*WHAT* INSERTION?

by Curtis Wildcat

Chapter Twenty-One, Part A

Children, Contests, and Conspiracies

"All this bedlam around us? It's not a storm at all! It's a fair!" - Moltar, Space Ghost Coast to Coast

/-/-/-/-/

(Cue theme)

/-/-/-/-/

Time: Friday, April 19, 1996, mid-morning

Location: Cerulean City Gym

It wasn't quite 10a.m., and already the city was buzzing. The news had come up from Saffron City that the Contest Hall there finished construction a few days ago; a week prior, flyers and posters were distributed to advertise the building's first official contest. With no one wanting to waste any time, the first contest was scheduled for the 21st.

Despite her eagerness, Dolphin didn't let it show.

Misty had finally returned on Sunday afternoon- - -minus Togepi. Dolphin, who had recovered from Phibrizzo's practical joke, greeted her and asked where it had went; to her surprise, Misty started crying into her shoulder. She later explained the events in Hoenn in detail, including her reunion with her friends, Togepi's evolution to Togetic, and its decision to stay behind and help ward off any other scheming madmen that might show up. Even now, Dolphin still half-expected to see the little egg-like Pokémon somewhere.

It still bugged her, too, that Misty had chosen to confide in her. As far as she was concerned, she didn't want to lose what was left of her pride.

Three days later, Dolphin took Jetsam, a Poliwhirl, and a Slowpoke she'd recently caught with her to the first stop on her Battle Frontier schedule: Noland, head of the Battle Factory. Even if he scared her half to death with a large vehicle, the man was nice enough to let her recover before choosing her opponent. In the 1-on-1 match with Jetsam versus Venusaur, she was able to pull off a victory- - -although not by much. Scott had been right; those Frontier Brains were tough, unlike the garden-variety trainers she usually fought in exhibition matches.

Looks like I've got work to do.

Since another show was planned for today, the "Surf Spectacular" that she had taken great pains to advertise, Dolphin decided to wait until tomorrow before finding some decent photos of the area where the Battle Dome was located. Using a number provided by Scott, Misty had already called ahead to the staff to let them know of her plans. Since the Dome Ace, Tucker, was a fellow showman, the occasion promised to be big; Dolphin hoped that they wouldn't crowd around her with those mike-phone things.

Phibrizzo's practical joke had been bad enough.

Listening from the stands, Dolphin heard a faint knock at the front door. Since Misty was busy trying to keep her Psyduck out of trouble, she took it upon herself to answer it.

/-/-/-/-/-/

Time: Sunday morning, 7:50am

Location: Doctor Agasa's laboratory

"Glad you could make it, Phibrizzo," Agasa greeted Phibrizzo as he stepped through the doors and shoved his shoes aside. "I have something you could probably use."

"I'm surprised you called me this early." Phibrizzo shrugged as he followed Agasa deeper into his home. "You got me before I could leave to annoy my sister, though, so I guess it was just good timing on your part. What is it?"

Agasa just smiled and didn't say anything until they reached his lab. Once they entered, the doctor led Phibrizzo to a computer desk and pulled out a small badge. It was painted yellow and teal, with the silhouette of Sherlock Holmes on one side. Judging from the logo, Phibrizzo guessed that more of these were made for Conan and his friends. "Looks nice."

Agasa instructed Phibrizzo to turn the badge over; when he did so, he noticed the dial and the small microphone built into the back. "I kind of get it," he said. "Communications device?"

"Exactly," the good doctor confirmed. "It has a reasonable range, and functions as a two-way radio."

"Keep in mind," a young girl said, lacking the pleased enthusiasm Agasa's voice had, "that unless you're in range of another of those badges, don't expect it to pick up anything..." And the shrunken form of Sherry slowly entered the room, straightening the dark sweatshirt she wore. "...unless you like listening to other people's conversations."

"Vi's right," Agasa continued. "The conversations will be a lot more audible if you're all on the same frequency. That's what the left dial is for. The smaller button you see there simply switches it on or off. The battery should last a good while, but come to me if you ever need to replace it."

"I'll keep that in mind," Phibrizzo said, smiling from ear to ear as he pocketed the badge. "Thanks, doctor!"

"You're quite welcome," Agasa said. "So you said you're visiting your sister today?"

"Yeah... she's a performer. Deals with water and so forth. Her little friends help her out a lot."

"Little friends..." 'Vi' was suddenly reminded of the so-called 'Vaporeon' that Dolphin had with her over at the Icearc hockey arena. "You're talking about those little monsters, aren't you?"

"Little monsters?" Phibrizzo asked, blinking.

"You know... like that fish/dog."

"Ah, yes...Vaporeon. Yeah, I'm talking about them. She's trained them to perform various stunts; and even though most of them can't speak the way we do, they're smart enough to understand the human voice. There are around twelve to sixteen different types living in that island chain, ranging from quote-unquote 'normal' Pokémon all the way up to..." Phibrizzo shuddered. "...brr... dragons. Dolphin's own specialty is the water-type, and she's so in tune with water to start with that she actually knows what they talk about." He rolled his eyes. "I still think they're insulting me when I'm not around."

Vi rolled her eyes. "I'm not surprised. You know, I'll admit to being curious about those things. If they're so popular, why don't they exist elsewhere in the world?"

"Someone I know guessed something about that," Phibrizzo said. "He said that maybe people outside those islands are more liable to fear stuff they don't understand, or that they're just so rare that no one really bothers to try to find them."

Vi thought about this. "Probably. I know I never saw anything like that in America while I was studying there under the Organization."

"I imagine that it's probably an amazing way of life down there," Agasa said, somewhat intrigued. "Phibrizzo, maybe you'd like to take Vi with you so she can see for herself."

Both "kids" gave Agasa startled looks, although Vi was the one who spoke. "You're sure? I still have things I need to take care of here...and I'm still not very pleased with my appearance."

"Ay-yi-yi," Phibrizzo muttered to himself, emphasizing the "ay". "Hailey, what's the rush? We don't have any of those pills, so it's no use trying to work out a cure. And besides, you're fine. What are you running yourself dizzy for?"

Vi grimaced. Ever since she and Agasa had dealt with the paperwork at Teitan Elementary (and dealt with Mrs. Valen's giggling fits) Friday and introduced herself as "Vi Graythorn" to her new classmates, Phibrizzo had begun behaving in this manner. She learned later that he resorted to this whenever she did or said something he wasn't too thrilled with; what she didn't get was why he insisted on calling her "Anita Hailey" instead of her new official name. "You need help, Phibrizzo. I promised Doctor Agasa I'd help him out in any way I could with housework, experiments... you know what I mean."

"Don't worry about it," Agasa said, trying to sound encouraging. "I've been living on my own for years. I can handle another day without any help. You should take today and enjoy yourself."

"If you say so," Vi conceded, not sounded very reassured. Facing Phibrizzo, she asked: "Are you alright with this?"

"It's no skin off my back," Phibrizzo said, shrugging. "You'll have to stick around at my sister's home, though. My training sessions with Sunburst tend to get...explosive."

"I'll take your word for it."

Phibrizzo smiled. "Now that it's settled, grab my hand and let's go."

Vi hesitated before doing so. "This is that freaky teleportation thing, isn't it?" she asked, not sounding thrilled.

"It's teleportation, but I wouldn't call it freaky," Phibrizzo then said... just before the two of them disappeared in a black flash and a snap-hiss, startling Agasa in the process and leaving him staring at the space where they'd just been.

/-/-/-/-/-/

As Vi recovered from the teleportation and was led into the building they'd appeared in front of, she continued wondering if this was even a good idea. Part of her was complaining that there were things back home that needed done, and that the acts of her former associates in the organization justified the payback she thought they deserved. The other part countered those arguments by saying that learning about a previously-unknown branch of wildlife would be a magnificent experience.

True, she was more interested in chemistry and science. Still, it wouldn't hurt to experience life here firsthand. And hadn't Phibrizzo mentioned once that the technology here was several years ahead of the rest of the world? That by itself was enough of an excuse.

Once Phibrizzo retrieved Flareon and the three of them were on their way towards the gym, Vi raised a question. "It seems remarkable that a place like this would even exist. Are the people really so secluded from the outside world that they haven't been drawn into any wars or fighting of any kind?"

"I don't know much about that," Phibrizzo admitted as they walked. "All I know is something I heard in passing. It's been said that they haven't had any major wars or economic depressions for several centuries. There have been a few minor skirmishes here and there, but nothing worth writing home about. A lot of the residents' lives revolve around these creatures, so..."

Vi nodded when Phibrizzo didn't bother continuing. "I guess so...that would mean they either weren't involved in the second world war, or it would take so much effort to convince them to join up that the authorities decided it wasn't worth the effort."

"I wouldn't know much about that." Phibrizzo stared down at his shattered bracelet. "That was before my time."

The rest of the walk to the gym was spent in silence.

/-/-/-/-/-/

Dolphin once again sat in the stands of the gym, sipping from a cup of sugar-filled coffee. On the staging area, the three Pokémon she'd chosen for her Frontier challenge- - -Vaporeon, Slowpoke, and Poliwhirl- - -were trying out various stunts and water-based tricks in preparation for the Contest she'd be entering. Well, Vaporeon and Poliwhirl were; Slowpoke seemed more content to watch. Every now and then, the slow-minded Pokémon would stick either its tail or its head into the water; not entirely sure about its means of evolution, Dolphin didn't know what the point of it was.

Just a few days ago, one of the sisters that Misty sometimes talked about- - -Daisy- - -had returned home from a world tour. The other two sisters, Lily and Violet, were nowhere to be seen; Dolphin was rather irked when she found out that they'd went out to primp themselves and see what was new instead of visiting their youngest sibling. When those two come back, she promised herself, they're getting a piece of my mind.

"Lauren?" Misty called from the foyer. "Phibrizzo and a friend of his are here to see you!"

Dolphin stood up and set her coffee aside. 'You three keep on working out there- - -I haven't decided yet who I'm using for the first round,' she said loudly, making sure the water-types heard her before she went down the steps and ventured into the foyer. Slowpoke would probably ignore her, but she felt better knowing that she'd spoken to them first.

As she exited the main room, Sunburst poked his head inside and strolled on in.

/-/-/-/-/

Hearing the commotion, the blonde-haired Daisy entered the foyer a few steps ahead of Dolphin. Immediately, Phibrizzo became the center of attention. "Who's the kid?" she asked. "He looks pretty cute."

"We won't discuss that now," Phibrizzo said, noticing Dolphin appear in the room as well. "I came to see Dolphin and make sure everything was alright before I headed out to continue Sunburst's training."

"You know Lauren?" Daisy tapped her chin for a few seconds before realizing who he was. "I know who you are now! You're the firebrat!"

The temperature in the room rose several degrees. "And where, might I ask, did you hear that from?"

"From Lauren, of course!"

Eyes lit with suppressed violet flames, Phibrizzo marched over to Dolphin, who folded her arms and tried to look innocent. "Dolphin, need I remind you that you're not the one calling the shots here anymore?"

'I don't need to put up with your bratty attitude, brother,' Dolphin responded via a sign. She flipped it around. 'The day of Saffron City's first Pokémon Contest has finally come...' Flip. '...so you can take your insults and bottle them up somewhere.'

"There's a little something called 'the golden rule', Dolphin," Phibrizzo growled. "If you don't want to be insulted, don't insult me. I was under the impression that the little fiasco last weekend was the end of it."

'Well, you thought wrong.'

Someone cleared their throat. Still standing just inside the doorway was Vi, looking a bit lost as to what was going on. Looking apologetic for ignoring her, Daisy waved at her. "I'm sorry; I didn't see you there. What's your name?"

"Vi Graythorn- - -" she started to say...

...and was overriden by Phibrizzo, who seemed to have forgotten why he'd been arguing with Dolphin. "Anita Hailey. She's a new student at my school."

Vi glared at him, disgruntled. "That's not my name, Phibrizzo."

"Get used to it, Hailey," Phibrizzo said, brushing a wayward lock of hair out of his eyes. "If you can get used to attending a grade school like everyone else your age, you can get used to me calling you a fourth name."

Dolphin arched an eyebrow and held up another sign; Daisy, who was more focused on Vi than on Phibrizzo's sister, unknowingly said the expression aloud. "Fourth name? What are you talking about?"

"Not important," Phibrizzo stated, waving them off. "What is important is that she doesn't know much about how Pokémon relates to everyone's ways of living. I'd been hoping you and your sisters could fill her in since you're back in town and everything, but I haven't seen Miss Lily and Violet at all."

While Dolphin locked eyes with Vi, trying to figure out if she knew her from somewhere, Daisy told Phibrizzo: "They're still out on the town, trying what's new. Having a big sister, you know how it is. The three of us have been trying to figure out how we can work our way into Lauren and Misty's next show, but the schedule's tighter than a Cloyster's shell."

"Dolphin runs a tight ship," Phibrizzo said. "When she decides to do something, she- - -"

"Phibrizzo," Vi interrupted, "your sister's staring at me again."

The half-mazoku marched over to Dolphin. "Knock it off, already!" he demanded. "What are you trying to do- - -put the fear of Deep Sea Dolphin in her?"

Dolphin idly pulled out another sign. 'She looks familiar.'

"That's because she does," Phibrizzo hissed quietly, too low for Daisy to hear. "You remember Sherry, don't you? And you remember what I've told you about Conan, right?"

Dolphin took a second to process this, then slowly nodded. I see. So that's what happened, huh? Well, if she wants to learn about life here first-hand...

"This wasn't funny the first time you did it," Vi stated, huffy. "How would you like it if someone just stared at you?"

A quirky smile. 'Who wouldn't want to stare at me?'

Vi glared up at her. "I'm serious, Aqua. Would you listen to me and stop doing that?"

The performer ignored her, although Daisy got the impression that she was listening to her when Dolphin turned towards Daisy. 'Where's Misty?'

"The bathroom, I guess," she said. "Why?"

Dolphin smiled playfully. 'When she gets out, could you tell her that I decided to take a visitor with me to Saffron City this morning? She's a friend of my brother's. Just tell her that.'

Vi's eyes widened just a little. "Now, wait a second. I didn't promise anything!"

Dolphin's sign spun around. 'You want to learn about life here, don't you? You'd be better off watching the Contest...' Flip. '...I'll be participating in than reading the literature I've collected.' Flip. 'I'm sure they have stuff there you can look at.' Flip, flip, flip, flip, flip. 'Besides, it's fun!'

Daisy and Vi boggled at Dolphin's sign-flipping. Phibrizzo just rolled his eyes. "Dolphin, you're enjoying that whole sign thing way too much."

'It's not my fault I can't talk out of water!'

Vi recovered first from Dolphin's antics. I must be getting used to this...I can't tell if that's a good sign or not. She sighed and shook her head. "Fine. I'll go with you to this Saffron City place, but I want your word that I'll be back home before evening! I'm already making a concession by coming here to start with!"

Dolphin sighed silently and nodded. 'Alright, alright. You people are no fun.'

"Flarreee."

Everyone turned towards the hallway, where Flareon had just made his return to the foyer. "Hey, Sunburst," Phibrizzo greeted. "Where'd you walk off to?"

"Flarreee...eeon, flare flare-eeeon arrrreeee," the fire-type spoke to him.

Phibrizzo's expression froze for a few seconds before giving way to disbelief. "Are you serious?"

Sunburst nodded. His trainer lowered his head. "Fine, fine. No sense arguing with you when you say that," he grumbled before walking towards the door, passing Daisy and Vi. Flareon trailed him outside. "See you later, Hailey. I've got things to do."

"That's Graythorn- - -!" Vi started to say, but was cut off by the door slamming closed. She shook her head. "Insufferable little..."

'That's Phibrizzo for you,' Dolphin said, the sign she was holding decorated with drawings of minnows. 'Never likes standing still.' She shrugged, than walked away towards the arena. The back of the sign she held read: 'Be ready to go in half an hour, Graythorn. Got it?'

"Got it," Vi confirmed, nodding. Should be an interesting trip, if nothing else. I wonder if I should've taken a notepad with me...

Daisy laughed to herself for several moments as Dolphin's footsteps faded away. "Now that the craziness is out of the way, you want to take a quick tour of the gym, Graythorn? I think you'll like it here."

"Call me Vi," she answered, smiling lightly. "And sure. One thing, though..."

"Yes?"

"You seem like the fashionable type," Vi told Daisy, keeping a straight face. "Can I trouble you to pick out a few things for me? My guardian and Phibrizzo found a few things on short notice, but...well...other than this..." She indicated the black sweatshirt she was wearing. "...they're just not me."

"I can tell," Daisy stated, giving her a quick appraisal. She smiled cheerfully. "Sure, it's no problem. Like, I'd be happy to- - -"

A door slammed close by, making the both of them jump. Dolphin stormed into the foyer, her 'get-out-of-my-way-or-so-help-me-I'll-do-something-really-bad' expression forcing Vi and Daisy back a few steps. The two of them stared at her with wide eyes as she marched into the kitchen, audibly ransacked the cupboards, then ran out of the gym with her purse in tow.

Vi blinked. "What just happened?"

"That girl loves her coffee," Daisy said, sweatdropping.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Since Phibrizzo didn't have the same limitations imposed on him like most humans did (and because he lacked a cardiovascular system), the distance and speed he could run were limited only by his energy level. Not wanting to waste energy by teleporting, he and Flareon were instead running as fast as they could without wearing themselves out. This was typically how they made their way to their chosen training areas when he didn't feel like teleporting, or didn't have anything to snack on.

This time, Phibrizzo and Sunburst didn't have training on their minds.

When the two of them felt they had enough space between them and Cerulean City's southern exit, the two of them slowed down and came to a stop at the top of a hill. Phibrizzo dropped to the ground, sat back against a tree and stared out over the horizon, as did Flareon. "Well?" he asked him. "What's this about wanting to compete at Saffron's new Contest Hall?"

'I spoke with Jetsam and Poliwhirl,' Sunburst crooned. 'The Contest is this morning at 11:00, if I have the timing right. I was hoping we could enter as well. It sounds like fun.'

Phibrizzo kept focused on the horizon. "You realize that we only have about five weeks before we're supposed to battle against Domino," he said. "Do we really have time to spend worrying about competing in a contest?"

'I never said anything about worrying,' Sunburst reminded him. 'I said it sounded like fun.'

"Hmm." Phibrizzo didn't look too enthralled. "That's what it always seems to come to, doesn't it? I don't have the same definition of 'fun', you know."

"You need a break from training and running rings around Team Rocket," Curtis spoke up over the microphone. The round human had a handful of square-shaped cartridges in his hands, and looked quite thoughtful. "The Contest is pretty much an excuse to show off what your Pokémon can do, and to look cool at the same time. It's perfect for Dolphin and Vaporeon."

"Sounds like it would be great for Phibrizzo, too," Inuyasha remarked idly. "You're not going to let your sister get one up on you, are ya?"

"I don't care if she wins or not," Phibrizzo said honestly. "What she does when I'm not bugging her isn't really my concern. All I ask is that she doesn't pick on me behind my back and that she listen to me when I have something to say. Besides, I'm not cut out for those Contests."

"From what I remember, I think Kanto's contests require two Pokémon, anyway," Curtis said. "Flareon's all you have. And I think you need a pass of some kind just to enter."

"See?" Phibrizzo responded with a note of triumph. "No pass, only one Pokémon. No can do, gang."

Sunburst whined a little, but dropped the subject. He'd really wanted the chance to compete, even if it didn't involve the Pokémon League in some way. What good was discovering hidden abilities and developing his skills if he wasn't allowed to test them somehow? Unfortunately his trainer was being stubborn again, and this was backed up by certain rules that were already in place. Not much chance of entering...this time, anyway.

For several long minutes, the air was filled with nothing but the sounds of chirping Pidgeys. Phibrizzo sighed quietly, thinking of the last time he just watched life go by without doing anything. How long has it been, really? I mean- - -

Inuyasha abruptly bolted to his feet, startling Phibrizzo before he could go into a sililoquey. "We've got incoming," he snarled, sniffing the air. "Smells a bit like fire and smoke, and it's coming in fast..." He smirked, having a pretty good idea what it was. "Sounds like your plans are about to go up in flames!"

"Why?" Phibrizzo asked indignantly, seeing Flareon jump up as well. "What's coming?" He got up and jumped back a few meters, hearing some sort of racket in the background.

'Found you!' someone- - -or rather, something- - -roared.

The flock of Pidgeys was startled into flight as the trees shook, rattling the leaves and branches. Phibrizzo tensed himself, preparing himself for anything that would occur- - -...

...- - -and then, not expecting the majestic form of an Arcanine to explode from the trees and land no more than a foot away, he fell backwards onto the ground with a startled cry.

/-/-/-/-/

It had taken a month, but the Arcanine had finally tracked him down.

Several months prior, said Arcanine was freed from the burden of being an experimental animal for Team Rocket. After being brought home and released several miles from the place that the humans called "The Indigo Plateau", it had encountered a group of injured Growlithe trying to protect themselves from an angry pack of Houndour. Perceiving that this was the Growlithe's own territory, the Arcanine immediately laid down the law by scattering the Houndour and forcing them to flee. Even though it hadn't lived amongst its kind since before it evolved, the Growlithe recognized their protector and allowed it to stay.

A month later, the Arcanine received word through the rumor mill that there was a person who could understand how fire-types spoke to each other. A week later, another rumor claimed that the same person had stretchable limbs and was totally immune to fire attacks, even using one of his/her own; the Pokémon was getting a pretty good idea who it was by now. By this time a wandering Ninetales had asked for sanctuary, and the pack had permitted it to join them; giving it the responsibility of looking after the pack, the Arcanine set out to track the person down and see if the rumors were true. Apparently, though, the person was never in the same place twice in a row; any leads quickly turned into dead ends.

Five minutes ago while venturing close to Cerulean City, the Arcanine had picked up the scent of smoke and flames. Attracted to it the same way Flareon had been attracted to it, the fire-dog locked in on it. As Arcanine raced over the grassy plains and through the trees, he happened to glimpse the scent's source. Howling triumphantly and scaring a flock of Pidgeys away, he had decided to surprise him and see what his reaction was.

/-/-/-/-/

His face the complete picture of said surprise, Phibrizzo looked into the eyes of the Arcanine. The creature drew closer until they were no more than a few inches apart, rumbling something softly...

...to which Phibrizzo finally calmed down some. "No, I wasn't scared," he said. "Startled, yes...but not scared. Now, what are you doing?"

'So the rumors were true after all,' the Arcanine growled. 'You can understand us! Good.' He sat back on his hind legs, giving Phibrizzo some breathing room...not that he needed it, but it was still thoughtful of him. 'You'll remember me from some time ago. I was the one you set free from those criminals.'

"Oh, yeah." Phibrizzo snapped his fingers. "That device you had made it impossible for me to understand you. No wonder... So, why are you here? Did you come out here just to see if I could talk to fire Pokémon, or were you going to say something else?"

'What do they call you?' the Arcanine rumbled.

"A whole lot of things," Phibrizzo said. "Most of which are derogatory and disrespectful..." Stay out of this, Inuyasha, Curtis.

"I wasn't going to say anything," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Surrreee," Curtis uttered, thumbing through a few cartridges undecisively.

"...so call me Phibrizzo Kaden, or just 'Phibrizzo'."

Arcanine's face softened, and he lowered his head to face the ground. His growling nearly shifted into a whine as he spoke. 'Phibrizzo, will you allow me the honor of traveling with you?'

"Wha..." Phibrizzo's mouth hung open; a cricket almost jumped in, but was swatted away by Flareon. His jaws slowly closed, and his mouth twisted into a grin. "'The honor of traveling with'- - -that is just...just...too much! That's the most respectful thing anyone's said to me in months!" he exclaimed.

Suddenly overcome by a fit of giggles, Phibrizzo laid back against the ground he was sitting on and laughed aloud. In his current state, the irony of it all was just too much for him.

Dumbfounded, the Arcanine looked over at Flareon curiously. The smaller Pokémon sighed out a mushroom cloud. 'Don't look at me. I don't know what's going on,' he yipped. 'Ask him.'

Nodding, Arcanine skipped normal speech altogether and just barked as loud as he could. Phibrizzo heard him do this, but the laughing took a few more seconds to wind down. "Sorry about that. It's been a while since I've heard anyone treat me with that much respect," he admitted, standing up. "Sure. If you want to come along, you can."

The Arcanine nodded his head, secretly pleased at the prospect of travelling with someone who understood his kind.

Sunburst reached over with a paw and tugged at the hem of Phibrizzo's jeans. 'Boss...'

"Yeah, what is it?"

'Remember what you were saying earlier about the Contest?' he asked. The smile on the Pokémon's face could almost be called smug.

Phibrizzo's thoughts tried to assemble in working order, attempting to give some sort of excuse. "Yeah, but..." And failing miserably. "Okay, fine. We'll enter the stupid Contest," he groaned, giving up. "Just remember that I have no plans of entering another one. Is that clear, Sunburst?"

'...You don't?'

"...We'll talk about that another time," Phibrizzo said, sweatdropping. He turned to Arcanine. "I'll need a quick demonstration of all your attacks, and then we'll have to work something fancy out of them. How about it?"

Arcanine voiced his agreement, and Phibrizzo smiled. He backpedalled a short ways to give himself some space. "Good. Let's get to work. Get on the sidelines, Sunburst!"

/-/-/-/-/-/

Time: 8:45am

Location: Outside the Saffron Contest Hall

There was a small handful of people milling around outside the newly-built Saffron Contest Hall, and they were treated to the sight of Vi and Dolphin phasing into being right on the front steps. Since this was Saffron City, home of a formerly-psycho gym leader, most of them ignored this.

Vi shook her head as she recovered from the teleportation. "This'll take me a while to get used to," she thought aloud.

Dolphin shrugged and smiled, then gestured towards the door as if to say: 'Follow me.' Not having anything else to do, Vi took the hint and followed her as she strolled towards the entrance. Might as well see what all this is about.

There were a few people sitting in some chairs set up along the nearest wall, but they looked more interested in their newspaper and Oran juice more than anything else. Other than those two, there was only an occasional 'trainer' wandering around. Ignoring them, Dolphin arrowed straight for the counter set up at the back and pulled out a sign. 'Excuse me?'

The woman manning the computer looked up, greeting her with a smile. "You're Lauren Aqua, right?" she asked, getting up and holding out a hand. "Nice to meet you. What brings you to Saffron City?"

Dolphin shook the person's hand, not putting much force behind it. She flipped the sign around. 'How does one go about obtaining a Contest Pass?'

"So you're going to enter the opening Contest? Sounds good." The woman pulled out a form and a pen. "Just fill this out, then we'll take a picture and get the Pass made for you. After that, just have it on hand whenever you enter a Contest."

As Dolphin accepted the form, looked it over and started filling it out, Vi happened to glance over her shoulder when one of the doors opened. One of the people sitting down and reading the newspaper had looked up at roughly the same time, seeming rather suspicious. Narrowing her eyes and trying to ignore the bad feeling she was getting, she instead tried her best to be inconspicuous.

She knew there wasn't much she could do, considering her newfound youth. One thing she still had, though, was a calculating mind; not quite detective-esque, but still enough to spot some things out of line. If anything happened, she was going to do something about it; small or not, young or not, she was anything but useless.

/-/-/-/-/

The orange-haired woman looked up from the newspaper she was reading. Someone had walked in, but it wasn't anyone she recognized. Briefly, she noticed a small girl look her way before trying to pretend she hadn't seen anything or anyone. Rolling her eyes behind the huge glasses she wore, the woman continued reading. "That psycho woman's back again," she murmured as an aside.

"Who? Sabrina, or...?" the blue-haired man next to her asked in a low tone. He tapped the glasses that he too wore, making sure they weren't crooked.

"That other psycho woman. The one who practically wasted us without a thought the other day. I figured that the professor's Luvdisc scheme was too good to be true, and she proved it."

"Well, you heard how he reacted when he learned that Aqua had defeated us." The man straightened his collar before sipping some Oran juice. "Now he wants us to devote our efforts to capturing her. He seems to think that her attachment to water-type Pokémon can be replicated to attract other types, and possibly even the Legendaries."

"Nala's probably still sore about losing those Lugia over in Johto," the woman grumbled. "That was months ago. I wish he'd just get over it. You don't see me losing my hair over a failure."

The man shrugged. "In any case, we'd better think of something. Do you still have that Contest Pass that the Boss 'acquired'?"

Before the woman could respond, the man's cell phone rang. Not minding the interruption too much, he pulled it out and answered it. "Hello?"

"That's Nanba, you idiots!" someone shouted over the phone. Across the room, the girl who'd been looking at them flinched from the noise.

As the line was disconnected, the two of them stared at each other in puzzlement. "I'll never get how he does that," the man said.

"You and me both, Butch. You and me both."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Even though Dolphin had to think carefully at times when considering what to write- - -such as 'Age', where she finally just wrote how old her current appearance seemed to be- - -she finished filling out the form in short order. She turned to Vi and "signed": 'Give me a minute, Graythorn. They're going to get that Pass ready for me, and then I'll be right with you.'

Vi nodded, then grabbed a brochure off the counter and walked off towards the rough ring of chairs that were set up. Choosing a strategic spot to sit- - -not too close to the suspicious-looking strangers, but not too far out either- - -she opened up the brochure and pretended to read it silently. Across the room, Dolphin was pointed into a nearby office by the staffer she'd been 'talking' to.

While her nose was effectively buried in her reading material, Vi tried listening to the others' whispered conversations.

"Anyway," the man was saying, "you have that Pass the Boss got?"

"Sure do. It's about time they brought Contest Halls into Kanto."

"Your uncle was from Sinnoh, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, and he told me a lot about them. I almost hate to disrupt the Contest for the sake of the mission, but subduing Aqua and carting her off takes priority."

The man nodded. "So remind me again what the plan is, Cassidy. Just so I'm clear."

The woman rolled her eyes. "I'll stick around in the stands during the first round and keep an eye on things. You sneak backstage before the Contest begins and wait for a chance to capture Aqua. We know enough about her- - -thanks to Crash and Flame- - -and that for all she can do, she still needs air to live. One good whiff of Stun Spore ought to do it."

Vi frowned, and she directed a glare towards the two conversing strangers. Neither of them caught it, though; the blue-haired man instead responded: "And you've received confirmation that her brother is nowhere in the vicinity, right?"

"The little runt's off training again just south of Cerulean City," 'Cassidy' said confidently. "By the time he finds out what we've done, we'll be long gone."

Vi's eyes narrowed as the two of them nodded. The woman rolled up her newspaper and stood up. "I'm heading outside to scope things out," she uttered. "You get to your 'assignment'. You don't want the manager wondering where his janitor went, do you?"

"No," the man said. "I wouldn't." He drank up the rest of the Oran juice and idly tossed the Styrofoam cup into a trash bin, then got up. "See you during the Contest."

The woman chuckled to herself- - -sporting a sinister smile- - -before the two of them parted ways. Still pretending to read the brochure, Vi thought about what she'd just heard. Sounds like even underground crime exists on islands of so-called peace. What's this about wanting to capture Phibrizzo's sister? There's still a lot I don't understand.

Vi folded up the brochure and placed it inside her sweatshirt's pocket, then folded her arms in thought. I wonder if I can find some way to circumvent this. Tell the person at the desk? Call the police?...No. If the people here are anything like those I've met, they won't believe a small kid without any visual proof. Shaking her head just a bit, her thoughts turned to the shrunken Jimmy Kudo; during her 'first' day of school on Friday, she'd had her suspicions confirmed as to what had happened to him. How does Conan manage to go about his life like this?

I don't even know why I want to help. I don't even like Dolphin. I've donned a cold shell to protect myself from the outside world; it's the way I've been forced to act, and she's made fun of it both times I've met her. What reason could there be to help her out?

The automatic doors slid open again. Idly flicking her eyes in that direction, Vi took in the details of an impeccably-dressed person. Hmm...

The loitering trainers in the lobby looked up as well...

Sharp eyes...

...their eyes widened...

Dark green hair...

...they took a few hesitant steps backward...

Red ringmaster's uniform...

...and innocently shuffled off, whistling nervously.

The young woman glared at everything and everyone. Even the Contest Hall employee looked nervous. "Really," she suddenly declared aloud. "It's been at least two years! Cut me some slack, would you? It's not like I'm diseased!"

Vi stared at the ceiling, exasparated. If it's not one thing, it's another.

The woman, looking almost comically huffy, stood where she was for a moment. Vi could hear fabric rustling as the woman's gloved hands tightened. Finally, all the tension evaporated as she let out a deep breath and calmed herself down...

...and paced over to the chairs, circling around and taking a seat two spots away from Vi. The mini-scientist looked up at her, the ghost of a smile just barely present. "Come here often?"

The woman looked down at her. "That's not funny."

That got her a smirk. "Depends on your point of view." The smirk left Vi. "So, why was everyone leaving the room?"

"Well, a few years ago- - -wait a second." The woman- - -more like a high-school girl, by Vi's estimation- - -locked eyes with her. "Why am I telling you this? I don't even know you."

"Just a matter of curiosity," Vi said. "Compared to someone I know, you don't look very frightening." Unbidden, an image of Gin floated through her head, and she shuddered. Compared to him...

The woman's eyes narrowed. "You're not from around here, are you? If you were, you'd know it's because of what I can do that scares people, not what I look like."

"Depends. What can you do?"

"'What can I do'?" she asked disbelievingly. "'What can I do'? I've turned people into dolls, thrown them across streets with my mind, and have won Pokémon battles without saying a word. They are scared because I can see their thoughts and render them helpless before me. Where do you get off being so non-chalant?"

"Because," Vi said darkly, "I'm not the picture of perfection myself, either."

"How so?"

"I used to work for a dangerous syndicate. They don't care much for other peoples' lives, you know."

The woman's eyes widened at the implications. "What?!" she hissed, remembering just in time to keep the volume down. "How? You're less than half my age!"

"If you're all that you say you are," Vi stated, "then take a check and find out."

"I can't do that," she argued, thinking of some of the things that her parents taught her ever since her encounters with a certain young trainer. "That's an invasion of privacy of the worst kind!"

"Then you're just going to have to accept my words as fact." Vi smiled. "Besides, compared to a boy with rubber limbs, a de-aged detective, and a child vigilante who regularly pulls all-nighters protecting the city, how can telekinesis and telepathy compare?"

The woman's jaw dropped open as she tried to wrap her mind around that statement. "Um... maybe I should check those last ones. Just to make sure. Um... is that okay?"

Vi hesitated briefly, then shrugged. "Sure. I'll let it go this one time. Just don't delve too far."

Seeing the woman's nod, Vi let several memories roll through her head and ignored the dim yellow sheen that her eyes had taken. First off was Phibrizzo, attacking one of Hatter's henchmen with his so-called 'Gum Gum Pistol'. Next up was Jimmy Kudo, alias Conan Edogawa, telling the Junior Detective League (minus Phibrizzo) about something he'd examined yesterday.

Last on the list was Inuyasha; although the memory of her rescue from Gin and Vodka centered primarily on the pain she'd felt when the Apotoxin took effect, she could still recall a faint, blurred image of the vigilante busting down the door and charging in. She could only imagine what their expressions must've been when the criminals had the tables turned on them. Just thinking about it brought a smile to Vi's face.

The woman sighed, her eyes back to normal. "Okay, I believe you now. It's just...even with what I've done, it's really hard to. So, what's your name?"

"Vi Graythorn. And you?"

"I'm Sabrina, Saffron City's gym leader. Nice to make your acquaintance."

/-/-/-/-/

To be continued