Postponing their battle, Alex and Azure recalled their Pokémon, the three running towards the police station.
On their way, Alex explained about what had happened, Chase adding that it was because of Team Rocket he lost his Pokémon. The brunet was horrified by this, running faster so they could get there.
Running inside, they caught the attention of an officer.
"Whoa, slow down, what's going on?" he asked. "This isn't a place to do races."
"We're sorry, but we need to report something," Alex panted.
"Report what?" a female officer asked.
"I…I also had a run-in with Team Rocket," Azure panted as well.
The officers' attentions were immediately grabbed, ushering the three to a room to talk. One of them left to get some water, the other grabbing a notepad and pen on their way.
"Okay, first, try to calm yourselves down," the officer instructed. "I need you to talk to me with a clear head." The three nodded, doing as they were told. "Good job. Now, you said you ran into Team Rocket, is that right?"
"Yes."
"Where did you run into them?"
"Back in Mt. Moon last week."
"Last week?"
"Yes, I called the Pewter City Police and told an officer about it!"
"Alright, alright, calm down," he said, jotting notes down. "We'll look into to confirm it."
"I'm not lying though," Azure exclaimed.
"I'm not saying you are, but we need to cover all grounds, understand?"
"Okay…" the brunet nodded, sinking in his seat.
"I'm going to need you tell me everything that happened when you were in Mt. Moon, even the smallest of details you can think of," the officer explained. "As for you two, I'm afraid you'll need to leave while I talk with your friend. We'll speak to you after, alright?"
"Wait, they can't stay?" Azure asked.
"Protocol I'm afraid," the female officer answered. She had returned with a pitcher of water and some glasses. "We just need to confirm things to make your words stick. If we don't, lawyers could have it thrown out."
"Who would defend Team Rocket?" the boy asked.
"You'd be surprised," the officer sighed. "Just give yourself a moment to collect your thoughts and start the moment you entered Mt. Moon."
The brunet nodded, Alex's hand leaving his as she and Chase left the room.
Some hours passed before they were released, the officers thanking them for coming by, encouraging them to return if they hear or see anything about Team Rocket.
As they left, going towards the Pokémon Center, Azure stared at the ground, hands shoved in his pockets, a frown on his face.
"So Team Rocket might've been hiding out with the police?" he wondered out loud. "Or do you think all of them in Pewter City might be corrupted?"
"I don't really know," Alex sighed. "It seems a bit out there, but I guess we won't really know unless it comes up in the news."
"That's true, though with how much money they seem to have, it wouldn't be too farfetched to bribe the police," Chase added.
"What about gym leaders?"
"Maybe…"
"And what kind of people would defend Team Rocket? They abuse Pokémon, even willing to kill them!" the brunet exclaimed.
"People vary," the older boy sighed. "Some people are really greedy. I've overheard my dad telling my mom about times the Safari Zone would get visitors trying to buy the Pokémon they wanted than earning their trust."
"You're kidding?" Alex gasped.
Chase shook his head before continuing. "My dad also told me about a time someone wanted to tear down the Safari Zone and turn the land into a giant mall."
"That's horrible!"
"Tell me about it. Thankfully it never went through. Nearly everyone was against it, including the mayor and the previous gym leader. But that's what led to parts of the Safari Zone getting turned into actual sanctuaries to prevent a repeat."
"That was really smart of them," Azure nodded.
"Exactly. Nature preserves can't be torn down, at least not without a good reason."
"What kind of reasons though?"
"I don't really know, but it would have to make sense to destroy the land or a part of it at least. Maybe to expand a hospital or Pokémon Center so more can be treated? Either that or maybe a large farm or two."
"I guess that would make sense," Alex commented. "But I can't help but wonder just how far Team Rocket reaches. The news talks about how bad they are, but I don't remember them or hearing anyone talking about them like this."
"Maybe to keep people from panicking?" Chase shrugged, seeing their confused stares. "Think about it, the police are having enough trouble dealing with Team Rocket and other crooks. They don't need vigilantes interfering as well."
"What's wrong with that? If someone can beat their Pokémon and keep them from escaping, how is that bad?" Azure asked.
"What if the people were undercover cops? Or weren't part of Team Rocket at all, but were mistaken for them?"
Azure's eyes widened before looking away. "Oh, yeah, guess that makes more sense. I wouldn't want someone to beat my Pokémon up if they mistook me for a Rocket…"
"No one would. It would be better to leave it to the police."
"Yeah, they'll find a way to stop them," Alex added with a reassuring smile.
Azure felt more reassured by their words, his best friend's especially, his shoulders relaxing as they arrived at the Pokémon Center. Going inside, he and Alex handed their Pokémon over for healing. Afterward, the three of them went to go find a place to sit and eat while they waited.
"By the way, Alex, what kind of Pokémon have you caught since the last time we saw each other?" the brunet asked.
"Oh, well, for starters, I bought a Magikarp," she answered much to his surprise. She quickly explained how it had transpired as well as adding that Nala is already a Gyarados.
"You already have a Gyarados? That's so cool! I'd love to try raising one, but I'm a little scared that it might try to eat me or my Pokémon."
"From what the salesman had told me, you can get one to trust you better if you not only raise them as a Magikarp but treat them really well. Even better if you get a docile or friendly one as well," Alex explained.
"Well, if I do get one, I'll be sure to try to find you so you can help me or maybe have Nala talk to it so I'll be able to be its friend."
"I'll try my best."
"So what other Pokémon did you get?"
"I got a Jigglypuff and Clefairy. They're back home with my mom. Max wasn't much of a battler from what he told me, so I told my mom Professor Oak could borrow him to help around the lab. Max was fine with the idea when I suggested it."
"That's cool; I heard Jigglypuff can put people and Pokémon to sleep with their voice. That could be handy if Dad was dealing with rowdy Pokémon."
"Yup," Alex laughed. "As for Lizzy, I think she wanted to join to be with Ken. He pretty much rescued her from one of the Rockets."
"Cute," Azure snickered.
"What about you? How many Pokémon have you gotten?"
"A lot actually, but most of them I sent home. Not all of them were really strong or they had frailer bodies when I tried training them. I figured my parents could look after them and maybe find out what's wrong since the Pokémon Center's couldn't find anything."
"So what kind did you get?"
"Well, I caught a Weedle back in Viridian Forest and evolved into a Kakuna. I sent him home because he won't seem to evolve again and the doctors can't find out why. Until I figure it out or Dad does, I don't want to put him in danger. Near Mt. Moon is where I caught my Rattata. On the other side, I found a really cool Sandshrew. Inside I caught a Paras. You saw my Abra; I found her on Route 24 and caught a Caterpie in Route 25 near this cottage."
They talked some more until the nurse called for them, informing the two that their Pokémon were ready for pickup. After taking them, Azure made a brief dash for the PC, calling home and from the looks of it, withdrawing a Pokémon.
"What did you get?" Alex asked when he came back.
"My Sandshrew. I heard the gym in Vermilion City uses electric type Pokémon."
"Oh wow, really? Kind of makes me wish I could have gotten a Sandshrew."
"What's stopping you?" Chase asked.
"It might sound a little crazy, but Ansen and I made a deal. If none of us can convince a Pokémon to join us, then I can't catch anything."
"Why would you agree to that?" the older boy asked.
"Well, Ansen told me that before the capture law was in place, he would see new trainers catch a lot of Pokémon, not knowing what to do with them or train them properly."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he isn't one to lie, at least far as I've known him," Alex nodded. "So I'm willing to trust his word. Plus I'd like to think that this method is working for us."
"It is?" Azure blinked.
She nodded before continuing, "If I don't have a lot of Pokémon to raise or ones I don't need to worry about training, then I can focus on the ones that do or want training."
"That's actually not a bad idea," Chase commented as he thought it over. "By having less Pokémon to worry about, it would make it easier to focus on a specific set."
"Maybe I should try that?" Azure hummed. "It might make it easier to build a stronger team if I'm not throwing a ball at the first new thing I see."
"And you could bond with them better," Alex added. "Even if you don't understand them, that doesn't mean you can't talk to them. I asked Ken and Hana if they wanted to join before I could understand Pokémon."
"That's right," Azure grinned before a thought formed. "Hey, I have an idea." Seeing that he had their attention, his smile widened. "We should go and check out the cottage at the end of Route 25."
"How come?" Alex asked.
"Besides the people living there being nice?" he joked. "The guy who lives there, he's a geologist and told me some really cool stuff."
"What did he tell you?" Chase asked, his interest grabbed.
"Just some cool facts about different rocks, specifically evolutionary stones. I had found some that looked like stones he owned, so I asked about them. He told me that they were indeed moon stones."
"You found moon stones?" the two asked.
"Yeah, I don't have any Pokémon to evolve them with right now, but knowing I have some is really cool."
"It is, I wonder if the stones I found are moon stones as well," Alex wondered.
"I'm sure he won't mind if we asked. He told me that moon stones are sometimes hard to tell apart because of how they look compared to other evolution stones."
"You know, if it turns that you do have some, you'll be able to evolve some of your Pokémon."
"That's true, though I'll have to ask them if they want to or not."
"That's a good idea."
Chase listened as the two friends talked, his mind drifting back to earlier when learning about Alex's ability.
While he was feeling a little more confident that they were telling the truth about it, part of them still felt skeptical. It can't be helped, right? Nothing like this has ever happened before, right? Yet, why would they, Alex especially lie about it?
He thought about how she explained how it happened, looking and sounding so truthful. Even the way Azure defended her made it seem all the more real. Not trusting their words right away did hurt, but he didn't want to believe in something that later turns out to be fake.
He didn't think they were pranking them; Alex didn't seem to be the type to do something like this. Azure maybe, but she would have called him out on it, he felt certain of it.
But could he really trust them? His gut was saying yes, but his mind was saying no. The way his internal war was going, he was going to end up with a headache.
Maybe his best bet would be to stand on neutral ground? He'll go along with it and wait for more evidence to show itself? If Alex happens to show further proof than back at the battle, he'll believe her. But if she doesn't, he'll keep quiet about it. He doesn't want to hurt her any worse than he might have from doubting her initially.
"Chase?" Alex called out to him, waving a hand in front of his face. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just thinking about a few things," he smiled. "Sorry for spacing out."
"Its fine, Azure suggested we should head out now while it's still early. The family should be home, this guy, Benedict, mostly works at home. Is that right?"
"Yeah, he told me that he's been doing more research on certain stones than going out to dig them up," Azure nodded. "So finding him home is pretty good."
"Plus, he'd likely have to go through town."
"True, but Cerulean City is pretty big."
"That's true," Chase nodded, a smile forming. "We should go then. I bet it'll be fun to talk with him."
"Yeah!"
Alex - Pokémon 8 - Badges 1 - Deaths 0
Team:
Sienna - Charmander - Charmeleon
Ansen - Pidgey - Pidgeotto
Lance - Nidoran M. - Nidorino
Hana - Caterpie - Metapod - Butterfree
Ken - Pikachu
Nala - Magikarp - Gyarados
Home:
Maxwell - Jigglypuff
Lizzy - Clefairy
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