Whitney scowled angrily at Zak as he began to remove the tent from the soft, Ilex grass. Neither of them spoke a word, and the atmosphere was stuffy and uncomfortable as a result.
Eventually, Whitney braved the silence.
"I want an explanation, Zak!" she yelled. "Who are you? Who was that kid? What is going on here!?"
"I didn't ask you to come with me." Zak replied cooly, not taking his eyes off the task at hand.
"That's not the point!" Whitney snapped back. "I have a right to know what I've let myself in for!"
Zak folded the collapsed tent sheet up into Whitney's bag and handed it to her before turning south towards Azalea town and continuing down the forest track.
"It'd be best if you turned back now, before things get worse." Zak called over his shoulder as he walked. "I don't want you getting hurt because of me."
Whitney paused for a moment, backpack in hand, watching as Zak made his way further down the path towards Azalea until he was finally out of view. She stood there in silence for a moment, before slinging her backpack over her shoulder and turning back north towards her home city of Goldenrod.
"Hmph." she sniffed as she went.
It wasn't that Zak wanted Whitney to leave, nor that he thought she was getting in the way. He was angry at himself for putting the girl in danger, and for that reason he refused to allow her to travel with him. Though it may have seemed a harsh way to leave her, Zak believed that it was for the best.
He continued walking, and as he did so, he removed the empty Great ball from his belt, the one which Tanner had swapped for Scizor's, and held it in his palm. He stared at it hard as he walked along the dusty path, the sunlight beating down on him from above.
The forest was warm today, and it was the perfect temperature for a relaxing stroll. As he stared down at the ball in his hand, he wondered what Azalea Town would be like, and what kind of Gym leader awaited his challenge there.
His mind also began to consider the possible reasons Tanner would want his father's sword. Could he have anything to do with Knite, the boy that attacked his home village? What exactly was his father involved in? And where was he now? Hopefully, as he continued on his journey, he would find the answers to all of these questions.
Tanner may have taken Scizor, but he would undoubtedly be back to try and take Zak's father's sword again, and when he returned, Zak was determined to be ready.
Nidoqueen was strong, but it would be unfair to assume that she would be able to hold off all of Tanner's Pokemon by herself. He would have to start training his Pokemon harder than ever if he was to retake Scizor.
Zak sighed and looked up at the trees as he walked, replacing the Great ball on his belt.
It was another three hours before the trees finally began to part and gave way to a grassy clearing, upon which stood a nondescript wooden sign which declared 'Azalea Town - Ilex Forest' in small, solid-black print. Looming over the sign was a small entrance hut, similar to the one Zak had used to enter the city of Goldenrod.
Cautiously trying to cover up his sword, Zak entered the building and walked through the narrow hallway, trying hard not to look suspicious in front of the guard, who gave the boy a casual glance before returning to his newspaper. Zak looked towards the exit of the building, beyond which he could clearly see several other buildings and houses standing.
"Perfect!" Zak exclaimed to nobody in particular as he left the gateway building, his face cheering up a bit, glad to finally be out and away from that forest.
He looked down towards the Pokeballs strapped around his waist.
"I'd better get you guys to the Pokemon Centre. You've had a pretty long journey too..."
With his course of action decided, Zak headed into the town, searching for the nearest Pokemon Centre as he went.
Azalea was a quaint little town, almost a village in terms of it's small size and lack of grandeur. The air was crisp and refreshing, free of pollution and filled with the gentle scent of pine. The small springs dotted in-between cottages had crisp, crystal-clear waters, and the Pokemon of the forest could be seen playfully dashing between trees, leaping out onto the short grass before scurrying away into the thick shrubbery again.
As he walked, Zak recalled Mr. Lunata's words in Ecruteak, remembering that one of his father's former colleagues lived in Azalea. He sighed as he thought of this - whilst Azalea was smaller than most, it would still be like finding a needle in a haystack, and Zak had a feeling that a Watcher of Raikou would not want to be found anyway.
Eventually Zak reached the Azalea Town Pokemon Centre and, in no major hurry, made his way through the automatic doors, following the red carpet up to the main desk, where a beautiful, yet surprisingly familiar figure awaited him.
"Uh..." Zak murmured out loud for a second, forgetting himself.
Nurse Joy smiled at him, looking slightly amused.
"I'm... Beginning to see a pattern develop here..." he sighed, handing over the five Pokeballs on his belt. "I'd like my Pokemon healed, please."
"Right away, sir." Joy replied in her (or rather, what Zak assumed, her sister's) usual happy way.
The nurse placed the five balls on a tray, which she handed to a nearby Chansey. With a happy smile and a squeaky confirmation of it's cargo, the pink humanoid Pokemon dashed off into another room behind the main desk.
His Pokemon handed in, Zak headed towards one of the vacant videophone stalls positioned against the back wall.
"I should probably call home." he told himself, picking up the receiver and leaning his neck over the device as he tapped in the number for his home.
The buttons clicked pleasantly as he punched them in; click, click, click, until the full number was present. With a final look of confirmation on the screen to make sure he hadn't made a mistake, Zak pushed the large button with a green phone icon embossed on it to initiate the call.
The screen faded to grey for a moment as the earpiece hissed out a dialing tone, followed by a long ringing noise interspersed by pauses. Eventually the screen flickered to life once more, and Zak saw his stepmother's face appear before his eyes.
"Uh... Hey, Mom." he stammered at first. "How are you?"
A look of joy spread over his mother's face as she saw her stepson on the videophone screen. She was quite pretty, with a somewhat rounded face and large, shining brown eyes that exuded a feeling of calm and innocence. Her hair was dark brown and fashioned into two large pigtails on either side of her head, though she was quite short at just five feet and four inches tall.
"Zak!" she exclaimed in response. "How are you!? Where are you now? Have you found your father yet?"
"Uh, no, not exactly..." Zak began, trying to remember all the questions being thrown at him before figuring out the answers. "I'm good, I'm in Azalea Town right now. I've already earned two Pokemon Gym badges! How are things back home?"
"Oh, Zak, that's great!" his mother replied, grinning. "Your Dad will be so proud! Things are going good here, the rebuilding process is taking a while, mostly because it takes so long to ship the materials we need out here. The kitchen's almost redone though. Have you caught a Pikachu yet? I'd just love to see one of those for real!"
"No, not yet, Mom." Zak laughed. "I've caught a couple of new Pokemon; I'm glad the re-building is going well. How's Sora?"
"Oh, your sister's doing fine. She's a little bored without you or Nidoqueen to bother, but she seems to be getting on with the neighbour's son okay, so that's good."
"Hey, Mom..." Zak muttered, a tone of seriousness now entering his voice. "Would it be okay if I..." his mother peered closer to the video screen as he spoke. "...If I stayed in Johto for a while longer? There are... Things that I feel I have to do here. Before I come home, I mean." His mother smiled at this before answering.
"Son, that's perfectly okay! You stay as long as you need to. The villagers miss your work, and I wish I could see you, but if you feel you need to stay, then you have our blessing. Just one condition, okay?"
"Hm?" Zak asked, now finding himself moving closer to the screen involuntarily.
"Make sure to call us!" his mother said before grinning again. Zak chuckled, leaning back in his chair.
"Will do, Mom. Well, talk to you later." he said his goodbyes before hanging up the phone, repositioning the device back onto it's hook as the screen returned to it's original, blank state.
It was just as he put the phone down when he began to overhear a heated conversation taking place behind him. Glancing into the reflection of the metal change box in the lower right-hand corner of the videophone, he saw a boy and a girl, both looking to be about the age of fifteen.
The boy had pale blue hair and a lime-green headband covering his forehead. He was also wearing a plain, black hoody with pale green pants that were covered in numerous small tears and grass stains. The girl standing next to him was slightly taller, standing around five feet and six inches in height, with long, flowing red hair fashioned into a lengthy ponytail which trailed down her back. She wore a black t-shirt with the official Johto Pokemon League symbol proudly displayed in white on the left breast, and to cover her legs she wore dark green trousers with an army camouflage pattern.
Zak sat in silence for a moment, listening in.
"Bugsy just left this morning to see if he could help!" the boy explained, seeming to be both worried and excited in equal amounts. "If a leader has to leave his Gym to investigate, something's gotta be wrong!"
The girl chuckled at this.
"Look, Alex, you're way too jumpy about this." she responded cooly. "Blackrock is just a legend, it's probably just some lame trainer trying to make a name for himself or scare gullible villagers like you."
Alex growled at this.
"I'm not gullible!" he insisted, his anger rising. "Don't you remember what happened with Team Rocket here a few months ago!? Maybe they're still around causing trouble!"
The girl's eyes lit up at this prospect.
"Team Rocket, you say?" she repeated, apparently coming to life. "If that's the case, and we go and beat them, we'll be town heroes!" She leaned in closer and began to whisper something.
"What are you thinking, Tori!?" Alex cried, drawing the attention of a few curious trainer faces from around the room. The two stood in silence for a minute, somewhat embarrassed, before the rest of the room went back to their own conversations and trading card battles.
"...We could get in real big trouble!"
"Hey," Zak called over in greeting as he approached the two trainers. "Did I hear that right? The Gym leader is out of town?"
Alex stuttered before answering, as though he had just been caught in the headlights.
"Yeah..." he mumbled under his breath. "But it's no big deal! Nothing special... What's it to you, anyway?"
"I'm Zak," Zak replied, smiling warmly. "I came to Azalea to battle the Gym leader, but if he's out I guess I'm out of luck." he paused before continuing subtly. "...Unless you know where he went..."
"Uh, no, I..." Alex began, before receiving a nudge in the ribs from the girl beside him.
"Aww, come on, Alex, it'll be fun!" she laughed. "We'll be heroes!" she turned to face Zak before introducing herself, extending her hand. "My name's Tori, and this is Alex. Nice to meet you!"
Zak took her hand firmly, surprised by her strong grip. He nodded to Alex, who seemed a bit more reluctant than his female colleague.
"So do you know where he went?" Zak asked, trying to get back on subject.
"Bugsy?" Tori confirmed the Gym leader's name. "He's at Union Cave, right Alex?"
She gave her friend a wink as she spoke, causing him to flush a light red.
"Maybe we should talk about it outside..." Alex suggested. Zak and Tori both nodded their approval and the two local trainers began to head towards the exit.
"I'll meet you outside." Zak explained, making his way over to the front desk. "I've just gotta grab my Pokemon first." The other two exited via the automatic doors and perched themselves on a rock just outside the building.
After a few minutes Zak appeared outside. Nurse Joy had explained to him that Nidoqueen, Pick and Torch required more time to recuperate, so he was forced to just take Ditto and Tauros for now.
He couldn't afford to miss out on a chance to meet with the infamous Team Rocket, so time was of the essence. Perhaps they held a clue regarding his father's whereabouts... He would just have to wait and find out. With two other trainers beside him, he wasn't too worried about leaving three of his Pokemon at the Pokemon Centre. At least there he knew they would be in good hands for the time-being.
As the three walked through the village, past the old well and along the short route thirty-three, Tori explained all about Bugsy, the bug Pokemon Gym leader of Azalea town, and described her own Pokemon journey.
It turned out that Alex was a fledgling Pokemon trainer who was an apprentice to the local woodcutter. Alex told Zak about his master, and of Kurt, the resident Pokeball creator. He explained that Kurt's son currently worked for Silph Co.: a large and powerful organisation that studied and produced numerous Pokemon-related items, such as the famed 'Master Ball'. It was also the very same corporation that Zak's father officially worked for.
Bugsy, Kurt and the woodsman had all gone to Union Cave in order to confront 'Blackrock', who, according to local folklore, was a large, black-coloured Onix which guarded Union Cave from outsiders. Recently hikers and travelers had complained about sudden rock-slides and strange, frightening roars echoing throughout the caverns of the underground route.
"So nobody's ever actually seen Blackrock?" Zak asked, curious about whether or not this legend was true.
"Of course not!" Tori laughed, stretching her arms around behind her head lazily. "Blackrock's just a local fairy-tale that's been around since before I was even born!"
"It's obviously Team Rocket causing trouble again!" Alex chimed in. "They were here a few months ago, stealing Slowpoke and selling their tails on the black market!"
Zak pondered this for a moment. He'd heard of Slowpoke before, but why anyone would want one of their tails was beyond him. Whatever the reason, this Team Rocket sounded ruthless and uncaring about whether or not they hurt Pokemon. And that was something Zak didn't like the sound of; something that both Knite and Tanner were probably a part of.
Finally the three of them made it to the entrance to Union Cave. The doorway was small and narrow, but possible for a human to get through without too much difficulty. Peering inside, the shadows completely blotted out any sources of light and the air seemed horribly cold.
"It's way too dark to see anything!" Alex complained, backing away from the entrance. "Maybe we should just go back and leave it to Bugsy..."
"No way!" Tori stubbornly insisted. "Just leave it to me! Go, Elekid!"
Tori threw down a Pokeball onto the the grass, and from the light appeared a small, humanoid Pokemon, standing around two feet tall and covered with black stripes across it's bright yellow body.
"Elekid, we need you to use Flash and light up that cave!" Tori commanded.
Elekid nodded, fearlessly jumping through the entrance. There was a long pause, and then a sudden spark of bright energy flowed out from the tunnel.
Zak peered into the cave and there, standing proudly, was Elekid, bright electricity flickering between it's tall, rounded ears.
"You guys ready?" Tori called behind her as she entered. Alex and Zak looked at each other for a moment.
"After you..." Alex offered.
Zak cautiously entered the cavern, followed closely by Alex. As the three of them walked along the chilly pathways, a shiver ran down Zak's spine.
'I'm sure glad Whitney isn't with me this time...' he thought to himself. 'She'd hate this...'