Chapter 29: Mystery of Iron Island

The last time Lucas had really cried was when he was seven year-old. He had just come home with another spelling test with a low C and once again told how he doesn't apply himself and should be more like his brother. Just after he finished his homework, John had come home and made an announcement: he had just come back from visiting Professor Elm and had received his first Pokemon, a Totodile. He would be leaving that day. His parents had arranged for a last-minute goodbye party and all his neighbors and all his relatives had come over to say their farewells and wish him luck. They all told John that they knew he was bound to be a Champion, that he was so good at everything, and that Lucas should be honored that brother was going to be this big hero. No one listened when he questioned John's motives for going on a Journey, and no one listened when Lucas said he'd be a Champion too, dismissing him once again in favor of his preferred sibling. When the party ended and John left Cherrygrove City, Lucas spent the who night crying himself to sleep. And since then, he never cried again.

Until now.

Lucas sat in the study of Mr. Backlot, an eccentric millionaire who loved Pokemon and Trainers, clutching onto his first Pokemon, Gizmo while sobbing uncontrollably. It was as though nearly a decade's worth of pent-up emotion and resentment had poured out of him. The study was now doubling as a temporary holding cell for the teen Trainer while Mr. Backlot was being informed of the current situation. Lucas had come to Mr. Backlot's Annual Trainer Appreciation Ball with Morgan, his sometimes-friend-mostly-rival. After she had abandoned him to avoid someone she knew, Lucas ran into a spoiled, smug Trainer who he learned was Gizmo's original Trainer. After hearing the callous, sadistic young man's response to abandoning the Eevee simply because it couldn't evolve, Lucas had lost his hair-trigger temper and violently beaten the Trainer. The teen didn't regret the injuries he inflicted, but he regretted his action because of the consequences that were in store for him. He would be arrested, go back to Juvey, lose his Trainer license, and worst of all, lose all of his Pokemon.

Upon hearing someone step into the room, Lucas got a grip on himself, finally stopping his flood of emotion and viciously rubbing at his cheeks, eyes and nose to remove all evidence of his weakness. The teen glanced over to the room's new occupants, refusing to lift his head, still hung in shame. It was Mr. Backlot, the fat, cheerful man with a massive mustache, though he didn't seem so cheery now. Behind him stood one of the security guards that had pulled Lucas off of his victim, and surprisingly, Morgan. He strode up to the boy that refused to match his eyes, "The police have been called and they are on their way. But before they come, I'd like to hear from you myself why you did what you did,"

Lucas' head shot up in surprise. While he expected the police to be called, it came as a shock that the millionaire wanted to get his side of the story. In all the times he had gotten in trouble, no one ever cared what Lucas had to say about it. The teen took in a deep, calming breath and started from the beginning. How he found Gizmo sick, malnourished and at death's door in the Eterna Forest. Later he learned that the Pokemon had been abandoned by his Trainer because he was unable to evolve on account of the Everstone the Eevee had ingested. Mr. Backlot's expression didn't change, though he nodded at some intervals of Lucas' story. Lucas then explained that the man he had attacked was Gizmo's old Trainer, and when the man started making jokes about leaving the normal-type to die, Lucas lost it and couldn't control his actions.

"I understand." was all Mr. Backlot had to say when a pair of uniformed officers stepped into study, guided by a maid. The rich man turned to the Police, "Gentleman, in the room across from this one you will find a young man whose face was very badly beaten. I want him arrested for Pokemon abuse,"

"What?" Lucas couldn't believe his ears. A second ago he was sure he was going to jail, now he had sworn Mr. Backlot directed the police to arrest the other Trainer.

"He abandoned one of his Pokemon instead of releasing it properly. I'm sure if you call the nurse at the Eterna City Pokemon Center she will be more than happy to provide you with all the details you need," Mr. Backlot's boisterous smile returned. The officers nodded without a word and headed to the room with the beaten Trainer.

Lucas continued to stare at the millionaire in disbelief, "I don't understand..."

The jovial older man turned back to his former prisoner, gestured towards Morgan and explained, "Just after the commotion, and one of my employees told me what had happened, this young lady came up to me and explained who you were. You were a Trainer working towards becoming a Champion with a fierce love for Pokemon, and that you couldn't have attacked that boy unless you had a good reason. That is why I asked you for your side, to discover what the reason was. When I said I love Pokemon, I wasn't exaggerating. While my life ended up being one of business rather than as a Trainer, I have devoted vast fortunes to Pokemon protection and preservation, including my Pokemon Garden. When you told me your story, the way your Eevee reacted the entire time told me that what you were saying was entirely true. I have no tolerance for mistreatment of Pokemon, so if he tries to press charges against you, or weasel out of what he did, I promise you he won't get away with it,"

"Thanks." It may not have seemed like a huge sentiment of gratitude, but it was all Lucas could think of. After several seconds of silence he added, "I'm sorry I ruined your party,"

Mr. Backlot waved the idea off and proceeded to scratch Gizmo on the head. The millionaire apparently found a particularly itchy spot because the Pokemon's eyes had closed and was maneuvering his face to get closer to the man's fat, manicured hands, "What good is a party if there isn't a little excitement?"

Lucas got up and brushed himself off, "I really appreciate what you did for me, Mr. Backlot, but it probably will be best if I leave now,"

"I should be going, too," Morgan added, finally breaking her own uncharacteristic silence.

"I hope to see you both next year, Lucas, Morgan," Mr. Backlot stated genuinely

"Yeah, sure. I'm sure it will be a blast," the Trainer added with a slightly malevolent grin.

As the two Trainers left the sky was growing dark orange from the approaching evening, though it seemed as Backlot's party showed no sign of letting up, even with Lucas' interruption. There was an awkward silence between Lucas and Morgan, the walk back to Hearthome to retrieve their possessions unusually somber. Lucas hated these uncomfortable silences, plus he had something extremely important to say to her, "Morgan, thanks. You really saved my ass back there. I really owe you this time,"

Morgan shook her head as she pulled off her gloves and stretched out her slightly sweaty fingers, "It's not me you should be thanking, it's Professor Oak,"

"What?" Lucas stopped suddenly to turn to his companion.

"After I saw the fight I found that Aide guy and got him to call Professor Oak since I didn't have his number. I remember from one of our talks about how you met him and he encouraged you to become a Trainer. He's the one who vouched for your character. I'm not sure why Backlot didn't mention it, but it's true,"

"Still. I really appreciate that you did that. I do sorta wonder though why you keep doing all these things for me though. I mean, I was always under the impression we sorta hated each other,"

"I don't like seeing dreams die. So many things in this world have to die, dreams shouldn't be one of them," Morgan took a deep breath and continued, "But there's another reason as well. The sad truth is, as much as I hate to admit this, you, Lucas, are my best friend,"

"Wuh?"

"I haven't had any human friends since my dad died. I didn't really want any as long as I had my team and my dream. After everything we've been through together I think that made us friends, and since you're my only human friend, I guess that makes you my best friend," though Morgan added quickly, "But if you tell anyone that I'll kill you,"

Lucas threw up his hands defensively, "Hey, I have a reputation to keep. I can't be known for being friends with Emo girls,"

Morgan smirked, "I think this is where we part ways, Lucas. I talked with some people at the party and they told me the other way to get to Hoenn from Sinnoh is through the Battle Area northeast of Snowpoint City. Normally only people with eight Sinnoh League badges are allowed there, but because of this hiccup with Sunnyshore, they're letting people who need to go to Hoenn through. I know you're headed to Canaclave, and that's on the opposite side of the region. Good luck Lucas,"

"See you around, Morgan," Lucas smiled genuinely. As she walked away from him into the increasing darkness he yelled out one last thing to her, "Hey Morgan! Popcorn!"

With a final smile, she disappeared into greenery on her way back to Hearthome.

Lucas kept his duffel bag with him at all times, there was no need to continue back to the city. Morgan was right, his next stop would be the Gym in Canaclave City, the first place Lucas came to upon arriving in Sinnoh. He remembered the HM the Aide had given him, and decided now would be a good time to teach the move to one of his Pokemon, and he knew precisely whom to choose. Summoning out his freshly evolved Charizard, he used the disk and taught Hotrod the skill needed to allow Pokemon to carry humans safely across the sky. Before jumping onto the Pokemon's back Lucas pulled out his Pokevice and looked through his list of contacts before making his selection. The phone rang a few times before the desired party answered, "Hello, who is this?"

"It's me, Professor, Lucas,"

"Ah, Lucas!" the respected old man replied cheerfully upon recognizing the caller, "How is it going? Did you get that HM from my Aide?"

"Yes, Professor, I did, and I'm just about to head to Canaclave now,"

"Excellent, excellent. I was wondering if you could do my a favor on your way back from Canaclave and on your way to Snowpoint. Jubilife is between Canaclave and Hearthome, and just south of there is a small town called Sandgem. That town is the home of my old friend Professor Rowan. He has an item that needs to be delivered and if you could stop by and do his delivery for him I'd be most grateful,"

"Sure Professor, that won't be a problem," Lucas said cheerfully and then shifted back to a more serious remorseful tone, "And Professor, I'll make you proud,"

"You already have, Lucas,"

With the end of the conversation, Lucas threw himself onto Hotrod's back and kicked off of the ground in a rush of wind and dust. The Charizard's powerful wings flapped and the Pokemon and his Trainer rose higher and higher in the sky. Hearthome, Mt. Coronet and Jubilife City all whooshed by in a fraction of the time it would take Lucas to walk back to Canaclave, even by bike. Lucas and the fire-type chased the sunset as they headed west to their destination. No after-victory high, no chemically-induced euphoria, no sexual ecstasy matched the sheer thrill Lucas now had racing across the sky on his Pokemon. Morgan's Honchrow didn't fly anywhere nearly as fast or as agilely as Hotrod could, and as if he could sense Lucas' giddiness, the Charizard added barrel-rolls and loopty-loops as to his pattern, much to his Trainer's delight. Far too soon, however, the flight was over and the Trainer was standing in front of the doors of the Canaclave City Pokemon Center. That night, Lucas experienced the best night of sleep he ever had.

The first time Lucas had come through Canaclave City, the teen could care less about the city and its offerings. He had arrived there on a ship from Olivine City in Johto and had to fend for himself when his brother didn't pick him up. Now returning as a Pokemon Trainer, he had a better appreciation for the area. Canaclave City was a trading port through and through. Commercial fishing boats, private yachts, and huge freighters were constantly going in and out of the harbor beneath the bridges that lifted up and down to accommodate the maritime traffic. Besides the boating activity there was a large public library and Lucas' target, the Canaclave City Gym.

Canaclave's Gym was almost camouflaged as its corrugated steel walls and simple style made it blend in with the warehouses that surrounded it. The telltale Gym sign with its list of winners and Leader description indicated which building Lucas should select. Roark, the man with the steel body. A steel-type Gym. After Lucas' difficult time with Pastoria's Leader, Barry, the teen Trainer would not take the type for granted. Steel-types were weak against fire, fighting and ground Pokemon, immune to poison-types and strong against ice, rock and dragon Pokemon. But there were also few pure steel-types. Most were in reality dual-types, meaning devising a strategy would not be as simple as relying on Hotrod. The young man almost was ready to turn back to the Pokemon Center to prepare when he noticed something curious. While he was standing in front of the sign and thinking, a small trickle of people kept going into the Gym, and it seemed none had left. A gut feeling told the teen something was going on, and Lucas wanted to find out what.

Following the latest small group entering Canaclave's Gym, Lucas found that the lobby with crowded with Trainers. Most were Hikers, Miners and a few Ruin Maniacs and everyone seemed frantic. As the teen moved through the crowd he caught small pieces of conversation like 'missing for three days' and 'no sign of him'. In the middle of this mob of concerned peoples the tattooed teen spotted two familiar people: Grant, the president of the Underground Explorers Club and his grandson Roark, the Leader of the Oreburgh City Gym. As he approached them he could tell something was wrong. While Grant was always an old man, right now it seemed like he was wearing every year of his age like a millstone around the neck. He was haggard and relying on the nearby wall to support his body in addition to his trembling cane. Roark was only in his twenties and he didn't seem much better, and he had circles under his eyes beneath his glasses that suggested he hadn't slept in days. Lucas announced his presence with a set of straightforward questions, "What's going on, you guys? What are you doing here? What's wrong?"

"Lucas!" Roark snapped to attention, though his surprise came less from running into the Trainer as it did to be addressed by anyone. Clearly he had been in a daze for a while. When the familiarity of the tattooed boy finally sank in the Leader explained the situation hollowly, as though he still didn't believe the events himself, "Byron, the Gym Leader here. He's gone missing. He went to Iron Island and it's been three days since anyone's heard from him. We have no idea what happened. I've called his home phone, the house on Iron Island, even the cellphone we made him get three months ago. He's not answering any of them,"

"Oh man, that's terrible. No wonder you seem so upset, I bet you Leader guys all know each other pretty well and a blow to one of you must be like a blow to all of you," Lucas said sympathetically. Though a small part of his brain was also slightly amused that the Sinnoh cycle of Leaders absent from their Gym seemed to start up again.

Roark shook his head, "No you don't understand. He's not just the Leader here, he's my dad,"

Lucas felt his face flush from embarrassment and shame. He had completely misread the situation, "Oh. I'm really sorry. I mean-"

Grant raised a weary hand to cut him off, "Nothing to feel guilty about, Lucas, you couldn't have possibly known having not lived here,"

"I'm scared something must have happened in the mines," Roark seemed to pale with his last confession.

"Mines?" Lucas asked.

"Iron Island, the place my dad went missing, is an iron mine. The iron goes from there to here in Canaclave and then to the Fuego Ironworks north of Floroma Town. Like how I work in the coal mines in Oreburgh, dad works the iron ore here," Roark explained, "But recently every time a human goes near the mines, the Pokemon go berserk. If something happened like the mine collapsed..." Roark couldn't bring himself to finish the thought and changed gears, "I'm a Gym Leader and even I can't get near the place. If dad's there and needs help no one can get to him. We don't know what to do. We're gathered here to try to figure out some kind of rescue party, but so far none of our ideas are very practical,"

"I can help," Lucas offered, "You two have been so nice to me when you didn't have to, I'd be honored to try to rescue him. I can leave right now and go look for him,"

"No offense Lucas, I know you're a really good Trainer, and you must be way stronger than when I faced you, but I'm not exaggerating about how dangerous Iron Island has become. It's not safe for any one Trainer to go through by themselves," Roark explained.

"Then I can go with him," a low, deep voice caused the Leader, Trainer and old man to turn around. The crowd parted in front of a serious looking Trainer in a blue suit and fedora. He had a curt, no-nonsense impression to him as with long strides he caught up to the rock-type Leader.

"Riley!" Roark said with some surprise.

"I know you were planning this whole big rescue party to scour the island, but I don't think that's a good idea. If there's been a collapse or something that's agitating the Pokemon, too many people is just going to make things worse. We're better off with a small group. I can go. Byron's a good man and I've known him for years. And I can take this Lucas kid with me. I've heard good things about him," Riley stated matter-of-factly.

"And I'll make the third. I'm one of the last strong Trainers here," Roark added.

Riley shook his head, "I don't think that's a good idea,"

"But he's my father!"

"Exactly. We don't know how we'll find him. It's not easy for a man to put aside his feelings when something bad happened to his father. You're better off staying here. That way in case something happens to us too, you can arrange a backup plan,"

"All right, fine," Roark conceded, "Gook luck, Lucas, Riley. Please find my dad,"

With a wordless nod, Riley headed out of the Gym with Lucas struggling to catch up to him. The teen followed to older Trainer to the docks. With his decisive, determined gait, Riley walked at a speed that forced Lucas to jog to catch up.

"Are we going to going to use Pokemon to get to Iron Island?" the teen wheezed. Even after months of walking in the fresh air and increasing his activity level, Lucas still felt badly out of shape compared to the other man.

Riley shook his head, "No. I have a boat."

Without another word, Riley gestured to one of the small speedboats in Canaclave's docks. Without wasting another second, the two Trainers got into the vessel, the suited man threw the boat into gear and set off for Iron Island. The older Trainer said nothing as he sped towards the small piece of land in the middle of Sinnoh's largest harbor. Riley was one of those strong, silent types. Not wasting his time or anyone else's with pointless chatter or arbitrary smalltalk. Lucas had to admire that. While he disliked the awkward silences that were always created when people left important things unsaid, he himself also tended be more on the quiet side. But something Riley had said at the Gym made Lucas curious. He did not wish to disrespect the man's quiet, but there was also something he wanted to know, "Hey, what did you mean 'you've heard good things about me?'"

"When Gym Leaders run into Trainers that make an impact on them, word soon spreads to all the high ranking Trainers of the region. Word going 'round is that you're on your way to becoming the League's next Champion. Leaders generally aren't easy to impress," Riley explained. Even with the roar of the boat's engines and the whooshing of the salty air and sea foam passing by, his low, deep voice was still fully audible. Lucas had no idea this would be the answer. While he had his ambitions and was determined to be the best, he never really dwelt on the idea that he would become famous, or even infamous.

There was no time to discuss anything else as Riley parked his craft in front of a small, homemade dock just in front of a large rocky hill. Near their boat was another small vessel, a fishing boat with an outboard motor and a few oars for in case the engine failed. The suited Trainer observed the vessel thoughtfully but said nothing before jumping out and heading for the hill. Lucas leapt after him, trusting Riley knew what he was looking for. Once again the teen jogged to catch up with older man who never seemed to move at more than a swift walk, but still was difficult to keep up with.

At the top of the hill the path split into two forks. Lucas found Riley at the left fork, which lead to a small, cozy-looking sea cottage. Like the fishing boat, Riley was observing it with great interest, as though he knew exactly what was going on just by looking at its otherwise nondescript facade. Again silently, the man in the blue suit and fendora approached the house, turned the unlocked door and marched inside. The teen was right behind him and looked around the one-room building. The cottage was fairly clean with a floor swept within the past week and a clean table that showed no sign of a recent meal. There were definitely signs someone was here recently though, as the bed was unmade, a pair of muddy boots were by the front door and washed dishes were still left in the sink. Like a crime noir detective, Riley took in every fact as though they were parts of a puzzle that were becoming clearer by the second. The older Trainer finally explained the facts to Lucas, "That fishing boat in the pier is Byron's, as is this house. The fact that that's there and the door was unlocked shows he is on the island like we've all assumed. But the soot in the stove, the bed and the dishes show that he went off to work, but he hasn't been back since. That means he has to be in the mines,"

"I have a question. How come Byron is the only one missing? Roark said this island is an active iron mine, that means there has to be tons of people and equipment constantly moving in and out. Why is the Gym Leader the only person they can't find?" Lucas asked as he continued to observe the small house, Gizmo having hopped off his customary spot on the Trainer's shoulder to further sniff the nooks and crannies of the hut.

"Like Roark said the Pokemon of the island have started acting completely abnormally. For years they'd tolerated the mining operation without much conflict, usually only bothering people with Pokemon like Trainers. Then a few weeks ago they started attacking the miners. Completely destroyed huge pieces of equipment, ambushing workers, became so dangerous that the mine had to be closed down. A bunch of Trainers from the Gym came down to investigate only to find not only were the Pokemon more vicious, they were more powerful too. Pokemon in their upper seventies, and in some cases even higher than that. Byron said he was going to look into it. He started sending back samples of water around the area, checking out the other islands for similar problems and then we lost contact with him three days ago. Byron was always a man to do things his own way, but he's also a family man first and foremost. The fact that Grant and Roark haven't heard from him is a very bad sign,"

"Roark didn't go into too much detail about what was happening in the mines except the Pokemon acting weird and him not being able to approach them. But if things are as bad as you say then we can't be up here just to find Byron, we need to figure out what's hurting the Pokemon too,"

"It was good I brought you, we're of the same mind," Riley stated, "Because that's exactly what I'd like to find out, too."