yooloo33
Junior Trainer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
- Partners
-
Oscar’s 2
Or how a Unovan and a Sinnohan took a casino in Goldenrod for every penny they were worth.
If I were to tell you that I didn’t always live the calm, peaceful life, would you be surprised? Your grandmother hasn’t always been relaxing on Alolan beaches and drinking good Kalosian wine her entire life. Once, I was a Unovan citizen. Once, I wasn’t a decrepit old woman. Once, I was a daring trainer. Once, I was a criminal. You’re off to get your starter tomorrow morning, aren’t you? Come. Sit with your old grandmother. I want to tell you a story.
Many years ago, long before your time and even before the battle between the pokedex holders and team Rocket, there stood a lavish building in the center of Goldenrod City. Officially, it was known as The Golden Spire, but colloquially, it was simply called the Game Corner. However, it was far from simply a corner. The building was an enormous casino, with hotels, shops, shows, pools and of course an enormous gaming floor. The huge establishment was the first of its kind, however new casinos were popping up around Goldenrod faster than you could count them.
“How much longer?” I asked, shifting anxiously from one foot to another.
“A few more seconds…” Oscar, my partner, was running his Chandelure along the enormous tumblers of the vault, like a cutting torch. The ghost/fire pokemon was straining with the effort, causing its flames to glow bright white.
Oscar was wearing a red two piece suit and a welding helmet. The suit, although it looked like an ordinary Golden Spire bartender’s outfit, was heavily treated for fire protection, making his work much safer.
I worriedly jogged over to the far end of the hallway. Oscar’s Zoroark stood in the middle of the hallway, his eyes closed in concentration. He was projecting an illusion to anybody who might be looking at the vault at any given moment. The illusion masked sound and all other senses as well, providing a perfect screen for our heist. Next to him stood Grimm, my Krookodile.
“Everything okay over here?” I asked Grimm.
He grunted softly and nodded.
I checked my watch. “We’re 45 seconds behind, Oscar. Is there any chance of speeding this up?” I called down the hallway.
“One more bolt!” He said back.
I gripped my second pokeball. Once the doors were open, we were going to have to move fast. Our primary diversion, the pokemon tournament hosted upstairs, was set to reach a climax in only a few minutes, and we had to be gone before anyone left that venue.
As the final tumbler on the vault began to glow molton red, I gestured Grimm close to the vault. He flexed his claws and prepared for his part in the heist.
There was a dull thunk within the massive steel vault door. “Got it!” Oscar shouted. With a groan, the heavy steel door began to creak open. Within the vault, I heard the sound of metal grating on metal.
As soon as the door was open wide enough, I gestured with my hand. Grimm growled, menacingly and lunged through the door. There was the sound of pokemon hitting each other with physical attacks; punches and kicks being rapidly thrown.
Oscar, his Chandalure and I poured into the vault. Oscar pointed to the second Bisharp and his Chandalure sent a quick burst of flame at the guard.
“Low kick!” I commanded.
Grimm spun around and the kick caught the first Bisharp directly in the chest, causing him to spin away and fall back against a cart stacked with cash, spraying bills everywhere. The second Bisharp tried to lunge towards Chandelure, but Grimm spun around and snapped his jaws forwards, catching the Bisharp’s arm in his teeth. His heavy tail swung around and smacked the steel pokemon, right in the face, rendering it unconscious. Grimm let the pokemon fall limply from his mouth like a chew toy and grinned at me.
I returned his smile momentarily, before preparing my duffel bag. Within the vault, there were rows and rows of boxes, Within each box was heaps and heaps of cash. With the aid of our pokemon, Oscar and I began to load up the many bags we had brought with us.
The feeling of grabbing literally as much cash as one person could carry was unlike anything else. It was the ultimate greedy satisfaction as we prepared to take this casino for every penny we could.
Casinos almost always employed Bisharp to protect their treasure trove. The steel pokemon were punctual, unthinking, and always followed orders. Fortunately, we had been able to dispatch the pokemon deployed within the vault, but now the race was on. Every so often, there would need to be a check in from each Bisharp to make sure it was accounted for. That timer had started as soon as Rotom had wiped out the security footage in the vault. Now it was only a matter of time until security guards flooded the area.
I tipped another box of cash into a bag and tossed it to Grimm, who hoisted it onto his arms next to the others.
“Is that everything?” Oscar asked, breathlessly.
“Looks like it,” I responded.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Oscar returned his Chandelure and we began to move out of the hallway. Once we reached his Zoroark, we paused to make sure everything was clear, before Oscar returned the fox as well.
We reached the security center just outside the vault. I stepped around the fainted body of a security guard, slumped in his chair. Oscar had released a Koffing, which had spewed neutralizing gas into the center, causing everyone within to lose consciousness.
I summoned Rotom out of the computer system and returned him to his pokeball. By this point, he’d installed a loop of the cameras so everything would look okay for at least a few minutes more.
There was a thundering noise from above us as the crowd cheered. Oscar and I reached the loading bay of the Casino. This was our way out. I threw open the door, and Oscar released a Gliscor. Unslinging a cord of rope I had concealed beneath my shirt, I looped it between all the handles of the bags of money. Once they had all been secured, I expertly tied them to Gliscor’s tail in a manner where it was impossible for them to fall off. I had practiced these knots countless times until I could do them in my sleep. There was no chance they would become untied.
All the bags were secured to the Gliscor. Oscar nodded to his pokemon and the bat took off into the sky, a kite of moneybags trailing behind him.
Unfortunately, there was no chance of us getting out of here that easily. A Gliscor flying out of the delivery area wouldn’t be all too inconspicuous, even with such a weird decoration trailing out from behind him. However, the casino searched every single employee who left from the rear of the building. It was impossible to get two suspicious humans through the security checkpoint where all workers were funneled through. Instead the plan for us was to go straight out of the front door. Both of us were dressed as casino staff and with most of the security pulled to the tournament, we hoped that we could walk straight out the front.
That didn’t happen.
As we pushed open the doors to leave an employee area, we were immediately greeted with an accusatory question: “Who are you two?” a younger aged man rapidly strode up to us.
“I’m Sandra Flynn,” I replied, without hesitation.
“Warren Reed,” Oscar said, as well.
“Who? I ain’t ever heard of anyone here named Sandra.”
The guard wasn’t buying it.
“We’re new,” Oscar tried.
The man’s eyes narrowed. “So am I.” He reached for his radio, “2-2 over here. I’ve got a potential-”
I lunged towards him and clocked him across the jaw. The guard grunted in shock and teetered sideways. Oscar tackled him and they both careened into a slot machine. Oscar kneed the man in the groin. He groaned and fell to the ground.
There was a collective gasp of shock from the casino goers and staff alike. Every eye on the gaming floor turned towards us. There was a moment as everyone stared at Oscar and I with pure shock.
Breaking the silence, I dashed forwards, and vaulted over a railing, landing on the lower pit of the gaming floor. “Go to plan B!” I shouted to Oscar.
Recovering from his shock, he followed me across the gaming floor.
I reached to my side and punched the two frontmost pokeballs on my belt. Grimm and Kiara, my Gothitelle, emerged, ready for a fight.
“EVERYBODY BACK!” I screamed as Gothitelle projected her force field. Shadow tag, as it was more commonly known, sent a wave of people scrambling away from the rapidly expanding barriers. A security guard moved to try and intercept us, a Luxray at his side.
“Bulldoze!” I shouted to Grimm.
Krookodile roared and stomped his feet, sending a wave of earth towards the guard. Unable to avoid it due to the shadow tag, both him and his pokemon were floored by the ground type move.
I leapt and slid over a Voltorb Flip table, sending chips and cards flying everywhere. Oscar was right behind me. For whatever reason, a dealer tried to step in my way, swinging his flimsy dealer’s cane at me. I easily dodged out of the way and punched him in the gut, causing him to double over. My knee came upwards and struck him in the chin, sending him reeling.
We were almost to the door. The combination of our surprise entrance, and Gothitelle’s shadow tag seemed to be keeping even the security confused and scrambling. Up ahead, however, heavy steel doors were being lowered in an attempt to lock Oscar and I on the gaming floor until proper reinforcements could be summoned. We couldn’t allow that.
I leapt up and grabbed the golden railing above me, heaving myself out of the lower gaming pit. We were only about 15 feet away from the rapidly closing security barrier. A row of guards and their pokemon were forming a defensive line in front of the shutters as we approached. Fortunately, Oscar was right behind me.
“Chandelure, overheat!”
Back in the vault, Chandelure had been concentrating its fire on a very small section of a very strong steel door. Then, when we were in the vault, her fiery attacks were short bursts, under control, lest we burn the very items we were there for. Now, however, in the wide open room, with vaulted ceilings and minimal potential collateral damage, she could let loose.
The searing blast of flame seemed as though it was at least 10 feet wide. The hairs on my arms crinkled and my suit jacket singed, despite its heat-proofing. The impromptu security line scattered as the enormous blast of flame slammed into the gate behind them.
“Confusion!” I shouted.
Gothitelle focused for a moment, before emitting a purple psychic blast towards our destination. On top of scrambling away from the fire, hopefully Kiara had effectively disoriented them enough for us to get through.
I was five feet away from the gate, and punched the buttons on my pokeballs, returning Grimm and Kiara. Oscar and I were side by side. The security shutter was rapidly closing…
We simultaneously hit the deck, I sliding on my stomach like a penguin, and Oscar on his back like a baseball player. The polished floor made the dive possible, but the buttons on my coat poked painfully into my stomach.
The shutter slammed shut mere inches behind us, but there was no time to breathe a sigh of relief. We were in a foyer of some sort, with richly carved marble statues and bright chandeliers high above us. Outside, a siren was shrilly wailing. Oscar and I scrambled to our feet. We could hear the footsteps of many guards approaching. Too many to fight. I looked over at him. We both had internalized this plan B with hope of never needing to use it. The action was far too risky but now, it was our only way out.
I turned to our right and released Grimm again. I pointed to a wall, and commanded: “bulldoze!”
Immediately understanding the command, Grimm charged headlong at the wall. With a defiant roar, he lowered his shoulder and crashed right through it, sending plaster, wood, concrete and sheetrock raining down everywhere.
Oscar and I were right behind him. I returned Grimm once more and, without hesitation, leapt out of the new hole in the wall. I fell for a moment, before landing in a roll on the hard pavement outside. I heard Oscar land behind me and we both gathered our bearings. From this back alley, it was a straight shot down Goldenrod’s main street, to the ocean, and freedom.
I heard the sound of cloth and plastic rustling and looked down. Laying next to us we appeared to have woken up a homeless man with unkempt hair and a ragged beard. I met his bloodshot eyes. He nodded. I nodded. Without a word, he reached into his makeshift bed of trash bags, and donated clothes, and rolled two pokeballs towards us. They opened, and a Magnezone and Flygon emerged into the alley.
I tore my suit coat and dress shirt off, allowing myself to finally be in a much less sweltering garb of a black polyester short sleeve shirt. I kicked off the uncomfortable dress shoes. If I was going to escape on foot, it’d be faster in socks or barefoot than in those uncomfortable things. Without further pause, I mounted the Magnezone and Oscar climbed onto the back of the Flygon. I looked down at the homeless man but he’d already gone back to sleep.
The man wasn’t homeless in actuality. He was one of our assets, positioned for the very situation we found ourselves in.
Oscar urged his Flygon forwards and I followed close behind. Both pokemon had been bred for their speed and in mere moments, we were turning onto the main street. A woman cried out in surprise as the two large pokemon shot past her, but the security who had surrounded the casino, seemingly on a moment’s notice, weren't as astonished. With a shout, a detail of close to 30 or 40 police officers and casino guards alike, all on mounted pokemon broke away from their positioning, racing towards us and the chase was on.
I could feel the wind in my hair as Magnezone shot towards the bay at full speed. People and pokemon alike scattered as we barreled right through the heart of Goldenrod. On our right was the unmistakable red building that was the pokemon center. On the left were simply more office buildings.
A freezing blue beam of energy shot over my left shoulder, missing Oscar’s Flygon by mere feet. The pokemon swerved to the right, and I guided my Magnezone to move to block the incoming ice type attacks. We had chosen Magnezone and Flygon because they covered most of each others’ weaknesses and could body block potential super effective attacks bound for the other pokemon. The sky suddenly turned black and a thunderbolt cracked down from on high. The beam smashed into Flygon’s wing, but the pokemon hardly even took notice of it.
We were almost to the water. Attacks were flying past us at a faster and faster rate. I gripped onto Magnezone for dear life as it banked this way and that.
Without hesitation, our two pokemon barreled into the T intersection which constituted the end of Main Street. That was when I saw the Excadrill round the corner.
The pokemon was moving towards us from our left hand side at lightning speed, its claws outstretched. I wanted to swerve Magnezone out of the way, but that would lose all its speed. So instead, I rose into a crouched position on the steel creature, hardly believing what I was about to attempt.
The Excadrill leapt up and slammed onto the pavement. The ground shook. Cracks spiderwebbed past Flygon, without leaving even slowing it down, and careened towards Magnezone. I braced for impact.
The earthquake struck Magnezone front and center. There was a steely screech, and Magnezone lost control, crashing forwards into the metal guardrail at the far end of the intersection. As it smashed into the concrete, I leapt with all my might. The impact acted as a springboard and I was launched into open air.
I was weightless for a few, surprisingly peaceful seconds. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Oscar moving northward, towards the heavily forested National Park.
With an almighty splash, I careened into the freezing water of Goldenrod Bay. Stunned for a moment, I sank deep into the water, my mind moving at a glacier’s pace.
Is this how I die?
My lungs were already screaming for air. I hadn’t been able to get a full breath before I landed, and what air I did manage, had been knocked out of my lungs by my impact with the water.
But then, another voice spoke up in my mind:
Not yet you aren’t. Remember the plan!
I was running out of air as I clawed for the final pokeball on my belt. Magnezone’s crash wasn’t part of the plan, but winding up in the water had been. My thumb found the button for the pokeball and a large blue pokemon emerged with a bubbly cry, which resonated through the water. This was Neil, my Jellicent. He grabbed me in one of his large fins, and then inhaled an enormous mouthful of water. As he exhaled, a bubble of air emerged from his mouth. I gasped in the fresh source of oxygen, regaining awareness and consciousness. I took another greedy breath, trying my best to slow my heart rate down.
Magnezone would have survived the Excadrill’s earthquake with his sturdy ability. Hopefully, he’d been able to recover and follow Oscar deep into the forest. For now, however, I needed to worry about myself, and get the hell out of Johto. Neil was clearly thinking the same thing as he began moving west, towards the Whirl Islands, where safety was waiting.
Afterwards, my child, the entire region were looking for Oscar and I. I still remember all the boats and pokemon they had out on the water, trying to recover my body. It was a good six weeks before me and my pokemon could chance an escape of Johto as a whole. Of course, by this point, the government knew who Oscar and I were, so returning home to Unova wasn’t an option. Instead, I chose the sunniest place I could find. Alola is a haven for all sorts of people, and eventually, I was able to obtain citizenship and be safe from the Johtonian government.
After a while, I was able to get a message to Oscar. He was laying low in Honnen, doing his best not to spend all his money in one place. Fortunately, I received my portion of the take shortly after he got my message. Ever since then, it’s been a peaceful life.
So go and get your first pokemon, child. Learn how to be a trainer, and remember this story. Remember that even the right plans can go wrong, and that it is always wise to think ahead. Remember that looks can be deceiving, and remember to never underestimate anyone.
Or how a Unovan and a Sinnohan took a casino in Goldenrod for every penny they were worth.
If I were to tell you that I didn’t always live the calm, peaceful life, would you be surprised? Your grandmother hasn’t always been relaxing on Alolan beaches and drinking good Kalosian wine her entire life. Once, I was a Unovan citizen. Once, I wasn’t a decrepit old woman. Once, I was a daring trainer. Once, I was a criminal. You’re off to get your starter tomorrow morning, aren’t you? Come. Sit with your old grandmother. I want to tell you a story.
***
Many years ago, long before your time and even before the battle between the pokedex holders and team Rocket, there stood a lavish building in the center of Goldenrod City. Officially, it was known as The Golden Spire, but colloquially, it was simply called the Game Corner. However, it was far from simply a corner. The building was an enormous casino, with hotels, shops, shows, pools and of course an enormous gaming floor. The huge establishment was the first of its kind, however new casinos were popping up around Goldenrod faster than you could count them.
“How much longer?” I asked, shifting anxiously from one foot to another.
“A few more seconds…” Oscar, my partner, was running his Chandelure along the enormous tumblers of the vault, like a cutting torch. The ghost/fire pokemon was straining with the effort, causing its flames to glow bright white.
Oscar was wearing a red two piece suit and a welding helmet. The suit, although it looked like an ordinary Golden Spire bartender’s outfit, was heavily treated for fire protection, making his work much safer.
I worriedly jogged over to the far end of the hallway. Oscar’s Zoroark stood in the middle of the hallway, his eyes closed in concentration. He was projecting an illusion to anybody who might be looking at the vault at any given moment. The illusion masked sound and all other senses as well, providing a perfect screen for our heist. Next to him stood Grimm, my Krookodile.
“Everything okay over here?” I asked Grimm.
He grunted softly and nodded.
I checked my watch. “We’re 45 seconds behind, Oscar. Is there any chance of speeding this up?” I called down the hallway.
“One more bolt!” He said back.
I gripped my second pokeball. Once the doors were open, we were going to have to move fast. Our primary diversion, the pokemon tournament hosted upstairs, was set to reach a climax in only a few minutes, and we had to be gone before anyone left that venue.
As the final tumbler on the vault began to glow molton red, I gestured Grimm close to the vault. He flexed his claws and prepared for his part in the heist.
There was a dull thunk within the massive steel vault door. “Got it!” Oscar shouted. With a groan, the heavy steel door began to creak open. Within the vault, I heard the sound of metal grating on metal.
As soon as the door was open wide enough, I gestured with my hand. Grimm growled, menacingly and lunged through the door. There was the sound of pokemon hitting each other with physical attacks; punches and kicks being rapidly thrown.
Oscar, his Chandalure and I poured into the vault. Oscar pointed to the second Bisharp and his Chandalure sent a quick burst of flame at the guard.
“Low kick!” I commanded.
Grimm spun around and the kick caught the first Bisharp directly in the chest, causing him to spin away and fall back against a cart stacked with cash, spraying bills everywhere. The second Bisharp tried to lunge towards Chandelure, but Grimm spun around and snapped his jaws forwards, catching the Bisharp’s arm in his teeth. His heavy tail swung around and smacked the steel pokemon, right in the face, rendering it unconscious. Grimm let the pokemon fall limply from his mouth like a chew toy and grinned at me.
I returned his smile momentarily, before preparing my duffel bag. Within the vault, there were rows and rows of boxes, Within each box was heaps and heaps of cash. With the aid of our pokemon, Oscar and I began to load up the many bags we had brought with us.
The feeling of grabbing literally as much cash as one person could carry was unlike anything else. It was the ultimate greedy satisfaction as we prepared to take this casino for every penny we could.
Casinos almost always employed Bisharp to protect their treasure trove. The steel pokemon were punctual, unthinking, and always followed orders. Fortunately, we had been able to dispatch the pokemon deployed within the vault, but now the race was on. Every so often, there would need to be a check in from each Bisharp to make sure it was accounted for. That timer had started as soon as Rotom had wiped out the security footage in the vault. Now it was only a matter of time until security guards flooded the area.
I tipped another box of cash into a bag and tossed it to Grimm, who hoisted it onto his arms next to the others.
“Is that everything?” Oscar asked, breathlessly.
“Looks like it,” I responded.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Oscar returned his Chandelure and we began to move out of the hallway. Once we reached his Zoroark, we paused to make sure everything was clear, before Oscar returned the fox as well.
We reached the security center just outside the vault. I stepped around the fainted body of a security guard, slumped in his chair. Oscar had released a Koffing, which had spewed neutralizing gas into the center, causing everyone within to lose consciousness.
I summoned Rotom out of the computer system and returned him to his pokeball. By this point, he’d installed a loop of the cameras so everything would look okay for at least a few minutes more.
There was a thundering noise from above us as the crowd cheered. Oscar and I reached the loading bay of the Casino. This was our way out. I threw open the door, and Oscar released a Gliscor. Unslinging a cord of rope I had concealed beneath my shirt, I looped it between all the handles of the bags of money. Once they had all been secured, I expertly tied them to Gliscor’s tail in a manner where it was impossible for them to fall off. I had practiced these knots countless times until I could do them in my sleep. There was no chance they would become untied.
All the bags were secured to the Gliscor. Oscar nodded to his pokemon and the bat took off into the sky, a kite of moneybags trailing behind him.
Unfortunately, there was no chance of us getting out of here that easily. A Gliscor flying out of the delivery area wouldn’t be all too inconspicuous, even with such a weird decoration trailing out from behind him. However, the casino searched every single employee who left from the rear of the building. It was impossible to get two suspicious humans through the security checkpoint where all workers were funneled through. Instead the plan for us was to go straight out of the front door. Both of us were dressed as casino staff and with most of the security pulled to the tournament, we hoped that we could walk straight out the front.
That didn’t happen.
As we pushed open the doors to leave an employee area, we were immediately greeted with an accusatory question: “Who are you two?” a younger aged man rapidly strode up to us.
“I’m Sandra Flynn,” I replied, without hesitation.
“Warren Reed,” Oscar said, as well.
“Who? I ain’t ever heard of anyone here named Sandra.”
The guard wasn’t buying it.
“We’re new,” Oscar tried.
The man’s eyes narrowed. “So am I.” He reached for his radio, “2-2 over here. I’ve got a potential-”
I lunged towards him and clocked him across the jaw. The guard grunted in shock and teetered sideways. Oscar tackled him and they both careened into a slot machine. Oscar kneed the man in the groin. He groaned and fell to the ground.
There was a collective gasp of shock from the casino goers and staff alike. Every eye on the gaming floor turned towards us. There was a moment as everyone stared at Oscar and I with pure shock.
Breaking the silence, I dashed forwards, and vaulted over a railing, landing on the lower pit of the gaming floor. “Go to plan B!” I shouted to Oscar.
Recovering from his shock, he followed me across the gaming floor.
I reached to my side and punched the two frontmost pokeballs on my belt. Grimm and Kiara, my Gothitelle, emerged, ready for a fight.
“EVERYBODY BACK!” I screamed as Gothitelle projected her force field. Shadow tag, as it was more commonly known, sent a wave of people scrambling away from the rapidly expanding barriers. A security guard moved to try and intercept us, a Luxray at his side.
“Bulldoze!” I shouted to Grimm.
Krookodile roared and stomped his feet, sending a wave of earth towards the guard. Unable to avoid it due to the shadow tag, both him and his pokemon were floored by the ground type move.
I leapt and slid over a Voltorb Flip table, sending chips and cards flying everywhere. Oscar was right behind me. For whatever reason, a dealer tried to step in my way, swinging his flimsy dealer’s cane at me. I easily dodged out of the way and punched him in the gut, causing him to double over. My knee came upwards and struck him in the chin, sending him reeling.
We were almost to the door. The combination of our surprise entrance, and Gothitelle’s shadow tag seemed to be keeping even the security confused and scrambling. Up ahead, however, heavy steel doors were being lowered in an attempt to lock Oscar and I on the gaming floor until proper reinforcements could be summoned. We couldn’t allow that.
I leapt up and grabbed the golden railing above me, heaving myself out of the lower gaming pit. We were only about 15 feet away from the rapidly closing security barrier. A row of guards and their pokemon were forming a defensive line in front of the shutters as we approached. Fortunately, Oscar was right behind me.
“Chandelure, overheat!”
Back in the vault, Chandelure had been concentrating its fire on a very small section of a very strong steel door. Then, when we were in the vault, her fiery attacks were short bursts, under control, lest we burn the very items we were there for. Now, however, in the wide open room, with vaulted ceilings and minimal potential collateral damage, she could let loose.
The searing blast of flame seemed as though it was at least 10 feet wide. The hairs on my arms crinkled and my suit jacket singed, despite its heat-proofing. The impromptu security line scattered as the enormous blast of flame slammed into the gate behind them.
“Confusion!” I shouted.
Gothitelle focused for a moment, before emitting a purple psychic blast towards our destination. On top of scrambling away from the fire, hopefully Kiara had effectively disoriented them enough for us to get through.
I was five feet away from the gate, and punched the buttons on my pokeballs, returning Grimm and Kiara. Oscar and I were side by side. The security shutter was rapidly closing…
We simultaneously hit the deck, I sliding on my stomach like a penguin, and Oscar on his back like a baseball player. The polished floor made the dive possible, but the buttons on my coat poked painfully into my stomach.
The shutter slammed shut mere inches behind us, but there was no time to breathe a sigh of relief. We were in a foyer of some sort, with richly carved marble statues and bright chandeliers high above us. Outside, a siren was shrilly wailing. Oscar and I scrambled to our feet. We could hear the footsteps of many guards approaching. Too many to fight. I looked over at him. We both had internalized this plan B with hope of never needing to use it. The action was far too risky but now, it was our only way out.
I turned to our right and released Grimm again. I pointed to a wall, and commanded: “bulldoze!”
Immediately understanding the command, Grimm charged headlong at the wall. With a defiant roar, he lowered his shoulder and crashed right through it, sending plaster, wood, concrete and sheetrock raining down everywhere.
Oscar and I were right behind him. I returned Grimm once more and, without hesitation, leapt out of the new hole in the wall. I fell for a moment, before landing in a roll on the hard pavement outside. I heard Oscar land behind me and we both gathered our bearings. From this back alley, it was a straight shot down Goldenrod’s main street, to the ocean, and freedom.
I heard the sound of cloth and plastic rustling and looked down. Laying next to us we appeared to have woken up a homeless man with unkempt hair and a ragged beard. I met his bloodshot eyes. He nodded. I nodded. Without a word, he reached into his makeshift bed of trash bags, and donated clothes, and rolled two pokeballs towards us. They opened, and a Magnezone and Flygon emerged into the alley.
I tore my suit coat and dress shirt off, allowing myself to finally be in a much less sweltering garb of a black polyester short sleeve shirt. I kicked off the uncomfortable dress shoes. If I was going to escape on foot, it’d be faster in socks or barefoot than in those uncomfortable things. Without further pause, I mounted the Magnezone and Oscar climbed onto the back of the Flygon. I looked down at the homeless man but he’d already gone back to sleep.
The man wasn’t homeless in actuality. He was one of our assets, positioned for the very situation we found ourselves in.
Oscar urged his Flygon forwards and I followed close behind. Both pokemon had been bred for their speed and in mere moments, we were turning onto the main street. A woman cried out in surprise as the two large pokemon shot past her, but the security who had surrounded the casino, seemingly on a moment’s notice, weren't as astonished. With a shout, a detail of close to 30 or 40 police officers and casino guards alike, all on mounted pokemon broke away from their positioning, racing towards us and the chase was on.
I could feel the wind in my hair as Magnezone shot towards the bay at full speed. People and pokemon alike scattered as we barreled right through the heart of Goldenrod. On our right was the unmistakable red building that was the pokemon center. On the left were simply more office buildings.
A freezing blue beam of energy shot over my left shoulder, missing Oscar’s Flygon by mere feet. The pokemon swerved to the right, and I guided my Magnezone to move to block the incoming ice type attacks. We had chosen Magnezone and Flygon because they covered most of each others’ weaknesses and could body block potential super effective attacks bound for the other pokemon. The sky suddenly turned black and a thunderbolt cracked down from on high. The beam smashed into Flygon’s wing, but the pokemon hardly even took notice of it.
We were almost to the water. Attacks were flying past us at a faster and faster rate. I gripped onto Magnezone for dear life as it banked this way and that.
Without hesitation, our two pokemon barreled into the T intersection which constituted the end of Main Street. That was when I saw the Excadrill round the corner.
The pokemon was moving towards us from our left hand side at lightning speed, its claws outstretched. I wanted to swerve Magnezone out of the way, but that would lose all its speed. So instead, I rose into a crouched position on the steel creature, hardly believing what I was about to attempt.
The Excadrill leapt up and slammed onto the pavement. The ground shook. Cracks spiderwebbed past Flygon, without leaving even slowing it down, and careened towards Magnezone. I braced for impact.
The earthquake struck Magnezone front and center. There was a steely screech, and Magnezone lost control, crashing forwards into the metal guardrail at the far end of the intersection. As it smashed into the concrete, I leapt with all my might. The impact acted as a springboard and I was launched into open air.
I was weightless for a few, surprisingly peaceful seconds. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Oscar moving northward, towards the heavily forested National Park.
With an almighty splash, I careened into the freezing water of Goldenrod Bay. Stunned for a moment, I sank deep into the water, my mind moving at a glacier’s pace.
Is this how I die?
My lungs were already screaming for air. I hadn’t been able to get a full breath before I landed, and what air I did manage, had been knocked out of my lungs by my impact with the water.
But then, another voice spoke up in my mind:
Not yet you aren’t. Remember the plan!
I was running out of air as I clawed for the final pokeball on my belt. Magnezone’s crash wasn’t part of the plan, but winding up in the water had been. My thumb found the button for the pokeball and a large blue pokemon emerged with a bubbly cry, which resonated through the water. This was Neil, my Jellicent. He grabbed me in one of his large fins, and then inhaled an enormous mouthful of water. As he exhaled, a bubble of air emerged from his mouth. I gasped in the fresh source of oxygen, regaining awareness and consciousness. I took another greedy breath, trying my best to slow my heart rate down.
Magnezone would have survived the Excadrill’s earthquake with his sturdy ability. Hopefully, he’d been able to recover and follow Oscar deep into the forest. For now, however, I needed to worry about myself, and get the hell out of Johto. Neil was clearly thinking the same thing as he began moving west, towards the Whirl Islands, where safety was waiting.
***
Afterwards, my child, the entire region were looking for Oscar and I. I still remember all the boats and pokemon they had out on the water, trying to recover my body. It was a good six weeks before me and my pokemon could chance an escape of Johto as a whole. Of course, by this point, the government knew who Oscar and I were, so returning home to Unova wasn’t an option. Instead, I chose the sunniest place I could find. Alola is a haven for all sorts of people, and eventually, I was able to obtain citizenship and be safe from the Johtonian government.
After a while, I was able to get a message to Oscar. He was laying low in Honnen, doing his best not to spend all his money in one place. Fortunately, I received my portion of the take shortly after he got my message. Ever since then, it’s been a peaceful life.
So go and get your first pokemon, child. Learn how to be a trainer, and remember this story. Remember that even the right plans can go wrong, and that it is always wise to think ahead. Remember that looks can be deceiving, and remember to never underestimate anyone.