Chapter 3: Last Train to Goldenrod
It had been a few hours since Alex Blaze woke up in the room at the Saffron City Gym to find that his memories had returned. Since that time he felt as if he had gotten some of his strength back, though his head still felt like it had just been in a vice. Still, Alex’s recovery seemed to be proceeding swiftly, which was good because Alex wanted to get on the road as soon as possible. One of the first things Alex remembered aside from his name was his girlfriend Nora, and he wanted to get back to her quickly. Since waking up in the gym, Sabrina had been telling Alex just what had happened to him.
“When Mewtwo probed your mind back at the warehouse he inadvertently undid whatever brainwashing Team Rocket used on you.” Sabrina explained. “The process unfortunately almost caused brain damage. If Mewtwo hadn’t gotten you to me when he did, you probably would’ve died or ended up in a coma.”
“You’re saying he almost killed me?” Alex asked.
“He didn’t mean any harm. Mewtwo was simply curious.” Sabrina told him. “Lately he’s been interested in learning more about the human race. Mewtwo saw the brake in at the warehouse and decided it was a good opportunity to find out why some humans would work for organizations like Team Rocket. He never imagined running into someone like you, and I suppose we’re all lucky he did.”
“How is it that you know Mewtwo?” Alex asked.
“He and I crossed paths once a few years ago.” Sabrina explained. “It fascinated Mewtwo to meet a human with psychic powers almost on par with his own. Since that time he visits me every now and then. Now if you’ll excuse me I have some business to attend to.”
Just as Sabrina was about to leave the room, a dark-purple Pokemon with a round body, red eyes, pointed ear, short arms and legs a tail, and a back of spiked fur floated into the room. Its mouth was curved into a sinister grin.
“What is it Gengar?” Sabrina asked the Ghost Pokemon.
From behind its back, Gengar suddenly produced a large cake with green and white frosting. A single candle was lit on top.
“I’m not in the mood for sweets right now.” Sabrina told Gengar.
Suddenly the flame of the candle went out and a second later the cake exploded. Sabrina was covered in frosting while Gengar on the other hand was clean, as the frosting only passed through his body as if it was air. Alex was sure that Sabrina was about to murder Gengar, if murdering a ghost was possible that is. But instead Sabrina burst into laughter.
“Oh my god! Where do you come up with this stuff?” Sabrina asked as she slowly started to regain her composure. “This is almost as funny as the time we put my dad’s car on the roof of the gym. Oh boy, that made my day. Well, I guess I’ll need to clean up before doing anything else.”
Sabrina left the room with Gengar following close behind. Alex sighed and leaned back onto the bed. He never imagined that a serious looking woman like Sabrina would have such an odd sense of humor.
“I’ve never understood her sense of humor either.” A voice suddenly spoke into Alex’s head.
Alex shot up and saw that Mewtwo had suddenly entered the room. Though how exactly Mewtwo got in, Alex could not figure out. Mewtwo was no longer wearing the tattered brown cloak that Alex had first seen him in.
“What’re you doing here?” Alex asked in a tone that indicated he was not happy to see the psychic feline.
“I came to see how you are doing.” Mewtwo asked.
“Fine considering you almost killed me.” Alex replied rather ungratefully.
“I meant you no harm.” Mewtwo pointed out. “And you should keep in mind that if I had not probed your mind and undid the brainwashing you would still be a slave to Team Rocket.”
“I guess you’re right.” Alex grudgingly admitted. “Plus it doesn’t matter either way. Right now the only thing I’m worried about is finding Nora.”
“Nora?” Mewtwo asked.
“My girlfriend.” Alex explained. “We met when I was about thirteen. At first we were just friends, but after awhile we became crazy about each other. Of course we had to go out in secret because Nora’s father doesn’t like me.”
“Why does her father dislike you?” Mewtwo asked.
“Because I’m just an orphan with little to his name as he put it.” Alex answered. “As far as he was concerned I had no business going out with his precious daughter. I guess he finally decided to do something about it when he had me kidnapped and turned into a Team Rocket puppet…. I just hope that Nora’s okay.”
* * *
Meanwhile in the Unova Region, Nora continued to wander the icy wasteland. It had been a few weeks since she had escaped from her family’s vacation home, and it was not long after that she had realized she was lost. Nora had no idea which way the nearest town was or how close she was to it. But it was far too late to turn back; especially since she couldn’t remember which way she had come. And the icy winds of the land did a good job of wiping away tracks.
But even if she could turn back, Nora still refused to. Despite the unbearable cold, she still wanted to find Alex more than anything. Nora soon came to a large boulder covered in ice. It was a rather unusual boulder that looked to be made out of some sort of blue crystal. Suddenly a Pokemon emerged from around the boulder, this one a large rock-like creature that hovered in the air. Much of the creature’s body was covered in ice that had made it seem like it was wearing a hockey mask. A pair of black horns adorned the top of this giant floating head, and its large eyes were icy-blue. Nora recognized the Pokemon as a Glalie.
It seemed clear that the Glalie did not want Nora to pass through. So Nora decided to fight back.
“Go Eevee!” Nora called out as she threw a Pokeball. Eevee emerged from the thrown ball. “Eevee, attack with Shadow Ball!”
Eevee opened its mouth and fired off a ball of black and purple energy. The ball hit Glalie in the face. But the floating head quickly recovered and fired a beam of white energy from its mouth. Eevee jumped out of the way of the attack at the last second. A patch of ice formed on the ground where the beam hit.
“Don’t give up Eevee!” Nora called. “Use Iron Tail!”
Eevee charged at Glalie and jumped up into the air. As it did so its tail began glowing with a brilliant white light. Eevee flipped in the air and its tail hit Glalie right on the top of its head. Glalie fell to the ground unconscious. Suddenly the large crystal boulder flashed and then Eevee’s whole body lit up in a flash of white light.
When the light cleared, Eevee had completely transformed. Its once brown fur had turned light blue and had become much shorter. Though the fur on its feet and on the end of its tail were a darker blue. The inside of its ears had also changed to that dark-blue color, and there were two dark-blue diamond-shaped spots on its back. On the front of its head looked like what could be considered a snowcap. Eevee had evolved into a Glaceon.
“Well I guess that’s one way to adapt to the cold.” Nora said to Glaceon. “C’mon, let’s keep going for awhile longer.”
With that, Nora continued to press on with Glaceon trotting close behind her. It seemed that the ice fox had suddenly grown quite fond of the cold weather.
* * *
Back at the Saffron City Gym in Kanto, Ale was sitting in his room. He had since discarded the Team Rocket uniform he was wearing and had changed into a white shirt and black pants that Sabrina had brought him. Quill and Ironhide were out and eating from bowls of food that had been brought for them. Suddenly gliding in from the open door was a small flying squirrel-like creature with a white face and underside and black back and tail. The undersides of its wing flaps were yellow, and it had large yellow cheeks. Alex recognized the creature as an Emolga.
“Funny, I thought the Pokemon at this gym were all Psychic and Ghost Pokemon.” Alex said as Emolga flew down to visit with Quill and Ironhide.
“Hey where’d you go little guy?” a male voice called from the hallway.
The person who stepped into the room was a man who looked to be in his early twenties. He had spiky blond hair and wore faded jeans, a black t-shirt, a yellow vest, and sunglasses. A red electric guitar was strung behind his back.
“There you are Emolga.” The stranger said to the small electric rodent. Emolga flew back up onto the stranger’s shoulder. “Hey, sorry to barge in on you like this. The little guy likes to explore.”
“No big deal.” Alex said to the stranger.
“So, you the guy who almost got his brain fried by Mewtwo?” the stranger asked.
“Yeah, my name’s Alex Blaze.” Alex replied. “And you are?”
“Oh, forgive my manners. The name’s Bolt Hanson.” The stranger introduced. “I’m the bad-ass rocker of the Sinnoh Region. And as for why I’m here, Sabrina’s an old friend of mine. She called me and told me a little about your situation. I guess she thought I could help.”
“Thanks.” Alex told him.
“No problem man.” Bolt replied. “Boy, I never thought Team Rocket would resort to brainwashing people. I’ve seen them do some pretty bad things, but this is the lowest they’ve sunk.”
“It sounds like you’ve dealt with Team Rocket before.” Alex observed.
“I fought ‘em about ten years ago in Ecruteak City with some other guys.” Bolt explained. “So you know why those grabbed you and messed with your head?”
“I’m pretty sure they were asked to do it by my girlfriend’s dad.” Alex explained. “Basically he hates my guts.”
“Oh… been there dude.” Bolt said supportively. “So what’s your next move?”
“I’m going to find my girlfriend.” Alex answered with a determined expression. “I’m not sure where she is, but I can start by looking in Goldenrod City.”
“Well lucky for you there’s a train that goes from here to Goldenrod.” Bolt told him optimistically. “There’s actually one leaving today.”
“It might be wise to take that train.” Sabrina interrupted as she suddenly entered the room. “I have a feeling that Team Rocket will be coming for you soon Alex.”
* * *
Back at the secret headquarters of Team Rocket, Carson was briefing Giovanni on what happened at the warehouse. Needless to say, Giovanni was not at all pleased.
“What do you mean you don’t know what threw you against the wall?” Giovanni asked angrily. “Surly you saw something!”
“I saw nothing sir.” Carson maintained. “Recruit 53 reported seeing a pair of eyes, but she didn’t know what they were of. It could’ve been some kind of rouge Psychic Pokemon.”
“Well whatever took you down in that warehouse, I’m far more concerned about what has happened to Recruit 17.” Giovanni told him. “I want him brought back here immediately.”
“I’ll get right on it sir.” Carson replied.
* * *
About an hour later, Alex and Bolt were walking down the streets of Saffron towards the train station. Alex had since put on a long black coat and was carrying a bag of supplies that Sabrina and Bolt had prepared for him.
“Okay, now the train leaves in just a few minutes.” Bolt told Alex. “I know you still have a Pokemon at the Pokemon Center here, but you can have it transported to the one in Goldenrod no problem.”
“I understand.” Alex replied.
“Hold it right there, maggot!” a gruff voice called from behind. Alex and Bolt turned around to see Carson and at least twenty Team Rocket grunts standing behind them. “The only place you’re going is back to Team Rocket HQ!”
“Sorry, but Alex has other plans.” Bolt told Carson. “But if you guys are looking for a fight, I’d be happy to give you one.”
“And just who’re you?” Carson demanded in an irritated tone.
“Me? Why I’m the bad-ass rocker of Sinnoh, Bolt Hanson!” Bolt proudly announced. “I’m sure you’ve heard of me.”
“Afraid not.” Carson replied. “Now get out of our way!”
“Hey Alex, you better get that train before it leaves.” Bolt told him. “I’ll take care of these losers. Good luck finding your girl.”
Alex hesitated for a second, but then nodded and headed towards the station as quickly as he could. The grunts meanwhile began throwing several Pokeballs that sent out several Koffing.
“Man, what is it with you Rockets and Poison-types?” Bolt asked jokingly. “Send out whatever you want though, because I’ve got two Pokemon that can handle anything you dish out! One is my very first Pokemon. Let’s rock Luxray!”
The Pokemon that Bolt called out was a good-sized lion-like creature that was blue and had a mane of black fur. That same color fur covered its front legs, rear, and tail. Its eyes were red and gold, and on the tip of its tail was what looked like a four-pointed star.
“That’s all you’ve got, a Luxray?” Carson laughed.
“Luxray happens to be one of my most powerful Pokemon, but hold your comments until you see the other Pokemon I have in store for you.” Bolt said as he pulled out another Pokeball. This one had an orange top with a yellow lightning bolt on it, and on the sides of the ball were two yellow circles. “Let’s rock Raikou!”
Emerging from the thrown ball was a yellow saber-toothed cat with black stripes. It had red eyes, and over its nose was what looked like a blue X. Adorning its forehead was a dark-grey crest, and on its back was something that looked like a purple thundercloud. Its thin tail looked like a light-blue lightning bolt. Bolt then took the guitar from his back and flipped a switch on the side of it. He then played a quick riff on the instrument.
“Okay Raikou, start us off with a Rain Dance!” Bolt commanded.
Raikou bent down its head and moved his front right leg forward. It then lifted its head and roared at the sky. A bolt of lightning shot up from the cloud on its back into the air. The sky became covered in thick thunderclouds and rain began to pour down.
“Okay Raikou and Luxray, hit those Koffing with Thunder!” Bolt commanded.
Both of the electric felines roared and shot yellow bolts of lighting into the sky. Several lightning bolts rained back down and knocked out half of the Koffing.
“Okay Raikou, finish it with Extrasensory!” Bolt commanded.
Raikou’s eyes glowed with a gold light, and then from the crest on its forehead it fired a gold colored beam. It used the beam to hit the rest of the Koffing, which all fell to the ground. Carson’s face showed a look of annoyance and fear.
“Okay pal, still think you can take me on?” Bolt dared Carson.
* * *
Meanwhile, Alex finally entered the station. He quickly spotted the train and headed towards it. But half way to it, Recruits 30 and 53 suddenly emerged from behind a pillar.
“Stop right there 17!” Recruit 53 commanded. “You’re coming back with us!”
“You don’t have to do this!” Alex told them. “You have lives of your own! You don’t have to be slaves to Team Rocket!”
“Are old lives are over!” Recruit 30 told him. “All that is left to us is to serve Team Rocket!”
“This is our destiny now.” Recruit 53 coldly added. “We no longer have a past. Team Rocket is the only future we have. Now come with us quietly, or we will have to use force.”
Suddenly both Recruit 30 and Recruit 53’s eyes went wide. They grabbed their heads and began screaming in pain. After a few moments they fell to the ground, blood running down their noses. Soon after, Mewtwo walked our from behind Alex wearing his tattered cloak.
“What did you do to them?” Alex asked.
“The same thing I did to you.” Mewtwo answered. “Now hurry and get on the train.”
“Why are you helping me?” Alex asked.
“Because you interest me.” Mewtwo replied bluntly. “Now go.”
Alex decided not to argue and got to the train as fast as he could. He boarded it a split second before it started to leave the station. Alex was on his way to Goldenrod City, but his journey was just beginning.
