Chapter 7: Vision of the Phoenix
Alex had finally arrived in the ancient heart of the Johto Region known as Ecruteak City. The buildings and houses of the city all looked as if they had been built hundreds of years ago, yet they all seemed so new. Alex felt as if he had stepped back through time. Looming over the whole city in the northeast was the magnificent ten-story structure known as the Tin Tower. It was so tall that Alex had seen it before entering the city.
Upon entering the city, Alex began looking for the mansion that the Winters family used during the summer as a vacation home. He didn’t know exactly where the mansion was, but Alex knew what it looked like. Nora would often show Alex pictures from her vacations in Ecruteak after returning home, and very often there were pictures of Nora and her father standing in front of the mansion. Alex never cared that Nora’s family was wealthy, but he did envy Nora a little for having a summer home in Ecruteak. Ecruteak City was a place that Alex had always wanted to visit because of its old legends, and it was ironic that after finally coming to the city he couldn’t enjoy himself.
After wandering the streets of the city for hours, Alex finally came to a large two-story mansion with brown walls and an emerald-green roof. A wall of white stone that had gained small cracks in a few spots surrounded the whole structure. Right across the stone-paved street from the mansion was a small shop of some kind with a red bicycle parked in the stand in front. The iron barred gate of the wall surrounding the mansion was open. Alex went up and knocked on the front door a few times, but each time there was no answer.
It became very clear that Nora was not at the mansion, and this realization made Alex hit the door in frustration. He was sure that Nora would be at the mansion, or at least he had hoped she was because he had no idea where else to look for her. With no other options, Alex went back through the gate, and as soon as he did two more Team Rocket agents ambushed him.
“You must be the guy who’s got the people back at HQ all riled up.” One of the agents said to Alex. “One of the reports we got said you might show up at this place.”
“I’m really in no mood to deal with you guys right now, so get lost.” Alex said in a threatening tone.
“And what’re you gonna do if we don’t punk?” the second of the agents dared. Alex immediately responded by sending out Quill.
“Use Inferno!” Alex commanded.
Spiked flames erupted from the vents around Quill’s neck as it roared. The large Fire Pokemon breathed out a storm of flames that the two Team Rocket goons quickly ducked out of the way to avoid. The flames did however roast the bike in front of the small shop across the street to a crisp.
“What the hell punk!” the first Rocket agent exclaimed. “Are you trying to kill us?”
“Oh that’s it! This guy is dead!” the second Rocket agent declared as he pounded his right fist into his left palm.
Just as the two agents began to advance, a ball of blue light suddenly flew from behind them and hit the ground in front of them. Alex and the two agents turned to see that the thing that threw the ball was a bipedal jackal-like creature standing in front of the small shop. It had red irises and the fur of its arms, legs, tail, and some of its face was blue, while the fur of its paws was black. There was also a band of black fur around its eyes that made it look as if it was wearing a mask. The fur of the creature’s torso was cream-colored and made it look as if it was wearing a shirt. A metal spike protruded from the creature’s chest, and it had metal spikes on the backs of the paws on its arms.
“What the hell is a Lucario doing here?” the first of the agents asked.
“I have a better question.” A voice said from inside the shop. “What the hell is trash like you doing in this city?”
Emerging from the shop with a shopping bag in his right hand was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties. He had long black hair tied back in a ponytail and wore a blue vest over a black t-shirt and faded jeans. Perched on his shoulder was a yellow rodent-like creature with long pointed ears that had black tips, red circles on its cheeks, and a tail in the shape of a lightning bolt. Alex knew the little creature to be a Pikachu, and he wondered if the stranger was one of the friends that Lisa had spoken of.
“Who the hell are you?” the second agent demanded to know.
“Just a guy who was out buying mushrooms for dinner and saw some jerks from Team Rocket causing trouble.” The stranger answered. “Now the way I see it you’ve got three choices. You can either let that guy’s Typhlosion roast you, I can have my little buddy Pikachu zap you until you’re fried to a crisp, I could just have Lucario beat you up, or you could just leave quietly. So what’ll it be?”
“Pikaaa.” Pikachu added in a threatening tone as sparks started to crackle from the circles on its cheeks.
“I don’t know about you but I’m outta here!” the second agent told the first before running off.
“Me too!” the first agent agreed as he joined his comrade. “They aren’t paying us enough for this job!”
With the two Team Rocket agents gone, Alex called Quill back to its Pokeball. He then walked up to meet the stranger who had just backed him up.
“You okay pal?” the stranger asked Alex.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Alex told him.
“Good, it looked like you could handle yourself, but I thought I should OH MY GOD!” the stranger shouted as he noticed the bicycle that Quill had accidentally burned. “My girlfriend’s bike! It’s ruined!”
“Sorry, I guess Quill and I got a little carried away.” Alex said apologetically.
“This is the third bike I’ve borrowed that’s gotten wrecked.” The stranger said with an expression of terror, not once looking to face Alex. “She’ll never believe that I didn’t have anything to do with it. Oh man, she is gonna kill me!”
“Look, I’ll take responsibility for the bike.” Alex told the stranger.
“I bet she’ll make me sleep on the roof for the next month. Wait, what?” the stranger said as he suddenly registered what Alex just told him. “Are you really willing to take the heat for me?”
“Of course.” Alex replied. “I mean it’s only right.”
“Wow, thanks man! You’re a real life saver.” The stranger said gladly. Pikachu and Lucario also had expressions of gratitude on their faces. “My name’s Ash Ketchum by the way. Mind telling me who you are?”
“I’m Alex Blaze.” Alex replied.
“So what brings you to Ecruteak Alex?” Ash asked.
“I’m looking for someone.” Alex answered. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to know if there’ve been people living in that mansion would you?”
“You mean that big house right across the street?” Ash said looking at the place Alex was talking about. “Well I do know that a rich family uses the place during the summer, but that house has been empty for months. Sorry.”
A defeated expression appeared on Alex’s face after hearing that the mansion had been vacant. He walked back over to the wall surrounding the house and punched it as hard as he could. Alex pulled his fist away to reveal spots of blood left from his knuckles.
“Damnit, where is she?” Alex shouted.
“Hey, I don’t know what your problem is, but you should try and calm down.” Ash told Alex. “Why don’t you come to my place for awhile? I need you to explain to my girlfriend what happened to her bike anyway.”
Alex sighed and went with Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario as Ash wheeled to destroyed bike down the road. They walked in silence, and after a few minutes they spied a small brown house with a red roof. Standing on the front porch watering a hanging plant was a young woman with long orange hair wearing a pink jacket, a blue and white-stripped shirt, and a short blue skirt. Standing next to the young woman was a short green frog-like creature with a yellow stomach with a swirl pattern and a single long hair on the top of its head.
“Well, here we are.” Ash said as they approached the house. “This is the place my girlfriend and I use when we’re not off traveling the world. That’s my girlfriend on the porch by the way. She and her Politoed must be watering the plants again.”
Ash, Alex, and the two Pokemon finally reached the house.
“I’m back Misty!” Ash called to his girlfriend, who immediately stopped watering the flowers and came over.
“That took a little longer than I expected. Did you have trouble finding the…?” Misty began to ask, but she stopped when she noticed the condition of her bicycle. Her smile slowly turned to an expression of homicidal rage.
“Misty, I can explain what happened.” Ash began frantically.
“What did you do to my bike Ash?” Misty asked through gritted teeth in a low and terrifying voice that made Ash, Pikachu, Lucario, and Politoed cringe in fear.
“I wasn’t me this time Misty, honest!” Ash insisted as Misty loomed towards him.
“I’m the one who ruined your bike.” Alex interrupted. “My Typhlosion and I got a little carried away fighting off a couple of guys from Team Rocket.”
“YOU wrecked my bike?” Misty asked looking surprised. “Okay then, who the hell are you, and why was Team Rocket after you?”
“It’s… a long story.” Alex said with a distressed expression, causing Misty to soften a bit.
“…Well why don’t you come in the house and tell us all about it?” Misty suggested.
A few minutes later, Alex went into the house with Ash and Misty. They entered the small dining room, where Alex noticed a display case containing a few trophies, some medals, and several Pokemon League Gym Badges. For some reason Alex assumed that they belonged to Ash. While the three sat down at the table and had tea, Alex told Ash and Misty the twisted story of how he was abducted and brainwashed by Team Rocket, and how he was searching for Nora.
“It’s bad enough that Team Rocket steals Pokemon. Now they’re kidnapping people and turning them into soldiers?” Ash said angrily after Alex finished his tale.
“So what do you plan to do now that you know Nora’s not here in the city?” Misty asked Alex.
“I honestly have no clue.” Alex admitted with a defeated sigh. “I guess I should’ve known that Nora’s father wouldn’t be so stupid as to put her somewhere where I could get to her easily.”
“Hey Misty, maybe Alex should stay with us for awhile.” Ash suddenly suggested. “I mean it’s not like he has any place else to go.”
“…Okay, but only for a few days.” Misty agreed after a moment.
“Thanks, I really appreciate it.” Alex told the couple.
* * *
Later that night, the two Team Rocket agents that had ambushed Alex outside the mansion had met up outside the city with Noir Mask and Carson. They reported what happened with Ash, and needless to say, Carson was very displeased.
“Are you telling me that you let some punk with a Pikachu run you off?” Carson shouted. “You useless morons!”
“They were probably wise to run away.” Noir Mask interrupted. “If the person these two ran into is who I think he is, they wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
“What’re you talking about?” Carson demanded to know.
“About ten years ago I was sent to this area to investigate the activities of two very incompetent Team Rocket agents and their rather odd Meowth.” Noir Mask began. “They had apparently been wasting time and resources chasing after a trainer with a rather worthless Pokemon, a Pikachu. I judged them unworthy of being members of Team Rocket and Giovanni himself cast them out of the organization. After that I was sent to make sure the trainer this duo was chasing wasn’t worth going after. But I soon found out that this trainer was far more important than anyone at HQ thought.
“This trainer, a boy named Ash Ketchum, was connected to a prophecy concerning a very powerful Pokemon. And there were three other trainers connected to that Pokemon’s servants. You’ve already met two of them. The first one was in Saffron City according to the report I read.”
“You mean that punk with the Raikou?” Carson asked in a surprised tone.
“Yes, and the second one we ran into on the way here, Lisa Flare.” Noir Mask replied. “I have a personal score to settle with her, but that is not important at the moment. What you do need to know is that Ash Ketchum and these three other trainers foiled a major Team Rocket operation here in Ecruteak City.”
“This Ash kid doesn’t sound too tough to me.” Carson said smugly.
“Do not get overconfident.” Noir Mask told him. “I needn’t remind you that your track record has not been the best so far. We’ll go after Mr. Blaze tomorrow, and when we do we need to proceed with caution.”
* * *
Meanwhile at Ash and Misty’s, Alex was sitting up in the dining room look out the window up at the moonlit sky. He found it very difficult to sleep that night, as he was worried about Nora. Alex couldn’t stop wondering where Nora was or if she was okay. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice when Ash entered the room wearing a white t-shirt and shorts, which was what he normally wore to bed.
“So I’m guessing you can’t sleep.” Ash said, suddenly snapping Alex out of his thoughts. “Wondering where your girlfriend is?”
“I guess it’s pretty obvious, huh?” Alex replied. “What’re you doing up?”
“Just getting a midnight snack.” Ash said as he sat down at the table with Alex. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we can figure out where Nora is.”
“…I feel so useless.” Alex admitted. “I should’ve been able to stop this whole thing from happening. But I end I couldn’t protect Nora. Hell, I can’t even protect myself. Sure I’ve been able to fight off some of the smalltime Rocket goons and even Carson, but this whole journey I’ve had you, or Lisa, or Bolt, or Sabrina, or even Mewtwo stepping into protect me.”
“Don’t sell yourself short.” Ash told him. “Believe it or not, I’ve felt the same way as you. A few years ago in the Sinnoh Region Misty got hurt pretty badly. In fact she almost died. I felt helpless and kicked myself for not being able to protect her when she needed me to most. But I stayed by her, and even made myself stronger. And in the end everything turned out okay. It’s obvious that you love Nora very much, and if your desire to find her and protect her is strong enough, I’m sure it’ll all work out.”
“I’ve protected Nora since the moment I met her.” Alex revealed. “Before that time I didn’t feel like my life was worth anything, that I was just a worthless orphan that nobody wanted. But Nora changed all that. She made me feel like I had a purpose, and over time I grew to love her.”
“Well then, you’re on your way.” Ash said encouragingly. “But for tonight you should at least get some rest. You won’t be much use to anyone if you’re tired.”
“I guess you’re right.” Alex relented, and with that he went back out to the living room to sleep on the couch.
* * *
The next day, Alex was sitting on a chair in the backyard once again lost in thought. Misty meanwhile was watering the plants with Politoed again, while Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario were training by practicing some form of tai chi.
“You know Alex, I’ve been thinking that maybe you could find out Nora is from her father.” Misty suddenly suggested.
“Yeah, like he’d tell me.” Alex said sarcastically.
“Well it’s not like I saying you should just ask him nicely and hope he’ll just tell you where she is out of the goodness of his heart.” Misty said sounding a little offended. “You beat it out of him if you have to.”
“That… sounds a little extreme.” Alex said, surprised that Misty had suggested such a brutal action. “Not that I wouldn’t mind beating the crap out of Nora’s dad.”
While Alex and Misty were talking, Ash and Lucario suddenly sensed something was wrong. Suddenly several rings of black energy flew into the yard. With incredible speed, Ash jumped in front of Misty and Alex, and from his raised right hand came a barrier of blue energy that blocked the rings. When the smoke from the resulting explosion cleared, the group saw Zoroark coming towards them.
“It’s been a long time Ash Katchum.” Noir Mask said as she calmly walked into the yard. “It seems you’ve learned a few new tricks since our last encounter.”
“I thought I sensed you lurking nearby Noir Mask.” Ash responded. “Why don’t you do us all a favor and get lost?”
“I’d love to, but I have orders to retrieve Alex Blaze.” Noir Mask replied with a confident smirk. “And I’d really prefer not to have to ruin your lovely home to do that. So if you’d be so kind as to hand Mr. Blaze over, I’ll be on my way.”
“Ash, you get Alex out of here.” Misty said as she stepped up to face Noir Mask. “I’ll handle this.”
“Misty, are you sure?” Ash asked with a worried expression.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Misty assured him before pulling out an orange and white Pokeball with a yellow lighting bolt on top and yellow circles on the sides. “Go Suicune!”
Emerging from the thrown ball was a creature that looked to be a cross of a wolf and a leopard. It had no visible nose and its snout was white, as was its underside. The rest of its body was blue, though in a few places it had large white diamond-shaped spots. It had two ribbon-like tails that came around to the front and had a flowing quality about them. On its forehead was a large blue-green horned crest that had a sort of crystal shape to it, and on its back was a sort of purple flowing cape that gave one the impression of seeing an aroura.
“So you’re going to do this the hard way.” Noir Mask said sounding amused. “That’s fine by me.”
“Get out of here Ash!” Misty insisted.
After another moment’s hesitation, Ash and Alex ran around to the front of the house with Pikachu and Lucario taking up the rear.
“This shouldn’t take long.” Noir Mask said confidently. “Tear her apart Zoroark!”
Meanwhile, Alex and Ash had gotten to the street when Steelix suddenly erupted from the ground in front of them. Their path of escape was cut off.
“You really didn’t think it would be that easy to get away, did you?” Carson said in a smug tone as he stepped out from behind Steelix.
“I handle this guy Alex.” Ash said before Alex could pull out a Pokeball.
“So I take it you’re the punk with the Pikachu that scared off those wimps yesterday.” Carson observed. “Even Noir Mask said you were trouble, but you don’t look so tough to me.”
“You know I really don’t like you.” Ash told Carson as he pulled a Pokeball from his belt. “You’ve attacked me and Misty at our home, and I’ve heard from Alex that you’re the guy who’s been training the people Team Rocket had kidnapped and brainwashed to turn them into soldiers. That’s why I’m going to end this quick. Go Ho-Oh!”
Ash threw the ball into the air, and from it emerged a gigantic bird that was mostly red in color and had a large beak. Its underside was white, and around its eyes were black circles. Around its long neck was a single green band, and shining green feathers rimmed its wings. It had a tail made of long golden feathers, and a gold comb adorned the top of its head.
“Future Sight Ho-Oh!” Ash commanded.
Ho-Oh’s eyes suddenly glowed with a blue light. Ash’s eyes glowed with the same light as well, but it only lasted a moment.
“Are you okay?” Alex asked with concern.
“Yeah, but we’re going to have to have a talk after this.” Ash told him before turning his attention back to the battle.
“What sort of wimpy attack was that?” Carson laughed. “Nothing happened!”
“Wait for it.” Ash said with a confident smile. “Right now, eat Sacred Fire!”
Ho-Oh’s eyes suddenly glowed blue again and his body became covered in beautiful rose-colored flames. With a flap of its mighty wings, Ho-Oh sent those flames right at Steelix. The giant metal snake fell to the ground nearly hitting the front of the house, its body red-hot from the heat.
“Damnit, I’ll show you!” Carson angrily declared as he called back Steelix. “Go Tyranitar!”
Tyranitar roared after emerging from the thrown ball. Ash was not at all intimidated however.
“Now you’re not even trying.” Ash said mockingly. “Use Sunny Day Ho-Oh!”
Ho-Oh let out a cry and glowed with a golden aura. With a flap of its wings, Ho-Oh sent a beam of gold light into the overcast sky. A second later a beam of sunlight broke through the clouds and shined down onto the field.
“What’s going on?” Carson demanded to know.
“Sunny Day increases the power of the sun and makes Fire Type moves stronger.” Ash explained. “But that’s not the only thing it does. Ho-Oh, use Solar Beam!”
Ho-Oh reared back its head and fired a beam of pure solar energy from its beak. The beam hit Tyranitar in the chest and knocked it to the ground.
“How could you use a Solar Beam so fast?” Carson demanded as he called back Tyranitar.
“Sunny Day also allows for Solar Beam to charge a lot faster than it would normally take.” Ash told him.
“Well I’m not out yet! Go Rhyperior!” Carson called out as he threw his next ball. As soon as Rhyperior came out of its ball, it was suddenly lifted up into the air and hurled back down hard by some kind of invisible force. “What the hell?”
“That’s Future Sight.” Ash explained. “It’s a delayed attack that strikes later in the battle. I figured that it would hit when you sent out your last Pokemon. Now finish it Ho-Oh! Use Solar Beam!”
Ho-Oh reared back its head again and fired off another beam of sunlight that hit Rhyperior in the chest. It was clear that Rhyperior could no longer fight.
“Now to get rid of you the same way I got rid of some other Team Rocket members that used to follow me around!” Ash announced. “Pikachu, use Thunder Bolt!”
“Pik… a… CHUU!” the little electric rodent called out as it fired off a massive bolt of yellow electricity. The bolt hit the ground under Carson and Rhyperior and created a huge explosion that flung them high into the air.
“I’ll get you, you punks!” Carson shouted as he sailed through the air.
“Well, glad that’s over.” Ash said as he turned to Alex.
“Ash, help!” Misty called from the back yard, causing Ash to panic and rush back there. Alex, Pikachu, and Lucario followed close behind, while Ho-Oh simply landed on the roof of the house.
When they got back there, they saw that Misty’s battle with Noir Mask had taken an ugly turn. Zoroark was nowhere to be seen, but Darkrai had taken its place. The shadowy Pokemon hovered on the field while Suicune lay on the ground unconscious. It was clear by Suicune’s flinching movements that it was having a very bad nightmare.
“It seems that Suicune is experiencing my hell.” Noir Mask laughed. “You shall join it in a moment, but for now I think I’ll make your dear Suicune suffer a little more. Darkrai, use Dream Eater!”
Darkrai raised its arms forward and began to glow with a sinister purple aura. The energy extended from Darkrai and surrounded Suicune. Suicune cried out in pain as Darkrai started to pull some other kind of energy out of it. The attack stopped though when a ball of blue light that seemed to come from above suddenly hit Darkrai.
“Was that Lucario?” Alex asked looking a bit confused.
“That was an Aura Sphere, but it didn’t come from Lucario.” Ash told him, not once taking his eyes off the battlefield. “Look up and to your left.”
Alex looked where Ash told him to look and saw Mewtwo hovering in the air. Mewtwo created another Aura Sphere in its right hand and threw it at Darkrai, followed quickly by another one.
“About time you showed up.” Ash said to Mewtwo.
“It seemed that until now you had things under control.” Mewtwo replied.
“Well whatever. Let’s just finish this quick.” Ash responded. “Ho-Oh, use Sacred Fire!”
As Mewtwo continued throwing Aura Spheres, Ho-Oh once again became covered in rose-colored flames, which it sent at Darkrai with a flap of its wings. Darkrai was hit by the storm, and though it was still floating it was clear that it had been badly burned.
“Return Darkrai!” Noir Mask called as she quickly called Darkrai back to its Pokeball. She then threw out another ball. “Use Smog Houdoom!”
Immediately after emerging from the ball, Houndoom breathed out a thick purple cloud that caused everyone to cough. Ho-Oh flapped its wings only once and blew the cloud away. But by that time Noir Mask was long gone. Suicune meanwhile had woken up, though it seemed like the Legendary Pokemon had been in better shape.
“You okay Suicune?” Misty asked it as she walked over.
“Hey Misty, maybe you should get Suicune to the Pokemon Center.” Ash suggested. “If you think you can make it there on your own I need to talk to Alex and Mewtwo about something.”
“Okay, but hurry back.” Misty told him.
Ash nodded and went around to the front of his house with his two Pokemon and Alex. Moments later Ho-Oh landed in front of the house. Pikachu hopped up on Ash’s shoulder and then Ash, Lucario, and Alex got on Ho-Oh’s back. Ho-Oh flew off and Mewtwo followed close behind. A bit later Ho-Oh landed on top of the Tin Tower. Standing on the top of that edifice, Alex could see all of Ecruteak City, and even Goldenrod City in the distance.
“Why’d you bring me here?” Alex asked Ash.
“Ho-Oh kinda makes a scene in the city.” Ash answered. “Plus I like to come up here every now and then. It’s a nice place to talk actually.”
“And just what do you want to talk to me about?” Alex asked.
“You see sometimes when Ho-Oh uses Future Sight, it gets a vision of stuff that happens a little later in the future than just the attack in the battle.” Ash began. “And if what it sees is an important event, Ho-Oh shares it with me. What Ho-Oh saw during the battle with Carson was where Nora is going to be fairly soon.”
“What? Where is she?” Alex asked anxiously.
“It’s more like where she’s going to be.” Ash answered. “What Ho-Oh showed me takes place probably a few weeks into the future. And what I saw was Nora at a place called the Giant Chasm. It’s a landmark in the Unova Region.”
“I think I’ve heard of that place.” Alex said as he suddenly realized something. “Isn’t that in a really cold part of Unova?”
“Yeah, and there’s something else you need to know.” Ash told him. “Nora is going to be in great danger, so you better hurry and get there.”
“I will.” Alex told him. “And thank you.”
“Hey Mewtwo, if you’re going to tag along with Alex, maybe you should actually travel along with him instead of just following him from a distance.” Ash suggested. “You might learn more if you actually got to know him.”
“I’m not sure what difference that would make.” Mewtwo replied. “But I will do as you suggest.”
* * *
A few hours later, Alex and Mewtwo were standing outside of Ash and Misty’s home. The couple had helped Alex pack a few things and was about to see him off.
“There should be a boat leaving from Olivine City to Unova tomorrow at about noon.” Ash told Alex. “You should be able to make it if you leave now.”
“Thanks again for all your help.” Alex told Ash and Misty, and with that he and Mewtwo turned to leave.
“Hey Alex?” Misty called after the two travelers had gotten only a few feet away.
“Yeah?” Alex asked as he stopped and turned.
“Next time I see you, you better pay me for that bike you ruined.” Misty warned, though it was with a very friendly expression.
“Don’t worry, I’ll pay you back.” Alex told her before continuing on.
