"Banette," I repeated, looking at her. "A Ghost Moemon. She must've been in the tower before it was evacuated."

"You could ask her about it if you wanted," Quinton suggested. "To be honest, I'm surprised you actually caught her."

"I'm surprised myself," I admitted. I was still thinking about whether or not to catch her while the ball was dropping from my hand. "But I guess she's mine, now."

I tossed the ball into the air, and the Moemon appeared in front of me. She wobbled a bit, rubbing her head, before standing with her hands on her hips. She looked like a young adult, mid-twenties, and was the tallest of all of my Moemon. She had piercing red eyes with which she was glaring at Stacy. Her hair was silver, a mop of hair with a single spike that dropped down into a ponytail that floated above the ground without any wind. She was covered in a silver skirt that covered her knees. A yellow brush-like tail extended out of her skirt, also hovering without any assistance. She was grinning, although her mouth was slightly covered by a scarf with a golden zipper pattern complete with the zipper itself extending slightly.

There was something very unsettling about that face she was giving Stacy, although her victim seemed unfazed. The two stared at each other unblinkingly.

"Guys," I finally said. "Enough. I don't want you to start anything."

"What could we possibly start?" The Banette giggled. "All I'd have to do is look at her, and she'll perish."

"Enough," I said sternly. The Banette turned on me, and I took a step back instinctively. "Like it or not, you're part of the team and-"

Suddenly, the Banette gave a high pitched shriek of delight. "Part of the team, you said? Oh, you've made a terrible mistake, you stupid trainer! I'll never be part of a team!"

"You're part of our team, Bailey," I repeated, regaining my footing. She was taller than me, but I stared up at her with as much confidence as I could muster, trying to establish my dominance. I quickly realized that it took a lot of effort to continue my staring; her eyes seemed to be staring directly into my soul.

"Bailey?" She scoffed. "If you think you're going to give me a name and expect me to take it, then you have no idea who you're dealing with!"

"I know exactly who I'm dealing with," I said. "Bailey, the Banette who's my newest Moemon."

I thought that'd quiet her, but she stepped forward again. Her eyes started to shine and her grin turned sinister. I suddenly felt terrified, and I couldn't look away. She grew and grew until she engulfed my entire vision. She was a giant, a terrifying monster who surrounded me. She was everything. She was suffocating. I felt my vision blur and my knees weaken.

Then Stacy grabbed her by the back of the neck and threw her to the ground. Everything turned back to normal, and I dropped to my knees. I clutched my chest, struggling to breathe. I'd never felt my heart beat so fast. It seemed like it was going to explode. My head was throbbing with each beat, and I felt my vision start to darken.

"Arthur!" Christine cried. She dropped beside me and grabbed my arm, shaking it. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I gasped. My heart started to slow. The darkness subsided. My breathing got steadier. I managed to lift my head and saw Stacy struggling to hold Bailey down a few feet away. As always, Christine's warm touch helped tremendously. She helped me to my feet and stabilized me.

"I told you!" Bailey shouted. "I told you that you didn't know who-" She was swiftly interrupted by Stacy grabbing her head and slamming it into the ground.

"I didn't expect that…" I wheezed. "That was horrible."

I looked to Quinton for help, but he looked as surprised as I felt. He didn't have any answers for me. He just shrugged.

Bailey was still struggling, muttering to herself about what she'd do to Stacy once she broke free. She wasn't going to be any help to us to her current state. She was just too volatile, too dangerous. I recalled her and stuffed the ball in my pocket.

"We can't have her on the team," advised Stacy, getting to her feet. "She'll hurt you if I take my eye off you."

"You're right," I said. "Catching her was a mistake. I'll release her when we get back to Lavender Town."

"Why not now?" Rose asked.

"Because if I do, she'll be furious at me. I'll do it somewhere where she has less of a chance of hurting me." I shook my head, smiling to myself. "Mandy would be so angry at me replacing her with this."

We spent a few minutes recovering. Apparently when I'd been under Bailey's control, I'd started shaking violently. My Moemon were surrounding me, making sure I was okay. I reassured them constantly that I was going to survive. When they were satisfied, and only then, we moved north to the entrance to the tunnel.

It was a giant intimidating maw that led into complete darkness. It was pitch black inside and eerily silent. I felt strangely uneasy upon approaching it, like I was sensing the suffering of hundreds of Moemon inside.

"We're just going in, getting you your Moemon, and getting out?" I asked.

"Unless you want to catch someone as well," said Quinton.

I patted my pocket absentmindedly. "I think I'll pass on another ghost type."

I let Quinton go on ahead, not too eager to enter the darkness. But the moment Quinton stepped into the cave, he stopped and turned around. Melody had snatched his shirt violently. She hadn't even entered the cavern.

"I can sense something," she said.

"The trainer?" I asked, turning around. I couldn't see anything. My Moemon all surrounded the cave facing outward, making sure all angles were covered.

"No, inside the cave," Melody replied. She glanced at her feet where Lucia was. "It's a similar feeling I had outside Pewter City. There's another Moemon trapped. This one's strong. She-" She paused. "-She's calling out to me! She senses me too! She needs our help! Quinton!"

Quinton nodded. "Lead the way, Melody. Let's go!"

They disappeared into the darkness. We wasted no time in following them. The narrow tunnel opened up into an enormous cavern that was completely covered in darkness. Even though we were only a few seconds behind them, the lights of Quinton and his Moemon were quickly disappearing into nothing. We rushed after them, barely managing to keep them in our sights. They moved along the wall for a while and then completely disappeared.

We came up to the wall and found a small crack that they must've squeezed through.

"Are you guys okay?" I hissed.

"We're fine!" Came Quinton's faint cry. "We'll meet you outside!"

But I wasn't going to leave them. "Are you all okay?" I asked. My Moemon nodded, all four of them accounted for, so we shuffled through the crack. We didn't have to squeeze for long, and after moving through the short wall we entered into another tunnel. The remnants of a light lingered to our left, so we followed them.

It seemed at that point Quinton had slowed down, and the light started to brighten. We found them all standing in front of an opening, staring inside. We approached, and Quinton wordlessly stood aside to let us see what he was staring at. I gave him a confused glance, and then saw exactly why he hadn't moved forward.

It was the sight of a terrible tragedy: the cave had completely collapsed. The closest object was the outstretched hand of a man whose lower half was completely covered in rubble. His lab coat was in tatters, shreds resting everywhere. The rubble covered most of the room, no doubt covering several more unfortunate souls. Dried blood caked the ground. Shining my light inside the room, I could see a ruined empty bookcase in the corner next to an overturned one. Light shined off of several pieces of shattered glass in the room, reflecting onto the walls to reveal a single intact glass tube in the farthest corner away from the pile of rubble.

"Did you see that?" I asked, motioning toward the tube.

"That's the Moemon," said Melody. "She's crying for us."

"Who knows how long she's been trapped in here?" Quinton sighed, staring at the body before us. "Days? Weeks?"

"We'll help her," I said. "Stop staring at the dead. Focus on the living, alright?"

"I don't think I can," Quinton whispered. He wouldn't take his eyes off the body. "There's too much death in this room."

"I understand," I said. I patted him on the shoulder and stepped over the body. "Just give me some light."

I climbed carefully over the rubble toward the far corner. The pile shifted slightly, and I stopped in fear of a second collapse. After a moment, the shifting passed, and the pile settled. I continued, climbing over the overturned bookcase, and reached the table where the tube was located.

Quinton was illuminating my surroundings with his own flashlight, but it was still incredibly dim. I looked at the glass and saw a pair of green eyes peering at me. "I'm here to help, I said, trying to hide that her eyes being the sole sources of life in this tomb were disturbing me. I pulled my shovel out of my backpack. "Step back. Protect yourself if you can."

The eyes seemed to nod understandingly. I reeled back and swung, and the glass tube shattered. Pieces scattered in the corner, and I heard shouts of panic from outside. I gave myself a quick look over to ensure that I hadn't been hit by a stray piece.

"I'm okay!" I shouted, turning my head toward the entrance. "I had to break the tube, though."

"Is she okay?" Quinton shouted.

I looked back and saw that the eyes were attached to a young girl floating in front of me. The first thing that stood out about her was that she was covered in shades of entirely green clothes. She was being carried in the air by two bug-like wings that fluttered constantly. She had a bright smile on her face, and when she saw me looking at her she leapt into my arms.

"Thank you! Thank you! I thought I'd be trapped forever!"

"It's fine," I said. "Are you hurt? Were you hit by anything?"

She shook her head. "I was able to protect myself. I had enough strength for that. Is the path clear?"

I looked back. There'd be enough room for us. "It'll take a bit of work, but we'll make it."

We maneuvered our way outside the room and reunited with everyone. Quinton ran up to her with a water bottle and a granola bar in his hands.

"You must be starving," he said, handing them over. "Here, take this."

Her eyes lit up when she saw the food, and she practically snatched them from his hands. She took a big bite. "Thank you so much!"

"Could you tell us what happened?" I asked. "Why were you trapped? Why are these scientists dead?"

"Unless it's something you want to forget," Quinton interjected carefully.

"I don't mind," she swallowed. "It's not the first time this has happened to me."

That surprised me. "It's not?"

She shook her head. "The last time I was imprisoned, it ended in bloodshed as well. I suppose I've grown used to the sight."

"You said you've been captured before?" I asked.

"Many times throughout the centuries," she gave a sad giggle. "I have trouble protecting myself. I'm not as strong as some of my sisters." She paused, looking at us curiously. "I'm admittedly surprised you didn't recognize me immediately."

Quinton and I glanced at each other. I strangely felt bad that I'd disappointed her. "No, we don't. Should we?"

"Oh!" Her eyes suddenly widened with realization, then they almost immediately lowered in sadness. "Oh… you must be Challengers." We nodded. "Then you likely don't know what I am. I am Celebi. I'm considered a Mythical Moemon, which means I'm the only one of my kind. That is why I've been captured so many times."

"Celebi," I repeated. The clothes, the telepathy with Melody, the strange circumstances about this whole thing. It made sense. "I rescued Celebi… well, shit, I'm really glad you're ok."

Her face returned to curiosity. "So you've heard of me?"

"We know you," I explained. "We know about you and what you can do."

"Were you not able to travel through time and escape?" asked Quinton.

"I wasn't," Celebi answered. "The experiments those scientists performed on me weakened my psychic abilities, leaving me helpless. They showed me these strange purple crystals which gave off enormous energies that completely smothered my own. It was all I could do to keep myself awake when I was exposed to them for so often. They did these experiments constantly, so I could never recover enough to be able to escape."

"I'm so sorry to hear that!" Quinton exclaimed sympathetically. "You didn't deserve that!"

So this lab had those crystals being excavated in Mt. Moon. "Where are the crystals?" I asked.

Celebi nodded at the pile of rocks. "They were all covered when the cave collapsed. They don't affect me when I can't see them, so I was able to recover. You do not want to unearth them. They are best left under those rocks."

"I just wanted to be sure they were all gone," I said. "We've had trouble with those crystals before. The one time they were exposed to us, our psychic Moemon couldn't handle their enormous power and screamed for us to put them away."

"They are terrible things," said Celebi. "I have seen many Moemon become overwhelmed by them. I would advise you to keep them far away from any Moemon with psychic abilities."

She handed Quinton the remains of her food, and Quinton replaced them. "Do you need more? We have plenty."

She took them happily. "You are too kind."

"Consider it payment for rescuing you," I joked. She smiled, although Quinton gave me a dark look.

"This isn't payment," Quinton said. "We're helping her recover."

"I appreciate it so much," she said. "Really, I do. This is helping me immensely! I would do anything to repay this kindness."

But I thought I understood Quinton's concern. She'd only been recently rescued from a small enclosed space she'd been trapped in for who knew how long. She didn't seem the slightly bit worried or concerned or depressed.

"But are you okay?" I asked. "The scientists did a lot to you…"

Her eyes saddened. "Their experiments were cruel. The scientists were not. Many of them were fascinated with me and wanted to make sure that I was as comfortable as I could be. They gave me ample time to recover so that I wasn't overwhelmed. They warned me when they would experiment so that I could prepare. I am not upset that they died, but I am not happy either."

"Were any of them able to escape?"

She shook her head. "The collapse was so sudden… the scientists were about to perform another experiment when the ceiling cracked. They were so preoccupied that they weren't able to react. I couldn't see it happen. Suddenly it shattered. Everything was buried."

"Everything?" I repeated in confusion.

She nodded. "Everything."

"Do you know what caused it?" Rose asked.

"It must've been an accident," said Quinton. That's the risk when you experiment in a cave."

Celebi smiled sadly. "I do not believe it was an accident. I believe the scientists disrupted the Ghost Moemon of this cave, and they struck back."

"A Ghost Moemon," I said thoughtfully. "I captured one. Maybe she could give you some answers."

"I'd like to see her!" said Celebi insistently.

I pulled out the ball and threw it to the ground. Bailey appeared in front of us, her mouth snarling, but the moment she saw Celebi she froze in fear. "She's free…" she whispered. "She's finally free."

"Hello," said Celebi courteously. "I suppose you recognize me, then. Why do you find me so frightening?"

"You brought those men here!" Bailey shouted accusingly. "They attacked and captured us! They made my friends disappear! It's your fault!"

"They were your friends?" Celebi asked. "I'm terribly sorry what happened to them."

"What exactly happened to them?" Rose asked.

"They disappeared!" Bailey shouted.

"The scientists brought in many Ghost Moemon during my time here. They used the crystals on them as well, but they weren't able to handle the prolonged effects and passed away."

"Jesus…" I whispered. I was feeling less sympathetic toward the scientists by the second.

"They died!" Bailey yelled. "They died and it's all your fault!"

"I take the blame," said Celebi, nodding understandingly. "I wish I could change what happened."

"You should be dead!" Bailey seethed. "We killed you… we killed all of you! We smothered you! How are you alive?"

"You caused the cave's collapse?" Celebi asked for confirmation. "You ghosts?"

"I led them! I needed to stop those men from capturing us!" She looked at the cave. "Why are the rocks gone? The entire cave disappeared!"

"I was protected," said Celebi. "When I was able to regain my strength, I moved as much of the rubble as I could manage."

"My friends sacrificed their lives to kill you," Bailey dropped her gaze, looking defeated for the first time since I'd caught her. "Their lives were wasted for nothing."

"I'm truly sorry to hear that."

I took that as a sign to stop. I felt sorry for this woman, despite everything she'd said and done. She just looked so depressed. I returned her to her ball without another word.

"I don't know whether to thank her for rescuing me or scold her for despising me," Celebi sighed. "I suppose I got my answer; I don't know if I wanted it."

Quinton nudged my shoulder. "We should leave."

"Don't you still need your Moemon?" I asked.

"No one will approach us when we're with Celebi," Quinton replied. "I think I'd rather come back another day."

"I could escort you out," Celebi suggested. "There was a map in that room that I stared at for so long. I've memorized all of the routes. It would be the least I could do to thank you for helping me."

True to her word, she maneuvered through the caves expertly, and we were able to leave without much incident. When we left, Celebi took a deep breath of the fresh air.

"It's been so long since I saw the sun," she said, covering her eyes. She had a bright smile on her face and hope in her eyes. She turned to us. "Thank you for helping me! I hope I'll be able to repay the favor someday!"

"We're glad you're alright," I said.

"Please take care of yourself," said Quinton. "Don't forget us!"

"I could never. I hope you're able to achieve your goal, Challengers. I know the risks."

She brought us into a close hug and said goodbye to all of us again. She jumped off the ground, fluttering in midair, waved one last time, and shot off into the distance. We watched her disappear with mixed feelings.

"We rescued a Celebi," I repeated, shaking my head. "Wait until the others hear about that."

"Why did we have to rescue her in the first place?" Quinton wondered. "Was it just a random team of scientists who just happened to have purple crystals in a discrete location and could manage to catch a Mythical?"

I got what Quinton was implying. "Of course not," I said. "They belong to Team Rocket as well."

"I'm starting to reach the same conclusion," said Quinton. "I can't believe Nick was right. Team Rocket really was in Mt. Moon excavating for those crystals."

"The lab near Pewter mentioned them capturing a Mew," I said. "Another Mythical. Another Psychic."

"Lucia," Quinton said carefully. "You've never told me about the experiments, but could you answer me this one thing? Did they ever expose you to those purple crystals?"

Lucia stared up at Quinton for a while. Then she slowly nodded. Quinton brought her in for a hug.

"Who knows how many other labs these people have?" I muttered. "Who knows how many Moemon they've captured? How many they've killed? They have to have a reason." I could think of only a single conclusion. They were experimenting on powerful Psychic Moemon, they were – as far as we knew – the ones constructing an entire town north of Cerulean City, and they were building up to Cerulean Cave. "They're going to capture Mewtwo."

I was expecting Quinton to argue, to be in disbelief, to have to be persuaded. But to my surprise, he nodded thoughtfully. "If you put the clues together, they seem to point to that conclusion."

"I'm glad you see it my way! We have to tell everyone and stop them!"

But Quinton put up his hand to stop me. "Why?"

"Because it's Team Rocket, and because we can't let them get what they want!"

Quinton was looking at me in disappointment. "Arthur, you know as much as I do that this is not the games. This is a far more complex, disturbing, unfair world. Our goal at the end of this isn't to stop Team Rocket from achieving their goals. Our only goal is to beat the Elite Four. Team Rocket isn't our responsibility."

I stared at him in shock. "You're saying we should just let them get what they want?"

"How are we going to stop them? Walk up to their leader, demand a battle, and expect him to drop everything just because we won? That won't work."

"We could tell someone," I suggested. "Tell the police-"

"-Who Team Rocket controls, as far as we know."

"Then tell someone else!"

"Like who? We don't know anyone with that kind of authority. You have made your opinion of Mayor Porter perfectly clear."

"He knows the President," I said.

"We don't know how far up this goes," reminded Quinton. "Maybe President Monroe is the leader of Team Rocket."

"We have to try something!"

"We'd end up dead like that reporter. Arthur, this is not our responsibility. We owe nothing to these people. We can play a small part in stopping them, but we will never be able to stop their influence on this region."

Melody grabbed Quinton's shoulder. "The trainer is nearby," she warned.

That stopped our argument. We surrounded each other, covering all angles. "Should we run?" asked Quinton. "Maybe they won't pursue us once we've reached Lavender Town."

"We could," I said. "Let's go, quickly."

But as we ran down the hill and through the narrow path, we saw to our horror that the path was blocked off. A pair of women leaned against a rock, chatting with each other. We stopped as soon as they were within sight, but because of the path's turns they were only a few feet from us. Melody pointed at them, and we knew what she meant.

The women took notice of us, and the taller one stepped forward. She waved. "I heard you boys went to the Rock Tunnel! How'd it go?"

We didn't say a word. She grinned. "I guess you know who I am? Or should I say, what I am? My name's Hunter G!"

Arthur:

Christine the Charmeleon

Stacy the Staravia

Rose the Roselia

Olivia the Dewott

Annie the Aron

Bailey the Banette

Quinton:

Melody the Metang

Wendy the Quagsire

Lucia the Riolu

Willow the Sudowoodo

Mary the Flaaffy

Minnie the Mienfoo