Ollie was waiting outside his cottage as Farin dismounted unsteadily from Agni. His hair was longer than the last time they'd seen each other, dirty blonde curls that spilled onto his shoulders and fuzzed up on top. Ollie was taller than Farin remembered, and his arms were taut with a strange new layer of muscle. The face that had always been grinning during their university days was now wracked with worry, and his lips were raw as if he'd been biting them.
He rushed forward to greet her as she returned Agni to the ball.
Suki flopped down onto the grass, worn out from the flight – without a spare pokeball, the delcatty had spent the ride pressed tightly to Farin's chest.
Ollie held out his arms. "Farin," he said, and the two friends embraced. His body exuded the dense, woody smell of mushrooms. Over his shoulder, Farin could see the forest bristle behind the tiny house. A row of berry bushes was planted out the front, and a stone well was sunk into the ground to the side.
"It's been too long," she said, releasing him.
"But you haven't changed a bit," he replied. The ghost of a smile passed over his lips.
"Where's Rafael?"
"He's down in the town, handing out posters. Oh, Farin, I wanted your visit to be relaxed, I took the weekend off and everything, but..." his lip quivered and his eyes grew moist. "Moonchild has disappeared."
"What happened?"
"Come inside, and I'll tell you everything."
...
The two friends sat down on opposite sides of the wooden table as Ollie poured tea. Heady steam rose in thick tendrils from the dark liquid; Farin smiled and took a tiny sip – she didn't much care for tea. The brew tasted bitter and fruity.
Ollie took a deep breathe, holding his cup between both hands. Inhaling the woody aroma, he began to recount events. "So yesterday morning I got up to do my yoga and get Moonchild his breakfast, but when I went into his bedroom he wasn't there. So I think, ok, that's not so strange, he sometimes wakes up early and goes to sit beneath the berry plants. But I go outside, and he's not there either."
Farin nodded.
"At this point I'm feeling a twinge of panic – I wake Rafael, and we search all over the house, the garden, and then into the forest. But he's nowhere to be found, and I can't help but think the worst. What if somebody has taken him?"
"Why would somebody want to steal a squirtle?"
Ollie wiped his eyes. "That's what Rafael said – he thinks Moonchild's just gotten lost. But I know he's been abducted – if he'd wandered off, he'd have come back by now. He always does. We try to give him a free run, you know, let him go where he pleases. I don't believe in pokeballs."
Farin shifted uneasily, feeling the smooth weight of Agni, Rae and Lorcan inside her pocket. Suki was outside in the garden, pouncing on dust motes.
"I think he's been taken by poachers."
"Poachers? But why would they steal a squirtle from someone's house, when they could just catch them on the beach?"
Ollie flinched. "It's Moonchild's special shell – I bet it's worth a lot more on the black market than a regular one. I can't even bear to think about it." He looked up at the wall, on which hung a small framed photograph; he and Rafael with their arms around one another, and Moonchild sitting on the sandy beach in front of them. From the angle the picture had been taken, the central segment of Moonchild's shell was just visible; unlike the dun brown of the rest of it, the middle shone with a pearlescent rainbow, smooth like the inside of an oyster shell. It was a strange but beautiful mutation.
"But how would a poacher know about his shell, or where to find him?"
"It's the logo of our business – Tiny Turtle Tinctures. The rainbow shell is a recognisable image. Plus, we go to the beach all the time – everybody in town knows Moonchild."
"Well, in that case, finding him might be easier – Butwal Island isn't that big. Someone must have seen him."
Ollie smiled weakly, but his eyes were still wet and his hands rested limply on the table.
...
Ollie and Farin walked into town to meet Rafael; they left Suki behind, in case Moonchild came back. The cottage was positioned atop a rolling grassy hill that led right down to the main beach, and from which they could see across the town. Farin marvelled at all the new buildings; sand-blasted surfaces and twining ornate windows. Tall palm trees swayed along a wide boulevard.
Rafael was handing out flyers at the beachfront. They had little black and white pictures of Moonchild on them, his rainbow shell rendered in grayscale. Rafael waved when he saw them, and greeted Farin with a hug.
"No luck, honey," he said to Ollie. "Either nobody's seen him, or if they have, they aren't talking."
Ollie groaned.
Farin was about to say something when a loud clanging rang out from the end of the boulevard, followed by the rumble of an engine. A bright red fire-truck screeched passed, sirens blaring, with a team of wartortles hanging from the side. The three friends watched it skid around a corner, out of sight.
"I thought only Ascorbia had a pokemon fire-fighting brigade," Farin said.
"They did – only now Butwal's becoming more built-up, so they've just introduced one here too," said Rafael.
"That's good."
Rafael pursed his lips. "To be honest, I think they're a bit enthusiastic."
"What do you mean?"
"We don't get many fires here, and when we do they're mostly up in the mountains, started by lightning after a storm. But the first sniff of smoke and that brigade is off, making a terrible noise and tearing through the town. Things used to be so peaceful."
Ollie squeezed his partner's side. "Rafael's just whiny because the island is getting more developed."
"I liked it when it was just trees and mountains."
"I know you did, honey, you old coot."
Rafael narrowed his eyes. "Having said that, there was a more serious fire a couple of weeks ago, out at the docks. It seems like the more people come here, the more this town becomes dangerous; I heard that Team Rocket started the fire."
Farin felt her pulse quicken. "Team Rocket? But what are they doing in the archipelago?"
Rafael shrugged. "Same thing they do everywhere; cause trouble, make it so that ordinary people can't walk around without feeling afraid. The more this island gets 'developed' with beachside apartments and tourist attractions, the more crime there is."
"You've got a chip on your shoulder, my love," said Ollie.
Rafael stared darkly at the nearest hotel. "Something rotten is going on, and I don't like it. The poachers are back too, and in force."
At the mention of poachers Ollie's expression became grave.
"So what's the next plan for finding Moonchild?" Farin asked.
"Well," said Ollie, "I thought that you could fly up on Agni and see if you can spot him from above – if he's just wandered away somewhere, you might be able to spot him. And if not..." He trailed off.
"While you do that, we'll keep asking around," Rafael added, nodding towards the bustling beachfront.
...
Agni wasn't pleased to be in the air again, but it was lighter without having to carry Farin, Suki and the backpack. As they soared above the treetops, Farin leaned as far as she dared across the charizards neck, scanning the ground. There were hikers and trainers crawling around in the grass, couples picnicking on the mountainside, but no squirtle with a rainbow shell. A thin spiral of smoke rose from the edge of town, the red of the firetruck visible below. When they landed back at the cottage an hour later, Ollie was sitting with his head in his hands, staring at the dirt. Rafael stood gazing out to sea.
"Nothing," said Farin, sliding off Agni's back.
Ollie shut his eyes. "Maybe your espeon could help," he said, without looking at her. "She could use psychic to find out where Moonchild is."
"That's not how it works."
"Then I don't know what to do."
He started to cry.
"Hey, don't do that, it'll be ok," said Rafael, squatting beside him. "Wherever he is, Moonchild will be ok. I know it. He's a tough little cookie."
"He's a delicate flower. He hates fighting, you know that – if someone has abducted him, he wouldn't even think to retaliate."
Farin stood by awkwardly. She felt terrible, not knowing what to do. From the vantage point of Ollie and Rafael's garden, she could see people walking around on the beach, their shadows lengthening on the baking sand. Flashes of light bounced off the ocean; Ascorbia Island was a smudge of blue on the horizon.
"I'm going to go back into town," she said, feeling for the pokeballs in her pocket. "I'll find those poachers, and I'll get Moonchild back."
Ollie looked up at her, his face streaked with tears. "I'll come with you."
Farin shook her head. "I think it's best if I go alone – people know you, so they'll know why you're looking for Moonchild. But if I go down to the docks, I can say that I'm looking to buy a rare pokemon shell, and the poachers might not suspect anything. I'm a stranger here."
The two men nodded. Ollie's face was smudged with dirt from his fingers. He stood up to hug her. "Thank you," he whispered.
Farin smiled, but her stomach fluttered with unease.