Pokemon: First Contact - Chapter 6

Pokémon: First Contact

Chapter Six: This Land is Mine

Vertigo set in the moment John woke up from his deep sleep. He was lying on a cliff edge, thousands of metres high, looking down at the bed of trees and rivers far, far below. He could had the sensation of his body lurching forward and was afraid he would topple over the edge, so he scrambled back as fast as he could, wanting to get as far away from the possibility of a long, free-falling death.

But he didn't get far. Something pushed against his back, stopping him from moving any further. It was tough, but soft at the same time – like a giant bird wing. That's when John remembered where he was. The planet Noah – where one could very easily have a giant bird wing pressing against them.

He slowly turned his neck around, not wanting to make any sudden movements, and saw a large, brown bird with a vulturine neck and broad, powerful wings standing behind him. It had a long, pink, pointed beak and a coxcomb of red feathers atop its head. It had intense, black eyes with very small pupils, piercing through John, daring him to see what happens if he made a wrong move. The capes of its wings were cream coloured, as were the tips of its flight feathers, and its clawed talons were a dull pink.

For a moment, John was thinking like Russell, believing the natives of this planet to be dangerous beasts, as he greatly feared this giant, brown crow. But he was reminded of the friendliness and hospitality this planet could bestow when Pikachu's head poked out from behind the birds neck and smiled when he saw that John was awake.

'Pika Pika!'

The yellow-furred rodent bounced off of the birds back and darted to John's side. He was clearly much more excited about being on the face of this mountain than John was, and John was about to find out why.

The bird craned its tall neck into the air and cried out, 'Fearow!!'

The call was like a shrill trumpet that needed a thorough repair job, and it made John's body shiver. He wondered who, or what Fearow was calling. Fearow. That is what he his thoughts had named it, as the sounds these creatures made seemed to fit their physiology well enough. He would decide on real names in the future.

Pikachu's tiny hands tugged at John's left arm. John turned around and did his best to stand on his feet, trying to hide his quivering legs from Fearow. When Fearow saw that John had acknowledged its call, it stood to the side, revealing a massive, gaping mouth of a cave in the mountains wall. John squinted, trying to see what was hiding in the darkness, but what he received was not a vision, but a sound.

His ears tickled as the cave emitted cracking and snapping noises, similar to what John heard when Russell rubbed his rubber-soled shoes on a carpet and touched John's arm with his finger. That same sound of a short, sharp jolt of electricity made. But this time there were several of them, with a couple snapping every three-to-four seconds.

Pikachu's hands went from tugging to gripping, and his excitement changed to caution. John looked down at his small friend and saw his ears had drooped a little. John was about to ask what that was inside the cave, when suddenly an all too familiar screech struck his eardrums.

'DOO-OO-OO-OOS!!'

John's first thought was to run. He spun around and raced forward, temporarily oblivious to the over nine-thousand foot drop that awaited him. His right foot went over the edge, hanging in the air for moments while the rest of John's body acknowledged the immediate peril and frantically pulled back, his arms waving in the air, trying to grab hold of something to level him. He was wobbling dangerously on the edge, his eyes staring at the ground – the trees looked like bristles on a green fur coat, and the rivers were the seams. He was certain this was how he was going to die.

Then his balance tipped forward, and he felt his other foot leave the rocky surface and he found himself falling off the mountain. He closed his eyes, ready to live the last few seconds of his life before hitting the ground. At least he wouldn't feel a thing.

But just before he was out of reach, a large beak clamped down on the back of John's shirt, violently jerking him back as his fall was suddenly brought to a halt. Fearow lifted the human up and placed him back down on the cliff edge. John's eyes were still shut tight, and his heart had never beaten harder or faster in his life. He could hear it pounding in his ears. When he felt the rocks beneath him, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

He soon wished he hadn't.

Standing in front of John Laker was another bird, much larger than Fearow, with spiky black-and-yellow feathers that created an illusion of lightning. It was a bird John had seen before. It was the bird that had killed his Uncle, and a large portion of the crew and the passengers on The Forgotten.

The frightening cry before it wrecked havoc on their ship . . .

Its terrifying abilities to control electricity . . .

This was Zapdos.

The reinforced glass on the pods John and his friends came down on prevented much sound from getting through, and that must be why he didn't hear the crackling that came from Zapdos' wings. It was if they were made of lightning themselves, but that couldn't be true. He guessed the bird had such an incredible connection with this planet's electrical energy that its own body had fused with the power, creating a constant flow of electricity surging through its feathers.

Again, John was no scientist, but the theory worked for him at the time.

Zapdos glared down at John, then turned to Pikachu and let out a short squawk. Surprisingly, for John, he didn't have to try and guess what Zapdos was saying. He knew exactly what the sound meant, but it wasn't as if his mind was decoding the noise and studying the facial expression, turning it into words – it was more like he had already learnt the language, and he didn't even have to think. Instinct was translating for him.

Unfortunately, Zapdos had told Pikachu that so far he was quite unimpressed with this human who had just ran right off the mountain. Pikachu had a sheepish grin on his face and tugged again at John's arm. He wanted John to say something that would recover them both from this embarrassment.

John cleared his throat and tried to channel his inner leader. He straightened himself up and spoke strongly. 'Hello, my name is John Laker. My Uncle was Christopher Pallet. He captained our ship to your planet, hoping to find a new home for us.' He paused and fixed his eyes on Zapdos'. He wanted to make sure the bird understood him clearly. 'You destroyed our ship and killed many people. Everybody who survived has been mourning the deceased, but we are willing to put all misunderstandings behind us. I assume Pikachu has brought me here so that you and I can find a way to allow both our species to live together, peacefully?'

Zapdos' eyes had sunk. As powerful as the bird was, he evidently felt some shame for all the deaths he had caused. Zapdos looked at John and signalled him to look up at the sky, then he spread his wings out majestically and let out a grand call to the land below him. John understood this just as easily as the squawk. Zapdos was the protector of this land. He watched over the skies and rid them of any possible danger. Seeing a great, big metal ship – something the creatures of this planet had never seen before – he panicked and acted as any leader would to protect his people.

Zapdos nodded to Pikachu and cawed. He had warned the other creatures to stay away from John and his people, as he didn't wish for there to be any more bodies added to the count. But he had now been informed of the murder of the Mankey's, and wanted to speak to one of the humans directly.

John bowed. 'Thank you for not retaliating. I have spoken to those accountable, but they are not yet convinced that we can all live peacefully on this planet. But I'm sure if you came down to our town and they could see that you do not mean to fight, this would all be settled.'

Zapdos shook his head and crowed. He did not make personal appearances. This was a rare occasion, and John should consider himself lucky to have had this meeting. Instead, Zapdos called to Fearow and asked her to take John back to his town along with Pikachu, showing the humans an example of the two species working together. Zapdos turned back to John, who nodded, agreeing with this idea.

And as soon as Zapdos saw that John would cooperate, he let out a final cry, spun around and jumped in the air, flapping its wings before shooting down into the cave. The speed of the bird caused zaps of electricity to shoot out from its wings and drag along the cave walls, illuminating the darkness and showing John just how deep the cave went. Not before long, Zapdos was simply a small speck of light in the deep black abyss. Then he disappeared.

Fearow knelt down before John, allowing him to climb onto her back, unlike last time where he assumed he was just thrown on – unconscious – by the other animals. Pikachu hopped into the air and landed behind John, and then he climbed up his shirt and perched happily on John's shoulder.

'Pika!' he called to Fearow, letting her know that they were ready. But John couldn't prepare himself for what happened next.

The bird reared back and then pushed herself forward with incredible power, launching into the air as they left the cliff edge, beating its wings to bring them higher and higher. John clutched the large feathers on Fearow's back – each of which were as long as his hand and wide as two fingers – fearing that he would be thrown off at any sudden movement. But then he noticed the startling amount of balance he had. It was as if he and Fearow were moving in unison, sensing each other's motions before they happened, and adjusting accordingly.

No, it was exactly like that.

John scratched his chin as he wondered about these astounding connections he had with these creatures. The language, the movement . . . the understanding. Was it possible the entirety of Pallet Town could form such a bond too.

He hoped so.

***

Inside the mountain, Zapdos was meditating with a large dome structure, carved out by the creatures that housed themselves within the many tunnels of the mountain. The walls were decorated by shining shards that broke away from meteors that fell from the sky, and only Zapdos, and a handful of animals native to the mountain, were aware that these stones had a mystical power, and a unique connection with the land. Zapdos had named them, Moon Stones.

Zapdos had roosted among these stones to ponder over the arrival of John Laker and the other humans, for the Moon Stones had been fading out over the years, very gradually. This had been brought to his attention by a Clefable – a stubby, pink tailed biped with angel-like wings, though it is unable to fly – who had lived in the mountain for centuries and had been noticing this change. Since then, Zapdos has moved from his home amongst the clouds and stayed by the Moon Stones.

After many years, Zapdos discovered why the stones were losing their shine. It was a terrifying revelation. He realised the entire planet was in jeopardy. And just when the Moon Stones were about to fade out completely, the humans had arrived.

Perhaps the gods sent them here, Zapdos wondered. Could this John Laker be the saviour of our planet?

He lay his head down on a rock and closed his eyes. He would continue this thought tomorrow. Hopefully the two species would have sorted their problems out by then, and could move on to the bigger picture.

If not, then the end of their existence was close at hand.

***

John thought he would have to direct the Fearow to Pallet Town after they reached the forest in its outskirts, but instead he only had to stay silent and watch the magnificent views that rushed by below him. The most spectacular of which included a stampede of cream-fur horses with flames for hair, all led by a much larger horse – this one having a horn reminiscent of a unicorn and long streams of fire for a mane; a flock of brown avians, with rough plumage on their heads and short, hooked beaks, and once they all cried out: 'Spearow!' when they caught sight of John and his Fearow, John realised that they must have been the younger version of his bird.

When he started thinking about the aging of the animals, he wondered what Pikachu would grow into. He looked over his shoulder at the yellow mouse, who smiled back then pointed excitedly at something on the ground. John followed the direction and saw the most unbelievable creature yet.

It was a large, kangaroo-like animal with a thick tail and two short horns sprouting from its black helmet patch on its head. It had various ridges and patches down its back, and two spikes on its tail. And when it turned around, it revealed a little purple baby, nested in a pouch.  To John, it was like seeing a dinosaur come to life. And at that moment, he found that he had a lump in his throat, and tears were starting to form in his eyes.

He chuckled at himself for being so silly, but then he realised he was on a planet that was untouched by pollution, construction, or any kind of economy. It was like being on Earth, millions of years ago, before the humans arrived and destroyed it. This was an incredible gift, living on this planet, and he would not take it for granted. The human race was getting a second chance, and they were not going to fail this time.

Feeling a great sense of responsibility rush through his blood, John urged Fearow to move faster, and in just a few minutes, he could see Pallet Town in the distance. As Fearow slowed down, preparing to land in the midst of several people just going about their day, Pikachu crouched low, trying to hide his face from all the humans.

'It's alright, Pikachu. They're my friends. That means they're yours too,' John said.

However, the citizens reaction to Fearow's landing was not at all friend-like. Women screamed, people ran indoors, mothers grabbed their children and fathers gripped their tools tighter, preparing to use them as weapons.

Kensington was quick to come outside and assess the situation. She was wearing her white People's Council robe, her short brown hair cut neatly above the shoulders, and her face looking stern and serious as always. She commanded the men to stand down, and the others to be silent, and as Fearow set down on the grassy land, Kensington walked towards the bird with a definite aura of authority. She stopped two metres in front of Fearow, clasped her hands behind her back and spoke as if Fearow was a guest.

'Welcome to Pallet Town. I am Councilwoman Kensington. May I ask what—John?!'

John smiled and waved to Kensington and jumped off Fearow's back, but the Councilwoman did not seem at all relieved by this.

'What on earth do you think you're doing?' she snapped. 'Do you realise the panic you caused!'

John raised both his hands and tried to calm Kensington down. 'It's okay, really. Fearow was just giving me a lift.'

'Giving you a lift! Oh, I don't—what are you . . .' she couldn't find the words for her disbelief. She sighed and let her logic choose the most important question. 'We sent a team out to find you. Mr Williams told me you were in danger, so I—'

'Wait, Russell?' John asked, interrupting Kensington mid-sentence. 'Russell is out there trying to rescue me?'

Just then, two ecstatic men bolted around the corner of the school and skidded to a halt in front of John and Fearow.

'Professor Kanto! Professor Frost! Conduct yourselves!' Kensington barked.

The Professor's hurriedly patted down their ruffled hair and re-set their glasses, all while staring at Fearow like a child at a Christmas present. Fearow appeared to like the attention. She raised her beak to the sky impressively and shook her feathers so they would glisten in the evening sunlight. This brought on ooh's and aah's from the Professor's.

'John, you're back!' Professor Kanto exclaimed once he finally noticed John standing there. 'Is this one for us?'

'What do you mean?' John asked.

'Oh, I'm sorry John. I just thought you had met with Russell and that he explained the situation . . .

'What situation?' John demanded to know. He didn't like where this was going. What had Russell done now?

Professor Kanto hesitated to speak. He could hear the anger in John's voice. Professor Frost spoke instead, as he was not so afraid of the Captain's nephew.

'We were told that we were to study these creatures. We must learn their biology. It is important if we are to live on the same planet as them.'

John glared at Kanto and Frost for a few seconds then swivelled to Kensington. 'You allowed him to do this?!'

'I have my reasons, Councilman Laker,' Kensington replied, unshaken. 'Mr Williams wants to protect this town, just as much as you do, but he knows that I will have an eagle-eye on him at all times. I can assure you, if he does anything to breach our trust, the consequences will be severe.'

John didn't care for Kensington's explanation. She was encouraging Russell's behaviour, reinforcing the idea that these animals were to be treated like . . . animals! But there was no time to argue. He told Fearow that they were leaving, and she knelt down for him to jump on her back. Pikachu emerged from beneath Fearow's right wing, looking at John with much worry.

'Councilman Laker! Where are you going?!'

'To fix your mistake!' he declared. 'Let's go!'

Fearow began flapping her wings, dust spun around Kensington and the two Professors while the people of Pallet Town watched in awe of John's connection with these incredible creatures. To see a man ride off on a giant bird . . . it was like something out of a dream.

A dream all the people of Pallet Town shared. Besides one.

***

Samuel Oak had finally hit a rhythm. He was swinging along the vines in the treetops, trusting himself to reach out with one hand and grab the vine in front of him just as his other hand let go. It was an exhilarating feeling. He felt like he was making up time for all those boring hours spent on The Forgotten.

And for the first time, he even thought of himself as lucky for being without parents, as his clothes were all ripped and torn from his games he played in the forest that he would surely be grounded if he had a mother to come home to. And that wasn't the life for Samuel. His life was meant for adventure. Discovery. New experiences. And this was definitely one of them.

He only wished that Leah – a pretty blonde girl back in town – could see this unmatched skill of his. He could imagine it now. They would be like Tarzan and Jane, living in the forest, eating wild berries and creating incredible drinks using all the sweet juices of the native fruit. No chores to be done. No responsibilities. Just a life of pure freedom.

All this day-dreaming made Samuel lose his pacing. He let go too early, missed the vine and started to fall. His arms flailed wildly in the air, trying to find something to grab onto, and luckily enough a furry arm reached down and grabbed the boy, throwing him high up in the air.

'Wooohoooo!' Samuel cheered as he flew up through the trees, only to come rushing down again and grabbing hold of a long vine and beginning the swinging once more. He turned to his left and thanked his saviour: a friendly Mankey whose family Sam had become well-acquainted with over the last couple of hours.

'Come on Prince! I'll race you to the waterfall!'

The name reflected how he viewed him and his Mankey. Princes of the forest. Doing what they please and rescuing any dame in distress. Unfortunately, there were no suffering sweethearts for the moment, so they had to make do with their unlimited freedom.

As the two rode the vines towards the sunset, going to rest behind the rolling green hills in the distance, they heard a commotion catching up behind them.

'Hold up, Prince!' Samuel called. He could hear people approaching, but they didn't sound friendly.

'I saw one over here! Come on!'

The group came bursting through a heap of bushes and into Samuel's view. It was Russell and his soldiers, as well as a select group of men from Pallet Town, all armed with long, rifle-like guns that shot nets instead of bullets, and a varied collection of pellets decorating their belts.

Prince slid down next to Samuel, clutching the vine with just his tail and one foot, while using the rest of the body to lean towards the men, pointing to them quizzically.

'I dunno, Prince. This doesn't look good . . . Let's check it out.'

The pair followed Russell's team through the forest, keeping just a few paces behind them so that they wouldn't be noticed. Soon, Samuel and Prince were watching the men do terrible things.

'There's one! Quick, get it!'

'I need some help. This one's a fighter!'

'Get some gas in those trees! That's where they're hiding!'

They were capturing all the animals in the nets! Dragging helpless creatures across the ground, writhing in the netting, which only made the aluminium tighten further. Prince spotted Russell holding a fellow Mankey by its tail, pointing his gun at it as a warning. The Mankey recoiled, terrified of the human and his weapon which was imprisoning all his
friends.

'Look at this, guys! They're afraid!' he knelt down and teased the Mankey with dark eyes and gritted teeth. 'Now you see what happens when your kind tries to kill my friends.'

Prince growled and prepared to leap off the vine and bash Russell to the ground, but Samuel blocked him with his arm. Prince turned to Samuel, his eyes fuelled with rage, but Samuel shook his head. He was right. It was pointless. It would only create more problems. All they could do was watch from above as the men continued to trap the creatures, trying to collect as many species as they could.

After about forty minutes of this outrage, Russell appeared on the top of a hill. He had left the group to go searching for his own. For what, Samuel couldn't tell. But Russell had a huge grin on his face. Whatever it was, he had found it.

'Turk, Rayne, Yoon. Get over here! Check this one out!'

Samuel glanced at Prince, and the two of them hastily swung and jumped through the trees, trying to get a sight of what Russell had seen. Once they too were over the hill, Samuel's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

'Holy shit . . .' He had never seen an animal look as powerful or as dangerous as this one. It had to be the top of the food chain on Noah! It made all those other animals he read about in history class look like pets!

Russell and his men bombarded the beast with gas pellets and rubber bullets, before realising the bullets were having absolutely no effect. This was unquestionably the most superior creation of evolution, but Russell was willing to fight for his position of top dog.

Suddenly, the beast reared and charged, but Russell didn't budge. He ordered his friends to stay still and prepare their guns.

'Wait . . .'

The beast ran at Russell at full speed. The impact would knock a train off its tracks, let alone a single human man. His friends whispered warnings to Russell, telling him to move and that he'll be killed.

'Just wait . . .'

The beast was just a few metres from Russell. In just two seconds, every bone in Russell's body would be broken. The death would be instant. Painless.

Russell's eyes flashed and he yelled, 'Now!'

All the men fired their guns. Four bullets whizzed through the air and exploded, letting out heavy nets that fell onto the beast, dragging it down to the ground, stopping it from moving any further. The ballast attached at the ends of the aluminium string were made of tungsten – the heaviest metal found on Earth, and the nets were designed so that the string itself contained liquefied tungsten, which would travel down the ends of the string once it was fired, creating a massive density of the metal at ten points of the net.

Even for this magnificent specimen, it was a struggle to stand up, especially when Russell fired a gas pellet right beside its face – which weakened the muscles once the gas was breathed in.

Russell triumphantly posed next to the beast, mounting one foot on top of its body, like a pioneer pitching a flag in newfound soil. His friends whooped and cheered in response, but they were all silenced when a shadow of a large bird cast over them, accompanied by a familiar voice.

'Tell your men to free these animals at once, Russell!'

'Pika, Pika!!' accompanied Pikachu, furiously.

Russell glared up at John, who was not only siding with the monsters – once again – but was now riding one! John's betrayal of his people had gone far enough. He was putting them all in danger with his careless and naive views of these creatures.

'Why don't you get down here and tell them yourself!' Russell shouted back.

'Uh oh,' Samuel said, watching from the treetops. 'Prince, we may have to act as backup on this one.'

Prince nodded. He had waited too long. It was time to fight back.