Pokémon HGSS#26: New Bark Town
Jonathan and Beatrice stood on the edge of New Bark Town. They had just finished celebrating their return home and the fact that Jonathan had received his eighth and final badge from the Dragon-Type Gym Leader, Claire. All was quiet for a moment as both of them reflected on their possible futures. Then they received a call on their Pokégear from their friend Zuki. Zuki was currently in Ecruteak City where Pokémon were acting strange.
“We need to head there quickly,” Jonathan said. “Zuki sounded very worried.”
“Should we let our parents know we are leaving?” Beatrice asked.
“They’ll understand if we just leave and tell them later, right?” Jonathan said.
“Yeah I guess,” Beatrice said.
“You could always stay here if you-”
“Of course not. I want to go with you. If there’s something big going on I want to be present,” Beatrice interjected.
“Alright, let’s go,” Jonathan said as he squeezed Beatrice’s hand.
“Ok,” Beatrice nodded.
Jonathan and Beatrice left New Bark Town quickly and made their way toward Ecruteak City.
“Zuki mentioned Ho-Oh in her call, right? Do you really think it could actually be Ho-Oh?” Beatrice asked.
“I honestly don’t know. When Zuki first told us the legend of Ecruteak City and the bell tower, it all sounded like nothing but myths and stories. I didn’t even think Ho-Oh was real. But Zuki seemed so convinced that Ho-Oh was causing all the Pokémon to act strange,” Jonathan said.
“If it really is Ho-Oh, then we need to be extra careful. If the legends are true, Ho-Oh is a Legendary Bird able to create new Mythical Pokémon. That’s a lot of power.”
“Don’t worry, Bea. We’ll be careful,” Jonathan said as she pulled Beatrice into a hug.
Beatrice let out a sigh of relief as she rested her forehead against Jonathan.
After traveling for a few hours the sun had now set and they decided to stop to campout for the night. Beatrice set up the tent as Jonathan summoned Typhlosion from its Pokeball.
“Typhlosion!” Typhlosion gave out a small roar as the flames on its neck grew brighter.
“Hey buddy. Nice to see you again,” Jonathan said with a smile.
“It hasn’t been that long,” Beatrice said.
“Feels like a long time,” Jonathan said as he gave Typhlosion some pets along its snout.
Typhlosion curled up into a ball, letting the spots along its neck glow a bit with a small bit of fire.
“At this pace it will be a few days before we reach Ecruteak,” Jonathan said as he snuggled up next to Beatrice.
Beatrice leaned into him.
“Too bad we don’t have any Pokemon that can fly,” She said.
“I don’t know. When we had to ride on that Pidgeot to Goldenrod, I thought I was going to pass out,” Jonathan said.
“Not a flyer then,” Beatrice said.
“Definitely not.”
“Too bad the bullet train doesn’t pass by New Bark Town. Or is that even too fast for you?”
“No, the train wouldn’t be too bad,” Jonathan said. “At least we’d be in an enclosed space.”
“Glad to know you are afraid of something,” Beatrice said.
“What do you mean?” Jonathan asked.
“Well it’s just that during the entire time you took on the Gym Challenge, fought against Silver, and defeated Team Rocket, you seemed to show no fear. It was intimidating. But I’m happy to see that you aren’t perfect.”
“Well I’m definitely not perfect, Bea. I am afraid. I’m afraid of what will happen next. I got all my badges but I’m not sure what else to do. Do I want to be a Pokémon champion? What does that even mean?”
“I’m not sure I want to work in Professor Elm’s Lab. My parents want me to be a researcher but I don’t even know if that’s what I want to do,” Bea said. “I guess we are both afraid of the future.”
“But we have each other. That’s what matters,” Jonathan said as he kissed the top of Bea’s forehead. “And we’ll figure it out together.”
“Of course,” Beatrice said as she closed her eyes and just rested against Jonathan.
The two sat there basking in the soft glow of Typhlosion’s fire as a gentle breeze rustled the treetops of the forest. A few far off hoots seemed to be the only sound in the woods. But then there was a close rustling sound as the wind picked up.
“Uh, Bea,” Jonathan gentling shuck Beatrice who had fallen asleep.
“Huh?” Beatrice blinked and rubbed her eyes.
A gentle mist had covered the forest floor. Then a large shadow stepped toward them. Slowly the creature came into view. It was a large, blue and white Pokémon with a big diamond shaped crest and flowing mane of purple hair. It seemed to keep its eyes on Jonathan and Beatrice as the mist grew thicker around it.
“What is that?” Beatrice asked, still half asleep.
Suddenly a memory came back to Jonathan. He remembered standing outside the burnt remains of The Brass Tower talking to Zuki and Beatrice. A stranger had approached them, speaking about a legendary beast named Suicune.
“It’s Suicune,” Jonathan said. “One of the Pokémon that Ho-Oh saved from The Brass Tower.”
Suicune stared at the two of them, studying their movement.
“Is it dangerous?” Beatrice asked as she slowly reached for her Pokéballs.
“I’m not sure,” Jonathan said. “But we might want to be careful not to spook it.”
“Right,” Beatrice said.
Typhlosion seemed to stir a bit as it stood up on its hind legs, it’s flames grew brighter shedding some light in the heavy mist.
“Hold on buddy. Stay calm,” Jonathan said, placing a hand on Typhlosion.
Suicune continued to stand there, not reacting to Typhlosion or Jonathan.
“Suicune. Hello,” Beatrice said as she stood up, putting a hand out toward the legendary Pokémon.
Its eyes darted toward Beatrice as she held out her hand.
“Suiiiii” It let out a small cry, similar to a song.
“Don’t worry,” Beatrice said. “We’re friends.”
“Are you here for us?” Jonathan asked. “Are you here because of Ho-Oh?”
At the mention of Ho-Oh, Suicune looked back at Jonathan. Neither Jonathan nor Beatrice knew how to read Suicune’s expression.
‘Suiiiii” Suicune let out another cry.
“We are heading toward the Brass Tower. We want to help,” Jonathan said.
“Can you get us there?” Beatrice asked.
Suicune looked over to Beatrice and let out another song-like cry.
“Suiiiii.”
The mist seemed to thin a bit as a path opened up between the tent and Suicune. It knelt down on the ground, keeping its eyes on the two of them.
“Do we approach?” Jonathan asked.
“I think so,” Beatrice said. “I have no idea.”
“Ok let’s be careful,” Jonathan said.
He looked over at Typhlosion.
“Buddy I think you should go in the Pokéball for now. I’ll bring you back out when I need you.”
“Typhlosion!”
Jonathan held up his Pokeball and Typhlosion disappeared in a flash of red light
“Alright, let’s approach,” Jonathan said and Beatrice gave a nod.
They both approached cautiously, with Beatrice leading the way.
“You’re going to take us to the Brass tower, right?” Beatrice asked as she held out her hand to Suicune.
“Suiiiiiii,” Suicune responded.
“Is that a yes?” Jonathan asked Beatrice.
“I…uh…I think so,” Beatrice said with a shrug.
Beatrice got so close that she was able to place her hand on Suicunes’s snout. Once she did, Suicune closed its eyes and rubbed its snout against Beatrice’s hand.
“It’s friendly,” Beatrice said as she let out a sigh of relief.
“Hopefully it stays that way,” Jonathan said as he stood beside Beatrice.
Jonathan mirrored Beatrice’s movements as he reached out a hand to pet Suicune. Suicune opened its eyes and stared at Jonathan, but ultimately let him pet them.
“Suiiii.”
Suicune looked over at Beatrice and let out another song-like howl.
“Should we try getting on its back?” Beatrice asked.
“Be really careful,” Jonathan said.
Beatrice nodded as she slowly moved along Suicune’s body. Two ribbon-like tails drifted in the wind and brushed against Beatrice’s face. Then Beatrice grabbed Suicune’s purple mane and lifted herself on Suicune’s back.
“All set,” Beatrice said as continued to pet Suicune. “Hurry, hop on.”
“Yeah alright,” Jonathan said as he walked on the other side of Suicune.
This time Suicune seemed less trusting as Jonathan moved, but he managed to climb up onto Suicune’s back without much trouble. He sat behind Beatrice and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Alright, what now?” Jonathan asked.
“Now Suicune takes us to Ho-Oh, I guess,” Beatrice responded.
At that Suicune stood up to its full height with its legs extended. The mist grew thicker around them as Suciune let out a powerful howl that echoed throughout the forest.
Then Suicune leapt forward and continued to run as fast as it could. Beatrice and Jonathan were in amazement as this Pokémon seemed to run faster than some Pokemon fly. It ran so fast that the trees of the forest were just a blur and it seemed to be running on the wind.
Beatrice raised her hands in excitement like she was on some sort of amusement ride while Jonathan just hung on tight to Beatrice.
They traveled in this whirlwind of mist for what only felt like a few minutes and then Suicune began to slow down. The whipping winds around them began to calm and Jonathan was able to catch his breath.
Suicune then slowed to a complete stop as it stood on the edge of the forest.
“Wow that was fun,” Beatrice said with a laugh.
“I feel like I’m going to throw up,” Jonathan said as he held his stomach.
Suicine knelt down once again and Beatrice and Jonathan slid off its back.
“Thank you Suicune,” Beatrice said as she placed her hand on Suicune’s snout again.
“Woah, Bea, look,” Jonathan said as he pointed into the sky.
Beatrice followed Jonathan’s point and she saw that they were standing on the edge of Ecruteak City. In front of them they could see that the Brass tower was lit up like a lighthouse in the middle of the night. Instead of the white light that would come from a lighthouse, like the one in Olivine City, an array of rainbow colors filled the sky near the top of the tower.
Beatrice looked over at Suicune.
“Don’t worry, Suicune. Whatever is happening with Ho-Oh, we’re going to figure it out and make sure no harm comes to it, ok?”
“Suiiiiii.”
Suicune let out another small howl as it seemed to nod its head.
“Beatrice! Jonathan!”
A new voice rang out as a figure began running toward them, waving their arms.
“That’s Zuki,” Jonathan said.
“Suicune,” Beatrice looked from Zuki back to Suicune, but the Pokémon was already on the move. Betarice just saw the tip of its purple main as the legendary beast leapt back into the woods leaving nothing but a trail of mist.
Zuki ran up to both of them, out of breath.
“Zuki, are you alright? What’s going on?” Jonathan asked her.
“It’s Ho-Oh. It landed in the Brass Tower,” Zuki said. “But there’s a problem. Team Rocket is here too.”
Header Photo Credit to All0412 on DeviantArt
https://www.deviantart.com/all0412/art/suicune-274120248
All photos of Pokemon and related content used were taken from Bulbapedia
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page
Allen The Writer 