Ever Grande City, Chapter 69
Eight badges from Hoenn, along with my other eight from Johto and eight more from Kanto. For almost half a year I'd been on this journey, and these small trinkets were what I had to show for it. That, and the multitudes of experience points I'd earned along the way. And yet, I felt somehow incomplete inside. I was missing something, a reason for returning home. Certainly, twenty-four badges were enough reason to return to Pallet Town, and start planning for my future, right? After all, thanks to the Nurse Joy of Mossdeep, I had the means of getting into the Pokemon League.
"So why am I scared to go back, Vulpix?" I asked my faithful companion. Confused as always at the thought processes of a human, she could only bark at me before licking my face. Oh for the simplicity of a Pokemon's life.
I went digging through my bag, looking for that reason to return home. Surely, if there was something or someone waiting for me there, I'd have some memory stored away in that old bag of mine. After turning it inside out, I found only one clue to my future. A card, bearing the design of a Pokeball, with Winona's face on it. She had given me this to enter the Battle Frontier as her guest. Nothing else in that bag pointed me to Pallet Town. Could it be a sign?
"I guess," I mumbled to myself as I put everything back in the bag, "I guess we're headed to the Battle Frontier after all."
Once I cleaned up my stuff, I left Sootopolis City, taking the long and tiring route back over the mountainside and to the harbor. However, the S.S. Tidal wasn't waiting for me there. The harbor was practically deserted, which scared me for a moment. Just how was I to leave the island?
"Hey, you!" I heard a voice coming from the lone house on the other end of the harbor. "Looking for something?"
"Where'd the S.S. Tidal go?" I asked the man, once I had closed the distance between us.
"She set sail last night, on schedule. Looks like you missed your boat, lass." It was as I feared.
"So, I'm stuck here? When will the ship be back?"
"Next stop here isn't for another week. Had somewhere in particular you needed to go?" Not that it mattered anymore, I thought to myself. Still, there was a slimmer of hope in this man's voice.
"Yes, actually. I was on my way to the Battle Frontier. Is there anyway I can get there?"
"Unfortunately, the Frontier is a bit out of my league, lass. I can take you part of the way, though." The man stepped back into his house for a second, and returned with a Pokeball in his hand. He threw the ball into the ocean, where the Pokemon inside was released. It was a large blue critter, and it somehow resembled the Wailord I had seen before on my way to Mossdeep. To be certain, I scanned him with my Pokedex.
"Wailmer, the Ball Whale Pokemon. While this Pokemon usually lives in the sea, it can survive on land, although not too long. It loses vitality if its body becomes dried out."
"This here's my personal business of sorts. Wailmer here can take you as far as Ever Grande City, which is just north of the Frontier. Once you get there, reaching the Frontier is a much easier task."
"Thank you, sir! How much is this going to cost?" I pulled my purse out of my bag, ready and willing to pay him after having earned a nice sum from the battle with Wallace.
"¥500 will suffice."
"What? Just ¥500? That's..."
"Not a lot, I know. I just ask for enough to feed Wailmer once he gets back." I counted out the exact change, and handed it to the man.
"Now, just hop on board Wailmer's back, and he'll do the rest. Hold on tight now, wouldn't want to fall into the sea."
I nodded and walked over to the edge of the docks. Wailmer came up close, and I slowly climbed aboard his back. Vulpix was a bit reluctant at first, but once she was on and nestled close to my chest, we were ready to sail onward.
"Thank you, sir, for helping me."
"My pleasure, lass. Wailmer, take good care of the young miss. Onward to Ever Grande now! Off with you!"
With that, the round Pokemon sped off like a motorboat. I waved back at the man on the dock as he shrunk in the distance. This reminded me of my travels in Kanto aboard my Lapras, except here I had to stay awake the entire time. Wailmer wasn't nearly as big as Lapras, so I had to hold on to him the entire way. And who knew how long a trip it was to Ever Grande by Pokemon.
~o~
The answer to that previous question was several hours. Maybe Wailmer moved much faster than the S.S. Tidal, or maybe Ever Grande City was closer to Sootopolis than Mossdeep, but it was only a handful of hours before we arrived at the shores of Ever Grande. The city itself was no where to be seen, actually, which led me to believe Wailmer had brought me to the wrong island. However, once I was off his back, the Pokemon swam back out to sea, leaving me stranded on the island.
There was a tall mountain on the island, or better put, the island itself was the mountain. I noticed something of a trail cut through the trees leading up the slope, and let out a heavy sigh. Why did the people in Hoenn insist on making cities in places not easily accessible? I let Vulpix take the lead this time, allowing her to sniff out any wild Pokemon as well as the right path. Unfortunately for her, she didn't get to enjoy her freedom for very long. Nestled in a grove of trees was a Pokemon Center.
"Hello?" I said as I walked into the building. The place looked like most other centers I'd visited in the past, except for the strange layer of dust all over the place. Red flags started popping up in the back of my mind instantly. The center was eerily quiet, almost like some sort of trap. No Nurse Joy would ever allow it to get so dusty in there.
"Vulpix, do you smell anyone in here?" I whispered to her. I knelt down beside her, letting her nose seek out potential trouble. After a few sniffs and perking her ears up, she gave me the all-clear lick. Still cautious, I released Haunter from his Pokeball.
"Haunter, I want you to take a look around," I instructed. "See if there's anyone here. And don't let yourself be caught."
The Pokemon faded into the scenery. Staying close to Vulpix, I went behind the counter of the desk, looking for clues to what happened here. The papers on top of the desk had all sorts of dates printed on them, but the ones on the very top of the pile were dated October 28. That was almost a week ago. I turned on the computer, and saw similar records on display for October 28. The last time it was opened was at around eight in the evening that day.
"Something's going on here, Vulpix," I said to my furry companion. "Where's Nurse Joy? And why'd she leave?"
At that moment, Haunter returned from his search, and his face told me that there were other people in the center. He pointed to the Emergency Room, and then used his hands to force me down behind the counter. He vanished from sight again, and I heard the Emergency Room doors swing open. Whoever it was, he or she wasn't wearing any shoes. Their footsteps were far too soft to be any kind of footwear. Too afraid to peek over the counter, I remained silent, trying to hear where this person was heading.
The footsteps moved to the other side of the counter, then stopped. I had left signs of my intrusion all over the counter, so whoever it was, they'd know something was up. What's worse, thanks to Haunter, I was now left squatting behind the counter, and my legs were starting to give in. If I tried to sit down, I'd give myself away. I remained as steady as possible, my ears focused on the person in the room. My legs didn't last nearly as long as I'd had hoped, and I lost my balance, landing on my butt with a soft thud.
"Who's there?" Came a voice from the other side of the counter. It was the voice of a woman. "Show yourself, or prepare to be forced out by my Pokemon!"
I looked to Vulpix, and with one gesture I made sure she remained silent until I gave the signal. I threw my hands into the air, and slowly climbed up to meet the person face to face. She was oddly dressed, to say the least, with large pink flowers in her short hair, and wearing only a bikini top and skirt.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" She asked with a stern voice. In her hand was a Pokeball, and her finger on the release. I kept my hands in the air for the moment, hoping to settle this without any conflict.
"My name is Star, and I'm a Pokemon trainer," I said to her. "I came here looking for a ride to the Battle Frontier."
"That so? Let's see some ID, then, 'Star'." The woman extended her other hand. I reached down with one hand into my bag slowly. "One false step, and I'll send you on a one way trip to the afterlife. No funny business."
I unzipped my bag, and started rummaging around in it for any one of my ID cards. When I looked down slightly to see if I could spot it, the woman gave me the typical grunt when you do something wrong, so I was forced to continue searching blindly. Eventually I latched onto one, and pulled it out of the bag. The woman took it, and looked at the card.
"Nice try, but looks like I've caught myself a criminal." She threw the card on the counter, and I saw it was Winona's Frontier pass. Of all the cards in my bag, that one had to show up. I looked back at the woman, and noticed Haunter phasing back into the visible spectrum behind her. I shook my head slightly, so that he wouldn't do anything to harm her. She noticed my reaction, and turned around. At that instant, Haunter grabbed hold of her hands, causing her to drop her Pokeball and release the critter within. I snatched the ID card and ducked under the counter. Vulpix was ready to fight back, so I picked her up and put her on the counter to help Haunter.
The Pokemon she released was a new one to me, covered in bandages and possessing one lone eye. Its hands were also severed from its body, leading me to guess it was also a ghost Pokemon. And that meant bad news for me. Once this Pokemon saw its trainer in peril, it went to free her from Haunter's grasp.
"Dusclops, Shadow Punch!" She commanded.
"Haunter, let her go!"
My Pokemon let the woman go just in time to avoid Dusclops' attack altogether. She backed away from the counter, ready to take the fight to me.
"Wait! Please, I can explain!"
"Too late for that! Dusclops, Shadow Punch!"
Dusclops propelled his fist forward, only to have it stopped entirely by both of Haunter's hands. I took the opportunity to dig through my bag for my actual trainer card, and showed it to the woman.
"Look! This is my ID! Please, I don't want to fight!"
"Not listening, liar. Dusclops, Ice Beam, now!"
"Phoebe, stop!"
This third voice cut through the tense atmosphere of the room, drawing all attention to her. It was none other than Roxanne, who had arrived just in time to prevent a disaster. Finally possessing a reason to stand down, the woman called back her Pokemon and took a spot next to Roxanne. I put Haunter back in his Pokeball as well.
"Roxanne, it's great to see you again," I said to her. However, her attention was fixated on the state of the Pokemon Center instead. She turned to the other woman.
"Phoebe, what's going on here?"
"I just got here, myself. There was a rumor in town that something happened to this center, so I was asked by Steven to investigate. It was abandoned when I got here, so I went looking around. When I came back, I found this girl here. She showed me an ID with Winona's face on it, so I assumed she was a criminal." Roxanne turned to me.
"Winona? The gym leader of Fortree City?"
"Yeah," I answered her, still a bit confused at what was going on. "She gave me her Frontier pass to get in."
"Or so she says," spat back the woman, whose name I gathered to be Phoebe at last. Roxanne stepped in to defend me.
"Star here is trustworthy. If she said Winona gave her the pass, we can trust her." Turning to me, Roxanne's gaze pierced deep into my being. "Though I must ask, what were you doing here, in the first place?"
"Well, the S.S. Tidal left me in Sootopolis City. A man who works at the harbor let me borrow a Pokemon, which brought me here. He said I could find a way to the Frontier from here much easier."
"The S.S. Tidal docked on the other side of the island early this morning," said Phoebe. "And the only way through to this center is through Victory Road. I have been assured by the guards that no one has passed them in over a week."
"Then for the time being, we can remove the light of suspicion off Star. More importantly, we have to find out what happened here." Roxanne walked past me to the counter, where she flipped through the same papers I had.
"The latest one has the date October 28 on it," I chipped in, hoping to help. "And the computer says the same thing."
"Nurse Joy last checked in with the center in town on that date," Phoebe said, never taking her eyes off me. By this point, even Vulpix was starting to become wary of her glare.
"I spoke with Steven on the way here," said Roxanne, dusting off her hands. "He said to keep an eye out for Team Aqua. They've been trying to keep some operation hidden out here, but Steven has someone investigating them from the inside. Apparently, something critical to their 'Master Plan' is focused here."
"If that's true, they've long since gone. But why take the Nurse with them? What good would it do them to take a hostage? They'd only draw unnecessary attention to themselves, especially when that hostage is a member of the League."
I felt out of place around these two as they pieced together this puzzle. When it usually came to matters revolving around Team Rocket or any other branch of theirs, I was always sort of the 'wrench in the gears' no one expects. And honestly, the last thing I wanted now was to get involved in yet another fiasco with Team Aqua or Magma. Maxie of Magma was still out for my head, as far as I knew.
"Maybe not..." Remarked Roxanne, as she punched some keys on the computer. "Star, did you press anything on this screen?"
"No, I just turned it on." At least, I hope I hadn't pressed anything by mistake.
"What are you getting at, Roxanne?" Phoebe walked around the counter to see the screen for herself.
"This file was last opened on the 28th, yet the record shows there was activity on it just a few hours ago. See? There's some letters here, like someone mashed on the keyboard by accident."
"They may still be here," said Phoebe, releasing her Pokemon again. The frightening critter looked over in my direction with its one eye, sending a shiver down my spine.
"Dusclops, I need you to search this center from top to bottom. We need to know if there's anyone still inside, and make it quick!"
"I can help, too!" I pulled Haunter's Pokeball from my belt, and released him next to Dusclops. "Haunter, help Dusclops search the place, okay?"
Haunter nodded, and followed the other ghostly critter through the ceiling. Phoebe's glare remained strong, but now that I was helping in some way, it didn't bother me as much. Roxanne punched at the keyboard some more, but eventually she just turned it off.
"Nothing else we'll be getting from this thing. While your Pokemon explore the center, I'll search outside for any clues." Roxanne ran outside, leaving me alone with Phoebe. That had me a bit on edge.
"I'm sorry," I said, hoping to clear the air between us.
"Yeah, I might've been a bit quick on the trigger there myself. But we're not done yet. And honestly? I still don't trust you, regardless of what Roxanne said." Well, that certainly made me feel better. Vulpix growled at her in response, to which she just scoffed.
"Um, who are you, actually?" I knew her name, but that wasn't exactly much to go on. Her choice in attire also didn't offer many clues other than a resort waitress.
"I'm a member of the Elite Four. Now best to stay quiet until our Pokemon return."
Elite Four? I couldn't believe it; SHE was one of the four greatest trainers in all Hoenn? In another life, I would've met her in battle. My next question would've been why she was dressed as she was, but I guess that would go unanswered for now. And ever.
After another few minutes of awkward silence between us, her Dusclops returned from his search. Haunter, however, was no where to be seen.
"What happened up there? Where's Haunter?" The Pokemon moaned in a low, gruff voice. Phoebe's facial expression changed radically on the spot. She nodded, and told Dusclops to lead the way.
"What's wrong?"
"They found something," she said to me. "Your Haunter is still up there, making sure nothing happens to what they found."
I followed Phoebe to the second floor of the center, not taking the time to inform Roxanne of what we found. Another question that floated about my mind on the way was how Phoebe was able to understand her Pokemon. All I heard was a moan that sounded like something you'd do to scare someone. Clearly I was out of the loop here on more than one level.
Up on the second floor, we saw Dusclops and Haunter hovering around a cabinet in the corner. The lock was intact, and upon closer inspection we noticed it was also tampered with to prevent it from opening. Someone had broken a key inside the lock. I leaned in close to the door, wondering what was inside. Inside, I heard what sounded like breathing.
"There's someone inside!" Phoebe pushed me back and pointed at the doors.
"Dusclops, break it open!"
The Pokemon grabbed onto the handles of the cabinet, pulling back with all its force. Haunter chipped in as well, and between the two, the doors of the cabinet came flying off their hinges. Inside, we saw Nurse Joy, who was tied up and gagged. Phoebe pulled her out of there, careful not to pierce either of them with the needles inside. After removing the gag from Nurse Joy's mouth, she shook her gently a few times.
"Joy, wake up," she said, slapping her in the face a few times. No matter what she did, the young nurse wouldn't rouse from her sleep.
"Is she...?"
"No, she's just out cold." Phoebe looked inside the cabinet again, catching an open bottle on the top shelf. She closed it tight before asking for my help in moving Joy away from the cabinet.
"What was that bottle?"
"Chloroform. It knocks you out cold. They must've left the bottle open up there on purpose, and the smell covered the entire cabinet. Breathing that much in could be deadly, but she'll be fine once it starts to wear off."
We laid Nurse Joy down on a hospital bed nearby, fanning her with some papers. At around this time, Roxanne joined up with us again, her Nosepass following as best it could.
"I found them! Team Aqua grunts, out in the woods nearby," she said. Phoebe instantly dropped the papers and made a run for the staircase, but Roxanne grabbed hold of her arm. "Wait! What about the nurse?"
"She'll be fine, someone should just stay behind and watch over her, just in case. Star, take care of that while we handle Team Aqua."
"No, you should stay here, Phoebe," said Roxanne, pulling her back. The young woman wasn't taking well to the order.
"What? Why me?"
"You have more experience with first aid and medicine than both of us. If something were to happen to the nurse, you'd be the best candidate for helping her. Star and I can take care of the grunts outside. Understood?" I was a bit surprised how Roxanne wasn't afraid to order around a member of the Elite Four. The way I saw it, Phoebe was her superior in at least one regard, not to mention she was the best trainer amongst us.
"Fine. Dusclops, go with them. Roxanne, I'm sure he'll help you take care of those guys."
"Sounds good. Star, let's go!"
I followed Roxanne and her Pokemon back downstairs and outside. We cut through some overgrowth behind the center and came upon a small camp. From the trees, I could count at least a dozen grunts, but no one in particular that looked to be in charge. More importantly, there were no members of Team Magma in sight, so no chance of running into Maxie.
"Listen up, Star," Roxanne whispered to me. "We'll catch them by surprise. I'll attack first with Nosepass, then have your Haunter and Dusclops attack from behind them. Once their attention is divided, join in with Vulpix from this side to finish them off."
"Um, okay," I said back, "but shouldn't we come up with a better plan than that?"
"No time. Here we go."
Literally, we went. Nosepass jumped out of the bushes, catching all the members of Team Aqua by surprise with a Rock Throw attack. The barrage of boulders managed to knock a few of the grunts unconscious, making it easier for us. Once all the attention was on Roxanne and Nosepass, I gave the signal for Haunter and Dusclops to attack. The two Pokemon vanished from my side, and reappeared amongst the other grunts. As a few of them released their own Pokemon, I jumped out of the bushes myself with Vulpix to help out.
Being out of their element, the Aqua grunts were forced to battle us with Poochyenas and one Mightyena. These were clearly not their best Pokemon, as a few choice attacks from Nosepass and Vulpix were easily knocking them out. It also helped that Haunter was going around paralyzing them with Lick attacks, and Dusclops was holding down the Mightyena on his own. This entire battle was a bit of a mess, but thanks to the help provided by Dusclops, mainly, we were able to knock out all of their Pokemon.
"You won't get away with this," threatened one of the last grunts. He was being held down by Haunter, and try as he might, he couldn't break free of the Pokemon's grasp. Roxanne kneeled down in front of him.
"Tell me, what is this 'Master Plan'? Champion Steven knows about it, so it would do you well to answer my question truthfully."
"'Master Plan'? Hah! Your Steven doesn't know anything!" The grunt's burst of laughter caused droplets of spit to land on Roxanne's face. She didn't like that, as she swiftly took her palm to his cheek.
"Hit me all you want, kid. I won't be talking anytime soon."
Roxanne scoffed at him, but was forced to back off. She walked over to me, wiping away the spit on her face.
"I'm sorry," she said to me quietly. "I was out of line there."
"Don't worry about it. But, you know something? I think I know what he's talking about." Roxanne's eyes widened.
"What? Really?"
I nodded. It was a hunch, but it was based on something I had seen myself. I walked over to the grunt, who just smiled at me.
"Pigtails couldn't get it out of me, so she sends the brat? What are you going to do, kid? Scratch me?" I ignored his insults, and looked over his entire body. If my hunch was right, there'd be something in his pockets, or on one of these grunts. Fortunately, I didn't have to look very far. When I stepped to the right, I noticed there was a strange bulge on the back of his head, where the knot to his bandana was. He looked in my direction in an attempt to conceal it.
"Like what you see, kid? Sorry, but I don't date brats."
"Hold still," I said, reaching for that concealed trinket. The grunt tried to push me away, but Haunter forced him down further, allowing me to yank off the bandana. Out fell what was being concealed, a purple Pokeball. I picked it up and brushed off the dirt, seeing a small letter 'M' printed on the front.
"What is it, Star?" Roxanne took the Pokeball from me.
"It's a Master Ball," I said, pointing at the letter. "It's a special kind of Pokeball that can capture any Pokemon without failing."
"What? Is this possible?" Roxanne looked down at the grunt, who wasn't talking anymore.
"I took one once from Giovanni, the head of Team Rocket. They're made by Silph in Saffron City, but they're extremely rare and expensive. Giovanni probably had another one made, so that one of these two teams could capture a rare Pokemon like Kyogre or Groudon."
"It all makes sense, now," said Roxanne, looking down at the device. "When the police in Mauville caught the Team Magma members, they confiscated a special kind of Pokeball, but the details were never made public. Steven got a hold of it, and turned it in to the League. When that happened, Team Aqua must've have these grunts smuggle the other Master Ball to Archie, Aqua's leader. If they had managed that, they could've captured Kyogre after all."
"But, why did they take so long? Why wait for all this time here, and risk getting caught?" I asked.
Carrying something as important to the plan as this Master Ball, that was the one thing that wasn't making sense to me. Roxanne seemed to have the answer, though. She handed me the Master Ball and kneeled down in front of the grunt again.
"Because Archie has disappeared," she said, staring at the grunt, "and you didn't know what else to do."
"I ain't talking." He turned away from Roxanne, but that was just the response she was looking for.
"Like Maxie, Magma's leader, Archie has disappeared. They haven't been seen or heard from since the Mauville incident. I have to inform Steven. Star, help me get these guys tied up. We'll meet up with Phoebe and contact the police in Ever Grande."
~o~
After we took care of the grunts, we brought them all to the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy had recovered while we were gone, and Phoebe had already called the police in Ever Grande City. While it would take them a few hours to arrive, Roxanne made some phone calls to the city herself. After trying for some time, she learned that the champion wasn't in the city.
"He must've taken off after sending me here," remarked Phoebe. "A break in the case, maybe?"
"I'll have to keep searching for him. If Archie and Maxie are indeed together in hiding, it's imperative we locate them at once. If they escape now, there's nothing stopping them from starting up a whole new mess with new recruits."
Of course, all this had nothing to do with me. I told both Roxanne and Phoebe that I was just on my way to the Battle Frontier, and needed a ride there. Roxanne offered to take me there, since that was her next stop anyway. Her involvement in this business was minor, and what we had accomplished today was already a major step forward in stopping Team Aqua's plans.
The trip to the Frontier would have to wait until tomorrow, though. Once the police arrived at the center, it was decided to have Nurse Joy relocate to Ever Grande proper for medical treatment. In the meantime, the center here would be closed. For our assistance in apprehending these criminals, we were welcome to stay at one of Ever Grande's most prestigious hotels for the night, courtesy of the Pokemon League. This awesome reward still had one major downside, however.
It would be another few hours of hiking through a cave before we got to the city. Oh the joy...