Chapter 10: Pokémon Champion Gold
Syoran snuck through the deserted streets of the Fight Area, headed for Battle Tower. We were all in our Poke-balls except for Z, who ran silently beside him on all fours. The silence and stillness were…disturbing. We had all expected battles to be taking place on every corner. Could Team Rocket have established control that quickly?
Inside my Poke-ball, I cleaned myself off. Fortunately, I hadn’t lost enough fur to give me bald patches, but my skin was sore and red all over. Well, not really red since it is dark blue, but redder than was normal. Strands of spider web still clung to my fur and it was a real pain to get out, but I persevered. After all, I took great pride in my coat and didn’t want to appear in public without it looking its best.
I glanced outside from time to time to check on our progress. Due to the utter lack of life, Syoran and Z had cautiously abandoned the idea of staying in the shadows and advanced rapidly up the street, scanning the area for threats. None were apparent.
By the time we were halfway to the Battle Tower, it was clear that there were no trainers around, Team Rocket or otherwise. Where they had all gone was a mystery, but not one I thought about too hard. The sooner we arrived at Battle Tower, the sooner we could finish this.
Then, we turned a corner and everything changed. There were craters in the ground, rubble in the streets, and ruined, metal machines everywhere, all with a red ‘R’ emblazoned on them. A thin wash of blood covered the ground in places, but oddly enough there were no bodies. This was obviously the location of a great battle, but if so, who had won and where were they?
Syoran and Z ducked behind cover when two voices were heard from a nearby alley. “So far so good,” one said, “losses are still in the acceptable range. We knew this would happen when we attacked the strongest trainers in all Sinnoh, but if our numbers hold steady we can recoup our losses with sales to Cipher.”
“Excellent,” a second said, “Now, have they found Gold yet?”
“Yes sir, Commander Petrel. We ‘escorted’ him to Battle Tower not ten minutes ago. The fool was completely unprepared for our new tactics. He expected us to all challenge him to a series of battles.”
The second voice laughed merrily. “Any news from Proton?”
“No sir. Communications say his last transmission was from the Pokémon Center, but whether he accomplished a takeover there is still unknown.”
“And what of the rest of our forces?”
“The front line is holding steady. Our perimeter has expanded to cover most of the port. Any resistance left is in the outskirts around Battle Tower. We also seized the ships before they could try and make a run for it and used them to block off the harbor, though our projections don’t have police showing up here in force for another ten days, plenty of time for us to secure the island.”
“Ha, ha! Excellent!” the second said.
YOU ARE READING
A Spirit's Journey (Pokemon Watty Awards 2014 3rd Place Winner: Adventure)
FanfictionA story, you say? Well, I know a few of those. Some of them are about me, and some of those are even true. This one's one of my favorites. It's how I came to be the Absol I am today. Of course, I didn't like it then, but that's how it always is with...
