Chapter-14
We were extremely curious about the reason for us being called upon and kept wondering if we had done anything to grab the attention of these two important personages in particular. We were led to an adjacent tent housing all the stolen goods; a couple of Police Officers were standing behind a table in front of the tent running a lost and found like facility. Officer Jenny and Bugsy went into the depths of the tent and we followed in after them with, there were loads of goods arranged neatly inside and the three of us along with the three Pokémon put under our care were looking around at all the various knick knacks. Officer Jenny and Bugsy stopped in front of two small crates kept deep in the tent; I also looked at them and recognized them to be the ones we recovered from the two Team Rocket members we encountered in the Ilex forest previously.
"Do the three of you have any idea what's in these crates you recovered."- Bugsy asks and we shake our heads to show we are in the dark with regards to their contents.
"Not only did you contribute a lot in saving the town, you three also thoroughly ruined Team Rocket's plan this time around by recovering these."- Officer Jenny commends us as she opens the crates up for us to have a look at their contents. One of the crates has a lot of soft padding to protect its delicate contents and after brushing apart the top layers three Pokémon eggs are revealed to us.
We stare on at the contents in wonder, but what truly makes my jaw drop to the floor are the contents of the other crate; in it are loads of files and design drawings marked with 'Top Secret property of Devon Corporation' boldly in red over them. These are surely extremely important for the Devon Corporation based in Hoenn, as the largest company in Hoenn capable of rivalling Kanto's Silph Co. there was no need to doubt regarding the value of these files; no wonder Team Rocket was after them.
"These files contain highly valuable information and data from the research of the Devon Corporation from Hoenn and it is instrumental we return them to the company's representatives who arrived with the Hoenn envoy party."- Bugsy explains to us.
"That's right, returning these to their rightful owners are of paramount importance to maintain good relations with our friends from Hoenn. Unfortunately the town's restoration has us completely occupied here so we were planning to request you to return these when the three of you go to Goldenrod city along with the caravan. Seeing as you were the ones to recover these items in the first place I was hoping you could see it through to the end and escort this package to its destination, it would greatly reduce our worries if the three of you help out."- Officer Jenny asks us. Apparently the recent events have given the three of us quite a bit of fame and goodwill among the townsfolk, we humbly accept the task and after carefully resealing the crates we take them with us to store it carefully in our Odd Shop & Cafe's store room until our departure for Goldenrod city. Surprisingly the place had survived with minimal damage thanks to the efforts of a few of our loyal trainer customers and some townsfolk who regarded it as an important land mark of town and mounted a lot of defences around it.
We helped out with the town's restoration as much as possible over the next couple of days, Mudkip, Torchic and Treecko having fully recovered after a good night's rest were also doing their best to help out. We had grown much closer now especially Heart and Torchic, she had found out that Torchic loved sweet food stuffs and spoilt her silly when she took her home with her, Torchic now followed closely behind Heart where ever she went and would get very upset if you tried to separate them. Needless to say Soul and I were also trying our best to make Mudkip and Treecko's stay at our place as comfy a possible, we paid a lot of attention to their likes and dislikes to make sure we didn't cause them any discomfort(What can I say, looks like we all had some ulterior motives). We also took them into the Ilex forest with us frequently as we had to send our forest friends back home after thanking them a lot with tasty treats and massages for their help in saving the town, there was also an increased demand for lumber to restore the many damaged and destroyed town structures. We also introduced the three to our many friends in the forest and they got along really well as they played together a lot when we were too busy with work.
A full week went by in the blink of an eye before the situation in town stabilised and the caravan was ready to head out to Goldenrod city. Heart was very eager to go the fair before but was now very reluctant as we would have to part ways from our new Hoenn Pokémon friends, the communication lines were repaired just two days go and Nurse Joy had immediately informed the officials at Goldenrod city about them having rescued the envoy's Pokémon and recovered the stolen goods. The envoys were extremely happy on finding out the good news; they were immensely grateful to us for helping them out and were very eager for our visit to return their belongings.
We got ready early the next morning and helped load up the trucks with our cargo including the two crates to be returned to their rightful owners. The three of us didn't speak much about it but instead cherished the remaining time we would get to spend with Treecko, Mudkip and Torchic so for most of the journey they had our undivided attention as we played and fooled around. Torchic was just too cute and full of energy just like Heart, she absolutely hated to lose or be ignored and would break down with a really pitiful tear filled look when upset causing Heart to melt and go all soft and mushy and finally pick her up into her arms to cuddle and comfort her; Heart finally met someone as diabolical as her. The relationship between Soul and Mudkip was really funny, what with him being all cool and serious all the time and cute little Mudkip cuddling up to him right when he's least prepared for it was hilarious and Heart and I never stopped teasing him about it; regardless of that it didn't mean that Soul didn't look after him well, it was just that Soul was sort of shy in front of others, I'd actually seen him cuddling with Mudkip one day and I swear his face became as pale as Moo Moo Milk when he saw me, anyway after much threatening /pleading on his part I agreed to never mention this in front of anyone especially Heart. Treecko was sort of like Soul that way as he always portrayed a calm and collected attitude in front of everyone, he was sort of like the responsible big brother and often kept the other two Pokémon from trouble but all that cool guy act fell apart that day when I pulled a prank on him by setting trap at his favourite perch on the tree in the backyard. As soon as he had climbed up to his spot he tripped a wire causing a Poke Doll I'd hidden in the leaves to pop out, he was so startled he slipped and fell into the pond; I could almost see the vein pulsing on his forehead as he chased me around for three whole hours after that.
As we prepare camp for the night in the forest we can't help but reminiscence of the week that went by, sure the whole attack on the town by Team Rocket was a catastrophe but it also let the six of us meet up. That night felt like one of the longest nights in my life, both in this one and the previous. It was mid morning when we made it out of the forest and we could finally see Goldenrod city off in the distance from our spot in the back of the pickup truck. When our caravan got closer we were astonished to find a large welcoming party waiting for us by the south-east main road of the city, there were a lot of big names at the front of the party such as Mr. Pokémon, the Pokémon Professors Oak, Elm and even Birch as well as Goldenrod city's Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy, standing in front of all these VIPs was none other than Steven Stone the son of the Devon Corporation Chairman and Champion of the Hoenn region. All these famous personages were gathered here just to receive us apparently.
As soon as Heart, Soul and I got off the back of the truck Steven and company came up to us.
"It.. Its an honour meeting you Mr. Steven Stone sir... Here ..Here's the items that were stolen by Team Rocket sir."- I start to stutter as I present the crates I had hastily pulled out upon seeing just who had come to receive us.
"Haha, no need to be so nervous and please just call me Steven or it would make me feel uncomfortable."- 'Steven' said with an amused look.
" uuu.. really you don't mind... but..but how could I. It... it is truly such an honour I am extremely humbled, to be able to meet the Champion Steven Stone in person... oh how wonderful this oww..."- My crazy fan girling moment is rudely interrupted by a vicious kick to my side by Heart who apparently couldn't take it anymore.
"Quit fooling around."- Soul says from the side and continues on calmly conversing with Steven-"Please forgive my stupid big brother's antics, here are your goods please check them to see if everything is in order."
As Steven goes through the contents-
"Hahaha, the energy of youth, what a wonderful sight to see."- Professor Oak says as he walks up to us accompanied by Mr. Pokémon and the two other Professors Elm and Birch.
Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip immediately rush over and jump onto Professor Birch while letting out happy and excited calls. "Oh I was so worried about you three, its good to see you all looking so healthy."- He says while half laughing and half crying, he is lost in petting, cuddling and carefully checking them for injuries for a while.
"Get a hold of yourself man, are you a Pokémon Professor or not. Besides shouldn't you be thanking this fine young trio for their help?"- Professor Oak admonishes Professor Birch in a joking manner.
"That's right, where are my manners? Well, on behalf of the Hoenn region's envoy and Pokémon Lab I express my heartfelt gratitude to you three."- Professor Birch sincerely thanks us, even offering us a bow which makes us feel really awkward and just as we vehemently try to down play our deeds and get rid of this weird atmosphere-
"On behalf of the Devon Corporation I also wish to express my deepest gratitude in recovering these documents."- Steven adds on with a graceful bow, and if that isn't enough-
"We also wish to offer you three young heroes our utmost gratitude." – Professor Elm and Mr. Pokémon also thank us, it turns out that the Pokémon Eggs where obtained by Mr Pokémon and was of vital importance to Professor Elm's research so he had offered them up to the Professor for his study.
We were getting dizzy, what with all these VIPs thanking and praising us so much.
"It.. it was nothing... I'm sure anyone would have done the same thing had they encountered those situations."- I try to explain. "That's right..That's right."- Heart and Soul nod their heads furiously as they back me up.
"That's enough now, can't you see you're making them feel uncomfortable. Besides they have had a rather long and tiring trip I'm sure, so why don't we all continue this conversation indoors as we relax with some refreshments."- Professor Oak comes to our rescue.
"Why don't you three go head along with them, I still have a lot of business to take care off. We'll meet up again for lunch at the Golden Spoon Restaurant."- Dadsays to us.
"But.. But"- as we protest "Don't worry I'll come along with you."- Mom and Kurt offer at the same time and then glare at each other fiercely for stealing the other's line.
"*Sigh* Give it a rest you two, its been so long since we all met up can't you get along for a brief moment."- Professor Oak exclaims as he leads our party down the streets. Since all these old friends have got together after a long time they start to chat as we walk and we just listen from the side and only speak when spoken to in a very stiff and nervous manner.
"Ah.. With all these issues resolved the Exhibition fair can finally proceed on track."- Professor Birch lets out in relief. It seems that although everyone tried their best to continue the fair, the damage Team Rocket caused took a toll on everyone's morale.
All these VIPs were naturally put up in the best Hotel rooms in the city and we were invited to accompany them for some refreshments at their hotel's roof top restaurant. The three of us mostly just listened as Mom and Kurt conversed with the others catching up on old times. Heart being too restless picked up a plate containing a pastry from the table and offered it to Torchic and invited her to sit on her lap, to Professor Birch's great surprise Torchic happily left his side and jumped onto Heart's lap comfortably settling down to eat as Heart gently pet her.
"I've heard that the three of you will be starting your own journeys soon. Here, as a token of my appreciation I would like to give you these and wish you all the very best on your travels."- Professor Oak suddenly said as he offered each of us our very own Pokédex and wished us well when he heard from Mom and Kurt of our upcoming journey. The importance of the Pokédex could not be emphasized enough; we were given a lengthy explanation about it at the Pokémon Trainer Journey seminar at the end of school. The Pokédex was not just used to scan and record the data on a Pokémon but also served as a device to monitor and check the distribution of Pokémon, as a trainer travelled all the data he gathers would be uploaded to the various lab servers so they could be analysed by researchers, it also functioned as a personal ID sort of like a passport and also as an interface for all your Pokémon so you could monitor their status. We get so very excited that after inputting our details and registering the Pokédex we immediately scan the data for the three Hoenn starters to test out the Pokédex, only basic info was given as we hadn't caught them-
Treecko, the Wood Gecko Pokémon. Treecko are able to climb smooth vertical walls and use their thick tail to attack opponents. Since Treecko build their nests in large trees it is said that those trees will live a very long life.
Torchic, the Chick Pokémon. Torchic has a place inside its body where it keeps its flame. Give it a hug—it will be glowing with warmth. This Pokémon is covered all over by a fluffy coat of down.
Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokémon. Mudkip uses the sensitive radar receptors on its head-fin to determine what's going on around it. In a pinch, it can brandish enough power to crush rocks.
Even with all these benefits the Pokédex was not available to all, firstly because it was very expensive about 20k Poke Dollars for one and actually acquiring them was also not easy even if you had the money, you either needed to have some connections with reputed Pokémon Professors or take up a qualification exam at the nearest Pokémon center to be eligible. These measures were put in place to ensure that the Pokédex did not fall into the wrong hands, there was even special emphasis on the test as even if one did not have much money they would be able to avail a good discount if their test scores were good. The three of us didn't really need to take the test at all, thanks to Mom and Kurt's status applying for one wouldn't be an issue but we still adamantly refused to just rely on their recommendations and took the test with the rest of our school friends on the last day of school, of course we all passed with flying colours.
"Oh.. you are starting your journeys soon, well in that case this makes things easier for me. I was wondering what to give the three of you as a reward for helping our company, why don't you drop by our stalls in the fair later and I'll set each of you up with one our finest packages for new trainers with all the basic essential gear and I'll even offer you half price discounts on any other products you wish to purchase."- Steven offered us. We are overwhelmed and try to decline but are shot down, with Steven himself expressing such goodwill it would be rude of us if we reject his gratitude.
So it was decided, after having some snacks the three of us accompanied Steven and Professor Birch and the three Hoenn Pokémon as we made our way over to the fairgrounds where the envoys had set up a base of operations. Mom and Kurt stayed back with the others and continued to chat, they weren't too worried now as we had the Hoenn League Champion watching over us, with another reminder to check if we had all the money we had saved up so far and reconfirming the meeting spot and time we had to show up for lunch we went our separate ways. This time around Treecko, Mudkip and Torchic accompanied us and showed us around all the interesting stalls at the fair just like how we played host to them and showed the sights around our town before.
"They seem to really like you, and here I was all worried if they would be nervous in a new environment with lots of strangers all around, they are quite young, less than a year old in fact."- Professor Birch said with a wide smile on his face as he gazed on at the sight of us being led around by the Pokémon.
After half an hour of walking and quite a few deviations as we got side tracked we arrived at the core region of the fair. There were many stalls here from many top brands and of course most of them were assigned to the Envoy's Devon Corporation. Even among all the various stalls set up by the Devon Corporation they were split up each selling different goods, there was a stall specifically selling Bags, some had medicines others had TMs and HMs and there was even a Bike shop. We were enthralled by all the stuff put on display and itching to dive right in to check the place out, looking at the sight of us nearly drooling Steven and Professor Birch just laughed a bit and quickly led us to receive our rewards and make any other purchases.