Chapter Thirteen
~Callie's POV~
Callie ran through the crowded streets of Castelia City, Oshawott clinging to her shoulder as they ran. They quickly made their way to Thumb Pier, and Callie ran down the dock and made her way down the stairs to a small platform that went around to the front of the dock, where there was a small entrance to the sewers, closed off by a old metal door. Callie knew several of her classmates who would go to this location after school or on the weekends — she herself had never been because, even in her time, it was common knowledge that the sewers were only a place to go if you were looking for trouble.
Slowly, Callie pushed on the metal door and as it squealed open, Callie and Oshawott stepped inside. It was very dark in the musty sewers, light from the entrance not piercing much more than twenty feet or so into the sewers.
Callie frowned softly. "We can't see much in here, can we?"
"Osha. . . ," Oshawott muttered.
"Oh, I know!" Callie said, drawing a pokéball from her belt. "Shinx, come on out!"
"Shi!"
Shinx appeared in a red flash, looking up at Callie and Oshawott with a smile.
"Alright, Shinx, can you make your fur glow?" Callie said. "I know that when you sense danger, you can make your fur glow — do you think you could do that now?"
"Shi. . . ," Shinx said doubtfully. He tensed up, clenching his eyes, trying his best to summon some bit of light.
For a moment, it didn't seem to be working, but then, after another brief moment, Shinx began glowing quite brilliantly.
"Shinx!" Callie exclaimed as the dark sewers lit up around Shinx. "That's perfect!"
"Shi-shinx!" Shinx said excitedly, opening his eyes wide.
"Osha!"
"Great! Now, let's go find Team Plasma and get Zoro back," Callie said.
As the three of them set off down the steps, Shinx leading the way, Callie looked around cautiously.
"Be careful, you guys. There are a lot of places someone can hide in here," Callie muttered quietly. "Remember, we're looking for Team Plasma. . . . They stole some girl's Eevee. . . . And they can lead us back to Zoro."
"Osha!" Oshawott whispered.
"Shi!" Shinx said with a nod.
The three of them crept along the narrow passage ways in the sewers for a while — even with Shinx's brilliant glisten, it was hard to navigate the underground passage. Thankfully the water levels were lower because of the current season; Callie could only imagine trying to trek their way through the high waters during the spring in comparison to the much dryer season of fall. The smell, however, was just as vile as one would imagine a sewer to smell like. Callie never understood why people would opt to spend time here, and after wandering through it blindly for well over half an hour, she was no where near finding an actual answer.
Finally, after wandering around for what felt like ages, Callie saw a dim light further up ahead. Callie motioned for Shinx to stop glowing, and the light from Shinx's fur vanished. Callie, Shinx, and Oshawott crept slowly towards the light, which was coming from a small room built into the side of the sewer. When they came to the door, Callie motioned for Shinx to stand back, and she slowly peaked her head around the corner, just enough to get a glimpse of the inside. There were two Team Plasma grunts sitting crosslegged on the floor, a man and a woman, and there were several pokéballs laying on the ground between them. In the wall behind them was a rather large, gapping hole, that seemed to be caused by decay and damage to the wall caused by time. Callie could see a patch of grass and a good bit of sunlight fluttering in through the hole in the wall. However, her attention was soon brought back to the two Team Plasma members as they began to converse, both of them sitting and panting heavily, shaking their heads.
"It . . . was all . . . going so well," muttered the woman.
"Yeah, and then you . . . just had to take . . . that brats pokémon," panted the man.
"An Eevee is . . . a great find!" snapped the woman. "Lord Ghetsis would love it, especially with that . . . Zorua that Mara just snagged."
"Zorua," Callie whispered. "They must be taking about Zoro! Let's go!"
Callie, Shinx, and Oshawott quickly ran through the doorway, glaring sharply at the two Team Plasma grunts on the floor.
"You two," snapped Callie. "You're with Team Plasma!"
"Argh — who is she?" said the woman as they two of them scrambled to their feet.
"Could it be that brat Lucas is always complaining about?" said the man.
"Enough chit chat!" snapped Callie. "I know Team Plasma just captured a Zorua — I want you to take me to it now!"
The man and woman paused, looking at Callie with an amused grin before looking back at each other, both bursting out into a fit of laughter.
"This little girl," sniggered the man. "Thinks she can just come and make such demands?"
"Hilarious!" laughed the woman. "As if we would just tell some puny child that information!"
"Well, if you won't tell me willingly, then I'll battle it out of you!" Callie growled. "Shinx, Oshawott, let's go!"
Shinx jumped forward and Oshawott leaped off of Callie's shoulder and landed beside Shinx, both pokémon looking across the room to the two Team Plasma members.
"You two are going to give back all those pokémon you stole," Callie said. "Including that Eevee! And then, you two are going to show me where my Zorua is being kept!"
"Hm, I guess this is the same brat that's been meddling in our affairs," said the man with a smirk. "Lord Ghetsis will love to hear how I defeated her!"
"Oh, let me help!" exclaimed the woman.
Both Team Plasma members drew a pokéball from their belt, and the man released a Garbodor, while the woman released a Scrafty.
"Oh, man," Callie said, looking at the large pokémon before her. "Those are some sizable opponents. . . ."
Callie pulled out her PokéDex and aimed it at the two pokémon.
"Garbodor, the Trash Heap Pokémon and the evolved form of Trubbish. When Garbodor inhales garbage, it becomes part of its body. The fingertips on Garbodor's right hand spray a powerful liquid poison.
"And Scrafty, the Hoodlum Pokémon and the evolved form of Scraggy. Scrafty can use its powerful kicks to smash through concrete blocks. To protect itself, Scrafty can fold its loose skin around its waist."
"So, a Garbodor and Scrafty, eh?" Callie muttered to herself. "What do you think, Oshawott and Shinx? Think you two can handle them?
"Shinx!" Shinx called out with a confident grin.
"Osha!" Oshawott said with a small salut.
"Perfect!" Callie said with a smile.
"You really think those puny pokémon can take on our Garbodor and Scrafty?" laughed the woman.
"I can't wait to put you in your place, girl," sneered the man. "Garbodor, use Body Slam!"
"Dodge it!" Callie called to her pokémon.
Shinx and Oshawott easily dodged out of the way as the man's Garbodor threw itself at them. Garbodor crashed into the ground, and Callie wanted to seize the opportunity.
"Shinx, use Spark!" Callie called out.
"Scrafty, don't let Shinx attack Garbodor! Use High Jump Kick!" directed the woman.
"Oshawott, quickly, use Focus Energy and go straight into Water Gun — protect Shinx from Scrafty!"
Oshawott fired off a super charged Water Gun at Scrafty, knocking it down as it went into motion for a High Jump Kick attack. Shinx began glowing with blue electricity as sparks began flying off him, and Shinx then tackled into Garbodor, shocking the pokémon, causing it to cry out.
"Er — Garbodor, use Clear Smog!"
"Gaaaaar!" Garbodor cried out.
Garbodor took a deep breath and released a stream of white smog from its mouth, and it filled the room. Both Oshawott and Shinx let out a surprise cry, and fell into a coughing fit, causing Shinx to stop its Spark attack, and Oshawott fell to the ground.
"Now, Scrafty, use Brick Break on Oshawott!" the woman ordered.
Scarify's arm began glowing white and it leapt into the air, coming crashing down straight towards Oshawott, who was still coughing.
"Oshawott, you've got to get out of there!" Callie called out.
However, Oshawott was practically immobilized from all his coughing, and he couldn't move out of the way in time. Scrafty brought its glowing arm down across Oshawott, sending him flying across the room.
"Oshawott, no!" Callie exclaimed. "Are you okay?"
"Osha. . . . Oshawott," Oshawott grunted as he got to his feet.
"I knew I could count on you," Callie said with a smile.
"Garbodor, use Gunk Shot!" the man ordered.
Garbodor put its hands together, and a silver light started sparking between them. Then the light turned into a black bag of garbage outlined in purple, and Garbodor hurled it at Shinx. Callie had been so caught up in making sure Oshawott was okay, that by the time she noticed, it was too late, and she couldn't call out to Shinx. The black bag exploded on impact as it hit Shinx, sending pieces of glowing purple garage flying. Shinx fell to the ground, fainted.
"No! Shinx!" Callie exclaimed, running forward. She picked up Shinx in her arms, and the small electric-type smiled weakly up at her.
"Shi. . . . Shinx," he said with a faint smile.
"Thank you, Shinx," said Callie as she returned Shinx to his pokéball. "You were great."
"We're not done yet, child!" sneered the woman. "Scrafty, finish Oshawott off with Focus Punch!"
Scrafty leapt towards Oshawott, one of its fists glowing light blue. It reared back its fist, ready to strike Oshawott.
"Oshawott, you've got to protect yourself!" Callie called out.
Oshawott nodded and grabbed the scalchop on its stomach and held it out in front of it. The scalchop began glowing brightly, and a light blue aura appeared around the scalchop. Oshawott swung it to meet Scrafty's fist, and as he did, the aura around the scalchop stretched and hardened behind it, forming into an energy blade.
"What is that?" Callie said, pulling out her PokéDex.
"Razor Shell — this attack allows the user to cut its target with a sharp shell."
"Amazing!" Callie exclaimed. "You learned Razor Shell!"
The two attacks met with great force, but both pokémon were able to hold their ground. Oshawott held his Razor Shell attack, and Scrafty pushed with as much force as he could muster to send Oshawott flying again with its Focus Punch.
"Come on, Oshawott!" Callie called out. "You can do this! I believe in you!"
"Osha . . . wott," Oshawott grunted breathlessly. Then he began pushing on his blade, trying to overpower Scrafty and its Focus Punch. Then, with a final burst of energy, Oshawott heaved forward one last time. "Osha . . . wott!"
Oshawott suddenly lurched forward, overpowering Scrafty and its Focus Punch, sending it toppling backwards as Oshawott's Razor Shell made contact with Scrafty. Oshawott hunched over, breathing heavily, his Razor Shell attack fading. However, Oshawott looked up as he panted and smirked ever so slightly as Scrafty tried to lift its head up. But it appeared to be useless, because Scrafty's head fell back to the ground with a dull thud; it had fainted.
"No, Scrafty!" the woman called out. Her Scrafty didn't budge though, and with a sigh, the woman help up its pokéball. "Scrafty, return. . . ."
Scrafty was returned to its pokéball, just leaving Oshawott and Garbodor to battle.
"Your Oshawott is looking awfully tired," called the man. "But my Garbodor is full of energy! Isn't that right, Garbodor?"
"Gaaaaabodoooor," groaned his Garbodor in agreement.
"Yeah, well, Oshawott and I are far from finished, isn't that right, Oshawott?" said Callie.
However, when she looked towards Oshawott, she saw Oshawott fall forward on one knee, panting heavily.
"Oh, no, Oshawott!" Callie exclaimed. "Stay strong, Oshawott! They can tell us where Zoro is!"
"We'll never tell you, brat," laughed the man. "We're just going to beat you and liberate your pokémon from their awful trainer!"
"I'll never let you!" growled Callie before looking back to Oshawott. "Come on, Oshawott, don't let Zoro down!"
Oshawott slowly began standing, using all his force to get him on his feet.
"Oshaaaaa. . . . Woooooott!" Oshawott cried out before he was suddenly enveloped in a bright blue light and began to slowly change forms.
"No way!" Callie exclaimed, grabbing her PokéDex once more. "Oshawott's evolving!"
As quickly as it started, the bright blue light faded, revealing a completely different pokémon in Oshawott's place. It was primarily light blue and had small black ears, a pointed crest at the back of its head, a red nose, and long white whiskers forming tilted V-shapes. Two pointed teeth were visible in the upper jaw when its mouth is open. Its forelimbs had three fingers on each black paw. Around its waist was a large, dark blue, fringed arrangement of fur, with two scalchops on the thighs.
"What is that?" Callie said, her eyes wide.
"Dewott, the Discipline Pokémon, and the evolved form of Oshawott. Through rigid training, Dewott uses the double-scalchop technique to accomplish its fluid swordsmanship."
"Perfect!" Callie exclaimed. "Oshawott evolved!"
"Dew!" Dewott said with a smile.
"Oh, so your Oshawott evolved, hm?" said the man with a smile. "No matter! Garbodor, Gunk Shot again!"
"Dewott, counter with Razor Shell!"
"Wott!"
Garbodor raised its hands high above its head, a silver spark forming between its hands. Dewott took off at amazing speeds, crossing his arms in front of his chest and grabbing the two scalchops on its legs using the hand from the opposite side from its body. When it grabbed the scalchops, they both started to glow yellow and a light blue aura appeared around them. The aura then stretched and hardened, forming into two curved blades of energy. Dewott lunged towards Garbodor and attempted to slash it with his Razor Shell attack. However, as Dewott swung though, the auras around its scalchops vanished, and the attack missed, causing Dewott to fall to the ground.
"What happened?" Callie exclaimed, her eyes wide.
"Looks like your Dewott hasn't mastered the double-scalchop technique," said the man with a grin. "Lucky for us, I suppose. Now, Garbodor, finish it!"
"Dewott, move it!" Callie cried out.
Garbodor flung its Gunk Shot attack right at Dewott, but Dewott managed to dive out of the way at the last second, avoiding the full force of the attack. However, as the purple garbage bag exploded, several pieces hit Dewott, causing him to cry out in pain.
"But how?" Callie said, her eyes widening. "He dodged the attack!"
"Ha, unfortunately for you, Gunk Shot isn't just that big ol' garbage bag. Those pieces that it explodes into? They're highly poisonous," said the man with a triumphant smile.
"Poisonous? Oh no," Callie gasped, looking to Dewott, who was facing her.
Dewott had a dark purple shadow across his face — he had been severely poisoned by Garbodor's Gunk Shot.
"Dew. . . . Ott," Dewott grunted, standing to his feet, his body trembling.
The man seemed impressed. "Well, my, my, my, seems like Dewott may be finished."
"Er, w-we're not, are we, Dewott?" Callie said.
Dewott, however, wasn't able to muster a smile — maybe he was reaching his limit.
"Garbodor, wrap this up with Venoshock!"
Garbodor nodded and fired multiple globs of green liquid from the pipes on its right hand. Callie called for Dewott to move, but the pokémon was simply too tired. Garbodor was able hit Dewott point-blank with its Venoshock attack, which was double the power since Dewott had been poisoned.
Dewott let out a cry, skidding several feet across the floor towards Callie.
"Dewott, no!" Callie exclaimed, running forward. She lifted Dewott's fainted head in her lap. "Dewott, you've got to get up — you can't be done yet!"
Callie couldn't lose this battle — she had to find Zoro, and they were the only ones that could lead her to him. However, Dewott looked up at his trainer and shook his head, unable to battle. Callie forced a small smile, tears brimming her eyes.
"Well, I-I know you did your best," Callie said. "And look, you evolved!"
"Dew . . . ott," Dewott said breathlessly, forcing a small smile.
"Well, how touching?" the man said with an amused sort of grin. However, the smile quickly vanished, replaced by a rather bored look, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest, his female counterpart doing the same, all the while his Garbodor staring at Callie and Dewott triumphantly.
"Now, liberate your pokémon to us!" said the man, holding his hand out.
"Never," Callie said, holding Dewott close. "You'll never get my pokémon!"
"If you won't hand them over willingly, I'll have no choice but to take them by force!" growled the man. "Garbodor, use Venoshock to free her of her pokémon!"
"Garb!"
Garbodor used Venoshock again, launching multiple globs of bright green liquid towards them. Callie's eyes widened and she quickly pulled Dewott in close.
"Hold on, Dewott!" Callie exclaimed, clenching her eyes shut. "I'll protect you!"
"Simisear, knock it back with Flamethrower!" someone called from behind Callie.
Callie's head shot up just in time to watch as a powerful Flamethrower attack shot over her head, hitting each sludge bomb from Garbodor and knocking them out of the air. Callie quickly turned behind her and saw Hugh standing there. Beside him stood a monkey-like pokémon that was primarily red. Its ears were broad with orange insides, and it had oval eyes and a small black nose. It had a swirled, flame-like tuft on its head, with a small tuft on either side of it.
"What's that pokémon?" Callie muttered, aiming her PokéDex at it.
"Simisear, the Ember Pokémon and the evolved form of Pansear. Similar loves to eat sweets, which sustain the fire that burns inside its body."
"A Simisear, huh?" Callie said as she tucked her PokéDex away. "Interesting — he's done some training since we last saw him. . . ."
"Who's this brat?" the woman said.
"Must be a friend of hers," muttered the man.
"You bet I am!" said Hugh. "Now, you're gonna give us back that Eevee you stole, understood?"
"Oh, and why's that?" said the woman with a cocky grin.
Hugh growled in frustration. "Simisear, knock that Garbodor out with Flamethrower!"
Simisear nodded and shot another powerful Flamethrower attack on Garbodor, who couldn't manage to dodge the attack in time. The Flamethrower attack hit Garbodor full force, sending it flying backwards. Garbodor crashed into the wall and slumped to the floor, unconscious.
"Erm, Garbodor, return," the man growled, returning his pokémon before turning back to his partner. "It's no good, that was my only pokémon."
"And I only brought my Scrafty," the woman muttered. "They're really tough kids."
"Yeah, but whatever," the man muttered. "We got the pokémon we really came for — they can keep the Eevee we lifted off the girl."
The man grabbed a pokéball and tossed it towards Hugh, who caught it.
"We'll be leaving for now," the man muttered.
Callie glared sharply at him and his partner, her jaw clenched. "No, you're not going anywhere until you tell me where my Zorua is!"
The man pulled something from his pocket as his female companion cackled wildly.
"Oh, I wouldn't consider him your pokémon anymore, little girl!" she sang wickedly.
"What?" Callie said with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"
But the woman didn't say another word. Her partner threw a small pellet at the ground, and the moment it hit the concrete floor, a huge cloud of smoke irrupted, filling the room with dark smoke, making it nearly impossible to breath and completely blinding everyone.
"I've got you, Dewott!" Callie exclaimed, holding her pokémon close.
"Er — Tranquill, come on out and use Gust to clear the smoke!" Hugh exclaimed.
"Tran!"
There was a great gust of wind, and suddenly the smoke had cleared. Callie and Dewott slowly opened their eyes and peered around the room, Hugh and his pokémon also looking around. He went to the door of the room and glanced around from side to side.
"Tch! They ran away like Patrat!" Hugh growled coming back into the room, shaking his head.
"Hugh?" Callie said slowly. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you and Wes to stay back."
"I know, but Wes told me what happened," said Hugh. Callie's eyes darkened some, and she looked away from Hugh, looking down at the weakened Dewott in her arms.
"They. . . . They took him," Callie said softly. "They took Zoro from me, Hugh. . . ."
"I know," Hugh said. "But going after Team Plasma by yourself was reckless; you've got to be careful, Callie."
"I don't care if it was reckless!" Callie snapped. "They stole my pokémon!"
"That's no excuse to be so careless!" Hugh countered. "You could have gotten the rest of your pokémon stolen!"
Callie frowned, falling silent for just a moment. She looked down at Dewott, her eyes glistening with tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks.
"You. . . . You don't get it, Hugh," Callie said. "You don't understand what it feels like."
Hugh sighed softly and returned his Tranquill and Simisear to their pokéballs before sitting on the ground beside Callie. For a few moments, he didn't say anything.
"You know, Callie," Hugh said suddenly. "A few years ago, when Team Plasma was still trying to rise to power, they wold go around and force people to liberate their pokémon. It didn't matter who it was, or what their pokémon was. . . ."
"Yeah, they suck," Callie said shortly.
"That's one way of saying it," Hugh said with a faint laugh. "I remember, my little sister was only five at the time — I had just given her Purrloin for her birthday. That thing gave me so many problems when I was trying to catch it for her, but the moment Purrloin met my little sister, it loved her. . . . It was mutual, though. She loved that pokémon — she brought Purrloin with her everywhere."
"Your little sister?" Callie echoed, thinking back to the very brief encounter she had had with Hugh's sister the day she left Aspertia City — his sister had run her down and given her two town maps. One was for Hugh, and the other was for Callie to keep.
"I remember her," Callie said with a pleasant smile. "She was adorable."
"Yes, she's the cutest," said Hugh with a smile. However, the smile slowly vanished, gradually turning into a scowl. "She and Purrloin were best of friends, until one day. . . . I had insisted that she train her Purrloin, so I forced her and her Purrloin to come out to Route 19 with me so we could battle; I was using my dad's Trapinch. We were battling when a pair of Team Plasma grunts approached us and started yelling at us for hurting our pokémon. They attacked us with their pokémon, so Purrloin and I battled against them. During the battle, I was knocked out, and Purrloin was hurt, so my little sister had to call it back to its pokéball. . . . But before she could get the pokéball back in her hands, one of the Team Plasma grunts grabbed it and ran off with it. . . . It was my fault that they stole Purrloin."
"Hugh, that's . . . horrible," Callie said, her eyes widening.
Hugh nodded. "It was. It broke my little sister's heart. Seeing her like that, so sad and broken, it made me make a promise — a promise that I would get my little sister's Purrloin back. So I understand what you're feeling, but you've got to think about your pokémon, not just Zoro."
Callie frowned, nodding her head stiffly — Hugh was right. She was being selfish, and she had only been thinking of Zoro. She hadn't been giving her other pokémon the attention and thought they deserved.
"I. . . . I guess you're right," Callie said, looking down at Dewott. "I need to get Dewott to the Pokémon Center."
Hugh nodded. "Right, why don't you take Dewott and your other pokémon back to the Pokémon Center? I'll meet you and Wes there later."
"Aren't you coming?" said Callie curiously.
Hugh shook his head. "No, I'm going to go farther inside! There might be more in there!"
"I don't think that's necessary, you two," said a voice from the hall.
Callie and Hugh both turned towards the sound of the voice and watched as a tall, lanky man appeared in the doorway of the small room. He had wild brown hair and bright green eyes, and wore a green shirt and red scarf, paired nicely with red and green striped pants. The man leaned against the doorframe, smiling knowingly.
Hugh and Callie stared at the man for a moment — who in the world was he? However, Hugh didn't seem to be nearly as confused as Callie.
"Could you be the Castelia Gym Leader?" said Hugh. "Are you Burgh?"
The man let out a deep chuckle and clapped his hands together once, smiling brightly. "Yessirr; one and the same. I am Burgh, and there was no one suspicious beyond here."
"Is that . . . so?" Hugh said. Callie could see something about that statement had disappointed Hugh slightly — he definitely held a grudge against Team Plasma, that's for sure..
"Yes indeed," said Burgh. "There was a young girl just outside my gym who had her Eevee stolen from her, so I came here to investigate."
"I know," said Hugh. "I have her Eevee right here."
Hugh motioned to the pokéball in his hand, and Burgh looked slightly surprised. However, he then gently smiled, nodding some.
"Oh, perfect — let's hurry up and get it back to her," said Burgh softly. "Then I can resume my art."
"Your art?" said Callie, blinking. "You're an artist on top of the Castelia City Gym Leader?"
"Why, of course!" said Burgh with a faint smile. "I use the battles as inspiration for my art. Though, I must admit, my inspiration lately has been dwindling, and I'm finding myself in a bit of a slump — trainer's these days. . . . They aren't what they used to be."
Callie looked at Burgh curiously — what kind of Gym leader was he?
"Well, you two can go back together," said Hugh, handing Burgh the pokéball containing Eevee. "I'm staying here to look for Team Plasma."
Burgh frowned. "I'm concerned about Team Plasma as well. . . . But it's not safe for you two to be down here by yourselves. I promise you, Team Plasma isn't anywhere to be found in the sewers," said Burgh.
Hugh frowned and sighed, nodding slowly. "Yeah, I. . . . I guess you're right.
"Great! We've recovered the Eevee!" Burgh said excitedly. "However, more importantly, shall we leave this place? For some reason, the sewer is bugging me," Burgh said, glancing around nervously.
"You can go ahead and leave," said Hugh. "I'll help Callie get Dewott to the Pokémon Center."
"Okay, taa-taa!" sang Burgh. "I hope to see you trainers at my gym soon!"
And just as quickly as he had appeared, Burgh took off, leaving the sewers in a bit of a hurry.
Hugh shook his head and looked back to Callie and Dewott, who were still sitting on the floor.
"Alright, let's get you all back to the Pokémon Center," Hugh muttered.
"I've got to get Dewott a Pecha Berry," Callie said quickly, reaching into her bag. "He was poisoned by Garbodor — I should have done this sooner."
"You there! That was an excellent demonstration of battling," said another unknown voice, this one coming from the direction of the sizable hole in the wall.
Callie and Hugh both froze and turned, watching as a man with blonde hair with glasses stepped in through the hole. He appeared to be some sort of researcher — he wore black slacks and a long white coat, and he even had a clipboard held tightly in his hand.
"The way you brought out the power of your pokémon against an opponent like Team Plasma. . . . Astounding. Simply astounding. Interesting as well," the man continued.
"Um, I'm sorry, but. . . . Who are you?" Callie said with wide eyes.
The man stopped talking, staring at Callie for a brief moment. His eyes then wandered to Dewott, who was laying weakly on the ground in Callie lap. The researcher then walked over to Callie and Dewott and knelt down before them, placing a hand on Dewott's forehead.
"Mm. . . . I see. . . . Your Dewott's been badly poisoned," the man muttered.
"I know," said Callie quickly. "I was just about to give him a Pecha Berry."
The man shook his head. "I'm afraid a Pecha Berry won't help much — your Dewott is severely poisoned, It's going to need something stronger than a Pecha Berry."
Callie frowned. "Stronger than a Pecha Berry?"
"I don't have an antidote on me," Hugh said, his eyes widening.
"Maybe not, but I believe I may have something that should do the trick," the man muttered, reaching into his white lab coat. He fished around for only a second before pulling a small vial out from his coat. He pulled the small cork out of the vial.
"Hold Dewott's mouth open," he said.
Callie nodded quickly, doing exactly as she was told, and the man gently tilted the vial up, pouring some of the potion inside into Dewott's mouth. Dewott flinched at the taste, but within seconds, his eyes brightened, and the dark purple shadow on his face vanished.
"Dew?" Dewott said, looking around as he sat up, suddenly full of energy — the potion was super effective!
"Oh, Dewott!" Callie exclaimed, hugging her pokémon. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Dewott!" Dewott said happily.
The man watched the two for a moment before putting the cork back in the vial and holding it out to Callie.
"Here — you can use the rest of this on your Shinx," he said.
Callie stared at him quizzically, taking the vial.
"Th-thank you," Callie said slowly.
The man nodded and slowly headed for the door.
"Wait," Hugh said quickly. "Who are you?"
The man paused in the doorway, glancing over his shoulder. "I don't see why that matters," he said, and for the first time since he magically appeared, the man smiled. However, it was a rather unsettling smile to Callie — something didn't seem right. . . .
"We want to say thank you," said Hugh. "Properly."
The man laughed softly, shaking his head. "Oh, there's no needs for thanks — in all reality, I'm the one who should be thanking you."
"Thanking us?" Callie echoed. "Thanking us for what?"
"Why, by giving me exactly what I came for," said the man, giving Callie an odd sort of look.
Then, before Callie or Hugh could say anything, the man suddenly vanished, leaving Callie, Dewott, and Hugh alone in the small room.
"That was . . . odd," said Hugh, staring at the spot where the odd researcher had just been standing. Then, shaking his head as if he had been distracted by thought, Hugh looked back to Callie. "Well, you heard that guy — let's give that potion to Shinx!"
Soon enough, Callie had given the remains of the potion to Shinx, and the magnificent potion cured him entirely, restoring him back to full health. Callie and Hugh then began to make their way out of the sewer, Dewott following behind them, Shinx leading the way, his fur shining brightly. After a few long moments, Callie and Hugh made their way out of the Castelia Sewers with Dewott and Shinx. They took a few steps out of the sewers and onto the concrete platform. Callie stared out across the ocean water that lapped up against the platform they stood on and across the body of water, all the way to the horizon, where the sun was just beginning to set.
Callie stood there for a moment, unmoving, while Hugh, Dewott, and Shinx continued walking. However, they didn't make it too much further ahead before Dewott realized his trainer was absent. The water-type pokémon paused and turned, walking back towards his trainer.
"Dewott?" Hugh said curiously, turning back. That was when he saw Callie staring out across the water, obviously lost in thought. Hugh motioned for Shinx to follow him, and he walked back towards Callie and Dewott.
"What are you thinking about?" Hugh said softly.
"It's just weird," Callie said simply. "It feels so strange. . . . I've known Zoro almost my whole life, y'know? We've done everything together. . . . I mean, when we started traveling together, I was so scared. I've never done anything like this before; I've never left home! But the only reason I knew I'd be okay was because I had Zoro with me. I knew that, no matter what, Zoro would always be there — I'd never be alone. Now that Zoro's gone. . . . I don't have that."
"You're wrong about that," said Hugh. "Look around you right now."
Callie looked to Hugh, then to Shinx, and then finally to Dewott, who stood right beside her, smiling brightly up at his trainer.
"Zoro may have been all you had for a long time, but now you have plenty of other pokémon. . . . And you have me and Wes," Hugh said with a smile. "I don't think you'll ever be alone again, Callie."
Callie's lips curved upwards into a grin, and she knelt down, looking proudly between Dewott and Shinx.
"I guess you're right, Hugh," Callie said with a small smile. "I guess I do have some pretty great pokémon . . . and friends."
Hugh smiled softly and a shout came from behind him.
"Hey! Hugh! Callie! There you are!"
Callie and Hugh looked in the direction of the voice and saw Wes running straight towards them.
"Are you two alright?" said Wes as he got closer. He ran straight past Hugh and went directly to Callie, kneeling down in front of her. "Are you okay? Do you know how reckless you were? You and your pokémon could have been seriously hurt! You can't always be so reckless, Callie! Hugh and I can't always protect you, you have to — wait. . . . You're smiling?" Wes said in disbelief as he stopped ranting long enough to realize what it was that he was actually seeing. He then looked to Dewott, who smiled broadly at him.
"No way!" Wes exclaimed, his eyes widening. "Oshawott evolved into Dewott! Amazing!"
"Dewott-ott-ott!" Dewott said proudly.
Callie laughed softly and then looked to Wes, smiling sheepishly.
"I think you were right, Wes," Callie said suddenly, catching Wes off guard. "I was being reckless today, running off by myself. . . . And I haven't been exactly fair to you or my pokémon by staying locked up in my room. I've been feeling really alone since Zoro was taken, but I'm beginning to realize, I'm not really alone at all. . . . I have you and Hugh, and all my pokémon too."
Wes smiled softly, nodding. "I'm glad you're finally realizing it," Wes said.
He stood to his feet and extended a hand towards Callie. She paused for a second, looking at Wes's hand — Zoro was still gone, and she wasn't any closer to finding him, but for some reason, in this moment, she felt. . . . Better. Not great by any means, and definitely not happy, but for the first time in several days, Callie felt like the dark cloud hanging over head was beginning to let a little bit of light shine through.
Smiling softly, she took Wes's hand and stood, and he smiled softly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before looking between his two friends.
"So, do you two want to go grab something to eat?" Wes said.
Callie nodded. "Absolutely! But you know what I really want?"
"Hm?"
"A Casteliacone!" Callie said, smiling. "You mentioned them earlier, and I can't stop thinking about it."
"Oh, a Casteliacone?" said Hugh, his eyes widening. "That sounds amazing! I want one!"
Wes grinned, happy to see Callie seemingly back to herself. "Okay, well, let's all go get one then! I know a great place!"
And so the three friends set off, Dewott and Shinx tagging along with them. Hugh and Callie told Wes all about the battle they had had with Team Plasma in the sewers, and how they had recovered the Eevee and met the Gym Leader, Burgh. However, neither of them mentioned the strange man who had appeared after Burgh left and helped Callie's pokémon — they both agreed that they didn't want to worry Wes with the encounter. The three trainers made their way to Mode Street, and Wes led them towards the Casteliacone stand he had went to earlier that day.
"I've been told these are the best Casteliacones in the city," said Wes as they walked. "But there wasn't anyone here earlier, so it looks like we'll be able to get as many Casteliacones as we want."
"I can't wait!" said Callie excitedly.
"Me either," said Hugh. "I've never had one."
"Well, we're almost there," said Wes. "It should be right around — oh my Arceus."
The three friends and their pokémon had made it to the Casteliacone stand, but unlike earlier that day when Wes went, the line at the stand was ridiculously long, with at least two dozen people standing in line, all chatting very excitedly.
"What?!" Hugh exclaimed, his jaw going slack. "Wes! I thought you said this place wasn't busy!"
"It wasn't earlier!" said Wes quickly. "I-I don't know what happened!"
Wes looked at the line and saw, standing at the very front of the line, just about to order, was Iris, the woman from earlier. Wes let out a growl of irritation — she had just abandoned him, left without him, and didn't even help recover the girl's Eevee.
Immediately, Wes forgot what he had come there for, and he marched straight towards Iris, who was just beginning to place her order with the shop keeper. Callie, Hugh, Dewott, and Shinx all hurried after him.
"Iris!" Wes snapped, causing several people in line to jump, obviously startled — including Iris herself.
The young woman with violet hair turned around and stared at Wes with wide eyes. However, once she realized who he was, a large smile spread across her face. Callie had no idea who this woman was, but Hugh seemed to be completely awestruck, staring at the woman with wide, saucer-like eyes, his mouth agape.
"Oh, you're the boy from earlier!" she exclaimed happily. "Er — Wes is your name, right?"
"Yeah, that's my name," Wes snapped. "Look, I've got a few things to say to you —"
"Did you find that girl's Eevee?" said Iris, completely obvious to Wes's anger.
Wes paused, looking confused for just a moment. "Hm? O-oh, er, yeah, m-my friends did."
"Your friends?" Iris echoed, looking at Callie and Hugh curiously. When she saw them, her eyes widened and she clapped happily.
"Oh, these are your friends?" said Iris excitedly. "They're so cute!"
"Erm, Wes," said Callie slowly. "Who's this?"
"Her name is Iris," Wes muttered, rolling his eyes.
Hugh, who up until now had been too awestruck to say anything, finally spoke. "How do you not know who that is?"
"What?" said Callie with a raised eyebrow. "Is she famous?"
"'Is she famous?'" Hugh screeched.
Iris laughed softly, shaking her head. "Oh, I'm no one important," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. She then turned back to the shop keeper of the Casteliacone stand, smiling wildly. "I'll take one Casteliacone, please! And one for each of my friends and their pokémon!"
"What?" Callie and Wes said with wide eyes.
Soon enough, Callie, Wes, and Hugh were sitting down at the picnic tables near the stand, each of them with all their pokémon out of their pokéballs so they could all enjoy the Casteliacones together.
"Thanks again, Iris," Wes said. "You didn't have to buy us all Casteliacones."
"Of course I did," said Iris. "You and your friends did a great thing today, helping that little girl get her Eevee back. Besides, if it weren't for you, I would have never known about this amazing Casteliacone stand!"
Iris finished off the rest of her Casteliacone with a matter of bites before smiling happily to the trio of friends and their pokémon.
"Alrighty, well, I'm off!" said Iris happily. "It was great to meet you, Wes! And you too, Callie and Hugh!"
"Bye, Iris!" Wes called.
"Great meeting you!" Callie said happily.
"B-bye, I-Iris," Hugh stammered, back to being starstruck.
Wes shook his head at Hugh, looking back to the line outside the Casteliacone stand.
"I don't get it," Wes muttered. "There was no one here earlier. . . . The shopkeeper even said that business had been really bad lately — what could have changed?"
"Well, what did you expect would happen when the Unova Pokémon Champion was standing in line?" said Hugh.
"The Pokémon Champion?" Wes exclaimed, his eyes widening. "Where?"
Callie paused for a second, thinking back to the encounter she had had with Alder so long ago at the beginning of her journey.
"I was the Champion. I lost that title to a young, very powerful trainer named Iris about two years ago."
"That's Iris," said Callie, her eyes widening. "She's the Unova Pokémon Champion?"
"What?" said Wes. "No way! How did I not recognize her?"
"I don't know — everyone knows her!" said Hugh.
Wes let out a loud groan, shaking his head. "I can't believe it! I met the Unova Pokémon Champion, and I didn't even get a picture!"
"You met the Unova Pokémon Champion and didn't even recognize her," Hugh said, shaking his head. "What a way to waste a prime opportunity to challenge her to a battle!"
"Challenge her to a battle? Iris?" Wes said, laughing in disbelief. "You're crazy! You couldn't beat Iris!"
"Oh yeah?" Hugh said, frowning. "I bet I could!"
"You can't even beat me," countered Wes. "You have no chance of beating Iris."
"I can totally beat you!" Hugh snapped. "I'll prove it! Right here, right now — I've gotten stronger, Wes!"
"We'll just see about that," said Wes with a grin. "You're on!"
Callie sat back with her pokémon, smiling softly as she watched the two boys argue and get ready to battle. As much as Zoro's absence was hurting her, perhaps Hugh was right — maybe her pokémon and her friends would make things a bit easier.
~Meanwhile, back at Team Plasma Headquarters~
"So, I hear that girl meddled with our plans in Castelia City," Lord Ghetsis said darkly as he sat behind the desk in his office, staring across the room at Colress, who stood diligently by the door.
"That is correct," said Colress. "I watched her battle our men."
"And you let her win?" sneered Lord Ghetsis in disbelief. "We're supposed to be trying to stop her from interfering, not supervising our failures from the sidelines!"
"I wasn't watching for fun," said Colress with an amused sort of grin. "I was studying her."
"Studying her?" Lord Ghetsis said. "What for?"
"I wanted to see how she was with her pokémon," said Colress. "That way I could get an idea for the kind of bond she has with her pokémon."
"Why does any of that matter?" Lord Ghetsis said, sounding bored.
"It allows me to figure out the best way to stop her," said Colress. "After all, didn't you give me her Zorua so I could discourage her from interfering?"
"Yes, but it seems as though you're using this as an opportunity to sit on the sidelines and do nothing," Lord Ghetsis said bitterly.
Colress chuckled and shook his head. "No, I can assure you, Lord Ghetsis, that is surely not the case. In fact, I'm going to begin the plan tonight."
"You have a plan?" said Lord Ghetsis. "Already?"
Colress smiled to himself and nodded. "Of course."
"What is it, if you don't mind me asking?"
Colress's grin twitched ever so slightly, turning into a slightly disturbed looking sort of grin.
"Why, I'm going to simply break her spirit."
And with that, Colress left Lord Ghetsis office, his coat swirling behind him. Colress strolled down the hallway for a few moments, taking a few turns here and there, and, after a few minutes, Colress arrived in his lab — it was a rather normal looking lab, with several tables containing a variety of experiments, all in different stages of completion. Most notably, however, was a large machine that took up one side of the room. He reached into his lab coat and pulled out a small capsule — it was black and yellow; the Ultra Ball. Colress pressed the small button on the capsule, and the Ultra Ball opened, releasing the pokémon that was kept inside.
Appearing before Colress was Zoro. The small Zorua blinked slowly and looked around frantically — it was the first time he had been released from his pokéball since he had been captured at Liberty Garden. Zoro's eyes fell on Colress, and immediately he narrowed his eyes as the researcher, growling lowly.
"Now, your name is Zoro, isn't it?" said Colress curiously. However, Zoro said nothing, continuing to stare darkly at the researcher. Colress took Zoro's silence as an answer and nodded his head slowly. "I see. . . . Well, Zoro, how do you feel about teaming up with me, eh?"
Colress stretched a hand out towards Zoro, as if to stroke his fur. However, Zoro quickly backed away from Colress's hand, narrowing his eyes at him.
"Zor!" Zoro growled, snapping at Colress's hand.
Colress sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Oh, no, no, no — this behavior simply won't do."
Colress reached forward and managed grabbed Zoro by the scruff of his neck, lifting him into the air. Zoro cried and squirmed, trying to get out of his grip, but Colress wasn't the least bit bothered by this behavior. Instead, he grabbed a small device from the table beside him — it was a small metal piece. Colress placed the device on Zoro's forehead, and the small device sunk itself partially into his forehead.
"Zo, zor!" Zoro struggled uncomfortably in Colress's grasp, trying to break free.
In his struggle, Zoro turned his head and bit Colress's wrist, startling him and causing Colress to let go of his grip on Zoro.
"Argh!" Colress shouted as Zoro landed back on the table, glaring sharply up at Colress — the device he had planted on Zoro had concealed itself completely under his fur.
"So, you're going to be difficult, aren't you?" Colress said quietly to Zoro.
Zoro glared sharply at Colress and opened his mouth, a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles appears inside it. He then fired a beam of black and purple circles from the orb inside his mouth at Colress. Colress's eyes widened and he quickly ducked, the attack going straight over his head. Zoro ceased the attack when he saw Colress had managed to duck, obviously disappointed his attack missed.
"My, my, my, was that Dark Pulse?" said Colress with an amused sort of grin as he straightened up. "Very interesting — perhaps Mara was right in catching you. You're proving to be quite powerful."
"Zor," Zoro snapped, his look not softening at all.
Colress smiled and pulled a small remote from his pocket. "Well, let's see what that device I put on your head can do for you. . . ."
He pressed one of the many buttons on the remote, and suddenly, Zoro let out a cry, collapsing on the table. Colress smiled as Zoro cried out in pain, struggling to stand.
"You see, Zoro, that device I put on you helps resonate electromagnetic waves generated by that machine over there," Colress said, motioning to the large structure behind him. "The EM waves will help increase your power tenfold — but it will also leave you under my control."
"Z-zor," Zoro grunted, managing to push himself to his feet.
However, the pain was too great, and Zoro fell back to the ground. Zoro managed to lift his head up and continued to glare at Colress. Then, something odd happened — Zoro's green-blue eyes suddenly became a dark, glowing red color, and he became suddenly quite vicious.
"Perfect," Colress said with a smile. "Zoro, if you wouldn't mind — use Dark Pulse for me once more. This time, aim it at the painting over there on the wall."
"Zor!" Zoro sneered viciously.
He then opened his mouth, a light purple orb forming in his mouth, and once again he released his Dark Pulse attack, aiming straight for the painting as he was instructed. This Dark Pulse attack was much more powerful, and the moment it made contact with the painting, the artwork burst into dozens of pieces, which all fluttered to the ground, landing in a small pile.
"My, my — very nice," said Colress with a smile. "Don't you like how powerful you are, Zoro?"
"Zor — zor! Zorua!" Zoro growled, his eyes still glowing as he continued to stare down Colress with an immense amount of hatred.
A small part of Zoro's brain was telling him to attack Colress — attack him, break out of this hideout, and find Callie. He wanted to get back to Callie. He missed her so much. However, as much as Zoro wanted to attack Colress, he couldn't. The other, more powerful part of his brain was telling him to obey Colress, not to attack him. As much as Zoro wanted to, he couldn't convince himself to.
And he was angry. So uncontrollably, unexplainably angry. Zoro had no idea what was fueling his rage, all he knew was that he had an immense amount of anger inside him. Part of it was directed towards Colress, naturally, but not all of it. And there was no way he could control it. If only Callie were around; she could calm him, Zoro knew that. Callie would smile softly and pick Zoro up, holding him just the way he liked. Or she'd offer to take him for a walk, or maybe make him his favorite food (Pecha berries diced up with cinnamon dusted on top).
The more Zoro thought about Callie, the calmer he felt. Realizing this, Zoro kept revisiting memories of Callie.
The day he first met Callie, when she was only a child, lost and alone in Castelia City. He thought about how happy she was when he brought her home, or the small smile she wore when she discovered that Zoro was actually a pokémon. . . . The days they spent hiding in the alleyways of Castelia City, or when Callie and Zoro would take the risk of going to retrieving Casteliacone on a hot summer day. . . . Or when Celebi brought the two of them back in time, how scared and unsure of everything Callie had been until she met Oshawott. . . .
Before Zoro knew it, he wasn't angry anymore. He was very calm. His eyes had stopped glowing and were back to the same green-blue color. He was a bit dazed — why had he been so angry? What provoked it?
Colress, however, frowned. "You broke my hold on you, huh?" He sighed heavily, shaking his head. "No matter — we'll just have to use more power than originally thought." He turned a dial on his remote and pressed the same button as before.
"Zoooor!" Zoro cried out, falling to the ground, his eyes clenched shut. Then, his cries stopped, and when he opened his eyes, Colress was pleased to find that they were glowing red once again. Zoro stood to his feet and growled lowly at Colress, and once again, his anger was startling.
"Perfect," Colress muttered. "Now, Zoro, use Dark Pulse once more!"
"Z-zor," Zoro grunted, looking very pained. However, instead of going into a Dark Pulse attack, Zoro was fighting the urge — he was trying to resist every muscle in his body telling him to obey. He couldn't let Colress take control. He had to stay calm. He had to think of Callie.
Her laugh.
Her smile.
How she would tuck him into bed at night.
The way her eyes glistened so intently whenever she was in a battle.
Zoro felt himself calming down, his angry subsiding. However, the pain was beginning to become too much to bear, and before Zoro knew what was happening, he collapsed onto the table, unconscious.
Colress let out a disappointed 'tch' and shook his head, looking over Zoro's fainted form.
"Well, Zoro, it looks like we've got quite a bit of work to do," Colress muttered, frowning a bit to himself.
Colress then proceeded to continue this process for several more hours — once Zoro woke up, Colress once again attempted to put him under his control. It would work for a few moments, but eventually, Zoro would manage to force himself back to normal. Normally this would result in him losing consciousness for nearly an hour as well. It was a very long a tedious process, and Colress wasn't seeing the results he was hoping for — he was worried that if he turned up the electromagnetic waves too much more, it would kill Zoro. Of course, it wasn't that he was worried about a pokémon dying — he had already lost several test subjects during his experiments. However, without Zoro, he knew he couldn't truly break Callie's spirit like he was hoping.
"Z-zor. . . . Zorua," Zoro said faintly as he broke yet another one of Colress's attempt to control him. Zoro collapsed again, laying limply on the table.
Colress sighed to himself and put down the remote — Zoro couldn't take anymore of this today. But why in the world was he so strong-willed? How was he breaking his mind control? Colress had taken control of countless other pokémon, plenty of them much stronger than Zoro — a Dragonite, Haxorus, Beartic — and they had all been successful. But this tiny Zorua was stumping him. How in the world was this Zorua strong enough to fight his previously considered 'perfect' machine?
"What is it that makes you special?" Colress said quietly to himself as he looked over Zoro. "I need to figure out some way to control you if I'm ever going to stop Callie. . . ."
Zoro suddenly shifted ever so slightly — his ears perked up, and even with his eyes closed, he seemed somewhat alert. However, just as suddenly as it happened, it stopped, but no matter how small the movement was, Colress noticed it and paused, staring at the small pokémon — was Zoro waking up? Corliss leaned forward, inspecting the pokémon. Sure enough, Zoro was definitely unconscious.
However, Colress was troubled. Why would Zoro seem so alert all of sudden if he was unconscious. All he had done was say her name. . . .
Suddenly Colress's eyes widened, a spark of wonder in his eyes. Could it be that Zoro, even when seemingly unconscious, was responding to her name? Was their bond really that deep?
Colress shook his head — there was no way he could really be responding to just the sound of her name. . . . Right?
Colress knew that the only way to find out was to at least try it. However, before he got the chance, the door to Colress's lab opened, and Lord Ghetsis walked in.
"So," Lord Ghetsis said. "How's it going with the Zorua?"
Colress frowned. "It hasn't been easy. . . . That girl. . . . Callie, she" — he glanced at Zoro as he spoke. He saw the slight twitch of his ear — "she has a very strong bond with this Zorua," he said, looking back towards Lord Ghetsis.
"So what does that mean? Will you be able to control him?" said Lord Ghetsis.
"Yes, of course," said Colress. "It's just going to take much longer than I thought — Zorua is able to break my control. I can only assume it's something to do with his bond with Callie."
Once again, Zoro twitched ever so slightly. This couldn't be a coincidence.
"I don't want to hear her name!" Lord Ghetsis snapped. "I don't want that child being a problem anymore — handle this!"
"It's being handled, sir," said Colress. "No matter what — I will break them both."
"Good," Lord Ghetsis said with a huff. "I don't her interfering with our plans. That book of her . . . I've been reading it over. I must say, I'm very excited for a take over."
"Yes, yes, I'm sure," said Colress absentmindedly — he couldn't help but be distracted.
"Well, I'll leave you to your experiments then," said Lord Ghetsis with a wave of his hand. He headed towards the door, and just as he was about to walk through the doorway, he paused and looked at Colress over his shoulder. "Remember, Colress — I want results."
Then, Lord Ghetsis left before Colress could say anything. The researcher sighed and looked towards Zoro.
"So. . . . You do have an incredible bond," Colress muttered. He then turned the knob on his remote and looked at Zoro. "That's quite all right. . . . You know the saying; the bigger they are, the harder they fall."
Colress smiled to himself and reached down, patting Zoro on the head. The small, fox-like pokémon slowly opened his eyes, looking up at Colress wearily.
"Ah, you're awake," Colress said with a smile. He then grabbed the remote, still smiling ever so slightly. "Good — we have more work to do."