A Trip to Kanto - A Pokemon Story

Chapter 2: Crisis Aboard!

*Third person POV*

"Everyone ready to go?", Ash asked, clutching his backpack on his shoulders, as Pikachu climbed up and sat on his trainer's head. They were all at the Inter-Regional Airport of Unova, waiting for the main tourist. Then, Trip arrived with a small backpack of his own, hung over one of his shoulders. "So Trip, excited?", Ash asked. Trip didn't verbally reply, he just shrugged, made a 'hmph' sound and didn't make eye contact with his rival. Ash just laughed it off, and so did the others. Soon, it was 5:57 AM.

"Well, it's time to say goodbye for some time..", Luke said as the clock struck six. "Hm. Take care of yourself, Luke. Do remember to inform when a new movie comes out because we'll be waiting!", Ash said with a pumped-up expression in his voice. "And Luke! Take good care of that cute Zorua!", Bianca told the movie-maker. She really loved Zorua because of how cute she was, and believe or not, but she did feel a little down that she had to part ways with her for a short period. "And Ash. Let's meet at the Unova League, what do you say?", Virgil said. Virgil was also competing in the league along with Team Eevee. "Sure! But be careful, I ain't goin' easy on ya!", Ash replied and shook hands with the Eevee trainer. "Take good care, Eevee..", Ash patted the Eevee on Virgil's shoulder. "Eev!", Eevee chirped with joy. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard Houndour FireFlight 228. Passengers are requested to be seated by sharp 5:59 AM. Thank you.", came the words from the speakers all across the airport. "Well, now we really gotta go. Bye Luke! Bye Virgil!", Ash said and the others followed, walking up the staircase and entering the airplane right after. From the windows, Luke and Virgil were seen waving their arms as a sign of saying goodbye, to which the clan (except Trip) responded a with a grin and a wave back. At exactly 6:00 AM, the plane started gliding across the runway, and finally, took off into the twilight-colored sky. 

The ride was pretty quiet. Usually, one'd hear people chatting about with others, on their phones, or with their Pokemon. The Unovan Rides are mostly very busy and noisy! But this ride was... as said before, silent.

That was until trouble struck. All of a sudden, there was an emergency alarm that went off. Not just any emergency alarm, it was a fire alarm. Then, a lady spoke through the speakers. 

"Attention passengers! Houndour FireFlight 228 has encountered an accident which has caused the plane's back engine to catch fire! It's needed for everyone to get up and systematically move to the front areas of the plane because the fire is slowly spreading, till we find a spot for an emergency landing! Stay calm, do not rush, and take care of little children, Pokemon and yourself!"

"Oh God!", Bianca exclaimed. Axew hid inside Iris' fluffy hair, and Ash held Pikachu close to his chest. The passengers hurriedly began to stand up and run towards the front of the plane. "We should go too!", Stephan said. "But wait! If everyone runs towards ONE side of the plane, wouldn't it make the plane lose its balance? The plane's back-side would be much lighter and it might bend more towards the front. That could mean danger!", Cilan noted. Our group stopped for some moments while the other passengers aboard moved forward. "Does the captain know this?", Iris asked Cilan. "I doubt it.", Cilan said. 

"Kids! What are you still here for?! Did you not properly hear the announcement?!", an air hostess came up to us. Cilan repeated what he had said before about the plane losing its balance, but the air hostess didn't hesitate in replying. "We have assigned the task of balance maintenance to some heavy Pokemon which are immune to fire.", she said. "But about them?! They may be heavy and have an advantage over fires, but they're still Pokemon! You're saying you left them in the fiery areas?!", Ash exclaimed, pure worry and terror washed over his face. "What else would maintain the balance of the plane? Have you any idea about it?", the air hostess asked the boy, who hesitated to reply in response. "But.... they're Pokemon...", was all he said. "Oh, Ash...", Dawn said, feeling sympathy for her friend. "Everyone else has moved in front. Why don't you just listen to me once and go with your friends?", she scolded. "Fine...", Ash said after hesitating for two minutes. "Don't worry. Most of those Pokemon are Water Type. They can handle this.", she said. "So the fire will stay blazing until the landing?! Because as far as I'm aware, you can't extinguish engine fire with water! Are there no fire extinguishers on this plane?", he said. "You're right. But the fire which is spread all around the back areas of the plane, the seats, the restrooms, all that can be extinguished. The source of the fire can only be dealt with after landing. And for the fire extinguishers, there is one, but I tried. It doesn't seem like it's working because I am unable to break the seal. The other two fire extinguishers have exploded due to them catching fire. Now, GO!", she yelled as the crew finally got up and started walking towards the front, including Ash.

While walking and being escorted by the air hostess, Ash felt something in his heart. It was pain for those poor Pokemon left in the fires to assist the humans in running to safety. He felt that it was wrong. If humans are being moved to safety but it puts the life of the Pokemon at stake, Ash was entirely against it. Another small explosion from the back of the airplane was heard. It shook the plane a little, but thankfully, the pilot handled it. "That's it!", Ash yelled. He took Pikachu off his shoulder and handed him to Cilan, along with his five PokeBalls. He took off his gloves too. "Keep these safe.", he said to the Pokemon connoisseur. "Where are you going?!", the air hostess called. "Sorry, but I cannot leave the Pokemon fending for their own lives!", Ash called and into fire he went.

The flames were blazing, and there was an odd smell, similar to that of burning plastic. He left his Pokemon with Cilan, just in case something undesired happens and he doesn't return intact. While making his way through the flames and ignoring the small burns on his arms, he stepped on something. He looked down to see what it was. 'This must be the fire extinguisher which didn't work! ' he thought. Picking up the inanimate fire-survivor in his hands, Ash ventured deeper into the inferno. Inside, he finally stumbled upon the Pokemon. There were a Dewott, a Wartortle, a Vaporeon, a Graveler, a Larvitar and a Hippowdon. All of them were huddled in the center, as the surroundings burned. "Is everyone okay?", Ash asked, examining the Pokemon. He couldn't help but notice the way the Pokemon were relieved that a human is there with them. 

"Don't worry, I'm here to get you out.", he said and turned around, only to find out that the only way out was engulfed in aggressive flames.

To be continued....