Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.
CHAPTER 14
"GET UP, MAX!" May yelled at the top of her voice. Brock and Ash had to put their hands to their ears but Max didn't budge one bit. He was still asleep, snoring loudly. In the next room, Clemont did the same thing to Bonnie.
"GET UP, BONNIE!" Bonnie was out cold as well.
It was eight in the morning and everyone except those two kids had already got up. Thinking that they might not have been able to sleep until later in the night, they had let them sleep. But even after they had gotten ready, the two were still snoring and sleeping peacefully.
Didn't they care what happened to Ash? was the thought through everyone's mind – well, almost everyone except a few people like Trip, Paul and Ash himself. While Trip and Paul believed this to have no connection with them, Ash believed that he would be able to get out of it in one piece.
Misty put a hand on May's shoulder and shook her head. "Let them sleep. We can ask them later about this."
May sighed and left her brother alone. All of them gathered in the drawing room. Each one of them seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. Brock decided to be their leader and help coordinate them.
Just as he was about to announce it, the doorbell rang, eliciting surprised expressions from everyone. Who would be there at such a time? Serena, nearest the door, opened it, revealing the person to be Officer Jenny, her presence surprising the trainers even more.
"How can we help you, Officer Jenny?" Serena asked.
The officer smiled in response and said, "You are helping me anyway, by working on this case. I came here to explain a few things to you. Come out in the field; I will explain."
Though confused, they followed the officer out in the field. Once everyone had gathered, she started, "Since this case has been given to me to solve and you guys want to help me, I have decided a few things."
They all nodded as the officer continued, "First: I will be your coordinator since I have had experience of it by managing many subordinates under me. There are four locations where the raids occurred."
The officer pulled out a map of the surrounding area and marked four crosses where the observatories were. Clemont noticed that one was in southeast and other in southwest. The remaining two were in east-north-east and west-north-west. The four roughly formed what could have been a regular pentagon had there been another observatory in north.
"These crosses mark the position where the observatories are. Now, before I continue, divide yourself into groups you can work with the best."
"What do you mean to say, Officer?" Iris asked.
"I think she means," Cilan said, gaining others' attention, "we should divide ourselves such that we can work without fighting or arguing. For example, Iris and I could work well together since we know each other inside and out, having travelled together for long enough. Similarly, Dawn and Brock could work well together, since they have travelled together through Sinnoh. Am I right, Officer?"
"Right." The officer said. "Divide yourselves into four groups the way Cilan explained."
"In that case," Brock started, "Gary, Misty, Max and May could work together. Dawn, Ash, Paul and I would be another group. Iris, Cilan and Trip would be third, and Serena, Clemont and Bonnie would be the fourth. Jessie, James and Meowth could fit anywhere since everyone knows them."
"I guess that's fine as long as Max and May don't start arguing." Dawn said.
"Hey, we don't argue all the time!" May said, glaring at Dawn.
"Sure you don't." Dawn replied back, grinning at her friend's angry face.
"So, that's decided." Officer Jenny said, jotting down all the group names. "What about you three?"
Jessie, James and Meowth exchanged glances, and then James said, "We would rather work together."
"Hmmm… well, you do have a balloon, don't you?" The officer asked.
"Well yeah."
"Then use it and be a lookout for the others from the air."
"But… but how are we going to keep a lookout on all the four places?"
"Choose one. I'll have my subordinates guard the other three."
"Well, we'll guard the one in which Ash is."
"Alright then, that's decided." The officer said and quickly assigned each group an observatory to search around.
"Hey wait a minute," Clemont said. "We forgot about Jake and Sadie."
"That's right. How could we?!"
"What about us?" The others immediately felt uncomfortable about not having told them about this mess, as they turned to see the two standing behind them. So, they quickly explained them everything in short.
"So are you going to help us?" Officer Jenny asked, once the explanation was over. Seeing that they really hadn't any choice, the two agreed at once.
"Thanks so much for your help." Ash said sincerely.
"It is no big deal." Sadie said, dismissing his thanks. "After all, we both do share the same sentiment when it comes to pokémon."
Ash could only scratch the back of his head, not being able to answer. Meanwhile, the other girls were really hoping she wasn't as fanatic about saving pokémon as Ash was. Keeping an eye on one was hard enough, they weren't sure if they could keep an eye on both of them.
"Alright then," Officer Jenny said, gaining their attention. "Jake, you can join Iris, Cilan and Trip. Sadie, you will join Serena, Clemont and Bonnie."
The two groups welcomed their new members as Officer Jenny waited for them to finish. Once they were finished, she continued, "Remember one more thing. Make sure not to make any reckless decisions. Don't go inside the observatories unless as a last resort, because even though it was your decision, I would feel guilty for letting you get in danger."
They all nodded and silently promised themselves not to get in any trouble.
"And finally," the officer continued, "make sure to report to me any discoveries you make. Don't let any evidence slip from your hands which might help nail down the real criminal."
"Got it."
"Well then, I will get going back to the police station. You can start as soon as you are ready. It would be better not to waste any more time than we already have."
Saying so, the officer left, leaving all the teenagers to themselves. They all exchanged glances and nodded. They would make sure not to get in any trouble and not waste any more time.
"GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!" Each group yelled as they separated and set out in the allotted directions. They had decided to let Max and Bonnie sleep for Gary had mentioned finding them that morning completely exhausted.
Though, I wonder what the two were up to. May thought as she ran. She patted the small bag attached to her belt and felt six pokéballs shake in them. All right, guys! Let's give it all we've got."
Jessie, James and Meowth ran towards the cave where they had hidden their balloon. On the way, Meowth decided to tell his partners about his thoughts regarding the two newcomers. He quickly started explaining what he had heard when they had treated them for their injuries. By the time he finished, they were standing in front of a large cave; people would have known about it if its mouth wasn't covered with vines, completely hidden from outside.
"You must have heard wrong, Meowth. There's no way they could be a part of Team Rocket." James said as he parted the vines. The three were too busy in their conversation to notice the two large bags lying in the shadow, a few meters away from them.
"I didn't. Why don't you believe me?" Meowth asked, exasperated. He had decided to share his knowledge with them first and the others later, lest the others didn't believe him. But it seemed that his own partners weren't ready to believe him currently.
"How do you account for their bruises? Besides, they said they were attacked by some crooks wearing uniforms with a big R on their shirts. That's Team Rocket's uniform." Jessie said, reassessing what Meowth had told them.
"You're right." Meowth replied. "They told us; we didn't see it for ourselves. As far as their bruises are concerned, there are enough thorny bushes in this forest to jump into. Looking at Sadie's deep wound in her leg, it was easy to tell that a thorn had pierced her skin."
"But even if we suppose that you're right," Jessie said, "it seems rather farfetched. I mean who would jump into a thorny bush?"
"And there's another thing." James said. He held their balloon and its basket in his hand, having retrieved it while they were talking. The bags were still invisible to the three of them.
"What?" Meowth asked.
"You never heard them mention Team Rocket. You only heard them say HQ and boss. For all we know, they could be a part of some organization that helps the police and they were talking about that HQ and that boss."
"I suppose." Meowth said sighing. "You do have a point."
Suddenly, without warning, a yawn escaped his mouth. He yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes. Jessie and James looked at him, somewhat surprised.
"Don't tell me you're feeling sleepy. It isn't even noon yet." Jessie said while helping James set the balloon and its fuel.
"Oh, it's nothing." Meowth replied. "It's just that I couldn't sleep most of the night. After all, we did spend most of the evening sleeping."
His partners didn't seem to completely believe him but didn't push the point. After all, they were on a mission. The three quickly filled up the balloon and jumped in it. Just as they were about to ascend, James asked Meowth to go and check if they had left anything.
Sighing, Meowth quickly got out and went inside. Seeing there was nothing, he was about to go back when a gleam caught his eye. Much to his companions' chagrin, he went to the shadowed side of the cave.
Now that he noticed, the sunlight piercing through the thick wall of vines was being reflected of something. That something was the metallic edge of a bag – a huge bag as he thought. He wanted to check out what was in them but was interrupted by his companions' cries.
"What are you doing in there, Meowth? Do you need some help or something?"
"Yeah, coming!" He yelled back, making a note to check them later. The three quickly left the cave and were on their way to southeast, as Meowth gave another yawn much to their surprise.
How I wish those kids had returned earlier! Meowth thought. I couldn't sleep a wink peacefully, knowing they could be in danger. After all, I and Charizard were the only ones who knew where they were headed. But at least, they are back safe. Now, if only I wouldn't feel so sleepy.
Light snores filled the area, as Meowth finally drifted off to sleep, leaving his partners confused.
"Hey Ash, aren't you tired yet?" Dawn asked, visibly tired. It had been three hours since they had started. She was walking more slowly, compared to Ash, Brock and Paul. While Brock and Paul didn't show any excitement, Ash seemed to have excess of it. He was going around, checking every nook and cranny for pokémon.
"What? You are tired already?" Ash asked, completely oblivious about her condition. "It has been only three hours."
"IT HAS BEEN THREE WHOLE HOURS!" She yelled at him.
"Alright alright, no need to yell at me." Ash said, waving his hands in front of her.
"I think it would be better if we take a break. Besides, it is almost lunchtime anyway." Brock said.
"All right!" Dawn yelled again in a happy tone. She straightened up from her bent position, losing her tiredness as she waited to see what kind of food Brock was going to make.
"What happened now? Weren't you tired?" Ash murmured, pouting slightly at her.
"Did you say something, Ash?" She asked, suddenly turning towards him.
"No, nothing." He replied back. Having been with the girls long enough, he knew it was best not to anger them. Who knew what would they do if they were angered?
For some reason, Ash didn't feel as hungry as he normally would, but ate his fill anyway. Dawn didn't notice that but Brock did. He was used to Ash's endless eating but to see him eating somewhat less than he usually would, made Brock wonder if something was wrong. After lunch, the four continued on their way.
"How much longer is it going to take, Brock?" Dawn asked, feeling refreshed after the rest.
"Around another hour or so. After that, we spend one or two hours looking around, and then, we return. If there isn't any delay, we should be back by dinner time. And after that, we note down what everyone has found, to show it to Officer Jenny."
"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed, coming up beside them. "I didn't know you had already fixed everything so well, Brock."
"Of course he would." Dawn said with a sly grin. "He isn't as stupid as you are, is he?"
"Yeah yeah, whatever."
Another hour passed in silence as everyone quickly walked, eager to cover the distance to the observatory. Dawn, once again feeling impatient, went up to Brock and asked, "How much longer?"
Brock pulled out a copy of the map that Officer Jenny had given them and looked at it for a while. Then, he said, "We are about to reach there."
Hearing that, Dawn picked up the pace and the others, not wanting to be left behind, followed her. Brock had been right, for they reached the observatory in another few minutes. They waited in the bushes to check the surrounding area to see if anyone was there keeping a watch.
Ash, being the impatient one, quickly became bored and started loudly, "Hey guys, why are we…?"
He was shut up by Dawn, who put a hand on his mouth and hissed, "Shhh…!"
"Keep your voice down, Ash." Brock said, while looking around once more. "We don't know if anyone is there or not. It would be better if we don't take any risk, unless necessary."
Ash calmed down and decided to keep his mouth shut, in case he did something that he oughtn't. The four spent another few minutes, giving the whole area a glance once more, not wanting to miss anything.
"Looks like the coast is clear," Brock finally said and got up. He was about to walk out, when Paul suddenly pulled him down roughly.
"What's the big deal, Paul?" Dawn started, when Brock silenced her.
"Look." He pointed towards the door.
Ash and Dawn turned towards where he pointed, wondering what their companions had seen. When they did, they were glad Paul had pulled Brock down, for someone was coming out the door.
It was a woman. She had a slim and healthy body. She had blue eyes and long, auburn hair that reached down to her waist. She had tied her hair in a long ponytail. What stood out the most about her were her clothes – the Team Rocket uniform.
There doesn't seem to be anyone with her. Brock thought as they all wondered who she was and what she was doing there.
"What a night!" She said, stretching herself. She gave a huge sigh.
"You really shouldn't be out there, in plain view." Another voice was heard from inside the observatory, as the four spies perked their ears.
It seems like a man's voice. Dawn thought. So there are two people so far, and only one has showed herself fully. Are they the ones who raided this observatory?
"Come on, you are just being jumpy." The woman said, turning towards the door. Apparently, the man was standing just outside the daylight. "Just because a couple of kids dared to come inside doesn't mean you've got to be so nervous."
"That's right. They dared to come inside in the middle of the night. For some kids to come inside at such an odd hour, they have got to be pretty bold."
"I admit they were bold, but they won't come again. That's for sure. That Gengar did scare them away."
"I find that hard to believe. If they could barge in like that fearlessly, there's no way they're going to be afraid just by a ghost-type."
There was a pause between the two talkers. In the meantime, the four trainers were trying to comprehend what they had just heard.
"Who are they talking about?" Ash asked in a low voice.
"A couple of kids, I believe." Dawn replied. "Although, I haven't heard of anyone trying to infiltrate the observatory alone. I mean they are just a couple of kids."
Suddenly, the woman turned towards their direction. The four lied down silently, lest they had been heard.
"What happened?" The man's voice was heard again.
"I thought I heard something." The woman replied. Not seeing anyone or anything around, she said, "Must be my imagination."
"So, at least, we found out that our mind-control machine is working well."
"Yeah, it wasn't able to work on ghost-types, but now it does. That takes care of all the types."
"Probably. Are you sure it also works on fairy-types?"
"Yeah, it does. The only thing left is to test it out."
Another pause followed as the woman stretched herself again.
"By the way," the man started, "have you heard of the rumor about evolution?"
"What rumor?"
"That another evolution beyond the final evolution of pokémon exists?"
"It's supposed to be a rumor, so I find it really hard to believe. Then again, all the champions do have some strange stones with them, which they wear as some kind of fashion, I believe. And I have heard that some kinds of stones are needed to evolve pokémon further. So, I don't know if we should believe it or not."
"It's called Mega Evolution – or so I heard. And we still need to include that possibility in our plan."
"For our machine to include mega-evolved pokémon, we would need to see it ourselves and program it. How are we going to find a trainer who has mega evolution, let alone asking him to evolve his pokémon willingly?"
"You've got a point there. I guess we need to talk with boss about it. Let's go inside."
Saying so, the woman disappeared in the observatory as silence saturated the area.
The four trainers, who had been spying, were now trying to comprehend what they had just heard. Seeing that they needed to talk, Brock signaled everyone to follow him. The other three followed him as Brock led them away from the observatory. After a few minutes, thinking that there was a safe distance between them and the observatory, he stopped.
"What was all that about?" Dawn asked. It seemed that she doubted what she had heard.
"First, there were these two kids who entered the observatory in the dead of the night." Brock started counting on his fingers. "Then, something about a mind-control machine and scaring those kids away. And lastly, something regarding mega evolution."
"And don't forget about testing that machine on fairy-types." Ash added.
"Yeah, and that as well." Brock agreed. He paused as he wrote down the four points in a small notebook he had with him. Looking them over, he considered all the possibilities that could happen regarding the observatory.
"What I think," he finally started, "is that these observatories are being used for some kind of experiment – by Team Rocket.
"And it has got something to do with mind-control – probably controlling pokémon, knowing them." Ash said grimly.
"And one more thing," Dawn added. "There are four observatories total, as Officer Jenny said. We can assume that the same thing is happening there."
"But we won't know that for sure, until we hear what the others report." Brock said, noting down all the points. "Do you have anything to say, Paul?"
"You forgot to include the security cameras." Paul said, sounding somewhat amicable for once. "There are cameras attached to that building and they were in working condition as far as I could see."
"There were?!" Ash exclaimed.
"Good thing you noticed, Paul." Brock said, jotting down the point. "Anything else worth noting that you guys saw?"
"Well," Dawn started, "I guess we have to keep in mind those two's appearance."
"I suppose that's a good point but don't you think they could just as easily disguise themselves? After all, those three always did that." Brock pointed out.
"You might be right," Dawn said. "But what reason could they have to even think of disguising themselves? The way things looked; those two must have spent most of the time there. Besides, it won't hurt to note it down, would it?"
"I guess you're right." Brock conceded and wrote down what he had noticed about the woman. After he finished writing, Dawn read it and nodded, indicating it was a good enough description.
"So what are we going to do now?" Ash asked, finally realizing there was more to the mess he was in than what they could see. It seemed Team Rocket had planned considering every possibility.
"Let's go check around that building. I doubt anyone would come out now." Paul said, getting up.
"Are you sure?" Dawn asked uneasily.
"I agree with Paul." Brock said, getting up as well. "They won't come out again – at least not until it is night-time."
"Then that's settled." Ash said, as he and Dawn got up. "We will go check for clues there."
"Hold on a minute, Ash." Brock said, getting an inquisitive glance from him. "Even though we are going there, it would be better if you stay in the bushes."
"Whaaaaaaat? Why?" Ash asked, wondering about his friend's decision. Pikachu, who had been silently sitting on his partner's shoulder the whole time, looked just as surprised.
"Because this is your home region; you are bound to be famous for winning the Kalos League. That also means your face was shown all over the region and pretty much everyone – including Team Rocket – knows how you look like. You better stay hidden, in case those two happen to come out again. If they recognized you, there's no telling what they would do. I am pretty sure Team Rocket's boss must have warned them about you. There's no reason for us to start a fight here with them. Besides, there're also those security cameras."
"I guess you're right. Just my luck!" Ash said, reluctantly accepting his decision. Normally, he would have denied it and simply barged in the clearing where the observatory stood. But being more mature now, he decided it was better to accept Brock's decision, until they were sure he wasn't a target of Team Rocket. Knowing that he had taken down other teams in other regions, he knew there was a huge possibility that he would be a target in case he started messing with this team as well.
"It's too bad," Dawn started, patting her friend's back, "that all this was to happen after you won the league. Or you might have been able to help us as much as you want to."
"Pika." Pikachu mimicked Dawn's action as well, patting his partner's head. Ash simply sighed in response.
Meanwhile, a few hundred meters above them, the familiar Meowth Balloon was floating – rather hovering – over them, its three occupants wondering what was happening down there. The trio had been heading southeast, knowing that that was the direction Ash had headed. The only other things they could see flying were the Pidgeys and the like bird pokémon living in the forest.
Once they were able to see the observatory, they started scouring the forest below to see if they could see the trainers they were supposed to be a lookout for. The total time for them from finding and filling up the balloon to finally spotting the trainers was almost four and a half hours. From what Brock had been saying, Meowth quickly figured out that the walking distance between Pallet Town and the southeast observatory would take around four hours. So by the time they could see the building, he knew they must have been around somewhere, checking it out.
It turned out that he was right, for they were soon able to see the four huddled in a small clearing almost a mile from the observatory. Wondering what they were up to, the three had kept an eye on them. But now, they were bored.
"Hey Meowth, why don't you go and check what's going on down there?" James asked, in a bored voice.
"Why should I? You go this time." Meowth retorted back.
"Alright alright," James said. He turned to Jessie to ask her the same question but was met with a loud snore. Apparently, Jessie had fallen asleep, soon after Meowth had woken up.
"Looks like I will have to go down." James murmured, getting up. He tossed a rope down into the nearest tree and quickly slid down it. Soon he slid down the tree as well and walked across the clearing to the four trainers, who had just gotten up after sitting for such a long while.
"Hey guys, what are you doing?" James asked, waving his hand as he neared them.
Hearing him, they snapped their heads towards him. Seeing him, they were surprised for a while before their memory cleared and they waved back. They looked up and saw the familiar Meowth balloon – with Team Rocket uniforms stitched in it.
"I thought you were supposed to keep an eye on us." Dawn said, looking at him questioningly as he reached them.
"We have been keeping an eye on you for quite some time now." James said. "But you guys seemed to be sitting here doing who-knows-what, so I came down to check if anything was wrong."
"Nothing is wrong." Ash said. "In fact, we stumbled upon something interesting."
Seeing his inquisitive look, Brock handed over the notes he had just written for James to read. James' eyes widened as he read them all.
"But how did you find so many things in such a short time?" He asked, handing the notes back.
"As luck would have it," Dawn said, "we didn't need to find anything. A woman came out from the observatory, and she and a man talked; those notes are what we heard."
"Awesome!" James exclaimed. "But what are you going to do now?"
"Except Ash," Brock said, "we are all going to check around the observatory. It is a lot less likely that anyone will come out now; they must be probably working on something. We're going to take that chance and check if there are any clues that the police might have missed."
"I see." James said. He turned towards Ash and continued, "Then in that case, why don't you come with us, Ash? It seems like there's nothing more you could do, unless there's something else they will need you for. You can help us keep an eye out for them."
"I guess you're right. No need to waste my energy." Ash agreed and then turned towards his companions. "We're counting on you, guys."
"No need to worry." Dawn said, once again reciting her famous line. "You can depend on us."
Brock nodded his agreement, as did Paul. Nodding at them, they went their separate paths – James and Ash to the balloon, and Brock, Dawn and Paul towards the observatory.
"Wait right there!" A voice was heard yelling as Gary, Misty and May stopped in their tracks. A police officer appeared from behind a tree and looked them up and down. May felt slightly uncomfortable at being scrutinized closely.
"You must be Gary, Misty and May, right?" He asked, looking slightly relaxed.
"Yeah," The three said in unison.
"Good. I am Officer Jon. You can simply call me Jon." Jon said, extending his arm for a handshake. They shook hands, introducing themselves. "Sorry for the initial check up. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't some fakes who disguised themselves."
"That's fine." Gary said. "You must be the officer who is going to be a lookout for us. Am I right?"
"Yeah, me and my team; we will help you in any way possible."
"Thanks very much." Misty thanked them as other officers showed themselves up from their hiding places. There were total five officers, including Jon. While the other four were going to keep an eye on all the four sides, Jon was going to help them with their investigation.
The four subordinate officers quickly disbanded and hid themselves in the bushes on all four sides, in such a way that they could guard one side of the observatory and keep an eye on two of their colleagues next to them.
In the meantime, the four including Jon went towards the observatory.
"How long have you guys been here?" May asked as they were walking.
"An hour I think." Jon replied. "There hasn't been activity here so far."
"Hey Jon," Misty said, gaining the officer's attention. "Officer Jenny told us some officers had gone into one of the raided observatories and that they never returned. Which one was it?"
I guess she must really trust you if she told you all the details. Jon thought. To Misty, he replied, "Well, as much as I don't want to tell you, I guess you will need the truth if we are going to solve this case together. The observatory we first investigated was this very one – the one in front of you."
Hearing this, the girls at once stopped, as May asked somewhat shakily, "This is the one?"
"Yeah. We arrived an hour ahead of you and tried to find clues to see if we could figure out what had happened, but it seems we will have to go inside the observatory to see that. As a matter-of-fact, we completely combed this surrounding area for clues, but didn't find any, except those fingerprints of Ash Ketchum that day."
"I see." Gary said thoughtfully. After a small pause, he asked, "But you never went inside again after the officers didn't come out, did you?"
"Nope." The officer stared at the researcher for a while, and then his eyes widened. "Don't tell me you are going inside!"
"Maybe." Gary replied pensively, much to the shock of the other three.
Meanwhile, inside the observatory, unknown to them, they were being watched.
"Great, just great! Another batch of idiots!" A voice exclaimed loudly. "Will you take care of them, Pete?"
The response was light snores coming from a corner of the room. The owner of the voice sighed and got up. Walking towards the opposite side of the room from where Pete was sleeping, the person reached for a button. As soon as he pressed it, horizontal slits opened in the wall and bars were pushed out of the holes. He quickly climbed up the ladder and reached the room above – the main room of the observatory. The man pulled out a pokéball from his pocket and released its occupant.
"You know what to do." He simply said. A grunt was the reply. The man, leaving the pokémon in the room, swiftly went towards the ladder and climbed down it. After reaching the underground room, he hid the ladder just like it had been and went towards the screen to see what this 'bunch of idiots' would do.
Back outside, the four were looking around the whole building once again for any clue that might have been missed, although Jon didn't seem too optimistic about its result. It must have been the tenth time that the area was being combed for clues – and they hadn't found any in the last eight times. What was the possibility they would find anything new in this search?
After a half an hour, the four met once again to report if anyone found anything. As Jon had expected, there was nothing new to see.
"Looks like we have got to enter," Gary said, looking at the building, "to find out the real clues to this case."
They don't look afraid at all. Jon thought, looking at the trainers' determined expressions. Then again, no one knows what happened inside, and it seems like they want to get to the bottom of this. I wonder if they'll go to any length to help Ash.
"Let's go." Jon said, going up to the door and removing the tapes that they had placed. The other three followed him as they all entered the observatory, ready to face whatever was inside.
"Do you think we should go check the inside of the observatory?" Iris asked, looking at her companions. They had followed the same procedure as the police, looking outside the building for clues after making sure no one was watching them. As expected, they hadn't found anything; the police had already taken care of that.
"I guess there's no other choice, is there?" Cilan asked.
The four decided to enter the observatory, much to Jake's frustration. He knew where all the cameras were and also knew that they were being watched – by people other than the police. He didn't want to get into any trouble for being seen with the trainers he was supposed to keep an eye on. With the cameras watching their every move at the moment, he couldn't even oppose the idea to enter the observatory, not without having a good enough reason.
Although he and Sadie had decided to do this, they hadn't yet told their boss about their ideas. Having been with the older Team Rocket members, he knew that once he had joined them, there was no turning back – he preferred life over death any day. One of those members had said that all the people, who decided to oppose the Team, were dead – died due to unnatural, unexplained causes. Same thing with those people who aroused even the slightest amount of suspicion in their fellow colleagues: they died due to unexplained causes as well.
Neither he nor Sadie knew how true the tales were or who was responsible for those deaths, but he certainly didn't want to question their accuracy, in case they turned out to be true. As long as the two were loyal to the organization, they were going to be treated well by both, their boss and the older colleagues.
Currently, the four had decided to enter the observatory. Jake, though, was feeling slightly apprehensive about what was to come.
"Hey, wait a second," Iris suddenly said, as they were walking towards the door, "Where is this fog coming from?"
"Now that you mention it," Cilan said, looking around. "It is getting somewhat difficult to see."
The four stopped, wondering where the mist was coming from. The police officers, who were hiding in the bushes keeping an eye on them, came out as well. All of them quickly huddled and chose one direction each to check in. There wasn't any water body for miles around; hence, the sudden appearance of a mist was suspicious to the group. Wondering what was producing it, they quickly separated in their selected directions to find its source.
As soon as everyone was far enough, Jake quickly ran back to the observatory. When he reached the clearing, he paused to take a breath. It didn't take him long to see that the fog was thicker than it had been a few minutes ago. He was about to run again, when he suddenly felt a jolt that sent him sprawling.
He looked up to see a shadow standing in front of him. Suddenly, the mist cleared and the shadow turned into a woman with a Croagunk, standing by her side.
"Alice…" he muttered irately, looking at the woman.
"Well, well, if it isn't Jake." Alice said, looking down at the sitting teenager. "What were you doing with the enemies, by the way?"
Jake had anticipated the question. So, he quickly told his senior about what had happened until then. "And that's why we decided to join them."
The woman started laughing at him. "I can't believe you're so stupid. In case you don't know, there are better ways out there to keep an eye on someone."
She started walking away, still laughing at him. Jake clenched his fist, keeping a check on his anger.
"Well," he said, gaining her attention. She looked back as he continued, "I answered your question; not that it has got anything to do with you. You're probably trying to put me down because you are jealous that we have been going up in boss's estimation of us."
Hearing this, Alice gritted her teeth, for he had hit the nail on the head. She certainly was jealous and she certainly had talked like that to put him down. Not wanting to show him that he had said the truth, she straightened her face and said, "Do whatever you want to. I don't think boss is going to be happy with you today. That's all I can say."
She started walking away as Jake said, "You better tell him the truth, especially when we're going to contact boss tonight to report what had happened so far. I don't think he would take lightly to your dishonesty."
Saying so, he started walking away as Alice gritted her teeth again. "Fine, you win this time."
Jake smirked as Alice disappeared. The mist faded away as well. Wondering what he should do, Jake started walking towards the observatory. He stood in front of the door, wondering if he should risk going inside to see how things were going on. He was about to enter when Trip appeared out of the forest.
Trip gave him a suspicious glance, wondering what he had been doing here. He was about to ask that when Iris and Cilan appeared. Soon, everyone had returned. Having found nothing suspicious, the police, as decided, went back to their hiding places. The other four trainers were about to enter, when Jake said, "Hey wait a second, guys. Don't you think we should get back? It took us three hours to get here, and dinner time is almost three hours hence. Shouldn't we return by then?"
"Now that you mention it," Iris said, looking at the clear sky, "we will have to get back soon. We won't be back on time if we enter the observatory now."
"I guess you have a point there." Cilan said.
"But how long do you think it will take to search this building?" Trip asked, looking at the observatory. "Probably around half an hour or so maximum."
"If nothing delays us." Iris added. "We don't know what to expect inside this building. Sure, we need to find the reason why all this is going on and why Team Rocket is doing this but we need a whole day to figure it out and find all those clues. As much as I hate it, we will need to postpone this search."
"I agree with Iris." Cilan said. "Let's go back now. We'll see how early we can get here tomorrow."
Conceding, Trip nodded, as Jake called out all the police officers. Explaining to them, the four started their return journey as the policemen went back their paths, deciding to meet early if there was no change in their plans.
"Something wrong, Sadie?" Serena asked, concerned. She had noticed Sadie was walking quite slowly, and she and Clemont had hung back to see what was wrong.
"Oh, nothing much. It's just this wound." Sadie replied, pointing to the bandages on her left leg. She had been walking slowly, wondering how to escape the sight of video cameras that she and Jake had fitted in all the observatories. She didn't want to be caught with the people on whom they were supposed to keep an eye on. But hanging back without any reason meant drawing attention towards herself – the one thing she didn't want to happen.
"It isn't hurting, is it?" Clemont asked, looking at it. She turned towards him as he looked at the wound.
"Just a little. Nothing that I can't handle." Sadie replied.
"Well, if you say so." Serena said.
The three started walking in silence, enjoying the cool breeze blowing through their path. After an hour, Serena grew tired of the silence and decided to make small talk.
"Hey Clemont," she asked, gaining the inventor's attention, "how much longer is it going to take us to reach the observatory?"
"I think another few minutes." Clemont said, looking at the map that Officer Jenny had given him.
Suddenly, Sadie dropped on her knee, much to the other two's surprise.
"You okay?" Serena asked, as she and Clemont walked up to her.
"Yeah, this bandage has just loosened quite a bit." Sadie replied, trying to fix the bandage. "Don't worry guys. You two go ahead. I will catch up to you in a bit."
"You sure you don't need any help?" Clemont asked, adjusting his glasses.
"Yup, just go ahead. We can't really waste too much time."
"You have got a point there." Clemont said. "Well, in case it takes you too much time, the observatory is just a mile or so ahead on this path."
"Got it."
Leaving her behind, Serena and Clemont started walking ahead. Clemont was right, for the two reached the observatory in a few minutes. They looked around in the clearing to see if anyone was there. There didn't seem to be any policeman present.
I wonder if Sadie is on her way here right now. Serena thought, looking down the path they had just come through. It has been quite some time. I hope she's okay.
They had started wondering what had happened to Sadie, when they suddenly heard a rumble coming from behind them. The rumble seemed to get louder as they turned to see what the source was. They were greeted by a terrifying sight.
It was Sadie, and behind her was the source of the noise – a rampaging Rhyhorn. Terrified, Serena and Clemont started running as Sadie reached them, yelling loudly, "Run guys, or you'll be trampled by that Rhyhorn!"
"We don't need a second invitation!" Serena yelled back. She and Sadie were running ahead and Clemont a few feet behind them, with the Rhyhorn a couple of feet behind Clemont.
They kept on running randomly, just wanting to evade the Rhyhorn. Soon, Clemont, affected by the running, started panting loudly and yelled at the girls to help him. Serena, realizing the danger Clemont was in, pulled Sadie with her and jumped into the bushes at the side of the path. Taken by surprise, Sadie hit her head on the ground while Serena waited for Clemont to catch up.
As soon as Clemont reached in front of her, she quickly pulled him out of the rampaging pokémon's way and started panting by the sudden strain that this exercise put on her. Meanwhile, the Rhyhorn soon disappeared round the bend, leaving behind a cloud of smoke.
"Where did that Rhyhorn come from?" Serena asked, out of breath.
"I don't know," Sadie replied, rubbing her head.
"I just hope it doesn't return." Clemont panted.
"You two just rest here." Sadie said, getting up. "I will just go and check if I can see the Rhyhorn."
Saying so, Sadie ran out of the bush and in the direction that the Rhyhorn had taken. In the meantime, Serena helped Clemont recover. In a few minutes, Sadie returned out of breath and shook her head, indicating they weren't in danger anymore.
"It seems like we can finally go back to our jobs." Serena said, sighing in relief.
"But where are we?" Sadie asked, looking around.
Clemont suddenly started feeling uncomfortable and looked around quickly, then looked back at the map in his hand. "I hate to say this, girls, but it seems like we are lost."
"What?" Serena asked disbelievingly. "We are lost?!"
"Yeah," Clemont replied gravely. "There's no use looking at the map; I forgot to mark our position."
"Great!" Serena said, sighing. "Now, we will need to find a way out of this. I wonder how long it will take."
"Wait a minute here, guys." Sadie said, looking around. "I will just climb a tree and see how far we are from the observatory."
"Don't tell me you are going to climb up to the top!" Serena exclaimed. "Are you sure about it?"
"Yeah, don't worry." Sadie said, as she chose a tree to climb. "I am used to climb trees. I'll be fine."
"Chespin!"
Chespin suddenly appeared out of his pokéball and tapped his chest. He looked at Sadie and tapped himself again. "Chespin!"
"Chespin," Clemont asked, "Do you want to go to the top with Sadie?"
"Ches." Chespin nodded, looking at Sadie.
"Sure, you can come along." Sadie agreed with a smile, picking up the grass-type and placing him on her shoulder. "It won't take long."
In a few minutes, Sadie was standing at the top of the tree and could look around for miles. She could easily see the observatory far away from where they were.
I can't believe we ran this far from the observatory! She thought, looking at the faraway building. It must be an hour or so from here – which means if we want to reach on time we will need to run. But I can't lie to them, not with this pokémon being on my shoulder. Guess I'll have to walk slowly again. But this time I will have a reason.
Meanwhile, in the observatory, there was a surprised look on the man's face who had been watching the surrounding area.
I am pretty sure that was Sadie. He thought, replaying the particular clip. Although why she was around here in broad daylight with those two kids is a mystery. And she couldn't tame a rampaging Rhyhorn? That's one thing I can't believe. I have seen her tame even the wildest of Dragonites. I wonder what's been going on since those two raided these observatories.
Max gave a yawn and got up. Looking around, he realized there wasn't anyone in the room. He stood up and stretched, then went outside the room.
Isn't anyone in? He thought. I wonder what time it is. It feels like I just slept for a decade.
He went towards the living room to see if anyone was there. On his way, as he was crossing the girls' room, the door suddenly flew open – right in his face.
"Ouch ouch!" Max cried out, holding on his nose. Apparently, the door had hit him on his nose.
Bonnie appeared through the door, yawning loudly. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, then yawned again. She looked around and spotted Max holding his nose.
"Oops, sorry," Bonnie said, looking concerned. "I guess I didn't expect you out here."
"That's fine." Max said, trying to ignore the pain.
"Do you know where everyone is?" Bonnie asked, closing the door and looking at him questioningly.
"I have been wondering that myself." Max replied, looking back at her. "From the way you say, it seems like the girls aren't in either, am I right?"
Bonnie nodded as the two made their way to the living room. "I wonder where they are."
"Oh, you two are awake."
The two kids looked up to see Ash's mother standing there. She had an empty laundry basket in her hands – apparently, she had just finished doing laundry.
"Where is everyone?" Bonnie asked.
"They are helping the police solve the case; you know that, don't you? Right now, they must be checking out the observatories."
"What?!" The two cried out in surprise. "Why didn't they wake us up?"
"You two were sleeping like logs. Even after they made loud noises, you just kept on snoring. You must have been quite tired."
Oh… I guess that's why it felt like I slept a decade. Max thought. Out loud, he asked, "What time it is now?"
"It is almost lunch time."
"WHAT?!" The two yelled out even louder. "It is lunch time!?"
"Yeah," Delia replied. "You were so tired; I bet even if we had all yelled together in your ear at once, you wouldn't have woken up."
I didn't realize we were this tired after the last night's adventure. Max thought. Bonnie seemed to have the same thought going through her mind.
"Do you want some breakfast – or should I say lunch?" Delia asked, looking at the two kids in front of her. Although she didn't show it, something that Gary had told her earlier troubled her.
Max and Bonnie didn't need to answer; their stomachs did the job. Delia gave a smile and asked the two to follow her to the kitchen. In a few minutes, they were seated, hungrily wolfing down their lunch as Delia continued making them food. As soon as the two finished, Delia turned towards them and seated herself.
"Thanks for the food!" Max said, getting up. He was about to run when he heard Delia ask him to wait.
"Before you two leave, I want to ask you something."
"What is it?" Bonnie asked, getting up as well.
"Gary told me he found you two this morning, looking ready to fall asleep any minute. You were coming from the field. What were you two doing so early in the morning?"
"Uhmmm… about that," Max started, sweating slightly. "Uhm… well…"
"You see," Bonnie suddenly interrupted. "Max wanted to show me how to earn a pokémon's trust. That's why we went to the forest. We went in the morning because, you see, pokémon usually come out early in the morning from their homes, so that was the best time for us."
"And yeah," Max added, "You see, yesterday, we slept through the evening, so we didn't need to sleep through the night."
For a moment, Delia had a confused expression, worrying Max and Bonnie that she might have seen through it. Then, she smiled, "You should have told me, at least. There was nothing to hide, was there?"
"It was just that we didn't want to bother you." Max said.
Before the conversation could go on, Professor Oak's voice interrupted them, "Delia!"
"Delia!" Professor Oak called again, this time sounding louder.
"Here!" Delia called back.
Professor Oak soon appeared in the room. He was about to say something, but noticed Max and Bonnie. He smiled.
"I see; you two are awake. Do you mind helping me with all the pokémon?"
"Coming!" Saying so, the two quickly ran away; glad to be rescued from lying anymore.
"I will leave them to you, Professor." Delia said. Professor Oak nodded in response and left the room, leaving Delia to herself.
Something's not right. Delia thought, looking back on her talk with the kids and their reasoning. They seemed to be hiding something. I wonder what it is. Hmmm… I guess I will have to wait for the right time to find the answer.
Once again, THANKS FOR ALL THE FAVES, FOLLOWS AND REVIEWS so far. That's all I can say right now.