlocked, Amanda following Andy inside. Sandy smiled happily at Alaska as she led them forwards, heading towards the doorway and unaware what would await them on the other side.

"What makes you so sure this is going to go well?" Alaska hissed quietly as Damian disappeared through with one last glance back at them.

"Optimism is something I'm very good at," Sandy replied with a wink, and Alaska couldn't help but smile back: despite all that had apparently happened in her life, Sandy managed to keep a smile on her face for most of the day, and Alaska had to admire that in someone who had nearly been killed about five times since meeting her.

But all happy thoughts left her mind as they entered the cavernous room before them.

It seemed that one part of the building's design was a brilliant amount of soundproofing: though the roar of the turbines and generators that made all of this power could be heard, it was more of a distant sound as if it was coming from outside or the other side of the mountains. You almost wouldn't even know that they were even part of the building and simply carry on with your business, unaware of what lay below.

But stepping through that door shattered that vision. Alaska froze at the top of the stairs, staring at the scene before her: there was about three generators the size of her house moving rapidly before her eyes, so many cables the width of a human body coming off them that it would make Lt. Surge faint in surprise. It was a lot darker and much less nicely designed down here, with the walls mostly concrete and the walkways here bits of metal attached together in a relatively odd manner.

"Wow… just wow…," Alaska mumbled as the camera crew pushed past the two, the doors swinging shut behind them and letting out a clang that echoed above the noise of the generators. It seemed straight out of a science textbook on energy: the large room that must go below the ground, with scientists and technicians examining charts and older computers. This seemed like a rather interesting place for a challenge, but Alaska couldn't help but glance towards the giant whirring generators, knowing how much energy and electricity they must have inside and what exactly that challenge would be.

"Isn't this place so amazing?" Sandy said as Alaska moved, signalling for her to help her hobble down the ringing metal staircase. "To think that there is where the majority of energy in Kanto comes from! Just look at those cables! Think of all the possible places that that power is travelling to!"

"I'd rather focus on the possibilities down here," Alaska mumbled back as they reached the bottom of the staircase, where a technician passed them over an orange coat, yellow hard hat and safety goggles. Alaska would never be seen dead in such a fluorescent, sun-darkening shade of orange elsewhere, but thought it best to stick to the rules rather than be kicked out: as much as she felt uncertain about being near three high powered generators with Amanda, she was intrigued all the same to see where it went.

"Good to see you two join us!" Andy called, ever enthusiastic despite the mixed faces before him. "Now, I know your challenge is meant to be a big surprise for the camera, but we just need to go over some safety issues! Your are all wearing these jackets and hard hats because this is a very high voltage area due to the three power generators around us and the many moving underground to –,"

"How are hard hats going to protect us if one of these things blows up?" Alaska asked with a sweet smile, and the tour guide stopped in his tracks, thrown by the question. Amanda turned towards her and shot an eye bulging look, but Alaska ignored it and winked across at a shocked Chloe.

"Your challenge is to somehow get a flag that is up on the walkway," Andy continued, his only sign of the interruption being a slight loss of enthusiasm. "You can use two Pokemon, and they are only ones that can get up there. This can be achieved in any way, but you MUST make sure not to cause any damage to any of the equipment!" He said, looking a lot more serious now. "These generators and cables cost millions of dollars, but any sort of damage could result in a loss of power for any numbers of areas around Kanto and some locations in Johto. It took a lot of convincing to allow you to even come this far, so let's try and stay away from damaging any important equipment, alright?"

"If you damage anything, you will receive the bill," Amanda added, staring wide-eyed over at Alaska. Alaska tried to ignore the look, but she couldn't help but turn towards the whirring generators before them, knowing that anything being damaged would not end well for here, and that Amanda would probably find a way to blame any damage onto her.

"If we are all aware of the rules, than let's get ready to battle!" Andy said, clapping his hands and sounding enthusiastic once more. Amanda nodded and walked before him, basically shoving him out of the group now that his services were no longer required.

"Since we have yet a-a-another bother in our group," Amanda said, trying to stay calm but letting a stutter come in as she glared over at Alaska and Sandy, "we will do all of our filming after the challenge has been completed and we see who the winner is. Now choose the two Pokemon you will use in this challenge, w-we need to get started! Move along!" She snapped, turning away from everyone and strutting away, her high heels echoing around them. Chloe pulled Damian and Lachlan into a whispered conversation, leaving Alaska and Sandy alone as the crew set things up for the shoot.

"That's odd," Sandy mumbled to Sandy. "Have you ever heard her stutter before?"

"No, she is usually quite sure of herself," Alaska replied in a whisper, but paused before she said anymore, a distant memory rushing back to her. "Wait a second…," she hissed. "The first time I met her she stuttered, and I arrived unexpectedly then as well." On that first day of all their journeys, Alaska could remember Amanda's slight stutter, the producer thrown back when this new trainer arrived at the Viridian City Trainer's House and threw a spanner into the works. She had never stuttered again, almost as if Alaska appearing again wasn't a big surprise, but today Amanda had been thrown: combined with the overly surprised look, something was telling Alaska the producer had never expected to see her again.

"Why aren't they filming now either?" Sandy asked as the two grabbed PokeBalls they had only put away a few minutes ago, not allowed to strut them through the Power Plant above. "Do you think they are waiting to do something to us and then film once we're out of the way? Gosh Alaska, I'm starting to get scared!"

"You got us in this mess remember, so don't start complaining!" Alaska said with a slight glare. "However, I do think something's up: that's not exactly new when it comes to my thoughts on these people, but Amanda seems slightly odd today." Sandy raised a questioning eyebrow, but Alaska shook her head, eyeing the reality trio nearby. "I will stick to my promise, don't worry, but I'm not telling you here!" She stared pointedly at the trio, and Sandy made a rather loud 'aah' sound and nodded. The trio turned around, Chloe looking rather suspicious, but Alaska distracted them by unleashing two PokeBalls, sending Paige and Nadia.

"Ran Ran Nido Ran Ran!" Nadia said, beginning to run around excitedly yet with her normal vicious look on her face. Paige flexed her wings as if she had been cooped up for a while, looking around the wide open space with her look getting progressively grimmer.

"Otto Pidgey Pidge?" She said with a glare, and Alaska couldn't blame her: with the amount of electricity around them, it made the Vermilion Gym look like a static balloon.

"Just trust me on this," Alaska said as Butterfree and Bellsprout formed around Sandy. "I know that this looks hard, but all you have to do is fly up and get a flag off a walkway… I think," Alaska replied, staring uncertainly up at the metal above: now that she thought of it, she wasn't exactly sure what to do. Some men were moving swiftly along above as if they had many times before, placing a flag in the middle of the path. What exactly was their true intention when it came to this challenge? Were they supposed to collect the flag and be the only ones to bring it down? Were Amanda and Andy being deliberately vague on the rules in order to cause some confusion amongst her and Sandy? Alaska looked down at Paige, who merely looked grumpier at Alaska's uncertainty, while Nadia continued to run around eagerly.

"Let's just go with the flow," Alaska replied with a smile, and Paige rolled her eyes.

"Alright everyone, it's time to space out!" Andy called happily. "We have rolled a die, and Chloe is to stand directly in the middle, Lachlan and Damian on either side and Alaska and Sandy at each end."

"How subtle," Alaska mumbled, and she gave Sandy, Butterfree and Bellsprout a recurring smile before turning around, ready to head to her spot. However, she froze in shock, staring directly into one of the largest and more unattractive faces she'd ever encountered: it had a look that was both angry and pouty, with large lips, furious eyes and a blue crest that made its face look fierce. Alaska wasn't quite sure what to make of this head that was the same height as her, and looked around for some advice.

"I see you've met Gyarados," Damian said suddenly, emerging around the side and smirking. Alaska was still stunned and confused, and Damian pulled a blue PokeDex out. "Gyarados, Magikarp's evolved form? Have you never heard of it?" Alaska stared down at the computerized image just as the Gyarados manoeuvred around, showing his very long, almost segmented body, blue on the top and cream on the bottom, with fins showing its Water-type properties.

"Nice Pokemon," Alaska mumbled, looking down to see Paige was more obvious with showing her surprise at the very large Pokemon, while Nadia seemed to be contemplating how to defeat the beast before it. "I take it that this may have come from that fun fishing challenge I intruded in on?"

"Your right there," Damian said, still smiling. "It wasn't too hard to level Magikarp up: some clever switching and constantly winning against Chloe was quite handy in getting both Pokemon evolved." Alaska raised an eyebrow as they moved to the right of Chloe, but her question was answered as a mostly red Pokemon walked forwards, looking like a bigger, scarier Charmander, complete with sharper claws, longer tail and a point on his head.

"Charmeleon Char Char!" Charmeleon said, his voice reminding Alaska of an old smoker that use to live next door to her.

"Congratulations than, I think," Alaska said, moving onto a point marked out by Andy, Damian on her left and all their Pokemon moving in front of them. "I've been trying to train my Paras and Nadia here up, but I've been a bit occupied with other things that I haven't had the chance." Damian nodded, and Alaska was taken aback by this: it had been a long time since she had spoken about herself and not been asked a hundred questions about her life. It was a rather refreshing change, and she couldn't help but stare back at the reality star in an all new light, stunned to be having a proper conversation with a normal person for once.

"Alright, are we all in position?" Amanda called. Alaska turned away from Damian and glanced down towards Sandy, who had her determined face on as she stood alongside Lachlan with his Geodude and Wartortle, Squirtle's evolved form that, like Charmeleon, merely looked like a larger form of his predecessor. Chloe was the only one with no evolved Pokemon on her team, her Bulbasaur and Spearow dwarfed as Gyarados floated above them. "Excellent. Now, your task is to collect the flag from the walkway above, using your two Pokemon to do so, and you must get it back and to the top of the stairs we came down. You must protect the flag once you have it, as anyone else may take it, and be on the look out for any surprises along the way."

"Surprises?" Lachlan asked, sounding a touch nervous. "What do you mean by surprises?" Amanda's face twisted into an uncomfortable looking smile, flashing a set of almost pointed teeth to the crowd before her, and though her head was turned to Lachlan, Alaska caught her eyes flickering towards her.

"Oh, you'll just have to wait and see Mr Lynch," she replied, a hint of laughter behind her words. "Just wait and see." This wasn't particularly settling, and Alaska looked down at Paige, the Pidgeotto looking more concerned than annoyed now. "You have five minutes to complete this challenge, so let the games begin!" Amanda called, and quickly leapt out of the way.

"We're starting already?" Alaska asked, rather surprised, but got no response from Damian: he was already calling out his orders, sending Charmeleon onto Gyarados' back. Chloe's Spearow was hooking her claws into Bulbasaur's back, and Geodude was picking Wartortle up, his long wavy tail and stubby limbs retracting inside the shell. "I guess we're starting then…" she mumbled, eyeing Amanda as she and Andy rushed away, the camera crew moving closer to catch images of the trio commanding their teams. "Nadia, let's just go with the flow and have you on Paige's back, alright?"

"Ran Ran Ran!" The Nidoran said, leaping onto her teammates back before Paige had time to notice. The wind was knocked out of her and her eyes bulged, and Alaska couldn't help but laugh. She really didn't care about the competition and frankly didn't care if she won or not: her attention was on her team getting better, and if Paige and Nadia worked well together, than this long and irritating day would be worth it.

The laughter stopped as the generators exploded behind her.




I'll be the first to say it: I am not a big fan of this chapter, or a lot of this arc to be frank. My schoolwork is getting in the way and I'm not getting the proper time to focus on my writing like I get during the holidays, when I can just write for hours and have a clear, focussed idea. I apologise for the drop of quality that I feel has occurred, and that it has been relatively boring so far, but the last two chapters of this arc will hopefully turn things around with a lot of action and fighting, both Pokemon and human So hang on till the next two parts, which should turned things around!

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 36

@Alaskapigeon@WinterVines

Chapter Thirty Seven: How to Piss off Kanto in One Very Easy Step

Screams and sounds of surprise sounded throughout the open room as three jets of fire rose up from each of the generators. Alaska stared in shock, watching as the fire shot up metres into the air and wondered how on earth this could have possibly happened. However, as suddenly as they had appeared, the fire sank back down towards the generators, and it became clear that they were not damaged at all. The stunned reality stars and their shocked Pokemon looked towards a black cylinder on top of each machine, red burning beneath the metal.

"What is this?" Alaska asked, breaking the shocked silence that had arisen since the sudden burst of flames. She turned towards where Amanda was standing with her lips curled up into a smile only a few metres away, the explosion not startling her in the slightest. "Did you do this? Is this part of the challenge?" Amanda glanced over at Alaska, her smile only getting wider at this, and Alaska knew simply from that look that she'd gotten involved in something bigger than she'd expected by agreeing to this challenge.

"Miss Acevedo, we do not reveal the surprises we have planned for our competitions to the contestants," Amanda replied in her most perfectly clipped voice. "I think you should focus on the challenge ahead and see what comes up: Chloe, Damian and Lachlan can handle whatever we set them, so I think you can as well."

"I am sure I can," Alaska replied with a smile wide enough to match the producers, and the two stared at each other with their grinning faces and steely eyed expressions for several seconds, trying to outlast the other. There was no denying the hatred between the two, but Alaska was still trying to work out why the producer dispised her so much: her reactions and attitudes around her hinted that there was more to her rage than simply interrupting a television show, but Alaska couldn't quite figure it out.

Another burst of flames knocked her back into reality, and Alaska turned back towards the scene before her: Paige, Butterfree, Gyarados and Spearow were taking off once more, Nadia, Bellsprout, Charmeleon and Bulbasaur all on their backs. The flames were rising higher than before, forcing the Pokemon to move around to avoid the obstacle, and Alaska was impressed with Paige's quick skill at avoiding becoming roasted.

"Keep up the good work!" Alaska called, watching eagerly as Paige swooped up vertically, Nadia having to dig her claws in to stay tight. Her initial worries and concerns were put aside now that the challenge was properly underway, the Pokemon all flying around trying to avoid the fire that burnt nearby and their competitors. Only Wartortle and Geodude remained on solid ground, and Alaska felt the same feeling of competition and began thinking up a battle strategy that she might have experienced in a gym battle.

"I bet this is pretty intense for a first time," Damian said alongside her. Alaska glanced over and nodded, not wanting to take her eyes off the scene as Paige and Gyarados seemed to tied to reach the walkway. "I wouldn't let it be too overwhelming: sometimes they can be really tough, but than the rest of the time –,"

"I appreciate the help, but in the past week, I've dealt with collapsing bridges, multiple explosions and a brain switching, so I think I can handle whatever this show has to offer," Alaska replied with a sarcastic smile, but instantly felt a touch of guilt as Damian looked affronted. She groaned and clutched her head, trying to ignore the annoying 'bang' the flame cylinders made every time they started up. "I am sorry, I know you're just trying to help, but I am just really annoyed with all that has happened to me lately, and I kind of just want to get this over."

"I can tell," Damian said with a kind smile. "These challenges can get pretty irritating as we do so many, and being thrust into one like this can't really be fun. They get easier over time though."

"Hopefully I never have to experience that," Alaska replied, and Damian laughed. She looked the reality star up and down, staring at his plain blue shirt and denim jeans, and wondered what had sent him down this path. Alaska turned towards Lachlan, who was staring determinedly up at the walkway above, and wondered his motivations as well. Chloe had always seemed like the person likely to become to a front page tabloid darling, and this show was right up her alley, but even after all these meetings, Alaska had no idea what had made Damian and Lachlan join the show.

"Spearow, use Secret Power on Paige, go!" The order rang out through the relatively silent floor, and Alaska was dragged out of her thoughts as she turned around the source of the voice: Chloe was standing with her hands pointed dramatically in the air, the camera crew focussed on her as she gave the order. Once they got the shot they wanted, Chloe turned towards Alaska with the same smile she used whenever she got away with bullying someone at school.

"The little bitch," Alaska hissed, turning away before her anger gave her nemesis any more joy. She looked up at the scene above where the Flying Pokemon were all moving towards the walkway that seemed higher above than she'd expected, and watched in horror as the brown and red feathered Spearow floated towards Paige.

"ROW ROW ROW!" She squawked, and a beam of yellow formed in her open beak. Paige was too focussed on getting up towards the flag before Gyarados did, and had no idea as the attack was fired towards her.

"LOOK OUT!" Alaska cried, but it was too late: the Secret Power struck Paige's tail feathers, exploding and sending her and Nadia spinning up towards the roof. Everyone turned around to have a look at what had happened, and Gyarados and Butterfree stopped moving for a moment, stunned by the attack. Chloe merely laughed, the path now clear for Spearow to go ahead with Bulbasaur.

"Dirty cheating little whore!" Alaska hissed. She couldn't believe that Chloe had just done that, or that she had gotten away with it as Amanda merely stood there smirking to herself, glancing up towards the confused scene above. Any decent gym leader wouldn't let such a sneaky attack go through, nor one so dangerous around the high powered electricity above, and knew that Chloe needed a taste of her own medicine.

"Quick Attack and Poison Sting, go!" Alaska yelled, hoping the two Pokemon were still able to fight. There was no sign of movement near the ceiling, and while Butterfree and Gyarados were moving once more, it was still clear for Spearow to reach the flag first, no one near enough to stop her…

"PIDGEY!" The shrill cry echoed all around, and Alaska silently cheered as white flash high above, and suddenly Paige was rocketing down towards the walkway. Spearow was nearing the flag, Bulbasaur ready to extend a vine and grab it as they passed, and now it was their turn not to notice the attack coming there way.

"OTTO!" Paige yelled as she drove directly into Spearow, smashing the Flying type against the railing as Bulbasaur was thrown off. Nadia leapt off before Bulbasaur had even landed on the path, and instantly purple poisonous stings were being fired from her mouth towards the Seed Pokemon.

"Keep it up!" Alaska shouted. "Take Down Bulbasaur and Aerial Ace Spearow!" Chloe turned angrily towards Alaska and let out an angry cry, but Alaska merely glanced over and smiled back to her. "You're the one that started this, so you'd better be prepared to finish it."

"Oh don't worry, I am!" Chloe hissed. "Bulbasaur use Headbutt, and Spearow counter with your Aerial Ace!" The two sets of Pokemon initiated their attacks, Paige and Spearow flying towards each other with glowing wings while Nadia and Bulbasaur charged towards each other. Alaska looked at the flag lying ignored next to them, but didn't really care about that at the moment: she wanted Chloe to be taught a lesson, and defeating her in her own field would do just that.

"Don't get caught up in this fight again," Damian hissed in Alaska's ear as the three flamethrowers set off again. "If you win this challenge than that will piss them off more than just fighting again."

"I'm not the star of this show, you are," Alaska hissed back, not taking her eyes off her duelling Pokemon. "You win and get whatever the prizes are going to be, and I'll just try and win my own little tournament, alright? Besides, your Pokemon are nearly there anyway," Alaska said, and pointed up to the flag. Gyarados had swooped past the walkway, allowing Charmeleon to leap on to a side clear of any warring Pokemon, and was closely followed by Sandy's Bellsprout.

"Confusion Butterfree!" Sandy called, and Damian gasped as the Butterfly Pokemon swooped down in front of Charmeleon, her eyes glowing pink. Charmeleon halted where he stood and stared around, clearly dazed as to where he was, and allowed Bellsprout to move around with her long, skinny legs moving oddly as she tried to run.

"Great strategy Sandy!" Alaska shouted out, and turned to see her friend smile brightly back to her and give her a thumbs up. Alaska looked back at Damian, who was looking rather annoyed and smirked again. "You have to admit, it was a pretty good idea."

"Possibly," Damian said with an annoyed look in his eyes, but his face softened after a few moments. "We'll just have to try harder than, won't we? Gyarados, keep Butterfree from helping Bellsprout!" The giant flying sea-serpent nodded and swung his long body around, nearly knocking Butterfree out of the sky. The Bug type had to fly quickly out of the way, and was forced to keep moving as Gyarados continued to swing his body around. However, Bellsprout still seemed to have a clear run at getting the flag: Charmeleon was too confused to move, and Alaska and Chloe's Pokemon were fighting too much to notice. Alaska knew that Sandy could do with the boost that would come with winning this challenge.

However, everything changed with a single.

"NOW!" Lachlan suddenly shouted, and all eyes turned towards him. Everyone had forgotten about him and his unmoving Pokemon in all the drama occurring high above, but now everyone watched as Geodude lifted Wartortle's shell into the air, the Turtle Pokemon's head and limbs tucked safely inside, and began to spin around. No one was quite sure what this was going to do, but as Bellsprout reached out towards the brightly coloured flag that lay before him, Geodude stopped spinning and let go.

"Oh my!" Andy gasped dramatically, and this pretty much summed the general reaction up: Wartortle was sent spinning through the air like a rocket, covering a distance in half the time it had taken the Flying Pokemon. Butterfree and Gyarados turned around in shock, and even Paige and Nadia spared a glance as their opponents were left breathless behind them.

"Sprout Bell Bell!" Bellsprout cried happily, unaware of the incoming Pokemon, and happily moved towards the flag with her vine-like arms reaching out to grab it. However, just as she was about to grab it, there was a whoosh and she froze: Wartortle spun over the bar and rose another metre before curving back down. Now all the Pokemon were watching as the Water type came back down to the walkway, head, arms, legs and tail all coming out to help him land perfectly, right next to the flag.

"Tortle War!" Wartortle announced, puffing out the softer part of his chest and smiling at all the other Pokemon, but no one smiled back. It was as if Paige, Nadia, Bulbasaur and Spearow had only just realised they had been so close to the flag this whole time, and it also seemed they were only noticing the other Pokemon around them for the first time as well.

There was a moment of silence, all the Pokemon coming to some degree of halt, nothing moving except for the flag of the wings. Their eyes darted from the flag in between them all to the other Pokemon surrounding them, and they, along with their trainers, tried to think of the most sensible and strategic way to defeat them all and grab that flag.

That moment didn't last long.

"BELL!" Bellsprout shouted angrily, frustrated that her chances of winning had been snatched from right beneath her, and she swung her arms around. A shocked and surprised Wartortle was sent crashing against the railing by the powerful strike, and this seemed to be the call for the other Pokemon to charge forwards as well: Butterfree and Gyarados flew side by side, Charmeleon snapped out of his confusion and took off with glowing silver claws, and Alaska and Chloe's Pokemon took off alongside each other, exchanging more moves as they neared the flag. The jets of flame continued to rise up, but no one paid any attention as they focussed on the scramble of Pokemon on the walkway above.

"Tell your Pokemon to be careful!" Andy cried, staring up at the walkway in horror. "All this commotion could cause it to collapse!" This idea seemed unlikely at first, but a creak and a clang echoed around, and Alaska glanced towards the walls: the metal did seem to be weakening in the middle where all the Pokemon were congregating, the nuts and bolts along the way struggling to hold up their weights.

"The clock is ticking everyone," Amanda called shrilly; "we don't have all day to play this game!" Everyone became tenser as this, trying to think of how to succeed at this challenge, but their thoughts were interrupted as Chloe let an angry screech that rose up in her throat, everyone turning towards her. It was the cry Chloe always used at school on the rare occasions she didn't get her way, and Alaska was pleased to see her get so annoyed.

"Just push them over the sides!" She yelled. "Who cares about their Pokemon, just getting the fricking flag!" Her voice echoed, loud enough to drown out the shouts and cries coming from above, and it was easy for everyone to hear the command.

"Calm down Chloe, it's just a contest!" Lachlan said, rolling his eyes down at Geodude.

"This is more than just a contest!" Chloe snapped, turning towards him with her face screwed up. "I have to win this one whether any of you like it or not, so just back off and let me play it my way! Bulbasaur, Spearow, I DON'T SEE ANY POKEMON FALLING!"

The nine Pokemon on or around the walkway could all hear the shouting, but they were all too focussed on getting the flag to care, with Charmeleon clawing at anyone who came near him, Nadia firing Poison Stings off into the air, and Bellsprout's flailing Vine Whips stopping anyone from getting near. Paige and Spearow were locked in a battle of wings, unwilling to stop until the other was out of the way, and it was clear they were both getting tired from the fighting. Chloe's words were still ringing in their ears, and Spearow was willing to do anything to fufill her master's orders.

"SPEAROOOO!" She cried, knocking Paige backwards behind the railings with an Aerial Ace. The Bird Pokemon flapped her wings furiously, readying to come backwards, and it was then that Spearow noticed what was right in front of them: the wall of cables coming out of the generators, sending electricity all around Kanto. An idea formed in Spearow's mind, and she looked down to where Bulbasaur was, unable to get past an angry Wartortle and his furious Bite.

"Spear Row Row Spearooow!" She cried down to Bulbasaur, and the Seed Pokemon glanced up, a look on his face to show his surprise. "Row Spearow Spearow Spear!" Spearow repeated as Paige swooped around, gathering speed before the final assault. Bulbasaur seemed reluctant, but glanced down at Chloe and saw the determined look on her face.

"Saur Saur Bulba," he replied with a nod, and leapt upwards. Paige wasn't quite sure what she was seeing as she soared down with a Steel Wing, watching as Spearow came out towards her with Bulbasaur on her back. But it was all too late when she, along with the trainers below, realized that Bulbasaur's vines were extending out.

"LOOK OUT!" Alaska shouted, shocked to think that Chloe's Pokemon could be doing what she thought they were about to do.

"OTTO PIDGE PIDGE!" Paige cried desperately and tried to turn around and escape in time. Nadia and Butterfree turned in shock, and Bellsprout stopped thrashing her vines to see what was happening, yet Bulbasaur's only got longer as Spearow took off towards Paige. They wrapped around her, causing her wings to be crushed, and Paige yelled out in pain. Shockwaves rippled throughout the trainers as Sandy, Damian and Lachlan watched the scene unfold in horror, but none of them were as appalled as Alaska, watching as Spearow continued flying and Bulbasaur thrust his vines out, ready to force the Bird Pokemon against the high powered cables. How could anyone do this, how could a Pokemon try something so horrible?

"GYARADOS, GO!" Damian suddenly shouted alongside, and Alaska turned around in surprise to face the trainer, but found Damian ignoring her as he stared up in gritty determination at the scene above, a look of anger across his face she had never seen. Everyone watched as Gyarados charged forwards, covering a lot of ground quickly due to his long body, and floated in front of the cables just as Spearow and Bulbasaur prepared to thrust Paige onto them. Alaska's heart skipped a beat as Gyarados was forced up against the cables instead, letting out an angry roar that forced Bulbasaur to let go: Paige was no longer in danger, unfolding her wings in a pained way as Gyarados took the brunt of the attack instead.

"Thank you," Alaska whispered, and Damian merely nodded in response, casting his angry look over at Chloe. The blonde had remained quiet throughout all of this and refused to look around at the angry trainers on either side of her, merely watching as Spearow flew overhead the walkway, most of the Pokemon still in stunned silence.

However, as most Pokemon came to a halt in shock from what had happened, Wartortle saw this as an opportunity and moved quickly. Bellsprout and Charmeleon were the first to notice as he lunged for the flag, and as Paige and Gyarados moved away from the cables, both hurt from the attempted attack, the Turtle Pokemon grabbed onto the flag and lifted it into the air.

Than the floor collapsed beneath them and the wall exploded next to them.

There was a gasp of shock from everyone, stunned by the sudden change of events. Sandy, Damian and Lachlan watched in horror as about one metre of the walkway swung down, sending Bellsprout, Charmeleon and Wartortle with the flag hurtling to the ground. Nadia had been further away and was merely on the edge, watching as the Pokemon fell below, but she and the airborne Pokemon were thrown as electricity suddenly burst from across the cables. Like with the generators, it seemed at first that something had gone terribly wrong, but Alaska and the others quickly saw this was another one of the reality shows tricks to add excitement to the challenge.

Yet no one saw these tricks as entertaining: orders were quickly unleashed to catch the Pokemon falling through the air or to avoid the bolts of electricity shooting out from. The bolts died down quickly, leaving the only sign of electricity as the whirr from the generators, but the jets of flames were unleashed instead, both traps ready to play havoc with the battle. Alaska was still fuming about what had just happened with Paige, and it was hard to focus on what was happening elsewhere as fury ran throughout her blood: she didn't care at all about the flag that was plummeting towards the ground now. All her attention was on Spearow and Bulbasaur as they remained in the air, and thoughts of how to get back at them.

"Clear the area!" Andy yelled, rushing around in fright as the three Pokemon crashed down towards them, Gyarados and Butterfree moving quickly to catch their team mates. He seemed just as confused as they all were now, something that Alaska didn't find reassuring, and her attention was drawn towards the Pokemon, wondering in the back of her mind who would find three Pokemon plummeting towards a possible death good reality television.

"Geodude, Smack Down!" Lachlan shouted as the walls fired electricity once more, forcing Gyarados and Butterfree to turn around. Alaska had forgotten Lachlan's Geodude remained safely on the ground, and watched as what was basically a rock head leapt up into the air with his hands raised. She had never heard of Smack Down before, and watched in interest as the Rock Head Pokemon greeted the falling Pokemon.

"Geo Geo Dude Dude Geo Geo," Geodude said gruffly, and he smashed his hands against Charmeleon and Wartortle's heads. Brown energy surrounded them as they fell faster towards the ground, and Alaska wondered what sort of attack this was until she saw the two Pokemon land on the ground as if they had only fallen one storey.

"Smack Down is an attack that forces Flying Pokemon to remain grounded for the rest of the battle," Damian explained, back to smirking as he looked at Alaska's horror and confusion. "It is still an attack so they get injured, but I think changing it to this kind of blow would soften it up for them all." Alaska nodded, watching as Bellsprout was sent falling and Geodude moved towards Butterfree and Gyarados, and thought again how a seemingly kind soul had become involved in this type of programme.

"Come on Spearow, don't let them get away!" Chloe yelled angrily, looking up at the sky. Alaska felt the fury rise up again, and while everyone seemed to be focussed on the falling Pokemon that were now beginning to get back up, she turned her attention back towards the walkway where a tired Paige had landed alongside Nadia. Just like how Chloe thought she couldn't lose this, Alaska knew that Chloe and her Pokemon couldn't just get away with the attack. Amanda stood smirking to the side, watching the scene unfold with great delight, and Alaska wanted to make sure the producer learnt a lesson as well. In fact, there were a lot of people that needed to have a lesson taught to them…

"Come on Wartortle, you can do this!" Lachlan called out to his starter, the Water type getting to his feet with the flag in hand, ready to keep on going.

"Bellsprout, stop him!" Sandy yelled. The Flower Pokemon nodded, and her vines shot out again, snatching the flag out of Wartortle's hands and quickly leaping up onto her spindly legs, racing off towards the staircase. Sandy cheered in her delightful way and ran alongside, Lachlan and Wartortle taking off as well with the camera crew not far behind. There were less people around now, and Alaska turned back to her Pokemon, knowing exactly what to do.

"Paige, Nadia," she called, ignoring the others around her and focussing only on her Pokemon. The two glanced over the edge, Paige looking better now that she had rested for a few minutes. "Do you two want to show them how we do things on my team?" Nadia nodded excitedly, eager as always to battle, while Paige shrugged, not overly bothered by whatever happened. "Well sorry Paige, but this one is just for you! I want you to dive down towards the flames using Twister, go!" Paige rolled her eyes, but knew Alaska wasn't going to budge and got to moving.

"What are you doing?" Damian hissed into her ear as Paige took off into the air. "Do you even know what that attack is going to do?" Alaska turned towards Damian with a smirk on her face, glancing towards a breathless looking Andy and a furious Amanda.

"I know exactly what I am doing," Alaska replied sweetly. "I am showing Amanda, Chloe and the rest of them that I am not someone to be messed with: try your little tricks and your twisted little moves, but I am only going to come back from them and show you what I am truly made of." Damian fell silent at this, and Alaska looked back to the air as Paige began to spin around, energy swirling around. "Yo boys," she shouted towards the camera crew that she knew would be following after Sandy and Lachlan, "why don't you catch a sight of this?"

"Stop this at once!" Andy cried, marching forwards but keeping an eye on Paige as the Twister began to take life, coming down towards the cylinder. "This is extremely dangerous and could end you with a very expensive bill for any damages!"

"I know some people that can pay it for me," Alaska said matter-of-factly. She didn't care about the damages or the cost and didn't care how the Power Plant would react, and nor did she really care how Amanda and Chloe would cope with this: she wanted this to end up on camera and get shown around in some way, and she wanted Gideon, Bill, Steven, anyone that she had met to watch it. It was about time they saw what Alaska was properly capable of and why they shouldn't mess with her or try to screw her over, and this was going to show just that.

Silence had fallen throughout the room as all eyes turned towards the spinning purple Twister made of draconian energy, the only sounds coming from the generators that all seemed to be getting noisier and moving around more, almost as if in anticipation or worry for what was to come, and the sparks flying from the wall of cables. Alaska watched with a smile as the tip of the Twister touched the top of the cylinder, hoping that Paige could handle it but knew she had the strength for this, and crossed her fingers that it all came together, watching as the sparks died down…

The result was more impressive than Alaska could had hoped for.

A tornado of pure fire rocketed up into the air only seconds after the wall fell silent once more, red, orange and yellow light casting a warm glow across the entire room. The Twister rose up through the walkway, and Nadia ran out of the way as it began to melt, hot metal dripping onto the ground. Damian grabbed Alaska's shoulder and tugged her away, all the other humans and Pokemon beginning to move as the generator began to smoke from the amount of fire spinning around on top of it. Alaska only glanced around to check on the reactions, pleased by the purely stunned emotions she saw, and was pleased to see it was all being caught on camera. To her the flaming Twister was beautiful, but she knew others would be stunned by it, and Alaska could only hope that it got her message across to Gideon and the 'elites of Kanto' that she had the strength to stand up and fight for herself.

Than the generator exploded before them.

Alaska had had a feeling that this would be a possible outcome, but hadn't really been expecting it when it did happen. It all happened very quickly and suddenly, the Twister seeming to just consume the machine and take away its life. Shards of metal and bits of wiring and machinery were blasted across the room with an echoing bang, but it was really the only sign of any change. Everyone ducked and tried to hide from the bombardment of shards, but Alaska watched transfixed as the cables on the wall began to malfunction as a result, sparks and smoke rising up as if it was all just another trap, and Alaska could only smile to herself at what she was seeing and what she had done, and couldn't be more proud of herself and Paige.

Once Paige came to a halt and the Twister with her, the full extent of the damage became clear: the middle generator was now silent but burning, only half of its original body remaining with flames and smoke dancing up from it once more. The other two were whirring harder than ever as melted metal dripped down from the walkway above, and the cables continued to spark and shoot sparks as they became confused, not quite sure what to do now that their only purpose had been halted.

Yet everyone merely stood there, watching the scene as if the Twister was still going. Alaska savoured the tense silence that had fallen across the scene, and turned towards those that stood around her: everyone, including the technicians that had been working behind, was staring at the melted generator with looks of pure shock and horror, none of them quite sure what had happened. Alaska smiled as she saw the camera was still rolling on the shoulder of the appalled cameraman, while Amanda looked like she was about to faint in shock and explode in anger at the same time. There was a whoosh of wings, and Alaska turned smiling towards Paige as she landed alongside with Nadia on her back, looking exhausted but also wearing a look that read 'Was that what you wanted?'

"You've just cut power to hundreds of homes across Kanto," Andy mumbled, his enthusiasm completely gone in what had to be the worst tour group he had ever taken in the history of his employment. "This is going to cost millions of dollars… I… I… I… I don't even know where to start…" Alaska merely shrugged at no one in particular, turning back towards the generator with the smile on her face getting progressively bigger. This had been a long day full of confusion on top of an even more confusing and exhausting week, and while she savoured being able to sit down for the first time in hours to rest her leg, which she could feel screaming in pain now that her mind was off other matters, Alaska knew that this would definitely send the message she intended to send in the war she had never intended to get roped into.

"If anyone is still interested," Sandy called from behind them all, "Bellsprout got the flag to the top of the stairs first. So… what do we win?"



A shorter wait, I think, for a longer chapter! Hopefully this one has come together better as it was written closer together, but I understand it may be confusing at the moment and seem a bit random. Stay tuned for Alaska's next blog to get a full explanation about her actions that will hopefully clear things up. One more part of this arc left though, and I am sure you are all going to remember that one for a long time to come

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty Eight: I'll Drink to Your Death

"Is it just me," Alaska asked as she peered down the list of drinks before her, "but does a strong brandy sound like a mighty swell drink right now… or maybe a scotch… do you know your alcoholic beverages well Sandy?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you know your drinks?" Alaska repeated in a casual tone. "Do you think I should have a brandy or a scotch? Whichever one you choose I'll let you have some of."

"You could order the most expensive bloody bottle on the shelf and pay double the price, the bartender ain't going to serve you," Sandy replied almost bitterly, and Alaska laughed so loudly that anyone sitting nearby turned around, wondering what on earth she was laughing at. Alaska was a bit confused herself as she laughed, a tear coming to her eye, but it had been a long, long day and she was in need of something to take her mind off the throbbing feeling in her leg, the pounding headache she had felt for the last few hours, and the million questions that constantly swum around her brain, never coming to a stop, only gaining in strength and size as more puzzles joined them every day.

"Can I get you two young ladies something?" The bartender appeared rather suddenly in front of them as Alaska's laugh began to die down, though she and Sandy exchanged a look connecting to the handsome man before them.

"There are many things on this list that I would love to drown my sorrows in, but I'd imagine me friend is correct in saying you won't even give me a sip?" Alaska asked, and the bartender shook his head. "That's good, I don't even have the money to pay for any of these anyway. Just a water, I guess."

"You could always ask your mysterious benefactor," Sandy said with a cheeky smile, and Alaska glared over at her friend as the bartender fiddled with some bottles underneath the bar.

"I don't think I can call on whoever it is whenever it fancies me," Alaska said with a narrowed brow. "Fixing a power crisis is something I am sure the 'elites of Kanto' would empty their pockets for, but I highly doubt they'd open their wallets so a thirteen year old can have a brandy." It was Sandy's turn to laugh at this, and she continued to laugh in her joyful way until the bartender returned with two tall glasses of a turquoise green liquid, straws and ice clattering around inside.

"This is tonight's house special," he explained as the girls eyed their new drinks suspiciously. "It is a called the Venusaur, and is basically lemonade, but we've added lime cordial, apple juice and local berries to make it more of a health juice. Everyone gets one free sample, so enjoy!"

"Thanks for the offer," Alaska said, pushing her glass away, "but I am not eating anything that my Pokemon are meant to eat. I'll just have my water tha –,"

"OH MY GOD!" Sandy screamed, making both Alaska and the bartender jump, and Alaska turned around in fright, wondering what had caused the outburst. "THIS TAKES LIKE SUNSHINE!" Sandy said ecstatically, and Alaska watched in surprise and amusement as her blonde hair tipped backwards, the entire drink going down Sandy's throat as if she was dying from dehydration.

"I guess it tastes alright then?" Alaska asked, struggling not to laugh, as Sandy slammed the glass back down on the table with a wide, hyperactive look in her eyes, and she grabbed Alaska's one before the bartender could take it away.

"This is more than good!" Sandy said, pausing to take a long sip of the green drink. "This is some sort of liquid happiness orgasm mouth explosion delight! This is what rich people must drink, and I am going to drink as much as I can!" And she began to drown the drink, Alaska unable to contain herself any longer and began to roar with laughter once more.

"I am glad your enjoying it, even though it's not meant to be that good," the young bartender said timidly, "but the other guests seem to be disturbed, so would you mind keeping it down?" Alaska glanced around to the rest of the bar with a smile still on her face, but the laughter died instantly as she caught the glares coming her way. About twenty other people were in the small bar that sat next to the Route … Pokemon Center, and everyone one of them was throwing Alaska and Sandy a look that could have set all the alcohol on the shelves on fire, and Alaska suddenly felt as if she was a giant target in front of them all, about to have wine and beer glasses thrown at her.

"Don't worry, they aren't angry about the noise," Alaska replied solemnly. She should have known that workers from the power plant might end up here, the bar only a few steps across the road and the only place in the area asides from the Pokemon Center. While she didn't blame them for being furious at her, it still didn't make for a comfortable environment.

"Bartender, bring me another!" Sandy boomed, pushing the two empty glasses forwards and slamming several coins down onto the bar, the metallic ring earning them more glares from the patrons. "AND MAKE IT SNAPPY!"

"And I'll have some ice as well thanks, while you're getting that," Alaska added before turning towards her friend grimly. "You should slow down and calm down a bit there Sandy, there's no need to yell!"

"I have every reason to yell!" Sandy cried, sticking her nose up into the air and wearing a smile on her face. "There is no one here to mock me or make fun of me, so I am going to enjoy being myself! And meself wants some more of that drink! BARTENDER, WHERE IS MY BEVERAGE!" Alaska let out a laugh, watching her friend in an entirely new light. In all that had happened since they had entered the power plant, Alaska would have forgotten the incident in the Diglett Tunnel if it wasn't for her throbbing leg she couldn't put any pressure onto. While the mystery of Suicune saving them lingered on her mind, Alaska preferred to think of how the friendship between her and Sandy had strengthened due to nearly falling off the cliff. They had not had a chance to properly talk about what happened, but Alaska could only see their relationship getting better the more they shared, and having another brain to share all the mental stress was all she could really ask for.

The bartender passed the drink and ice pack over, and Alaska smiled and thanked him, taking the pack and moving to place it across her leg, which she had spread out across several stools. As Alaska turned, the doors to the bar slowly slid open before her, and three people walked in that she hadn't expected to see nor wanted to.

"Oh my god, it's them!" Sandy said, and Alaska turned quickly back around to shush her, but it was too late. "DAMIAN, LACHY, CHLOOOOOEEEEE! HEY! THERE ARE SOME SEATS OVER HERE!" Sandy shouted, banging the bench in front of her enthusiastically and waving dramatically towards them. The bar was rather small, with only around a dozen tables and several booths, the dark wooden walls left entirely bare, so the shouting only drew the duo more attention that Alaska would have liked. She tried to ignore the angry and judgemental looks coming her way as the reality stars turned towards the noise, grim looks falling across the boy's faces as Chloe came to a sudden halt, stone cold anger flashing across her face.

Alaska noticed Damian lean towards the blonde, possibly to try and warn her off making a scene, but Chloe pushed him back, not taking her eyes off Alaska, much like how the piercing blue eyes had not left her following the generator destruction. Alaska's joy over achieving her plan had been short lived as Chloe and Amanda had both stared furiously at her, neither of their eyes leaving her throughout the hour that followed as they remained within the generator room. It had been uncomfortable and unbearable, and Alaska couldn't even muster up a nasty insult to throw back at the two. Even though she didn't want it, their eyes bore through her skin and seemed imprinted in her brain: even when Alaska was pulled aside to talk to someone or tried to find something to distract her, she could still feel their eyes watching her, waiting for her to crack and fall under their spell…

The trio lingered in the doorway for nearly a minute, a minute which Alaska tried to spend watching Sandy down the Venusaur like an addictive drug and order another, feeling the eyes of not just Chloe but Damian, Lachlan, the bartender and everyone else in the bar, waiting to see what was going on and what the next move would be. Alaska couldn't even see if they were going to move or not, but a sudden thumping began to sound behind her, a similar sound to that of a Ponyta trotting across a hard surface. The sound continued for ten more seconds, before coming to a halt as Chloe pulled up the stool right next to Alaska's foot, heaving her high heels up and resting them against the bar.

"We saw the sign for the free samples out front, we'd like to start with those please," Chloe said in her sweetest voice as Damian and Lachlan sat down next to her, though Alaska knew the tone well enough to sense she was trying to hold herself together. She caught the bartender nodding, and he passed Sandy her Venusaur before starting work on the next three.

The general chatter throughout the rest of the bar started up again a few moments later, but at the bar itself things remained silent and tense, the only noise coming from the drinks being mixed together and Sandy greedily guzzling her own. Alaska tried not to look at them, struggled to resist the urge to lash out with her leg and knock Chloe off her stool, but knew ignoring them was the best option. Alaska and Sandy had left the power plant on rather bad terms, and the former would have liked a break before dealing with the 'Indigo Dreams' team again. And thankfully, it seemed as if the trio were as willing to ignore them as well, Chloe most likely trying to make Alaska stew or try to break her while Damian and Lachlan were trying to avoid a scene. Alaska was comfortable with that, and had some more of her water hoping things would stay this way.

If only Alaska had connected Sandy's behaviour to the drink…

"Another one!" Sandy boomed, doing a rather manly voice that cracked as she burst out laughing. "Actually, maybe make it another two so you don't have to make as many trips – even better, make it three!" The bartender placed the star's drinks down before them and quickly collected Sandy's empty glass, and Alaska knew that three pairs of eyes would be following them. Sandy glanced towards the three and clearly noticed they were staring, and Alaska cringed, knowing she should say something but knowing there was no stopping here.

"Is there something on my face?" Sandy asked, her speech slurring slightly as she stared bug eyed at the trio. "Does my dress look a bit funny? Or is it my hair, does it not look clean enough for you television types? No, none of those things? Well then, why don't you quit looking at me then?" She snapped, glaring angrily at the group, and Alaska wished that they had just fallen to the cave floor all those hours ago: at least it would be less painless than this experience.

"I'm surprised to see that producer of yours even let you lot out tonight!" Sandy growled, her rant continuing as she pointed a finger at the group. "Or are you trying to get some extra footage to boost ratings or some crap like that! Don't people on these shows always get drunk and hump whoever is closest to them? This probably isn't the right scene for that sort of scene though, but I am sure there are some crappy little clubs in the next town: why don't you three just piss off over there! BARTENDER, WHERE IS MY BEVERAGE!" Sandy boomed, and she grabbed Alaska's water and tossed it down towards the bartender. It merely splashed onto the floor, and the bartender rolled his eyes at the new mess to clean up. Alaska sighed as well, and she turned towards Sandy to tell her to control herself when a noise came up behind her, stopping her in her tracks: it was a soft giggle, the sort of laugh an immature schoolgirl might use, and Alaska turned slowly around towards the source. Chloe's lips were a shade of hot pink to match the sparkly dress she was wearing, and Alaska stared at them as the laughter passed through her mouth, sounding high and cold across the bar. It was the same mocking, jeering laugh Chloe had used on Alaska and all the other girls when they had been at school, and it was the same laugh Alaska imagined Sandy had had to live through.

"Oh my god, you two can't go anywhere without causing trouble, can you?" Chloe laughed, tipping back on the stool and clutching her chest in fake, overdramatic way. "They should really just lock you both away in the loony bin before you end up killing someone! You two are just the most pathetic creatures I have ever met in my entire life!"

"Chloe," Damian growled warningly, but Chloe waved a hand to silence them as she turned towards the duo, Alaska looking back with fury burning in her eyes.

"Mandy, Andy, Jandy, whatever your name is," Chloe said with false sweetness, focussing on the blonde as she downed her next drink, "I really think you need to grow up and stop with this crazy thing you've got going on. Just between you and me, it's not a very attractive look now, is it? You may have won that challenge today, but if Alaska hadn't been a total bitch and ruined everything, I don't think your Pokemon would have even done very well. I personally think that you should just try acting normal for once, and then maybe your Pokemon might be able to succeed." Chloe gave a sympathetic smile, yet her eyes were dancing with joy at the effect of her words: Sandy was not saying a word, simply staring silently down into her glass as the words washed over. Alaska wanted to comfort her friend, but she couldn't think of a single thing to say. Her mind was clouded with fury at the disgusting way Chloe was acting. It seemed she hadn't truly felt the effects of the power on Alaska's team even after today, and it seemed to Alaska that she needed to be reminded.

"Listen here you stupid little bitch," Alaska said angrily before Chloe could say anything to her, and turned towards her nemesis with rage fuelling her words. "You are nothing more than some washed up little daddy's girl and that is all you are ever going to be. You've acted for years like you are some powerful and bright darling that has the whole world at her fingertips, and I must admit that for a few years I was intimidated by you and the fact your father had the entire school in his pocket. But I now I can see you are nothing more than a weak and stupid tart that isn't going to amount to anything once this show is over. You might as well start practicing standing on table tops cause it's the only way your ever going to make a living once you've blown through daddy's inheritance." Chloe looked as if she had been slapped, and Alaska flashed her a vicious smile as Lachlan and Damian focussed on their drinks, trying hard not to laugh.

"Oh Alaska, you think your so clever, don't you?" Chloe snarled, her eyes narrowed as she glared back at Alaska. "You use your big words and throw insults and witty lines around like you've got them to spare, thinking it makes you so intelligent. But Alaska, I think you are just as stupid as you think I am! You hang around with this crazy fool you call a friend and act as if winning a few battles and blowing a few generators up makes you brilliant, but I think your just using them to cover up that you have no idea what your doing, only winning badges on flukes and simply causing some explosion or nearly killing your opponent whenever you come close to losing! How's that for a physiological analysis?" Chloe pulled a superior look, one Alaska hardly thought she deserved after blundering her last line, but, as much as it pained her to admit, there did seem to be some truth in her words. Alaska would like to mull these over at another point, but right now she couldn't let Chloe know their effects.

"I may not be the smartest person on the planet," Alaska replied icily, "but at least my IQ is bigger than my bra size." Chloe gasped as the bartender snorted into his rags, and Alaska had a feeling this argument was about to go down a slippery slope.

"That's hardly a great achievement!" Chloe spat back acidly. "Those things are more like zits than tits! You've got the sexual appeal of a brick wall, and I can imagine most men would rather go down a port-a-loo than go down on you!"

"Well we all know how many men you've let go down on you!" Alaska shouted back. "Oh the rumours I heard before I left on this journey, and I imagine that all of them are true, you worthless little wh –," but Alaska froze as green liquid was thrown across her face, sending a freezing chill throughout her body as her hair was washed backwards.

"I am not arguing with you anymore Alaska!" Chloe hissed as she slammed her glass back down on the table. "Let's end this, right here right now!" Alaska slowly wiped the Venusaur drink out of her eyes and stared furiously towards Chloe as the blonde stood up, hands outstretched. She was stunned by this, and her eyes clearly showed it as a smile crossed Chloe's face. "Oh yes, hand-to-hand! Let's see how strong you really are when you aren't hiding behind your back!"

In a few years time, Alaska would think back to that moment as she thought about the bad decisions in her life. Having a bar fight in public, dripping wet with a throbbing head and leg, going up against a girl with hot pink nails like razorblades, was not one of the brightest things she had ever done. But at the moment, as Alaska stared at the blonde in fury, thinking back to everything she had ever said and done to her and Sandy, only one decision seemed possible as water soaked through her shirt.

"Fine then," Alaska said with a smile, raising her good leg and instantly lashing out, "we'll play your way." She lowered her sore leg with a groan as Chloe fell backwards, the kick to her stomach sending her sprawling against Damian, thinking for a brief moment that she may have the advantage. But as Alaska grabbed the ice and placed it on the bar, she didn't notice Chloe leap up and lunge forwards until it was too late.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Chloe hissed as she grabbed Alaska by the head and forced her against the bar, digging her fingernails into her face as she did so. Alaska tried to push her off, but Chloe had positioned herself so her body weight was pressing right against Alaska's. One of her hands pushed down against her throat, and Alaska struggled to breathe as a knee was wedged up against her stomach.

"Break about ladies!" The bartender boomed, coming forwards and trying to push them apart.

"No, LET THEM FIGHT!" Sandy yelled again, her speech slurring again for no apparent reason. Damian appeared behind Chloe and tried to pull her off Alaska, but he seemed to get kicked in the legs and was forced to back away for a moment. Alaska stared up at Chloe, eyeing the furious delight in her eyes as she clawed at her face, wondering what had possessed her to take such violent actions. But looking up to her face pointed out an advantage to Alaska she hadn't seen before.

"GOT YOUR NOSE!" She spat, and lunged forwards with her right hand, grabbing Chloe's already injured nose and twisting. Chloe let out a scream so loud that it could have broken glass, and Alaska breathed with relief as the hands were taken off her throat. Her leg already hurt from having pressure put on it, and Alaska decided it was better to end this early than drag it out. Furiously, she shoved Chloe backwards and kicked out with her good leg, striking her in the stomach again and knocking her into Damian.

"Let's stop this now, alright, before it gets ugly!" Damian said, and he tried to grab onto Chloe's arms, but the murderous blonde elbowed him in the eye before running forwards again.

"I'LL STOP WHEN SHE'S DEAD!" Chloe screamed, her hands raised again, but this time Alaska was ready: she grabbed them before they could come across her skin again, feeling blood stream down her face and neck already from the first clawing, and the two became locked in a battle to try and break away from the other one's arms. Chloe pushed Alaska up against the bar again, but it wasn't as effective this time and Alaska was able to knee her a few times.

"FIGHT HER, BEAT HER, CLAW HER, KILL HER!" Sandy chanted only a metre away, banging her fists against the bar as Damian, Lachlan and the bartender tried to force the two warring girls apart, the other patrons merely standing back and watching with interest.

"Can't you control your friend?" Chloe hissed.

"Can't you control your vagina?" Alaska snapped back, and Chloe let out a furious cry, flexing her hands and finally breaking free of Alaska's hold. She forced her hands down and clawed Alaska's arms, but the black haired trainer wasn't going to let her get in again this time and launched back with a punch from each hand. Chloe was knocked backwards again, clutching her lips and eye, leaving Alaska breathless, holding her arms as they began to bleed as well.

"Charmeleon, go!" Damian yelled, and there was a burst of red light between the two girls before they had the chance to see what was going on. The red lizard-like Charmeleon formed before them, the fire dancing menacingly at the end of his tail, and Alaska turned towards Damian as he stood sternly a few metres away.

"This ends right now!" He said in a scolding tone, looking furiously between the two girls. "You are just making giant fools of yourselves and are just damaging the bar and injuring yourselves at the same time! You two can go on hating each other if you have to, but there's no need to keep this fight up!" Alaska glanced over at Chloe as he spoke, knowing that his words were true. She still wanted to teach the bitch the lesson she deserved, but was currently bleeding from several places, had a sore stomach, leg and head, and frankly just wanted to sit down and relax. Chloe didn't look too keen on the idea, still staring at Alaska with a look like a psychotic murder, but there was no chance she could do anything with Damian and his Charmeleon in the way. The two girls nodded, and Damian smiled at them in relief.

If only they had connected Sandy's behaviour to the drink…

"A Charmeleon, eh?" Sandy suddenly boomed behind them, placing another empty Venusaur glass onto the bench and turning to face everyone in the bar, and everyone in the bar turned to face her. Alaska could see instantly that her friend was not too well: slurred speech, struggling to stand up, a weary look across her face. Alaska wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything before the blonde had raised a Great Ball into the air. "Fine choice, Damian McStudly, but not fine enough! I see you Charmeleon, and I raise you an Onix!"

"SANDY, NO!"

"GO FORTH MY ROCK GIANT AND BRING US GLORY!" Sandy boomed, throwing the Great Ball into the air. Alaska tried to leap up and catch it, but her sore leg wouldn't even move, and she could only watch as it spiralled through the air, landing right up against the wall.

Everything changed in a second.

"OOOOOOONNNNNNN!" Onix roared as he formed from the blue light, rising up like some giant explosion that tore through the bar. The patrons screamed and instantly began to flee as the oversized Onix began to form, already crushing tables, bursting through the walls and roof, sending bricks, wood and plaster crashing down. Sandy let out a cheer and asked for another drink as Damian, Lachlan and Charmeleon fled from the confused and flailing Onix. Alaska tried to run in order to avoid being crushed, but her leg seemed unwilling to move, almost as if it had gone 'Nope, this is your punishment' and was now sitting stubbornly in a corner as it waited for Alaska to apologize.

"EVERYONE OUT!" The bartender roared as Onix continued to twist his body in attempts to workout where he was, sending a hanging light shattering to the ground. Alaska looked around and saw that everyone else were already fleeing to the doors, leaving her, Sandy, Damian, Lachlan, Chloe and the bartender along. Her eyes swept across the shaking building, trying to ignore as Sandy demanded another Venusaur, and tried to get across to her bag on the floor to send someone out to stop him. However, she shouldn't have let her guard down, and didn't hear the high heels smashing against the ground until it was too late.

"YOU BITCH!" Chloe screamed, plunging forwards and grabbing Alaska by the throat as she looked up, the distraction Onix caused allowing her to get past Charmeleon. Alaska began to gasp for breathe again as Chloe forced her onto the bar, ignoring the blood flowing from her nose and the bits of ceiling crashing down around them, focussing only on her old classmate beneath her. Alaska could see the anger in her eyes, the shaking building only adding to the power Chloe had over her: Alaska was struggling to breathe, her entire body screaming in pain from the fight, and it felt as if she was going to die. As she struggled to fight back, Alaska could only think that what Chloe had said was true: she had always hidden behind her Pokemon when it came to battling, whether with the reality stars or with Gideon, never truly fighting for herself. And now she seemed to be paying the ultimate price for it…

"You know what," Sandy slurred, Alaska and Chloe's eyes both flicking towards her, "I never fucking liked you!" Alaska couldn't see what was happening due to her position, but heard as the thump and shatter of glass against a hard object, and felt Chloe collapse onto her chest, shards of glass falling onto her skin. "ONIX, WE'VE WON BABY! WE DID IT!"

The rumbling stopped, a curious growl coming up as Onix finally turned towards his trainer, wondering what was going on. Alaska thought it was appropriate considering that Chloe was now knocked out, and shoved the blonde off her chest as her head and leg felt as if she'd just been shot. Chloe rolled onto the rest of the bar, her blonde hair already stained red from the blood coming from her head.

"Sandy, Chloe may be a bitchy little whore, but that doesn't mean you can just beat her over the head with a glass," Alaska said as she slid forwards, moaning in pain as she did so, "what if you had killed her?"

"Oh fuck you; it seemed like a good idea at the time!" Sandy stuttered slurred, and she tried to stand up, a fist raised as if she would hit her. However, Sandy didn't even stand upright before toppling off, unconscious even before she crashed into the wooden floor. Alaska rolled her eyes as she forced herself off the bar, instantly having to collapse into the nearest stool as pain erupted down her leg. She groaned and rubbed her head, placing the icepack that had remained on the bar back on her leg, and turned towards the others. Damian, Lachlan, Charmeleon and the bartender all looked petrified, staring between Alaska, Chloe, Sandy and Onix, not quite sure of what to make of the situation. Alaska glanced around at the bar, noticing that a good amount of the wall, floor and ceiling had been damaged by Onix, who now seemed to be sniffing Sandy curiously, and one part of the wall had been completely knocked through, revealing the rocky mountains outside.

"Look at this place…," the bartender said breathlessly, looking as if he was about to faint. He stared towards the teenagers before him, clearly gobsmacked at what had just happened. "This is going to cost thousands to fix, and I don't have that kind of money!"

"Well you can give the Silph TV the bill for this one," Alaska groaned. "I imagine my kindly benefactor isn't going to open his wallet for this, and I hope you're expecting us to pay when my underage friend here appears to have consumed a large amount of alcohol unwillingly. That's lawsuit material right there my friend," Alaska said, and leaned back against the bar, rubbing her head and wishing that she could just fall asleep and be over with it.

After the day she had had, with legendary Pokemon, falling off cliffs, somehow travelling through solid rock, making a generator explode, fighting her enemy and surviving a collapsing building, Alaska felt like she could do with a rest.




I have been waiting to write this cat fight for quite a while now, so I hope that it came together as well as I hoped. I decided to leave an explanation of what happened at the Power Plant to the blog, as I couldn't really fit it in here asides from the subtle hints about the mystery benefactor and Chloe and Amanda glaring. Actions taken in this chapter will be justified in the blog and during the next arc, so don't start hating on some of the stuff that happened Its the Blog and Interlude up next in about a week, so see you all then!

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 38

[mention]AlaskaPigeon[/mention][mention]WinterVines[/mention]

Blog Eight: Yesterday Made Me Feel Old

Oh boy… where am I meant to begin?

Readers, have you ever had one of those days where it felt like it would never end? You had to hand it about three assignments, go to all your meetings in one hour, all of your clients seemed to have some sort of problem that needed your urgent attention, grandma fell down the stairs, those sorts of days? Well, imagine having a day where ALL of those things happened, and just when you thought it was over, a bus drove through your front door and ran over your Meowth.

That was my day yesterday.

This is going to be a bit tricky to sum up, once again, so I'll just skim over things.:

- Sandy and I got into an argument, she fell off a bridge, I tried to save her

- We both fell but got saved by magical water that came out of nowhere, and I have feeling that it was Suicune that saved us

- We appeared next to the Power Plant (convenient how we managed to make two destinations in one arc, ain't it?), and unfortunately the reality stars were there, and Chloe McNose-Job was not happy to see me, and Amanda was rather surprised to see me.

- Sandy and I got roped into taking part in one of their competitions, which involved trying to get a flag off a walkway while some generators shot fire at our Pokemon. This wasn't that great of a challenge, but it kind of went a bit OTT when Chloe tried to kill me Pokemon.

- In return, I blew up a generator…. Soz about that guys.

- We were kept inside until the power got restored to half of Kanto, which the technicians seemed to do with a lot of yelling, arguing and glaring angrily at me. Our fabulous tour guide Andy went to get the big boss, who came down sourly and told me the bill had been covered for all the damage except for what the reality show had caused, which went down like cold sick.

- Sandy and I went to drown our sorrows at the bar, yet the reality trio showed up again. Long story short, Chloe and I had the cat fight of the century, Sandy got drunk, her Onix destroyed the bar, than she knocked Chloe out with a glass. I am now covered in plasters and ointment and pumped up with drugs to deal with my leg, which has swollen and hurts like hell, and I may be immobilized for a few days, and once again, I have no clue what the hell is going on.

You may be just as confused as I am. I can imagine some of you are wondering why I blew up one of the generators, which would have plunged many of you into technological darkness, and I myself am left wondering if it was the right thing to do.

However, as I stood there, watching as Amanda Anderson casually let Chloe try and kill Paige and Nadia, something occurred to me. No matter what you do and no matter how you act, there will always be someone that will try and tell you what to do simply to fit in with their own views. Many people have bosses or unions to control them, while CEO's and celebrities are dictated by society's views on how they should act in their positions of power. I have Gideon and those lovely 'Kanto Elites' to boss me around.

Amanda made me realise how much control one person can have on another, and how much they can dictate their lives. If I had ordered for Paige to push Chloe's Bulbasaur and Spearow into the jets of fire they fired at us, I would probably have been reported to the police and be hanging from the gallows around about now if she had their way. In the same way Amanda has her control, the Kanto Elites have a certain control over me: they have forced me into this situation and are keeping me as their one soldier against one psychotic man. Gideon controls me as well, as he is keeping me in this battle and I am beginning to feel obliged to follow him.

But in the same moment that I realized what control they had over me, I realized I can show them a thing or two about it. If they want to try and dictate my journey for me and try and tell me what to do and how to do it, it is about time they see what I am capable of and what I am willing to do. And if Gideon thinks I am some foolish little girl that has gotten involved in something a lot bigger than herself, than he's got another thing coming.

I blew up the generator to show that I have the balls to take this man on, and that if I am going to be the only one stuck in this fight, than I am going to give it all I've got to give.

Other things have been plaguing my thoughts as well. I still don't know if it was Suicune or not, but it did look a lot like him, and I remember seeing the legendary Pokemon appear in Vermilion City. Is there a chance that he is following us? Some of your previous comments confirm that Red does still own him, so why is the Champion sending one of his legendaries after me? And who exactly paid for the damages to be cleared? One moment Sandy and I were sitting at a desk being treated as if we were in quarantine and any technician that came near us would die, and then the next the big boss is kindly escorting us out of the building. Someone did something, and I want to know who, what and why.

And then there was Amanda. When she first saw that I was standing outside the power plant with her stars, she looked as if she had just seen a ghost, and I am starting to get the feeling that that is exactly what she thought I was. I have no proof, but with all the times I've nearly died lately, with exploding tunnels and collapsing bridges, it would be easy that someone could be behind them. Gideon was nearly killed by the GolemBot, so I highly doubt that he had anything to do with something that would have ruined his plans, but I have occasionally been proven wrong, but only when I make my statements in the middle of an alcohol-fuelled boasting binge.

There was just something about the way Amanda looked at me when she first saw us, as if some dark thing from her past she thought had been destroyed had come back to haunt her some more. She had looked so smug during the challenge, thinking I would lose, and that turned to pure anger after I literally blew it apart and then got off without any harm. The boss passed a slip of paper onto Amanda before taking Sandy and I upstairs, and I could tell from her expression that it wasn't good news. Sandy wasn't even given her prize for winning the challenge, something that probably contributed to her drinking later on, and I could sense Amanda giving us murderous looks as we left the generator room, knowing perfectly well that we were getting away and probably knowing who had freed us.

Yesterday was a challenging day. This whole situation I've ended up in is like a jigsaw puzzle that never seems to end: just when you think you have all the pieces, you come across a new piece that changes everything as you try to work out how it fits in. I am merely glad more than ever that I have Sandy and my Pokemon with me on this terrible journey: we are surrounded by vicious and cruel bullies that will do anything to bring us down, and I need my friend more than ever. Sandy has taught me some great lessons in friendship and respect amongst equals, and I know that she is the right person to help me stick up to these bullies.

I will talk again from Lavender Town, hopefully with more answers than questions next time now that I have a new head to help me search through the puzzle pieces and rubble that lay around me.

Cheers my dear readers! Have a drink tonight and make sure you savour its taste: you don't know if it'll be the last thing you ever taste,

Alaska.

P.S. If you lost your power yesterday or your local bar has recently been destroyed in an Onix-related incident, sorry! Blame it on Chloe… I am sure you can find some sort of email address on the Silph TV website, right?

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Blog 8

Anyone know what's up with the Mentions?

Interlude Seven: Anger and Anticipation

Darkness had set across Saffron City, but Buzz Bolton was not staring at his beautiful view for once. His back was turned as he stared angrily at the phone, giving the piece of technology a look so nasty you'd think the phone had done something to personally upset him. His laptop lay at his feet in pieces, broken glass, wires and keys scattered over the carpet. The last thing it had displayed had been the latest blog from Alaska Acevedo, a site Buzz had not expected to be updated again.

His body tensed up as he waited for the phone to ring. Buzz's anger was consuming him, and the fact Amanda had not picked up only increased his rage. In fact, he was furious at her: why hadn't she personally phoned him herself to tell her about Alaska and the Power Plant, rather than leaving his easily frightened assistant to pass on the news. And why were they only learning now that Alaska was alive when the Electrode they planted should have killed her. Too many questions were filling Buzz's head, and the only person with the answers was at the other end of the line.

The second it began to ring Buzz marched over, his feet stomping hard against the ground, and he snatched the phone up before the second ring, already beginning to crush it like a Bug type.

"Hello?" Buzz roared, his usual calm, silky voice being taken over by fury.

"Buzz, y-you need to calm down and let me explain," Amanda replied timidly from the other end, her stutter creeping in once again. Buzz let out a laugh, a loud, short sarcastic sound that he roared into the phone.

"Calm down? You seriously expect me to fucking calm down?" Buzz yelled. "I think that everything is going to plan and we are well on a way to getting our revenge, and then Alice comes in telling me that there's been an accident at the Power Plant. I get sent a $200,000 bill to pay, and if that wasn't bad enough, I hear that whore is back in our lives! WHY ISN'T SHE DEAD!"

"I don't know!" Amanda shouted back, though her voice was still weak. "Our systems show that the Electrode did indeed detonate, so I could only presume –,"

"Oh of course, just presume one of the biggest threats to our plan is dead, that's some great work there," Buzz hissed in angry sarcasm. "I want people to get to the Underground Tunnel and find out everything they can about what happened there, namely being how on earth she managed to escape."

"Yes sir," Amanda responded briskly, trying to compose herself.

"Now, tell me my dear, if she did survive, why weren't we alerted to it earlier?" Buzz growled, sitting down on his desk and staring out to the neon glow of the city but not truly taking the view in. "She has posted a blog since Vermillion City, why weren't we told?"

"I told you, I thought she was dead, I did not bother checking!" Amanda said in defence, but her voice showed she was merely finding excuses. "I-I-I-I-I-I'm s-s-sorry Buzz, I should have done better!"

"And if that wasn't bad enough, you let her get involved in our competition?" Buzz said, getting angrier with every syllable as he brushed aside the stuttered apology. "What the fuck were you thinking you stupid woman? We already know she is stronger than our three trainers, so why let her show them up once more, and then let her destroy a fucking generator?"

"Chloe insisted, and I thought it was best to try and hold her up in case I thought of anything," Amanda explained quietly. "Chloe nearly killed her Pidgeotto and Nidoran though, which I think is a positive."

"A positive?" Buzz hissed. "A positive would be watching Alaska as she wiped blood and feathers off the floor: nearly is not a positive, make a note of that." He sighed angrily, rubbing his head as he wondered what to do next. "Why didn't you answer earlier?" Buzz asked, thinking it was a simple question, but Amanda suddenly fell silent. He didn't notice at first, but after nearly a minute without a response he picked up on it. "Amanda, I can tell your still there, I can hear your breathing. What happened? TELL ME?" Amanda gulped audibly at the other end, and Buzz growled as he waited for her response.

"I told the kids they could go out and relax for the night, just for a change of p-p-pace," Amanda explained quickly. "I didn't think it would do any harm, but after half an hour I hear sirens outside and go to have a look. It turns out Alaska was there, and –" but Amanda never finished her sentence: Buzz roared into the phone, letting out a murderous, blood curdling cry that would be enough to frighten anyone that heard it. The producer could usually reign his anger in, but today he was losing it: Alaska Acevedo had escaped them too many times and was causing more problems than they had originally anticipated, and he was getting sick of it.

"Make sure that whore bitch is dead by the end of the week!" Buzz yelled back into the phone. "I want her head to hang from my wall, you hear me? BRING ME HER HEAD!" And with that, Buzz grabbed the phone and threw it angrily at the window. The phone shattered into broken black plastic, and the window was now cracked, but Buzz didn't care in the least. He angrily grabbed his desk and flipped it over, sending his contents spilling to the floor and cracking the wood.

For the next hour, Buzz let his anger out. He kicked and punched the wall, knocked over his mother's flax plant and tipped over both of his couches. The scarcely decorated room looked as if a bomb had gone off, but Buzz continued to vent his fury, smashing and throwing his photographs and diplomas around. Each thing he broke, each thing he tipped, each item he destroyed, Buzz imagined Alaska's face breaking into tiny pieces and covering his floor. He stamped down in sick glee, imagining screams of pain sounding around him with each stomp. The metal beneath his Persian skin rang with each furious stomp, and Buzz started to laugh maniacally as he crushed every piece of glass and plastic within sight.

The end of many long years of planning was finally coming to an end. Buzz would soon crush everything else in his path, not just the irritating little girl that constantly got in their way. Buzz would leave her, Oak, Bill, the bloody lot of them to fight things out with Gideon, and it would leave the path clear for him to destroy the world around them.

Buzz laughed at this for many hours yet, the stars and the artificial lights twinkling all behind him, unaware of the sadistic plans unfolding within the Silph Co. Building at that very moment, and the citizens unaware of the dangers that were soon to come…

***

The mountains that Alaska had noticed earlier in the day around the Power Plant carried on for miles, their towering peaks and paths of gravel and stone stretching on seemingly for as far as the eye could see. The rocky mountains went down to the very end of Route 10 and carried on around Lavender Town, trapping the small and quiet town permanently by a wall of rock.

At the bottom of the mountains was the hilly and nearly as rocky southern half of Route 10, split off from the top by mountains and the Rock Tunnel that lay between it. A bitter wind blew through here, coming down from the mountains and roaring through towards the town with dust and small rocks in tow.

It was this wind that whipped up Gideon's coat as he stood silently near the mouth of the Rock Tunnel.

He had taken a short time to recover and map out his plans, taking in the reaction from the bombing of Chrono Island and the destruction of Vermilion City. Charred bodies were still being removed from the island, while reports said it could cost up to one billion dollars to repair the city. These reports had made Gideon happy, but he had bigger things to worry about than fret about the past. He waited until Porygon-Z had recovered from the destruction caused, and now was ready to continue his plan.

Gideon stared towards the small, dark town before, the long black coat he wore flapping around him in the breeze. Possibly the biggest part of his plan involved getting a single book that he knew was hidden within the town, and he would stop at nothing to get it.

Nothing, Gideon thought to himself as he began to descend the unstable hill before him. I will tear this town apart if I must: nothing shall prevent me from getting that book.

***

That's what you think

Charlotte purred to herself as she stared towards the dark hill of Route 10 before her, managing to hear Gideon's thought even from this distance. The wind was threatening to blow the ghost away, but she sat remained still with her legs crossed, hands resting against her knees, sitting on the pitifully small building that now made out Kanto's main Pokemon graveyard.

She knew exactly what the scientist wanted, and she knew exactly how he planned on achieving it. Charlotte had savoured the peace for the past three years, enjoying the time to relax, not sure if it was passing by too slowly or too quickly. Yet another challenge was being forced upon her, and the ghost felt compelled to deal with, whether it fell within her duties or not.

"We shall see Mr Gideon," Charlotte whispered into the night, her lifeless body beginning to descend through the roof, "we shall we how it all works for you in the morning." The ghost decided quickly that she was up for the fight that was surely going to unfold, and decided that three years was far too long.

It was time to save the world again.




Rock Tunnel/Lavender Town Arc next. I will hopefully get one chapter up about next week before moving onto Galactic, which will take a while, but there will be more updates from now on as A Wish on Freedom concludes tomorrow(!), giving me more time to focus on 8ES. Also, you may be baffled over Charlotte, but I decided I am not going to give her a detailed introduction every time she first appears in a story, as she already has detailed explanations in Galactic and The First Warriors, and will have detailed ones in future stories as well. There will be some explanation when Alaska first sees her in the next arc, but reading the TFW prologue will shed some light on her before then.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Interlude 7

Ah, it feels good to be back writing Eight Easy Steps! I have not yet checked how long it has been since the last instalment, but it has certainly been nearly two months! I apologise for the delay, Galactic was held up by school work so it took longer than necessary to finish, but now everything is getting back on track. And we can celebrate the return of 8ES with FIVE chapters in a row, no interruptions! I hope you enjoy the return of our favourite characters, and look forward to things getting exciting!



Chapter Thirty Nine: The Hungover Games

"I think my head is going to explode…"

"Lucky you, I think my entire body is close to collapsing in upon itself, like a fat person that's starting to deflate."

"I would tell you off for that, but I think I might throw up if I say anything."

"Why don't you smash me over the head with a glass, seemed to work –"

"OOOOOONNNNN!"

The roar shook the entire cave, and Alaska and Sandy stopped talking, covering their ears from the booming cry. They watched timidly as Onix swung his long tail around, hoping to send Darwin flying, but the Primeape grasped onto it as it came around and dug his feet into the ground, trying to hold him off.

It was midday… well, at least that's what Alaska guessed. She and Sandy had passed into the Rock Tunnel a few hours ago, and with no light getting in, she could only estimate the time was based on how bored and tired she was. Alaska had woken up with her entire body in pain from her fight with Chloe, despite the medicine she had taken the night before, and she would have liked to have stayed at the Pokemon Center for a little while longer, but it was a wonder that Amanda hadn't slit their throats overnight, and it was best to escape before another confrontation arose. Sandy had decided going to Lavender Town soon would be best, as then they could rest there for a few days out of the way of any reality star that might come after them.

The Rock Tunnel was the same generic cave that Alaska had come to expect from her travels. Wide expanses of dull grey surrounded the duo as they walked in pain, with jagged rocks hanging from the ceiling and sticking out of the ground like teeth, waiting to chew and swallow them up. The only major difference was that the Rock Maze would be a more appropriate title: there seemed to be multiple levels of to the mountain, with some areas only accessible through mouldy ladders or cliffs too steep to climb up normally, to sections blocked by boulders or landslides, and other areas that seemed to stretch on forever. It was impossible for Alaska to get down a ladder with her leg, so they were forced to move down steady slopes or use Onix if necessary to get around. But with no map and no signs telling them the way to Lavender, they were forced to walk around blindly in the semi darkness that the cave was permanently cloaked in, trying to find a way out.

They had decided to stop for a breaking to rest their aching bodies and heads, and sent their Pokemon out to have a try at battling. Paige and Butterfree were fluttering over Darwin and Onix as they battled, and Nadia was showing off her strength to Frances and Bellsprout, neither of whom was willing to battle her.

"At least they seem to be enjoying themselves," Sandy said drearily, rubbing her head for the umpteenth time. Depressed, Hungover Sandy was not as fun as the usual Overly Peepy and Friendly Sandy Alaska was use to, and could only nod along to her friend's slow pace. Sandy had spent half the night throwing up and had been silent with guilt for the other half, though neither of them knew how she had gotten drunk. Alaska had been running over the ingredients in her head, and unless the bar used vodka-infused Cheri Berries in their beverages, she could only guess that someone had spiked it. The only question was who, though Alaska had a few ideas floating around in her head.

"NIDO RAN RAN!" Nadia cried, her voice breaking through Alaska's thoughts, and the trainer watched as her Nidoran ran towards Frances and Bellsprout. The two cried out as the Skull Bash crashed into them, sending the two small Pokemon rolling across the ground.

"Nadia, that isn't the way to treat your team mates and allies!" Alaska scolded, shaking her stick angrily, though it made her feel like an angry old man. "Go and apologise to them!" Nadia looked disgruntled, but she nodded and moved towards the two. Alaska sighed and she sunk back onto the slightly flat rock they were sitting on, and pulled a chocolate muffin she had taken from the Pokemon Center out of her bag. "I should probably start preparing this lot for the next gym battle. I think the closest is Saffron City, right?"

"Right," Sandy said with a nod that made her clutch her head again, "but I really think you should start working on their personalities before you teach them any more moves." Alaska froze, a large chunk of muffin wedged in her mouth, and turned towards her friend. This wasn't the sort of thing she would expect Sandy to say, and wondered what had brought it on.

"Pardon?" Alaska asked politely after swallowing the barely chewed muffin. "What do you mean 'work on their personalities'? Are you saying there is something wrong with my Pokemon or the way I train?"

"No no, nothing like that," Sandy said, sounding exhausted as she spoke, "I just mean… well, look at them! Paige is fine because she's been with you the longest and will follow you to the ends of the earth. But Darwin has some serious anger management problem and seems to take pleasure in disobeying you, Frances is sweet and strong but is afraid of her own shadow, and Nadia seems eager to fight. It's nothing to do with you, it's to do with how they are naturally born. I just think you should work on turning them all into cogs that can work in the same machine, not individual bits that need extra maintenance just to get going.

"Take Nadia for example," Sandy said, pointing at the Nidoran. "She just attacked one of her team mates, but that is probably because she's been in a center for so long she's had no one to play with. She listens to you probably because she is loyal to you for rescuing her, but Nadia still needs to be taught not to be mischievous." Sandy sighed at this point and leaned back against the rock, sipping at a bottle of water as she tended to her hangover. Alaska continued to stare at her in shock, not quite sure she had heard those exact words come out of Sandy's mouth: it seemed her hangover and mood change had given her a spot more intelligence and insight than normal, or maybe this was how she acted whenever she wasn't happy… Alaska wasn't sure, but the words swam around her head as she turned back towards her team. Darwin seemed to be getting quite irritable with the giant Onix as his attacks struggled to hit, and Onix let out low grunts as the Primeape hit with more power than before.

… but I think your just using them to cover up that you have no idea what your doing, only winning badges on flukes and simply causing some explosion or nearly killing your opponent whenever you come close to losing! Alaska hadn't thought much about what Chloe had said at the time, but now the words were coming back to her. Was she really prepared to take on more gyms when her Pokemon could not sort out their issues?

"Alright!" Alaska shouted to the Pokemon, and suddenly they all fell silent. Paige and Butterfree fluttered down from the cave roof, while Nadia sat down obediently before Alaska. Frances and Bellsprout nervously made their way over as well, and Onix only had to slightly incline to be involved, though Darwin continued trying to Karate Chop his larger boulders. "DARWIN, YOU TOO!"

"Ape Prime Prime Ape Ape…," Darwin muttered darkly under his breath, and then leapt forwards and landed with a thud next to them all, only startling Frances and Bellsprout more.

"I think that this training session needs a bit more purpose!" Alaska said, smiling down at them all despite wanting to scream from the pain in her body. "So, I want you all to switch things up and focus on developing your moves! Battle someone different, see how it turns out!" The Pokemon looked around at each other, the confusion evident on their faces, and Alaska knew they need something to entice them. "Whichever team does the best will get… half of this muffin, and extra Pokemon food!" She smiled at them, and they smiled back, suddenly enticed.

Alaska relaxed as the battles unfolded before her and Sandy: all the Pokemon began to work well together, using all their moves in a way that tested their skills and put each other on the spot. Paige seemed stunned that Bellsprout was able to hold her off, using Vine Whip to great effect, while Butterfree was having better success with her Special attacks against Frances, but the Paras was quick to fire Bullet Seed and Stun Spore to try and keep her away. Onix was alone, but seemed to enjoy using his attacks to destroy all the rocks in the nearby area, leaving Nadia to face off with Darwin. Alaska had been nervous about this at first, but the two seemed a good match up: Nadia had speed that stopped Darwin laying a single attack on her, yet her attacks weren't strong enough to harm the Primeape just yet. It was a lesson in balancing moves and testing skills, and Alaska was satisfied that it was going well.

"Smart idea," Sandy said alongside, passing over an apple, more food taken from the Pokemon Center. "I think my team needs some training as well, not that we really need it: I am not planning on facing any gym leaders any time soon."

"Why catch more than one Pokemon?" Alaska asked, the question coming out before it had been properly thought over. Alaska paused after the words came out, not sure how to continue, but Sandy was giving her a look and she thought it best to continue. "I just mean… if you aren't battling any gyms, and you are just enjoying yourself like you said, why did you need to catch Onix and Bellsprout?" She knew as she spoke that the words would seem hurtful, and a look crossed Sandy's eyes that proved her right: the blonde stared sadly down at the rock before them, something starting to settle into her eyes that didn't look right…

"Sandy, I –," Alaska began, ready to apologize for being so stupid, but she before she could finish her sentence, a bang echoed throughout the cave. Silence fell as everyone tensed, and then a stalactite exploded several metres away. Sandy, Frances and Bellsprout jumped, and a second bang sounded.

"GET DOWN!" Alaska yelled, and she pushed Sandy forwards as a boulder next to them shattered. The Pokemon began to cry out as they fell to the floor, two more gunshots causing more rocks to break, sending chips of stone hurtling around them. Alaska's back spasmed from landing on the floor, but she had to look up and try and see who was firing at them so they knew how to stop it.

"This is ridiculous!" Alaska hissed. "We're barely five paragraphs into the day and already someone is trying to kill us!"

"Paragraphs?" Sandy asked.

"I meant minutes!" Alaska growled, though she was too annoyed to care what she said: it seemed that her life was on constant replay, every day someone setting out to murder her. She didn't seem to have any control in her life anymore or on what happened, and Alaska was certain that there was someone else out there, sending all these people to murder her just for their entertainment.

"Onix, use Rock Tomb to try and protect us!" Sandy screamed.

"OOONNNNNN!" The Rock Snake roared. He swung his tail around, smashing it into the ground and into boulders nearby, and tossed them all up into the air. They arced over his head as gracefully as if made of paper rather than stone, and than landed, piled high like a pyramid, before them with enough force to send dust trickling from the roof. The gunshots sounded again, but now the Rock Tomb was holding them off, giving them a chance to breathe.

"We need to find an exit and get the hell out of this place!" Alaska shouted, pushing her cane to the ground and trying to get back to her feet. "Paige, Butterfree, you two should fly low and try and find something, and then come back to us as quickly as possible! We'll try and hold this guy off!" A chorus of 'Pidge' and 'Freee' came as a response, and the two friends began to flutter their wings and get ready to move. Alaska turned to watch them leave, hoping that any exit was nearby, but gasped as she saw something coming towards them: a flashlight, moving around rapidly as if the holder was searching for something in particular.

"There's someone else coming!" Alaska whispered to the others, and Sandy let out a nervous whimper. "Darwin, get over their and use Karate Chop!" Darwin nodded, the Primeape eager for some action, and he hopped forwards, fists out and ready to attack. He was just passing Alaska when the gunshots began to sound again, and she looked around nervously to see where they were going. However, a second set of gunshots were being fired, but none of them were coming their way.

"That person is trying to help us!" Sandy gasped intensely in Alaska's ear, pointing at the person with the flashlight: the light was showing the person was firing clearly towards the other shooter, though Alaska wasn't sure if they were both missing or someone was coming to their rescue.

"You lot, get moving!" The person with the flashlight yelled, his voice clearly masculine. There were two flashes of red on either side, illuminating the speaker as being cloaked, his face cast in shadow, and then his Pokemon rose up. Alaska gasped in shock as a Charizard formed only a few metres away, the fire on his tail casting shadows across the dimly lit cave, wings that were wide but torn sending dust and stones hurtling up into the air. The Flame Pokemon roared, and a jet of flame was fired over their heads and towards the shooter.

"Vaporeon Vap Vap Poreee!" Alaska had been so distracted by the sudden appearance of a Charizard that she didn't notice another Pokemon approach them, though she instantly recognized the shimmering blue Pokemon to be Vaporeon, one of Eevee's evolutions. "Vaporeeee, Vap Vapor!" She said, beckoning them forwards with her finned tail, and though Alaska was deeply confused by the past few minutes, she knew getting a move on would be the best idea.

"Come on everyone!" Alaska yelled, and she led them forwards, hobbling after Vaporeon. Paige, Butterfree and Darwin were around her, and she could hear Sandy sticking with the others behind. The Vaporeon skirted behind a large, flat area of land that seemed to have simply risen out of the ground, and the group followed. There was a larger circle of light ahead, and Alaska gasped as she realized it was the exact, right behind them this entire time. She felt stupid, but had more important things to worry about as another Flamethrower lit up the cave.

"Good job Vaporeon, now you need to get them out of here! Charizard and I will join you all in a minute!" Alaska looked towards the speaker, the voice seeming to emit from the shadows, but she realized it was their mysterious saviour, his flashlight now off and his body hidden by the dark clothes he was wearing. Sandy still hadn't joined them, and Alaska wanted to make sure they were alright, but the identity of the person before them was bothering her.

"Excuse me, but who are you exactly?" Alaska hissed as the man made to move. "I don't just blindly follow after people, especially not people with guns and a Charizard that looks like it just battled against some weird Glass Pokemon! Give me one good reason why I should follow after you!" The person turned back towards her, and Alaska could see his eyes staring out at her through the darkness. For some reason, she was expecting him to say some snappy one liner or simply give her a look that showed what he meant, but was stunned when he pulled his gun out and pointed it towards her, leaning closely so she could see his slick smile and black hair hanging messily over his eyes.

"You're going to go after Vaporeon here because my name is Trevor Archer, and I can't save your life or save the world unless you leave right now, and I am prepared to do anything it takes to make that happen," he purred, at the exact moment as a very manly scream echoed around the cave, and Alaska decided in that moment that maybe following Vaporeon wasn't such a bad idea after all.



I hope you all enjoyed the little jab I wrote in against myself there The series is starting to tie in to the wider GalacticVerse now, and if you haven't read The Moral Highground, then feel free to check out Trevor's earlier adventures and see just how he got here

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 39

Chapter Forty: An Arrow of Hot and Shock

Without another argument, Alaska made for the door, moving as fast as her busted leg would allow. Trevor Archer's Vaporeon lunged ahead of them, leading the safest path towards the safest exit. Charizard's roar mixed with gunshots behind her, though it sounded very one sided now, and Alaska could only imagine what would happen to the person who fired at them.

A million questions were buzzing around Alaska's head now, though she had no idea what to make of the situation. She knew it would have to be someone connected to Gideon or Amanda, but the big question was the appearance of the mysterious Trevor Archer who had come to their rescue. Alaska had no idea who the man was, having only seen a hint of his face, but he had the general appearance of a quite stereotypical spy. Was he connected to Oak, Bill, Red, someone like that, or did was he someone that just happened to be passing by and decided to save them? But Alaska knew from what he had said that he wasn't just a stranger, and wondered who had sent him after her and how long he had been following.

"Vapor Vap," Vaporeon called as they neared the next. The white sunshine was nearly blinding, and Alaska used her free hand to shield her eyes. The light was turning the stones and boulders around them into glowing spectacles, making them shine with beauty, and Alaska could hear noises that weren't just her echoing footsteps coming from the exit.

"Let's get the hell out of this place and never come back!" She shouted, and Paige, Darwin and Butterfree cheered around her as they rushed across the last stretch of rock and broke out from the darkness and into the light.

Route 10 seemed like the most beautiful thing in the world, even though it looked the same as everywhere else. It was enclosed by sheer cliffs, leaving only a narrow, sloping and unstable path before them. There were only thin patches of grass around, and areas of the path suddenly turned to ledges. Boulders and small rock formations were scattered everywhere, with a large section of jagged rocks nearly splitting the route ahead in two, and a light breeze was whipping dust up into the air. However, the path was empty, and Alaska felt relief that there was a chance of escape.

"Oh my god, can people please stop shooting at us!" Sandy wailed as she burst out of the exit, nearly knocking Alaska over. "One minute, we're having a wonderful time and nothing's going wrong for the first time in days, and the next some random is trying to kill us and another random wants to save us! Can't we just meet some random who just wants to give us tea and biscuits?"

"My mother always told me never to accept anything from strangers: do randoms fall under that category?" Alaska asked with a smile, and Paige giggled as Sandy glared back at her. Charizard roared again behind them, and Alaska turned back, seeing a flash of fire inside the cave that was more like a candle flame than a Flamethrower. Trevor Archer was still a mystery, but Alaska was certain he was on their side, even if his intentions and methods were dodgy: if he wanted them dead, than he easily could have arranged his Vaporeon to attack, but the … Pokemon was sitting calmly a metre away, ignoring Darwin as he danced around her, trying to coax her into battling. Alaska smiled at her, and was thinking about asking her something when she felt a tap on her shoulder, and found Sandy standing right beside her, bloodshot eyes staring intensely at Alaska.

"Should we get a move on before this guy comes back?" She whispered, her eyes flickering towards Vaporeon, and Alaska wondered if Sandy expected the Water type to lunge at them. "He seems just a bit… dodgy…"

"I agree, but he isn't the dodgy guy that's shooting at us," Alaska replied in equally hushed tones, "and I want to know what's going on: if there's another party following us, I want to find out who it is." Sandy sighed and gave a reluctant nod, and Alaska felt sorry for her as her friend backed away: she had never signed up for any of this, and Alaska knew that she was only getting to get more hurt the deeper they got involved in whatever was going on in Kanto. Alaska had anticipated it and could handle the pain, but she wasn't sure if Sandy would be able to cope with it much longer, especially if Alaska lingered on trying to solve the situation.

But all thoughts of Sandy left Alaska's mind as footsteps sounded behind them. Everyone turned as Trevor began to emerge from the darkness, his body beginning to come into shape as the light caught him. He was average height, taller than Alaska but not by a great deal. He was wearing a black coat that hide the rest of his clothing, with a matching fedora hat resting on his head. His hair was black or brown, Alaska couldn't quite tell, but his skin was lightly tanned, the same colour as the dusty road around them.

"Sorry about that, but I am afraid I have to be forceful at times," Trevor said as he approached them, stepping casually over Onix's long tail as it stood in his way. He flashed Alaska and Sandy a smile, and the two girls exchanged silent giggles, unable to control themselves: their mysterious saviour was actually quite handsome, and Alaska felt herself swooning over his perfect smile, shining eyes and toned cheekbones.

"I bet you two are quite confused about all of this," Trevor said, ignoring their obvious attraction as if he got it all the time. "I am sure you will not be surprised to know I have been following you for some time." Sandy gasped, ruining his theory, but Alaska simply felt her giddiness disappear as she gave a brief nod: everyone seemed to be following them around these days, so it seemed no surprise to find someone else had an interest in their lives.

"We've got about a million people watching our every move, so I think I can handle there being a million and one," Alaska replied with a false smile. "My only question is who you are exactly and who you are working for." Trevor smiled back at her, and Alaska wondered if he was trying to break down her defences with his smile.

"You have so many questions, yet you haven't even thanked me for saving your life back there!" He said, and laughed at his own joke, but Alaska merely gave him a steely glare.

"Maybe I'll thank you once I know you aren't truly trying to kill me," she replied, and Trevor stopped laughing, though Paige gave a defiant 'HA!' and stared angrily at him, making Alaska smile slightly. Their saviour sighed, the joy and joking fading away as quickly as it appeared, and when he looked back at Alaska his face had become serious: no smile, no laughter, even his eyes and skin seemed darker and moodier as he stared back at her.

"I can't tell you everything just yet, but I do not work for Gideon, I do not work for anyone involved with Indigo Dreams, and I do not for any 'Kanto Elites', as you so frequently refer to them as," Trevor explained, quickly and seriously. "I work for an organisation that fights for the good of all the regions and the people and Pokemon that live there, but we are separate to other groups such as the Pokemon League, Contest Boards and Pokemon Research Groups. And unfortunately for you, you have become involved in something a lot bigger than anyone you ever anticipated, and it has gotten too far out of control for even us to handle.

"My job is to protect you from the two parties that wish to harm you and to get you to safety. It is in the belief of our organisation that neither group will stop until you have been killed and eliminated as a threat, and that means you must be saved for the future of the Kanto region, and the rest of the world." Trevor stopped talking so abruptly that Alaska did a double take, wondering if something had gone wrong with her hearing. However, Trevor had suddenly turned around, and Alaska looked over to see his Charizard was stomping his way out of the Rock Tunnel. In the light, his scarred and cut wings were more evident, and it was easy to tell that the Flame Pokemon had suffered a tough life. Alaska wondered if this was as a result from Trevor's work with whatever his group was, and didn't feel particularly reassured by this site.

"Did you dispose of him?" Trevor asked once Charizard was outside, and the Fire-Flying type gave a short nod before glaring around at all of the Pokemon. Alaska turned to see all of them cowering slightly in fear, including Darwin, who had stopped dancing and now stood behind Vaporeon in complete shock.

"It is time to move," Trevor said, and at his words, both of his Pokemon suddenly moved: Alaska watched as Vaporeon leapt backwards behind Darwin and began to run down the sloping path ahead of them, and she turned around in time to see Charizard flap his wings, sending dust into everyone's eyes, and take flight into the skies above. "They are going to go ahead and watch us to make sure the path is clear. There is a chance that more people could be working with that man, and we need to be ready in case more people come after us. Please bring back some of your Pokemon and keep the ones that could be most useful when it comes to a first defence."

"Easy enough," Alaska said with a smile, and she brought Darwin back before the Primeape knew what had hit him. She couldn't trust him in a situation like this, and it was best to keep him out of the way. As Sandy brought back Butterfree and Bellsprout, Alaska looked at her three remaining Pokemon. Nadia was sitting loyally beside her, but the small Nidoran would be no match for bullets and explosions. "I know you want to help Nadia, but I think you should sit this one out, is that alright?"

"Ran Nido," she replied with a nod, but something sad appeared in her eyes, and Alaska bent down and pulled her into a hug before sending her back inside her ball. Alaska turned back towards Paige and Frances: keeping the Pidgeotto was obvious, but Frances was cowering slightly on the ground, shaking at the very idea of being kept. Alaska looked down at her sadly, wishing she could be braver, and, thinking of what Sandy had said what seemed like an hour ago, knew what she had to do.

"Come on, your both coming with me," she said, and scooped the pair up. Frances looked petrified, but Alaska smiled warmly and stroked her back. "I know you're scared, but I need you to be strong. I know you're powerful and I know you can defeat any foe that comes your way, so I just need to trust me on this one: you can overcome your fears and be the strongest, bravest Paras there is!" Frances only nodded, though seemed more frightened than ever and burrowed herself into Alaska's free arm. Alaska sighed, but turned back towards Sandy and Trevor, who were talking about Onix as he swivelled around them.

"Ready?" Trevor asked, and both girls, Paige and Onix nodded. "Excellent then. Now, let's head to Lavender Town. There's someone we need to meet before we head on our way."


A bit of an uneventful chapter, but its setting up the rest of the very exciting arc, and the next chapter would have been very long otherwise.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 40

My attempts to make things go quickly have been thwarted by school work, but the next two should come by fast enough

Chapter Forty One: It Smells Like Lavender… And Death

For nearly an hour they made their way down the path towards Lavender Town. Alaska's leg and back felt like shattered glass and she was ready to collapse by the time they made it near the bottom of the slope. They remained in silence the whole way down: Sandy due to her headache that continued to throb, while Trevor seemed to be ignoring them as he led the way, possibly a way to avoid answering any questions. Alaska noticed he had his hands inside his coat, and wondered if they were clasped around weapons, ready to protect them when the time came.

The Pokemon were silent as well: Alaska noticed Frances because the Paras was still cowering in her one good arm, but it was as if the others had disappeared. Charizard and Paige both flown out of sight and Vaporeon had gone so far ahead that she was only a blue blur in the distance. Onix was the only one that remained nearby, circling around them with his body grinding against the ground, but otherwise he made no intentional noise. Alaska sometimes wondered what her Pokemon thought about when they were silent, and she sometimes concluded that they shared the same queries and fears she had about the world.

As they walked, a million different thoughts swirled around inside Alaska's head. So many new questions had formed with very few answers that it was hard to try and think about everything at once: Alaska thought about Gideon, about Amanda and Chloe, Damian and Lachlan, Latios and Suicune, the person that paid for the power plant, the generator explosion, the bar fight, about what Sandy had said, about what Trevor had said. Everything was starting to become quite confusing, and all Alaska truly wanted at the moment was answers to the questions that were remaining floating high above her.

"We will get our first view of Lavender in a second," Trevor called out, shattering the silence so suddenly that it made Alaska, Sandy and Frances all jump, pushing all of Alaska's thoughts from her mind. "You can rest those pretty legs of yours in a minute," Trevor added, staring down at Alaska and then looking back up with a wink and a smile. Sandy turned towards Alaska looked stunned, and mouthed 'Hot' at her before waving a hand against her flustered face. Alaska smiled at this, but she was not attracted to their mysterious saviour: Trevor seemed to have his own agenda, and Alaska was not about to put her trust in someone as seemingly dodgy as him.

But now that he had said it, Alaska was on the lookout for Lavender Town, and as they manoeuvred around a giant boulder resting before them, the town suddenly appeared before them.

Alaska's instant impression was that Lavender was small: it was enclosed by mountain faces and cliffs on all four sides, with only three paths in and out of the simple square of land left. She could see only around three dozen houses scattered around the town, with a Pokemon Center and PokeMart visible in the middle, though even from afar it was clear they were quite small. It wasn't a visually striking town like Cerulean or Vermillion, and the main beauty was the hint of blue ocean that lay to the south.

There were only two buildings there that were different to anything Alaska had seen before, both tucked away in the eastern corner of the town even though they seemed to be the town's centrepieces. One was a long and flat building, only two storeys high and painted lemon. It seemed like it might be the town hall or a conference building, though it was a random place for both things. The second building was far more recognisable, and was one Alaska had actually seen on television: the Kanto Radio Tower was several storeys high and fitted nicely into its corner as if it had been slotted there. The paint job was a dull mix of brown, grey and the same lemony shade of yellow, but it was topped with a giant radio mast that was around the same size of Trevor's Charizard. Alaska rarely listened to the radio, but the building regularly appeared on the news and in magazines, some referring to it as a 'Kanto Icon', though Alaska could only think of it as a bland piece of technology in a fairly old fashioned looking town.

Alaska felt a pang of sorrow for the town as they got nearer to it. It was sheltered from the rest of the region, the sort of place you would only pass through rather than linger in unless you were a travelling trainer. With the cliffs surrounding it, looming over from all sides and casting huge shadows everywhere, it made Alaska think the residents were trapped behind giant stone barriers, something she was becoming all too familiar with.

"I swear my headache is getting worse," Sandy groaned as they began to pass through the northern entrance to the town. "Can we please find somewhere to sit down? I think I might throw up."

"We will go to the Pokemon Center once we have met with my colleague," Trevor responded. Alaska wondered who the colleague was, but her head was starting to hurt as well and decided not to bother with thinking for the time being. She noticed that Vaporeon was now moving alongside Trevor now that they were moving within the town's limits, and Alaska glanced back to check on the other Pokemon. Onix had been forced to move behind them due to the entrance they were taking, and Alaska felt less reassured without his large body protecting them from danger. Paige was flying around his head, and she looked down at Alaska with a face that basically said 'What the hell is going on here?' Alaska shrugged, and Paige rolled her eyes: both of them were confused about what was happening at the moment, and both of them were ready to give up.

"So, have either of you ever been inside the Radio Tower before?" Trevor asked as they began to move to the left and towards the tallest building around for miles. Alaska and Sandy both shook their heads, though Alaska was keeping her eye on the town. It seemed like there might be more houses here than she expected, or possibly left, Alaska couldn't properly tell. The houses all seemed still and silent, no life moving anywhere even though it was midday. Only the breeze moved throughout the town, a breeze that seemed to have followed them down the valley and gotten worse as it moved. Alaska watched as it blew through the only change in colour within the stony walls: rows of pink flowers stood orderly around the lemon coloured building, a beautiful sight in a town so lacking of nature, yet the flowers seemed to be struggling against the wind as if they were nearing the end of life.

"What is that building?" Alaska asked, and suddenly realised that Trevor had been talking, yet she had taken none of his words in, her thoughts of the town her only priority.

"The yellowy one?" Trevor said, turning his head. "It is The House of Memories, a Pokemon graveyard. They wanted to replace the Pokemon Tower, the old one that was destroyed five years ago, but it was seen as too costly for the town and the government at the time and the two storey building was done instead, and the radio station brought the land."

"That building looks happy but sad at the same time," Sandy said, staring towards the graveyard. "Why would they paint a graveyard such a happy colour, and why would you put it in the middle of a town? That is just so sad… I feel sorry for all those poor Pokemon… Wait, what sort of Pokemon are buried there?" Sandy asked suddenly, the tone in her voice suddenly becoming serious.

"Every Pokemon from the Kanto Region ends up here at first, but you can come and collect them to do whatever you want to do with them," Trevor explained. "Now, we're running behind schedule so let's just get a move along, alright?" He headed towards the Radio Tower, the glass doors sliding open as he approached, but Alaska, Sandy and their Pokemon remained where they were. Alaska stared at Sandy as the blonde focussed upon the graveyard. Her eyes began to swell up, her pupils growing as if zoning in on something Alaska hadn't noticed. There was a sadness in them Alaska had never seen, and she wondered what was causing this reaction. She turned towards the graveyard, wondering why such a pitiful place was used to remember long lost Pokemon. A grand tower was what the departed souls of Pokemon needed, not a disrespectful tombstone painted to disguise the death within. It was no wonder Lavender seemed so dead, and she wondered if the graveyard was having this dreary effect on the town.

"Pidge Pidge!" Alaska turned at Paige's cry, but turned into a slap of her wing. She stumbled backwards, struggling to remain upright on her leg, and turned angrily towards her Pokemon. "Pidgey Otto Pidge!" Paige said hysterically, and flew towards the glass doors before Alaska could react. She followed after and saw that Sandy was following quickly after Trevor. Onix and Charizard had apparently gone back inside their PokeBalls, leaving only Paige and Frances out.

"Ready to go inside?" Alaska mumbled to Frances, staring up towards the radio mast, wondering what was waiting for them inside. The Paras merely whimpered in her arms, and Alaska stroked her with her free hand. "I hope it isn't something frightening either," Alaska said, and with a sigh she followed Sandy and Paige through the glass doors.

Whilst she wasn't expecting a lot, Alaska wouldn't have been surprised to see photographers waiting by the elevators as some big music star left the building, with workers trying to move their way past screaming fans, like she had seen in the movies. So she was a bit stunned to find the reception was as empty as the rest of the town: it was very flash, with different coloured glass ornaments on oddly shaped tables, surrounding by curving red chairs that looked more like a geometric puzzle than a seat. A glass reception desk was to the side, surrounded by shelves of awards, gold and silver discs inside glass cases and various photographs. A young blonde woman was answering the phones and glanced up at their arrival, but if she wasn't there, Alaska thought it would be a piece of cake to storm the building.

"Everyone is probably on their lunch break, that'll make things easier," Trevor said, though it seemed more to himself than to them. Alaska noted Vaporeon was still alongside, so it seemed fine for her to keep both her Pokemon out. Trevor kept them moving towards a series of elevators at the end of the hall, and the metal doors slid open to an already waiting lift.

"If you see anyone that I don't speak to first, ignore them," Trevor said once the six of them were inside and the doors had slid closed. The lift began to move straight away, and Alaska felt unpleasant being trapped inside a small metal box with three Pokemon and a mysterious man. She wondered, as always, what his comment meant, but thought it was best to save the questions for later. "If we are in luck, my colleague will be waiting for us and we can get out of here quickly. I don't like being exposed like this."

"How are we exposed?" Alaska scoffed. "You saw the reception, no one was down there!"

"Which means they are either on lunch or all too busy working up here," Trevor hissed back in reply. "Besides, we the fact everyone that wants to kill you can read your blog, don't you think there are other ways people could watch us?" He pointed to the ceiling at this, and Sandy gasped intensely as they spied a camera pointing out from the corner of the lift. Alaska felt even worse to think all of her movements were being tracked, but the lift came to a smooth halt with a light ping above them.

"Stay behind me and move quickly," Trevor said, his hands disappearing back inside his cloak, and he moved as soon as the doors opened. Alaska, Sandy and Paige all exchanged smiles and sighs while Frances quivered between them, and they quickly followed out to see what was going on.

There were more people up here, though none of them seemed to notice or care as the group emerged from the elevator. The people were mostly young to middle aged, their clothing quite casual to match the brightly painted and decorated walls and hallways around them. Laughter emerged from one room quite close to the elevator, and Alaska could see through a window that is a trio of young men, the whiteboard behind them implying there were planning a show. Yet no one was leaping out to try and kill them like Trevor had made it seem, and in fact no one said anything at all. Alaska only caught a second receptionist glancing towards them as she left her desk, but otherwise it was as if they were ghosts moving through the hallways.

"You'd someone would notice a dodgy looking bloke and three Pokemon moving outside their office," Alaska muttered to Paige, who replied with a simple nod, and she began to wonder if something was waiting for them. The fact they were getting so obviously ignored was strange, and Alaska wanted to know what they were getting themselves into.

"Get in here, and be very quiet," Trevor said suddenly, swivelling around and opening up a simple oak door. Vaporeon slid inside first, and Sandy obediently walked in. Alaska knew better than to make a scene, though her eyes met Trevor's as she passed by, trying to find an emotion that would hint at what was inside, but he merely flashed a smile back and followed in after. Alaska grumbled to herself and looked around, though was surprised to see the room only contained a desk and a number of chairs. No one else was in there except for them, and the only strange feature to be found was the fact the walls appeared to be wavy.

"What is this room?" Sandy asked. "These walls look like the ones in movie theatres!"

"Just take a seat," Trevor said, grabbing a remote from the head of the table and pointing it to the wall to the right of the door. It was the only one that didn't look wavy, instead appearing to be made of black glass for the most of it, but at the signal of Trevor's remote, the glass began to shimmer, the colour changing from black to clear. The next room over appeared before them, and Alaska quickly realised it was a radio studio: a large table in the middle of the room had a series of computers and microphones scattered across it, with chairs to seat about four hosts. Only one person was in there, their back facing them with only long brown hair visible.

"Is this your colleague?" Alaska asked, but Trevor only smiled at her as he pressed another button. A whirr and a buzz of static filled the room, but a feminine voice quickly became audible, and Alaska knew it was the person in the next room.

"Thanks for your call James, and I hope your Torkoal gets better. That was our last question for this week, as we have sadly run out of time. Join me next week for another new broadcast of Daisy's Tips where we will be discussing ways to prepare your Pokemon for the Pokeathlon with help from some surprise guests, and I will answer more of your questions. Until next time, remember to treat all your Pokemon with care and consideration and take my advice today to heart! Bye everyone!"

The woman in the next room took her headphones off as a musical chime began to play, but Trevor turned it off after only a few seconds. Alaska suddenly became on edge: the woman was moving towards a door, and it was likely she would soon be with them. Alaska was expecting answers, and was so worried and excited that she could barely focus, but her head, back and leg were searing with pain, and she made towards the nearest chair, unable to stand much longer.

But as she lowered herself down, the entire building began to shake. Paige squawked and Frances cried out as the building lurched, causing Alaska to miss her chair and collapse to the floor. Sirens began to wail throughout the building and warnings and instructions came across the speakers.

"Fuck, what the hell is going on?" Trevor hissed angrily, and he flung the door open. Alaska couldn't see him go as her back had seized up, leaving her trapped on the floor with a table wobbling right next to her and a Paras quivering on her chest. Shouts sounded from outside, and Paige was flying frantically overhead. Alaska sighed as she shut her eyes, trying to block out the pain spreading through her body: it felt as if she had become paralyzed, and realised with an uncomfortable jolt that she couldn't feel her damaged leg. Alaska should have been worried, but only questions filled her mind as they always did, and somehow they override the pain.

Lavender had been a ghost town when they entered the tower, so what had happened in the past five minutes to change things so drastically?


Tune in next time for a surprising change in story telling

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 41

Interlude Eight: Meanwhile…

Five minutes earlier…

Charlotte had expected a tough battle, but Gideon was proving a tougher opponent than the norm.

It should have been easy: Charlotte had spent the last two thousand years following after people in silence, sneaking up behind them and only materialising when she wanted to scare them or had them right where she wanted them. The ghost had hidden in the shadows as Gideon entered the home of her fellow departed. Charlotte rarely came in the House of Memories, still disgusted with how horribly the dead Pokemon had been treated, but was able to restrain her anger in order to face off with Gideon.

The scientist was wearing all black, the outfit someone wore when trying to hide something, yet it made them stick out more than anything else. Charlotte waited for several hours until he finally arrived, waiting until he had passed through the entrance before moving into the Hall itself before making after him.

Beyond the doors was a wide expanse of small grey boxes in systematic rows, encased by bright walls the colour of sunshine in attempts to make the mass tomb of thousands of Pokemon seem happy. Gideon's footsteps echoed in the silent and wide room, and they easily masked any noise Charlotte might make as she silently and invisibly followed behind him, a shadow, a shimmer, following each and every step he made. Charlotte could feel the power of her spell book, and knew exactly where it was hidden. The only question now was if Gideon knew the answer, and how he planned on getting it if he did.

Gideon turned suddenly into a row, and Charlotte smiled to herself: he was several rows away from the one where her book was hidden, and was glad that he had gotten things wrong. She waited at the end of the row as Gideon made his way down, pausing around the halfway mark and turning towards a coffin.

Don't tell me he's here to mourn, Charlotte thought with an indignant snort. She had never imagined Gideon to have any sort of emotions, and was actually rather amused at the idea. Putting her duty to the side for a moment, Charlotte floated briskly down the row to appear by his side, peering over his shoulder at the little grey box. Now would be the perfect time to stop him, Charlotte pondered deviously, and a hundred spells rushed through her mind as she thought of what to do to him. But as she began to settle on one, there was a click, and Charlotte froze as she felt something pass through where her stomach had once been.

"Hello Charlotte. It's been a while," Gideon purred, a slight laugh in his voice. Charlotte gasped to herself, confused and shocked that he had caught her, but before she could do anything else, a blast of energy was fired through her body. Charlotte let out a scream that she couldn't even hear, her body blasted apart like exploding sand, feeling all of her particles moving across the entire hall put unable to control them. Pain seared throughout her, and for a moment Charlotte thought back to the moment when she had died: that pain had been a thousand times more horrible and cruel than this, but this was one of the few things to come close in the past millennium.

Only a few moments later, Charlotte reformed on the ground, a metre away from when she had just been. The grey boxes near her had been tipped over and scattered, causing ash to cover the white tiles beneath her. Gideon remained where he was, but as Charlotte looked up she saw he had turned around to face her: his body was still hiding by his black cloak, but his face stared out at her from beneath a head of oily black hair.

"You'd think that someone that could see all the future had to offer would stop falling for the same tricks over and over again," Gideon hissed at her. Charlotte glared at him for a moment before staring towards the weapon in his hands. It looked like a normal handgun for the most part, but in the barrel was a large glass ball rather than an exit for the bullet, surrounded by a curved glass circle that looked as if it was trying to swallow the ball.

"Like my latest gadget?" Gideon asked. "I heard about what happened to you at Solaceon Town a few years ago, and when I learnt that your book was here, I had a feeling you'd be waiting to protect it and thought I would equip myself. This weapon, as you may have realised, has the power to fire Ghost Energy, and you have successfully proven that it can blow you apart." Gideon laughed to himself, and Charlotte noted how unhinged and deranged it made him seem. She had begun to recover from her attack and was finally able to focus on him: Gideon looked thin and pale, a sickly glow around his skin that made him look almost dead. He had never been overly attractive, but thinking back to when they had last seen each other, Charlotte could clearly note deterioration in his health. But there were more important things for her to focus on right, and Charlotte quickly morphed through the space around them, appearing directly behind Gideon and placing her hands around his head.

"I want to know how you learnt my book was here," she hissed, "and you'd better tell me the truth or I will melt your brain!" Gideon smirked and stepped forwards, spinning around and raising his gun.

"I will simply strike you again if you try and hurt me," he purred. Charlotte stared down at the weapon and began to smile herself.

"You really want to play this game with me?" She laughed. It echoed throughout the hall, and with a click of her fingers it began to magnify and multiply, so it seemed like hundreds of people were laughing at different volumes and tones. Gideon looked around in confusion, and gave Charlotte the opportunity to clap her hands together and push them forwards. The scientist yelled out as a gust of wind blew him backwards, tearing his cloak open and sending him crashing through three rows of deceased Pokemon. Charlotte waved her hands across the piles of ash, and was disgusted at herself for performing such an action, but knew that drastic measures had to be taken against Gideon. The scientist cried out as the ash began to circle around her, engulfing his body and leaving him trapped behind a grey veil.

"I want answers!" Charlotte yelled, keeping a fist in mid air to leave the ash to spin. "How did you learn my book was here, and what do you plan to use it for?" But before she could get an answer, Charlotte noticed a flash of black behind the ash, and quickly spun away. The ash fell to the ground as a black beam was fired, firing off towards the back wall and exploding. Charlotte cursed and spiralled back towards Gideon, who was marching towards her with his gun up high. Charlotte raised both her hands and fired a bolt of electricity to match the Ghost Energy, and the two beams met each other in the middle. A shockwave that resembled a Beedrill was unleashed, and Charlotte was unable to stop herself from being blown backwards as easily as a plastic bag in the wind. The ghost stopped herself before she reached the back wall, but found Gideon had moved forwards, easily stepping over the graves and moving closer to the row where she had hidden the book.

"Charlotte, Charlotte, Charlotte… it is about time you learnt you are not as clever or as powerful as you'd like to believe," Gideon hissed, his tone a lot darker that it was a minute earlier. Charlotte noted the stained white shirt he was wearing beneath his cloak and his torn pants, and she could only wonder how well his plan was going if he looked like this. "You first hid your precious book in a collapsible tower with the hope it would be taken, only for it to backfire by several times. You thought hiding it in plain sight would be better, but look at how well that worked for you at Pewter. And now you thought you'd combine your plans together: hide it with a spell but in plain sight. Very smart, actually, but the problem with you Charlotte is that you think your smarter than you really are. Do you know that your book gives off a special sort of energy, and did you know I kept all my readings around it so I would always be able to find it by simple searching for the right amount of energy?" At this, Gideon pulled a small device that resembled a smart phone, and Charlotte was stunned to see that an intense orange light was flashing across the screen. "This a smaller version of my monitoring program. That light means I am very close to the energy source, and you may notice there are red flickers: this means I am only a few centimetres away."

"Don't even think about it," Charlotte hissed, her hands crackling with lightning. She could see Gideon's eyes turning towards the row where her book was hidden, and the ghost nervously but briefly eyed the exact grave that stood above it. There was no way Gideon would be able to get to it even with magic, but Charlotte would not take any chances.

"Now, onto your second question," Gideon said, stepping forwards and raising his Ghost Gun up, "what am I planning on doing? Again, I expected better from someone that can see the future. Surely you know exactly what I am planning on doing, don't you?" Charlotte gave a reluctant nod, trying to keep him talking while she thought of a plan to stop him. "If you know what I plan on doing, why don't you stop me then?"

"I do not know your entire plan, I only have a broad idea of what you hope to achieve," Charlotte hissed back. "I have a feeling we've had this conversation before, so I am not going to go into details. Just know that I will stop you from achieving it!" Gideon smirked, and he moved forwards again. A large beep began to emit from his scanning device, and Charlotte gasped to see he was already by the right grave.

"We'll see about that Charlotte," the scientist purred, putting his phone away and pointing his gun towards the grave, black energy began to form around the glass ball. "You and Arceus have held the power in this world for far too long. It is about time something turned things around. And before you stop me Charlotte, how exactly would you feel if I upset the balance of your love's world to achieve my goals?" Gideon flashed her smile, and for a second Charlotte was thrown: she had not seen any harm coming to Giratina, not for a few more years, and was horrified at the idea. Unfortunately, the distraction was all Gideon needed. He pulled the trigger, and a black beam was fired towards the grave. It was blown apart, showering the scientist with dust, and the entire House of Memories began to shake. Charlotte quickly recovered, and she knew she had to stop the scientist from getting hold of her book.

"YOU WILL NOT HARM ANYONE!" The ghost roared, and she summoned her own Ghost Energy together into her palms. Without thinking, Charlotte fired a black beam of swirling wind and energy towards the open grave. She expected it to overpower Gideon's feeble weapon, but was stunned when a giant black flash rose out instead. Charlotte had to shut her eyes and shield her ears from a series of ghostly screams out around her, and was then thrust backwards by a powerful explosion. Charlotte altered her form to stop herself being forced to phase through the wall, and felt her body hit the back wall, which seemed to be shaking. A siren began to wail over the screaming, and there was the sound of things falling and crashing that sounded far away, but Charlotte knew it was happy nearby.

The black flash and screams faded after only a few seconds, and Charlotte opened her eyes to a very different world. A crater had formed only a few metres in front of her, and it seemed as if an entire Onix could fit inside. All the graves had been blasted aside, causing grey dust to hang in the air like dull snow. The walls to her left and right now had two large holes in them, and half of the roof had caved in, adding white plaster to the mix of particles hanging in the air. There was a slight rumbling above, and Charlotte could only imagine what damage the mix of Ghost Energy and charms she had placed around her book had done to the cliffs surrounding them.

However, a bigger problem stood before her on the opposite side of the crater: Gideon was smiling at her, covered in dust and looking shaky, but smiling all the same as he clutched a thick, black leather bound book in his pale, bony hands, a book Charlotte had not seen since locking it away three years ago.

"Thank you for helping me out," Gideon sneered, his voice quivering with either shock or excitement. "I knew your magic would be needed to break the spell, but I didn't think you would fall for it. I guess I will see you again when you try and put a stop to me, but I am warning you now: this time, you won't win." Gideon raised a finger to his watch and dramatically jabbed a button, causing it to glow.

"NO!" Charlotte roared, and she fired a ball of black sparks at him. They quickly surrounded Gideon, making him looked pained, but his body began to glow all the same, and with a flash he was gone. Charlotte tipped her head back and screamed, a sound so horrible that any nearby human would be deafened, possibly even killed. More bits of the roof fell down, bringing a series of rocks down with them, and Charlotte angrily sent them flying to the opposite wall. As it was torn apart, the ghost began to think of a plan: her last spell would stop Gideon from getting far, but with his gun it was unlikely she could stop him on her own. Charlotte hated to admit it, but she was going to need help.

And she knew just who to call.

"Alaska Acevedo, it's time you meet your match," Charlotte purred to herself, and she exploded into a cloud of dust that quickly began to settle, falling amongst the ash, plaster and rocks like another dead thing in the world.



A change in the usual structure seemed necessary for this arc to make sense, so I hope you all enjoyed this little shake up. Again, Charlotte's back story will be best told through Galactic and The First Warriors and won't really be elaborated on during this series, so read them if you want more details on her. And stay tuned for the new story

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Interlude Eight

Chapter Forty Two: A Surprise Around Every Corner

Just when Alaska thought her day couldn't get any weirder, something materialized above her.

The rumbling had stopped, but the searing pain throughout her body was still unbearable. Alaska was only managing to sit up thanks to Sandy's support. The sirens continued to wail and Paige was squawking at the ceiling irritably, showing her frustration at the sound, while Frances clung to Alaska's shirt in fear. Sandy was trying to say things to Alaska, but the sound was so overpowering that they had to shout to have a conversation, which only made Alaska's head hurt. She wanted nothing more but to get out of this building, but she had a feeling she'd seen Trevor and the brunette woman run past the door, with Vaporeon scuttling out after them, leaving them behind despite all he had promised. Alaska was ready to scream and yell, her day going just as badly as yesterday, when there was an explosion of white dust, and a see through girl appeared above them.

"OH MY GOD, IT'S A GHOST!" Sandy screamed, and she leapt up in fright. Paige cried out as well, falling to the table with a thud as she had been stunned into silence, and even Frances stopped quivering, staring at the ghost with wide, terrified eyes, the presence of a ghost seemingly too much.

"OH MY GOD, IT'S A BLONDE DITZ!" The transparent figure yelled back. "See, it isn't very nice to be judged straight away, is it? I could be here to help you or give you millions of dollars, but you just want to think I'm something scary, don't you?" Sandy simply stared at the girl with wide eyes, and her mouth opened and closed several times as if trying to save something, but than she turned to Alaska and gave her a look, edging her into speaking. But Alaska was just as stunned as her: the ghost of a girl, seemingly only around their age though wearing an old looking dress, was suddenly floating above them, right after what seemed like an earthquake had brought her crashing down. It was just a tad confusing, though, sadly, Alaska was becoming use to overly confusing things.

"Are you here to help us or give us millions of dollars?" Alaska asked, not sure what else to say.

"I have no money, no, though I can steal some if you want," the ghost replied. "Oddly no one has ever asked me to do that, so I usually just do it for fun," she added with a high pitched laugh. "And no, I'm not really here to help you… well, this will help you in the long run, but at the moment it will help me. All I need you to do is come with me and battle Gideon… I believe you know him?"

"I do," Alaska hissed, and her confusion instantly turned to anger. She should have known Gideon would come back to piss her off eventually, but she wished it had been a time that actually suited her. Alaska wanted to end this war she had become embroiled in against her will, but whenever it seemed that Gideon was ready to face off, she was in an unfortunate state. Alaska was just as injured now as she had been at Vermillion, so how would she stop Gideon now?

"We ha-have to w-w-wait for Trevor to come back!" Sandy said, her voice shaking as she tried to stand up to the ghost. The transparent figure turned towards her, for a second looking frightening and mad, but than began to laugh.

"Trevor Archer and his little love pal have already left the building," she replied with a snort. "He thinks he can stop our mad scientist, but he has no idea what Gideon has just gotten his hands on. If you want to live, you need to come with me."

"How can we trust you, we don't even know your name!" Alaska hissed. The ghost looked at her, an almost smug smirk crossing her face. Alaska had the impression that the ghost looked to stay in control, but she wouldn't let another thing, whether living or dead, try and control her life, and she stared back at her with all the fury she could muster.

"You have balls, Alaska Acevedo," the ghost said, smiling in a proud way. "Very few of the girls I've had to deal with have had balls, and I don't think any of them had balls as big as yours."

"This doesn't sound like a compliment."

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," the ghost smirked. "My name is Charlotte, and I am two thousand and twenty seven years old, I think, I've stopped really keeping count. I like long walks on the beach, men that want to settle down, and I hate every single aging dickhead in this region as much as you do. I can give you the answers none of them will give you, and I can give you the knowledge you will need to stop Gideon should he escape today, but we are running out of time to stop him now." Alaska was severely tempted, and a smile crept onto her face, but before she could agree there was a tut alongside, and Alaska turned as Sandy got her feet.

"I am s-s-sorry, but we need to have a q-quick chat… just for a mo," the blonde said with a forced smile before turning to Alaska, the smile fading and being replaced with a mixture of terror and shock. "Alaska, we shouldn't trust her!" Sandy hissed, bending low and whispering, but with her carrying voice it was hardly going to do anything. "She is dead for crying out loud! My mother always taught me never to trust dead people, and she seems the dodgiest of the lot!"

"Why did your mother teach you that exactly? Did you live next to a zombie paradise growing up?"

"Dead people, strangers, same thing!" Sandy scoffed, waving the point away. "The point is why do you suddenly trust this Charlotte? You've known her for five seconds and already you are giving her one of your tricky little evil plan smiles! She may be able to have you fight Gideon, but is that really a good thing?"

"It is the best thing that could happen right now!" Alaska replied, not bothering with keeping her voice quiet and startling Frances. "I want to end this; I want this bloody battle I've gotten involved in over. Gideon has made my life hell and I have no idea why he is still out to get me, but if he wants a fight, than I will give him the fight of his life! Maybe then we can go back to a normal journey where we don't get shot at every day or have something explode near us!"

"To be fair, yesterday's explosion was your fault," Sandy pointed out, but Alaska groaned and turned away to face Paige, hoping for some counsel. The Pidgeotto didn't look happy, but she gave Alaska a grumpy-faced nod, her own way of telling her to go ahead. Alaska felt more reassured and turned towards Charlotte, the dead girl floating above them airily as if she didn't care what happened next.

"I want you to promise you will give me answers once this is over!" She shouted, her tone angrier than she expected. "Plus, for my friend's sake, I want you to give me a reason why I should trust you!" Charlotte smiled at her, and moved forwards so she was directly in her face, dead transparent eyes staring directly into Alaska's with more intensity than anything a real pair had ever given Alaska.

"I promise," the ghost said simply, and she exploded into white dust. Alaska covered her mouth and shut her eyes, but found herself suddenly engulfed in a strange white glow. A blinding pale flash shone through her eyelids, and suddenly Alaska felt weightless as if she was falling through the open air, a feeling similar to what had happened with the water yesterday. Sandy, Paige and Frances were all making noise, and Alaska wondered if they were still near her or had moved far away, unable to tell by their voices as they seemingly fell through the earth.

But barely a second later, Alaska opened her eyes to find herself staring at the Kanto Radio Tower. She was sitting on the lifeless ground in the same position as she had in the room a moment ago, but the world had completely changed. People were running past them towards Route 10, not seeming to notice or care what had just materialized before them, and Alaska preferred this than being stared at by strangers.

"Pidge Pidge Pidge Otto Otto!" Paige squawked overhead, flying frantically around. Alaska looked up and saw she was staring over around, and knew the Pidgeotto was trying to find Gideon.

"Alaska!" Sandy cried out to Alaska's left, and she turned to see the blonde running towards her through the crowd, her lavender dress covered with dust. "Alaska, we need to get out of here before we get trampled!"

"We need to find Charlotte!" Alaska shouted back, but forced herself up to her feet anyway. It wasn't until she had properly straightened up though that Alaska realised that her back was no longer in pain. She pushed both feet into the ground and found there was no pain anywhere in her body: she had gone from lying in agony to a full and proper recovery in barely a minute.

"My leg… my leg doesn't hurt!" Alaska cried to Sandy as she came near. "I'm better! I can walk properly again! Charlotte must have healed me!" She pulled Frances into a tight hug, making the Paras squirm but was not fussed: Alaska could face off with Gideon again, her body back to perfect health, and knew that she had to help Charlotte in return for this great deed.

"That is fantastic Alaska, but we need to get moving!" Sandy yelled, and grabbed Alaska by her right arm and pulled her through the crowd. Alaska cast a glance around, trying to see where Charlotte had gone or if Trevor or Gideon was somewhere nearby, but instead she saw the House of Memories: it looked as if a bomb had gone off inside, destroying large sections of the walls and apparently damaging the cliffs surrounding it, rocks still falling from a sharp gash in the landscape. This explained the rumbling and possibly why a ghost was involved, but Alaska only had to add more questions to her already Harry Potter-length list, wondering what Gideon was doing with the dead.

"Pidgey Otto Otto Pidge!" Paige swooped down, her wings whacking against the head of one of the receptionists but she was unfazed. Alaska pulled Sandy to a stop as Paige hovered above them, her wings flapping furiously and a stunned look on her face.

"Have you seen something?" Alaska asked, and Paige only nodded before flying off towards the next street. Alaska quickly took off, towing Sandy with her, and they pushed through the crowds of startled radio workers. None of them seemed to be running the way Paige was flying, which Alaska didn't see as a reassuring sign, but if Gideon was near than it would at least mean no one would get hurt. Alaska clutched the shaking Frances to her chest, hoping that none of them got injured and wishing that this nightmare would finally end today.

"Pidge Pidge!" Paige cried, stopping and turning towards them, pointing forwards with one wing down a narrow street. Alaska smiled and went to thank her, but a bolt of yellow electricity suddenly shot out from the street. Sandy screamed as Paige was hit, the Pidgeotto glowing as yellow as the sun for several seconds before falling out of range. Alaska ran forwards, nearly dropping Frances to ground as she did so, and managed to catch Paige just before she hit the ground.

"Paige, are you alright?" Alaska shouted, shaking the Flying type despite a level of heat coming off from her. "Paige, can you hear me? Paige? PAIGE!" But the Pidgeotto simply lay in her arms, eyes shut and mouth open. Alaska could feel her heart beating beneath her feathered chest but knew that Paige was out for the count, defeated before the battle had even started. "Thank you for your help today Paige, it's time you had your rest," Alaska said soothingly, and she brought Paige back inside her PokeBall, still stunned at how quickly her closest ally had been destroyed. She turned back towards Sandy with tear filled eyes and pointed towards the street. "We need to stare down there first to see what to expect," she whispered, and Sandy nodded, looking just as shocked. The two girls and Frances poked their heads around the corner of the house right next to them, and found exactly what Alaska had expected.

Trevor and the mysterious brunette colleague of his were standing several metres away, both their backs turned, but Alaska recognized Trevor's coat and his Vaporeon, who stood in a battle position before him with a Blissey standing before the woman. It was instead Gideon that was facing them, a furious, murderous glare in his eyes as he stared towards the two. Alaska became angry just by staring at him, memories of Pewter, Mt Moon and Vermillion rushing back to her, and she wanted to run forwards and hit him with the nearest sharp object. But there was an obvious sickness and shabbiness to the scientist than when they had last met: his clothing was stained and tatty, and Alaska could see his bones sticking through his pale, paper thin skin. He had two Pokemon in front of him: his Electrode, sparks flying off his round surface as he faced off with Vaporeon, and a Pokemon that Alaska had not seen him use before, though it looked like a flying saucer with magnets for hands and a single eye staring blankly out towards Blissey.

"How are we supposed to get involved in this?" Sandy whispered nervously. "That Magnezone is not supposed to look like that, and I bet it used that Electric attack and not Electrode! Gideon is too strong, maybe we should we wait for Trevor to act!"

"I will wait when I die," Alaska hissed back, "and let's just hope that isn't today." She pried Frances from her chest and faced the Paras: the orange Bug type stared back fearfully, her claws wrapped around each other in a defensive way, and Alaska felt sorry for her, but at the same time a touch annoyed. "Frances, I know you are afraid, but you are a powerful Pokemon and need to embrace your strength!" Alaska said, her tone stern in hopes that her Pokemon would listen. "You have defeated a lot of enemies before, so I know that you have the ability to really show your strength today, and I need your power to help me end this once and for all!" Frances stopped shaking, taking the words in, her eyes beginning to stare down as if in shame. Alaska gave her a comforting pat, hoping she would finally show them her power. But before anything else could be said or done, shouts sounded from the street, and Alaska and Sandy looked around again.

"You people still think you can beat me after all these years?" Gideon yelled as Electrode and Vaporeon and Blissey and Magnezone began to fight. "You spies have always been weak and irritating fools that only stand to get in the way! There is nothing you can do to stop me: I will bring this region down to its knees and make you all bow down before me!"

"That is a nice thought, but it isn't going to happen any time soon," Trevor growled. "Ice Beam, now!"

"Egg Bomb Blissey, deflect any attacks that come your way!" The woman cried, her voice familiar from the radio broadcast. The Blissey picked up her egg and threw it towards Magnezone, where it glowed brightly upon impact and exploded. The energy wave shattered a window nearby and made the Steel-Electric type groan in a robotic manner. Cries sounded within the dust, and Sandy gasped as Vaporeon was blasted backwards, crashing into Trevor's legs and falling unconscious at his feet.

"Vaporeon!" Trevor gasped and collapsed to the ground, clutching Vaporeon as she twitched, and Gideon began to laugh, the sound more twisted than it had been before.

"I told you that you were weak, and all you've done is prove my point!" The scientist hissed. He let his cloak fall to the ground and raised his right hand, a handgun clutched within his twig-like fingers. "I should have done this to a spy a long time ago… maybe now you people will get the message!"

"Just try me!" Trevor hissed, jumping back to his feet and pulled his own gun out. The two men pointed their weapons towards each other, a tense silence falling across the battle. Electrode and Magnezone both crackled with electricity and Alaska noticed that Magnezone's sparks were a lot darker, the colour of mustard rather than the bright lemon of the fallen graveyard behind them.

"Give up Gideon, you are never going to win!" The woman yelled, her tone aggressive. "If you even attempt to shoot one of us, Blissey with bring every cliff around this town crashing down on top of you!" Gideon turned the woman and smiled, and Alaska knew from experience that it wasn't a good smile.

"A challenge? You silly girl, you know I always accept my challenges," the scientist sneered, and he pulled the trigger without even looking. Sandy screamed as Trevor was knocked backwards, blood spilling from a wound in his stomach. Alaska was appalled too, but she noticed as Electrode turned towards them, a curious but malicious stare in his eyes.

"He heard you!" Alaska hissed to Sandy, and she pushed her out of the way as Electrode began to glow yellow.

"Egg Bomb Blissey, destroy this little bastard!" The woman yelled, choking back a sob as she looked towards Trevor's unmoving body. Blissey nodded and pulled another egg out of her pouch, but as she began to throw it Magnezone reared forwards, dark sparks circling around its metallic body.

"I was buried under my old workplace for five years," Gideon snarled, his tone not matching the wicked glare in his eye, "and I don't plan on being buried once again. You can try, of course, but I don't think you'll like what Magnezone has to offer. Zap Cannon, NOW!"

"EGG BOMB!" The woman yelled back, and Blissey threw the glowing egg towards Magnezone as a ball of electricity formed between its magnets. The two attacks exploded as they collided, and Alaska jumped out of the way as an electricity-powered shockwave was fired down the length of the road. The house next to them buckled as it was hit, bits of glass and wood flying across, joining the dirt coming from the initial blast.

"I don't like this Alaska; he seems stronger than last time!" Sandy shouted, her face buried in the ground next to her.

"That is wonderful Sandy," Alaska growled, looking up as grey smoke cleared from the explosion. She couldn't see the woman or her Blissey, but Trevor and Vaporeon continued to lie within sight, a pool of blood forming around the apparent spy. "Where the fuck is Charlotte, we need her!" Alaska wondered if this would bring the ghost out, but there was no sign of the mysterious girl, and it seemed they were going to have to go on ahead. "Frances, I want you to use Bullet Seed as a distraction in a few seconds, and then get ready to fight when I call you in, alright?" The Paras nodded nervously, and Alaska felt a sense of pride as she leaped to her feet.

"Wait Alaska, you can't!" Sandy yelled, but Alaska ignored her as charged towards the scene. She wanted to end Gideon and get her journey back on the right path, but with no one else to help her, it seemed she was going to have to be the one to end things.

"PARA!" Frances cried, and Alaska caught a series of green seeds firing down the side of the street. Hoping it would be enough to distract them, Alaska skidded to the ground and came to a stop alongside Trevor, her jeans tearing in the process. Trevor's eyes were shut but he was moaning in a feeble manner, his hands twitching towards his wound. Alaska wanted to do something, but she had no medical experience and could only watch as more blood spurted out.

"Hang in there," she whispered, and grabbed his gun from beside his body. The smoke was clearing now, and Alaska could see that the woman had fallen to the ground, yet her eyes were open and were staring towards Alaska: there was something familiar about her face, which was thin and beautiful, though Alaska couldn't think of where she recognized her from. The woman looked at the gun in Alaska's hand and then back at the trainer, and gave a nod to approve the situation. Alaska nodded back and turned towards Gideon, ready to end this battle, no matter what the cost.

However, the smoke had entirely cleared, and Gideon was standing only a few metres away, pointing his own gun towards her as Electrode and Magnezone flanked him, sparks flying frequently from their smooth bodies.

"Oh deary, do you even know how to use it?" The scientist sneered, staring down at her hands as they clutched onto the weapon. "You need to have a lot of courage and a pretty good reason to fire one of those, and I don't think your pretty little head has properly thought this over. Are you really going to kill me, Alaska Acevedo?"

"I will do whatever it takes to end this!" Alaska hissed back, but she could feel her hands shake, and she wondered if she would actually be able to pull the trigger: she hated Gideon and would love to see him dead, but could she be the one to end his life and live with the consequences? Gideon seemed to see the weakness, and he laughed to himself.

"Just as I suspected," he chuckled. "And to think I thought you were a threat! Well, now that I have my lovely little book, you don't stand a chance of stopping me – none of you do! My plans are in motion, and soon I will be able to destroy this region and get my revenge, and you won't be here to stop me!" Alaska stared towards the gun as Gideon raised it up towards her head, and a million things rushed through her mind at once: the day she had received Paige, the day Freddie had been born, when her father lost his job, leaving on her journey, the first time she met Sandy, her first gym badge, Paige's evolution, capturing Darwin, Frances and Nadia… everything seemed so long ago, and everything seemed so wasted, clouded over by the questions that had plagued her for this entire journey. Had it all been wasted: had Alaska let these battles destroy her journey and distract her from achieving her initial goal? Alaska shut her eyes, waiting for the bullet to come, and wondered what would happen to the world once she was gone…

"PARAAAAAAA!" A scream sounded around them, and Alaska turned and opened her eyes instinctively, fearing for Frances' safety. The … Pokemon was racing towards the battle, her little legs scuttling as fast as possible while her mushrooms began to glow bright neon green. A ball of the same colour was forming between her claws, and Alaska gasped as she realised what move it was.

"FRANCES, SOLARBEAM, NOW!" Alaska yelled, and jumped out of the way. Gideon looked stunned at the sudden change, and both his Pokemon moved forwards with their bodies glowing yellow, ready to fight back. The scientist turned to face Alaska, who held the gun with more strength than before, and she smiled cheekily at him, daring him to move now. Gideon looked murderous, his entire body shaking with rage, and his right hand clenched around his gun. There was a bang and a small burst of fire, and Alaska turned to follow the path of the bullet: it wasn't aimed at her, and it was too high up for Frances…

"No…," Alaska whispered, knowing the outcome but wishing it wouldn't be true. She turned to face to Sandy and saw a reflection of her own shock on her friend's face: eyes bulged, jaw dropped, a look of pure surprise covering her face. Sandy didn't say a word, but Alaska screamed for the two of them as the blonde collapsed to the ground, her light lavender slowly becoming darker, inch by inch, as the blood flowed from the small hole in her chest…



A cliffhanger to leave you all with while I do the next The First Warriors. The Lavender arc will be concluded in the next lot of four: look out for the answers we have been waiting for and the fates of our characters

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 42

I hope you are all excited about what will happen after the cliffhanger last time!


Chapter Forty Three: Dealing a New Hand

Nothing seemed to make sense anymore… nothing seemed right. Alaska ran forwards, but she felt as if she was falling backwards, a sick feeling knotting itself up in her stomach and sending dark thoughts to her mind. Sandy couldn't be hurt… not Sandy, not when she had done nothing wrong. This had been Alaska's fight, it had always been her battle, her war, whether she wanted it or not it was hers, not Sandy's… but then why was Sandy lying in front of her, why was Sandy the one bleeding and suffering before her… this wasn't right, it wasn't fair… but Alaska could not tell whose fault it really was.

Electricity exploded right next to her, and Alaska paused and stood her ground, letting the attack wash over her. It made her muscles ache, her bones shake and her hair stand up on end, but when Alaska opened her eyes everything was moving normally again, and Sandy was suddenly a lot closer. She sprinted forwards once more as gun fire joined the sounds of Frances duelling with the Electric Pokemon, and Alaska saw that the brunette woman was exchanging gunfire with Gideon. It seemed to be distracting the scientist for now, and Alaska was relieved to have more time to spend with Sandy, and ran the last few metres towards her friend.

Alaska froze as she looked down at Sandy, the full extent of the situation washing over her now that she was this close. Sandy was rapidly going pale, her skin turning milky white, almost as if her skin colour was leaking away through the bullet wound. The wound itself seemed so tiny, barely bigger than a fingernail, yet so much blood had escaped from it, and Alaska could see dark flesh and muscle beneath the broken skin, a sight too unnatural to think about.

"Sandy… no…," Alaska whispered, and she collapsed to her knees and grasped onto her friend's hand, letting Trevor's gun fall to the ground besides her. Sandy was shaking uncontrollably, and she only seemed to notice Alaska now that she was so close: her eyes were wider and more frightened than they had ever been, and Alaska could see the fear etched into her skin. "You'll be alright, I promise… I won't let anything bad happen to you!" Sandy nodded, and then opened her mouth to speak, but only a slight retching sound came out, and Alaska clasped her hand tighter as she felt tears stream down her cheek. Watching her friend's life slip away was too painful, but there was no way Alaska could look away. She had to be here for Sandy and hope that they would be together for longer, but Alaska's fingers brushed against the sticky blood that now soaked Sandy's dress, and she knew that things were not going to end well.

"Try and hang on Sandy, just try! I need you… I don't think I can handle any of this shit if I don't have you to keep me grounded… just promise me you'll stay around, alright… just promise..," Alaska said, struggling to talk through her tears. Sandy looked at her, and gave Alaska what seemed like a nod, but then her eyelids shut. "Sandy, no, don't do this, don't go! SANDY, NO!" Alaska yelled, and tried to shake her friend, unable to think of anything else to do, but she knew in the back of her mind that it was all lost…

"Alaska, get your ass back in there right now!" A voice hissed behind her, and Alaska jumped as she turned and faced the transparent but furious face of Charlotte. The ghost had appeared out of nowhere, though Alaska wondered how long she had actually been there, watching them from the shadows. "Leave her to me, just go back and fight!" Charlotte growled and waved Alaska aside with a careless flick of her wrist. Alaska felt Sandy's hand slip away and tried to hold on, but Charlotte seemed to have control over her body, forcing Alaska back to her feet and turning her away towards the battle. Alaska was furious, both due to the fact the magical ghost was here and hadn't helped earlier and how she was now being shooed away from her friend's own revival. Alaska wanted to give Charlotte a piece of her mind, but when her eyes locked onto Gideon, all her rage went back towards him, and she knew he was the one that deserved to suffer.

"Out of bullets are you Daisy my dear?" Gideon called out, and Alaska looked towards the brunette, who was hopelessly pulling the trigger of her gun but nothing was coming out. "What a pity, I always thought you were quite pretty!" The scientist began to laugh as he raised his gun high, and Alaska looked around for something to save the woman. The only weapon she truly had was Frances, and the little Paras was moving backwards as she charged another Solarbeam, all while Electrode and Magnezone were advancing towards her, about to cross the battlefield.

"Frances, use Metal Claw on your Solarbeam!" Alaska yelled. Gideon turned towards her in shock and instinctively moved his gun towards her, but the damage was already down: Frances' claws glowed silver around the glowing green ball, and Electrode and the strange coloured Magnezone froze in surprise, not sure what would happen.

"PARAAAAAA!" Frances yelled, and she smashed her own attack. A green wave of energy was released, firing out on all sides. Alaska watched as Gideon, his Pokemon and the woman called Daisy were blasted backwards by the beam until the white light of the attack nearly blinded her. Alaska was pushed backwards by remnants of the attack, but as she was standing behind Frances there was little chance of the beam coming back against the Pokemon that made it.

The light disappeared and Alaska blinked several times until her vision was back, and quickly surveyed the scene. Daisy had been knocked over once more, and this time her eyes were shut and she lay limply, reminding Alaska of an unconscious Pokemon at the end of a battle. Electrode and Magnezone seemed to have been hit with most of the blast, flying backwards into the front yard of a nearby house: Electrode was embedded in the ground, only his red side showing, while Magnezone was sparking feebly as he lay on a fence.

"Excellent work Frances," Alaska said with a weak smile and looked down at the Paras. Frances had stopped shaking and was actually smiling, and Alaska could only imagine what a huge confidence boost using this attack was and how happy it would make her feel as a result. She wanted to check on Sandy and see if Charlotte had stopped her yet, but just as Alaska went to turn around something moved in the corner of her eye, and she turned back to see Gideon slowly getting to his feet, seeming dazed from the attack but otherwise unharmed.

"You!" Alaska hissed as she turned to face him. She didn't have a gun, and she knew better than to send a Pokemon in against him, but Alaska was not going to let Gideon get away… not this time, not after what he had done. And without another thought, Alaska began to run. She thought she saw something glow behind her, but didn't pause to check: Gideon was in her crosshairs, and she was going to make him suffer. The scientist didn't even see her coming until she was only a few metres away and he quickly raised his gun, the shock visible across his pale face. But it seemed that Gideon had used up his last bullet, as his gun proved as useless as Daisy's had, and Alaska began to smile as she let out a yell and ran towards him.

"Foolish girl," Gideon hissed, and he swung a fist around. Alaska was caught off guard and allowed it to come across her face, knocking her off balance and gave Gideon the chance to sweep in with a kick to the stomach. Alaska groaned as the air was knocked out of her and she stumbled to the ground in pain.

"Did you really think you could stop me like this?" Gideon sneered as he loomed over her, his face twitching maniacally as he pressed his foot against her stomach. "I can crush you like a bug and there is nothing you can do to stop me, not now that I have my little spells with me!" He began to laugh, the sound distorted and off key, and Alaska wished she had the strength to stop him, but he had knocked it all out of her and she could only stare up at him as blood filled her mouth.

Suddenly green seeds shot out of nowhere, and Gideon cried out as they whacked against his head, forcing him to take his foot off Alaska's stomach. She tried to lunge for him but spasms went through her stomach, leaving her immobile. Gideon gave her one last sneer before scooping a large book off the ground and sprinting down the undamaged parts of the street, down towards a mountain wall.

"Para Para Parasect Para!" A voice said behind her, and Alaska was so distracted by Gideon that she didn't notice the change in words. But a Pokemon appeared next to her, helping Alaska straighten up, and Alaska gasped and had to double take before she recognized who it was.

"Frances?" Alaska asked in shock, and the Pokemon nodded, though it looked nothing like the little Paras: one giant red-orange mushroom with yellow spots covered her larger body, while two giant claws emerged out on either side of her large white eyes. Frances looked strikingly different as a Parasect, but Alaska couldn't be happier and pulled her into a hug.

"Congratulations! I knew you had the power and the courage inside you. It just appears it had to come out in shades of green," Alaska said with a smile, and Frances beamed back up at her before pointing down towards Gideon, who hadn't gotten far just yet. "Good point! You stay here and make sure everyone is alright, and leave Gideon to me."

"Sect Para," Frances said with a nod, and Alaska smiled again before using her tall mushroom to get her back on her feet. Her stomach still hurt but Alaska began sprinting, pushing through the pain as she thought of Sandy behind her, and wondered if the ghost would be able to save her. She focussed entirely on Gideon, not looking at anything else, only following the tatty scientist as he limped towards the mountain wall. There was no way he could escape her now, and Alaska would the savour the moment when she could finally put a stop to him once and for all.

"Until next time Alaska," Gideon suddenly called out, and Alaska was taken aback and nearly stopped running, wondering what he was playing at. But Gideon turned around and smiled at her as he raised his glowing watch up for her to see, and a memory from Pewter City came back to her.

"NO, YOU BASTARD!" Alaska roared and took off once again. Gideon laughed as he body began to glow, and Alaska ran as fast as possible, thinking that maybe she could catch him and teleport away with him, and then kill him in his own territory. The scientist leapt towards the nearest building, and Alaska briefly noted that it appeared to actually be a purple and yellow striped tent before jumping after him. She disappeared through a red velvet curtain and only caught the briefest of flashes before landing on a rug with a painful thud.

"NOOOO!" Alaska roared, and angrily banged her fists on the floor. She had come so close to stopping him that to have it stripped from her at the last moment was so painful that it tore at her heart, and Alaska felt like crying again, as well as finding him and ripping him apart.

"Have you come to my tent to have your fortune read, or do you simply wish to have a tantrum on my floor?" A silky voice asked from above her, and Alaska looked up: the walls and ceiling were draped with crimson red and luscious purple curtains, though very little seemed to be inside. A circular table was directly before her with a high backed wooden chair that Alaska grasped onto in order to pull herself up, and she found the speaker sitting on the opposite side.

The woman had copper coloured skin and seemed to have a glow around her to match, with black hair done up in a bun and a flowing purple dress on that only reminded Alaska of Sandy. Her skin was unlined and undamaged but Alaska could tell the woman was old, possibly in her late fifties, though she wasn't entirely sure why. She had a simple smile on that gave nothing away, though her eyes seemed to be digging into Alaska, drilling her without saying a word.

"I didn't come in here to have my fortune read sorry," Alaska said nervously, afraid to shout at someone like this. "I was just chasing someone in here, but I believe they teleported away, so I'll just… ya know..." The woman nodded without saying a word, flicking a purple backed deck of cards between her hands, and Alaska began to feel unnerved.

"You seem afraid child, don't be," the woman said, her red lips slightly raising into a smile. "I am not a witch or anything: I simply look at my cards and tell you what I believe will come from it." She pulled one card from her deck and turned it the right way up as she placed it on the table, and though apprehensive Alaska peered in to see what it was.

"A sword," she whispered, staring at the simple but beautifully drawn artwork of the classic weapon.

"Indeed, a symbol of a warrior," the woman said with a brief nod. "Tell me, what Pokemon did you start your journey with?"

"A Pidgey called Paige… she's now a Pidgeotto," Alaska replied instantly before wondering how the woman knew she was a trainer.

"And she shall be a Pidgeot by the time you ride her into your final battle," the woman said before picking a second card. This one featured a pair of scales with one higher than the other. "One of my more frequent cards: your life, your quest is riddled with imbalance and you are finding it difficult to manage. You are letting one thing outweigh the other, and the heavier weight is something you do not want, am I correct?" Alaska nodded, thinking of how she was letting this war consume her actual journey so much, and, with a painful thought of Sandy outside, how it was affecting her.

"The next card will be how you can change these weights," the woman said, and placed a card of an old Apricorn ball down on the table, which made the woman smile for some reason. "How funny… it is usually the clients that are not Pokemon trainers who receive this card, which is because the Apricorn, or the PokeBall, represents control rather than Pokemon. In this case, you need to find some level of control, with it is with yourself, you're Pokemon or those around you, which will bring you back to your rightful path and give you the balance you need." Alaska nodded along as usual, though she was more confused by this one: there were so many things out of control that it was hard to actually think of something she could control. She wondered if the fortune teller meant her Pokemon, but the fourth card was already being played, and showed a simple red rose.

"Love and passion, this is what is on the horizon for you," the woman said, glancing up at Alaska for the first time since the reading has begun. Her smile and the look in her eyes seemed almost teasing or mocking, and Alaska froze, clutching the back of the chair with an unnecessary rage. Everything that had happened over the past fifteen minutes came rushing back to her, and anger quickly rose up and began to boil over: Alaska knew the fortune teller didn't deserve it, but she was angry, and someone had to know about it.

"This is probably what you tell every fool that comes in here, isn't it?" She hissed, glaring down at the dark skinned woman. "Any of these things could apply to some bored housewife: she'll win a battle with her children or cleaning or something, her life is imbalanced but she will manage it if she gets a control on things, and her husband will shower her with love. Don't think you can give me the same shit as everyone else, because I am not going to stand here and take this when my friend is dying outside and you are only holding me up!" Alaska pushed the chair aside and turned towards the exit, but was so angry that she couldn't tell which curtains she had come through and furiously wanted to tear them all down. There was the familiar sound of a card being picked up and then placed down behind her, and Alaska paused for a second, waiting to hear what the fortune teller had to say.

"The cracked gravestone," the woman whispered, and Alaska was so surprised by the sudden change in voice and tone that she turned around. The fortune teller seemed to be frowning at a card of a damaged grey gravestone, and Alaska thought she could see fear in the woman's eyes. She suddenly scooped the five cards up and placed them back in her deck, and then looked up at Alaska with wide eyes. "I have not picked up the cracked gravestone in many years. I would watch my back if I was you: I felt the power that man you were chasing had, and if you continue to go after him, it will not end well for you."

"What does that card mean?" Alaska asked, her tone still stony, and she wondered if the woman would ignore her. However, she pulled the card back out from the deck and held it up for Alaska to see.

"The dead will rise before your battle is over, and there is little you can do about it. Go tend to your friend and try to leave this war behind, it clearly isn't for you. But if you must fight, than know that love will be waiting for you and you must find balance before you can win." The woman stood up dramatically, and Alaska turned as she heard the swish of moving curtains, nearly blinded by the light that suddenly filled the dark room. "Go forth, Alaska Acevedo, and make your decision: will you end this war on the battle field or by simply refusing to take part?" Alaska turned back around, half expecting the woman to have disappeared, but she instead found one of the gravest and more serious expressions she had ever seen in her life staring back at her, and all Alaska could do was smile and nod once more before she stepped back out to the street, where she paused and sighed as several new questions found their way onto her never ending list.

There's some imbalance for you; Alaska cursed, the ratio of answers to questions. Maybe I will find control when I actually know what war it is I'm fighting in…



The Lavender Arc wraps up in the next part. Remember the fortune teller's words as they will come up again throughout the series.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 43

Chapter Forty Four: The Discovery Room

Alaska was beginning to become quite sick of hospitals. The Lavender Town Medical Center technically wasn't a hospital, but Alaska still got the same vibe as she sat next to Sandy's bed: plain white walls, machines everywhere, the constant beeping from up and down the hallway outside, a strange artificial smell that clung to the air. It only made her think of being injured back in Vermillion City, and Alaska would have gladly left if it wasn't for her friend, lying nearly dead in front of her.

It was still a mystery how it had happened, but Charlotte had managed to extract the bullets from both Sandy and Trevor and heal them up enough so the two still had a fighting chance by the time they reached the hospital. Alaska felt guilty that she had become so distracted with the fortune teller and paced nervously in the waiting room as the doctor's fought to save the two. They required a short amount of surgery to finish what Charlotte had started, but both of them were soon healed, and Alaska had been able to breathe properly for the first time in hours.

Hours had passed since then, and Alaska now sat beside Sandy's overly crisp bed, staring at the slow rise and fall of her friend's chest. The blonde looked completely different in the white hospital gown, her skin still pale despite the blood transfusion she had had, or something like that: Alaska was struggling to stay awake and kept zoning out when the doctor explained what had happened. She heard that Sandy would live and was happy with that, and only got annoyed when the doctor kept talking. It wasn't like she was going to give him a grade or anything for his work.

Even now Alaska was finding it a challenge to keep her eyes open, but she wanted to be there when Sandy woke up, just to make sure everything was alright and her friend wouldn't freak out. She had sent Frances off to collect a hot chocolate or a coffee, preferably something strong and alcoholic, in order to keep her through the long hours to come until Sandy was finally able to awake.

"Hey there." Alaska turned to the door and was surprised to see Daisy standing in the doorway, smiling softly as her eyes darted between Alaska and Sandy. "How is she?"

"She's fine," Alaska replied stonily, noting how Daisy was now walking in without an invitation. "How is Trevor?"

"He is doing well, he woke up about half an hour ago," Daisy explained, moving over to the opposite side of the bed. "He feels terrible about what happened, though he did leave you in the Radio Tower for your protection. He asked me to pass on his best wishes to Sandy and he said he'll come and visit when his strength is up."

"Brilliant," Alaska said, forcing a smile that she figured came out more as a scowl but didn't care either way. She wanted Daisy to go away and leave her alone with her friend and her thoughts, but didn't have the strength to tell her to piss off and could only watch as the brunette settled into the other chair.

"Trevor asked me to come here for another reason," Daisy explained, her voice suddenly going quiet as she stared intently at Sandy. "You see, my name is Daisy Oak, granddaughter to Professor Samuel Oak and the Elite Four member Agatha. I have spent the last six years working for my grandfather and his friend Bill, who I believe you've met. It was through my work as a Pokemon professor that I was first approached by the International Police to assist them with a variety of cases." Alaska's interest suddenly rose and she stared across at Daisy, knowing where this was going. "I have worked with Trevor multiple times, and he recruited me after the incident at Pewter City to help me work out what Gideon was planning."

"Has he been to Viridian Forest or the Underground Tunnel lately?" Alaska asked eagerly, thinking back to the mysterious man in the shadows who had saved her from the killer robots twice. However, Daisy looked confused, and Alaska shook her head. "Never mind… continue."

"Yes… right… well, I have been trying to work out what Gideon is trying to do, but this has become difficult since he is one of the most brilliant minds in the world and as such has all his work protected immensely," Daisy continued. "However, I have begun to build up a theory, and I believe that Gideon is trying to build or steal a fossil machine and plans to resurrect a deadly new breed of the ancient fossil Pokemon."

"That sounds a bit cra – well, now that you mention it…," Alaska said, and she leaned back in her chair and thought back: Gideon had stolen those fossils from Mt Moon, and he had been searching for some sort of fancy equipment at the museum but had to leave due her botching his plans. He had been disappointed by the fossils on display as well, so maybe he was looking for a stronger breed.

"You may have noticed that his Magnezone was a darker colour than usual," Daisy continued. "When Team Rocket first attacked Kanto in 2008 and Johto in 2009, one of their many side plans involved forcing evolution upon Pokemon. This failed spectacularly on a series of Magikarp ate the Lake of Rage in North Johto, but I believe Gideon has worked on creating a better machine to force evolution upon his Pokemon and make them stronger. He would have had to have left his lab in order to evolve his Magneton to Magnezone, or used a proper trading machine to get his Porygon-Z that attacked Vermillion."

"I don't get it though: what does forced evolution have to do with fossils, and what about that book he had when he ran off?" Alaska asked, rubbing her temple slightly.

"I am not sure how everything fits together exactly, but I do know that Giovanni, the former Team Rocket leader, was intent on trying to create the perfect Pokemon," Daisy explained. "Have you ever heard of Mewtwo?" Alaska nodded, having seen a documentary about this mysterious Pokemon a few years ago, but barely knew anything aside from that he was a psychotic experiment gone wrong. "Well, he is Team Rocket's responsibility, a failed attempt to make a brilliant Pokemon that they could control. Maybe Gideon has found a way to combine Fossil Regeneration and Forced Evolution to create perfect Pokemon using Kabutops, Omanstar and Aerodactyl? We can't be certain about anything, and as for Charlotte's spell book, that is just something else to worry and wonder about."

"Wait, that book is a spell book?" Alaska asked, and Daisy gave a brisk nod. "What the hell, why is there a spell book just casually lying around for people to take? And what is up with that bitch of a ghost anyway? She came in and got us to fight for her, and then didn't even join in! Next time I see that little tart I am going to give her a piece of my mind!" Daisy sighed and leaned back in her chair, rolling her eyes at the ceiling.

"Charlotte is a very annoying person to deal with, but there is nothing we can really do about her," she answered in a slight droll as if she was being forced to say these words. "It would take me too long to explain her story to you, but she has been the unwilling and foul tempered servant to Arceus for the last two thousand years, and with that comes a lot of power and knowledge that she is both willing to dish out and hold above us. She would have had a reason for doing what she did, though I cannot tell you I have any grip on what fuels Charlotte's decisions." Alaska nodded, though she still felt angry, and she stared down at Sandy as her fury went through her: it was really Charlotte's fault that Sandy was laying there, a hole through her chest that she had barely survived, and even if the ghost had saved her, Alaska still had every right to be angry with Charlotte… or did she? Alaska groaned and slumped back in her chair: nothing seemed to make sense anymore, and she desperately wanted to sleep the day off so she could probably comprehend the day tomorrow with a fresh mind. How had her journey come down to trying to work out the reasons a ghost had betrayed her, or getting advice from nameless fortune tellers?

"I saw a fortune teller before, when I tried to chase Gideon down," Alaska said, her eyes focused on the ceiling as she thought back to the red velvet tent and the copper skinned woman with all her answers to questions Alaska hadn't asked. "She told me the dead would rise before my battle is over. Do you think she means the fossils?"

"Who knows anymore," Daisy answered unhelpfully. "Nothing has made sense to me over these last five years. I have witnessed multiple groups try to destroy the world, and even after having three years of near peace, I still have no idea what would have truly driven those men to act, just like how I have no idea why Gideon is doing all of this. Why did he destroy Vermillion City like that? What does he need Charlotte's spell book for? Frankly, I want to put my feet up and relax, but Trevor said that once he and Sandy have recovered that we are to escort you to friends of ours in Celadon where we will have a chance to relax."

"That will be nice," Alaska said wearily. Another thought suddenly occurred to her, and while Alaska really wanted to sleep, she had to ask it now while she had the chance. "Are you aware how we have been attacked by robots, and some crazed gunman tried to kill us this morning?" She asked, glancing at Daisy, who nodded back. "Do you have any idea who might be behind that?" Daisy looked sadly back at Alaska, and the trainer thought there was something odd about this particular look, a look that didn't seem quite the right response to this question.

"I am afraid we do not know," she said with a voice to match her expression. "We can tell you though that it does not seem like something Gideon would waste his resources on, when he has other methods of defeating you that are much more direct and reliable. We are looking into it, just like we are looking into the producers behind your favourite TV show, and if something comes up I will let you know." Daisy had smiled when she mentioned the reality show, and Alaska smiled briefly at the joke, though was disappointed that she didn't have an answer.

There was a sudden beep right next to her, and Alaska turned in shock: Sandy's heart monitor had suddenly changed from the same tune it had been playing for the past two hours, and Alaska instantly had dark thoughts. However, Sandy's right hand began to twitch, and her eyelids slowly began to flicker.

"Sandy, can you hear me? Are you alright, are you in any pain?" Alaska asked instantly, clutching her hand's friend, just like she had back on the road. Daisy rushed outside and called for a nurse as Sandy let out a little groan and turned her head slowly towards Alaska, somehow looking more pained and sadder than she had while asleep, but Alaska was too overjoyed to see her friend's eyes open once again to care.

"A…. las…. ka… what's… go… ing… on?" Sandy asked, her voice sounded hoarse, making it seem that she had just aged rapidly in the past few hours. Alaska smiled down at her as her eyes became watery, and she clutched her hand even tighter.

I wish I knew Sandy, I wish I knew, Alaska thought, and as the doctor and several nurses came rushing in to check on and pushed Alaska aside, she could only speculate about what the answer could be. Maybe as they all recovered Alaska would be able to discover more answers and finally solve some of her questions. But all Alaska knew for certain was that she had earned a week off, and while Sandy healed, she would finally give her mind a chance to rest and hope it could fully recover through all it was going through.



Blog and interlude double up next! Anyone have theories on what Gideon might truly be planning? Are you relieved Sandy is going to live? Did this part clear up some stuff for you or are you still confused? I also feel that some people may wonder what the purpose was of Sandy getting shot. I can promise that the blog and interlude will shed some light on it, and the effects of the incident will affect the story as a whole rather than become suddenly clear. I can promise it wasn't some cheap gimmick or anything like that.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 44

Blog Nine: Ghost of my Former Self

Another long day, another painful lesson: welcome, my dear readers, to another look into my increasingly insane life

I hope you all had a nice day. Went and saw a movie, had a really nice meal, maybe got down to some kinky stuff in the bedroom: I don't care what happened, as long as someone out there had a good day. For all of those that had a bad day, feel free to throw some virtual rotten fruit at that person and mock them for such a dull, enjoyable life.

However, none of you will be able to top the horrible day I had yesterday. I can't tell you everything that happened, as I fear that black cloaked men would appear at the end of the corridor and ask to escort me into a dark alleyway where no one will hear the gunshot, but I can tell you that I am currently sitting in a hospital in Lavender Town, watching as Sandy slowly recovers from a gunshot wound to the chest, only a few hours after some random stranger shot us and a few minutes after a graveyard exploded.

I can hear your collective gasping from here! Yes, just when you thought my journey couldn't get even more screwed up; Sandy gets shot, as if we're suddenly in some bad cable cop drama trying to get ratings in its midseason finale. And before people start worrying and making god awful memorial Photoshop's, Sandy is going to live… just. If this had been any other situation, then Sandy would have died. But guess what folks: we had help from a ghost!

I can hear your collective quizzical 'huhs' and 'WTF's' from here. Yes, just when you thought my journey couldn't get even more screwed up, a bloody ghost comes into the picture. From what I can tell you about yesterday is that Sandy and I met a lovely ghost named Charlotte, who is apparently over two thousand years old (but doesn't look a day over fourteen ), and she convinced us to go and fight that good old d'bag Gideon. My lovely arch nemesis stole a book from this bitch, whose a tad more transparent than most, and she got Sandy and me to go and fight him for it.

Now, I can't give the psycho cow all the bad credit: I did want to fight Gideon and try and end this stupid war I seem to become embroiled in, and I did force Sandy to come with me. But the battle was bad from the moment we stepped in. Paige was instantly knocked out by an overly powerful Magnezone, and within a minute Sandy was shot. I cannot even begin to put it into words what went through my mind… all that blood, and seeing her lying on the ground, her face turning milky white and her eyes rolling into the back of her head. I thought she was dead, and my heart and mind broke in two. Sandy is the only human friend I have had in my entire life. I have never really fitted in, only ever having a few companions, but I never had the connection with them that I have with Sandy. If she had died, I don't know what I would have done…

Yesterday has made me question this journey and my life. I want to blame Charlotte the Unfriendly Ghost for Sandy nearly dying, but I know part of the blame is mine: I wanted to fight Gideon, I wanted to make him suffer for what he has done to me and my life. I am letting this war take over my journey. It seems like weeks ago that I got the Thunder Badge, and I am going to have to wait a few more before I can get my next one. That was the whole purpose for travelling, yet Gideon, the reality stars, all these mysteries and puzzles have ruined this. I don't even know who I am anymore my mind is that messed up: I could probably be a dancing Snorlax for all I know! I like I am the ghost, and I am drifting further away from the goal I set out to achieve to try and fix the problems other people have left me with.

I should have specified that Gideon got away, taking his magical book with him. I am on the right track towards working out what he is doing, but I do not have the full picture left: it is a jigsaw puzzle that is slowly coming together, but I just need a few more pieces. The big puzzle though is whether this is my war or not. I have become embroiled in all of these battles, with Gideon and the reality stars and probably some angry Japanese triad for all I know, and I just want to find a way to get out of this war or finally face them in battle so I could end it once and for all.

A fortune teller gave me so good advice yesterday (though I am wondering if it actually happened or I had some really weird, opium fuelled dream…). She told me I need to find control in my life in order to get in back on track. I will not say I am an expert at working out encrypted prophecies, but I think I need to finally start training my Pokemon properly and get them in order before I can fully defeat my foes and master this journey. Looks like I know what I'll be doing while Sandy is resting. Frances evolved into Parasect during the battle, so I believe that this is one step towards getting a proper team, though Darwin is still a question mark…

But, indeed I have two weeks off from everything while Sandy and another friend recover, and I am trying to find things to do aside from train. There are still many other questions I want answered just for me: why is Suicune following me, who is that man in the shadows, who is the voice in my head? (Though, let's be fair, these days I swear there are more voices in my head than even I know about…) And there are the people closest to me: somehow, Sandy knew that the Magnezone was a different colour than normal. She has never shown much Pokemon knowledge, so I was taken aback by this. There are still elements of her story I feel she hasn't shared, and while I respect her privacy know more than ever, I do wonder what secrets Sandy is keeping locked up from me. I want to protect her from danger that I fear I am putting her in, yet I can only do so much if there are things she is hiding.

I will post again once I have made my way to my next stop! As always, please share your theories with me about all these different questions and let me know if you have answers! Sandy is doing well and is currently asking me to make sure all my readers know she is alright (attention seeker much! You think she'd just had a life threatening moment or something…), and she is eager to solve these mysteries with me and get back on her feet. That I am not too sure about… but we will wait and see, won't we?

Keep safe all of you, and whatever you do, don't trust ghosts. The dead don't have to worry about losing sleep over their lies…

Alaska

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Blog Nine

Interlude Nine: The Murderers and their Victims

"Yes…yes, yes, I understand… I am sure your men did the best they could… of course I am aware of the consequences, you bloody imbecile! If you are going to keep sharing your pointless thoughts with me, you can piss off and bother me when something that is actually important comes up! Now go and do what I am actually paying you to do!"

Amanda angrily turned off the call and clutched at her head, feeling the irritating throb she always seemed to get whenever she was angry or annoyed. She threw her phone onto her inflatable mattress and fell down after it, unable to stop herself from groaning.

For years Amanda had been planning this event: she had grovelled and fought and manipulated her way into Silph TV, and been working hard with Buzz to fine tune this reality show so it would all play into their favour. Amanda had always loved order and neatness, and she had been proud of herself for executing everything so there was no chance it would backfire.

But she hadn't factored in Alaska Acevedo.

It seemed quite unfair and unjust that after all this time, someone would try and stop them right when their plan began. It was as if Arceus had been leading them through a maze, only to turn around at one point and say "Sorry but there's not exit." Amanda had no idea why the girl was even causing this much damage to their cause. Maybe it would all be different if they had chosen different people… no, not that: this show needed ratings to survive and to make their final act a hit, and for that it needed the perfect team. Chloe, Damian and Lachlan were perfect for a reality competition, and Chloe was the perfect one, even though Alaska going after them all came down to her…

Whatever the reason, Alaska kept crossing paths with them, and Amanda knew she had to be stopped. If she kept making a mockery of their show and kept destroying their tasks at every point their paths met, the entire plan would backfire. There seemed no way Alaska would willing leave them all alone, and this left destroying her as the only option.

Buzz is not going to be happy… not happy indeed, Amanda thought irritably and grabbed her phone. Buzz would want to know if the people they had sent to follow the girl through the Rock Tunnel had worked. How would he react when he learnt they had escaped once again? Buzz was taking the girl's involvement as a personal insult, and Amanda could only wonder if it was opening old wounds about Sevii…

Leave it! Don't even think about it… he'll know somehow, he always seems to know… Amanda warned herself, and she sighed once again and threw her phone out of sight. There was a definite connection between her and Buzz, there always had been… yet whenever he got angry… there were times Amanda questioned their relationship, and it was always based on his actions… which were usually her fault though, at least most of the time…

"What is that racket?" Amanda growled, looking for some sort of distraction, and she leapt to her feet. Her tent was quite spacious, with enough room for her double mattress, a personal mini fridge, cheap fold-out desk and a few other necessities, and there was enough room for her to easily stand up straight. She quickly adjusted her clothes, a crisp white shirt and tight black dress, and checked herself over in the mirror: she didn't want the stars to know she had been crying. Feeling composed and ordered, Amanda Anderson stepped outside. She instantly saw a battle was unfolding before her: Damian and Lachlan were training, the former using Charmeleon and Kadabra against the latter's Wartortle and Growlithe. Several of their cameras were capturing the battle, watching as Kadabra struck Wartortle down with a ThunderPunch while Charmeleon and Growlithe exchanging burning streams of fire. It was evident their skills were improving, which was a welcome sight, and Amanda hoped they would be ready for the gruelling exercises she had planned for them. She then noticed Chloe was leaning against her tent, looking fairly bored with the proceedings, a bottle of nail polish in one hand and a phone in the other.

You precious little bitch, Amanda thought viciously, glaring across at the blonde and feeling her muscles tense. We wouldn't be in this mess if you could just ignore Alaska and let her go on her way! I thought you could have embarrassed her and helped destroy her, but you are simply stubborn and weak and are endangering this project! She then thought back to her plans for the next few days and smiled to herself, glancing back to the battle before her as Charmeleon hit Wartortle with a Dragon Rage. Our robots have failed, and so have our men… it seems the only warriors I have left are my children… and if I can't destroy her, I know who will...

***

"How could you be so idiotic? Do you know what would have happened if either of them had died?"

"Of course I know Red, I know better than any of you!" Red let out a growl that came from deep within his throat, and angrily he kicked a piece of rubble across the cracked and broken floor of the House of Memories. The place was scheduled to be tidied up over the next few days and have repairs straight once it was all clear, but Red had requested the chance to look over the damage before it happened. Even though he was ready to murder someone, Red couldn't help but feel sorry for all the damage that had happened here: it would take a long time to get all the Pokemon graves repaired and properly sorted, and Red did not feel sorry for whoever had to do that. It stirred up memories of Blue, and Red sighed, struggling to control his thoughts.

"I acted in the way I thought it was sensible to act," Charlotte said irritably behind him, and Red sighed again, composing himself before turning around to talk to her. Saying he and Charlotte didn't get along was the understatement of the century, and their relationship was always pushed to its limits at times like this. When Red had read Alaska's blog earlier that day and learnt what role the ghost had to play in yesterday's events, he wished she had a proper solid neck so he could strangle the life out of her again.

"How was it sensible to send Alaska and Sandy into a dangerous battle with Gideon?" Red hissed, glaring angrily at the ghost from across the crater in the middle of the graveyard. "There was guns involved Charlotte! You may be able to let them phase through you, but for us people with bodies it pretty fucking hurts to get shot!"

"It pretty fucking hurts to get you body blown to bits as well, but you never hear me complaining!" Charlotte snapped.

"YOU ALWAYS COMPLAIN ABOUT IT!" Red roared, and furiously he grabbed a rock from the ground and through it at her. It went straight through, of course, but Charlotte looked stunned all the same. And then a smile crept onto her face, one that was condescending and mischievous rather than happy and joking, and Red wondered if it had been a mistake.

"Look at you Red!" The ghost said with a smirk. "It's only taken five years but you've finally grown a pair. Leaf must be happy: you can actually pleasure her now!" Red glared at her and Charlotte simply laughed, and then floated forwards so she suddenly appeared right next to the Champion. "I feel dreadful about what happened to Alexandra, but I was there to save her, wasn't I? Besides, I needed them to fight in my place."

"Why? What can they do that a magical ghost can't?" Red asked and turned angrily towards her. Charlotte's face fell, and she began to float backwards, away from Red, a strange look crossing her face, and Red knew that this could hardly be good news either.

"The reason the House was destroyed is because Gideon has found a way to defeat me," she said in a whisper. "He has a gun that can channel Ghost Energy in such a way that it blows me apart and renders me useless for an unknown amount of time. He manipulated me into using my magic to get him my book, and I feel horrible. I have gone all this time without anyone being able to stop me, and that prat comes back from the dead and uses my powers against me!" Charlotte looked genuinely shaken by this, and Red couldn't help but feel a touch of sympathy for her, but it didn't last long as he thought of what needed to be done. With yet another sigh, Red collapsed onto a pile of rubble that formed a pretty decent seat a few feet away. Things were not making a lot of sense these days, but he needed to do his best to keep the region together against the plots that brewed against it.

"Charlotte, I want you to stay here and organise the ashes back into their appropriate graves while you recover from this," Red said, and glanced up to see how the ghost would take the orders. Charlotte had paused, thinking it over, but eventually gave him a nod of approval. "I will send for you when the job is done, but stay out of things until you are called."

"What exactly are you going to do?" Charlotte asked with her tone full of rudeness as always. "The girl is concerned about your legends following her around, maybe call the beasts off."

"No!" Red said firmly, getting back to his feet and thinking in the back of his mind how relaxing sleep would be right now. "There needs to be something out there to protect her from everyone that's trying to kill her." And without another word, Red turned and stormed towards a hole in the wall, seeing it as easier than going through the reception. He needed to make sure Celadon was protected for when they went there, and he would have every possible person track down Gideon and work out what he was doing before he struck again.

"You can protect Alaska for as long as you want, but nothing will stop Gideon, and when it comes down to it, nothing will stop her," Charlotte called out. "Just think back to 2008, Mr Lowe: weren't you just the same?"

I certainly was, Red thought to himself as he stepped out into Lavender Town, which is all the more reason to make sure she doesn't do something stupid

***

Gideon stared down at Charlotte's spell book, clasped within his pale and nearly skeletal hands, feeling a sense of happiness for the first time in years. It had been over twenty four hours since he had fled Lavender Town, yet he still couldn't believe he had it: this most prized and priceless item, something thousands of men had sought after for all their lives and something only few could lay their hands on. It had been years since Gideon had last possessed it, and he planned to hold onto it for many more.

Yet as he stared down at the book, Gideon found he still couldn't shake this odd feeling stirring in the back of his mind. It had arisen halfway through the day, and though he had originally thought it to be a complication brought on from Charlotte tampering with his watch, the scientist was starting to believe it was something more than that. It was weighing down on his thoughts and distracting him from his joy, and Gideon wondered what had happened that could have brought these thoughts on…

Alaska… he concluded at last, a foul smile forming from his lips. It was always her: the black haired teenager always came to him in the middle of the night, taunting him with the fact while she never defeated him; she outsmarted him, survived him and brought news of his actions to the wider world. The girl was a danger, and she had come so close to defeating him yesterday that Gideon had worried in a second before he teleported that she just might get hold of him.

Yet she did not get me… why? Gideon thought, and the answer came as quickly as it was asked. Ah yes, she feared for her friend, the blonde… I shot her, she fell, and Alaska forgot all about me and went running back to her… Gideon glanced down at the spell book and smiled grimly: there was no delight in having this item if Alaska would only defeat him in the end, but the scientist may have just found his answer. The realms of sociology and psychology were sciences he had never truly understood, but even Gideon could see the girl feared and cared for the life of her friend, just like she would if it was a family member or one of her Pokemon's lives hanging in the balance…

Gideon began to laugh a deep, cruel chuckle as he clutched the book to his chest, and became gleeful in the knowledge that he had finally found Alaska's weakness, which meant he finally knew how to defeat her…



The Celadon Arc starts next, but I will only do one chapter before I start the next, shorter Galactic, so expect a few cliffhangers! Feel free to share any theories you have about what everyone may be planning, I would love to hear what everyone is thinking!