Chapter Four- Code Black

Rachel carefully read the sign in front of the building. She smiled; she had been right, this was the place. She opened the door and looked around. She was in a large clean waiting room. There were several doors leading of off it as well as an elevator. A woman sat in the middle of the room behind a desk. She smiled as Rachel approached.

"Welcome to the Kalos Pokemon Lab. May I help you?"

"I was hoping to meet Professor Sycamore and speak with him about something. Is he here?"

The woman glanced behind her. "As a matter of fact, he was just getting ready to leave. If you hurry you can catch him. His office is on the third floor; once you leave the elevator, turn right. It's the first door on the left."

"Thank you." Rachel hurried to the elevator and pressed the button. She hoped that he hadn't left already. She had come so far, she would hate to have to wait another day to have her questions answered. For the first time she wondered uneasily where she was going to spend the night. She had assumed that she could rent a hotel room, but if cab fare in this city was four thousand dollars how much would a hotel stay be? She tried not to think too much about it for the time being.

The elevator doors slid open with a ding! Rachel entered and pressed the small golden 3 button. The elevator smoothly began to rise. It was both Rachel's and Luna's first time in an elevator. Rachel rather enjoyed the experience, but Luna's eyes widened fearfully and she began to whine with surprise. Rachel smiled.

After arriving at the third floor, Rachel quickly straightened her T-shirt and smoothed her hair in place before making her way to the professor's office. Luna followed on slightly trembling legs, casting suspicious glances at the elevator behind her.

The office door was ajar and Rachel knocked on it nervously. "Come in," a man's voice called. Rachel opened the door, relieved. Professor Sycamore had his back to her, looking though a stack of files in the cabinet in front of him. He turned to face Rachel and smiled. She couldn't help smiling back; he was incredibly handsome with his dark hair and studious blue eyes.

"Hello, what can I do for you?"

"Well…." She said. She was unsure where to begin. "My name's Rachel Thomas. I'm from Kiloude, and I was told you know a lot about Pokemon and Kalos in general."

The professor chuckled. "I would like to think so, anyway. So is there something that you want to know?"

Before Rachel could stop herself, tears were welling in her eyes and she told him everything. About how Axel had been the joy of her life, how she had played with and talked to him every day, how friendly and happy he was, and how she had come home from her job at the clothing store to find him missing from the backyard. How there had been no sign of forced entry. "At first, my mother thought maybe he had dug under the fence and escaped," Rachel said, wiping her eyes. Sycamore watched her sympathetically. He offered her a box of tissues from his desk and she took one. "But there were no holes or anything. He was just…gone. Also, he wouldn't leave. He loves me, I know it. So I think someone stole him."

"It's possible," the Professor agreed solemnly. "It happens all too often, and usually the police are unable-or unwilling- to do much about it."

Rachel looked up at the man in front of her. "I didn't know where else to go. I have to do something, even if it's dangerous. So…do you know of anyone who would take him? I've heard rumors for years of an illegal trade in stolen Pokemon. But I don't know if it's true, or where or how or why-"
The Professor held up a hand to silence her. He motioned to the chair on the other side of his desk. "Please, sit down." She did as he asked and watched as he walked to the office door and closed it. "I don't want to be overheard," he explained quietly when she raised her eyebrows questioningly. He sat down at the chair behind his desk and faced Rachel.

"I think it's safe to rule out Team Flare. It still exists, technically, but only in small, underfunded bands. There's also the possibility of this being an isolated case; someone who saw your Aron and decided that they wanted him. Or maybe took him in order to hurt you. Can you think of anyone who would do that?"

"No," Rachel said quickly. She was reasonably well liked back home and didn't have any enemies. "I don't think so."

Sycamore sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I didn't think so. I was afraid of this. I was hoping they weren't involved, anyway."

"Who?" Rachel asked eagerly. Sycamore looked at her with tired eyes.

"I think you guessed right. It's a good possibility that your Aron was taken by Code Black."

"Code Black?" Rachel asked with numb lips. "Who are they?"

"A group of people that make Team Flare look like playground bullies. Code Black is widespread through nearly every country, not just Kalos. No one knows much about them, few know they even exist. Oh, everyone knows about the underground trade, but not the scale nor the purpose. No one knows for sure what they do with them, but it's been said that they sell the Pokemon they kidnap to Trainers, who then use the stolen Pokemon in battle instead of catching or raising their own. People who catch or breed any creature who might be of use to them sell the Pokemon to Code Black, but police have been unable to pinpoint their identity or location of the numerous trading points. I have reason to suspect some of the police are in on it; many seem to turn a deaf ear to any reports of theft."

"Code Black does more than steal, however. Many other, nastier illegal things pass through their hands before being sold to people; drugs, for instance. They're said to have numerous spies and information sources; it would certainly explain why they've never been caught. Bribery, assault, and even murder has occurred when people begin investigating too heavily into them. They're a dangerous group, one that certainly isn't good news for your Aron, I'm afraid."

Rachel's nails cut deep into her palms. Her fists had been clenched the entire time the professor was speaking. Her eyes threatened to fill up again. "I don't care if they're dangerous or not. I have to find him."

Professor Sycamore spoke gently. "I know, but I don't advise it. You could end up hurt, or worse. We're talking about a group of people with an enormous amount of power and no morals whatsoever. What might they do to you if you found out you're onto them?"

Rachel wiped her eyes. "So you're saying I should just walk away and let them do whatever they want?"

"Dear, what do you expect? Even if you could find them, what do you think they'll do? Just hand him over and apologize?"
"No, but at least I'll be able to live with myself if I actually go after them!" Rachel declared fiercely. Sycamore smiled humorlessly.

"I'm sorry I can't be of more help. I might have an idea, though. With an operation this widespread, you ought to be able to find someone who'd be willing to give you more information. Trainers are their own community; they whisper amongst themselves. My advice? Become an official Trainer. Travel, battle, and listen. Earn gym badges and compete in the league if you must. Nothing this large can remain completely secret. The very best thing to do would be to find out which trainers are buying illegal Pokemon. That way you could have a chance of finding your Aron without having to deal with Code Black themselves."

Rachel felt a flutter of panic that was quickly overtaken by a rush of determination. "I don't know anything about battling. Well, almost nothing. I just had my first battle a few minutes ago and-"
"Really?" Sycamore interrupted with raised eyebrows. He looked at Luna, who was currently gazing at him with the same look of detached resentment she usually reserved for strangers and, until very recently, Rachel. "How did it go?"

"Well, we won, but I wasn't really sure what I was doing. Luna did, though. My mom told me she used to fight back when she belonged to a Trainer."

"Interesting," he said quietly. "Few win their first battle, especially when the other Trainer is more experienced." He paused. "If you want, you can stay here for a few days. I have an empty room here in the lab with a cot. It's not much, but I think it'll do. It'll save you money, at the very least; Lumiose is a very expensive city to stay in. Unless you have someplace already?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, I don't. I would love to stay here, but why?"

"While you're here, I'll train you. I'll teach you the basics of Pokemon battling. It's the least I can do for you. It'll give you a fighting chance, anyway. When you leave this place, you should be able to hold your own often enough to travel to many different places."

Rachel bowed her head. "That would be wonderful. Thank you."

Sycamore's serious demeanor flickered as his eyes twinkled. "You can thank me by training hard. I'm always happy to see new Trainers grow and improve, but I'm not going to pretend that I'm not going to take a personal interest in your case. I hope you can find your Aron."

Rachel smiled in spite of herself. "Me too."

The cot was hard, but the Professor brought her two soft fluffy blankets from the linen closet on the second floor. "Sometimes, when I get into a particularly long and difficult project, it's easier to sleep here for a night than to go all the way home," he explained. "Nor am I the only one. Every scientist here has their own cot. There's also a bathroom down the hall, complete with a shower. There isn't any food here, but there are restaurants and cafés just down the street. Is there anything else you need?"

Rachel glanced around the room. It seemed to be part office and part storage room. The walls were bare and there was a stale smell in the air, but it was warm and secluded. "No, this is perfect. Thank you again."

"Don't mention it," Sycamore said airily. Rachel decided to ask him a question, but he answered it by saying next, "Do you think you would be ready to start training tomorrow?"
"Yes."

"Okay. I'll come get you in the morning." He hesitated, almost seeming unsure of himself. He came to a decision and pulled a slim red object out of his pocket. Rachel recognized it immediately as the same device the young man in the alley had. "In the meantime, I'd like you to look over this before you go to bed tonight. This is a Pokedex, and I'd like you to take it with you when you go. It's a record of all Pokemon currently known to man, and you can also use it to scan individual creatures, such as your Furfrou there, and learn more about them and the attacks they can use. Normally, Pokedexes that I give to children are empty; I like them to fill it themselves as they explore. But this one is complete. I have a feeling time is of the essence and the more you know about Pokemon the better."

Rachel took the object with an expression of awe and gratitude. "Thank you. I.." she cut herself off mid-sentence; she could feel the tears threatening to fall. She hated to cry worse than anything, and she had cried more in two days than she normally allowed herself to in six months. She struggled to find a way to tell the Professor how much this meant to her; she was a complete stranger, after all, and Sycamore was voluntarily giving up precious time and resources to help her. So she simply asked, "How can I ever repay you?"

"Train hard," he repeated. He waved at her as he turned away. "Look that over, but get some rest. I'll be here bright and early to get you. Good night."

"Good night," Rachel said. As soon as Sycamore closed the door behind him, she sat down on the edge of the cot and flipped open the device he had given her. There was a screen and several buttons. She pressed one that looked like the power button and the screen flashed on. Six menus popped up; Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos; some of the different countries. Rachel knew there were more, but she couldn't think of them off the top of her head, there were so many.

Curious, she turned the Pokedex towards Luna, who was currently curled on the floor on her own blanket and devouring a bowl of her food that Rachel had given her. She seemed none the worse for wear after her battle. Rachel waited a moment, unsure if she was doing it right, and suddenly the menu was replaced by a picture of Luna and a small paragraph. She scanned through the information, fascinated. It was almost as if she was seeing Luna, and Pokemon in general, in an entirely new light.

"Luna," she read aloud. Luna whipped her head up, then resumed eating when she decided Rachel wasn't calling her. "Species- Furfrou. Level 31. Nature- Impish. Characteristic- somewhat vain." Rachel chuckled, then continued reading. "Attacks- Dig, Bite, Toxic, and Refresh." She had no idea what the rest of them meant, but she assumed Bite was the one she had commanded Luna to use.

She continued looking through the Pokedex for the next couple of hours, ignoring the outside world in her fascination and stopping only long enough to eat some of the food her mother had packed; she had no intention of wandering the city again that day. She knew there were many different species in the world, but she was astonished to discover there were over seven hundred. The most particular thing that stood out was the sheer variety of the creatures; some seemed just as normal-looking as Luna; others, strange and outlandish. She pored over the different entries, reading and learning more about them. Long after Luna began snoring loudly on the floor beside her, Rachel finally placed the Pokedex in her bag and lay down. However, when she drifted off to sleep she wasn't thinking of the information she had just read, but about Axel-and how in the world she was supposed to find him if he had indeed been taken by what seemed to be one of the most elusive and dangerous groups of people in the world.