Pokémon HGSS#18: Inside Team Rocket Headquarters
Jonathan pressed his Pokégear to his ear.
“Professor Elm, what are you talking about? What situation?” Jonathan asked.
“I’m not sure,” Professor Elm said. “All I know is that there is some kind of standoff at The Goldenrod Radio Tower. The whole building is on lock down with suspected hostages being held inside. The police have the whole place surrounded.”
“Oh my gosh. That’s horrible,” Jonathan said.
“There’s more. There is a radio signal being broadcast from the tower. They interrupted all radio programs to display a message.”
“A message?”
“It is a call for action from Giovanni, the Old Team Rocket Boss. They are demanding that he reveals himself and comes back to lead the new and improved Team Rocket,” Professor Elm explained.
“Team Rocket has taken over The Goldenrod City Radio Tower and are using it as a base in order to call out to their former leader?”
“Exactly, Jonathan. I know the police are there already, but I figured you would want to be there as well.”
“Yeah we’ll head there as soon as we can. By the way, your backup arrived. Lance is here with me and Beatrice in Mahagony Town as well as Gym Leaders Falkner and Bugsy.”
“Lance? The Pokemon Lance Champion Lance is there?” Professor Elm asked. “I only called Falkner and Bugsy. But I’m glad that help arrived. Maybe they can help you in Goldenrod City as well. I am going to continue monitoring the situation over the radio here in New Bark Town. Get to Goldenrod City as soon as you can and keep me informed.”
“I will Professor,” Jonathan said. “Talk to you soon.”
Jonathan turned off his Pokégear and looked to the others.
“I’m guessing you heard all of that,” He said.
“Team Rocket has taken over the Goldenrod City Radio Tower and are now broadcasting a signal to come back Giovanni,” Beatrice said.
“Who’s Giovanni?” Bugsy asked.
“Giovanni was the Team Rocket Leader when they reached the height of their power in the Kanto Region,” Lance explained. “He organized the takeover of Celadon City as well as the attacks on Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town and The Silph Company in Saffron City. Giovanni was also a Gym Leader in Viridian City.”
“He was a Gym Leader?” Falkner asked.
“The Viridian City Gym was often abandoned and without a Gym Leader. However, after two trainers defeated Giovanni and freed The Silph Company from Team Rocket’s grasp, Giovanni retreated to the Viridian City Gym. Then the two trainers defeated him in his gym and collected their Gym Badge. The trainers went on to take on the Pokémon League. Later the police swarmed the Viridian City Gym, but Giovanni was gone. Team Rocket was scattered and Giovanni was in the wind. No one has seen him since,” Lance said.
“And the Gym?” Falkner asked.
“A former Pokémon League Champion named Blue is now the Gym Leader. He was one of the trainers that took down Giovanni in the first place,” Lance said.
“What about the second trainer?” Beatrice asked.
“Red? He was the Pokémon League Champion for awhile, but eventually retired from the post. Since then, no one has heard from him,” Lance said.
“I don’t mean to break up this interesting story, but have we forgotten that right now, Team Rocket has seized The Goldenrod Radio Tower?” Jonathan asked.
“Jonathan is right. There is a pressing matter that we must address,” Lance said.
“Are you going to head to Goldenrod City with us?” Jonathan asked.
Lance shook his head no.
“Unfortunately there are other pressing matters. If Team Rocket is trying to bring back Giovanni and show off their strength, then there may be other targets across Johto and Kanto at risk of attack. I will make my way Eastward stopping at Blackthorn City and The Dragon Cave before traveling to the Pokémon League. I will gather The Elite Four and have check on places across Kanto. Lavender Town, Celadon City, Saffron City, and Viridian City could all be targets as well as places like The Kanto Power plant. I must travel there quickly, just in case.”
Lance placed a hand on Jonathan’s shoulder.
“I know that you and your friends here can take down Team Rocket,” Lance said. “And once you do, you should come back here to take on Mahogony Town’s Gym Leader. Then head to Blackthorn City where Claire, the 8th Gym Leader will be. She is a powerful Dragon-Type Trainer like me and will serve as a final test before you head off towards the Pokémon League. If that is your path, then I will see you at the end of the journey.”
Lance then reached into his bag and pulled out a necklace with a marble-like stone in the center of it.
“I want to give you this,” Lance said. “It’s a Key Stone Necklace. This here is a very special stone which unlocks the power of Mega Evolution. It was given to me by the Pokémon Champion of the Kalos region, but I have no need for it. I believe it will better suit your needs. The connection between you and your Pokémon as well as this stone will allow certain Pokémon to Mega Evolve.”
“Thank you Lance for all you’ve done here. We really appreciate it,” Jonathan said.
Lance nodded.
“Good luck to all of you,” Lance said. “Go take down Team Rocket once and for all.”
Lance climbed up on the back of his Dragonite and gave everyone a final wave.
“Let’s go Dragonite,” He said before they took off into the air and they were gone.
“So what’s the plan?” Beatrice asked as everyone else turned towards Jonathan.
“I guess we need to get to Goldenrod City as fast as possible, but I’m not really sure how. We can’t travel by foot. That will take way too long,” Jonathan said.
“I have an idea,” Falkner said.
He pulled out a Pokéball and tossed it in the air.
“Go Pidgeot!”
There was a flash of red light and Falkner’s Pokémon emerged from its Pokéball. It was a large Bird Pokémon with a large wingspan and a crest of feathers on its head.
“Pidgeot!” It cawed.
“Pidgeot should be big enough to carry the two of you on its back,” Falkner said looking at Jonathan and Beatrice.
“We can’t just take your Pokémon,” Beatrice said.
“Yeah what are you two going to do?” Jonathan asked.
“Well Bugsy and I seemed to miss most of the action already,” Falkner said. “We helped Lance, but that was about it.”
“We would love to help, but it seems like more of your battle against Team Rocket,” Bugsy said.
“Me and Bugsy will stay here to monitor the situation just in case more Team Rocket people show u here,” Falkner said. “You two should take Pidgeot and head towards Goldenrod City. It will get you there quick.”
“Thank you, Falkner,” Jonathan said shaking his hand.
“When you get there, check in with Gym Leader Whitney. She should be able to help you assess the situation,” Bugsy said. “It is her city afterall.”
“Good plan,” Beatrice said.
“One last thing. I have something for you, Jonathan,” Bugsy said pulling a small, marble-like stone from his bag which was similar to the necklace which now hung around Jonathan’s neck.
“I see that you took my advice on getting a Bug-Type Pokémon by adding Scizor to your team,” Bugsy said. “But this might make your Scizor even more powerful. This is a Scizorite and will make your Scizor Mega-Evolve with help from the necklace Lance gave you. It might be the thing that helps you defeat Team Rocket.”
“Thank you so much, Bugsy,” Jonathan said. “Now I know that I’ll be able to take them down.”
“Good luck to the both of you. Stay safe,” Bugsy said.
“Show Team Rocket no mercy,” Falkner said.
Jonathan and Beatrice put their Pokémon back into their Pokéballs and climbed onto the back of Pidgeot. Pidgeot flapped its wings and took off into the sky. The wind whipped past them and blew their hair as they flew through the air.
Beatrice wrapped her arms around Jonathan’s waist as Jonathan clung to Pidgeot’s neck.
“Let’s go to Goldenrod City,” Jonathan shouted over the sound of the wind.
What would have taken several days if not weeks to get to by foot, only took a few hours on the back of Pidgeot. It flew quickly over the mountains and over the woods surrounding Ecruteak City and Goldenrod City. Eventually they saw the large Radio Tower and the rest of the buildings. Pidgeot slowed down and descended towards the city. They landed on the Southern end of town.
Jonathan and Beatrice climbed off, a bit shaken and cold, but perfectly safe.
“Pidgeot!” It cawed again.
“Pidgeot. Stay here until we come back, alright? I’m not sure of the exact situation, but for now, we’ll keep you on standby,” Jonathan said.
“Pidgoet.” It seemed to agree.
“Alright, we need to go find Whitney,” Beatrice said.
Beatrice and Jonathan ran forward into Goldenrod City proper. They could here the police sirens before they saw the tower. It was just like Professor Elm described with police officers and their Pokémon surrounding the building. There was a large perimeter around the tower fenced off by police who kept people at bay while also locking down the tower. Some police officers were shouting order over megaphone, but it seemed to be drowned out by the signal coming from the tower.
There was a repeating message from the radio tower which talked about Team Rocket and their many accomplishments while also calling on their former leader, Giovanni, to join them for their takeover of the Johto Region.
Jonathan and Beatrice joined the crowd of people before recognizing one of the members in the crowd.
“That’s Whitney!” Jonathan pointed and they ran over to her.
“Whitney! Whitney!” Jonathan yelled.
“Jonathan?” Whitney asked when she saw him. “What are you doing here?”
“Professor Elm contacted me and told me what was going on here in Goldenrod City so me and… oh yeah, this is Beatrice,” Jonathan said just realizing that they had not met each other before.
“Nice to meet you,” Beatrice said.
“Likewise,” Whitney said.
“Anyway, Professor Elm said that Team Rocket had seized The Goldenrod City Radio Tower. We’re here to help and stop Team Rocket,” Jonathan said.
“That’s very brave of you, but unfortunately they aren’t letting anyone in. I’m the Gym Leader and they won’t even let me in,” Whitney said.
“Maybe we can just talk to them and explain who we are,” Beatrice said.
“You two may be powerful Gym Leaders, but you’re just kids in their eyes. Unless you are a police officer, they won’t let you anywhere near the building,” Whitney said.
“There has to be some other way to get into the building,” Jonathan said.
“Well now that I think about it. There may be a way in,” Whitney said. “Come on, follow me.”
Whitney lead Jonathan and Beatrice away from the crowd, across the railroad tracks which separated the city in half.
“Where are we heading?” Beatrice asked.
“There is an underground section of Goldenrod City called The Goldenrod Tunnel. It was a popular walkway when the train was up and running, but since the railway is under construction, The Goldenrod Tunnel is practically empty. There is a few shops and stuff, but not much else.”
“So why are we heading there?” Jonathan asked.
“Well, when the train station and the radio tower were renovated recently, they built on an extension to The Goldenrod Tunnel that went underneath the city to the basement of The Goldenrod Tower. It’s normally locked up and not accessible to the public, but if we can find some way to break in, we can get into the tower through the basement,” Whitney explained.
“That’s brilliant. Let’s go,” Jonathan said.
They made their way into The Goldenrod Tunnel and Whitney was right. The Tunnel was completely abandoned. Shops lined the edges of the tunnel, but they were all closed for the day. Jonathan suspected that all the recent activity lead people to either go home and wait it out or go to the tower to see what was going on.
“This way, hurry,” Whitney said as she lead them down an offshoot of the tunnel.
There in front of them was a heavy, metal door with warnings to people not to trespass and that this was for authorized people only.
“Well now we have to get in,” Beatrice said.
“Maybe we can break it down,” Whitney said.
“Isn’t that illegal?” Beatrice asked.
“I think the police have a bigger problem on their hands,” Jonathan said. “Plus if we defeat Team Rocket, they will have to forgive us.”
“I’ll vouch for you two,” Whitney said with a smile.
“Ok time to break this down,” Jonathan said. “Go, Typhlosion!”
Jonathan’s Pokéball lit up with a read beam of light and Typhlosion emerged from its Pokéball. The spots on its back ignited into a mane of fire.
“Typhlosion!” It roared.
“Ok Typhlosion, use Ember to burn a whole in the door,” Jonathan commanded.
Typhlosion nodded before unleashing a ball of fire at the door. It smashed into it creating a red hot spot on the metal door.
“I think I can help. If we rapidly heat and cool the metal over and over again, the metal will become weak and then we can break through it,” Beatrice explained. “It’s time for Marill to shine. Go Marill!”
Beatrice’s small, water Mouse emerged from its Pokéball.
“Marill, use Bubblebeam on the red-hot glowing center of that door,” Beatrice commanded.
“Marill! Marill!”
Marill unleashed a stream of bubbles which hit the glowing metal and turned into steam with a loud hiss.
“Now Typhlosion, use Ember!”
Typhlosion and Marill traded turns going back and forth with fire and water, fire and water. The metal would heat up and then be cooled down almost immediately, leading to a discoloring of the metal.
“Now. The door looks like we can break through it,” Beatrice said.
“Typhlosion, use Flame Wheel!”
Typhlosion got down on all four legs and the flames on its neck began to swirl around its entire body. Typhlosion leaped forward surrounded by a spiral of flames and slammed into the door. The weakened metal shattered leaving a large hole in the metal door that Jonathan and Beatrice could climb through.
“You did it!” Beatrice yelled.
“We both did it,” Jonathan said as he smiled at her.
There was a brief moment where they just looked at each other before Whitney interrupted.
“You two better hurry,” Whitney said.
Jonathan turned to her.
“You aren’t coming?” He asked.
“I think it would be better if I stayed here,” Whitney said. “I will keep an eye on the situation and make sure no one else accidentally comes down here. Plus I will be able to stop any Team Rocket members that try to flee through the basement.”
“Well we appreciate you getting us this far,” Jonathan said.
“Yeah, yeah. Just get in there and end this. I hate that Team Rocket is here and I want them gone,” Whitney said. “Just follow this tunnel. It’s a straight shot to the basement of The Radio Tower. I’m guessing the signal is being produced from one of the top floors.”
“Thank you again, Whitney,” Jonathan said. “We will see you soon.”
Jonathan turned towards Beatrice and Marill.
“Are you ready for this?” He asked her.
“Absolutely,” She said.
The both stepped through the hole of the metal wall and ran down the hallway towards the basement of The Goldenrod City Radio Tower.
Header Photo Credit to The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel and their video Pokémon Generations Episode 5: The Legacy. I got the image from Bulbapedia.
All photos of Pokemon and related content used were taken from Bulbapedia
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page
Allen The Writer 