"I can't believe we're finally out of that power plant," said Rose. "That really scared me, since I was worried nobody would save me."
"I was worried the same thing too," said Wally. "But I kept faith."
"Now that we're out, let's see if Rusturf Tunnel is finally open now," offered May. "If it is, then we could go through there and get home in no time!"
---
Heading west, Brendan, May, Wally and Rose arrived at Verdanturf City. The fragrant scent of roses and violets was refreshing. Wally's asthma seemed to subside.
"It's… so wonderful," said Brendan, who gulped in the scent. "I can't stop smelling it."
May pulled Brendan through the city. "The smell may be irresistible, but you can't be, so move it, Brendan!"
After a trek, the four reached a house. "That's my cousin Wanda's house," said Wally. "It's got that green roof. The others have the blue roofs. It just sticks out like a sore thumb."
And so he knocked on the door. "Anybody there?" The door opened. The woman opening the door resembled a feminine Wally. "Wanda!"
"Hello, Wally! How are things?"
"Great. My friends and I are traveling Hoenn to find Shelly," explained Wally. He then entered the house along with Rose, Brendan and May.
"Mom? Dad?" Brendan was surprised to see them both in Wanda's house.
"Hi Brendan," greeted Brendan's mother, Tanya.
"I guess you're wondering how we escaped Team Aqua. We bribed them into releasing us and they took the bribe!" exclaimed Professor Birch. "Oh, those pirates are so greedy."
"Why wasn't Rose released?" asked Brendan.
"I was recaptured," answered Rose. "I tried to escape."
"Okay." Brendan felt that his family was safe now. "So is Rusturf Tunnel done?"
"Almost," responded Wanda.
"Hey… what's this?" Brendan found the unfolded military entrenching tool in his pocket. "I still got this shovel from Granite Cave!"
"You had it with you all this time and forgot about it?" asked May incredulously.
"Yeah, that's stupid of me. Well, let's dig it!" Brendan then left the house and into the tunnel, jumping the construction line.
---
Brendan called out Deep-Six. "Come on, Deep-Six. Let's dig through this tunnel." Brendan and the mudpuppy then began to dig their way through the rocky dirt. "This is gonna take a while." He also didn't seem thrilled about the fact that he jumped a roadblock.
May and Wally then joined in. "Let's all work together to dig through this tunnel!"
As they went through, however, it turned out that somebody else was trying to break through as well.
"I made it!" exclaimed the man. "The name's Anton Tenmag. I've been digging through to get to my girlfriend, Wanda Syntheprove."
"Really? That's my cousin," said Wally. "We both did it! We've finished the shortcut!"
---
A few days later, Norman read in the newspaper, "Digging of Rusturf Completed"
"Gloria, look at this! May's in today's paper!" The two saw the pictures of Brendan, May and Wally.
In his room, Kamon read the same news on his computer. "Wow, I guess that means a shortcut."
Kamon sighed happily as he started to leave his computer; however, he found an image of a familiar face in another news article: "Sootopolis Biologist Still Missing"
The article read:
Lewis Pantor, a Pokemon biologist from Sootopolis City, was reported missing on August 20, 2196 and has still not been found. A police spokesperson has confirmed that they are questioning friends and colleagues as before but have had no new information. "We are investigating all leads, but have had no new information on this case," said Dennis Intem, a detective of Hoenn Regional Police. "We're asking for public assistance. Anyone with information on the issue is encouraged to contact us at 555-0521."
Kamon then remembered that the man in the picture looked identical to the one in his dream. "That's him."
---
The weeks passed on and all Kamon could think about was Pantor. On his computer, he read previous news articles dating back to 2190. Articles included "Sootopolis Biologist Named Pokemon Professor of 2190" Another article, this time from 2194, had the headline "Pantor Awarded Akomn Corporation Grant". Finally, another one from 2196 had the headline, "Hikers Find Remains in Viridian Forest". And last was the article he read last month.
Kamon had no idea why he remembered Pantor, or even what he looked like if he didn't know the professor. Was the professor still missing, or was he dead? "Man, it's not good for me to keep obsessing over this, Axel."
Gloria headed into the room. "That's right, Kamon. The more you think about it, the more it'll agitate you."
"I guess I should get Gold and Crystal. Maybe we should go on a road trip through Hoenn."
"That's a good idea."
---
"Hey, Gold and Crystal, let's just take the stress off of trying to find out about Pantor and go on a road trip through Hoenn," offered Kamon. "What do you say? Rusturf Tunnel's all cleared out now, so we can pass through it."
"Good idea, Silver," said Crystal. "You've been getting so isolated from us. Maybe we should get reacquainted."
---
Kamon started the car and drove out of Littleroot Town. Axel and Spike were sitting with Duncan in the back. "I've got plenty of money, so expenses shouldn't be a big problem. I've been doing chores and odd jobs to save up the money."
"Okay, then, just make sure we don't go broke before we reach a toll booth," warned Duncan. "Rusturf Tunnel might actually cost money to go through."
And so, Kamon drove through the freeway past Oldale and Petalburg and through the forest. Upon arriving at Rustboro City, they saw a sign advertising "Rusturf Tunnel Construction Completed! New shortcut to Verdanturf!"
"Yes!" exclaimed Kamon. "Now we can get there!"
"Brendan, May and Wally beat us to there," explained Crystal.
"It took them days," shot back Duncan. "It'll take us just this morning."
"We're just on a road trip," said Kamon, trying to shut Duncan and Crystal up. "But who knows, we might find more clues to my dad's whereabouts."
"Let's go to Devon Corporation to return their inventions they gave us," offered Duncan. "I packed them in the trunk."
---
At Devon Corporation, the three offered the Pokemon Babel Helmet back to Toseph Jupim. "Oh, keep it. I think you've earned that. How were the results?"
Kamon strapped the helmet on Axel. The helmet's computer said, "Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking, I'd like to take a moment to say this: Never trust a Pokemon you don't understand. Obviously, I can talk, but I'd like to sit back with Spike for now."
"Well, then, good luck on your road trip," Toseph said.
---
And so, Kamon drove through Route 116 to the entrance to Rusturf Tunnel. However, they found out that it was a toll road: $150.
"Got the money?" asked Duncan.
"Yeah." Kamon reached into his wallet and pulled out a $100 bill as well as a $50 bill. "Here you go, the toll." He handed the money to the toll taker and drove into the tunnel.
A Whismur screeched in the middle of the road. Kamon slammed the brakes. "Will that Pokemon please shut up?" The Whismur's screech was of the same volume as a jet plane. Kamon quickly rolled up the windows to muffle the sound.
"I read that it stops when its ears are shut," said Crystal. She left the car, covering her ears as she approached Whismur and covered its ears. The screaming stopped, or they became deaf. The car windows luckily didn't break.
"Good thing the windows are Plexiglas," said Kamon. "Otherwise, we'd be suffering huge glass injuries."
"I'm gonna catch that Whismur!" Duncan exclaimed as he exited the car and tossed a Great Ball. The Pokemon disappeared into the ball. "Whew, I'm glad that's over."
Axel meowed at Spike. The Togepi said "Toge, toge" to reply back. No damage to the eardrums.