Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. I do however own Alex, and this characterization of a member of the Darkrai, Purugly, Kricketune, Ponyta, and Murkrow species.

Chapter Nine:
Hearsay

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"It's a girl," Professor Rowan declared, looking up from his examination of Murkrow.

"Aww man!" Ponyta whined, "Not another one!"

It was the morning after Alex had arrived in Sandgem, and the trainer had decided to let all of her Pokémon out in the spacious fields surrounding the professor's lab. Darkrai was content to lie in the shadows, hidden from the eyes of any who might come down the road while Ponyta and Purugly danced around the two humans prodding the little bird on a table behind the massive building, Kricketune watching in silence while Mightyena occasionally threw in his two bits to the conversation.

Alex grinned. "I thought it might be, but I wasn't sure—it's hard to tell when the feathers might be done growing."

Rowan nodded. "Hmm, at four days old, a male Murkrow's crown feathers would be two centimeters taller."

"I can't believe it's another girl," Ponyta grumbled, turning to Mightyena, "We're out numbered without Luxray here."

Mightyena smirked. "You're outnumbered—I'm staying here next time you guys take off."

"Why?!" Ponyta cried in despair.

The old dark type cackled, standing up with a crack from his spine. "I'm too old for traveling—actually, I've been too old for traveling for awhile now." He nodded at the shadows. "I just had to find a good replacement before I could retire."

"Mighty! Don't leave me alone with all these… girls!" The fire colt shivered in horror. "I'll get some weird disease without you!"

Purugly sauntered over to them with a grin. "Don't worry, Mighty—we'll take good care of him for you." The fat cat draped her tail across Ponyta's back.

Mightyena's smirk deepened at Ponyta's look of utter dismay. "Foal, there will come a day when you won't mind being surrounded by strong, healthy females. In fact, I dare say you'll enjoy it."

"Well it's not today!" Ponyta wailed.

The hyena Pokémon laughed. "At least you have Darkrai."

Darkrai started at its name as Ponyta huffed, "Darkrai doesn't count! It's not a boy or a girl!"

The legendary floated up out of the shadows to comment. "Why does this matter so much?"

Mouth agape, the fire colt walked over, reared up on his hind legs, and rested his knees on Darkrai's chest to put their faces within inches of each other. "You don't understand!"

Darkrai's eyes widened as it leaned away from the frantic foal. "Okay, okay! I don't understand!"

To the larger dark type's relief, Ponyta hopped down and sighed, accepting his fate. "Mourn for me, Mighty."

"I will dance upon your grave, little one," Mightyena said solemnly.

"Gee, thanks," the fire colt replied dryly, "That makes me feel so much better."

"Boss!" Murkrow interrupted, taking flight from the table to swoop towards them and land on Darkrai's raised arm, "I'm a girl!"

"Yes, Minion, you are a girl," the legendary brought Murkrow in closer and stroked its (her) feathers with its free talon.

"What's that mean?" the little bird asked after a few moments.

Darkrai glanced at Purugly, but the fat cat just smirked. "Hey, I already gave the speech—it's your turn now."

The legendary hummed, trying to recall all the details it had learned about genders. "Well, there are males and females—"

"Oh Dialga! Not this again!" Ponyta whinnied and raced off before Darkrai could get started.

The larger dark type paused, considering the tiny bird perched on its arm. "Maybe we should wait until you're older." Darkrai shook its head. "It's not that important, anyway."

Mightyena snorted. "I and many others would dare to disagree."

Darkrai glared. "It's not that important right now."

"Much better."

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The next day found Alex waiting nervously in the lab with Professor Rowan. The 'expert' was due to arrive at any moment, and though it was cliché, the trainer had a very bad feeling about all this.

Alex jumped as a knock sounded from the door. Rowan sent a smile her way before getting to his feet and making his way around the table they had been seated at to the entrance of the room.

"Hmm, yes, come in, come in!" Rowan beckoned, holding the door open for the new arrival.

Alex took a huge breath and looked up at the expert, forcing a warm smile on her face as she took in the dark-eyed and brown-haired young man following the professor.

Rowan gestured to a chair opposite of Alex. "Have a seat and we can get down to business, Professor Oak—or do you prefer a different title?"

Alex fought not to show surprise at Rowan's question—hadn't he said he'd worked with this person before?

The expert laughed, taking a seat. "Gary, please—Professor Oak's my granddad."

"Of course, of course," Rowan sat down next to Alex and gestured at her, "This is my research assistant, Alexandra—Alex, this is Gary Oak, foremost expert on rare Pokémon and grandson of a dear friend."

"Pleased to meet you," Alex said politely.

"And you," Gary replied. "I hear you have something that's right up my alley."

Rowan put a hand on her knee under the table, stopping her from attempting to speak. "Hmm, yes, would you like to see it?"

Gary grinned. "That would be helpful."

With a hand still on her knee, Rowan reached inside a pocket in his coat and withdrew a Poké Ball, releasing the creature inside a moment later. A huge tank of a Pokémon solidified onto the metal tiles of the floor, letting out a wide yawn as it turned its shield-like head to the group.

Gary looked taken aback. "A Bastiodon?" The fossil Pokémon paid no mind to the expert, choosing to watch the professor instead.

"Hmm?" Rowan looked surprised at the appearance of the Shield Pokémon. "Oh, wrong ball, sorry." He withdrew the Bastiodon and pulled out a different ball. "Here we go—"

Alex felt a wave of darkness take up residence in her soul as the second Pokémon formed. The white light faded to reveal a strange trapezoidal rock with something that looked like a frowning face carved into its front. Suddenly, a purple fog rolled out of the cracks in the rock and flattened out into an upright spiraling disc while a poisonous green face appeared in the center.

"Ssss…." the ghostly Pokémon hissed, eyeing the humans with a flat glower.

Alex again had to fight to keep her shock secret, and glanced at Gary just in time to see him wipe a look of surprised disappointment off his face.

Rowan turned to the expert. "Hmm, I've heard that Spiritomb can be very troublesome when upset, so I wanted an expert's opinion on keeping one satisfied."

"Ah, well," Gary shifted uncomfortably, "you see, I'm not very familiar with ghost types. I know a guy, though—I could try to get in touch with him for you."

"Hmm, really?" Rowan frowned. "Yes, yes—that would be nice. Sorry for wasting your time with this."

Gary stood, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "It's no problem. Don't be afraid to get in touch if you have something rare—I know a lot of guys."

"Of course." Rowan showed the expert to the door. "I'll be sure to contact the agency again if something comes up."

After a few more polite goodbyes, Gary left. Rowan closed the door behind him and simply stood there until Alex spoke up. "Professor…?"

"That was not Gary Oak."

Alex blinked. "Professor?"

Rowan turned around to face her, fists clenched by his sides. "I've known Gary Oak for years—that man," he spat out the word 'man' like he had just learned it had come from a Garbodor's backside, "was an impostor. I even sent out one of the Pokémon the real Gary helped rescue a few years ago. Gary would have been ecstatic to see it again."

Alex bit her lip and reached a hand out to the Spiritomb. "Why would someone try to impersonate your friend if you knew him so well?" The trainer watched as the duel type, face stuck in a perpetual glare, swirled a mote of purple and green mist around her proffered limb, tickling her palm with its essence.

"They wouldn't." Rowan walked back over to the pair and sat down in the chair the imposter had vacated, reaching his own hand out to 'pet' the Forbidden Pokémon. "I doubt they knew of my relationship with the boy. If they had, they wouldn't have tried to fool me that way. What worries me is how they knew we were expecting Gary—was my call hacked? Was the whole agency a farce? Did they ambush Gary on his way here and take his place?" The professor shook his head. "I don't know."

Alex was quiet, taking comfort from the unique sensation of having her arm partially immersed in a ghost/dark type. If she hadn't known the Pokémon for several years, the feeling of having her soul sucked out through her arm and being replaced by something evil would have alarmed her.

"What I do know is this," Rowan continued, pulling his hand back to rest on the table, "Someone just tried to trick us into revealing what we have—and from the impostor's reaction, I would say they were expecting something far more… legendary than Spiritomb here."

The Pokémon in question literally glowed as Alex played with one of its green motes, rubbing it with her fingertips. "Do you think we fooled them?"

Rowan shook his head again. "I don't know, Alex. From what we know, they have no further reason to think we have anything of greater value, but my gut says that they'll be back—and they won't be nearly as subtle as they were this time."

Alex nodded. "I feel the same. Something about all this just doesn't sit right."

As if in response, Spiritomb lifted its stony base up over her head and plopped into the chair to her right, gaping its jagged grin.

The trainer smiled at the Pokémon's antics. "Yes, yes, I see the pun. You're very clever," she told it condescendingly.

Spiritomb frowned, suddenly casting its purple and green essence around her like a cloud of noxious malevolence trying to choke the life from her.

Alex giggled from the improvised hug. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Spiri, I appreciate it."

The Pokémon backed off and let out its two-tone sepulchral call, leering at her happily.

Professor Rowan smiled softly and shook his head, this time in disbelief. "You are the most fearless person I have ever met."

The trainer glanced down at her still bandaged arm. "Just 'cause I don't fear the same things as other people do doesn't mean I'm fearless."

"I know." Rowan sobered. "I don't think you should stay here." At the trainer's nod, the professor continued, "If you leave now, you could make it to Jubilife by nightfall. I know you like to travel slowly and take in the sights with your Pokémon, but I feel that in this case time is of the essence."

Alex sighed, feeling her gut churn in a way that had nothing to do with her prolonged contact with the ghostly Pokémon sitting next to her. "I'll call you when I get there and we can talk about me taking a plane to Hoenn in case they're hacking your line, then I'll head for Oreburgh."

"Hmm, misdirection." Rowan stroked his mustache. "There'll have to be a very convincing excuse for sending you so far away at such a short notice."

The trainer smirked. "I think rumors of a rare and powerful Pokémon would be a good enough hook." She would know, after all. "Besides, it's pretty well known in the local PokéSci community that my parents and I spent a great deal of time there when I was younger—I'd be the most logical choice to send chasing after a Hoenn legend."

"I suppose that might work for the short term," Rowan considered, "Yes, we'll go with this story for now—it'll give you time to get into hiding and give me a chance to figure this out." The professor nodded. "After I get your call, I'll look into this supposed hacking and see if I can get a safe line to Roark. He's trustworthy and he'll be able to find you without leaving a trail."

Alex listened to Rowan while watching Spiritomb trying to make her laugh by emulating a pong game with the green orbs flying across its face. "I'd better get going, then."

"Did you want to say goodbye to Mightyena first?" Rowan asked, withdrawing Spiritomb.

The trainer considered for a moment. "Nah, he's probably sleeping right now. I can say goodbye once I reach Jubilife."

"Alright," Rowan replied. "Do you need to restock?"

Ten minutes later, Alex was on the road again, headed north to Jubilife.

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"A race…?" Darkrai blinked, unable to look away from the strange device its trainer was straddling.

Alex grinned. "To see who can get there first."

"I'm gonna win!" Ponyta neighed, rearing up on his hind legs.

The legendary, the fire colt, and the trainer were hovering, standing, and… straddling on the side of a small foot path near the main road. Alex had told them that due to unforeseen circumstances, they needed to travel much faster than they had been previously. Her solution was a race—though only the three of them could take part, as Purugly, Kricketune, and Murkrow lacked the stamina to run for several hours straight. Darkrai wasn't convinced that Alex or Ponyta could either, but it would pass judgment on their physical capabilities later.

"Okay, rules; one, don't enter the city without me; two, don't talk to strangers and try to keep out of sight if you can; and three, you're allowed to give up anytime you want—just wait for me and I'll return you to your ball to rest." Alex waited for her two Pokémon to nod in agreement. "Okay? Go!"

At once, Ponyta took off in the direction of the city and Alex eased her odd two-wheeled device out onto the center of the path. Darkrai opted to stay near its trainer rather than fly ahead.

"Aren't you going to race?" Alex asked the legendary.

"Aren't you?" it replied.

Alex simply smiled. "Just wait."

The trainer began to pick up speed as she steadily pumped her legs. Darkrai flew next to her, easily keeping pace even as the trees began to blur past, and decided to take a closer look at the bizarre machine by sinking partway into the ground next to it. A long chain connected the wheels to a shaft with several gears of varying sizes layered on it. Suddenly, the chain shifted from one of the larger gears to one of the smaller ones.

Alex noticed the Pokémon examining her device. "It's a bike—we humans like to use them for travel and fun—this one is meant for long distance racing." Despite her constant motion, Alex didn't sound the least bit out of breath. "I like to use it to get places faster when I don't have access to a car."

"What's a car?"

The trainer laughed at the legendary's confused tone and proceeded to explain the basics of automobiles to it. About thirty minutes after the race had begun, Darkrai and Alex came upon Ponyta passed out on the side of the path.

Gears shifting, the trainer and her Pokémon slowed to a stop next to the fire colt. "Ready to give up?"

Ponyta glared up at them, panting. "You have a… human thing… that's cheating!"

Alex shrugged. "You could have made it if you'd have paced yourself instead of sprinting off from the get go."

"Oh just… put me… away."

The trainer withdrew her Pokémon and eased back onto the path while Darkrai watched in amusement. "Did you know that was going to happen?"

Alex nodded, speeding up again. "Ponyta has a tendency to run off without thinking. Hopefully this will teach him to pace himself."

Soon enough, the pair was traveling at a good clip again, surrounding foliage whooshing past as Darkrai kept up with the bike riding trainer with no trouble. As was normal when the legendary had nothing specific to focus on, it found its thoughts drifting towards ways to get physically closer to Alex. The dark type had no clue as to why it constantly felt the need to be near the human, but Darkrai had never been one to question its instincts before, and chose not to do so now. The legendary mentally leafed through the ideas stewing in its brain and alighted on one in particular that had come up some time before they had reached Sandgem. It would work nicely in this context—the dark type would just have to tire the trainer out first.

Glancing over to Alex, Darkrai casually sped up. Not enough to outpace her, but just enough to lead a bit. The legendary continued to send its trainer glances as it nonchalantly floated further ahead. Alex eventually took the bait, grinning as she began to pump harder.

Darkrai effortlessly maintained its lead on her, but began to pant as soon as Alex did, not wanting to discourage her, and started to play at faltering when it looked like she was about to give in and return to a slower pace. That wouldn't do, after all; for the plan to work, Alex had to get off the strange contraption she called a bike.

It couldn't last though, and the trainer finally began to flag. Darkrai was actually impressed by the human's endurance, but the distance between the two towns was barely even a quarter that of New Moon Island's remoteness from the mainland. And Darkrai had once flown the entire way from shore to island over open ocean without rest.

The dark type blinked the thoughts of its past away as Alex slowed and pulled off the path for a break.

"Okay…" Alex panted, digging a water bottle out of her pack as she laid her bike on its side in the grass, "You win…" The trainer chugged down half the water and offered it to her Pokémon. Darkrai let its façade drop. Alex gaped. "Are you… even tired… at all?"

"Nope."

The trainer eyed the legendary for a moment before retracting her bottle and gulping the rest of the water down. "You're evil. Pure, unadulterated, evil." Alex plopped down on the grass and leaned against a tree. "I hope you're happy with yourself."

Darkrai nodded, humming to itself as it searched through Alex's pack for the item cube she had used to summon her bike.

"What are you… doing?" Alex asked, too tired to get up and investigate.

The legendary pulled out the object it was looking for and aimed it at the bike, pushing the same button the dark type had seen its trainer tap and managed to get it to work on the first try.

"I kinda… need that." The trainer frowned, puzzled. "I hope you don't think we're going to set up camp just 'cause I need a bit of a breather."

"I know, Alex," Darkrai consoled, stowing the item cube back in the bag and grabbing the empty water bottle from its trainer's hand, "But you won't be needing it for now." Shoving the bottle into the pack, the legendary zipped up the bag and after a moment of deliberation, threaded its arm through the loops and shouldered it. Chores done, Darkrai settled near Alex and waited a few more minutes for its trainer to recover.

Eventually, Alex's breathing evened out and she got up with a stretch. "Okay, I'm ready, let's get going." She turned around to ask Darkrai for her pack back, and promptly let out a yelp as the legendary scooped her into its arms in a bridal carry. "Dark—what are you—Oh Gods!"

That last one came out as a squeak when Darkrai quickly accelerated to the same speed they had been racing at—and then went faster. The trees blurred together as Darkrai tucked Alex close to its chest, partially blocking the intense winds that battered them as they went far faster than anything without a jet engine had any right to go. The legendary felt satisfaction curl under its pelt as the trainer clutched at its collar for a handhold, pressing herself into its fur in an instinctive effort to make herself smaller.

"…!" Alex's attempt at words were lost in the rush of the air that Darkrai was easily pushing them through. The dark type glanced down at her in concern and gave her a once over to make sure she wasn't actually getting hurt.

"Alex," Darkrai slowed to a stop and leaned back to look its trainer in the eye, "Are you alright?"

The trainer let out a long breath, shuddering for a moment before looking up to make eye contact. "I—I'm f-fine." She cleared her throat. "I'm fine. Just, maybe, warn me, next time?"

The legendary narrowed its eyes. "Where's the fun in that?"

"Evil," Alex intoned, "Pure evil."

Darkrai leaned down and nuzzled her. "I'll go a little slower, alright?"

The trainer nodded against its fur. "I don't think I can stand, anyway."

The dark type set off again, this time at about the same rate they had been racing at. Alex settled into Darkrai's grasp and the next two and a half hours passed in a haze of blissful contentment for the legendary when it realized that the trainer had fallen asleep with her face pressed into its fur.

-o-O~OOO~O-o-

Alex stretched in the chair, grinning to herself. With Darkrai carrying her (and damn wasn't that something?), they had reached Jubilife about an hour and a half early, and as Alex didn't want to raise suspicion, she held off on calling Professor Rowan for awhile. And she had used that time to take a long, hot shower at the Pokémon Center. Then she had dried herself off as well as she could and made her way down to the private videophone booths, where she now waited for her call to be picked up at the lab.

The trainer knew something was wrong the instant the video feed patched through.

Rowan's grim face taking up most of the screen did nothing to hide the chaos in the background. Metal tiles had been ripped off the ground and tossed carelessly aside, tearing gouges in the banks of computers that normally lined the room, while many of the machines themselves were torn off the wall and lay on their sides on the floor.

"What happened?" Alex asked as the professor seemed to gather himself.

"About an hour after you left," Rowan began, "a group of people calling themselves 'Team Hearsay' came to the lab and demanded that we hand over any and all legendary Pokémon. When I told them that there were no such Pokémon here, they tore through the lab. They got very angry when they didn't find anything."

"Is everybody okay?"

"Alex, you must board that plane to Hoenn as soon as you can."

"Professor! Is everybody okay?"

Rowan took a deep breath and wilted. "The agents wanted to get into the nursery to search it, but Mightyena wouldn't let them."

"Alex, I'm sorry. Mightyena is dead."

-o-O~OOO~O-o-

End chapter.