Beyond the Adventure - A Pokémon Story

Chapter 10: Dangerous Territory pt1

                I walk toward the north gate of Vermilion City, ignoring the incredulous looks of my friends.  Instinctively, I pull out Jaws’ Luxury Ball and release him.  He leaps into the air, happy to be free, and smiles at me, waving.  I keep walking, my mind set on what I plan to do.

                “Dude, you can’t be serious!” Darius exclaims.

                Jess just crosses her arms and smirks.  “So, the kid has some guts after all,” she says.  “Though, I’m with Darius on this one.  There’s no way you’ll get in.”

                I just wave my hand.  “I’ll find a way,” I say.

                Darius runs up to me and touches my shoulder.  I stop and face him.  “Look, bud,” he says.  “You’ll be trying to break into one of the most secure buildings in Kanto.  My father’s security team is not one to take so lightly.  Trust me on this.”

                “Like I said, I’ll figure it out,” I argue.  “I need to know what went on here all those years ago.  Why was there a war?  What other experiments did they conduct?  What other Pokémon did they torture for their own gain?  What did my father die for?”

                Darius looks me in the eye.  I look back and I can tell he is clearly worried about me.  I hold my ground, though.  I am determined to do this, with or without him.  Then, he does the most unexpected thing.  He pulls me in and hugs me.  I freeze, unable to process what is happening.  Finally, after several seconds, he lets me go.

                “Uh…” I stammer.

                “What?  I’m from Kalos, get used to it,” he says.  “If you’re that determined, then fine.  I’m coming with you.”

                “You really don’t have to,” I say.

                “Look, if you’re going up against the largest technological giant in the world, protected by the world’s best security team, who better to accompany you than the guy who was raised to take over that security team?”  Darius grins.  “Perhaps it’s time I put all that knowledge to good use.”

                I smile.  “Thanks,” I say.

                Jess just shrugs.  “Well, in that case, I’m coming too,” she says.  “You two will need someone to protect you.”

                “Then let’s go!” he says.  Then he mutters to himself, “Diantha’s going to kill me…”

                Jess and Darius pull their birds.  Darius hops on Talonflame and I hop on Articuno with Jess.  I look down at Jaws, who looks sad when he sees me pull out his ball.  I frown and look at Darius.  “Hey, bud, think she can carry Jaws too?” I ask.

                “Uh… how much does he weight?” he asks.

                “Um… around twenty-five pounds, I think,” I say.

                “I think she can then,” Darius say.

                I motion for Jaws to go with Darius.  Jaws smiles big and climbs up on Talonflame.  He struggles for a moment, but with a push from Talonflame’s wing, he gets on.  He grabs Darius’ pants tightly.

                “All right, now hold on,” Darius says.

                We take off, soaring through the sky.  As the sun sinks below the horizon and the stars come out, I look below.  I can see Michael and Joshua’s small home.  Michael is working hard in his garden, while Joshua plays with their Meowth.  We fly over the rest of the route, and make it to Saffron in a fraction of the time it took Darius and I to get to Vermilion.  I look over at Jaws, who looks positively thrilled to be flying.  The look of pure joy on his face makes me smile.