Chapter 32

ISOLATE

The only dream I chased this year

Was to isolate and disappear

It seems I got my wish now that there’s no one here

So now I’ll just hibernate and sleep away the days

Maybe I’ll wake up and the loneliness will have melted away

- Halcyon Wander

I

"No, this is my home!" A woman held her baby in her arms on the front porch while Seth observed two men, accompanied by a Golem and an Avalugg. Smoke was rising from some middle point in Vermilion City.

"Like we just told you, the city is being evacuated. You can grab what's important from your home and leave, or you will be forced," one of Surge's men responded, now placing his foot on the first step of the simple but pleasant home. The baby's cries echoed and carried through the front yard to the road where Seth was standing, observing the solemn faces walking past him.

"Drilbur, NO!" She yelled out over her baby's cries. The small Pokémon with his long claws pointed to the darkening sky, leapt from the front door, missing his target, and rolling on the ground beneath the trainers' Golem. The next moment, Golem's foot stomped hard on the ground, and a stone edge ripped from the ground, piercing the midsection of Drilbur, spilling his blood on his front yard.

"I won't tell you again," the man said harshly, looking back from the carnage behind him. Her tearful face fell behind the slamming of the front door, and Seth picked up his feet again, making his way down the road, following the flood of refugees he was helping force out.

Most people had a bag or two draped over their backs. Some were parents around his age, clutching for their kids as they left behind their happy memories. Others, younger teenagers, walked with their siblings, looking around at the chaos of the city, competing to see who could have a more fear-stricken face. The wall that they always associated with security and prosperity now loomed dauntingly in front of them.

An older man fell to the ground a few yards up from Seth and was helped up by his even older-looking Poliwhirl. He clutched in one hand, which he could have dropped to help break his fall, but he didn't dare put it in harm's way, a goldish urn that shined in the setting sun.

"Hey," Erika called out to Seth from a nearby building. Three families scurried down the steps of their apartment building while her Leafeon carried down the steps behind them, blood trickling down her green leaf tail. "Check that building." She pointed to a structure on the corner with glass windows that danced in the light, with a sign that read Vermillion Coffee Shop swaying in the gentle summer breeze and the violent migration happening under it.

"Annihilape, with me. The rest of you stay out here, okay?" Seth's empty face turned away from his Pokémon and pushed the shop's door open. The lights were out, but the setting sun drifted in from the walls that were mostly windows. Booths and tables littered the floor. Sarah was floating behind the counter, a scene he could remember vividly, accepting payment from patrons and greeting them with that warm smile of hers.

However, the face that greeted him was long past decayed. Her dead eyes locked onto him, and her once bouncy hair remained firm from the dried blood. A wound opened up in her abdomen as more blood began to plunge to the ground beneath her. "You couldn't save him."

Seth didn't respond but turned his head to find the way to go deeper into this cafe to find the undoubtedly home that resided in it. Erin was kicking his feet from a nearby booth. His neck was just as decayed as Sarah's. His head snapped towards Seth almost instantly. "I'm fine, Daddy."

Annihilape made a grunting noise from the left side of the room and began moving his head towards a dark hallway. Seth tried his best to ignore the cries from his dead family that filled the dining area before seeing the hallway that led to a stairwell. The walls were narrow as it swirled up to an eerily quiet living space.

It was cluttered with clothes and toys all over the floor, tables, couches, and chairs. He walked further into the living room that the stairwell emptied into and couldn't help but feel uncomfortable from the quietness that lived there. It was as if something was desperately hiding, commanding the building not to make a single sound. Annihilape followed closely behind them as he pushed the door open into the master bedroom.

It was unmistakable; he heard a muffled cry from beneath the bed. The floor creaked beneath him and Annihilape's footsteps, and he pointed towards the bed.

With a crash, Annihilape flung the bed from its position into the wall behind it. The bedpost impaled the plaster and stood fixed and unmoving. Underneath, a woman no older than him, gripping her daughter's mouth, began to cry.

Seth took a step closer to them, and she threw herself in front of her daughter. "No, please. Don't hurt her. Please." Annihilape stood above them from the side, waiting for the command that never came. Seth thought he would feel anger at these people—the ones who betrayed their country, left for Team Rocket to feast on their starving, decaying bodies. He wanted to watch Annihilape tear them limb from limb, the cowards who lived a happy life with their families while everyone around him died, whether from war, sickness, or ruthless hatred. It was like a ball of fire that sat heavily in his stomach, eager to unleash on them, on everyone. But the little girl's eyes, full of fear, looked so much like Erin’s in his last moments.

The ball of fire in his stomach soon turned to vomit as he wretched on the floor. Could he be as bad as the people who killed Erin? Is that what this mom and daughter thought of him? While they lived happily in this pleasant space, his son was murdered by the people who gave them this livelihood. They had the audacity to look at him like he was the monster.

A red light enveloped Annihilape, and as his Pokémon gave him a questioning look, he could have sworn a faint relaxed expression took over him before he disappeared into his Pokéball.

"Hide in here for as long as you can. When people start coming into the city, try to blend in," Seth said as he walked towards the door. The mom's shaking hands struggled to support her weight, and her daughter's hands wrapped so tightly around her that Seth was surprised if the woman could even take a breath. "I’m sorry for scaring you," Seth said to the daughter, whose eyes were just barely peeking out behind her mom's long black hair.

II

The flood of scared citizens moved and converged with other groups of refugees northward. Seth recalled everyone but Ninetales and wrestled with the internal battle within him. He watched one of Surge’s men kick an older man to the ground, who had no one there to help him as everyone on Seth’s side of the coup d’etat either laughed or turned a blind eye.

These people deserved it; he had seen so many cities now reveling in the ignorance of what their fortune was built on. But all their homes that they left behind looked down on Seth with judging eyes as the towers grew taller, leaving the residential section of the city and melding into the commerce sector on the northern end of Vermillion.

On one occasion, Seth saw a man shove a scared young woman back into her home as a creepy smile glistened on his face before disappearing into the home behind her, but Seth continued to keep walking away from her unheard but undoubtedly real cries for help.

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He felt like throwing up once again as the heavy feeling set in his stomach once more, but it wasn't hot. It was caused by the anger he felt for these people being evicted from their homes but pity.

One absence was definitely felt, however, from everyone on their march forward: Team Rocket. Surge’s trainers surged with joy as the cowards most likely stripped off their uniforms and hid with the refugees. While there were definitely more Team Rocket members left than Lt. Surge’s army, they were too unorganized and disappeared to mount any sort of counter-attack. To the refugees, Team Rocket’s absence just weighed down the burden of the hopeless situation as each step crashed down their reality even further.

Street lights flickered on, illuminating the gloom that swept over the city, forcing the wave to wash up the street to the north wall. It collided and slowed as the huddle of masses bottlenecked at the gate that once kept them safe.

“How could you do this?” A woman struggling to hold all her possessions but still holding a fist rang out in anger at Lt. Surge, who stood atop a platform over the gate witnessing the forced exodus of his citizens.

“You Bastard!” another voice rang out as he kicked the steel beam holding the structure Surge was standing on upright. No matter the anger that was bellowing out, the kick, the structure, and the City’s gym leader stood unmoving.

Lt. Surge said nothing to the thousands of scared, angry cries that erupted under him. He simply stood like a stone statue, watching over the pain without absorbing an ounce of it. Each cry, yell, or desperate plea bounced off his strong stature, following behind the continual flood of citizens into Route 6.

The last citizens walked out into the cool summer air as the gate to the city slammed shut to a tear-stricken child that took his last glimpse at his home. The sound that echoed the city, following up with the gate's slam, was nothing of sympathy but cheers and celebratory calls for their fearless leader descending the ladder.

“Very well done, all of you. That went fairly smoothly.” All the trainers kneeled down under him, making him seem even larger than he was. “Erika, if you could take a few volunteers to strengthen the wall, I would appreciate it.” She stood up elegantly and released Tangrowth, Venusaur, and a Cradily. A glow of red briefly took hold of the end of the road as the group sat under the towering wall.

“Help Erika, meet me back at the gym,” Seth said to Torterra after he released him from the Pokéball. A couple dozen men stood up and followed Erika, disappearing behind the buildings.

“We need to prepare for the arrival of new trainers to our ranks in Oak’s army. I have sent my message to all the surrounding towns and villages to people I have spent the last decade preparing for this exact event. Soon we will take the fight to Giovanni and finish what Professor Oak has started!” A roar of applause exploded, intensifying Lt. Surge’s speech. “All of you, get some rest. Tomorrow we will scavenge the city in preparation. Be on guard for anything; I want everyone to be in groups of no smaller than four. Go!” The group disappeared in all directions with a variety of Pokémon tailing behind.

“Seth,” Lt. Surge walked up to where Seth was sitting. “Walk with me back to the gym.”

III

The night grew colder as the sea breeze gusted through the canyons formed by the towering buildings. Ninetales' fur blew wildly, while Raichu sought solace, trailing closely behind her large trainer. “You disagree with my actions?” Lt. Surge asked Seth, breaking the awkward silence that had grown between them.

Seth simply shrugged his shoulders not giving a response as his thoughts drifted back to that girl and her mother's eyes filled with true fear. “How do you plan on overthrowing Team Rocket?”

“Viridian City. We need to take it,” Lt. Surge said simply, as if this was only a minor inconvenience.

“You don't have enough people for that,” Seth answered.

“Which brings me to a favor from you. How many badges do you currently have?” Lt. Surge asked.

“What does that have to do with Team Rocket?”

“Humor me, please.”

“Five.” Seth pulled out the badge case and opened it, revealing the badges that shined under the city streetlights. He looked at them with anger at how much it cost him, how far he had to go just to get these badges. Then his thoughts drifted to his son.

“Good, well, you will be needing this then.” Lt. Surge pulled out a yellow badge that looked like a radiant sunflower with a deep orange gem in the middle. He took the badge from Surge’s massive hand with such ease. Was that all it took? His son’s last moments were filled with anticipation to fight for the piece of junk that only represented the failure he had accumulated. A month ago, these badges were the second most prized possessions he owned; they represented Erin’s freedom, and now they just echoed his misery.

“What do I need this for?” Seth responded after he pulled himself from the self-loathing hole he too often placed himself in.

“You need six badges to get to Cinnabar Island. I want you to escort Red, and both of you challenge Blaine. I don't care if you win or not, although Red will undoubtedly win.”

“If I am not there to win, why do we have to challenge him?” Seth asked.

“I need you to convince Blaine to join the attack on Viridian City in two months' time.” Raichu climbed up Lt. Surge's back as they continued to walk through the deserted city.

“Three months seems ambitious,” Seth replied.

“You know about Johto, but I’m curious, do you know why they are imperialising us?” Lt. Surge asked him.

“Koga explained to me that we started the war,” Seth said.

“He isn't wrong, but no, there is more to it. For one, Silph Company is the world's largest supplier of Pokéballs. Sabrina taking Saffron back was always a long shot.”

“Then why did you have me, Emily, and Red attack the Silph Company?”

“I needed to know what they had planned and why Giovanni was so keen on taking over the company. Now I know the—”

“Master ball,” Seth finished Lt. Surge's thought.

“Yes, the Master Ball. Red informed me of it. But that isn't the only reason. It's also controlling all legendary Pokémon, and very recently, they took Zapdos, the last remaining Legendary. With that amount of military might, I believe Johto is planning on officially invading, and soon. I need to overthrow Team Rocket before that happens.”

“So that's why you don't care about the state of Vermillion City. You're planning on leaving the city anyhow,” Seth asked.

“Yeah, your friend Emily is sharp. She might hate me, but I wish I had her in my army earlier on. She is a force to be reckoned with. Still, I think she should go with you all; she kinda scares me.” Lt. Surge laughed at himself for the irony of words and then refocused his conversation back to Seth.

“I need this city for a short time to prepare for an attack and can’t risk the current citizens who have only benefited from Team Rocket to help them. People like you in the outskirts or rural parts of Kanto have been hit the hardest these past ten years. It's your guys' anger that I need to take down Giovanni,” Lt. Surge said.

“And if we fail to convince Blaine?” Seth asked.

“Then it becomes that much harder, but we don't have much of a choice other than moving forward,” Lt. Surge answered.

“Do you feel like this coup was too easy?” Seth asked. The thought has been eating at him since their first attack on the Boardwalk this morning. After that, Team Rocket's forces simply dissolved and hid like they weren't prepared at all. But that seemed far-fetched as Giovanni knew about Lt. Surge.

“Yes, and it is terrifying me. But like I just said, the only path we have is forward.” The gym emerged before them as they turned down another block. “Please take care of Red when you three leave tomorrow. The secret to saving Kanto is with him; that I am almost sure of it.”

Seth paid more attention due to Lt. Surge’s words, to Sarah and Erin who have been appearing randomly during this entire walk. “I'm the last person who should be trusted in protecting anyone,”

Seth answered back as he looked at his son’s corpse lying on the floor whispering, “I’m fine, daddy.”

“I am sorry about your son, Seth. I truly am.” Lt. Surge’s demeanor relaxed significantly with a deep empathy that portrayed true understanding.

IV

Seth walked into the dark hotel room that Holly explained Emily went to. The only light that streamed in was the faint white glow of the crescent moon and a few stars that overlooked the still-vacant city.

Emily was asleep on one of the beds with Vaporeon curled at her feet. The room was similar to all the others they had stayed in over the past year, but it seemed so much emptier without Erin to bring the room's plain existence joy and warmth.

Ninetales followed into the room behind him, and despite her warm breath, ever since Erin, her presence only emitted more cold sad anger.

Seth didn't wake up Emily, didn't want to feel her wrath that he rightly deserved. He simply laid into the empty bed beside her, rubbed his hands through Ninetales' fur as she lay beside him, and thought of the mother and daughter. Did they get discovered? Did he make a mistake in not evicting them from their home? Is he or would he have been the Butch Miller to their lives? Darkness overtook him, and his dreams made the isolated room seem like a paradise.