Pokémon Eclipse: The Hunt

Part 5

  Pokémon Eclipse: The HuntBy ConflitPart 5: Imposter!Goldenrod City, JohtoPokémon like Giratina are known for their power, stature, and fearlessness, but when thatroar sounded down the street even Giratina began to shake with fear.(PLAY VS FRONTIER BRAIN)"I told you not to meddle in my affairs!" a voice screams in my head, "Raikou, go backfrom whence you came!"I look at Dusk in surprise but he just points at Giratina and mouths 'that's him'. I thenlook up at Giratina to see the goliath spinning around as fast as it can, smashing more windowsand the buildings around it. Suddenly another roar rocks the street and then a bolt of electricityrains down from the sky onto Giratina's head. For the first time, I see Giratina actually staggerfrom an attack. Giratina roars in pain and psychically screams, "Run Dusk!"With that, Dusk and I turn tail and run as fast as our legs can carry us. After aroundtwenty feet I look back to see just a black cloud of smoke. From the cloud, I can see flashes oflight and the occasional roar can be heard from both Giratina and the attacker. Then somethingbreaks through the smoke and flies towards us. The object crashes into a van a ways in front ofus, leaving a crater in the vehicle. Before we can get closer whatever was thrown begins to move.From the crater springs a large yellow cat with long, sharp canines, a purple mane pulsing withelectricity and a bizarre wire like tail.This must be Raikou...Raikou lands on the ground before Dusk and I and roars, baring its teeth. The Raikou'sfangs begin to pulsate with electricity as it approaches us. Raikou snarls once more and crouchesdown. In an instant, the beast springs towards Dusk who yelps in surprise but before Raikoupounces on him a ball of dark energy flies from down the street right into Raikou's shoulder. Iwatch in slow motion as Raikou's body wraps around the ball and is sent flying down the streeteven further. I look behind me to see Giratina coming out of the smoke, heading towards us.Suddenly I feel the ground below me rumble and I peer down to see a dark swirl formingbetween my feet. I then scan the street ahead of me for signs of Raikou but I find much more.Approaching us is Raikou and another Pokemon, a red and brown canid which also featuressharp teeth, a mane made of gray smoke that runs all the way down its back and turns into its tail.That must be Entei...Between the two legendary dogs stands a beautiful woman with purple hair and a jetblack suit."A-Anabel..." I hear Dusk gasp.Who the hell is Anabel and why does she have these kinds of Pokémon at her disposal...?Before I can get an answer I feel the ground below me finally give way and I fall throughthe black portal into the distortion world. Everything goes black and all I can feel is theemptiness of the void below me. I fall slowly, due to the weaker gravity but instead of panickingI kind of feel at peace. I watch as the memories of my family and me at the beach appear beforemy eyes.(PLAY GSC SURF THEME)The vision is so intense I can even feel the warm sand below my feet and hear the wavescrash against the shore. I see my mother and father holding my younger sister between them andswinging her back and forth as they walk down the beach but then my sister fades and I see myMom begin to cry and then she disappears too and my Father looks at me and smiles, a strangeand psychotic grin. Then everything goes black but I can still see his smile amidst the darkness,and then I awake.When I wake up the first thing I notice is the smell of burnt wood. I open my eyes andlook around to see myself in the burnt out remains of a building. I recognize the buildingimmediately as the famous Burned Tower of Ecruteak City. I scan my surroundings but all I findis a very confused looking Ghastly staring at me."So you're behind those strange dreams," I grunt.The Ghastly slyly smiles and begins to back away."Oh no you don't," I laugh as I pull out Elekid's ball.(Play Johto Wild BATTle theme)I let Elekid out and order, "Elekid, use Thunder Wave!"Elekid quickly fires a bolt of electricity which, upon contact with Ghastly's gaseousbody, forms a web of electricity around it. The Ghastly shrieks in pain and slowly hovers downto the floor where. I smile and procure another Poké Ball from my pocket. I've never caught aPokémon before, Elekid was given to me by the Alolan Hydro Company, so this is as good atime to try. I click the button and the ball enlarges, I then toss the ball at the sedated Ghastly andwatch as the Pokémon is sucked into the ball by a red beam of light. The ball shakes once andclicks shut.A critical capture...Wow...I amble over to the Poké Ball laying on the ground and gently pick it up. Now I have twoPokémon. I begin to carefully put the ball into my pocket when I hear Elekid begin to squeakwith excitement. I turn around and look at my small yellow friend to see him smiling back at me,but something is off about him. A slight glow has begun to form around him.(Play Evolution Theme Johto)As I watch the glow intensifies and eventually completely covers Elekid. Then the lightbecomes so bright that I'm blinded but then it vanishes. Once my eyes adjust back to the normalamount of light I am surprised by what stands before me. Instead of the small Elekid, is a mansized yellow beast with black stripes, two large fangs, sharp claws and instead of tall narrowantennas are short round ones.Elekid evolved into Electabuzz...Elekid... I mean Electabuzz roars with pride, putting a smile on my face. I've never feltso proud. But then I stop and say, "This is all good and dandy but how the hell did we get here?""I can answer that," a familiar voice laughs.I look up to see Dusk standing in the burnt rafters above, probably not safe."How long have you been there?" I ask."I arrived just in time to see you catch the Ghastly," Dusk replies.Dusk then hops down to the basement floor and stands beside me."You passed out again," Dusk explains, "I didn't know what to do so I brought you here,to Ecruteak City.""Why Ecruteak City?" I question."The surgeon we're looking for lives here," Dusk justifies, "Turns out he doubles as amonk at Tin Tower."I rub my head in confusion."How did you get all this information anyway?" I prod."Follow me and I'll introduce you to the man," Dusk suggests.Electabuzz and I follow Dusk up a broken flight of stairs to the main floor where weavoid holes in the floor and walk out of the destroyed building.(Play Ecruteak City theme)I have to shield my eyes from the sun to see but what I see leaves me stunned. Ecruteak islike no city I have ever seen before. All of the buildings are made in an old traditional style thatfeatures clay shingles and pointy corners, even the Pokemon center has been styled like this.Dusk looks at me in confusion."I thought you lived in this region," Dusk states, "Have you never been to EcruteakCity?""No," I deny, "I was born and raised in Blackthorn City and occasionally we'd go on aroad trip to Goldenrod but we'd always take the Southern route so I never got to see Ecruteakwith my own eyes, of course, I've seen pictures of it in brochures and stuff."Dusk just nods and begins to lead me towards a nearby house on the edge of the forest.When we reach the door Dusk glances around and then knocks slowly three times."The man who lives here is named Eusine," Dusk explains, "Let's just say he likes hisprivacy."I shrug and then the door opens. Suddenly we're all whisked inside and I hear Electabuzzgrunt in surprise."Were you followed?" I hear a voice whisper."Of course not," Dusk confirms, "You don't need to be so cautious Eusine.""I'm currently harboring criminals of the law," the voice, Eusine, retorts, "I have the rightto be cautious."Then the lights turn on and I can finally see my harborer. Eusine is a tall thin man withlong strands of blonde hair. He is well dressed, wearing a purple suit with a red bow tie and awhite cape. I give Eusine a weird look and he shyly grins and says, "I like to always look mybest."I shrug and Eusine leads us all into his home. Red carpet, crystal chandeliers, velvettapestries and leather furniture show how pompous this man is, there's even a turntable in thecorner playing Bobby Darin, an old Unovan singer from the 50s.(Play Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin)We're led down the main hall to his living room where I sit on a couch made of Tauroshide beside Dusk and Electabuzz. Electabuzz leans over and smells the couch, smiles and beginsto gnaw on it. I quickly grab my Poké Ball to suck him back in but Eusine holds up his hand indismissal."Don't bother," Eusine smiles, "It's fake.""What?" I question, "I could've sworn it was real.""It's biodegradable fibers that are chemically engineered to smell and taste like realleather," Eusine explains, "I would never kill a Pokémon. Anyways, I'll use a patcher later."I nod and pocket Electabuzz's ball."So you must be Ray and this is your Electabuzz. What's his name?" Eusine asks.I'm caught off guard because I've never even thought about naming him. Before now hereally wasn't my Pokémon, just a tool for work but he's really grown on me."I haven't given him or my Ghastly one," I admit."You should," Eusine promotes, "It will increase your bond."I sit there and think for a few seconds. Eusine and Dusk begin to talk about the battlewith the Police earlier. As I think of a name I watch Electabuzz play with a lamp, using his ownelectricity to make the light bulb shine brighter. That's when it hits me."Frank!" I cheer, surprising both Eusine and Dusk, "Electabuzz, how do you like thename Frank?"Electabuzz looks over at me shrugs and then goes back to playing with the lamp.Frank it is..."Why Frank?" Dusk questions."I named him after the Unovan scientist who discovered electricity," I explain,"Benjamin Franklin.""Hmm," Dusk and Eusine shrug.Now for Ghastly...I pull out Ghastly's ball and release the fog monster into the room. From the ball appearsa ball of smoke with the biggest grin."Before I name it I need to know its gender," I say, "but how do you tell the gender on aball of gas?""It's female," Eusine states."Wait," I say in shock, "How'd you know?"Without responding Eusine just snaps his fingers and a set of purple hands suddenlyappear from below the couch. After the hands comes a face with a similar grin.A Haunter...The Haunter floats up in front of me, level with my face and then sticks out its tongueand begins to giggle. Ghastly joins the Haunter in its game of sticking its tongue out at me."That's Jester, my Haunter," Eusine laughs, "I also caught him in the remains of BrassTower. Chances are my Haunter and your Ghastly are related. They sure do share the samehumor."I nod and then look at Ghastly who's tongue is getting closer and closer to my face.That's when I notice a slight difference between Jester and Ghastly. Ghastly is slightly blue. Justa little bit, almost unnoticeable but it's definitely there. As if he can read my mind Eusine says,"You have quite a special Ghastly there. It is has a mutation in its DNA that makes its pigmentdifferent from other Ghastlys. In the collector's world Pokémon with these mutations are calledShinies, Shiny in the singular form.""Does it make him stronger?" "No,""Does it change anything else?""No,""So it's just for looks?""Yes,""What's the point then?"With that Eusine stands up and gives a wide gesture that covers the entire room."Look around you, Ray," Eusine orders, "I have gone out of my way to obtain all of this.I could have left the floor and walls just the plain cement and dry wall they were but instead, Ihad them painted and carpeted. Even that turntable in the corner I had to go out of my way to get.You can find a CD player at almost any store but if you want to listen to vinyl you must go to theGoldenrod City Radio Tower to get a turntable. It's the only place in the region where you canbuy one. But you know why I do all this, why I go through all this trouble? Because I love it,Ray. I love the sound of Vinyl over a CD. I would rather have a carpeted floor than a cementone. It's all for my personal aesthetic if you can understand that."I'm taken back by Eusine's sudden lecture."Ray, what do you appreciate in life?" Eusine asks."Um, battling-," I start."Too broad," Eusine interrupts, "What specifically about battling do you like?""The thrill of battle I guess,""And when do you get the thrill of battle?""When I'm up against a challenging opponent,""So you will go out of your way to fight stronger opponents rather than weaker ones?""Yeah, I guess,"Eusine then sits back down and smiles."That's your aesthetic, Ray, or at least one of them," Eusine declares, "everyone has theirpersonal preferences and will go out of their way to get them. That's why I do all of this and whycollectors will seek out shinies. Do you understand now, Ray?""Yeah, sure, I'll name the damn thing Azul but can we please get to the part where youtell me about this surgeon?"To Be Continued...