Gold- A Pokémon Story

Chapter Twenty Two: Unsafe Sanctuary

Walking back to Ecruteak from Olivine City didn't take us much time at all. We still had plenty of time left in the day when we reached the familiar city.

Today was fairly overcast compared to a string of beautiful days, winds were blowing through the open fields aggressively and I could practically feel the skies ready to start raining on us.

Lillie shivered as we arrived at Ecruteak. "I didn't expect it to get so cold so fast."

"It's a pretty mild region usually but winter's coming up so outside of Olivine and Cianwood it's getting colder and colder by the day," I explained to her.

The city was flooded with people up and down the streets. They were playing games at booths, shopping, or simply enjoying the entertainment.

There seemed to be a battle going on at the center of the town. Despite the weather, everyone looked to be happy and enjoying themselves.

We looked around and found Jess and Eusine standing by the gym, chatting. "Hey! Jess! Eusine!" I shouted.

The two trainers turned to us and motioned us over. "Gold and Silver, welcome back," Eusine said.

"Wow looks like you guys knocked out west Johto like that." Jess mused. "And you've got a new friend?"

"Oh, yeah!" I gestured to Lillie. "This is Lillie! She's from Alola! We're helping her find Bill."

Eusine shook Lillie's hand. "Pleased to meet you!"

"You guys said you were looking for Bill, right" Jess confirmed. "Morty went to some presentation Bill was doing for his new invention."

"Awesome! Once he's finished we'll go check it out!" I declared.

Lillie stared at her shoes. "T-that's great. Thanks, guys." She mumbled.

Before Jess and Eusine could ask about her demeanor I changed the subject. "So, is Alex around? I want a rematch now that my team has gotten stronger!"

Jess shook her head. "No, I haven't seen him since the first day. Alex probably went east to beat his last few gyms."

I frowned. "Darn. Oh well, I'll catch him eventually."

"We should check out everything at the festival while we're here." Silver suggested.

A smile came to Eusine's face. "That's right, you haven't experienced a Rainbow Festival yet, have you? Well, come with me. I'll show you just how fantastical it gets."

Eusine took us around the town, showing us many different attractions and events taking place. There were games to play, competitions to enter, and an ongoing battle tournament.

Last night, Suicune had even made an appearance and the other Legendary Beasts were expected to show up in the coming days before the end of the ceremony.

We spent a good portion of the day checking out all of the festival's offerings before we figured Bill's conference was completed.

We found the building where Morty had gone off to and sure enough he and Bill were coming out of the building.

Morty noticed us and waved. "Oh, hello there friends."

"Good to see you again Morty!" I said as we approached them.

"Gold and Silver, it's been quite a bit. How've those Eevee been doing?" Bill asked us.

"Mine evolved into an Umbreon a little while back." Silver answered

A toothy grin game to Bill's face. "Fantastic! Nothing new, sure, but still really great!" He turned his attention to Lillie. "And is this your friend who needs my help?"