In which Ethan encounters a shiny.
They started on the path to the Lake of Rage once they had accepted the fact that, yes, they were definitely going to have to put a stop to Team Rocket again, and yes, it was surprisingly like they were video game protagonists. But the clearer path was blocked off by a small gate building, which had been overtaken by two Team Rocket grunts.
"There's a fee for crossing today," one of the grunts informed them. "You three want to get past us? That's a thousand, each. Pay up or get lost."
Kris gave them her best innocent smile, but Ethan and Lyra didn't have to use too much imagination to see the horns holding up that halo. "I say we take a third option," she suggested, even her voice leaking childish innocence. The grunts didn't even notice that she had one hand reaching for a ball while the other curled into a fist at her side. "You let us pass, for free, and we won't have to take Drastic Measures."
The grunt stared, hearing the capital letters in her voice, and then he started to laugh. "You and what army? You're just little kids, you can't beat Team Rocket!"
"I seem to recall hearing about an incident back home in Kanto where one 'little' boy managed to take down your group by himself. I think after that, three kids working together would crush it to pieces."
The grunt grew angry. "Three thousand, cash," he ordered. "I'm not wasting time, girlie!"
"Then I won't bother you anymore." Kris grabbed the ball and released the Pokémon inside. "Skiploom, Sleep Powder!"
Ethan and Lyra held their breath, but they weren't the only ones that managed to avoid the attack. As the grunt that had spoken to them fell to the ground, snoring, the second grunt approached.
"What do you kids think you're doing?" he demanded, and Lyra turned to Ethan.
"Run," she ordered, and pulled out a ball of her own. As Ethan hurried to the other door, she called out her Venonat, giving the command for a Sleep Powder of her own.
Ethan released Togepi for company, and carried him through the grass up to the actual lake. It was raining above the lake, and only the lake, and the pair were confused as to why everybody was running away. But the answer came immediately, in the form of something big, red, and terrifying.
A Gyarados. A shiny Gyarados. And, despite the rarity in the coloration, it didn't seem to be any different when it came to personality, as it was attacking anything and everything that came near it, just like the Pokedex said.
"It's too bad you and Slowpoke haven't evolved yet, huh?" he said to Togepi. The egg Pokémon made an offended noise, as if he were saying that he could evolve any time he wanted and just hadn't wanted to yet. But Ethan was already volunteering himself to take on the beast and save the town, and was only rewarded with laughter and a "You're brave, kid."
But there was one man who offered to help, an elderly fisherman. "I've got a Seaking that can use Surf," he told Ethan, and the boy brightened considerably at this. "If you've got the proper badge, it can take you across the water safely."
"Can I borrow it?" Ethan asked excitedly, and the old man laughed.
"Did you think I'd mention it if I weren't offering it? I want that monster gone, too."
The old man handed him a strange Pokeball that he identified as a Lure Ball, one of Kurt's creations. Ethan tossed it out into the water, releasing the Seaking, and promised to return it to the old man as soon as he'd finished with the Gyarados. But Togepi was beginning to act strange, and Ethan had to return him to his ball to keep focused.
The Seaking was an excellent listener, and Ethan assumed it was because he'd won enough badges to earn obedience. Or that it wanted this destruction to end as much as the humans did.
They came to a stop behind the Gyarados, as it was admiring its destructive chaos toward the front. When it heard them, however, it turned to attack.
Ethan swallowed nervously, but picked out a Pokémon and hoped for the best. "Pidgeotto, time for battle!"
The Sleep Powder would wear off soon. In the meantime, Kris and Lyra had to find the right way to the Lake of Rage. It was a long, tough trip, but thanks to an old man's instructions to "follow the storm" and Venonat evolving into Venomoth, they made it to the lake itself, and began searching for Ethan among the crowd of people.
The search came to a halt when Marill made a whimpering sound and dropped to the ground, rolling up his ears tightly. That didn't change the fact that he had started to glow, still making that unnerving noise, struggling to fight the change into Azumarill that seemed to be almost compulsory.
Lyra quickly called him back into his ball, but Kris had an experiment she wanted to try. First, she released her Sudowoodo, who at first seemed to be nothing more than upset about the rain, but had then seemed to stop and listen to something, a dark threat in his eyes. She called him back and let Skiploom out, and the plant lasted a few moments before starting to glow and whine as Marill had. Then she sent Chomper out, who lasted even less time than Skiploom. Finally, Granbull, who merely growled at nothing and shifted her ears, unaffected but deeply disturbed by whatever she was picking up on.
"Lyra?" Kris asked softly, distracting the brunette from her train of thought. "Your Eevee was given Marill's Everstone to keep him from evolving until he was ready to become a Jolteon, right?"
"Yes," Lyra answered, slightly concerned. "Is there a point to this?"
"I have a theory. Let Eevee out of his ball."
Lyra did as commanded, and Eevee immediately made hissing sounds, clinging more tightly than ever to the stone that prevented his evolution. His large ears folded back, like those of an angry Meowth, and he bared his teeth at anything that moved, including his trainer. But Kris had confirmed her theory, and before Lyra could comprehend what she was doing, the other girl had picked up her Pokegear phone and was calling the professor.
"What do you know about the Lake of Rage?"
A brief conversation later, and she had hung up. Lyra took an involuntary step closer. "What did he say?"
"He said that there was nothing special about the lake," Kris replied in a monotone. "But something's going on here that disturbs the Pokémon, especially the unevolved ones. Judging by what happened to Marill, Chomper, and Skiploom, it might even be trying to force evolution. Did you see how reluctant Eevee was to loosen his grip on the Everstone?"
Lyra had an idea of who it could be, but didn't know how or why, and by the looks of things, the future scientist didn't know, either.
Ethan was worried when Pidgeotto started to make a high-pitched sound, distracted by something else, but the red Gyarados was his primary concern. It had evaded every ball he'd thrown at it, and the boy had used up his supply. But it refused to let him back out, so he gave the command that would lead to its defeat:
"Pidgeotto, Quick Attack!"
The bird rammed into the water dragon, and the red beast fell with a loud splash. A single red scale floated to the surface, and Ethan quickly grabbed it before it could be lost. Since he'd used up all his Pokeballs, this was the only proof he'd ever have that he encountered a shiny Gyarados. But that was when Pidgeotto started changing, becoming a Pidgeot before his startled trainer's very eyes, and letting out another loud screech.
"What's wrong now?" Ethan asked, but Pidgeot's response was to swoop over to the edge of the lake. Ethan told the Seaking to follow him, and with a loud cry the fish agreed. When Ethan landed and returned the borrowed Seaking to its ball, he saw his human companions speaking to a red-haired man wearing a cape.
"It's a radio signal," the man was explaining. "You would hear it if any of you had a radio installed on your Pokegear, but as it is your Pokémon are picking up on the transmissions for you. It's being broadcast from somewhere nearby."
"What's a radio signal?" Ethan asked, putting Pidgeot's ball away. "What's being broadcast?"
The man turned to face Ethan briefly, then back to the girls, unsure of whether or not to continue. Lyra prodded him onward, while Kris looked on with pure admiration shining in her eyes.
"Team Rocket is using a radio signal to force evolution in Pokémon," the man told Ethan. "Your friends here came to this conclusion on their own. It's not coming from Goldenrod," he added quickly as Ethan opened his mouth. "The cosplayer already asked. But it's only a matter of time. So, I'm here to put a stop to it before things get too out of hand."
"But why not let the police do it?" Ethan asked. "Isn't it their job to catch criminals?"
"That's what you think. Team Rocket aren't the brightest, but even they know how to distract the police. They have unimportant minions committing robberies all over Mahogany Town and Blackthorn City. The police are busy trying to make arrests for that, leaving the bigger operation going strong."
"So what gives you the right to do what the police can't?"
The man laughed. "I suppose I haven't introduced myself. I'm Lance, and I used to be a member of the Elite Four."