Episode 10: 7's Troubles!

Gem and Cal were walking down the path when they saw the grunts from a distance. Anyone else might have thought they were just weirdly dressed people, but Gem recognized the red and blue from a mile away.

"The O8," Gem whispered. She backed into the trees before the grunts saw her and Cal. "Have they invaded the whole town?"

"Impossible," Cal muttered. "At least, not for long. What could they want from Hibiscus Town? Last time they went to the Pokemon Center, which they can find anywhere."

"Cal," Gem realized. "They're going after the Museum!"

"The Museum?" Cal repeated. "But why would they go after it now, rather than before…" It dawned on him. "Cynthia."

"They wouldn't attack the Museum while a Champion was in it," Gem realized. "They'd probably originally planned to attack the Museum, but when they found out Cynthia was there, they went to the Pokemon Center instead!"

"We have to stop them!" Cal said. "There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of Mega Stones in that Museum!"

Together they ran through the forest, snuck past the grunts, and headed for the Pokemon Museum. Sure enough, a couple grunts, along with 1 and 3, stood threatening on the steps of the Museum.

Gem took out her Pokeball and let out Gardevoir.

"Gardvoir," Gem whispered. "Use Hypnosis; on them."

Gem pointed, and Gardevoir (getting the quiet message), silently released small pink balls of energy. The grunts collapsed on the ground, but 1 and 3 would not fall so easily.

"Jellicent, use Bubble!"

"Marowak; Bone Rush!"

1 and 3s' Pokemon were out in a second. Jellicent's Bubbles collided with Gardevoir's Hypnosis. Marowak swiped at the remaining ones.

Gem, Cal, and Gem's Gardevoir stepped out of the shadows.

"Test Subjects 11 and 12," 1 said, whipping his hair back. "We knew you'd show."

"That doesn't mean we can't stop you," Gem said. "Gardevoir; Disarming Voice on all of them!"

Gardevoir let out a scream, her sound waves focusing on 1, 3, and their Pokemon. The O8 struggled and covered their ears.

"Confusion on Marowak and Jellicent! Then Hypnosis again!"

In moments, 1, 3, and their Pokemon were down.

"Good job, Gardevoir," Gem said, but solemnly. What rotten people…

"Go, Gallade," Cal said, letting out the Pokemon.

Together, the four of them entered the Museum. They went straight for Mega Stone Exhibit.

"Quite mysterious," Gem heard 2 mutter as they turned the corner. "Take them all."

"Not so fast!" Cal said. He rounded the corner with his Gallade. "You're not taking anything!"

"Test Subject 11!" 2 cried. Gem hopped up behind Cal. "And 12," he growled.

"My name's Gem," Gem hissed. "Put those Mega Stones back!"

Grunts exchanged glances, and 5 stepped up.

"Nidoking, Nidoqueen, come out! Use Poison Sting!"

"Gallade, Protect!"

Gallade leapt in front of Gardevoir and use Protect against the two Nidos.

"Gardevoir, Psychic!"

Gardevoir stepped up and threw the Nidos against the wall with a loud crash.

"Poison Sting again!"

"Gallade, Night Slash! Both of them!"

With two swipes, the Nidos were knocked out.

"Gardevoir, secure the Mega Stones!" Gardevoir's eyes glowed and the Mega Stones glowed, too. They floated out the O8's hands, out of the exhibit, and moved themselves over to hover around Gardevoir.

"What is going on in here?"

7 walked into the room and paused, his eyes taking in the situation.

"The Test Subjects are causing trouble again," 2 said, chuckling softly.

"I was just about to beat them, 7," 5 said, almost fearfully. "But if you want to help, you're always welcome."

"No point," 7 said. "News of our attack has already spread. The Champion is on his way. Move out."

"You're not going anywhere," Gem said. She and Cal just had to hold them back until the Champion arrived.

The grunts, 2, and 5, looked at 7 apprehensively.

"Weezing, Smokescreen!"

The words sounded fast forward, 7's hands were a blur, Weezing was there one second, smoke was blocking Gem's view the next.

"Gardevoir, hold onto those Mega Stones!" Gem coughed.

"Rufflet!" Cal's voice said from within the smoke, "Clear the smoke!"

Rufflet's breeze picked up. Gem looked around; the O8 had vanished.

"Come on!" Cal shouted. Gem followed him towards the Museum's exit, the O8 couldn't escape again.

They caught them right outside the door. 7 looked back and the others paused, waiting for orders. They were trying to lift their asleep comrades.

"Go ahead," 7 said to the other. "I need to make sure 4 gets out safely."

His friends nodded and ran off.

"Gardevoir, don't let them e—"

"Dusknoir, Shadow Punch!"

A Dusknoir appeared out of nowhere and lunged for Gardevoir. She lifted her hands, about to use Protect, but Dusknoir was too fast and too strong. Gardevoir was sent flying, and then, a second later, Gallade was thrown back by Dusknoir, too.

Determined, Gem drew another Pokeball, but Dusknoir suddenly charged a Shadow Ball and aimed it at her. Gem froze.

7 frowned at her, and then looked at the fleeing O8.

"You know something funny?" 7 said, without looking at them. "I'm the brother of 8. Our leader. I'm 4's bodyguard, even though she'd stronger than me. But neither of them listen to what I have to say."

"What?" Gem said.

"The O8's goal, though a complicated plan, is overall world domination," 7 continued, not paying attention to her. "But you see, I don't get that. Why do we want to rule a world that's sometimes barely worth living in? What would we do with it? What's the point?"

Gem and Cal said nothing, rapt with his words. He was so casually exposing the O8's plans.

"The grunts don't know this, of course," 7 said. "Lower members, like 1 and so on, don't know a lot of the details." 7 looked away from the others, who'd already escaped. He looked at Gardevoir and then Gallade, unconscious on the ground.

"I won't count the loss against you, don't worry," 7 said. He looked at them for a moment with a soft smile before looking away again. "If this were a fair battle with all our Pokemon, then it'd be a loss. But neither of you have reached your full strength yet. I think you two might be successful," he added, looking grim.

"Successful at what?" Cal said finally. "Why are you telling us this? What are the details of your plan? How are you going to dominate the world?"

7 didn't answer for a moment, still looking away. He turned his head to the sky. Gem looked too.

Latias, carrying a large, white orb (it was hard to tell what it was, they were so high) flew overhead. Gem could see a blue figure, 4, riding on it. Two seconds later, they were gone.

7 sighed.

"Dusknoir; Night Shade."

Everything went black.

"Looks like she's waking up. I'll go check on the boy."

Gem opened her eyes and shut them immediately. She was somewhere bright. Where was she? She felt like fighting 7 happened just moments ago, her head was clear, what had happened?

"Where am I?" Gem asked, shielding your eyes.

"You're in the Pokemon Center," a male voice said. "And, as soon as you are able, we need you to tell us exactly what happened."

"The O8," Gem said. "They tried to steal the Mega Stones—we stopped them. But then 7 came, and they escaped. 4 took something; I don't know what. But we can catch them, we can go after them!"

Gem pushed herself up, blinking in the light. Someone put a hand on her shoulder and kept her down.

"We're looking. But you've been out for an hour."

"An hour?!" Gem gasped. She saw a dark figure before her.

"Yes, you were hit with a Night Shade attack. You did a good job protecting the Mega Stones. Only two are missing."

Gem shook her head and finally she saw.

The man before her was huge, easily six feet tall. He had long arms and legs and wore a perfectly clean black suit that squared his shoulders. He had short black hair, and Gem knew who he was.

"Champion Thorn," Gem breathed. It was the Champion of the Flower Region.

Champion Thorn nodded.

"Tell me everything. From the top."

Gem explained as much as she could, from the moment she saw the O8 grunts to when she blacked out. When she was done, Champion Thorn nodded again.

"Thank you," he said. "Do you feel better?"

"I feel perfect," Gem assured him.

"Don't overwork yourself," Thorn said.

"I feel fine," Gem insisted. She stood to prove her point. She felt fully rested and not the least bit hurt or tired. "How can I help?"

"For now, let me return your Pokemon," Champion Thorn said. He flipped open a phone. "Bring it in," he said, then flipped the phone shut.

The door to the room opened and Gardevoir and Gallade entered with Nurse Joy, smiling.

"Gardevoir!" Gem said. She quickly went over and gave Gardevoir a quick hug. "You're all better!"

"They took quite a hit," Nurse Joy said. "But both are strong Pokemon. They're all better now."

"Glad to hear it," Gem said. "Gallade, you're OK, too, that's great!" Gem looked around. "But where's Cal?"

Champion Thorn looked at Nurse Joy, too. Nurse Joy seemed to speak more to him than Gem.

"The boy's fine, all awake now," Nurse Joy said. "Officer Jenny is getting his side of the story."

"Can I see him?" Gem asked.

"It would be best if they weren't interrupted until they're finished," Champion Thorn said. "For now; the public needs a comment. I believe you've been on the news before, correct?"

"Well, it was more like being attacked by questions, if that makes sense," Gem said, startled and flattered that the Champion had seen her on the news.

"You'll be fine," Champion Thorn said. "This way."

He went out the door, and Gem almost laughed out loud when she saw he had to duck through the door. She politely restrained herself.

"Gardevoir; return," Gem said. Gardevoir nodded and went into the Pokeball, and Gallade waited behind as Gem followed the Champion.

Gem's laughter left her when she stepped into the main room of the Pokemon Center. There was an ocean of reporters being held back by a yellow line, all shouting over each other at the sight of Gem.

Gem froze, panicked and overwhelmed by the sounds and flashing lights. Champion Thorn put a hand on her shoulder again.

"This way," he said softly. Gem simply nodded and climbed up the stairs of a stage that had been set up. A few chairs waited for them. Champion Thorn took his and gestured for Gem to sit. He then waited patiently for the crowd to calm down.

Once the reporters were silent, they raised their hands, Thorn called on one.

"Champion Thorn, can you confirm what the O8 stole from the Museum?"

"The Orb of Ancient Stories was stolen; it is a priceless giant stone with every legendary Pokemon painted on it by a past civilization, discovered in the Flower Region by Steven Stone. The Mega Stones were nearly stolen, but the O8 failed to capture most of them."

"How were the Mega Stones kept?" a new reporter asked when called on.

Champion Thorn looked at Gem expectantly, waiting for her to answer. Gem took a deep breath.

"My friend Cal and I fought the O8," Gem said. The reporters gasped and waved their hands more fervently.

"Where is the young trainer, Cal?"

"Cal woke up later than Gem here. He is with Officer Jenny right now, and will be joining us soon," Champion Thorn said.

"How were you knocked out?"

Gem shuffled in her seat, very uncomfortable with all these eyes on her. She felt so small. She couldn't hide her discomfort from the crowd.

"A member of the O8, 7, had a Dusknoir. It used Night Shade on us."

"You and the trainer Cal have run into the O8 more than anyone. Why do you think that is?"

"I—I don't know," Gem said. "The first time was just an accident. The second time, 2 was looking for trainers outside the Rose City Gym. After that, I guess we were just there."

"Champion Thorn, you said the O8 failed to capture "most of" the Mega Stones. Which ones were stolen?" Champion Thorn looked grim.

"The Latiosite and the Latiasite are both unaccounted for," Champion Thorn said.

"Does this confirm that the O8 not only have Latias, but Latios as well?"

"It does look that way. They may have just been unable to get anything else, but we're not discarding any theories."

"If the legendary Pokemon are truly in possession of the O8, do you believe they were captured or joined willingly?"

"As I have said before, Latios disappeared first. Latias was seen flying franticly over forests, presumably looking for Latios. These sightings abruptly stopped a few days later."

Gem heard a door opening and looked back. A few second later, she saw Cal climbing up the stage with Officer Jenny.

"Cal!" Gem said. "You're OK?"

"Fine," Cal said, waving a hand. He sat down next to her and sighed a little, like he wasn't looking forward to answering questions.

Gem, however, was interested. These reporters were asking a lot of her own questions. She'd been having trouble keeping up with the news on her journey.

Her interest vanished with the next question.

"Are you and Cal in a romantic relationship?"

Cal and Gem went deadly silent.

Why, why, why, cried a voice in Gem's head. Oh, this was so awkward. She'd never thought of Cal like that.

Have I? whispered another voice. Gem remembered when Cal had lost his gym battle, and that weird feeling she'd had…like electricity.

"No," Cal said firmly.

"Absolutely not," Gem said at the same time. They glanced at each other, Gem felt her checks redden a little with embarrassment, and felt immensely guilty and awkward. She looked away.

"We're only traveling together as friends," Gem elaborated. "And because our Gardevoir and Gallade—" Gem didn't want to think the word "love" after that question "-really like each other."

"Please, no more personal questions," Champion Thorn said.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Gem thought. Although—was he smiling, a bit?

"In fact," Champion Thorn continued. "I think we're done for today. No more questions. We need to get to work."

Author's Notes: I think showing news reports and stuff like that make the world seem more real, don't you think? And it was also fun to put Gem and Cal on the spot, and to bring in Champion Thorn. But what are the O8 up to... ;)

Gem and Cal are getting stronger!