"Ratata's soul has disappeared from the statue. It now resides in the PokéBall where it is at your command." David's mother explained, "Go ahead, and try it."
Alice nodded and threw the Ratata's PokéBall up in the air. In a red mass of plasma, Ratata appeared. Alice approached the Pokémon and slowly petted its head. It was no longer vicious and abnormally strong. It was an ordinary Pokémon now who wouldn't attack unless given the command, "Feeling better, Ratata?" She asked softly. Then Alice stood and returned Ratata to his PokéBall, turning to David and his mother, "We still don't know why Pokémon are being affected like this…"
"I guess we can only find out by continuing to collect these Pokémon until we can find some answers." David replied, taking the marble statuette off the altar and putting it back into the pocket of is bag, "I think we can get one more capture in today, right?" David asked, putting a hand on Alice's shoulder.
Alice looked up and nodded, "I agree, but I think Eevee may be a little tired after her last fight. I probably use Ratata for this one." Alice pulled out her PokéGear, "I should probably call my sister…" Alice shuffled through her three contacts and dialed Annabella, lifting the phone to her cheek. It rang once, twice, three times then Annabella picked up the phone, "Hey sis, I got a shadow Pokémon purified."
"Really? Already? That's wonderful!" Annabella voice grew quiet as she spoke to their parents, "Mom, Dad, Alice just purified a Pokémon!" Then to Alice, "What Pokémon was it?"
"A Ratata. David had to help me with it though; Eevee wasn't strong enough to take it alone." Alice explained. She glanced over at David who was tapping an impatient foot. Alice sighed, "Well, I gotta get going. I'll call you later, alright? Bye sis." She looked at David, "Are we going back to Pallet Town now?"
David nodded and walked alongside his mother outside of the Shrine. Alice followed more slowly, returning Ratata to his PokéBall. She pranced over to the Flygon that was already outside his PokéBall. She climbed up once again and hugged David's waist to secure herself. Waving goodbye to his mother, David ordered Flygon to fly up.
An hour later, the two were back on Route 1. They had left immediately after landing in Pallet Town to search for more leads. Alice kept wide-eyes looking for any sign of trouble. She jumped, startled, as the shrill cry of a child came from not to far up the road. David and Alice exchanged a worried glance and rushed towards the noise. An old man stood shaking as he stared at a large figure not too far up the road. As David and Alice got closer, they realized that the figure wasn't just one Pokémon, but many Pidgey attacking a pair of twin girls!
"Absol! Go!" David shouted, throwing a PokéBall into the midst of the fight. The familiar white Pokémon appeared over the cowering twins, standing protectively. With a flick of the blade upon his head, Absol sent three Pidgey flying away. Alice sent her Ratata out into the fray, watching it carefully as it stood looking at the brawl.
"Ratata! Use Tackle on the glowing Pidgey!" Alice shouted, focusing on the Shadow Pidgey of the group, "Quickly!" Ratata obeyed and jumped onto the Pidgey, pinning its wings onto the ground. The Pidgey lifted its talon and scratched Ratata's belly furiously until he finally jumped off, shrieking in pain, "Come on , Ratata! You can do it!" Ratata was field with energy from his trainer's words and rammed into Pidgey once again, "No use Quick Attack!" Ratata jumped away from Shadow Pidgey and rushed forward with incredible speed, sending the bird flying away.
Meanwhile, Absol was fighting away the Pidgey from the twins. The Pokémon was winning, but growing tired from the large number of foes. Alice stepped backwards as she realized the Pidgey was escaping, "David, The Shadow Pidgey escaped." Alice sighed, turning to him.
David had a troubled expression, "You go chase it down. Absol and I got these." Alice nodded and ran off after the Pidgey. She wasn't about to let this one get away. Ratata followed Alice hastily, trying its best to not be left behind. The Pidgey led them straight into Viridian City. Alice ran through the Route connector, past security, and into the city. The Pidgey was taking a rest on the ground underneath a bench, "Ratata! Quick Attack once more!" And with that, Ratata flung himself, full speed, into Shadow Pidgey, slamming it between Ratata's body and a fence.
Shadow Pidgey collapsed on the ground and froze. In a flurry of feathers, it warped into a marble statuette. Alice moved to pick it up, the black aura familiarly rising from the figure, "Ratata, return." Alice ordered, holding up the PokéBall. Alice turned back towards Route 1 and quickly made her way back towards David.
As she approached David and his Absol, they were they were watching the wild Pidgey flying away peacefully. Now that the Shadow Pokémon had been quelled, their hostility faded. David looked up at Alice and returned Absol to his PokéBall, approaching her, "So, did you get the Pidgey?"
"Yep," Alice replied, holding up the statue, "Are the girls okay?"
David looked back at the old man walking back towards Pallet Town with the two little girls, "Yeah, their grandfather is taking them back home."
"Hm…" Alice muttered, "I need to get to the PokéMart so I can buy more PokéBalls, I'm out. That and I need to buy a bag for everything." And with that, the two teens began walking back towards Viridian City.
That night, the two had decided to get a room at the local PokéCenter. They were both exhausted and could barely walk another step. Alice was sitting on her bed, they had gotten separate rooms for obvious reasons. Beside the girl were her two Pokémon. Eevee was curled up by Alice's pillow and Ratata sat watchfully next to Eevee as if he were protecting her. Alice stood and left the room, Eevee and Ratata jumping off the bed quickly to follow her. She walked across the hall and knocked lightly on David's door.
"No answer…" She sighed, looking down at her small Pokémon. Alice attempted to open the door to find it unlocked. Slowly, she pushed the door open, looking around for David. He was nowhere to be seen but Absol was sitting guard in front of the queen sized bed. Eevee and Ratata pushed their way past Alice and made their way into the room and over to Absol. Alice laughed softly to herself and came in as well, shutting the door quietly behind her. She figured David was in the shower as she heard the water running in the bathroom.
Alice sat down on the bed above Absol's head. She placed a hand of the Dark-type's soft head and ruffled his fur. The Pokémon stood and faced Alice then glanced over at the bathroom door as it opened. David came around the corner, scrubbing his hair with a plain white towel. As he tossed it on the ground, he caught sight of Alice, "How'd you get in?"
"Door was open." She answered, stroking Absol's strong back. Eevee and Ratata were sniffing Absol's legs, inspecting the larger Pokémon. Absol shuffled his paws nervously and the smaller creatures moved away from Absol and sat in front of the TV set patiently. Alice stood and nudged Absol aside, "Well, I'll get going. I'll see you in the morning. Come on, guys." Alice walked out of the room, holding the door open for her two Pokémon then led them across the hallway.