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Beat Cipher: Aloe's First Mission

Maybe throwing his life away in the name of science wasn't such a good idea. But sometimes you do crazy things just to satisfy your own curiosity. Team Snagem was probably created because the leaders were strangely interested in the idea of heroic neutrality. That or they were just bored. After all, who would come up with the idea for "snagging" just out of nowhere? What, did they just think the name sounded cool? Well, Aloe could care less as to their reasoning. All he cared about was following what his gut told him...and the news.

Yes, everything that Aloe knew about Snagem was just stuff he heard on the news. Apparently they were a group of "heroes" who played a bit on the dark side to accomplish their goals. It had been rumored they'd been behind the disappearance of prominent scientific officials and even the mutation of hundreds of thousands of innocent Pokémon, though Aloe thought that number was a bit exaggerated. Still, the fact that they could mutate Pokémon quickly pulled Aloe's attention. Sure he was against the idea, but he knew that mutation required some first-class science. They had to have laboratories the size of universities.

But that wasn't why he went to Snagem. In fact, he never even thought about joining Snagem or even finding it in the first place. It was a complete accident that he found the organization. Call it a rookie's bad luck. Originally, he was supposed to have went to a professor to get his first Pokémon. Unfortunately, he got lost on the way, somehow traveling all the way from Maroon Town to Mt. Silver. Though in his defense, he did run into trouble on the way.

See, Aloe had a certain fascination for a certain kind of Pokémon...the ghosts. Thanks to years of horror movies and mystery novels, his interest in the paranormal entities had evolved to become borderline obsession. No matter how many times they freaked him out or attacked him- and they attacked him plenty of times- he always came back even more intrusive than before. And who could really blame him for that. To Aloe, the psychology of the ghosts was even more unique & unusual than the legendaries themselves. And it was Aloe's goal to uncover the secrets of those ghosts...through any means necessary.

So when a Dusknoir appeared, you can image what happened. If it wasn't lucky enough that he found a level three in broad daylight, it didn't even seem to notice Aloe's presence. It was like it was just asking to be observed. So Aloe began to do just that, stalking Dusknoir and writing down everything he saw it do. It must have noticed him at some point because it soon began to change direction. Originally it seemed to have been headed for Blackthorn City, but a change of scenery told Aloe it was approaching Mt. Silver. It wasn't until he saw the cave's entrance that he realized he was being led into a trap. Only when you're about to be led to the spirit world will you see a portal with an eerie presence about it.

So Aloe ran away, though the Dusknoir decided to give chase. Despite being a ghost, Dusknoir seemed to move with the speed of a cheetah on drugs. Or maybe Aloe was just extremely slow. Either way, the fact remained that he couldn't out run it. But there wasn't any city police or adult to turn to out in the wilderness. "It's just me, him, and that ca-" Aloe cut off when his window of opportunity presented itself...in the form of a darkly lit cave. However, it wasn't part of the main Mt. Silver route, most likely being recently created. It probably wasn't documented yet, so there could be any number of things inside. He could have just ran inside and been eaten by a giant Steelix that turned carnivore for all he knew.

Unfortunately, Aloe didn't have time to think about what ifs. So he just plunged inside and hoped for the best. It wasn't until he was sprinting through the darkness that he realized...Ghosts could see in the dark...not him. So while he was stumbling over sleeping Pokémon, Dusknoir was just strolling around gingerly. That was until Aloe came to the waterfall. In his struggle he'd completely forgotten that there was water inside the mountain. So when he found the ground vanishing from underneath him, he thought the Dusknoir had pulled him into the spirit world. However, Dusknoir had actually avoided getting into the water. When you're prey has gone to another predator's territory, it was time to call it quits.

Struggling against the imaginary Dusknoir, Aloe found himself swimming to the water's surface and flopping down on dry land again. Letting air flow back into his lungs, Aloe had only one thought: "Worst Plan Ever." He was just lucky he didn't run into that Gyarados Dusknoir was so afraid of.

After a while, Aloe found the strength to stand again, though he was still moving around blindly. His eyes had adjusted to the dark somewhat, but there was still no light for him to actually see. That was until he crossed the waterfall. There must have been somebody living in the mountain because nobody just up and decides to install lights into the ceiling of a cave…

Blinking at his surroundings, Aloe noticed a large door before him. There was a man standing in front of it, staring at Aloe with a strange mixture of amusement and curiosity. It was this man who broke the silence. "A new face," he began. "Have you come to join our ranks?" Aloe didn't know what he meant by that, but simply nodded anyway. The man looked dangerous, so it was probably better not to draw his suspicion or anger.

When the man reached in his pocket, Aloe froze for fear that he'd pull out a gun on him. However, all that came out was a Poké ball and...some strange device that resembled a remote control. At first Aloe thought it was some kind of high-tech weapon or a mind control device of some kind. However, the man went on to explain the situation. "The Cipher group have outposts assembled throughout this world," he began. "One outpost is located in Blackthorn City. Find one of the grunts there and take his Pokémon for your own. This device will allow you to do so." Tossing Aloe the supplies, the youth barely managed to catch them so they didn’t fall and possibly break. What would have happened then?

As if to answer his question, an Absol suddenly appeared, though it didn't attack like he expected it to. "This Absol is your only protection," the man explained. "After you've completed your mission, you will return it alive." Aloe didn't like how he emphasized the "alive" part. Just how dangerous were these Cipher guys he sent a kid out fight?

But of course Aloe didn't complain and simply nodded in response. Looking down at the Absol, Aloe nervously offered a hand of introduction. Squinting at Aloe, the Absol reluctantly gave Aloe its paw to shake. "Aloe Frost at your service," the boy said. Absol grunted in response.

Glancing back to his "client," Aloe jumped when he only saw a door in front of him. The man had somehow disappeared, though there wasn't a trap door in sight. This would have been the perfect opportunity to make his escape if it wasn't for Absol staring at him. It was the look a soldier gave his commander in the heat of battle. Absol was looking to Aloe for command and would probably keep looking to him until the mission was over. Which meant it would keep following him until the mission was over. He couldn't exactly run away with one hundred and three pounds of Snagem property tailing him. So it was either get the mission over with, or be hunted for the rest of his life.

So Aloe made the trip to Blackthorn, searching high and low for the supposed outpost. However, it was the much more experienced Absol who was actually the one to find it. While Aloe was contemplating breaking into someone's house, Absol simply pressed a button it found under a rock, revealing a hidden door built into the rocky surface. Aloe could only blink in disbelief.

Approaching the door, Aloe was about to look for a button to open it when Absol simply used a Night Slash to cut it down. Once again he was shown up by a Pokémon. If it was this smart, why didn't the group just send the Absol alone to get that Pokémon. It'd probably make a much better trainer than him.

Speaking of trainers, Aloe didn't even realize until they were inside that he didn't exactly know how to command Absol. He never liked the idea of just sitting on the sidelines and yelling orders, which was what a lot of trainers were doing. But who would willingly be a back-seat trainer? He wanted to actually be involved in the fight, though he didn't exactly know how.

"I'll figure it out later," Aloe thought. That was probably a good idea, since now he had to worry about the fact that he had just broken into enemy territory. However, the door didn't immediately lead him into a pack of bloodthirsty Ciphers agents. Instead, he just found himself walking into a brightly lit hallway. It was when he turned the corner that the horde actually showed up. Aloe immediately ducked back into the hallway, trying to keep his beating heart from giving away his position. Absol could tell just by looking how terrified Aloe was.

"Those are the guys he was talking about!" he thought. "He wants me to actually take on one of them?! Forget it! Just how is a ten year old kid supposed to take on grown men who've probably spent there whole life training with Pokémon?! I don't even know how to use this one Absol I have!"

And as he continued to panic, the thought of retreat became more and more plausible. "I-I can't do it. It's just too much. I-I have to back out. Have to run..." His whole body shook as he tried to make the move to leave. Not even with ghosts had he been this terrified. But it got even worse when he saw the leader of the grunts standing at the doorway. At that point his body wouldn't, or rather couldn't, move. His own fear had crippled him.

"A-Ab-sol," Aloe stammered. The smaller creature was much more courageous than its temporary master. Jumping in front of Aloe, it glared at the newcomer as if it was going to pounce at any moment. However, the leader didn't actually do anything. He didn't have to. His subordinates had already shown up. Without warning, they were grabbing both Aloe and Absol, who had to be held down by five men. They'd only been inside for a few minutes and already they had been captured.

After that, Aloe and Absol were carried off to two completely different rooms. Aloe was simply tied up and thrown in a broom closet, since he wasn't that big of a threat. Absol, on the other hand, was chained up in a metal cage like he was some kind of serial killer. Clearly they knew how much destruction the Pokémon could cause. But Absol's situation wasn't exactly helpless. Neither was Aloe’s for that matter.

As he started panicking about being locked in the broom closet, someone even he wouldn't have imagined came to his aid. It was the ghost and fire type, Litwick. How it managed to open a door with its stubby arms, Aloe didn't question. Sometimes it was better not to know. Unfortunately, this wasn't actually one of those times…

Seeing Aloe tied up, Litwick used the candle on its head to burn off the rope. Unfortunately it also accidentally set Aloe on fire. As soon as he was free, he had to run out of the closet and roll on the floor to suffocate the flames. Sure his jacket was destroyed, but at least he was free. Thanking the Litwick, the latter just gave a salute in response before running off to who knows where. That’s when Aloe realized, “I could have just brought back Litwick and said he used to belong to a grunt!” Too bad the ghost was long gone by then. Still, Aloe did get another chance when he was out searching for Absol.

As long as he was alive, he was still responsible for getting Absol back safe in addition to completing the mission. Even if he didn’t complete the mission, at least bringing back Absol might lessen his punishment somewhat. So he left in search of his temporary Pokémon, ducking behind walls and sneaking about like he was in a video game…minus the fun parts.

For the most part, Aloe was doing okay…until he found the path to the exit. The grunts he’d seen earlier were only a few compared to the many he then saw before him. Once again he found himself panicking over his mission, his heart racing even faster while sweat seemed to spew from his pores. And it got even worse when he heard voices coming from behind. He was being boxed in. He had two options: take his chances out in the open or wait to be discovered. Or at least that's what he thought were his only options.

Like a guardian angel of some kind, the Litwick made its second appearance. Just like before, Aloe didn’t even think about catching it, though this time it was because of the urgency of the matter. Litwick seemed in a panic and was gesturing to something on the wall Aloe couldn’t see. Assuming it was another secret room, Aloe ran over, ready to search out a button. However, when he arrived, he only saw bare wall. Of course that was seconds before Litwick was pushing him right through it.

Hologram. That was the only word Aloe could think of to describe whatever he fazed through. The wall itself was the secret entrance. On the other side, the scenery changed from a metal hallway to a big budget laboratory, complete with generators and all. With something so large, Aloe expected to find a mad scientist of some kind. Instead he saw two figures: the Absol and the grunt leader. They’d been waiting for both of Aloe and Litwick. That's when Aloe noticed the screen monitors. The outpost had cameras watching him the whole time. But before Aloe could chew Litwick out for not telling him this, the leader spoke up.

"Finally the Snagem agent shows up," he said. Aloe blinked at that name. Was he talking about the Snagem on news? The same Snagem that mutated those Pokémon? Before he could ask, the grunt continued. "Good thing too,” he said. “I was almost about to feed this little guy to Feraligatr." Aloe didn't exactly know what a Feraligatr was, but it didn’t sound good. Looking at Absol, who was being held back by a metal leash, Aloe saw a wounded Pokémon continue to display the strength of a soldier. At least its spirit was in tact. But just what had they done to it? Once again, the grunt spoke before Aloe could get a single question answered.

"Now maybe you can tell me," he said, "why have you been sent here? What is your organization planning?" Aloe guessed by his tone that Snagem had some bad blood with Cipher. It was probably better to tell him the truth and not get involved any further. "I'm not a member of Snagem," Aloe explained. "I don’t even really know who they are." Unfortunately, the grunt didn't believe him. So he finally decided to play his hand.

"Litwick!” he called with a snap of his fingers. He didn’t even need to give any orders. Looking down Aloe saw a previously adorable creature suddenly turn into a vicious killer. Slowly approaching Absol, it stood right up to the larger Pokémon’s face, opened its mouth, and spit out a deadly rain of embers. At point blank range, it was like a million fists striking all at once. Because of the metal leash, which the grunt was tugging on to keep Absol from attacking, the Pokémon could only stand and take the punishment. It almost drove Aloe to tears.

"Stop it! You'll kill him!" But Aloe's words fell on death ears. When Litwick finally did stop, it was on its own accord, with Absol slumping onto the ground, barely able to move.

"b*****d," Aloe growled. Smiling at the compliment, the grunt called Litwick back over to his side. "Next time its gonna be good night Absol. So now are you ready to comply?" Once again, Aloe repeated that he wasn't part of Snagem, though his tone was more hostile the second time around.

"Well It looks like you don't care if this little guy gets eaten by Feraligatr,” the grunt said. A grin was beginning to take shape. “Since he likes his food well done...Litwick." Aloe already knew what would happen next. Litwick would burn Absol to crisp, while Aloe just stood on the sidelines and watched. He’d just be uselessly shouting for Litwick to stop as he watched his Pokémon die. It was just like a trainer to let his partner take all the pain so he wouldn’t have to. Just like a-

“No!” Aloe almost jumped as the word came into his head. It didn’t even sound like it was coming from him. The voice sounded foreign, yet still familiar. But it didn’t really matter who said it. What did matter was that the voice was right. Sitting on the sidelines…watching Pokémon go down right before his eyes…that wasn’t the kind of trainer Aloe wanted to be. “If being a trainer means just watching Pokémon die, then…then…” As he trailed off, Aloe found himself moving almost automatically. He didn’t have time to think. Aloe had to act fast.

Reaching Absol, he fell between him and Litwick’s relentless barrage of attacks. A wail of pain escaped him as the embers fell upon him. He had to fight against himself to stay conscious. Though the flames didn’t have much burning effect, the impact from them seemed immense. Maybe that was why trainers didn’t fight with their Pokémon. Getting hit with an attack hurts…a lot. By the time Litwick was done, Aloe was barely able to stand. But he still had the will to stay strong, like Absol. Glaring at the grunt, Aloe said the words that would set off the destruction of the Blackthorn encampment.

"If you're...man enough...you'll fight me...in a...Pokémon battle." At this, the grunt narrowed his eyes to Aloe. He basically had the upper hand at the moment. If he wanted to, he could have executed them both and been done with it. But for some reason he didn't. Maybe it was the trainer inside of him that really decided to accept the challenge.

Letting go of the chain, the grunt allowed Aloe and Absol to get some distance before the battle began. After the beating they took, they were both struggling for consciousness. But it was too late to back out. Victory was probably the only chance they had at escaping. And there was also the bonus of completing the mission. After coming this far, Aloe wanted that Litwick for himself. Maybe under his leadership he could teach it not to be such a psychopath.

Speaking of Litwick, the battle began when it fired off another volley of embers. Because it couldn’t quite dodge, Absol instead countered with a flamethrower that Aloe didn’t even know Absol could use. As the two attacks collided, a cloud of smoke followed, giving both fighters temporary cover. Litwick didn’t wait for it to clear. It simply spit out its ember barrage through the smoke, this time aiming at a curve so that the flames rained down on its opponent. Maybe it was because there injuries left them numb, but as they ventured into the cloud, they shrugged off the attacks like they were nothing.

When the embers finally stopped, Litwick watched for a counterattack. But nothing came...at least until the smoke was clear, anyway. When it was, both Aloe and Absol would be standing right in front of Litwick. The former of the two only had enough time to say "Got...cha," before a startled Litwick pushed him back with the most powerful ember it could muster. The burn effect took effect almost instantly.

But Absol was still standing. What’s more, it was completely unharmed. Aloe didn’t bother explaining. All he said was "I...win" before blacking out. The grunt didn't realize what he meant until a flash of lightning suddenly fell upon Litwick. At the sound, the grunt turned abruptly to find a second Absol, who was barely managing to keep its eyes open. But, thanks to its Super Luck Ability, it still had enough power to bring out a thunderbolt that even a Raichu would be hurt by. To Litwick, it was like getting hit with a nuclear bomb.

"But...how?" If Aloe was still conscious, he would have just spit his tongue out in response. It was a plan that even he didn't foresee would go so far. In fact, it was only thanks to Absol's brilliance that it worked. Originally, Aloe had just planned to fight as hard as he could with Absol. However, when the smoke came, Absol came up with the idea to divide. All Aloe said was "we'll double team it," and Absol seperated, thinking Aloe had called out a move. After that, all Absol had to do was set up for a sneak attack and give Aloe a clone of itself. Litwick did the rest.

Smiling at the turn of events, Absol prepared a final Night Slash to finish Litwick off. In its paralysis, all it could do was wail out in pain before falling in defeat. Ironically, though, Absol fell from exhaustion moments later. The only one left standing...was the grunt, who simply blinked at all the bodies around him. A smile began to form yet again. Sure he had been starting to regret accepting Aloe's challenge, but in the end he was happy. "Thanks to him, I've got two agents all to myself. Wonder if I can still feed Absol to-" He cut off when the smell of smoke filled his nostrils. Something was burning...and it was close.

When he finally noticed, he finally realized why his superiors didn't think highly of him. Not only did he miss a machine that had been set on fire, but he quickly realized that it was his Pokémon that set it on fire in the first place. When the embers Litwick shot went right through Absol, they didn't stop. They kept going until they crashed into a machine behind the latter. Now there was a fire that was quickly beginning to spread through the lab. If he hadn't been so wrapped up in the battle, he would have noticed something so obvious.

"Dammit!" he growled as he ran for the extinguisher. Unfortunately, the fire had already had time to grow by then. So when he used the extinguisher, he was just feeding the flames. Eventually, he just decided to give up, tossing the Extinguisher over his shoulder and running out the door. However, he made sure to set off the alarm beforehand so everyone else was aware of the danger. After all, what kind of leader would let all his subjects burn alive?

Speaking of subjects, the grunt leader had forgotten all about Litwick, who was still weak from the battle. And it was just starting to regain conscious, along with Absol and Aloe, who had been awoken by the smoke and the siren. Weakly opening one eye, Aloe saw an already large fire, two wounded Pokémon, and no grunt leader to be found. It wasn’t hard to figure out what happened. But he was much too weak to panic over it.

"Looks like he...forgot you...little guy,” Aloe said. Litwick simply growled in response, forcing itself to stand. Despite the power of Absol’s attacks, the fact remained that Litwick had suffered less than its enemies. They were barely alive. However, Litwick was still weak enough for capture. And Aloe knew this.

"D-don't worry,” he said. “That's what...we came here...for." With some effort, Aloe managed to pull out his Poké ball and roll it over to Litwick. Just like the man had said, the machine allowed Aloe to make the capture despite the fact that Litwick belonged to someone else. Aloe didn’t bother to watch Litwick get sucked inside. He just assumed the damage they dealt had been sufficient enough.

Looking to Absol, Aloe noticed the dark-type attempting to hold the flames back with a considerably small Ice Beam. Aloe had to stop Absol before it used up all of its energy again. Absol was the only able bodied person, or Pokémon, in the group, so Aloe need all the strength it could master. After having it retrieve the now motionless Poké ball, it was finally time to leave.

Grunting at the pain, Aloe was at least able to crawl- with the aid of Absol of course. The fire still raged on behind them along with the alarm. When they finally made it outside, they both collapsed from their injuries. The crowd before them, which had gathered to see the burning mountain, rushed them both to the hospital and Pokémon Center respectively. It would be months before they returned to Snagem with their big catch.