I honestly don't think I can comprehend the last time I had ever ran this fast.
Noticing the Galactic Grunt in the distance, seeming as though he was muttering to himself, I quickly approached him from behind. There was no way I was going to allow this thief to get away!
He detected my presence almost immediately and hastily ran down the beach towards the Seven Stars Motel. I heard him scream at the top of his lungs. "You are a persistent pest! I'm not going to waste my energy knocking you around!"
As I entered the motel and observed my surroundings, I could not see the Galactic Grunt anywhere... Crap.
He had gotten away.
An unfamiliar man in a brown coat instantly noticed me and walked up to greet me.
"Cassie Morna. I am Looker, a dear friend to Rowan. I am interviewing the people to see if they had seen anyone suspicious."
I was slightly confused at the fact he knew my full name, however I shrugged it off. "Are you part of the Police Department?"
"Yes. I would like your assistance. Go search outside, if you will. The suspect, he may have already slipped away ahead unnoticed."
Shoot. And I had been so close to capturing him.
I obeyed Looker's direct orders and ran along Route 213 in search for any suspicious activity.
I almost stopped short when I noticed the dark forest that Max had bolted towards the other day after we finished our lunch. A shadowy dark aura irradiated from deep within the thick lush forest. Had that been Giratina's home?
The absurd outfitted Galactic Grunt stood near the forest and the entrance to Lake Valor. Oh no, that idiot was going nowhere near Max's home!
"Aww, no... You're still on my tail? You leave me no choice! My Pokemon will KO you!"
"We'll see about that!" I yelled in return. "Prinplup GO!"
Prinplup emerged from her Pokeball, roaring with confidence. This would be my first Pokemon battle, and honestly I was very anxious.
"For you... Max..." I whispered calmly under my breath.
The Galactic Grunt snickered. "Hah! Your silly Prinplup is no match for my Pokemon. Croagunk GO!"
The purple frog Pokemon emerged from his Pokeball, shaking and laughing at Prinplup. My Poke'dex immediately started reading data.
"It rarely fights fairly, but that is strictly to ensure survival. It is popular as a mascot."
I attempted to shake my nervousness away and focused on the battle we were about to endure. "Prinplup, use Bubblebeam!"
Prinplup had a nature that caused her to believe she was more important than any other Pokemon. The confidence boost was definitely useful during battle. She rapidly blew out a jet of strong bubbles towards the Croagunk, waiting for the Pokemon to collapse instantly.
However, the frog Pokemon only seemed to absorb all the water that Prinplup had been shooting at it. What on Earth was going on!?
The Galactic Grunt laughed hysterically. "Dry Skin is an ability that allows Croagunk to absorb all your water-type moves and restore his HP hehe. Now Croagunk! Use your Faint Attack!"
My eyes widened with shock as the poisonous purple Pokemon drew up to Prinplup disarmingly, throwing a sucker punch towards her face. She cried in pain. I had been so unaware of Pokemon abilities.
"Prinplup don't give up! We can finish this! Use Metal Claw!"
Prinplup threw herself onto her opponent, striking the Croagunk with sharp metal claws who took a critical hit and almost collapsed to the ground. I pumped my fist in the air. "Good work Prinplup!"
"This battle isn't over yet!" He hissed. "Croagunk, Poison Sting attack!"
Oh no. I knew all about Poison Sting. If Prinplup was hit by it and became poisoned, she would definitely faint and I'd have no way to walk back to Pastoria City with no Pokemon or repels. I had to think fast.
"Prinplup dodge the attack!" I yelled as loudly as I possibly could. Prinplup noticed the urgency within my voice and successfully dodged Croagunk's attack. I heard the Galactic Grunt hiss through his teeth.
"Now Prinplup, it's time to finish this battle off! Use your Metal Claw!"
Croagunk took another critical hit from Prinplup's Metal Claw attack and instantly collapsed to the ground. Whew, that was a close battle.
Completely and utterly embarrassed from his defeat, the Galactic Grunt anxiously returned his Pokemon to its Pokeball and ran north towards Veilstone City. Good. He deserved to loose that battle and endure those feelings after what he had done at the Pastoria Marsh. Prinplup squeaked happily as I returned her to her own Pokeball for some rest.
Suddenly, the odd feeling of being watched shivered through my body. I spun around and noticed an enigmatic blonde haired woman standing amongst the trees, her black coat bellowed in the slight breeze. She was eyeing me with interest.
As the woman began to slowely approach me, I heard Lea rush beside me, panting from exhaustion. "Hey, Cassie! Where'd that Galactic goon run off to? I just ran here from Pastoria to see if you were ok... Who is this woman? Is this an older sister you never told me about?"
I shot her an angry look. How in any way did I look related to this strange lady? Her hyperactive attitude diminished slightly.
"No she isn't. Oh, ok."
"My name is Cynthia, and you must be Cassie Morna am I correct?" The blonde lady continued to stare at me with enthusiasm. Lea and I were both shocked.
"No need to ask how I know who you are. Giratina has told me all about you."
"WHAT!?" I think I almost collapsed after hearing those words. "How... How do you know about... Well... You know..."
"Is this an inside thing I don't know about?" Lea gazed anxiously between Cynthia and I. Cynthia chuckled softly, handing her a small but very mysterious looking berry. Lea eyed it cautiously. "What is this?"
Cynthia smiled. "A berry that only appears once every 100 years deep inside Uxie's cavern. It helps increase intellect and restore memory loss."
Did she know Lea had lost her memory from Giratina? If so, why was she allowing the legendaries to become vulnerable again with another human remembering their ultimate hidden secret?
"I trust you Lea." Cynthia shot her a sweet smile. "You deserve your memories back."
I watched curiously as Lea changed emotions dramatically. First, she was happy. She remembered receiving Chimchar from the Professor and how much love filled her eyes when she lay eyes on her new Pokemon. Then her emotions turned dreary and frustrated when the Galactic hoons stole our Pokemon from us. The mysterious man and the events at Spear Pillar caused her emotions to become distressed and very anxious as she replayed all the events that had happened in her mind. Lastly, she remembered a small little yellow Pokemon, Uxie, staring deeply into her eyes before she lost her memory and walked back home.
"OH MY GOSH CASSIE!"
I held her softly, trying to calm her down from all the emotions that were running through her body right now. She looked up at me attentively.
"Cassie, I'm so sorry... I wish at the time I could have comprehended how much Max meant to you... I-I'm so sorry..."
"It's ok Lea. Don't blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault." I whispered calmly. Max was gone, and my heart would always ache for him so desperately. But I had to let him go. Sinnoh was in danger and my mission now was to save it.
Cynthia looked at me with a sad expression. "Max spoke highly of you Cassie. He bragged about you to Dialga and Palkia almost every single day. But there was always anxiety within his voice when he spoke. He didn't want to put you in danger. I was suppose to protect you, all the legendary Pokemon and their secrets and I failed. I risked my life travelling overseas to receive this package so I could make it right again. For you, for Giratina and for the rest of Sinnoh."
She handed me a small package with what appeared to be a potion inside. I looked at her with confusion.
"What you should do is use this medicine on Giratina."
"What!? Can it really...?"
Cynthia nodded at my reply. "It can heal Giratina completely."
