Chapter 5: A Simple Sketch

Eric and Wes walked out of the room and out of the corner of his eye, Eric could still see Roxie running down the hall with their damaged or fainted Pokemon. He had to admit, that battle was one of the most fun things he had ever done in his life. The battle had been a self defense lesson though, so he knew that the next time he would be using the knowledge, he might be in danger; that would make things a little less fun. He silently promised to himself that he would work hard to become a powerful trainer so that once his parents were back, they would never take them again.

Wes passed his hand over Eric's face to be sure the kid was still in there. Eric looked like he was pretty deep in though, and a serious, determined look was spreading around his face. "Are you still there Eric?" the hero asked him with another smile.

Eric finally slipped out of the possible future and into the present. He glanced up at Wes and gave him a smile right back and thought, This sounds so corny, but smiles are contagious…. "Huh, what was that?" he asked as he slipped a hand into one of his blue jeans' pockets.

Wes chuckled a bit and shook his head as if he was dismissing it. "Never mind, you answered my question without saying anything. I was just wonder, if you don't mind, could I ask about the people who too your parents? What they look like and so on?" The young man looked ready to hear a tale of any sort from the boy.

Eric was not good at describing in words, but he always had a way to show his feelings in his art. Every once in while he wouldn't draw a Pokemon from sight, he would draw it from memory and surround it in his own feeling at the time. He quickly pulled out the sketchpad that was in his unzipped orange-vest jacket and a pencil from one of its pockets. "It would be easier if I could draw them for you," he said as he flipped to a fresh page. "I won't be able to put any color in it though, they're all back at my house…"

A sketch artist, hm? Or a Pokemon Watcher, I suppose, thought Wes as he looked down at the sketchpad. "No worries. Believe it or not, I have an art supply closet all the way at the other end of this place. Why don't you wait in that place where you teleported in and get started on the sketch until I come back? Do you know the way back to it?" Eric just nodded and continued to walk forward as he stared at the blank page. Wes walked off to the left.

Eric sat down in a yellow-gold couch in the den where he had appeared. It was soft, softer than anything he had ever sat on before. It was just the perfect setting to make him forget the world around him and dive right into his sketch. By the time that Wes came back, about 20 minutes later, Eric had already finished the upper body of one of the men. Wes set a box of colored pencils next to Eric, and when Eric looked, he gasped. There were 20,000 different colors… how could there ever bee so many shades!

Wes laughed and sat down in a chair near the sofa that Eric was sitting in. "Well, its good to have choice isn't it. Go ahead and keep them, I have a feeling that you'll use them better than Rui or I could," he said as he put his arms in his lap.

Eric stuttered a bit as he said, "Wow, thanks a lot… This is a top of the line brand too, it must have been a pretty penny… at least in colored pencil standards." For a while longer he just went on silently, drawing the outlines and preparing to color and shade it all in. When he was finally finished with the outlines, he slipped back to the real world again and was embarrassed about how quite it was; he thought Wes might be insulted that he hadn't said a word. As he opened up the box of colored pencils he asked, "How do you afford all this? I mean you must have a good job now, but… it can't make enough to afford this mansion."

Wes was half-asleep and when he snapped back, he was even more embarrassed than Eric was. "Oh, there is now way that I could afford this with my job, even though I do make much more than enough… 3 years ago when Rui and I were still dating, she 'sold away' her gift to scientific research so that other people could identify Shadow Pokemon if needed. The device they made, the Shadow Visor, was actually pretty good though, and the kid who stopped the second Shadow Operation last year used it."

Eric did not dare look up from his sketch, he was doing too well with his shading right then, but he said, "Wow, that's a lot of money to spend for such a talent… but I guess it was useful if it stopped another Shadow Operation." He was finished with the first man's coloring and he started on the second one with a different pencil that he picked up from his side. In only a few more minutes he was done and he presented the picture to Wes.

Wes's eyebrows went up a little bit as he carefully took the sketchpad from Eric's hands. "I know who these guys are, the kid from a year ago told me about these guys. He joined up with me last year. There are 6 of them actually, and they each were fruity latex suits and masks like these. Each of the brothers likes a different type, they were all part of Cipher, and they were all horrible Pokmeon trainers. If they attacked Holon and took scientists… They could be starting their own team with a Delta Operation."

Eric could not believe it at all … and where did his parents fit into all of this, why were they taken away at all? He stood in silence for a couple of moments, but eventually he asked, "But you're putting an agent on it, right?"

Wes sat up in the chair again and thought for a moment. "Well, normally I would put the kid from last year on this since he knows the most about them, but he's on something else… The same goes for everyone of the other agents that I thought were free," Wes mulled it over a few moments, he did have an idea… "Well…maybe I could…"

Eric looked at him expectantly, as if he was hanging on every word that the man said. He had no idea what Wes was about to suggest, so he said, "Yes?"

Wes looked Eric in the eye for a moment, surveying his character, then nodding. "Yes… I'll hire you and put you on it. We'll just need an assignment from someone who hates these Fruit Loops, but you can start on it." Wes started to think of all the things that he would need to pack for Eric.

Eric's eyes widened in shock and wonder; why would Wes put him on this? Deep in the back of his brain though, he knew he wanted to do it, maybe he could put his Delta Eye to use. "Are you sure… Me?"

Wes nodded and said, "If you're uncomfortable going alone… Roxie does summer work for me, although her parents think she does something different. You 2 are both on summer break from school, so this works out perfectly. She'll accompany you, I'll tell her tonight. I can give you guys supplies tomorrow and you can leave tomorrow morning." Wes looked at his watch and stood up. "Well, if you're going out on an adventure tomorrow, it would be a good idea to go to bed now." Eric didn't say another word, he was just too excited. Wes led Eric to a guest bedroom that looked all too much like a fancy hotel room and told him good night. Eric slipped into the bed and smiled… he would be the next hero of Orre.