The next morning, Brendan, May and Wally were led through Petalburg Forest to a shack near the beach. "Here's my home! I've lived here for a long time, I have."
"You know much about the ocean?" asked Brendan.
"Why, yes! I've sailed the sea for much of my youth," answered Briney. "I've seen many unique Pokemon. Most are harmless to humans."
"We've got a letter to deliver to Steven Stone," explained Wally. "We were told that he's at Dewford City. Do you know where that is?"
"Oh, yes." Mr. Briney had been there a lot. "I like going there to hear about new fads that happen to come by in Hoenn. I've heard of a 'Pokemon Quest' movie based on the adventures of the Color Triad."
"Isn't this the third story in the series?" asked May. "Or maybe we're the grounds for Pokemon Quest 2!"
---
Kamon talked with who appeared to be a detective named Dennis Intem. "You remember being at your old home in Viridian City."
"It's all that came out," said Kamon.
Intem then showed Kamon a key card with a logo. It consisted of a circle circumscribed with a diamond, a cross in the diamond and an X crossing out the insignia. It was black, with the exception of the lower legs of the X, which were gray. "This card was found in Viridian Forest two months ago. Either the victim or killer dropped it."
Kamon examined the card. He didn't know where it came from.. "No. I can't seem to remember ever seeing it before."
Duncan then had an idea. With the printed pictures, he put them together, and they formed this logo!
Intem then asked, "Are you sure you didn't see the logo anytime before?"
"No, we saw these lines before seeing that card," said Duncan.
---
Duncan flipped through the Hoenn phone book. "Maybe someone in Hoenn knows all about Silver." The first place to check would be in the phone book, since it was possible a relative of Kamon lived in Hoenn. "Stelldox... Stelldox..." He found no one surnamed Stelldox. "Typical. Silver's contact information is unlisted, like back at Goldenrod City." Since Giovanni's number wasn't listed either, Duncan had three ideas. "Either he's not at Hoenn, the phone book's out of date, or his number's confidential." The third possibility seemed the most likely.
Crystal sketched a replica of the logo. Then she went on the Internet, scanned the logo, and checked to see if it was the insignia of any corporation. The results came up empty. "Maybe the company's not registered."
---
Mr. Briney sailed through the sea. The smell of salt tingled Brendan's nose. He had never actually seen the ocean before, but saw that it stretched on – seemingly endless.
Wally stared down into the water and saw various Pokemon such as Lanturn and Magikarp. In addition, there was a weird-looking clam. Wally then began to feel a bit sick and turned away from the water. "That water somehow makes me feel sick..."
A passing ship struck Briney's boat, causing it to rock.
"Whoa!" Everyone was taken by surprise.
"Hey! That's Briney! Let's get him!" shouted a passenger on the ship.
"Quick, hide!" The three trainers hid in the cabin.
---
The three could hear that Briney then got into a fight with the strangers. "Whoa!"
The boat rocked. Water leaked inside.
"Quick, Deep-Six, find a way out of here!" Brendan quietly called out the Mudkip, who skipped around for an exit. What he found outside was that Mr. Briney was beaten up and that the intruders were dressed in a similar fashion as the Devon thief. He also saw the make-shift "A" on the ship as it left with Briney. The mudpuppy quickly hopped back. "They've got Mr. Briney."
"Looks like we'll have to get to Dewford on our own, then," said Wally.
May then replied, "But we don't even know how to use the boat!"
Brendan stared at the ocean. He could see an island not far on the horizon. "We're almost there. Maybe I could swim over there and get help. We'll anchor the boat here."
"Brendan! Are you crazy?!" May said in shock. "There's dangerous Pokemon in the sea!"
"This part of the ocean only has harmless Magikarp and Wailmer," explained Brendan as he dove into the water, paddling himself towards the island. It wasn't anything like the swimming pool. He tried not to swallow the water, since it contained salt and bacteria as opposed to the chlorine in the pool. And he didn't want to accidentally swallow a fish Pokemon!
Finally, he reached shallow water and walked toward the land. "Hey you two," Brendan shouted out. "It's safe to swim across!" But Wally knew a little about boating and cruised toward the island. "Never mind... Hey! The boat's stuck in the sand now!"
"At least it won't be ravaged by Pokemon," said May, who climbed off.
The three walked off the beach and looked around.
It wasn't much. A set of buildings with blue roofs dotted the area. The place was rather quiet as a few people traveled around.
Brendan looked around for this Steven Stone. "Well, he's got silver hair, which I'm sure can distinguish him."
---
"Tabitha, I need my clothes," said Courtney from the bathroom.
"Sure thing." He pulled up Courtney's red and black clothing and headed for the bathroom. Upon opening the door, he was shocked to see a glimpse of Courtney... without any clothes! "Whoa!" He quickly tossed the clothes into the bathroom as he shut the door.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to wear a towel around myself! Just remember to knock next time."
"That was totally embarrassing..."
A minute later, Courtney exit fully-clothed.
---
"Forty years of service, Olivia. Too bad you've decided to leave."
"It's time for me to get on with my life – a regular life." Olivia finished signing the resignation forms and handed them to the man. She stood up to leave.
"Remember – we aggressively enforce this non-disclosure agreement. I need your key card."
"Oh, yes. Here it is." She handed the man her key card. It had the same insignia as the card Kamon saw.
---
Brendan found someone who fit Mr. Stone's description of Steven. "Hey there."
"What do you want?" asked the man.
"Nice island," said Brendan.
"Yes, very nice," informed the man. "Brawly, the popular fads... very nice indeed."
"I'm Brendan Birch."
"You don't say," responded the man impatiently.
"Are there any charter planes?" asked Brendan.
"Not one, sorry."
"How about the next boat?"
"Bad news. No boats or planes until next week."
Brendan began to regret coming here. Not because he hated it, but because he had no way of leaving for a week. "Isn't there any way off?"
"Unless a Pokemon of yours can fly or swim you out, I'm afraid you're stuck here for a week." He then realized who he was talking to. "Wait, aren't you the son of Professor Birch?"
"Yeah. You're Steven Stone, right? Your dad asked me to find you."
"Oh, yes. I've come here to Dewford City to find some artifact."
"What artifact are you looking for?"
"Have you heard of the story of Groudon and Kyogre?"
"Yeah! My mom told me that story. The legend goes billions of years back. Kyogre created the ocean and all the water. Groudon created the land. But they got into a fight since humans have a conflicting need for both land and water. And after the battle, both went into a deep sleep. Then again, it's just a legend."
"Possibly, but I'm determined to find out if it's fact."
---
Brendan, May and Wally walked toward a small sloping cave. The sand shined beneath the sun. As they entered the cave, they entered a large room, well-lit by the sun.
Somebody else had been digging here. In the next room, a set of crates containing tools was placed on the gray stone ground.
"Hey, someone else was here before us," said May. "Maybe they're still here."
"I think they've already left," said Wally.
Brendan searched the crates. There was a folded-up shovel – possibly a military entrenching tool.
In addition, there was an odd part of the wall. It looked lighter than the surrounding walls.
"There's also some sort of inscription," said Brendan. None of them could read it, though.
"Come on, Matilda, let's see if you understand this inscription." Wally called out the psychic, which looked at it interestingly.
Suddenly, the cave began to shake, causing everybody to lose their footing.
A Mawile and Nosepass both appeared in the cave. They apparently failed to escape the rockslide.
"Hey! We've got double Pokemon!" Wally shouted as he called out Climber. "Let's catch them!"
"You catch the Pokemon while I get us out of here," said Brendan as he headed toward the now blocked exit. Looks like he would have to dig his way out.
Brendan unfolded the entrenching tool to find... a note? The handwriting was familiar.
"To whom it may concern,
I am sure you will find this eventually. Team Aqua has taken me captive.
We appear to be leaving soon, so they must have found something. Please seek help as soon as possible!"
The letter was signed, "Professor Seth Birch".
"Hey! My dad's been here, and it doesn't look like a good thing. I gotta get this door unblocked!" Brendan then dug into the dirt feverishly.
---
Steven wondered what had happened to the three trainers. He feared that they were trapped in the cave.
But Brendan had finished digging his way out. "Whew! That was a lot of work."
"You're all right."
"May and Wally will come up soon. I think Team Aqua beat you to the expedition, though. Here's my dad's note to prove it."
"Team Aqua must have taken Professor Birch to use him as a Pokemon expert. Good thing you weren't at home today."
"Mom and Rose – I hope they're okay too," said Brendan. But he was unsure of their fate. Since his father was captured, his mother and sister may have been too.
"I'll tell Brawly to sail you across to Slateport City," said Steven. "Yesterday, I saw Team Aqua go off in that direction."
Brendan wondered what Team Aqua could possibly want there.