Ch. 6) Flamethrower
“Well we could have saved ourselves the trouble!” said Dock crossly once they were out in the street again. “We came to this city just so we could find the stuck-up rat, and what does he give us? Oh, stinking Salamence! A map, that’s all. Scribbles on a bit of paper! Huh! I could have found that fiery beacon thing just by following my nose.” She imitated Glint’s voice. “‘So, now we come to my payment.’ I ought to have tied that silly fat oaf to his globe with his own tail.”
“Calm down, will you?” said Jim, pulling the hood up over Dock’s ears before he led the way along the street. “It’s not a bad map. There are some things your nose can’t tell you!”
“You don’t know anything about it,” muttered Dock, plodding crossly after him. “You humans use your noses for nothing but sneezing.”
For a while the two of them walked along in silence.
“When are you going to leave?” Jim said at last.
“As soon as it gets dark,” replied Dock, almost colliding with a fat trainer whose Flareon was sniffing its way along the pavement. The scarlet Pokémon raised its head in surprise when the scent of Ambipom reached its nostrils and tried to give chase before the trainer returned it. Jim quickly drew Dock away and into the nearest alleyway.
“Come on,” he said. “There’s not much going on here. Anyway, we’re nearly back."
“Bricks everywhere. Nothing but bricks!” Dock looked uneasily at the walls of the buildings. “My stomach’s rumbling louder than those machines with their engines. I’ll be glad to be out of here again.”
“It must be really exciting to go on such a long journey,” said Jim.
Dock wrinkled her forehead. “I’d rather have stayed on the dragon island. Much rather.”
“But just think of going to Sinnoh!” It sounded so exciting to Jim that he started walking faster. “And flying on a Charizard’s back! Oh, wow!” He shook his head. “I’d be bursting with excitement! It sounds like a billion adventures all rolled into one!”
Dock gaped at the boy, shaking her head. “Don’t be so dimwitted. What sort of adventures? It sounds to me like cold and hunger. It sounds like danger and fear. We were very well off at home, take my word for it! Rather too much rain, maybe, but it wasn’t that bad. You know something? It’s all because of you humans we’re going on this crazy journey. Because you won’t leave us alone. Because we have to find somewhere your nasty furless noses will never come poking in! Oh, why do I bother telling you all this? You’re one of them yourself. We’re escaping from humans and here I am hanging around with one! Now, that really is crazy!”
Jim did not reply. Instead he hastily shoved Dock into the dark doorway of a building.
“Hey! What’s the big idea?” She looked at the boy, irritated. “Did I say something? We have to cross the street, right? The mansion’s on the other side.”
“Exactly. Can’t you see what’s over there?” whispered Jim.
Dock peered over his shoulder. “Trainers!” she breathed. “Most of them look like Engineers. And they’ve got machinery with them, too.” She groaned.
“You stay here,” Jim told her. “I’ll cross the road and find out what’s up.”
“What?” Dock shook her head vigorously. “No, that’s a terrible idea! I have to warn Wyvern. At once!” And before Jim could stop her she was out in the street. She dodged between honking cars and scuttled over toward the mansion.
Cursing, Jim ran after her.
Luckily there was so much else going on around the mansion that no one noticed the two of them. A couple of men were standing beside a large bulldozer, talking to each other. Jim saw Dock hide behind the big scoop of the bulldozer to eavesdrop. Hastily he ran over to the machinery and crouched down beside her.
“I can’t make out what they’re saying!” Dock whispered. “At least, I can hear them, all right, but I don’t understand what they mean. They keep talking about demolishing something. What’s that mean?”
“Nothing good!” Jim hissed. “Come on, quick!” He pulled Dock to her feet and ran toward the mansion. “We’ve got to find Wyvern. We have to get him out of there somehow. And fast.”
“Hey, you two! What are you up to?” someone called after them.
They swiftly disappeared into the dark shelter of the tall building, but within moments they heard footsteps following them into the mansion. Heavy footsteps. “They went that way!” someone called. “It was a couple of kids!”
“Darn it, how could a thing like this happen?” replied someone else.
Jim and Dock ran through the empty, decrepit mansion basement. Their footsteps echoed down the long corridors, giving them away. But what else could they do? They had to warn the Charizard before anyone discovered him.
“Suppose we’re too late?” gasped Dock. As she ran the hood slipped off her round ears, and quickly she pulled it up again. “Maybe they’ve already found Wyvern. Maybe they’ve already captured him.” She sobbed.
“Nonsense! Hurry up!” Jim took her paw, and they ran on side by side. The footsteps behind them were closing in. Dock’s legs were trembling, but they were almost to Wyvern’s hiding place. Then Jim stopped suddenly, gasping for breath.
“Wait a second- why didn’t I think of it before? We need to lead them away from Wyvern! You go on. Tell him to follow the canal to safety. The two of you must get as far away from this mansion as possible. This whole place is fixing to be a pile of dust.”
“What about you?” panted Dock. “What will you do?”
“I’ll be fine,” Jim managed to say. “Go on, run! You’ve got to warn Wyvern!”
Dock hesitated for a split second, and then turned and bolted. The stairs were quite close now. She hurried around the corner and into the room where she had found Jim. The Charizard was lying asleep by the broken window.
“Wyvern!” Dock jumped between his paws and shook his orange snout. “Wake up, we’ve got to get out of here. Quick!”
The Charizard sleepily raised his head. “What’s the matter? Where’s the human boy?”
“I’ll explain later!” hissed Dock. “Quick, get through the window!”
But Wyvern raised his head to listen to the chaos around him. He rose and went slowly toward the corridor which Dock had just run down. He heard human voices: two deep male voices, and Jim’s as well.
“So what d’you think you’re doing in here?” snapped one of the men.
“Looks like a runaway to me,” said the other man.
“No, I’m not!” cried Jim. “Let me go! I haven’t done anything wrong!”
Looking anxious, the Charizard stretched his neck farther forward.
“Wyvern!” Dock tugged desperately at his flaming tail. “Wyvern, come on! You have to get out of here!”
“But the boy may need help.” The Charizard took another heavy step. The men’s voices grew harsher and Jim’s more and more tentative. “He’s scared,” said Wyvern.
“He’s a HUMAN!” hissed Dock. “And they’re humans, too. They’re not gonna eat him. They won’t capture him, either, but they’ll catch us, make no mistake! So will you please come on?”
But Wyvern wouldn’t move. His tail was lashing at the floor.
“Hey, watch out, he’s trying to escape!” yelled one of the men.
“Use your Magnemite!” shouted the other.
Feet scuffled on the ground and there was the sound of a Pokéball coming open. Wyvern inched a little farther forward.
“Stop or I’ll have my Magnemite use thunder wave!” shouted the man.
“You wouldn’t attack a human with a Pokémon! You’re bluffing!” cried Jim.
Fearing that Jim might try something foolish, like taking on a Pokémon, Wyvern sprang into action. With an unexpected athleticism, he shot across the floor of the mansion. Dock ran after him, cursing under her breath. The human voices grew louder and louder, until the Charizard suddenly saw two men and a Magnemite with their backs to him. Jim was pinned against the wall.
Wyvern uttered a low growl. Deep and ominous.
The trio whipped around- Jim quickly snuck around them and ran to Wyvern’s side.
“You were supposed to escape!” he hissed. “I…”
“Climb on,” the Charizard interrupted, without taking his eyes off the men and the Magnemite. All three stared at him, half petrified. Jim, his legs trembling, clambered up onto Wyvern’s back.
“Get out of here,” the Charizard growled, malice hanging on every syllable. “This boy is mine!” His deep voice echoed throughout the damp basement.
The men staggered and fell against each other in fear.
“M-Magnemite…use thunder wave!” one of them stammered. “Bring that Ch-Charizard down!”
Magnemite’s central eye closed and his silver orb-like body began to shake. Sparks of electricity started to build up around his magnetic polls. The men remained wide-eyed in fear.
Before the thunder wave could be released, Wyvern opened his mouth, roared, and a huge plume of fire arched from his mouth. The flamethrower licked over the dirty walls, the dingy ceiling, the concrete floor, and filled the room with dancing flames. The defenseless Magnemite fainted upon impact and once it was returned, the men retreated and ran away screaming as if Darkrai itself was after them.
“What’s up? What happened?” Out of breath, Dock caught up with Wyvern.
“Quick, the canal!” cried Jim. “If they come back they’ll bring twenty more Magnemite with them.”
“Climb on, Dock!” Wyvern said, listening uneasily to the fading echoes of the men’s footsteps. When Dock was finally on his back, the Charizard turned and strode back to their hiding place.
Bright sunlight was still pouring between the shards of broken glass. Cautiously Wyvern put his snout outside.
“It’s too bright!” Dock moaned. “Much too bright. How are we gonna get away undetected?”
“Come on!” Jim grabbed the Ambipom’s hand and pulled her off the Charizard’s back with him as he scrambled down. “Wyvern must travel the canals alone. That way he can duck into the shadows and they won’t see him. We’ll take my boat.”
“What?” Dock distrustfully flinched away from Jim and pressed closer to Wyvern. “Must we really separate again? How will we find each other?”
“There’s a bridge.” Jim turned to the Charizard. “Travel down the canal on the left side and you can’t miss it. Hide under it until we arrive.”
Wyvern looked at the boy thoughtfully. Finally he nodded. “Jim’s right, Dock,” he said. “Take care of yourselves, both of you.”
Then he forced his way through the window, dropped down to the stony curb next to the water, and then disappeared into the shadows.
Dock nervously watched him go, and without turning her head she asked, “Where’s this boat of yours, then?”
“Here.” Jim went over to the stacked crates and pulled them aside. A silver-painted wooden boat lay against the wall.
“That’s a boat?” asked Dock, horrified. “It’s made out of scrap wood!”
“If you don’t like it you can swim,” said Jim.
“Oh, darn it all!” Dock listened. She could hear agitated voices far, far way.
Jim quickly crawled behind the stack of crates where he’d been hiding when they’d first met and came out again a holding large knapsack.
“Coming?” he asked and pushed the boat over to the window.
“We’ll drown, that’s what,” Dock muttered, staring with disgust at the murky water.
But nonetheless, she helped the boy launch the boat into the canal.