Chapter 12
"Well, Ian, we finally meet again!" Leo said.
"I know," I said. "It has been awhile."
"Now we finally get a chance to have our long overdue battle. Hope you've been keeping that Buizel of yours up to shape."
"That's what I was doing before you showed up. Didn't want it to fall behind with the rest of the team."
"Good. Then let's get started now, shall we?!" Leo then said as he tossed his Poké Ball, calling out a small black bird Pokémon. It even looked like it's got a witch's hat on its head.
"Well, what do we have here?" I said as I pulled out my Pokédex.
"Murkrow: The Darkness Pokémon. A Dark and Flying Type," The Pokédex read. "Many people detest Murkrow due to it being known as a sign of bad luck. It has a strong liking toward shiny objects, and will do anything to get ahold of them."
"Very sinister," I said.
"Bui! Bui!" Buizel was repeating as it was throwing air punches.
"Hey, you'll get a turn soon," I said to Buizel as I rested a hand on its head.
"Bui…" Buizel said in disappointment.
"Don't worry," I said. "I promise. Just relax, okay?"
The weasel Pokémon nodded at me, and turned to the battlefield to watch. I get that it's itching to battle, but I don't think it would be a good idea to battle Murkrow. Plus I would like it to take a break from the training we had just did before Leo arrived.
"Then in that case, Luxio, you're up first!" I said as I threw my Poké Ball, calling out my first Pokémon.
"Ah, looks like your Shinx evolved," Leo complimented. "That's nice to see. Let's see what kind of surprises you can come up with for us."
"You want it, you got!" I said. "Luxio, use Spark!"
I've never seen a Murkrow in battle before, so I gotta watch carefully at what it does. Yes, I have the advantage, but Leo could have a few things up his sleeve that I don't know about, so I have to be careful.
"Perfect," Leo said to himself. "Murkrow, Payback."
I think I've heard of this move before. Spark did a pretty massive amount of damage to Murkrow, so I would assume Payback will do even more. And it looks like it did.
"Ouch, that's gonna leave a mark," I said.
"It's all in the name dude," Leo said. "You hit hard, we'll hit harder. Dead simple."
"Well, that escalated quickly. Luxio, use Charge then."
I don't know if Murkrow has any special attacks, so we might as well prepare ourselves for that possibility. Plus, if we can set ourselves up just enough, then we should be able to finish Murkrow with just one Spark instead of multiple.
"Murkrow, Assurance," Leo commanded.
"Dodge it!" I quickly said.
Considering how much that Payback did, I don't know if we can take another one of those kind of hits. At this point, might as well be cheap and set up for a nuke. Or so they say.
"Use Charge one more time," I said to Luxio.
We should be in good shape now. But if we don't knock out Murkrow with this double-charged Spark, then a Payback after that definitely will. I'm gonna have to hope for a crit to go along with it just for good measure, but that's a stretch.
"I think I know what he's doing," Leo said to himself. "Murkrow, use Assurance again."
This time, Murkrow did do some damage. I think he's going back and forth between that and Payback because whatever Murkrow's other moves are aren't very effective on Luxio. Regardless, we have to go for Spark now if we're gonna keep a distant lead.
"Put it into high-gear Luxio," I said to my Pokémon. "Nuke it with Spark!"
Super effective attack, boosted two times with Charge, yeah. This'll definitely be a knock-out. Don't know why I was worrying so much that this wouldn't finish it if even just one did as much damage as it did.
"Dammit," Leo said under his breath as he put Murkrow back in its Poké Ball. "Should've saw that coming. But I didn't."
"Eh, there's always next time," I said. "I just didn't wanna take a chance with Payback."
"I can tell. Cheap nuke, but still nice and powerful. Now I see why Jill enjoys battling you from time to time."
"I'm sure she's told you about all the training that we do together."
"She tells me basically everything. She really does care a lot for you, and vice versa." Argh, sometimes I wonder why I talk with him if he is trying to taunt me with Jill. Yeah, that wasn't a taunt, but he's going there.
"You're not wrong."
"Hehe. I would love to have this battle go for a bit longer, but this is gonna have to be my last Pokémon. Kirlia, I need your help!" Leo said as he threw his Poké Ball, calling out his next Pokémon.
"That looks cute," I complimented as I pulled out my Pokédex.
"Kirlia: The Emotion Pokémon, and the evolved form of Ralts," The Pokédex read. "A Psychic and Fairy Type. Using its highly developed brain, Kirlia uses the horns on top of its head to strengthen its psychokinetic powers. In order for Kirlia to use that power, it requires exposure of its Trainer's cheerful spirits."
"Hmm," I was thinking to myself. "Luxio, you should take a rest for now."
Though this is definitely a quick battle, I wanna make sure that Buizel gets some time to battle, just like I promised. Plus, it gives Luxio a chance to catch its breath for now. Double win if you ask me.
"Buizel, you're up bud," I said as I lowered to my knee to look at Buizel.
Buizel was so excited to get onto the battlefield. It has such a desire for battling, that it enjoys things like even training. It would make me feel bad if I didn't let it battle at all during this battle.
"Well someone's excited," Leo pointed out.
"You're telling me," I responded.
"Now I'm curious to see how strong it is. Kirlia, Magical Leaf."
Going for a super effective move right away instead of setting up or something? That's gonna be concerning for Buizel, and if Kirlia is able to set up at all, then we could be in even bigger trouble.
"I see how it is," I said. "Buizel, use Water Gun."
As great as Buizel is, it doesn't have the best Special Attack, meaning that Water Gun won't be able to hit for very much. But I'm gonna have to do some experimenting with Buizel to see which moves do better. That way, it can help me get an idea of what kind of strategies I can come up with going forward.
"Use Calm Mind," Leo commanded his Pokémon.
Kirlia seemed so calm when using this move. When it did so, both of its Special stats got increased. Somehow. It is a Psychic-Type after all, so it's expected that they'll do crazy stuff like that. That doesn't make me any less confused however.
"That's very bad," I said. "Buizel, see how much Swift will do."
Just as I had feared, Swift didn't do a lot at all. It probably did just as much as Water Gun did before Kirlia used Calm Mind. Now I'm worried how much Magical Leaf will do now.
"Just as I had hoped," Leo said to himself. "Kirlia, use Draining Kiss."
That move did quite a bit, allowing Kirlia to get quite a bit of its health back. I'm still questioning as to how Draining Kiss does special damage even though it looks like it could be a physical attack.
"Oh, this isn't good at all," I said. "This went south very quickly."
"Seems your Buizel isn't very fit for fighting special attackers like my Kirlia," Leo said. "Why do you have two special attacks on a physical attacker like Buizel?"
"Those were the moves that it had when I caught it. There aren't a lot of moves that it can learn at the moment. And the physical attacks that it has right now aren't very powerful."
"So what? Even an Aqua Jet would most likely do more than a Water Gun from your Buizel."
"How could you be so sure about that?"
"I have my reasonings. What I do know is that I got you stumped real good right here. So Ian, what's your next move?"
Leo has me cornered. No matter what move I go for next, it won't be a KO. But whatever move comes from Kirlia will be a KO. I'm tempted to switch back to Luxio, but if Luxio gets knocked out by Kirlia right now, then I'm screwed.
"Crap," I said to myself. "What do I even do?"
My Z-Ring started to glow, and Buizel looked back and nodded at me. We haven't done much Z-Move training at all since I caught Buizel, or even when I got the Waterium Z for that matter. However, using my Z-Move right here could make or break this round. It's a huge risk, but I think I'm gonna have to take it if I'm gonna let Buizel finish it off.
"You sure about this?" I asked Buizel. "We haven't done much training at all."
"Bui Bui!" Buizel firmly responded.
I looked down at my Z-Ring, then back at the sea weasel Pokémon. "Ok then," I said. "Then let's give it a shot." All or nothing now. Gonna have to cross my fingers and hope for the best.
I will say though, the pose for the Water-Type Z-Move is very awkward for a guy like me. This waving that I have to do with my arms is gonna take some getting used to for sure. And I thought I was gonna screw up the end part, but it looks like I didn't as the power was transmitting just fine.
"LET'S GO BUIZEL!" I shouted.
"Oh my," Leo said. "I gotta see this."
"Our strong bond shall be turned into the ultimate strength!" I said. "Use Hydro Vortex!"
So far, everything's going smooth. Buizel formed the whirlpool just fine, but things started to fall apart when it was about to launch it. The whirlpool collapsed, causing all of the water to fall right on top of Buizel, which made it fall to the ground.
"Buizel, no!" I said in shock.
"Oh!" Leo said. "Now's our chance Kirlia! Use Magical Leaf!"
Because Hydro Vortex failed, that left Buizel very vulnerable, which Leo clearly took advantage of. Kirlia's attack also landed as a crit, easily knocking out Buizel. I think that crit might not have mattered given that Kirlia has a boosted Special Attack after using Calm Mind prior.
"Buizel…" I said as I walked to it. "Sorry bud. I really thought we had it this time."
Buizel felt just as bad. I really did think that all the training we've been doing recently was enough to finally perfect the Water-Type Z-Move. I guess not then.
"Oh my," Leo said. "I don't think I've ever seen a failed Z-Move before. Guess it is possible that you can fail them."
"Yeah, sadly that is the case," I said. "I haven't had Buizel for very long; Got it around the time I was challenging the Westbrook Gym. It was only a couple weeks ago when we finally started training to perfect the Water-Type Z-Move. I guess we're gonna need even more time to practice it."
"That's rough dude. If it took you that long to start your training, then what took you so long?"
"Lots of things got in the way. Team Space, Gym Battles, watching Jill's Trials, school, and so on."
"Dude, you need to organize your time better. I get that you and Jill enjoy watching each other at your respective Challenges, but think about the potential time you're losing to raise your own Pokémon."
"I think I've been doing a pretty decent job at that."
"Well, seems you need to do more."
"At least you're not in school and I am. Trying to manage that and my Pokémon training at the same time is not as easy as you might think."
"Been there, done that. I really couldn't care about college after I graduated high school because I already knew what my future was gonna contain."
"If you say so."
"Are you doubting me?!"
"No, I believe you."
"Then what's with the sass, man?! Like, jeez!"
"Not meaning to be sassy. It's just you were starting to cop an attitude."
"Excuse me?! I'm starting to cop an attitude with you?!"
"Calm down Leo. You're getting worked up over nothing."
"You're calling this nothing?!"
"Listen, I wouldn't talk like this just to piss you off. But how would Jill feel if she saw you like this?"
"She's used to this. So leave her out of this!"
"What? She's used to you having this kind of temper? Man, if you are not going to fix that, then she won't wanna be with you."
"She's been helping me with personal problems for longer than you've been here!"
"Is that actually true, or are you just saying that just to defend yourself?"
"That is legit dude! And I'm not going to say a word about that because it's personal stuff!"
"That's very vague if you ask me."
"Look dude, we got a whole lot more time to argue about this, but in the middle of our battle isn't the proper time."
"Whoa. What's with you? It's like you go from trying to be supportive, to all fiery, then to this. Are these mood swings common for you?"
"Yeah, unfortunately. But I have been telling the truth the whole time."
I have my doubts here; I still feel suspicious about Leo. I don't wanna go behind his back, but I'll have to check with Jill to see how she feels about how they're doing at the moment.
"Alright," I said. "If you say that you're telling the truth, then we'll leave it at that."
"Why couldn't we just do that instead of arguing like that?" Leo asked.
"Well, someone wasn't calming down, so the other person had to try and help."
"What?"
"Didn't you hear me?"
"I heard you."
"Ugh. Let's just stop all of this, and finish the battle. Ok?"
"That I can agree with."
"Good. Then let's finish this Luxio," I said as I finally called out my other Pokémon. I don't try to argue with anyone, but if someone like Leo is being stubborn, then that's when I'll have to try and set things straight.
"If there's one thing about your Luxio that I'll never get tired of is seeing the sparkles as it comes out of its Poké Ball," Leo said. "Or for any Shiny Pokémon even. Where did you even find that Luxio?"
"I found it as a Shinx in my backyard," I answered. "But it was severely injured when I found it. Turns out Team Space was trying to catch it, but it managed to escape somehow."
"Hmm. Those guys, huh? I've got a few words to say to them."
"What was that?"
"It was nothing. Carry on."
"Alrighty then. Luxio, use Leer."
Luckily, Calm Mind won't get in the way with our physical attacks. That being said, if the damage Buizel took from Kirlia is anything to come by, then we can't pull any punches. Even if we had the Z-Crystals for Electric and Dark, we can't use them since I wasted it with Buizel.
"Kirlia, Psychic," Leo commanded.
Seems to me that Luxio does have better Special Defense than Buizel, as it took that hit a bit better. But it's hard to tell since Kirlia still has the boosted Special Attack. Well, we do have Charge for that… Wait. That could be the thing that can help us right now.
"Quick Luxio, use Charge!" I said.
"Oh I see where this is going," Leo said. "Kirlia, Calm Mind!"
Crap. If we keep using Charge, then he'll keep using Calm Mind. Enough to finish Luxio with one hit. I probably should've gone for another Leer then use Charge. Can't go back now. Gotta hope for the best.
"Shoot," I said. "He figured us out. Gotta go for it then. Luxio, use Spark!"
With one Leer and a Charge, this should be enough. It doesn't look like it's got a lot of physical Defense to me. I basically turned into a broken record at this point.
Somehow, that Spark did enough. All the bickering that Leo and I did led up to the battle ending in one hit. Kinda funny actually.
"Well, that was a way to end a battle," Leo said as he walked to Kirlia. "You got good stuff man."
"You do as well," I responded. "Though I do need some more training with Buizel."
"I'm sure it'll turn out fine very soon. Z-Moves are basically a giant nuke button for your Pokémon, but I'm sure you know that already. It's very tempting to use it right away, but you gotta take the time to actually know how to use it properly. Seems to me that you were pressured and resorted to using yours right away."
"How did you figure that out?"
"Like I've said man, I've been a Trainer for longer than you have. It's just things that I noticed throughout our battle."
"Interesting."
"Anyway, you and Jill getting along well?"
"Yeah. We've been hanging out basically every day."
"I see. Well, I gotta take off."
"See you around."
"Same to you. Also, one more thing. I know you like Jill. You can still be her best friend. But when it comes to winning her heart, ain't gonna happen any time soon. As long as I'm around." Then he took off. I didn't wanna say anything out loud until he was actually out of sight.
"Ooh, the fucking nerve of him!" I shouted out loud. "Can't believe that he said that right in front of my face. Doesn't he see that I'm aware of their relationship?! UGH."
I felt Luxio put its paw on my knee, seeing if I was ok. I really shouldn't be letting out my anger like that in public. "I'm ok Luxio," I said to my Pokémon as I was petting it. "I just needed to get that off my chest. That's all."
First thing I need to do now: Stop at the Pokémon Center. Then I might go for a walk after that. I just need to do something to take my mind off of Leo and failing my Z-Move. I might be called crazy for going for a walk in the beginning of November, but I don't feel that cold yet. Plus, going for a drive isn't as relaxing as going for a walk for me.
I started to make my way toward the fairgrounds, but there was a street before the bottom of the hill, and I don't think I've been to that part of town just yet. That kinda put me in the mood to do some exploring for a while. As I made my way through, I passed by a boat shop? Portland really has one of those? Granted, Sunyshore has one since it's right on the coast, but that is odd for a town in central Connecticut.
Past the boat shop, and it was just another neighborhood. Until I reached the bottom of this hill coming up. There was a metal gate at the end of the road, blocking my way. But I was able to get a view of what the place looked like.
"What is this place?" I asked myself. Then I looked down to see if there were any signs, and indeed there was. "Oh, this is the picnic ground that Mike was telling me about. A bit smaller than I thought it was gonna be." I also saw there was a body of water right behind the property, which happened to be the Connecticut River. Right, the river flows through town. That would explain the boat shop back there, and the marina that is further closer to the fairgrounds.
"Well, seems I can't go any farther than this," I said to myself. "Let's see what else is here." As I was making my way back up, I saw a little passageway that caught my eye. "Where does this lead to?" Little did I know that it would lead to a tiny beach. "Huh. Random beach." Then I looked to my side, and see a sewage pipe that leads into the river. "Clearly this is not meant for the public to swim in." I was taking a few steps forward to get a better view, and my foot hit something rather hard. "What was that?!"
Seems whatever I hit was covered by the sand. When I brushed the sand away, I found this very large red-colored gem. Then the gem started to glow very brightly as I picked it up. "What is this thing?" I asked myself. Then I saw a clear reflection of myself that was transitioning into something else before I heard someone behind me.
"Hey, how did you find that thing before us?!" Someone familiar asked.
"Huh?" I asked as I turned around. "Team Space again? Sigh. When are you guys gonna stop following me?"
"And when will you stop getting in our way?!" The female Grunt asked.
"I'd be lying if I told you that I'm not meaning to," I answered.
"Yeah, right," The third Grunt said.
"So hand over that Red Gem now!" The first Grunt demanded.
"You really think I'm just gonna hand you something like that?" I said. "Make me."
"You asked for it!" All three of them said at once.
They weren't such a big deal at all. But they wouldn't leave after I defeated them. They were extra desperate this time around, which is unusual. They really want this gem badly.
"You have beaten us in battle, but that doesn't mean that we're leaving without that gem!" The first Grunt said as he launched at me.
"Whoa!" I shouted as I moved out of his way. "Easy there! You don't wanna get hurt, do you?"
"It doesn't matter as long as long as we get what we came for!" The female Grunt said. "So give it!"
They were really getting physical now. This isn't a Pokémon battle anymore, this has turned into a physical fight. I don't wanna get any of my Pokémon involved as they would get hurt as well.
"This isn't the same Team Space that I know," I said as I was avoiding all three Grunts.
"That's because the Red Gem is crucial to our plans!" The third Grunt said. "You just don't get it!"
"Don't tell him that!" The female Grunt said as she smacked him.
"Well, he already did," I pointed out. "Even if you are right about me not getting it, I still won't hand it over. You guys really can't be trusted with anything."
"That's what you think!" The first Grunt said.
I quickly moved to my left just before he got me, but it seems he anticipated that, as he moved right, managing to get ahold of me.
"Got him!" He said.
"Good!" The third Grunt said.
"I'll take it from him!" The female Grunt said.
"No way, I'm getting it!"
"No, me!"
"Can you two stop and help me?!" The first Grunt snapped. "I'm having a hard time holding onto him!"
I had to get out somehow. I really don't wanna get held into a chokehold. Since he was holding me from behind, I kicked him from behind, right in the special place. That managed to let me get out of his grasp.
"Ok, now you've done it!" The Grunt said as he charged at me.
All three of them were coming at me at once, leaving me very little room to escape. "Oh boy," I said to myself. "Wait, I've got it." Since I still had the gem in my arms, I swung it around to strike all three of them. That sent them all to the ground.
"Too bad the thing you're after is the thing that sent you down!" I said as I started to make a run for it.
"Oh no you don't!" The female Grunt said as she took after me. Then the other two took off shortly after.
She launched herself, bringing me to the ground. The tackle wasn't that hard, but I felt the gem digging into my stomach pretty deeply as it got angled as I was falling. "I got him!" She shouted.
"Get off me!" I said as I tried to fight back. I have no choice; I need help. These guys are not letting up. I rolled onto my back, and gave her an elbow blow so I can get up. Then I called out Monferno.
"You really think bringing out your Pokémon is gonna help you?" The first Grunt asked.
"Say all you want," I said. "I'm not letting you get your dirty hands on this gem."
"Then let's get him all at once!" The third Grunt said. As all three of them charged at me, I jumped onto the gate, then jumped over them.
"How the?!" The first Grunt asked. "Now that's just cheating!"
"I beg your pardon," I responded. "Says the group that's using physical force to get something out of my possession."
"Ugh, now you're getting on our nerves," The female Grunt said.
"Good," I said.
"Take care of the Monferno," The first Grunt said. "I'll handle him."
"Come and get it," I said.
"If you insist," The third Grunt said.
Monferno managed to fight them off pretty well, except the first Grunt. "Why can't you just behave and hand that damn gem over?!" The Grunt demanded. "Give me a hand you two!"
Both Grunts came in assistance, managing to snatch the gem out of my hands. "Heh, got it," The Grunt said. "As for you." He then gave me a hard kick, sending me rolling on the ground. "Team, we're out of here. Mission accomplished."
As they were about to leave, I got back up and took after them. "No you don't!" I said as I was trying to catch up. I launched myself to try and catch the Grunt, but I came up just short, causing me to slide on the ground. "Shit. Monferno, catch them!"
Not even Monferno could catch with them. By the time it caught up to them, they had already taken off. They were gone. With the gem I tried to protect. As they were taking off, I felt like I was having a vision. There was a silhouette of a Pokémon in this vision, and it almost seemed it was trying to talk to me. "Hurry," It said. "You've got to get it back. I need your help..." Then the vision stopped. Who or what was that? It didn't look like any sort of Pokémon that I recognize.
"Holy crap," I said as I slowly got back up. "What just happened?"
"Ferno?" Monferno asked as it walked back to me.
"I'm ok Monferno," I said. "Thanks." But then I felt very sharp pain from my stomach as I tried to stand up straight. "Ack! What in the?!" I grasped onto my stomach quickly, and when I took my hand off, I had a bit of blood on my hand. "Oh no, don't tell me…" I unzipped my coat, and there was a deeper blood stain on my sweatshirt. I then unzipped that, and lifted my shirt, revealing a deep and big stab wound on my stomach. "Oh, this isn't good. Monferno, can you check inside of that building and see if there are any paper towels? I'll get ahold of Jill while I get myself a seat."
I had to call Jill. Texting her won't do me any good, and delay me getting any help.
"What's up Ian?" Jill asked as she picked up the phone.
"Hey, you home?" I asked.
"Yeah, what's wrong?"
"You know where the picnic grounds is, right?"
"Yeah. You need me there?"
"I, uh, kinda need you right now. I had a little encounter with Team Space, and they were…" I suddenly passed out before I could even finish my sentence.
"Ian? Ian? You ok? Ian? Ian?! …"
When I woke up, I found myself in a completely different area, with a bunch of people surrounding me. I felt a little loopy when I woke up, but nice and warm at the same time.
"Oh Ian, you're awake!" Jill said. "Thank goodness."
"You alright now?" Sara asked.
"You had us worried," Lillie said.
"Everyone, I understand you were concerned," Someone else said. "But give him time to regain himself. How do you feel Ian?"
"Huh?" I asked. "Where am I?"
"At the hospital," Jill answered. "You were passed out when we got to you."
"And you lost a pretty decent amount of blood," Hannah added.
"Monferno was trying what it could to make sure you didn't lose anymore," Lillie said.
"Oh, where is Monferno?!" I suddenly asked as I launched myself up, but feeling sharp pain in my arm quickly after.
"Take it easy," Jill said. "You've got an IV in you. Monferno is right here."
"Monferno!" My partner said.
"Oh, phew," I said as I laid back in my hospital bed.
"That was a pretty bad wound you had," Sara said. "What happened to you?"
Before I could even speak, we heard a knock on the door. The doctor stepped out to see who it was, and it was Mike and Katie. They talked for a second before all three of them stepped into the room.
"Hey there bud," Mike said as he and Katie stepped inside. "You doing okay?"
"We heard what happened," Katie said. "Sorry we couldn't come sooner."
"I was just about to explain what happened before you two showed up," I said. "But I'm doing decent. Where's my dad?"
"He'll be here shortly," Dakota said. "He was heading out from work last time I heard from him."
"Good," I said. "Wait, how did you get ahold of my dad's number?"
"Your phone was still unlocked when we got there, so my mom dialed your dad with your phone," Jill answered.
"Ah," I said.
"Anyway, you were about to talk about how you fell unconscious?" Dakota said.
"Actually, why don't we worry about that later, and let Ian rest for a while?" The doctor suggested.
"I like that idea," I said.
We continued to chat until Dad finally showed up. It does kinda bother me that he didn't come any sooner considering that it was his son that got badly injured. Unless he got stuck in traffic or something, but I don't wanna make a fuss over something like that.
"Hey there son," Dad said as he entered the room. "You feeling ok now?"
"I've been better," I answered.
"Sorry that I couldn't come earlier. Work was being a pain. So much in fact that I straight up told them that you had a very bad injury and needed to be sent to the hospital."
"Eh. As long as I got help at all, that's all that really counts."
"Yeah, you're right. And I do wanna thank you all for being there for Ian when I couldn't."
"It was no problem Cole," Dakota said. "We've got your back when you're not home."
"We're all one big family really," Sara added.
Dad had such a warm smile on his face that he couldn't put down. I can easily tell that he feels possibly the happiest and safest he's been since we've moved. "It's been a long time since I've seen my son having these kind of friends by his side," He said. "It makes me feel safe as a father to know that. So Ian, why don't you rest here for a little longer, then we can head back?"
"Sounds like a plan," I answered. Then I felt Sunsil jump onto the bed and gave me nuzzles, then Shiron joined shortly after.
"Aww, they both love you!" Sara pointed out.
"They're definitely adorable," Dad said. "Which one is yours, Jill?"
"The gold one," Jill answered. "That's my Shiny Kantonian Vulpix Sunsil. I don't think you've met her yet."
"I have not. May I hold her?"
"Of course! You okay with that as well, Sunsil?"
"Vul!" Sunsil answered happily.
"Come here," Dad said as he picked up the Shiny Vulpix. "She's so soft. Then who's Alolan Vulpix is that?"
"That would be mine," Lillie answered.
"Yours is just as cute," Dad complimented. "Now I see why Ian has such an obsession over both of them.
"Dad, please don't tease me," I said as I blushed.
"Anyway, Ian, how about we discuss what happened to you tomorrow, and spend the rest of the day relaxing?" Mike offered after he chucked. "I'll gather a few people in case we get new information in regards to Team Space."
"Sounds good to me," I said.
"Team Space?" Dad asked. "Who are those people? And why do they sound familiar?"
"Long story short, they're a group of people that are capturing Pokémon and modifying them against their will for some sort of evil plan," I said. "Why don't you stick around for the discussion tomorrow?"
"I agree with him," Jill added. "It's better if you know what's happening as well."
"Well, it doesn't look like I have much of a choice," Dad said sarcastically. "But I was planning on staying home with you tomorrow Ian to make sure you're good enough to be on your own."
"That's fine," I said.
It's been about an hour and a half, and I was able to be released from the hospital. While it did take me a minute or two to regain my footing, I was able to walk out with little to no worries. Though I was told to get some rest at home, which does mean no school for me for the week.
Jill decided to hang out at my house for the rest of the night before she head back to her house. I talked to Dad about my progress in my Pokémon training, and he's impressed. He even told me that once the Pokémon League comes and goes, or maybe even before then, we can have a battle together. That got me excited, 'cause Dad used to be a hardcore battler before he and Mom had me. His hard work even generated a little media attention for him at one point, which is amazing. He even got through half of the Sinnoh Elite Four before losing to Flint, the third member, and that's no small feat.
About a half an hour after Jill left, I went to bed, and crashed shortly after that. Given that I have a pretty deep wound on my stomach, I slept pretty good given the conditions. But I was pretty slow to get up, a bit slower than normal.
"There he is," Mike said as he saw me coming upstairs into the kitchen. "Morning bud."
"Hey," I said as I stretched.
"Slept good?" Dad asked. "You were out cold when I checked on you last night."
"I slept decently," I said. Before I grabbed breakfast, I checked to see who was here, and there was a slightly larger crowd than who was with me at the hospital yesterday. Elio, Selene, Ash, Dawn, Sara, Hannah, Lillie, Mike, and Katie were here.
"Jeez Mike, did you invite the entire town?" I asked sarcastically.
"Well, if what happened to you involved Team Space, then we're gonna need a larger number of people to pass any additional information to," Mike explained.
"He does have a point, Ian," Katie added.
"Plus, this is my first time really knowing about this group, so I'd appreciate it if there were more people to tell me," Dad said. "'Cause if this group is gonna pose any sort threat on the scale that Team Galactic tried to do, then I want to get involved on this as well."
"All right, all right, I get it," I said.
"So, you wanna eat first then talk, or do you wanna talk while you eat?" Mike asked.
"I think we should let him eat first," Dad answered for me. "He's gonna need some energy before he starts his day."
"Fair enough," Mike said. "Besides, I don't think we've talked about you and school since you guys moved. Enjoying Portland?"
"It's not bad," I answered. "Better than what I experienced back in Sunyshore."
"Ian, I don't wanna be rude, but you keep mentioning your experiences back in Sinnoh, but never talked about them extensively," Jill said.
"We'll talk about that another time Jill," I said. "That's not relevant to the conversation we're about to have."
It didn't take me that long to eat my cereal. I didn't wanna keep everyone waiting after all. Plus Mike and Katie could know a few things about this "Red Gem" that Team Space took from me yesterday.
"So, let's recap what happened to you yesterday," Mike suggested. "Just so that you can give rest of us the rundown of what happened to you."
"I was actually gonna start there," I said.
"Welp," Mike said. "Great minds think alike I guess."
"Mood," Sara said.
"Joking aside," I said after I laughed a bit. "It all really started after I had a Pokémon battle with Leo yesterday. During that battle, I had Buizel out against Leo's Kirlia, and tried to use the Water-Type Z-Move, but couldn't keep it together. However, I did turn out victorious from that battle, but Leo did taunt me a little bit afterward."
"What did he say that would be taunting to you?" Jill asked.
"I, I don't wanna talk about that either," I answered.
"Ian, you holding in all of this is not good for you," Hannah said.
"You need to let it out eventually instead of keeping it all contained," Jill added. "But I'll talk to him for you if you want me to."
"I'd appreciate that," I said. "Thanks. Moving on, after I stopped at the Pokémon Center to let my Pokémon rest, I decided to go on a walk since I was in the mood for some exploring. That, and I wanted to clear my mind of what happened between Leo and I. So, I was coming upon the back end of Main Street, toward the fairgrounds, where there was a secluded other road that I didn't notice. I decided to see what was down there, which eventually led me to the picnic grounds. Since the gate was locked, I couldn't go any further, so I turned back after getting a glimpse of the place. But as I was heading back, I saw that there was a path that lead to a little beach with a sewage pipe leading into the river."
"Mike, isn't that..?" Katie asked.
"Yeah, that's the area that leads to Icicle Pillar," Mike answered.
"Icicle Pillar?" Elio and I asked at the same time.
"What's that?" Jill asked.
"It's a hidden cavern residing underneath the Connecticut River," Mike started. "It was the place that we faced off against Team Frost once and for all."
"It was also the place that contained the Frozen Armor, which Mike and Snowkey used to defeat the Shadow Pokémon a few months later," Katie added.
"But we're getting off topic," Mike said. "Carry on."
"Thanks," I said. "So, I was about to get a view of the river when I stubbed my toe on something buried in the sand. When I brushed the sand away, there was this massive red-colored gem in the sand, and it glowed when I picked it up. I also saw my reflection very clearly, and it was about to transition into something else before Team Space showed up. There were only three of them mind you."
"No Admins or anything like that?" Jill asked.
"Admins?" Dad asked.
"They're the next step up from Grunts," Mike answered. "They have command of most missions judging on what we learned from the Commanders of Team Frost."
"I see," Dad said. "So it's basically the same general position that Team Galactic had."
"You can put it like that," Dawn said. "You did mention Team Galactic a few times though. Have you fought anyone from them when they were still around?"
"No, but I was being extra cautious and training my team extensively if they dared to come into Sunyshore," Dad answered.
"I see," Dawn said.
"Anyway, but there were no Grunts with this encounter yesterday," I continued. "Even though I defeated them all in a Pokémon battle, they wouldn't quit at all. They eventually got physical to force it out of my hands. I was trying to make sure that I didn't get any of my Pokémon involved, but I was forced to during the fight. At one point, they had me surrounded, so I decided to swing the gem around to strike them, and I started to make a run for it when all three of them fell to the ground."
"Then what happened?" Selene asked. "Did one of them, like, tackle you to the ground or something?"
"Yes actually," I answered. "The only female Grunt that was with this group was the one that brought me to the ground. During my fall though, I felt the gem digging into my stomach, and eventually they managed to get it out of my hands, then took off immediately after that. I tried to catch up to them, and I even lept for them, but just missed them by a hair, causing me to slide on the ground, giving me the scrapes that I have on my face."
"I see," Mike said. "So, I'm assuming you sat down somewhere to see what happened to yourself?"
"Yeah," I said. "After I got back up from my failed jump, I felt extremely sharp pain coming from my stomach, and I saw that I had blood on my hand, which came from my coat. When I sat down at one of the picnic tables, I asked Monferno to find me some paper towels while I tried to call Jill."
"And you passed out while you were still on the phone with me," Jill said.
"Exactly," I said.
"The fact that you remember all of that is astonishing," Sara said.
"But it's also the most puzzling part of this," Hannah said. "How could that gem have even stabbed you if you had your coat and sweatshirt on?"
"I was about to ask the same thing Hannah," Mike added.
"Well, it did rotate from the force of the impact as I was falling," I said.
"So, it's possible that you lost control of the gem when the Grunt tackled you," Dad said. "Which, as a result, could've made it slide down, and make contact with your stomach when you and the gem hit the ground. Jill, can you go get me Ian's stuff? They're in my room."
"Sure," Jill said as she went into Dad's bedroom.
"Ian, just to let you know, I didn't wash any of them yesterday so that we can have a closer look at the blood stains to see if we're correct on this," Dad explained to me.
"That's fine," I said.
When Jill came back, the stains on my clothes were worse than I thought they were when I first saw them. Most of the blood that I had lost yesterday accumulated onto my clothes, which leaked onto my sweatshirt and even my coat. It's gonna be at least two or three washes to remove the stain from my regular shirt completely.
"Take a look at the zipper on Ian's coat," Dad said as he held up my coat. "See how's there's no damage to it whatsoever?"
"Same for the zipper on his sweatshirt," Jill said. "Though there's more of a blood stain on this than his coat. "But the greatest stain is on his regular shirt, where it's from where the wound was and all the way down. I'm honestly surprised that the blood didn't get onto your pants Ian. That's not as rude as it sounds."
"You don't wanna know what I was thinking right there," Sara said as she was trying to contain her laughter.
"Sara!" Katie said. "Sigh. I was afraid you were gonna do that."
"Come on, you know me!" Sara said. "I have such a dirty mind!"
"Ditto," Hannah added.
"Was that a pun?" Mike asked.
"It wasn't meant to be," Hannah answered.
"Anyway," Dad said.
"Sorry Unc," Mike said.
"It's fine," Dad said. "Getting back to the topic at hand, this basically confirms that Ian was losing control of the gem when he got tackled, which resulted into him getting stabbed."
"That would make sense," I said. "'Cause I didn't feel it slipping out of my arms at all during all of that."
"That's strange," Lillie said. "Maybe you regained control when you two hit the ground, which would explain how none of your clothes got ripped at all. Somehow."
"Now that we have that figured out, were the Grunts referring the gem to anything special?" Katie asked.
"Yes," I said. "They were all calling it the 'Red Gem' multiple times during all of this."
"'Red Gem?'" Mike asked. "Can you give a description of what it looked like?"
"Can someone get me a pen and paper actually?" I asked. "'Cause I don't think I'll be able to explain it very well."
"Fair enough," Mike said as he got me a pen and paper.
"You make yourself feel like an idiot when trying to explain stuff as well Ian?" Ash asked.
"Yep," I answered. "You as well?"
"There have been one too many instances of such saying," Dawn said.
"That's an odd way of putting it," Ash said.
"Well, you have so much energy that it's hard to keep you settled in one place," Lillie said. "Especially with your appetite and Pokémon training."
"Yeah, you do have a point about that," Ash said.
"I can relate to you so much about food as well Ash," Sara said. "We could probably do an eating contest together!"
"That sounds like a terrible idea," Hannah said. "You two would probably get sick afterward."
"Yeah, remember that one time Brock gave you horrible-tasting medicine just to get you and Pikachu moving again?" Dawn asked. "You two were up and booking it almost immediately. It was so funny to see!"
"Yeah, yeah, no need to remind me about that," Ash said as he blushed.
"Pika," Ash's Pikachu said in the same tone.
"By the way Mike, whatever happened to your Pikachu?" Dawn asked. "How come we never get to see it anymore?"
"Well, I've got news about Sparky, but I'll discuss that at a later date," Mike answered. "And it's very exciting news to say the least."
All of that talking gave me enough time to finish my sketch of the Red Gem. It's shaped like someone took a rectangle, added multiple dimensions to it, and added to additional sides to the corners, making it a hexagonal shape.
"Done," I said, turning the paper over.
"Oh, good timing," Mike said as he took the paper and put it in the center of the table. "That can't be. They're really after this?"
"You know about this?" I asked.
"Yeah," Mike answered.
"Let me see," Dawn said as she was taking a closer look herself. "I recognize this as well. I even heard about it."
"Where exactly?" Mike asked. "I'm intrigued."
"It was shortly after my mom moved back to Twinleaf Town," Dawn started. "So I decided to take a few days to go visit her and see my hometown again, and take a wild guess who was visiting at the same time?"
"Palmer?" Ash asked.
"Nope," Dawn said. "Though that is a good guess."
"Is it Cynthia?!" Sara immediately asked.
"Yep," Dawn answered.
"Lucky," Sara said. "I wanna meet her so bad. She's just so hot and badass. Ack."
"I can arrange something for you to meet her if you want me to," Mike offered. "As long as she's not busy that is."
"YES," Sara immediately said with much excitement.
"Ok, ok, settle down," Mike said. "I can invite the rest of you to come along as well if I really wanted to. She and I are Champions after all."
"We might take you up on that Mike," Dad said. "It would be nice to take a trip back to Sinnoh some time."
"Right, I keep forgetting about that," Elio said. "No offense."
"None taken Elio," I said. "But we interrupted Dawn."
"No need to worry Ian," Dawn said. "This is giving you an opportunity to reminisce. Besides, I can show you Twinleaf Town and Lake Verity as well."
"That is true," I said. "But anyway, why did Cynthia visit your house?"
"She actually had never met my mom before even though she's known me for quite a bit," Dawn continued. "Apparently Mom told Cynthia that I was visiting for a few days, so she invited her over to catch up on things and introduce each other. Cynthia also wanted to notify me about her recent discovery about the Red Gem when she was out studying."
"Studying what?" Jill asked.
"Cynthia loves to study mythology and history surrounding the Sinnoh region," Dad explained. "She also likes to explore anything connected to the Legendary Pokémon of Sinnoh."
"How do you know that?" Dawn asked. "Have you met her at all?"
"Yeah, actually," Dad answered. "I met her at a meet and greet at a Sunyshore convention one time, back when Ian was just a little kid. My wife also got to meet her as well."
"I'm not jealous at all," Sara said quietly.
"Easy now Sara," Hannah said. "You'll get to meet her someday."
"Imagine just being in a battle with her!" Sara said. "I'm already imagining getting obliterated by her Garchomp! That thing is a freaking monster!"
"It is true that her Garchomp was the very Pokémon that got her the amount of fame that she has now," Dad said. "Even an experienced Trainer like myself probably wouldn't even stand a chance."
"Your Garchomp could put on a good fight Mike," Katie said.
"Are you kidding?" Mike asked. "Cynthia's Garchomp would destroy mine! Remember that one time I got invited to battle her at Holiday Island?!"
"That doesn't really count," Katie said. "Anyway, carry on Dawn."
"Thank you," Dawn continued. "During her visit, Cynthia was telling me about the Red Gem, and the fact that there are three of them. All three of them seem to have a connection with a certain trio of Legendary Pokémon in Sinnoh.
"The Lake Guardians?" I asked. "Azelf, Mespirit, and Uxie?"
"Exactly," Dawn answered.
"Then the motive behind Team Space getting the Red Gems are clear: They want to get their hands on the Lake Guardians for their plans," Mike said.
"And use them to summon Dialga and/or Palkia at the Spear Pillar on top of Mt. Coronet in Sinnoh!" I added.
"You're right Ian," Mike said. "While that doesn't explain why they're modifying so many Pokémon, we may have indeed figured out their true plan. One that could result in nothing short of catastrophe for all of us."
"But then comes another question: Where are the other two Red Gems?" Jill asked. "They could be anywhere."
"You're right about that Jill," Katie said. "And now we know that Team Space is using excessive force to endlessly search for them. We have to shift our goals to find the remaining two Red Gems before they do."
"What do the Red Gems do anyway?" Selene asked.
"They're used to summon a member of the Lake Guardians, who are responsible for creating the New Red Chain when all three are brought together," Dad explained.
"The first Red Chain was used by Team Galactic, which granted them to summon Dialga and Palkia at the Spear Pillar, and even have full control of them," Dawn added.
"If that's what Team Space is intending to do, then we'll have to whatever it takes to make sure that it doesn't happen," Elio said.
"Spot on," Mike said. "Ian, did anything peculiar happen to you when Team Space took off with that Red Gem by the way?"
"Yeah, actually!" I answered. "When they were leaving, I had a vision of the Legendary Pokémon connected to that Red Gem!"
"You're kidding?!" Ash said.
"I'm not," I said. "All that was happening was the Pokémon constantly pleading for my help. But I had a hard time recognizing what the Pokémon was."
"Here, have a look for yourself," Dawn said as she handed me her Pokédex.
"Thanks Dawn," I said as I took her Pokédex. Luckily, she had the entries for those Pokémon already loaded. I was more interested into what the Pokémon in my vision looked like. First was Mespirit, which definitely didn't look like the Pokémon in my vision. Next came Uxie, which was basically the same story. But then came Azelf, and it looked very familiar. I think this was the very Pokémon connected to that Red Gem. "I think this is it. I think I saw Azelf."
"So, if Azelf is starting to plea for your help now, then there's a very high chance that Mespirit and Uxie are doing the same thing as well," Ash said.
"You could be right Ash," Mike said. "We need to find those Red Gems fast, and find who are the remaining two people Mespirit and Uxie are pleading to respectively. Ian, Jill, I want you two to notify Professor Fir about this as well."
"What are you going to do in the meantime Mike?" Katie asked.
"I'm gonna call an old ally of ours for help," Mike answered. "And even a once-foe-now-friend. Let's get moving everyone! We got lots of work to do!"
"This is Admin L," I started. "I got lots of info. As suspected, our adversaries has solved the puzzle."
"I was afraid that would happen," An older woman said on the other end of my communicator. "But we do not need to worry about this right now. For the time being, report back to HQ, and prepare for the next step."
"Roger," I said then hung up. As I was getting ready to leave, I looked back at the house that the people that I've come to know where in. "I'm sorry. Everyone. But it has to be done." Then I took off, managing to not be noticed.
