Chapter 19: (Act One) Missing Links

As we rode through the afternoon, Erin and Liam continued to play twenty questions—Erin kicked me out of the game when it was her turn to think of something. In the meantime, I could not rid myself of a nagging feeling.

Over and over, I replayed that second game of twenty questions in my head.

Mew or friend?

Mew or friend?

All of his answers matched both. Maybe he meant both…

{Anita, you are being paranoid,} Apple thought drowsily, just waking up from her nap. {Why in Arceus's name would he think of Mew? And if he did, so what?}

{He could be after Mew! It could be the reason he's following us! Remember, when I asked, "Do you have it?" he replied, "I'm not sure." He's not sure because he hasn't confirmed you are Mew!}

{Get a hold of yourself! There is absolutely no reason for him to suspect I am Mew! And even if he did, why would he reveal any of this in a stupid game of twenty questions?}

{Maybe to get us to react,} I answered weakly.

Apple shook her head. {Way too paranoid… if, in fact, he is searching for Mew—which he is not—he has absolutely no way to prove that I am Mew. We'll be fine as long as we keep acting normal as we always have been.}

{Normal… yeah, right.}

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I tiredly stirred my coffee, taking a whiff of the bitter, caffeinated drink. The Pokemon Center's couch pulled me into its lush, blue pillows as I collapsed backwards, exhausted from the day's preparations. Next to me, Reece casually flipped through the battle section of the Nelcorn News.

"Reece, they're not here yet," I said tensely.

Reece shrugged.

"What if they don't come in time?" I hissed. "Did you think of that when you planned the party? What if we planned it all for nothing and they don't even stop in Nelcorn!"

"Then I guess we will be enjoying a party without them. Honestly, Carly, who cares?"

"I CARE!" I yelled. Nurse Joy gave me a scolding look from behind the counter. I ignored her. "I've been given the opportunity of a lifetime, and you're asking me why I care? If I do this, I can become a model—I can do what I've always dreamed of!"

Reece looked up from the newspaper and sighed. "I'm sorry. Seriously, they'll be here. I know it," Reece said solemnly, for once in his life. When I did not respond, he continued, "Look, we have everything set up perfectly. We'll be fine. If we don't catch them in this town, we'll find them in the next."

I took a sip of my coffee, trying to relax. "What if they don't come to the party? What if they never attend parties? What then?"

"Everyone comes to parties. They'll be there."

"But Anita hates parties."

Reece folded his arms. "Carly, we've been through this. The party includes a battle tournament. Yes, Anita hates parties. However, she will want to come for our battle tournament. We're giving away a crap load of money to the winner, and what trainer does not need money?"

Just then, the Pokemon Center doors whooshed open. A girl with straight brown hair and purple eyes stomped through the door followed by a black-haired boy, a pretty red-haired girl, and an Eevee. Reece quickly picked up the newspaper and pretended to be reading while I turned my head to the dark window, careful to not let the group see my face.

The company did not notice us as they approached Nurse Joy's counter, requested two rooms, and asked if there was a bike shop in town.

Five minutes later, the group disappeared up the stairs, no doubt retiring for the night.

Reece smirked at me. "Told you it'd work out."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Sir, we really can't afford that!" I exclaimed.

"I'm sorry," the manager replied. "But with a flat wheel, a set of breaks that need to be replaced, and several necessary tune-ups, that's the best price I can give you."

I sighed. This is a lesson for all Pokemon trainers: never almost run over a Rattata with a bike.

I had been so absorbed in my own thoughts that I had not noticed the small Pokemon munching on a piece of grain directly in my path—that is, I did not notice it until it was a yard away from my front wheel. To avoid hitting the Rattata, I swerved my bike… right into Erin's. We both careened to the ground causing Liam to crash, bike and all, right into us.

My poor bike couldn't survive the collision. Its brakes literally fell off and parts of its metal frame were twisted in awkward directions. Liam and Erin's bikes were newer and more durable; they only received a series of scratches.

Then, just when we thought the worst was over, an angry Raticate attacked us. Apparently, she thought we were trying to kill her child (which I guess we almost did). Apple and I managed to calm her down, but not before she had taken a bite out of Liam's bike wheel.

Now, because we were down to one working bike, we had located the Nelcorn City Bike Shop. Unfortunately, we didn't have the money to fix the bikes—we had to save nearly all of what we had for Pokemon supplies and basic necessities, like food.

"What if you were to fix just one of the bikes? How much would that cost?" I asked desperately.

"Half the price I gave you before."

"But that's still too much!"

"Look, I'm sorry, but replacing bike parts is expensive," the manager replied.

"Thanks," I grumbled as I spun around and shuffled out of the store.

"Now what?" I asked dejectedly outside the bike shop.

"Looks like we'll be walking," Liam commented dryly.

"We're not leaving 'till tomorrow anyway," Erin insisted.

I frowned. "I thought we voted. We're leaving tonight."

"You two are so boring!" Erin complained. "You'd rather be traveling by foot than attending a party every teenager in a mile's radius is going to be at?"

"Duh," I answered. I assumed Liam would annunciate some similar form of agreement; he had voted with me earlier against the party. I looked at him expectantly.

"Our current dilemma changes everything." Liam pulled a flyer out of his pocket—one of the billions around town stating the party information. He pointed to the bottom of the paper. "There is a tournament for prize money. We need money to fix our bikes. Therefore, we should attend the party so we may participate in said tournament."

I crossed my arms. "No. We already voted! We're leaving tonight."

"C'mon, Anita. You know you'd love to battle," Erin whined. "Who votes we leave tonight?"

I raised my hand. I looked down at Apple; she didn't even raise her paw.

{What?} she asked sheepishly. {I like parties!}

{Traitor.}

"Alright, who votes we go to the party?"

Liam and Erin each raised a hand. Apple raised a paw.

"We already voted!" I repeated. "We voted to leave, remember? Two against one." I glared at Liam.

"Who votes we can overturn old votes?" Erin asked. Both she and Liam raised her hand. Again, Apple lifted a paw.

"Oh, come on!"

Erin tugged my arm. "Let's go. We have lots of shopping to do before tonight!"

"Shopping! We don't even have enough money for new bike parts!"

"Who said we were going to buy anything?"

I groaned.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / /

"What color eye shadow do you want?" Erin asked, spreading my numerous choices in front of me on her wooden nightstand.

"Neon green," I replied without even glancing at my options.

Erin examined her different eye shadows. "I don't have that…"

"No, duh."

"A little cooperation would be nice!" Erin cried out. "How about a light lavender? It would match your tank top."

"I'm not wearing eye shadow, Erin." The mascara was bad enough…

Erin started at me with the eye shadow anyway. I thrust my mind forward, creating a barrier at her feet. Just as I intended, she toppled forward, smearing the eye shadow across the floor.

"Anita! That was one of my favorites…"

"Well, I told you I didn't want any!"

{Will you two stop bickering and come brush me?} Apple demanded.

I rolled my eyes but complied.

Erin looked me over thoughtfully. "I like that grey mini-skirt on you. You can keep it.

"Just what I've always wanted," I replied sarcastically.

Erin ignored me and turned to examine her own reflection in the mirror. She was wearing high black boots and a magenta dress that ended above her knees. Dark eye shadow above her eyes and straightened hair—she was, in a word: hot.

I, on the other hand, was wearing a simple tank top, skirt, and sandals. I had just wanted to wear my normal capris and tee-shirt, but Erin had flipped out on me. She had immediately pulled out her shrinkable wardrobe (which was filled with G-d knows how much clothing) and tossed clothes at me. After two hours of constant arguing (I would not wear that revealing red shirt… or those enormous heels…or, well, you get the picture), we finally settled on my current outfit.

Erin turned around. "I'm ready to go," she announced.

Apple jumped off of my lap as I finished brushing her tail. She shook her soft coat. {I'm ready, too!} I rose, brushing the Eevee fur off of me.

"Now all that's left is Liam," Erin muttered to herself. She stuck her hand into her gigantic wardrobe and pulled out a black suit and tie. "This'll do…"

"Um, Erin, why do you have guy's clothing in your closet?" I asked tentatively, not sure I actually wanted to know the answer.

Erin shrugged. "I've got to be prepared for everything. Now, where did I put the wardrobe shrinker?"

As Erin searched for the shrinker device, I picked up a party flyer and read it over again.

Attention Teenagers!

You are invited to party at the Phanpy Party Center (PPC)!

Who: Any teenager between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. You must have an ID to be admitted.

When: 7:00 p.m. July 16, 2013

Where: The PPC, of course!

What: Dancing, fun, and battle tournament!

Dress: Semi-formal

Please Note: Due to the large number of young trainers that will be present at the PPC, Pokeballs will be strictly forbidden within the PPC. By taking this precaution, the PPC hopes to avoid stolen Pokemon and unauthorized battling. Trainers entering the tournament may bring one Pokemon outside of its Pokeball into the PPC. Pokemon must be small enough to carry. Trainers will be checked at the door. Any trainer who violates PPC's rules will be detained. To obtain a complete list of PPC rules or if you have any questions, please call 1-800-PAR-TEEE.

"What Pokemon are you going to bring?" I asked Erin curiously.

"Tweal. Are you coming, or what?" I looked up. Erin was holding the door open and the gigantic wardrobe was not in sight. Apple and I followed Erin out of the room.

"You know, Liam never told us about his Pokemon…" I said as we stood before his door.

Erin bit her lip. "I know. We'll ask him now—" She knocked on his door and held up the black suit. "—after he changes into this, of course."

A teenager wearing black jeans and a black loosely buttoned shirt opened the door. His hair was brushed just enough so it didn't look messy, but kept its slight wildness.

I blinked. Geez, that was Liam?

Erin's jaw dropped. "Guess you don't need this," she mumbled. "You look…uh…good."

Liam nodded, a small smile on his lips.

I coughed slightly to get their attention. "We need to talk."

Liam opened the door wider, inviting us in. The room was a lot cleaner than the one Erin and I were sharing. Erin and I sat down on the extra bed while Liam sat on his.

"We need to know why you don't use your Pokemon, how you have a Tyranitar, and why you did not tell us," I bluntly said.

Liam's expression returned to its usual stoicism. "I'd prefer not to talk about it."

"Well, Erin and I would prefer that you tell us. We don't feel like we can trust you without this information."

Liam looked away, hesitating before saying, "There was an accident a long time ago… I used to be a trainer… I was a very good trainer."

Well, that explained the Tyranitar.

"Then, my Pokemon…" Liam continued. "They… they nearly killed a good friend of mine… It was an accident, of course…"

Liam stopped to take a breath. Alright, maybe I really shouldn't have asked.

"My Pokemon… I loved them but… I couldn't remain a trainer… I couldn't bear seeing them, letting them out of their Pokeballs—I wouldn't let them out of their Pokeballs, not unless it was absolutely necessary…"

"Wow." Erin whispered.

Liam looked me in the eye. Solemnly, he said, "I explained the situation to them. I loved them… but I couldn't be around them. I offered to release them… The Pokemon I have left are the ones who refused…"

Erin got up and sat down next to Liam, patting his shoulder. "I'm so sorry." She gave me the "this is all your fault" glare. Hey! She agreed to do this, too.

"Yeah, sorry" I murmured, not sure if I was more annoyed with myself, Erin, Liam, or this whole situation. "Umm… you know the tournament?" I continued uncomfortably. "Well, we really need that money… so we should all bring a Pokemon. If you're not comfortable bringing your own Pokemon, maybe you could barrow one of mine?" My voice went kind of high and awkward at the end.

Liam smiled slightly. "Sure."

{I object!} Apple said.

{Why?}

{Well, who do you think is going to be paired up with him? You think Fiery will listen to him?}

{Let's find out.} I pulled out Fiery's Pokeball and Fiery appeared out of the red light. {Fiery, would you battle for Liam?}

{Is Liam my trainer?}

{No, but—}

{Is Liam a blood relative?}

{I sure hope not—}

{Do I care about Liam?}

{Not that I'm aware—}

{Then why the hell would I battle for him!}

{Told you so,} Apple snickered.

I sighed. {Apple, will you battle for Liam?}

{I don't wanna.}

{Apple, come on! Please? We need all the chances we can to win that money!}

{If we win the money, can you use some of the money to buy me a jumbo hotdog?}

I rolled my eyes. {Fine.}

{Then we have a deal.} Apple trotted over to Liam, sniffed his foot, and plopped down next to him.

"Apple will battle with you," I told Liam. "Fiery, you're with me."

{Joy.}

"Alright, ready to go?" I asked. I looked at my watch. "The party already started."

Liam and Erin got up.

{Well this has been an interesting evening,} Apple commented. {I can't imagine there could be too much more excitement.}

She couldn't have been more wrong.