After a few twists and turns in the large city, Duncan, Crystal, Kamon, Brendan, May, and Wally headed toward the Devon Headquarters. Upon their arrival, however, a riot broke out.
Biff! Pow! Bam!
"Aah! Please!!! Wait!" It was the same Devon Researcher Wally had seen in Petalburg Forest. "Don't take my goods!"
Brendan then asked, "What's with the riot?"
"I don't know, but we should go find out," replied May.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" asked Crystal. "It doesn't seem like a good idea."
"That's the same guy who got robbed in Petalburg Forest yesterday!" exclaimed Wally. "We've got to find out!"
"Okay, then, just be careful!" shouted Duncan.
"We will!" answered May as the three rookie trainers ran east, away from the Mineral Triad.
"Oh, it's you again!" exclaimed the Devon employee, recognizing Wally. "I've been robbed again by Team Aqua! I gotta get those goods back! I think he went off to Rusturf Tunnel."
"Isn't it still under construction?" asked Brendan. He heard how the tunnel was being built, allowing easy access to Verdanturf.
"Apparently not," said May, pointing towards a sign crossed out with a red "X". "I think they've given up."
"Then he's picked a dead-end," said Wally. "Maybe he thought it was finished. I wish it was, because then I could meet relatives."
---
After reaching the tunnel, gym leader Roxanne stormed out. "I can't believe that pirate forced me out! I was almost finished with the tunnel!"
An old man trudged out. "Oh, what am I going to do? That thug took my darling Peeko..."
"He might do something drastic like cause the Pokemon to start an uproar!"
"Why are they trying to make the tunnel with Pokemon and manpower?" asked May.
"Because they said that construction equipment would scare the Pokemon," explained Brendan.
"Good thing that thief's trapped!" exclaimed Wally as he rushed into the cave. "Nice try, thief, but no getaway this time!"
The Team Aqua Grunt was the same one that Wally saw in the forest as well. He grumbled, "I can't believe this is the tunnel to nowhere. I'm but a lowly grunt..."
"Quick, guys, let's try to stop this thief!" May shouted as she called out Barbecue.
"Come on, Matilda, save me!" Wally called out the Ralts.
"I'll help you stop him," Roxanne said as she entered, calling out Aron.
"You wanna battle me? Go on! I'm a strong grunt!" Brendan sneaked past the busy grunt and pulled up the briefcase, untying the Wingull along the way. The seagull flew free as Brendan ran out of the cave. "Hey! Where are you going?"
"I gotta take this to Rustboro right away." Brendan then backtracked to the route they had gone through, back to the city.
---
Kamon, Duncan, and Crystal couldn't go beyond the first floor of Devon Corporation, because only personnel could.
"Hello there, kids!" It was Ben Pyrolic, the old man they had met before in Johto! Ben was walking down the stairs.
"Hey! You're Ben Pyrolic," said Duncan in amazement. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit my old friend, Mr. Stone. He runs this place!" Ben then asked, "How about I take you upstairs?"
"Sure," said Duncan. "We could take a sneak peek at some new electronics."
"Like the PokeNav." Crystal was determined to replace her PokeGear.
"Look, we don't have time to enjoy gadgetry. We need to get home," explained Kamon.
"We've got time. What's the rush?" asked Duncan.
"Fine."
---
"He got away..." May said in failure. "And all of our Pokemon got wiped out."
Roxanne assured, "But I saw Brendan get away with the goods and Wingull."
"Yes, he did," said Mr. Briney, the owner of the Wingull. "Peeko owes her gratitude to you!"
"Brendan went off to Devon Corporation, right?" Wally then left the cave. "Yes, he did!"
"What about the tunnel?" asked May. "Is it near completion?"
"No, I'm afraid not." Roxanne saw that it would take a few more days before the tunnel was completed. "It'll take us a few more days."
"Guess we'll have to go the super-long way!"
---
"Oh! You've got Pokemon!" exclaimed a scientist. "I've got a favor to ask of you. My name is Toseph Jupim," he said to Kamon.
"Okay, shoot."
"I'm testing a helmet for Pokemon."
"A helmet? Good idea, because Pokemon are known to hurt their heads."
"But this helmet also allows Pokemon to speak through a computer!"
"Wow! That's a cool idea! Without our Pokedex, we don't have any way of knowing what our Pokemon are saying. Come on Axel, we'll put a helmet on you." Kamon called out the Persian. Toseph then firmly attached the helmet to Axel's head. Axel felt disoriented at first. But the helmet was remarkably lightweight, much to his relief.
"How is it? You feel all right?" asked Toseph.
"Yes," was the response given from the helmet's computer. "I sure like the safety of this helmet," continued the male voice synthesizer. "It sure is great to get out of that PokeBall."
---
"...the Akomn Corporation. Groundbreaking research to help the future of Pokemon and humans alike. Akomn Corp. Because now is the future!" Tabitha and Courtney were located in their dorm, watching TV and sitting together.
The room consisted of crimson walls and dark carpeting. On the wall was a Magma Symbol. The two had just gotten a taste of what goes on in Team Magma. And was it tough!
"Totally awesome company, I bet," said Tabitha. "Heck, I don't even know their owner."
"It's going to have to compete against Silph Co. and Devon Corp," said Courtney. "I wonder what they're doing to better humans and Pokemon?"
"Yeah, I know. Totally secretive company, maybe, patents and trade secrets and all... Man, I don't understand business."
---
"Thank you so much for returning our equipment!" exclaimed Mr. Stone, the president and CEO of Devon Corporation.
"Thanks," said Brendan.
"I recognized that thief from yesterday," explained Wally. "I'm sure he's with Team Aqua."
"How could you help us find Wally's sister?" asked May.
"Well, we can give you our new tool, the PokeNav! This tool replaces our old PokeGear. We're giving this to you free as a memento for your adventure and because Ben referred you to us."
"Hey, that sounds great!" shouted Duncan. "I had a PokeGear once that I got for my birthday last year, but Team Rocket destroyed it." He showed the PokeGear remnants.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Mr. Stone felt sympathetic for Duncan and Crystal.
An employee handed the six each their own PokeNav.
"Thanks for the help!" exclaimed Kamon. "But we'd better get going now, Gold and Crystal." Kamon, Duncan, and Crystal left the building. "All right, let's get back home."
"What?" asked Duncan.
"Look, we promised Uncle Norman that we would find the others," recapped Kamon. "Let's keep that promise, okay? We'll tell them that the others have left for their Pokemon journey. Besides, we've had enough excitement for now. We could spend the time at home to test out our new PokeNavs from Devon, such as transferring our old PokeGear data into them."
"Okay, Silver, we're ready to go home now." Crystal had begun to grow tired. "I'm sure Axel and Spike grew tired of the excitement of all those new gadgets. I mean, we can now listen to a Pokemon's speech like a human voice! Or more specifically, a choppy-sounding human voice."
---
"Thanks for giving us this letter, Mr. Stone," said May, unsure about the big adventure awaiting them. "Only one problem – where and who is your son? You need to provide details!"
"Oh, don't worry. Mr. Briney can get you across the ocean. My son Steven's at Dewford. He can be distinguished by his silver hair."
"Like my hat?" asked Brendan.
"Yes. Like your cap," pointed out Mr. Stone.
Wally believed that Steven was experienced enough to help them find Shelly. "Okay, then, Mr. Stone. We've got nothing to lose!"
"God Speed in your journey!" Mr. Stone shouted as the three left the building.
---
Kamon, Duncan, and Crystal left Rustboro City and backtracked to the long route home. Upon reaching the middle of the bridge, Kamon could hear underwater, "Plugh."
"Plugh?" Kamon wondered what this meant. Suddenly, like a flash, he vanished.
Foosh!
"Hey! Silver's disappeared," said a caught off-guard Duncan. "That was completely unexpected. How did he do that?"
"He must have said some magic word!" Crystal paid attention to the water. "Plugh..."
"See? He said Plugh. Augh!" Crystal dematerialized from existence.
"Plugh? Whoa!" Duncan vanished too.
---
Kamon awoke from his bed. He was back in his home. He could see from his window that Duncan and Crystal were also back in their rooms. "Wow! That was a lot quicker than on foot!"
"That was an old computer game joke," said Duncan, uninterested.
"Well, that doesn't matter at all." Crystal was glad to be instantly home. "It's a magic word that actually worked!"
The three headed outside.
"That had to have been a dream," denied Duncan.
"If it was a dream, why do we still have our PokeNavs?" Kamon presented his Pokemon Navigational System. "Check your pockets."
Duncan and Crystal were amazed to see that they, too, had PokeNavs.
"Well, we'll see you later," said Duncan. "We should keep this magic a secret between us."