-Chapter 4-

Brave Bird

"And that's how it happened. I decided on that day to become an avian researcher, and dedicated my life to search for Articuno.", Garrett leaned back in his chair. Rose let out a low sigh, "Wow...that's pretty deep...", she said. V shook her head, "I can't believe you'd be so fickle..." Garrett looked over to her, "Huh? What do you mean?" V looked back, "You had some pretty fantastic Pokemon to pick from. I'd have taken a Cyndaquil without question. Even a Totodile would have been a good pick. But you dismissed all three of them for the sole reason that they weren't birds. That's awful.", she closed her eyes. Rose looked over to V, "Now hold on! There are plenty of Pokemon trainers, hell even Gym Leaders, that specialize in certain kinds of Pokemon! He wanted to follow in the footsteps of Falkner after all. Look at Marleon!", Rose pointed at Marleon, who remained quiet, "He specializes in water, ice, and dragon Pokemon! You expect him to add a random fire type or something in his team?", she questioned. V chuckled, "Well, he sort of did. He had Ampharos on his team, and I'm sure Ampharos doesn't quite fit as a water, ice, or dragon, now does it?", she responded. The three looked over to Marleon. He let out a sigh, "Ampharos trained with my Dragonite to learn dragon-type moves. It's technically an electric-type, yes. But no one complained that she was on my team. Well...not until Blanche decided to scold me on it."

Garrett gave Marleon a glance, "Hey, don't get mad at her! She has an analytical mind. She just wanted to point out the obvious that Ampharos didn't fit the team.", he spoke. Marleon scoffed a bit, "Well...and I'm just being honest here, she can mind her own business and not criticize me for my former team."

The place went quiet for a few moments. Flygon waddled over and offered plantain chips to the group. The leaders helped themselves to some, and then Rose spoke up, "So how'd you end up here then, Garrett?" "Oh, I had a tip that Articuno had been spotted near this island. So I grabbed all my supplies and came right over. I looked around the Aqua Rainforest for months but couldn't find Articuno...and then one day I decided to take a break and went over to Mariner City to see who the gym leader was for the island. I was in the crowd when the two of you had your battle.", he looked to Rose and Marleon. "And...I was just astounded by the both of you. You made Falkner's battles look like childs play!" Rose leaned back and grinned, "Well, they did call me a prodigy back in the day..." Marleon chuckled, "Don't add to her ego.", he winked. "Hey!", Rose nearly fell out of her chair at that. V chuckled lightly at the antics. Marleon smiled, "Yeah, I remember that day like the back of my hand! Because right after we had our battle, I ran into V, and then...I came to your rescue, Garrett."

"Huh? Wait what happened?", Rose questioned. Garrett rubbed the back of his head, "It's—it's an embarrassing story..." "I'd like to hear it.", V spoke up. Marleon smiled, "Ah, my bad, I guess I shouldn't have brought that up." Garrett sighed audibly, "Gallant wanted to go to the beach..."

Garrett had left his other Pokemon at their home, and took Gallant and Fearow to Lapras Lagoon. It wasn't too far away from Hydrofoil Town. He didn't bring much, just a few towels to relax on the beach with. There was a good crowd on the beach, and Garrett even noticed a few beach-side Pokemon battles happening. Gallant was still a Squirtle, and tugged him away once he saw one of the combatants was a Honchkrow. "Okay okay! We're going!", Garrett huffed. The Squirtle led him down the wooden steps to the beach of Lapras Lagoon. He tossed the towel out for the two of them and sat on it, leaning back and closing his eyes. Gallant sat close by, watching the Wingull above caw and complain. Fearow was along for the ride, but he slept in his Pokeball for the time being. The waves lapped and in the distance he could hear Lapras calling out to one another.

"Squirtle squirt!", Gallant spoke after about a half an hour of them sunbathing. "Hmm?", Garrett opened an eye and was immediately blinded by the sun, "Urghh...", he sat up, "What is it, Gallant?", he rubbed his eyes, trying to get the glare out of his vision. The Pokemon pointed to his Pokeball. "Oh, you're already done?", he asked. Gallant nodded, yawning. Garrett snickered and shook his head, "Well alright then...I'm gonna get a bit more sun though.", he picked up his pokeball and returned Gallant to it, setting the ball in his bag. He was about to lean back down on the towel when he noticed a few Wingull had gathered on some old wooden poles that were offshore. The poles were a part of an old dock that had been torn down, but they remained for the sea-faring birds to rest on. Garrett rubbed his chin, "A Wingull would be a good addition to the team...", he mused, before he reached into his bag and pulled out a Great Ball. He stood and went over to the water's edge. The saltwater ebbed and flowed, back and forth. He had second thoughts about doing this, since he had hardly ever swam before. But he took a deep breath, and then stepped into the shallows. The water quickly reached up to his waist, drenching his shorts. He held the Great Ball up to keep it from going under the water. The Wingull had already spotted him and began to caw angrily at him. He was determined though, and kept getting closer and closer. "Just a little more...", he said to himself, as a wave hit his chest and he got a mouthful of saltwater. He began to quickly spit and gag as he got a horrible salty aftertaste in his mouth. He looked back to see one lone Wingull staring at him on the wooden poles. The others had flown off, but this one was hesitant to leave. "You're mine!", Garrett called, and threw the Great Ball at the bird. The Wingull quickly flapped it's wings and ascended, the Great Ball missing it by mere inches. "Damn i-!", Garrett began to say when another wave hit him. He wasn't expecting it, and his head went under the water.

He finally emerged after a few moments, disoriented, and momentarily blinded by the saltwater now in his eyes. He started to swim in the direction he thought the shore was. He was going in the right direction, but he didn't realize it until it was too late that he was in a current. The pull of the riptide was too strong, and the more he swam, the farther away he got. "Gotta...gotta get to...", he tried to speak, but took in another mouthful of water. He spat and quickly called for help. "Help!", he cried. He called a second time. He thought he saw someone on the pier jump into the water. "Help! He-!", he kept on, but the water pulled him under. Garrett was exhausted, and clawed for the surface of the water, but only descended farther and farther under the surface. His life flashed before his eyes. He was disappointed knowing that he would never find Articuno, and his life's work would be over before it had really ever begun. The world began to go dark around him as he couldn't hold his breath any longer...

He went to gasp for air, only to cough up water. He was above the surface, laying on something solid...it took him a few moments to gasp for air. "Easy, easy! You okay?", someone said to him. He finally got the water out of his lungs, "I'm...", he began, "I'm alright...", he took another moment to assess what had happened to him. He was on the back of a Lapras. The purple spiked shell was indistinguishable, and a man patted his back, exhaling in relief. "Thank heavens this Lapras was...", Garrett began to say, before he took a good look at the man, "Wait...y-you're...Gyarados!" Garrett realized he was in the presence of the Rain Dance Gym Leader. Marleon turned to Lapras, "He's alright, bud. Let's head back to shore.", giving Lapras' neck a gentle pat. "Gyao!", Lapras responded, and the Pokemon turned and began to ferry them back to the shore. "What's your name?", the Gym Leader asked Garrett. "Garrett...damn that current was strong.", he responded. Marleon nodded, "Yeah, it can be killer out here. Do you have any water-type Pokemon yet?" Garrett pointed to his bag by the shore, "Just a Squirtle, his name is Gallant." Marleon nodded, "Make sure Gallant never leaves your side, Squirtle are expert swimmers and he'd be able to keep you safe from the riptide." Garrett nodded. He would heed Marleon's words from then on, and made sure Gallant was always with him.

The three landed on the beach, and at this time Gallant and Fearow had emerged from the Pokeballs, hearing the commotion. "Squirtle!", Gallant cried out, and Fearow let out a distressed cry as well, the two of them going to their master after they realized he had been in danger. "I'm okay guys, really! All thanks to our friend Gyarados!", Garrett spoke as Gallant jumped in his arms and Fearow inspected him worriedly. Marleon let out a bit of a chuckle, "It was really my Lapras here. He's always been great at rescues...", the Gym Leader spoke, giving Lapras a rub on the belly. The Pokemon smiled, as the crowd applauded the rescue. Marleon briefly recalled the day he met his Lapras, before turning to Garrett, "We should get you to the hospital." "I'm fine, honest! I'll-", Garrett began to say when one of his legs lost feeling and he stumbled backward. Fearow braced his fall, and the trainer landed on the bird's chest. Marleon went over to a call-box by the pier, and got in contact with the hospital. Luckily, there was a hospital close to the Lagoon, and in moments, an ambulance arrived, Nurse Joy along with a Blissey and a Kangaskhan hopped out with a stretcher. They loaded Garrett on, the trainer looking Marleon in the eye. "I...can't thank you enough...", he spoke, though out of breath. Marleon smiled, "Just relax, you'll be alright. You're definitely in good hands." Fearow and Gallant were returned to their Pokeballs and the two were given to Garrett right before he was put in the ambulance. He spent a few days in the hospital to recover.

"Hmm...I rest my case...", V spoke, "If you weren't so...'bird brained', you wouldn't have even gotten into that situation." Garrett gave V a glare, "What's your problem, V? You've been nitpicking my tale since I started. You act like we don't make mistakes.", he responded, clearly annoyed. "We can't all be perfect like you-", Garrett continued when Marleon interrupted, "That's enough of that.", he turned to V, "Hey, ease off of him. I'd have done the same thing if I wanted a Wingull. Though, I probably would have used different tactics. But that's beside the point." V kept quiet, but she was just as annoyed as Garrett was. Rose snickered, "And here I thought the two of you were 'buddy buddy'. Guess I was wrong about that." Marleon looked to Garrett, "Hey I was wondering something. How'd you end up with Team Mystic?" Garrett shrugged, "I was the best person for the team.", he responded. "I mean, sure, but I have no idea how any of you became the actual leaders for the teams on the island.", Marleon spoke. "Oh, you don't know about the expo?", Rose asked. "He wouldn't have been here for that. It was when he was with-", V began to say, but she hesitated, and then corrected, "When he disappeared..." Garrett sipped his drink, and then said, "Well, when the new teams were introduced, the three leaders were here and we had a big expo. They held it at the conference center at Mariner City. So when I went, I was of course drawn to the one that had Articuno as the mascot...", he recanted the story.

Garrett was one of hundreds of Pokemon trainers that had arrived at the conference center. The place was divided into three areas, a red area, a blue one, and a yellow one. There were stages where each team leader stood in their respective areas. Candela was speaking to a gathering crowd about the importance of enhancing Pokemon's natural power, her area was red with symbols of Moltres all around. Spark was holding an egg and speaking about hatching Pokemon, the yellow area with Zapdos pictures all around him as he discussed incubators. Garrett completely tuned the two of them out, his eyes were locked on the blue area for one reason alone – the depiction of Articuno in the Team Mystic logo. He stepped forward as Blanche was giving a speech on her research on evolution. "I am looking for a Pokemon trainer who will be an extension of my research.", she spoke to the group. "The candidate will be of calm mind and strong willed. So, who among you believes you can fulfill my work of being the Team Mystic leader for Rain Dance Island?", she questioned. Several Pokemon trainers raised their hands and called out for her to notice them. Garrett remained silent. He didn't think there was even a reason to try for the role. "I see there is some competition. Good. We shall conduct a simple test to determine the leader.", Blanche spoke, and she clicked a button. A projector turned on, and a short video played, with a looping clip of Articuno flying away. Garrett's eyes widened at the video. Clearly Blanche had information on the bird that saved his life. "As you most likely know, this is Team Mystic's mascot, Articuno. One of the legendary birds capable of devastating blizzards just by flapping it's wings. A bird of intuition and wisdom, it has been rarely seen let alone photographed or recorded.", she scanned the crowd. "Now, which one of you can tell me...according to legend, to whom would Articuno appear to?"

The crowd went quiet. Hands went down. The trainers whispered to one another, none of them seemed to know the answer to Blanche's question. But one hand went up. Blanche pointed to Garrett. "Go on.", she requested. Garrett cleared his throat, "Articuno is said to appear to those lost in icy mountains, who are considered to be doomed." Blanche blinked, "That is correct.", she responded, and continued, "Next question. At what level can Articuno learn the move 'Sheer Cold'?" The trainers began to bicker, "How can anyone know that?", one questioned. Another called out, "If Articuno is so rare that-", but Blanche pointed to the crowd, to the same raised hand. "You have the answer?", she asked Garrett. "Level 99. 'Sheer Cold' only has a 30 percent accuracy, but if it lands, it will inflict damage equal to the recipient's current HP, thus instantly knocking it out.", Garrett responded flawlessly. "Very good! Last question. Tell me what move Articuno can learn at Level 64.", Blanche asked Garrett directly. "Oh, that's easy. It learns Tailwind.", Garrett spoke. Blanche nodded, and then spoke to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, meet your leader of Team Mystic."

Garrett blinked a few times, "Wait, what?", he asked. Blanche motioned for him to come to the stage. The other trainers looked to him, some impressed with his seemingly superhuman knowledge of Pokemon, others scoffing that he was picked over them. The flustered avian trainer quickly began to head to the stage, where he was escorted by security up the stairs. He soon was met face to face with Blanche, his face red in surprise at the sudden turn of events. "I'm impressed. So, do you think you're up for the task?", Blanche asked him. Garrett cleared his throat, "W-well I...I mean-", he began to stammer, but then he exhaled, "I'd...I'd be honored to lead Team Mystic here." Blanche nodded, "Good. What can we call you, then?", she asked. "Garrett...it's Garrett Heron."

Blanche looked to the crowd. "Garrett will be in charge of operations for Team Mystic here on Rain Dance Island. Those that wish to join us will report directly to him.", she hesitated, and then continued, "The wisdom of Pokémon is immeasurably deep. I am researching why it is that they evolve. My team? With our calm analysis of every situation, we can't lose! So, who is with us?" The crowd roared and cheered. Garrett grinned wide at the reaction. He had a team to lead, and would soon have the resources he needed to find Articuno at long last.