Chapter 14: A Corporate Affair
Now all cleaned up, Lisa took to the streets of the big city, looking to buy a new dress that even vaguely matched her ill-fated blue one. She walked down the main road into town, passing row upon row of motels, specialty shops, restaurants, and gas stations. It was certainly a busy part of town, with cars constantly pulling in and out of parking lots and cruising down the six-lane thoroughfare. In the distance, huge skyscrapers loomed. Finally, Lisa found the plaza where the local Target was located, and quickly rushed into the entrance underneath the huge red bullseye logo.
Walking back to the girl's apparel section, Lisa couldn't believe what she saw. There, right in front of her, was a blue dress with a purple and green floral print. It was identical to the dress that she had just ruined on the last route! Everything was the same, right down to the decorative tie ribbon on the back and the frilly trim on the bottom of the skirt. On another rack, she also found a green cardigan that closely matched her old one.
"Wow! I can't believe it! This is exactly like my old one! How do you figure I stumble across it here?! Maybe my luck is finally improving..."
While in the store, she also picked up a red blouse, a purple frilly skirt, and some dress shoes. She got a pair of black strappy heels with open toes, as well as a pair of flat shoes, colored white. Lisa picked up as many pairs of white pantyhose she could find, as well as a small collapsible parasol, in case she got caught in the rain again.
Outside, the girl noticed a huge crowd had gathered. She noticed that the Target store was flanked by a Lowe's and CarQuest auto parts store among other businesses, and that the NASCAR race cars sponsored by those three businesses – the Target #41, Lowe's #48, and CarQuest #5 – were on display in the parking lot, apparently arriving after she started shopping. Lisa was able to get photos of her taken with all three cars on her digital camera.
"These will look great in my photo album! Okay, after the disaster that was yesterday, things are starting to look up now..."
Lisa returned to the edge of the commercial district to pick up her Pokémon from the Pokémon Center. Then she went in search of a place to spend the night. That didn't take very long. She quickly decided on the Quality Suites Airport, a huge, eight-story hotel with a façade of glass and brick, which was located not far from the Pokémon Center. The front of the hotel boasted a dramatic white water fountain. Once inside, Lisa was welcomed by a beautifully appointed lobby.
An impressive-looking, though still faux, chandelier hung from the lobby's high ceiling. A large wood table, plush velvet couch, and several thickly upholstered chairs and recliners surrounded a warm brick fireplace. Elegant red velvet curtains decorated the large windows that looked out into the parking lot. The front desk itself was made of beautiful mahogany wood, with the top surface finished in granite with elegant gold leaf trim throughout. On the wall behind the desk, the words "Quality Suites Airport" were spelled out in gold letters. On either side of the nameplate were plaques announcing the numerous awards the hotel had received.
The clerk greeted Lisa with a friendly smile. "Hello, and welcome to the Quality Suites Airport, the only hotel in town owned and operated by Northwood Industries International. Our suites are $159.99 a night and… wait, aren't you Lisa, the daughter of our CEO?"
"Yes, I am," Lisa replied, showing the young woman her ID.
"Excellent! I thought you looked familiar! Remember me? I'm Nicole Rozzelle, I used to be a secretary at your dad's office back in South Carolina!"
"Hey! I was wondering what happened to you! Good to see you again! How have you been?"
"Well, you certainly meet a lot of interesting people working at a place like this. Not so much trainers – our rates are a little high for most of them to afford. But, yeah, I'm doing pretty good. And you? Looks like your folks have got you training Pokémon now!"
"Yeah," Lisa answered. "I probably wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for them, but I'm slowly getting the hang of things."
"That's always good to hear. Keep at it! Well, since you're related to top management, we can give you a room at half price. It'll only be $79.99 for you!"
"Thanks! I certainly wasn't expecting such a nice discount… or such a nice hotel!" Lisa was completely surprised at her changed luck.
Nicole continued, "Your room is 415. Here is your card, and please let us know if there is anything we can do to make your stay more pleasant. Enjoy your stay, Lisa!"
"Thank you very much," answered Lisa as she made her way to the elevators. She then saw a poster on the wall of the lobby, reading, "Karaoke Night and '80's Party Tomorrow Night! Located inside the hotel's lobby lounge."
"Oh, sweet! I am SO there tomorrow night!"
Beyond the lobby was a huge, spacious atrium. Bright and airy, it included a restaurant, tropical plants and palm trees, and plenty of seating areas. The beautiful glass elevators afforded an excellent view of the entire atrium setting. Lisa headed up to her suite, a true two-room unit that was the size of two standard hotel rooms. The "living room/kitchen" featured a kitchenette, small table with four chairs, a cordless phone, large 32" TV, a DVD/VCR combo unit, two recliners, a sofa bed, and a stereo. The main bedroom featured a king-size bed, desk with PC, another TV, and another phone.
She set her belongings and new purchases on the bed, then set out food for her Pokémon before letting all of them out to eat. Beldum refused to touch the food, so Spheal simply ate its share. Lisa had noticed before where Beldum would only eat the gourmet Pokémon food that she saved for special occasions. Lisa told them, "Hey guys, just so you know, yesterday was really bad, so if I did anything to anger or frighten you, I'm sorry. I really am…"
Koffing asked, "What's she talking about?"
Meowth answered, "She ran into quite a bit of trouble yesterday, and for a while she really lost her temper. I'll admit it – I was scared for awhile…"
Beldum added, "Aggression level forty-six percent higher than normal during the previous battle…"
"This does concern me…" the Poison-type said, a hint of fear in her voice.
"I don't think it'll be too much to worry about…" The cat Pokémon attempted to reassure her partner. "This is the first time she's ever gotten this angry, and she really was having a rough time. She was covered in mud, there were tears in her eyes… Besides, she seemed really apologetic just a few minutes ago. And she never took it out on us, just on that guy that tried to take advantage of her. Though her voice sounded terrifying."
"Yeah, you do have a point there… And as long as she wasn't mad at us… Well, hopefully, she won't turn out bad like my last trainer."
"You keep mentioning your last trainer. Care to explain?" asked Trapinch, who had been listening intently up until this point.
"No… I'd rather not…" Koffing mumbled.
"That's okay. I understand. Sorry for bringing it up."
"No, don't worry about it. It's okay. I was the one who mentioned it in the first place."
Trapinch added, "As for my opinion on the girl losing her temper, those things do happen to everyone, even us. One outburst doesn't mean she's a bad person."
Meowth said, "I know. I was absolutely furious when that Pikachu blasted me with its electricity. I would've ripped its head off except that it did help me gain the use of electricity. Anyway, I'm getting off topic. Considering the circumstances, I really can't hold this little outburst against Lisa. but what about you, Beldum?"
"I do not believe it to be an issue that will adversely affect me or my companions…" the floating silver Pokémon droned.
"What's Spheal's take on this whole situation?" asked Trapinch.
"Who knows? He fell asleep right after eating." the kitten scoffed.
Koffing let out a loud yawn. "He might have the right idea, though. I need some sleep!"
After eating, her Pokémon were ready to sleep, so Lisa summoned them back into their Pokéballs to let them rest. "You did real good the past couple of days, guys," Lisa said quietly before leaving the room to eat. She had not eaten in a long time and was ready for a good meal.
Lisa chose the upscale restaurant within the hotel, which her father had obviously named after her. After enjoying a great dinner of fried shrimp and fries at "Lisa's Restaurant," Lisa was ready to turn in for the night. She decided that tomorrow she would stop by the company headquarters to pick up her sister before heading to the gym. Then tomorrow night she would get her '80's groove on in the hotel's club. She settled in to the wonderfully soft pillow-top king bed, easily the best bed she had ever slept in. "This bed is awesome! I love it! This definitely makes up for last night."
Come morning, though, Lisa would regret her procrastination...
In the morning, Lisa threw on the pink floral dress she had put on the previous day, along with her hat, white pantyhose, and the strappy black dress shoes she bought yesterday. While eating a hot made-to-order breakfast in the lobby she caught a news report.
"In a breaking news story, armed men have taken over the Northwood Industries International complex in Northwood City..."
"Team Thrash... don't those losers ever give up?" Lisa thought to herself. Before even finishing her breakfast, Lisa sprinted out the door and toward her parents' company. On the way, she reached into her bag and replaced her dress shoes with her white ballet-style slippers, as they would make less noise while sneaking around the facility.
Approaching the complex, Lisa noticed a guard standing watch outside. She used her phone to call the police and have them make arrests after she got inside. Afterward, the girl called forth Meowth and prepared to have her take out the guard.
"This time, it's personal. Let's get dangerous. Okay, on my word, let's hit him with a Water Pulse charged with Thunderbolt. Ready? Go!"
"Meow meow!"
The tiny cat Pokémon unleashed a stream of water, then hit the water with electrical sparks, causing the water to crackle and flash with lightning. The attack struck the guard and knocked him cold. She looked around and discovered that there was not a police officer in sight. "Weird… I know Morgan's in the next town over, so I'm not expecting him, but there has to be some reason why there's no officers here."
A bit concerned, Lisa called the police. "Hey, I don't see any officers outside the Northwood headquarters. I've knocked out the guard at the entrance to the building so it should be safe for your officers to enter now."
The dispatcher answered, "I know. But we've got a bit of a dilemma. Most of our officers are dealing with a hostage situation across town. Officer Hauston is the only one close enough to respond. We're dispatching him now."
"Okay, I'll meet him inside." But the girl thought, "Why would that other situation take precedence? This one's all over the news, and I would think there would be more captives here than at the other location. Something's fishy…"
Lisa and Meowth made their way past the stunned guard and into the building. There, right in the lobby, stood a large group of Team Thrash agents, along with a man and woman who appeared to be calling the shots. He wore a black suit with bright red shirt and tie. He was also decked out in a top hat and monocle, completing his look of wealth and sophistication. She was wearing an elegant, flowing white gown and a silver tiara. She also wore frilly white lace gloves on her hands. Both had blond hair and looked to be in their early thirties.
The thugs had gathered all of the employees and tied them up. They were all seated on the floor, scattered about the lobby, with an armed guard always nearby. Then Lisa spotted her little sister, Lindsay. The nine-year-old girl was tied up just like the employees. She was wearing a white sweater, red plaid skirt, and red tights. She saw Lisa and called out, "Big sis! Help us! These people are threatening to kill us all!"
"Don't worry. Their days are over!" Lisa announced.
Just then, the agents took notice of the intruder. The two leaders approached Lisa. The woman was the first to speak, in a relaxed Southern drawl. "My, aren't we the rude little thing? A little girl in a cute pink dress should not be so brash. I am Jane. And this is my husband, Justin. We fight for the Brotherhood because we believe our leader will lead the world to salvation once he is ruler. It will be a new perfect society without any of the flaws that are oh so prevalent in this modern society. Even though you are a darling little girl, I am afraid we cannot allow you to interfere with destiny. In fact, it will be impossible for you to stand against us when all is said and done. But, alas, you have already given up your chance to join our cause. So, we are left with no option but to exterminate you like the annoying little pest you are."
In a haughty British accent, Justin continued, "Right! So, bring it on! We'll show you Double Battle moves that'll knock you over! Ready? We call forth Manectric and Gyarados!"
Jane tossed a Pokéball into battle, revealing a large wolf-like creature. The yellow chunk of fur on its sides contrasted with the blue fur that covered most of the rest of its body. On top of the creature's head was a mass of yellow fur that converged to a point at its tip. It barked loudly, its mesmerizing red eyes locked on Lisa. Justin called out an all too familiar creature, the angry blue sea monster. It let out a deafening roar, swinging its serpentine, finned tail wildly about. Its white underside and fins almost glowed under the light in the room.
"Oh, is that all? Come forth, Meowth and Beldum! Let's get this started!"
Lisa's small cat Pokémon let out a loud "Meow!", her gold charm shimmering under the light. The little creature extended a set of razor-sharp claws from both of her front paws, and began to taunt her much larger foes while standing upright on her two large hind feet. The kitten's tail moved from side to side as she awaited the showdown to begin.
The glittering silver machine-like Pokémon hovered a few feet above the ground, its white claws facing Lisa while its glowing red eye scanned both foes in front of it. It let out a low, monotone "Beldum," seemingly indicating it would cooperate, as its preliminary scan indicated these to be worthy opponents.
"Oh, darlings, let's commence this battle with a little Tackle action, teehee!" Jane tittered.
Both foes attacked with powerful charging attacks that knocked over both of Lisa's Pokémon. Undaunted, both Meowth and Beldum got right back up and struck back at Manectric with their Fury Swipes and Take Down attacks.
"Okay, we need to get rid of that Manectric before we can launch any electrical strikes at Gyarados. So, let's knock it out with Take Down and Water Pulse now!"
Meowth struck first, knocking the electrical wolf Pokémon back with a powerful blast of water. Manectric stumbled around a bit, then unleashed an electrical attack. But the attack ended up coming right back down, striking itself. After being hit with its own attack, its movements began to slow significantly as it glanced around the room in a daze. Gyarados used its huge tail to protect Manectric from Beldum's attack, knocking the metallic Pokémon backwards.
"It really is a bloody shame that you oppose us, since I do believe you would make a fine addition to our ranks. Perhaps I can convince you to reconsider. It is not too late." Justin adjusted his monocle before letting out another smug, arrogant laugh.
"I don't think so!" Lisa hissed at her well-dressed foes.
"Oh, you are not half as nice as your cute outfit would suggest! Therefore, I see no reason to let up on you." Jane crossed her arms and sulked at Lisa.
Manectric attempted to charge in at Meowth, but its movements were sluggish and Beldum had plenty of time to ram the disabled electric wolf at full speed. The creature fell on its side and took several seconds to right itself, during which time the kitten pelted it with shining silver coins.
"I think that Manectric's paralyzed. Let's take full advantage. Meowth, use Pay Day, then accelerate the coins with Water Pulse. Aim right for Manectric. Beldum, you go up and use Take Down on Gyarados' head."
The injured Manectric could not jump out of the way of the incoming barrage of water and coins from Meowth. The force behind the attack was enough to knock the wolf to the ground, and it was slow to stand back up. Beldum floated up and landed a hard hit to Gyarados' angry-looking face. The vicious sea serpent responded by chomping down on its foe's glittery, silver body with its sharp fangs.
Gyarados let out another roar, and storm clouds began to fill the lobby of the office building. Everybody in the room, captured employees and Thrash underlings alike, looked up in awe and confusion at the sudden indoor downpour. Lisa pulled out her newly purchased purple parasol just as rain began to fall…on the inside of the building. Jane did the same with a huge frilly pink parasol.
"Like our Rain Dance? It's the crux of our battle plan and I doubt you can overcome it. Now, it's the end of you, sweetie!" Jane announced. "Manectric, honey? Time to lay some Thunder down."
Calmly, Justin ordered, "Now, Gyarados, use Water Pulse." The thin, sophisticated man adjusted his monocle once again before letting out a hearty laugh.
Gyarados spit out a stream of water while Manectric released a shot of lightning from the top of its head. The lightning was absorbed into the clouds above, before a huge yellow blast of electricity came crashing down on Beldum from above. Both attacks struck Beldum head-on while Lisa looked on with fear and concern.
"Oh, no, that looked like a harsh hit! You okay, Beldum?!" Lisa cried, nervously fidgeting with her dress. When the smoke from the attacks cleared, Beldum was glowing a bright white. When the blinding light died down, Lisa saw that her Pokémon had grown in size. Still the same color, it now had a well-defined head and two arms coming out of its underside, both resembling Beldum's form, sans the eyes. The Pokémon's head consisted of two mysterious red eyes and a silver spike that resembled a nose. The general shape of the creature resembled a stereotypical UFO with two appendages. This newly evolved Pokémon waved one of its arms in a taunting manner.
The Pokédex booted up. "Metang, the Iron Claw Pokémon: Metang uses its telekinetic energy to stay afloat. It possesses the brainpower of two Beldum. It has picked up the attacks Confusion and Metal Claw."
Now excited, Lisa shouted, "All right! Go, Metang! Let's show these punks who's boss! Confusion, now! And Meowth, keep blasting Manectric with Water Pulse!"
"What the bloody hell?! Gyarados, use Water Pulse!"
"Oh, boo! Finish them off with Thunder!"
Metang avoided Water Pulse and unleashed a wave of energy that distorted the nearby air, as well as blasting the mighty blue beast with unseen mental energy. Meowth launched a Water Pulse at Manectric as it summoned another huge bolt of electricity aimed at Meowth. Both attacks hit their respective targets, but the yellow and blue wolf howled in pain as it succumbed to the watery onslaught. Meanwhile, Meowth was able to harness the electricity and fire a Thunderbolt of its own at Gyarados. That was also enough to defeat the rampaging serpent.
"Oh, you rude, rude little child! Pikachu, come forth!" Jane twirled around once before sending out her next Pokémon.
"Get them, Mantine!" Justin simply heaved his Pokéball into the fray, rain still beating down on the lobby turned battlefield.
The two of them sent out a dark blue flying stingray Pokémon and a small yellow rodent that Lisa was all too familiar with. The winged creature flapped its large appendages, revealing a light gray underside and a small blue fish Pokémon attached to one of the wings. Its huge tail fin billowed gracefully behind it. Its diminutive partner began emitting small sparks from the red dots on either side of its face while wagging its lightning-bolt shaped tail playfully. Try as it might, the little rat did not come across as intimidating, even in the hands of high-ranking officials.
Meowth and Metang immediately launched Thunderbolt and Confusion attacks at Mantine, who countered with a powerful stream of bubbles that knocked the mysterious machine backward. The yellow rodent zapped Meowth with more electricity, who, in turn, gave it back to the large aquatic Pokémon in a powerful bolt of bright yellow electricity. Mantine cried out in anguish, this attack delivering the pain right where it hurt.
Lisa smirked. "You fools. Your strategy is a joke and your training is insufficient. Allow me to show you just how much it affects your probability of victory. Now, hit Mantine with everything you got, guys!"
"Bah! Have you no honor?" asked Justin.
The dark blue stingray managed to fly up and avoid both attacks before spitting a final stream of round, clear bubbles at Metang, finally doing it in. The machine plummeted to the floor with a crash, as Lisa cringed.
"Metang! No! I won't let you win!" Lisa declared. She reached for Metang's Pokéball. "Good job, Metang," Lisa whispered as she withdrew her silver machine-like Pokémon in a flash of red light. "But now, it's Koffing's turn to join the party!"
The floating orb of poison let loose puffs of smoke from her expandable body before launching a heaping pile of purple goop at the large winged creature. The slimy substance splattered over Gyarados' face, temporarily blinding it.
"You are the light of my life, Pikachu! Thunder!" Jane commanded.
"Chuuuu!" The powerful electrical strike emanated from the storm clouds above, and came down on the cat Pokémon hard, as Lisa's eyes grew very wide with worry and panic. Koffing shot some poison at the rat, but the agile yellow Pokémon easily avoided the hit. It countered by striking Koffing with another devastating Thunder.
"No! Are you all right, guys?" Both Pokémon got back up and indicated that they were still good to go. "We can't keep taking hits like that! All right, let's deal with Mantine first, then we can exterminate the rat!"
Lisa's Pokémon hit Mantine one last time with a heaping pile of poison and a strong electrical shock, and it came crashing to the ground.
As Mantine was recalled by the British chap, the rain and storm clouds subsided.
"Oh, you are SO nasty, little girl No matter though, my little sweetie-pie Pikachu will teach you that lesson you so desperately need!"
Pikachu enveloped its small body in a layer of electrical pulses before charging in at Meowth, delivering some serious shock treatment. This time, the hit was too strong for the tiny kitten to endure. Pikachu looked on, arrogantly smiling and flipping off the fainted Meowth.
"No, Meowth!" Lisa screamed, as she called her back. "I'm sorry. I'll make it up after we get out of here." Grabbing another Pokéball, Lisa pitched Trapinch into the battle. "Use Dig and Sand Tomb to trap Pikachu! It will pay!"
The small orange Pokémon quickly snapped its jaws furiously at the yellow rodent, who continued to mock Lisa.
Trapinch dug a hole in the floor of the lobby and started to create a cyclone of sand that headed straight for Pikachu.
"Sorry about that hole in the floor. Put it on my tab," Lisa said to two employees in back of her.
Pikachu was pulled in to the spinning Sand Tomb despite its best attempts to outrun the attack. With the electric rodent trapped in a vortex of blowing sand, Trapinch drew the swirling cyclone and Pikachu closer and closer to the hole that she was hiding herself in. Pikachu eventually disappeared into the hole. After a few more seconds, Trapinch came flying straight up from the hole, sending Pikachu flying, then crashing to the floor. Pikachu struggled to get up, but a final volley of poisonous slime from Koffing sealed its fate.
Calling back her Pokémon, Lisa bragged, "Looks like Y'ALL are at the end of your ropes. 'Tis a BLOODY shame, isn't it?" But Lisa was all too aware that her Pokémon were in need of medical attention.
Jane recalled Pikachu before making some idle threats. "Fine. So we lost. This is only a minor setback. You cannot change destiny. That is what our leader has promised all who follow him. And we will stop at nothing to make sure the prophecy of the great Lord Hirojuto is fulfilled!"
Justin continued the rant. "We will arm ourselves with even more powerful Pokémon and technology! And you don't want to know what sort of technology our R&D department is coming up with. It's almost too scary, even for us. We must be departing, but you will see us again. And next time, we shall emerge victorious. Remember that fact!"
The two of them beat a hasty retreat. The subordinates pulled out their guns, but seemed torn between opening fire and following their leaders. Police sirens in the distance helped them make their decision, as they dashed out of the building ahead of the patrol cars.
As Lisa started to free the employees, Officer Hauston finally showed up. Lisa went over to talk with him, Meowth and Lindsay in tow. "What took you so long? All of the Thrash members escaped! And I've gotta get to the Pokémon Center!" she screamed. The girl was livid. "There's no reason he had to take so long to get here!"
"Sorry about that. I had car trouble, so I had to wait for a dispatcher to send someone with a new patrol car before I could come here. But I had to wait for the hostage situation to end before someone could be sent," was his frank reply.
"How did that other incident turn out?" asked Lisa, raising one of her eyebrows as if she suspected something.
"Um…I heard that they were finally able to talk the man into surrendering to officers and releasing his two kids. We have local officers questioning him now."
Impatiently tapping her feet, Lisa quickly said, "Well, I suppose there's nothing for you to do but to get witness statements. I have to get going, so I'll give you the rundown. The two in charge of this invasion were named Jane and Justin. Accompanying them were about twenty other agents. They challenged me to a Pokémon battle. The water damage here was caused by a Rain Dance attack and I kinda had one of my Pokémon dig that hole over there."
"I see. Where do you anticipate going next?" asked the officer, his notepad at the ready.
"Well, I figure I'll beat the Gym Leader, then rest here tonight, then head east the next morning," Lisa answered hastily, nervously fidgeting. "My Pokémon need medical attention! I don't have time for this!"
"Okay, thanks for your time," Hauston replied.
Lindsay spoke up. "Wow, big sis! You were great! Maybe someday I can become a great trainer like you!"
"Well, I'm not that great… but I just couldn't let those guys take over the company. After all, Mom and Dad built this corporation up to what it is today. All right, let's get going. My Pokémon really need to be checked out at the Pokémon Center."
"Wait, Lisa!" An employee stopped her. "Please, take this as thanks for helping us out."
"Sorry, but I'll have to come back after I get my Pokémon back to health! Come on, Lindsay; let's get to the center. I have to make sure my Pokémon are okay."
"Gotcha, sis!"
Lisa and her sister barged in the local Pokémon Center. "Hey, my Pokémon just had a tough battle against some Thrash bosses. Please let me know if they'll be okay."
The nurse examined the Pokémon and answered, "We'll have to send your Meowth and Metang to our special care unit, but I think they should be just fine."
"Thank you. May I… may I watch to make sure?"
"Sorry, but for security reasons, we can't let trainers in the medical unit. You'll have to wait out here."
"Okay…" Lisa sighed. For the next two hours, Lisa paced back and forth, her Pokémon firmly in her thoughts. "I think they'll be okay, but what if they're not? Oh, no, what if something happened to them? I…I couldn't handle that… No, they WILL recover! They have to! They…must make it out okay…They…they have to…"
Lindsay wasn't sure what to make of her sister's actions, but she figured it was best not to interfere. She remained silent.
The nurse came back to the desk and Lisa ran to her. "Are they okay?" she whimpered quietly.
"They're just fine." the nurse answered, handing Lisa back her Pokéballs.
"Oh, I'm so relieved! Thank you!" Lisa waved as she and Lindsay made their way out of the center.
Lisa made her way back to the company headquarters as she promised, where the grateful employees were waiting. Staffers were just beginning a long cleanup process, the entrance still looking like a war zone. Officer Hauston had long since left. An older man in a business approached Lisa. The man handed Lisa a Pokéball. "Go ahead, open it."
Lisa released the Pokémon, revealing a little brown Pokémon with a fluffy tail. It had pointed ears and a big puffy white "collar" of fur around its neck. Looking up to Lisa with its big brown eyes, it shyly let out a meek, "Eeev?"
"Aw, it's an Eevee! So cute! I… Whoaaa!" Lisa then tripped backwards, hitting a table. The impact caused a yellow stone to fall from the table and bonk Eevee on the head.
"Oh, no, I…"
Lisa then saw the Pokémon start to glow white, transforming into a much larger yellow Pokémon. Its ears were now more pointed, and its entire body was covered with pointed, bristly fur. Even the white collar around its neck was now spiky in appearance. It now looked at Lisa with its sleek, mesmerizing black eyes, its fur sparking with a bit of static electricity. It cried out "Jolllt!" with a good deal more confidence than it had before getting beamed on the skull with the yellow rock. Lisa booted up the Pokédex.
"Jolteon, the Lightning Pokémon. Jolteon's fur is capable of absorbing a great deal of electricity, then shooting it out at foes."
"Geez, looks like I inadvertently evolved that one. Oh well…Welcome to the team, Jolteon!" Lisa got off of the floor and called her new electric Pokémon back to its Pokéball as Lindsay looked on.
"Smooth move, sis," she snickered as Lisa rubbed her aching shoulder.
Then the two sisters headed to the Quality Suites. They made their way through the spacious atrium and up to their roomy fourth floor hotel suite and turned on the TV. Lisa happened to catch it at just the right time.
"Attention Northwood City citizens and visitors: Due to the incident at the Northwood headquarters today, Gym Leader Bernie will not be accepting challenges today. And we would like to thank the daughter of Northwood's president for battling the invading Team Thrash bosses and freeing the hostages."
"Wow, Lisa! You were mentioned on the news!"
"Thanks, but... I'll have to wait until tomorrow to challenge Bernie. Oh, well, might as well take a walk. But first, Lindsay, how did you get out of having to go to school?"
"Well, I decided to transfer to Fort Barnes so I could take the Pokémon training qualifying exams, like you did after graduating college. Unlike you, though, I don't plan on waiting five years before finally starting! Anyway, both Mom and Dad thought it would be a good idea to tag along with you to get a feel for how it works."
"Okay, makes sense… I guess. Well, let's get going." Lisa still wasn't sure what kind of strings her parents pulled to get Lindsay out of school.
The girls left their room and headed out of the hotel's front door. Outside, Lisa called out all of her Pokémon. Then she found a passerby to take a picture of her, Lindsay, and all of her Pokémon under the large green sign that read, "Quality Suites Northwood Airport". After the picture was taken, Lisa noticed a large group gathered around a battle in the parking lot of a hotel called the Wellesley Inn across the street.
"Wow, Linds, wonder what's going on over there."
"Well, let's go and see!" Lindsay shouted, pulling her sister by the hand.
She called back all of her Pokémon except Meowth and headed over to the large crowd. There, she saw the final strike of a battle between a young man her age and a mysterious figure wearing a black cloak and holding a red scepter. A massive dinosaur-like blue Pokémon with a horn on its head and a gray saddle on its back fired an icy blast at a Pidgeotto, causing the unfortunate brown winged creature to come crashing down to the parking lot, missing a older brown parked car by inches.
The young guy recalled his Pidgeotto. Lisa was able to identify the other Pokémon as Lapras before the masked figure recalled it. "Lapras: The transport Pokémon: Lapras was once popular prey for hunters, but now they are protected and their population is on the increase again."
Lisa also identified the parked car as an ultra rare 1975 Mercury Grand Monarch Ghia. She breathed a sigh of relief. "A car that rare doesn't come by every day!" She quickly ran over and started snapping pictures of the vintage four-door sedan with its distinctly pointed front end and well-defined front fenders.
Unseen by the distracted young girl, the shadowy figure spoke in an unusually deep voice. "You have potential but you must continue to hone your skills to become a true master. Farewell and good luck." The mysterious man threw up a smoke veil and disappeared.
As the crowd dispersed, the teen who had lost the battle approached Lisa and Lindsay. He tapped the pink clad trainer as she was fawning over the car's sculpted front end. "Hey, you're the girl who helped drive Thrash out of town! My name's Marvin Excellus and I was wondering if you would like to join me for lunch?" The boy had short brown hair and was dressed in a red hoodie and baggy jeans. He flashed a quick smile at Lisa.
"Okay, sure," Lisa answered, looking a bit vacant. She started to think, "He's kinda cute," when Lindsay yelled out.
"Hey! Don't be spacing out like that! You know what I mean!" She glared at her older sibling, with both hands on her hips.
"Okay, fine..." the teen muttered. Already her little sister was getting annoying.
At the restaurant, Lisa asked Marvin, "Who was that strange trainer?"
"I'm not sure, but he might have been the mystic trainer Yggdrasill."
Lisa thought, "I know I've heard that name on Ah My Goddess and Tales Of Symphonia, but..."
The two people at the next booth over turned around and said, "Perhaps we can fill you in."
Lisa recognized one of the men, the muscular dark-skinned one dressed in red, as Gym Leader Bernie, but she didn't know the old bald guy.
Bernie spoke up. "Ah! Lisa! Marvin! Fancy meeting you here. Oh yeah, this is the local historian, Neil Miche."
The well-dressed Neil started, "Before I can talk about the mystic trainer, I wish to first explain the history of the Pokémon League here. This is the youngest of all the regional Pokémon Leagues. This region never had a large enough population to support a Pokémon League until the early 1970's. For our league, we tried a couple things different. First, we established ten gyms, in contrast to the eight gyms in other regions. This was due to the fact that this region is more compacted than other regions, and the two extra gyms compensate for the shorter distances between towns. Also, the last Gym Leader has a... unique strategy. I won't spoil it for you, and you'll have to find out for yourselves!"
Lisa nodded as she took down some notes from Neil's speech.
The elderly man in the black polo shirt continued his account. "Anyways, back to Yggdrasill. The first Pokémon League tournament in Fourtix was held in 1975. Among the participants was a mysterious trainer who only identified himself as Yggdrasill. Rumor has it he went through all ten gyms without having a single Pokémon get KO'd. He repeated that feat at the very first Pokémon League tournament in 1975, and it has never been done since. Afterwards, though, he disappeared. He did not return in 1976 to defend his title. However, he has been spotted all over the world, mysteriously appearing, battling, and then disappearing again. According to all that that have battled him, he has defeated each and every one of them. Yggdrasill has appeared in Kanto and Orre, and now appears to be returning to our region. Whoops! Looks like I'm getting called to work! I must be going. Farewell," he said as his phone started to go off.
Marvin got up. "Well, Lisa, I've gotta be heading out, too. Since I already battled Bernie, I should be moving on. Maybe I'll see you again sometime."
"Yeah, bye..." Lisa found herself at a loss for words, as she waved while staring at the man blankly.
Bernie asked Lisa, "Is that girl next to you your sister?"
"Yeah, her name's Lindsay and I have to baby-sit...Ow!" The older sister received a kick to the leg from her sibling.
"She is not my babysitter! Oh, sorry for being rude. My name's Lindsay. Nice to meet you, Bernie."
The muscular man smiled. "Same to you. Anyway, although I said I wasn't accepting challenges, I'll make an exception in your case. Please, come with me to the Gym. I look forward to our battle."
"All right, we're ready! Let's go!"
