Beyond the Adventure - A Pokémon Story

Chapter 7: Onward! pt3

        My heart explodes with joy and my eyes fill with tears.  Brawny steps inside, then sinks to one knee.  I rush over to help him.  His face is wrenched in pain, but he is clearly trying not to show it.  I instinctively check his back and sure enough, there was a large and nasty gash across his shoulders, right below his upper arms.

        “Ah, hold on, buddy,” I say soothingly.  “I’ll take care of that.  Getting hit by a branch at 340 miles per hour would do that.”

        I rummage through my bag and pull out a box of gauze from my portable first aid kit.  I dab the wound and mop up the blood.  It was deep, but it did not bleed that much, which is good.  I then pull out a Super Potion and spray it across the wound.  Brawny grits his teeth, but holds still.  The wound slowly begins to close as the potion works.  The wound seals completely, but there is a faint scar left behind.  I stand up and offer my hand to Brawny, who takes it and stands too.

        “Feel better?” I ask.  Brawny nods.  “I suppose we have you to thank for getting the last brake?”  Brawny nods again.  I smile and hug the big lug.  “Thanks, buddy.  You saved a lot of people and Pokémon.”

        Jaws walks up to us and hops up and down, excited.  Brawny lets me go, then reaches down and picks up Jaws.  They laugh and cheer as Brawny dances around the train, causing it to shake.

        “Ah, stop!” I shout, and they stop.  “We need to get everyone off.”

        I look back at Darius, who is already working with Jess to activate the emergency evacuation system on the train.  Every exit door in the car opens simultaneously and long ladders extend to the ground.  Darius and Jess expertly guide people and their Pokémon to the exits, maintaining order and keeping people from panicking.  In the distance, I hear sirens and helicopters coming toward us.  I pull Brawny’s ball out and pull him inside.  “Rest up,” I say as he goes in.

        The police and fire trucks pull up.  The emergency workers spread out and get to work.  The firemen inspect the damaged portion of the train, while the police assist passengers as they get off.  Emergency medical personnel arrive in an ambulance.  Darius and Jess are lowering a passenger with a sprained ankle toward a medic.  I take a deep breath and help out as well.

        Once all the passengers are off, we exit as well.  The police go around to different passengers, asking what happened.  I hear rustling behind me and notice Jess ducking into the woods.  Darius notices as well and we follow after her.  After we are clear from police, Jess pulls out a Pokéball and summons her Articuno.  Darius suddenly stops, staring at Articuno in awe.

        “Where are you going?” I ask.

        “I have no time for the police,” she says.  “They won’t be able to handle what is going on.”

        “What IS going on?” Darius asks.  “Who was behind this attack?”

        Jess stares off in the distance.  “I don’t know exactly what they are up to yet,” she says, “but it’s huge.  Team Rocket was supposed to have been disbanded, but suddenly, they cropped back up.  They claim they are looking for their old leader, but where did they suddenly get the funding to pull off these attacks?”  Jess looks at us.  “I believe their strings are being pulled by another entity.  This entity is the one providing them the resources to act, and I WILL find out who.”

        Darius approaches Jess and her Articuno.  “Who exactly are you?” he asks.

        Jess takes a deep breath.  “I’m a member of Team Aqua, from Hoenn,” she says hesitantly.  “Two years ago, we tried to stop Team Magma from summoning the legendary Pokémon Groundon, but in doing so, wrought disaster upon Hoenn.  To stop Team Magma, we, in turn, summoned Kyogre, the counterpart to Groudon.  The two waged battle and almost destroyed the region.  It wasn’t until a young boy and girl managed to summon the eternal dragon Rayquaza, who came to quell the battle and restored order.”  Jess looked down.  “We saw the error of our ways, and ever since, we’ve been working to make up for our misdeeds.  I have been tasked with investigating Team Rocket’s resurgence.”