Chapter 11: The Ball Craftsman

Kevin's battle didn't last long. The Scizor went down in one hit from Kevin's Flamethrower, although he wasn't sure why it did go down so fast. After saying goodbye to Shingo and Muramasa, he left the school leaving the rest of the school wondering who he really was and continued to Azalea City.

Maybe you should stay for autographs, Duo-Cevan joked.

If this melody wasn't in my head, I probably would've stayed longer, Kevin commented. It seems to be increasing more and more often.

It makes me wonder why we haven't lost control yet, Duo-Cevan wondered. Is it supposed to do this or are we actually fighting it?

I would like to say that I was fighting, but it could just be my imagination, Kevin said.

After what seemed like traveling for the entire afternoon, Kevin finally reached Azalea City. He had no difficulty reaching it, but after looking at the town, he wondered how it could even survive.

Isn't there a river nearby this town? Kevin asked Duo-Cevan. I see an irrigation ditch, but nothing else.

Maybe they provide water by other means? Duo-Cevan said, more to himself than Kevin.

Perhaps, Duo-Cevan, Kevin replied. They could be using water Pokémon to water their crops, but I've never heard a town do such a thing before.

Upon entering the town, Kevin nearly stepped on something that was out of view before he saw a sign showing the silhouette of a Slowpoke. Taking a quick glance around, he found his foot on a paw of a Slowpoke. "Whoa!" Kevin said in startlement, fluttering his wings to lift himself off the paw.

A passerby looked in Kevin's direction from the noise. "Something wrong?" he asked, not suspecting Kevin's identity. Kevin's fluttering of his wings was only brief; he quickly hid them back under his cape of his suit before the man saw.

"Not really," Kevin replied. "I didn't notice that sign over there before my foot landed on this Slowpoke's paw."

"What?!?" The man said in startlement. "Is he ok?" he dashed over to the Slowpoke, who now finally felt the pain from its foot.

"The Slowpoke is fine," Kevin responded. "My mistake was only momentarily, and I didn't cause any real damage, so he'll only be in a little discomfort for a few seconds or so."

"Well, that's good to hear," the man said with a sigh of relief. He then looked fiercely at Kevin. "You must be new here, so let me explain something to you: Slowpoke are a recognized symbol of our town. Make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again."

Never before as a hybrid has Kevin been the one who received a glare from an average person. Moving back a little so the man did not notice the motion, Kevin stared at him. "Are they really that important to your town?"

As soon as Kevin asked the question, though, he heard a noise. Looking up, he saw several of the Pokémon sitting in a line. They were yawning. Once the line was finished, Kevin saw storm clouds move in from several different directions. Staring at the brewing clouds, Kevin asked a different question. "The Slowpoke cause this?"

"Yes, they do. You could say it's a form of rain dance," The man answered. He immediately got up and began running off from Kevin's direction. "Now that they're yawning, I need my rain coat!"

"Rain dance?" Kevin asked to no one. He then yelled out to the man, "Where can I find Kurt?"

The man looked back in his dash. "The only house with a real fence around it!!" he yelled back. He then dashed around a corner and out of Kevin's sight.

Oh, now that's a big help! Duo-Cevan commented. With that comment, the downpour began.

After being in all kinds of weather for 9 years, nothing that came from the sky naturally bothered him anymore. Creating a harmless, transparent fire spin around him to form a barrier from the rain, Kevin went in search for Kurt's house. It wasn't long before he ran across a rather large home, entirely surrounded by what Kevin could consider a courtyard fence.

Wow, Kevin said in wonder. Kurt must need a lot of concentration to live in such a place to make his Pokéballs, As soon as he thought that, Kevin was immediately run into by someone from behind. He turned to face a small girl, now completely soaked by the heavy rain.

The girl looked up at Kevin. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she said. "I didn't see you there. You're suit's so dark it almost completely blends in with the falling rain."

"It's ok," Kevin replied. He then noticed the concern in her face. "Is something the matter?"

"Yes, there is," she answered. "There's a lot of rain out here."

"Do you not like the rain?

"No… it's not that," she said, shaking her head. "The rain is falling too hard. It could almost be thought as a light waterfall."

Danger.

Kevin glanced up. "What the…"

"What is it?" the girl asked.

Kevin began looking around, attempting to trace the danger signal. He pinpointed it to the sky. He then realized something. Duo-Cevan! he shouted. Agility and jump backwards!!

I'm on it, Duo-Cevan responded. Immediately, Kevin jumped backwards several feet a half-second before a flash of light shot down and struck the ground where Kevin previously stood.

"Aaah!" the girl screamed. She fell to the ground, surprised completely by the sudden strike.

"You all right?" Kevin asked her in concern. He looked at the sky again, the danger signals growing stronger. "We should get out of this rain. We're like walking lightning rods because of the water."

The girl regained her senses. "Yeah…" she replied, fear apparent to Kevin's eyes. Just then, another Thunder attack from an unknown source in the sky struck the ground beside the two. "My house is just past that fence. We'll be safe if we can get in there. I'll let you come in, too."

Kevin grabbed the girl's arm and dashed at the fence. Pulling the gate open, he started for the home. He didn't get much farther, however, before three consecutive strikes hit the ground to their left, right, and front.

"What kind of storm is this?!?" The girl wondered frantically.

She's starting to panic, Duo-Cevan noted. Let's just carry her. She's small enough.

"Here, we'll go much faster this way," Kevin said to her. Picking up the girl in her arms, he used agility to start dashing toward the home.

The dash to the home was perilous. Kevin had to dodge thunder strike after thunder strike as he moved closer to the door. Whatever is attacking us seems to be getting more accurate! Duo-Cevan stated.

Without taking his arms from under the girl, he created a light screen around himself and the girl. Just as soon as he did that, a shot of thunder fell from the sky and hit Kevin's light screen. It was enough to cause the girl to scream. Reaching the door to the home, he opened it, dashed in, and dropped the girl off gently onto her feet.

"What in blazes is going on outside?" an old man suddenly shouted as he ran toward them. "Are you two all right?"

"We're fine," Kevin commented. He listened for a moment. "Wait a minute… the thunder has stopped."

"It has?" the girl asked. "Are you sure?"

Kevin looked out into the pouring rain. Thinking for a moment, he reached out into the rain, then rapidly pulled it out. Just as he pulled his hand out of the rain, a flash of yellow shot down from the sky and illuminated the falling rain before Kevin.

"Whatever it is, it wants to hurt me and not anyone else," Kevin stated.

"Peculiar weather, indeed," the old man commented. He looked at Kevin. "You don't suppose that you've angered the legends, have you?"

Legends? Kevin wondered. Uh-oh… he then lied. "Legends? Oh, you mean those strange-looking Pokémon I keep reading about?"

"Yes, such as Zapdos… or even Raikou."

"I've heard of Zapdos… I've never seen him," Kevin fibbed. "But Raikou? That's a new one to me."

"I see…" the old man thought out loud. He then looked outside. "Ahh, the rainfall seems to be slowing."

*                      *                      *

After the rain stopped, the girl went back outside for reasons unknown to Kevin. As for him and the old man, they went into another room to have hot chocolate and discuss other matters. They sat in a room that seemed almost symmetrical: a circular table in the center, a long couch on each side, and a hallway connected to opposite sides of the room.

"Thank you again for letting me stay for the day," Kevin said. "I don't believe we were properly introduced."

"Indeed, we haven't, sir," the old man said. "My name is Kurt. You probably have heard of my name before as one of the best Pokéball makers."

"Only recently have I heard your name," Kevin replied, "as I have lived for many years in Kanto. If you wish to know mine, I am known as Cevan."

"'Known' as Cevan?" Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that you're trying to hide from someone?"

"Perhaps," Kevin said. He then sighed. "To be honest, I'd rather not give up my name to the public. I have too many admirers and haters."

"Ahh… you're one that hates attention." Kurt took a sip of his hot chocolate. "I understand how you feel. Many come from all over because I'm one who people recognize as a professional. Just yesterday, someone had come to see if I had any leftover fast balls."

"Fast balls? What are those?" Kevin asked.

"Fast balls can be used against Pokémon who have a tendency of running. It can usually get those Pokémon in the ball before they can get anywhere," Kurt answered. "But back to the subject. What kind of person are you that you would have too many 'admirers and haters,' as you put it?"

"The kind that can usually get a person's attention with just a name. Someone mentioned to me that a particular group was on the lookout for me." Kevin realized something. "Which reminds me… Kurt, do you have a phone?"

"Yes, right over there," Kurt answered, motioning his hand over to a phone to the side of the room.

Kevin looked at the phone, and then looked back at Kurt. "If I am able to make a call to someone, do you promise to keep everything you hear in this conversation as confidential?"

"Is it that important?" Kurt wondered.

"Yes."

"Then I won't utter a word," Kurt said determinedly. "Not even to my granddaughter."

Kevin got up to the phone and opened his Pokégear. "Let's see if this works…" he said to himself. He then selected Barks's number, put the Pokégear next to the phone, and hit the red and "dial" buttons at the same time.

After waiting a few seconds, Kevin heard someone pick up. "Hello?" a familiar voice answered.

"Barks! Finally! I thought I would never be able to contact you again!" Kevin said with a relieved voice.

"Kevin?" Barks said in surprise. The video screen on the phone flashed on. "Well! I didn't think we'd be able to talk with this interference going on!" Barks's expression suddenly changed on the screen. "Where are you, anyway?"

"I'm at Kurt's house, Barks," Kevin said, "and I'm using his phone. I experimented with your Pokégear and I've found that you can use an external phone if you hit the red and dial buttons at the same time. Was that intentional?"

Barks thought for a moment. "No, not really. I guess I made that 'send data' button a little too strong for it's own good, but oh well," Barks said with a shrug. His expression suddenly became very serious. "Listen, Kevin. This conspiracy is going farther than I thought. Apparently, the reason why the Pokégear suddenly stopped functioning properly is because one of the satellite dishes on the radio tower in Goldenrod City was sabotaged."