~ Chapter 9 ~

"The day of Alyssandra's first tournament was one of the busiest days I've had as a Trainer.

When we weren't running around making sure we took care of everything we needed, we were running around trying to find our way back to the Contest Hall.

This was also the day that we gained a new team member—a new member of our little 'family'—a devoted and loyal friend, and one that would travel with us until we explored every inch the Pokémon World had to offer us.

If it wasn't for her, we always said, Alyssandra would never had won her first tournament, and we wouldn't have been able to make it as far as we did in our travels…"

The group sat there silently, eating their breakfast with haste. No one dared to say a word. Alyssandra was too on edge for idle chit-chat; even the slightest word threatened to set her off. Sam and Jeremy were wary of a stressed out Alyssandra; she was liable to snap at any minute. Much like a sleeping Electrode, one was never quite sure when or if she was going to blow, but when she did you didn't want to be around.

The boys could remember during their days at the Trainer School, right before big tests and exams, Alyssandra became very hard to be around as she crammed and studied as hard as she could. In the end she ended up with some of the highest marks in the class on written evaluations, but the suffering inflicted upon her friends in the process had been great.

Sam finished his breakfast quickly. He had hoped to go and do some last-minute supply shopping before the contest today. He had also hoped to get a few hours free of Alyssandra's stress panicking.

Sam tapped Jeremy on the shoulder. "Do you want to come with me? I'm going to run a few errands around town."

Jeremy nodded silently. His response came quickly. "Yes."

Sam could see the fear in Jeremy's eyes. He touched his forearm, where four semi-circle scars lay etched into his skin. Once Alyssandra had panicked so terribly before the final exams in their last year at Trainer School that she drew blood and left Sam with permanent marks.

But before the boys could even slide out of their seats, Alyssandra slammed her hands down on the table. "Where are you going?!" she demanded. "Are you just going to leave me here alone when I need support?"

Sam fumbled to find a response. Normally Alyssandra was fine when the boys ducked out—they'd always be back, but she usually understood that they needed to recentre themselves between bouts of panic. Sam floundered like a Magikarp. "I—uh, it's not like that it's just—"

He remembered why Alyssandra had been okay when the boys needed their air: Niya. Niya had always been by Alyssandra's side. When the boys needed air, she was there, and vice versa. They'd take turns, and Niya could always calm Alyssandra down.

What Sam wouldn't give to find Niya and bring her back.

"I can't believe you guys would just leave me like this!" she protested. "I'm a nervous wreck here and you're all just going to let me stay here, freaking out!"

"Lyss—please, it's not like that," reasoned Jeremy. "We just have some things to do—necessary things for our journey—"

"What could be more necessary than helping me get through this?!" she asked.

"Lyss, please you're making a scene," said Jeremy trying to soothe her temper.

"He's right you know," said a tall, pale girl with emerald eyes.

She approached the group's table calmly and coolly, with her hands in her jean pockets. Her hair was light brown and was tied up in a tightly wound, neat bun. Side bangs hung down and framed the sides of her face. Her blue eyes seemed amused at all she looked upon. The remainder of her attire was simple. A white, long-sleeve t-shirt over which she wore a green sweater.

"You really shouldn't be freaking out this like. It'll spook your Pokémon, and when they see you get nervous, they get nervous. That could cost you precious points during the Contest."

Alyssandra's jaw dropped. She threw her arms around the girl. "Niya! How long as he it been?"

"Too long," Niya responded. "Good to know you guys are still hanging out together. It really takes me back."

"Aside from your absence, things never really changed much after you left," replied Sam. "How about you, what have you been up to?"

"Actually, I just got back from the Hoenn Region. I've been travelling as a Coordinator the last few years. I won the Sinnoh Grand Festival two years ago, and just recently won the Wallace Cup and the Hoenn Grand Festival. I was debating heading to Kanto, but the Coordinator scene isn't too big there, and after completely the Coordinator's Gauntlet it just doesn't seem fair to the poor competitors there."

"Congratulations!" added Jeremy. "My mother had us all over for a watch party when you competed in the Wallace Cup. Your Roserade was fantastic!"

Niya winked. "I couldn't have done it without her. I couldn't do any of it without my Pokémon—they're half the act after all."

"So, Niya, what are you doing here?" asked Alyssandra. "Did you hear I was in town?"

Niya shrugged. "Your parents told me you were off on a Pokémon journey when I called last week. They said you'd' just left Sandgem Town, so I figured I'd come by here and find you. I decided it was best to come on the day of the Contest, because I'd be sure to find you without sitting around waiting all day."

"So, you're coming to watch me then?" asked Alyssandra excitedly.

"Better than that, I'm going to coach you," answered Niya. "Based on how you're handling the pre-contest jitters, you need me."

"Oh, yeah…" said Alyssandra softly. "I'm just so nervous."

Niya patted Alyssandra on the arm and squeezed into the boot beside her. "It's all right. Most people do freak out their first time. But not all of them have a super awesome friend like me to help you."

Alyssandra and Niya laughed.

"It's okay to be nervous, but don't let it show. You need to keep a level head, that way you can command your Pokémon with elegance. Like I said, if your Pokémon sense your nerves, they'll be nervous too, and that won't be good at all."

Alyssandra nodded and absorbed as much of Niya's impromptu lesson as she could.

Sam tapped gently on the table. "Jeremy and I are going to go; we have some errands to run before tomorrow. We need supplies—"

"But guys—" started Alyssandra.

Niya took Alyssandra's hand. "Let them go. It's all right. They have a good reason to go; I know they wouldn't leave unless they did."

Alyssandra sighed and nodded. "All right but be back in time for my Contest! If you're late I'll never forgive you!"

Sam smiled. "Don't worry, we'll be back on time."

Jeremy and Sam said farewell to Alyssandra and Niya and exited the Pokémon Centre.

"So, what do we need?" asked Jeremy.

"Well, we need food. We can at least put in the order beforehand, and we can pick it up on our way out of town," said Sam. "And we're going to need more Pokémon food as well—not to mention medicine. Also, I need to go by the bank and withdraw more money. Lyss cleaned me out with her shopping spree."

"I can get the food," said Jeremy. "I heard from my mother that there are some nice markets in town—cheap prices, but amazing food."

Sam nodded. "All right, here's my cheque book," said Sam as he handed it to Jeremy. "I've signed the cheque already, just fill in the amount, and pay. All right?"

"No bank card?" laughed Jeremy. "What are we banking in the nineteenth century?"

"I'm not giving you my PIN number, you'll run me broke," joked Sam. "Now hurry up, we need to meet back here two hours, so we can go watch Lyss at the Contest Hall."

Jeremy rolled his eyes, and the two boys split up in different directions.

Jeremy skidded to a halt in front of Sam, he doubled over as he tried to catch his breath. He had gotten so enveloped in his shopping that he forgot what time it was. He was almost late for Alyssandra's Contest debut.

"You need to get in shaped," joked Sam. "But other than that, a good show."

"Shut up," responded Jeremy as he tried to catch his breath. "You try running twelve city blocks. Not easy."

The two boys began to walk once Jeremy's breathing returned to normal.

"Did you get everything we needed?" asked Sam.

"Yeah. We're good to pick up the food tomorrow at around noon," answered Jeremy. "Took me longer than I'd like, and I think the lady was a bit senile—she kept calling me by her grandson's name, but her products were top quality. You could see it in the produce. Public opinion seemed to say the same."

Sam's eyebrows furrowed. "Interesting. You always seem to have the weirdest adventures when you're on your own."

"Don't I know it," agreed Jeremy.

Sam and Jeremy's conversation was interrupted when the two boys were violently shoved aside. Jeremy landed on his hands and knees, narrowly avoiding face-lifting into the concrete. Sam staggered and slammed his knee into the concrete. He hissed with pain.

The two looked up to see a man with an odd green bowl-cut wearing a black and white jumpsuit running at break-neck speeds down the street.

An Officer Jenny and a man in a long green trench coat chased after him.

"Stop that man!" shouted the man in the trench coat. "Don't let him get away!"

Sam and Jeremy looked at each other and nodded. They ran off after the strange man, and ducked into a nearby alleyway, hoping to cut him off at the next pass. The two hid behind some boxes and a dumpster and waited.

Their plan worked like a charm, and when the man ran by, the two boys reached out with their feet and tripped the oddly dressed man. But he was quick to recover, and soon sent out his Pokémon.

"Go, Croagunk!" shouted the man. "Use Poison Jab on these two, Croagunk!"

Sam cursed under his breath. He reached for his Poké Balls instinctively but was dismayed to find that nothing hung at his waist. A sickening realization came to Sam that he and Jeremy had left their Pokémon and their Poké Ball belts back at the Pokémon Centre.

Only the intervention of fate and dumb luck saved the boys. The Croagunk did not act on its trainer's command.

"Come on, you stupid Croagunk, use Poison Jab!" shouted the man.

The Croagunk simply stood there, puffing its cheeks in and out.

Sam's eyes caught sight of a strange device hanging from a collar around the Croagunk's neck. The Pokémon appeared to be in no small amount of pain—Sam could see the way it seemed to wince every time it moved; or didn't move.

"Hey, buddy, I don't want to tell you how to train your Pokémon," said Sam. "But I think your Croagunk's being hurt by that thing there on its neck."

The oddly dressed man simply ignored Sam. "Use Poison Jab or I'm going to push this button!" He pulled out a small remote with several buttons surrounding a large black one. But if this was meant to be a threat, it didn't seem to work. The Croagunk gave no response.

It did, however, respond when the man followed through on his threat. As soon as he pressed the button, the Croagunk cried out and an electric shock racked its body with pain.

The man shouted again. "Use Poison Jab and take care of these losers!"

To the stubborn Croagunk's credit, while it seemed to—rightfully so—hate the electric shock the device seemed to produce, it did not bend to its trainer's will. This Croagunk would not be broken.

Before the man pushed the button again, he cried out in pain. Something hit him over the back of the head. He staggered long enough for someone to remove the device from his hand and slap a pair of handcuffs on his wrists.

Officer Jenny stepped out from behind the criminal. "Are you kids okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Sam and Jeremy shook their heads. They stood there, completely stunned.

Officer Jenny handed the criminal over the stern man in the trench coat.

"I think he's been hurting that Croagunk. He uses some sort of shock collar; I don't really know what it is." added Sam.

Officer Jenny shot a look of contempt over at the weirdly dressed criminal. He stepped forward and picked up the Poké Ball and the device he had been holding. "We'll need that as evidence, then."

As her and several other officers began to disseminate through the scene, Sam and Jeremy tried the break the collar off Croagunk, and after several minutes of tugging, the collar finally broke.

"What was all of that?" asked Jeremy. He handed the pieces of the collar over to Officer Jenny.

"That man you saw is a member of Team Galactic," explained Officer Jenny. "They came out of nowhere a couple years ago. They're a criminal organization that seeks to take control of Pokémon for their own selfish needs. We haven't been able to find out more than that; that's why we requested the help of InterPol in finding and stopping these criminals. Officer Looker showed up last week after years of petitioning them to send an officer."

"Officer Looker?" asked Sam.

"He's the man in the trench coat," explained Officer Jenny. "He's supposed to be one of the best at InterPol. He and another trainer worked together to take down Team Rocket in Kanto about a year back. I hope he can help us do the same here with Team Galactic."

Everyone in the known world had heard of the stories of the legendary Red, who had helped the police bring down Team Rocket two years ago, along with his friend Blue Oak, grandson of the famed Professor Oak.

Red went on to thrash the Indigo League and dethroned the Champion Blue—who had only been Champion for a few hours before Red came knocking—in record time. But since his defeat of the Kanto League, Red had disappeared from the known world, and no one had seen him since.

Some say he had gone off to train, others say he'd gone off to fill his Pokédex, but the truth was no one really knew, not even Red's mother, or Blue, his closest friend.

Sam had heard things about Team Galactic; whispers more than anything. But he didn't realize something so insidious and wicked, something on the level of the infamous Team Rocket, could exist in a place as serene and peaceful as the Sinnoh Region.

"Hey uh, Officer Jenny?" asked Sam. "What's going to happen to that Croagunk?"

"He'll be sent to a Pokémon Orphanage, where he'll be kept until someone comes along to adopt him," she explained. "He'll probably be better treated there than he was with this Team Galactic Grunt."

Sam didn't like the sound of that 'probably'. This Croagunk had seen much pain; Sam didn't want it to see anymore.

"Could I make a small request?" asked Sam. "Could I take the Croagunk? I promise I'll take care of it. My family owns the Accardi Pokémon Ranch; we can give it the wide-open spaces and all of the care and company it should've gotten and deserves."

Officer Jenny thought for a moment before handing the Poké Ball to Sam. "I suppose that's better than the other option," she said. "At least this way I know he'll be well taken care of. I once interned at the Accardi Ranch in Kanto—I spent a summer there as a young girl. I can trust your family's reputation."

Sam smiled and pointed the Poké Ball at Croagunk. "All right Croagunk, return! It's time to get you to a proper home."

The happy moment was cut short however, by the sound of a loud bell tower ringing in the distance.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Jeremy. "What time is it?!"

"It's time for the Pokémon Contest to start!" shouted Sam. "We need to hurry and get there, or Lyss will have our hides! Come on!"

After twenty minutes of straight running Sam and Jeremy finally reached the Contest Hall. They were exhausted, but they didn't care, they needed to get to their seats before Alyssandra went on stage. She was probably backstage right now, fuming to Niya about how Sam and Jeremy failed to keep their promises.

Sam slammed the tickets down at the front counter. The lady quickly scanned their tickets and the two of them hopped the turnstile and dashed towards the door that led to the Contest Hall.

Sam and Jeremy slipped through the door to the seating area and froze dead in their tracks as they saw Alyssandra walk onto stage. She was about to go up, and she would no doubt look towards the crowd to find Sam and Jeremy and wouldn't see them in their seats. He couldn't guarantee she'd notice them near the door immediately.

Sam needed to think fast. An idea came to him, and it was going to cause a scene as everyone waited silently for the appeals to begin. But it had to be done. Sam acted quickly, and on impulse. He placed two fingers in his mouth and let out a shrill whistle. Everyone in the hall looked back towards Sam, including Alyssandra, who smiled at Sam and Jeremy while the two waived frantically at her.

Security and an usher soon arrived to escort Sam and Jeremy to their seats, and scold them for their uncouth interruption of the events, but it had been worth it to see the smile on Alyssandra's face when she realized her two friends had kept their promises.

Once they had been seated, Sam turned to Jeremy, content with what he had done. "There we go, she saw us. She saw us, we're here and she's happy. Everyone's happy."

"Not everyone," said Jeremy. "Niya will probably smack us both later—she's not as easy to appease as Lyss, remember?"

"Ah, who cares," said Sam. "Once we explain to her about the Team Galactic guy and the Croagunk, she'll be won over too."

"Yeah, I just hope you're right," replied Jeremy. "I don't want to see what that Roserade can really do."

Alyssandra ran up towards Sam and gave him a tight hug. "I won! I won, I won! I can't believe it, I won my first Pokémon Contest! My first Pokémon Contest!"

"Congratulations," said Sam. He took the ribbon that Alyssandra had proffered for him to examine. "I knew you could do it."

"Yeah, Lyss," said Jeremy as he gave her a hug. "You just needed to believe in yourself."

"Well, I don't think I could've done it without you guys being there," she said. "But Niya's advice really helped me a lot. She gave me so much confidence in myself."

"I was happy to help," Niya said with a shrug, ever aloof. "I remember back when I was travelling and doing contests. I had my aunt, Fantina, teaching me every step of the way. She's a Top Coordinator, and a Gym Leader too. So, I just figured I would do for you what she did for me. Besides, I'd love to open up a Pokémon Coordinator's School one day—this was practice for that."

Sam laughed. "There's a dream. A good dream though. I'm sure you'll do well."

"Thanks," replied Niya. "So, while we're on the subject of support, care to explain why you guys were late? I mean, you made it sure, but where were you during the opening ceremony?"

Sam and Jeremy looked at each other, and then turned back to the girls. They began to explain everything that had happened. How they helped assist in an arrest by slowing down the Team Galactic Grunt, and how they had found and helped that poor Croagunk and gave it a home with them.

"Wow," said Alyssandra. "You two always seem to have the weirdest adventures when you're on your own."

"You did a good thing for that Croagunk though," added Niya. "I've seen Pokémon Orphanages; some are okay, but most of them are no better than the abusive trainers that the Pokémon are rescued from."

"Man, I wish we could do more about all those abusive trainers out there," said Sam. "On our way here, we met a trainer named Richard. He had a Chimchar that he treated like garbage—luckily I was able to win it from him in a battle, and I gave Chimchar a home on the family ranch."

Niya nodded, impressed with Sam's devotion to this cause. "Well, you could always start up your own search and rescue foundation for these Pokémon. It's worth a shot, right? Besides, you mentioned to Lyss here that you wanted to do something more worthwhile with your money, right?"

Sam pondered over the idea. "I could open a whole new ranch for that purpose—wait a minute, you know about me and my family?"

"Please, I've done my travelling," said Niya. "And my research. I've met your family when I stopped by the ranch one day. They explained they had a nephew in Twinleaf Town, and when I saw the last name, I put two and two together."

"So, what do you intend to do with that information then, hold me for ransom?" joked Sam.

"Nah," said Niya. "I know people worth more."

Everyone laughed.

"Actually, there is something I want," said Niya. "But from all of you, not just Sam."

"What is it?" asked Alyssandra. "I owe you big time, you can ask me anything."

"I want to travel with you guys," explained Niya. "I've been in a rut ever since I got back from Hoenn. I can't seem to find anything that interests me anymore. I'm growing bored here in Jubilife lately, and I miss the time I spent out on the road travelling the region. Sinnoh is so large, and I have only seen but a fraction, I want to see it all. Please?"

There was no disagreement amongst the three friends. Having Niya back with them would make it just like when they were kids, six years ago, in Twinleaf Town.

Niya smiled. "Awesome! I promise I'll hold my end of the work up; I've done it before alone, and I know it's not fun without help. And I'll keep helping Alyssandra out with her contests."

"We know you will. Because if you don't, we're going to leave you in a forest somewhere," Sam joked.

The group gathered up their things and headed towards the door.

"So where to first?" asked Niya. "Oreburgh? Floaroma Town?"

"Dinner," said Sam. "We're going out to celebrate! Lyss won her first ribbon, and we've gained a new family member."

"Family?" asked Niya in puzzlement.

"We'll explained on the way to dinner," said Alyssandra with a wide grin.