Chapter 2
Kelly hid a yawn behind her fist as she consulted the paper she'd been writing on the subject of the Feebas. She'd stopped rolling her eyes at it about lunchtime and gotten the basics of her theories down on paper; that had gotten the ball rolling enough for her to go picking through the aquarium to find a Feebas infant worth her study time.
She'd been careful with her comments toward it, of course. If there was one thing Pokémon were most assuredly not, it was deaf. She'd been about two seconds away from sighing and muttering something about just how hideous that particular breed of fish was – but her professionalism had kicked in at the right moment, reminding her that whatever else they were, Pokémon were sentient and likely to take comments of that nature personally.
Nevertheless, she'd volunteered in her admittedly short list of theories on the survival techniques of Feebas that their ugliness probably made for a turn-off to predators. Her elaboration on this proposal was that their coloration, a sickly yellowish-green, was a color common to many poisonous sea plants, and their shredded-looking fins would be the icing on the proverbial cake. They looked disease-ridden, dangerous to one's health.
None of which helped to corroborate Professor Oak's insistence that Feebas was capable of evolution.
She set her notepad down on the table and let her pen drop atop it, feeling thoroughly wrung out from having to offer such an impromptu report. She wasn't happy about it. She knew she could compose reports of more substance, and with more flair – in fact, now that she thought of it, there probably wasn't going to be anything in it that Oak himself hadn't already taken into consideration.
As if that wasn't enough, my report is probably wrong anyway. We already determined that Feebas are rare, maybe on the brink of dying out – so if their coloration is their defense, it's a poor one. Which means evolution is really the only thing that gives them a chance for survival.
She picked the pen back up and scrawled as much at the bottom of the notepad, then sloppily signed it and lazily tossed the pen to the other side of the table. It clattered and rolled off, then rattled across the floor.
"Burning the midnight oil, I see."
She glanced up, rubbed her eyes, and offered a weak smile to the intruder. "Professor Oak wanted this report by the end of the day today and I don't think I've even scratched the surface of what he wants me studying."
Jason guided his wheelchair to the other side of the table, then rested his elbows on the cool surface and laced his fingers. "What's he got you on?"
"Feebas."
He arched an eyebrow. "I'd ask if you were joking, if I didn't know better."
"Yeah, don't do that, 'cause you do know better." She sighed and leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms as she did so. "He wants me to offer speculation on how Feebas might be liable to evolve."
"I thought the one you guys were working on before pretty much proved it doesn't."
"That one's still being worked on. Most recently they rated it at level 53. Dragonairs and Pupitars don't evolve until level 55."
"Dragonairs and Pupitars evolved from something first, and they don't think splashing in puddles is an attack."
She gave him a scathing look. "Thanks for that penetrating analysis. Care to take over the report for me? I'd like to go home, myself."
He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood a little."
"Which I would appreciate normally, but right now..." She slumped and sighed. "I really don't know what Oak expects me to accomplish, especially in just a single day. It's not even daytime right now, is it?"
"Sun set about two hours ago." Jason glanced about. "Most of the daytime researchers went home. Night shift should be getting here in a couple minutes." He gestured to the notepad. "Mind if I take a look?"
"I do, actually. I'll have to start over on it."
"What for?"
"It sucks. Beyond a couple of preliminary guesses as to what makes this Pokémon tick, I don't have anything substantial to offer, and I'm using way too many words to make that clear."
Jason settled back in his chair. "What's the focus of the research, anyway, beyond the idea that Feebas might be capable of evolving?"
"Survival mechanisms. Feebas are rare but they've managed to survive for a very long time. At first I thought it might have to do with their colors and those awful fins they have. To your average predator, that's all the proof you need that it's a hazard to one's health. But if that's the case, wouldn't Feebas be a lot more abundant than they are?"
"It's not really that simple, is it? Fishermen could be catching them by the bucketload in the areas they're supposed to be abundant. If that's true, it wouldn't surprise me their population has diminished. Like Tauros. Those used to be a lot more common, until callous hunters decided they wanted a meat and hide surplus for business."
Kelly's expression soured. It wasn't exactly the epitome of human history Jason was bringing up. Fortunately, a stop had been put to those hunters once it was realized Tauros bore sentience equivalent to that of most other Pokémon. "Fishermen catch Magikarp by the bucketload and there's no shortage of them for it."
"Magikarp get tossed back. Maybe Feebas don't."
"What possible reason would a fisherman want a Feebas for, though?"
"You tell me. You're the one who's been looking at them all day."
"Yeah, and I'm stumped. Just... ugh!" She thumped her palm on the notepad. "You know something, you're probably right... Feebas likely won't evolve just by gaining battle experience. It needs something else."
"Okay... but what else?"
She shook her head. "Not sure I even want to try guessing yet. First I want to turn in this awful report to Professor Oak and then go home to get a little sleep." She got to her feet. "Actually, if I can just skip turning in the report and get the sleep, that'd be okay, too."
Jason offered no response, opting instead to simply accompany Kelly out the door. But before they could make it that far, they were met by none other than Professor Oak, who was wearing a somewhat expectant look. "Kelly. Have you got that report worked up?"
She sighed and passed the notepad to him. "Yeah, but it's really not all that good."
"My lab isn't a literary society, Kelly, I just wanted a first impression of the work I assigned you to." Oak took the pad and gave it a cursory glance. "Hm. Even in your notes you don't sound all that convinced of your theory." He looked back up at her. "I like smart people who disagree with me. If you don't think Feebas evolves, make a hypothesis that says so, then test it by all means you feel are necessary."
She ran a hand through her hair, and in spite of herself, smiled. "Thank you, Professor... but for right now, I think I'm going to go brain myself against a bedpost."
Oak didn't miss a beat. "Document that, would you, Jason?"
–
It was late at night and quite dark in the house, and beneath the exquisitely comfortable blankets of a queen-sized bed, Adam was sleeping contentedly, his dreams filled with vague memories of passions exchanged and spent. There had been no expense spared to make sure that neither he nor his fiancée were disturbed during their much-desired sleep.
But even if they'd been in possession of less lavish accommodations, he wouldn't have noticed the figure climbing out of the bed, tiptoeing to the door, or the opening and closing of said door. And that was because she'd learned how to be sneaky. It had been really the only way she could have her own brand of fun during her tenure aboard the Gargantuan.
Amanda slipped a pair of sneakers on and let herself out of the house. One hand slid its fingers through a mire of brown hair, long and hopelessly tangled – about par for nighttime. She winced as she hit a snag. The sky was black, and even for Celadon City, the atmosphere was quiet and vaguely lonely. As she paced the sidewalk, she could hear the hum of overhead lights and the buzzing of small insects about them.
A boy, appearing to be all of thirteen, raced up to her and looked at her eagerly. "You a trainer?" he asked, voice hopeful. He held up a Pokémon capture ball – a Nest Ball, by the looks of it.
She offered him a lopsided smile and gestured to her trim waist, which bore no belt for capture balls. "Not right now, I'm not. Shouldn't you be in bed?"
"Trainers don't rest for nothin'. So I don't either." The freckle-faced boy's goofy smile revealed a slight gap between his front teeth. "'Sides, night is when the most awesome Pokémon come out. I sleep more in the day."
Amanda shook her head. "Don't think I could do that. Daytime is too bright."
"That's why I sleep through a lot of it." The boy pouted playfully, then continued up the sidewalk, in search of others like himself.
She smiled for a moment longer, but the expression quickly faded once he was out of sight. She hadn't come out here for idle chitchat, or even to walk things off. She turned a corner and headed south, towards a video-phone booth she knew was not likely to be seeing use this late in the evening. When she came upon her objective, she saw that she was right; the booth was empty, and the screen was glowing a harsh blue at nobody in particular.
She entered the booth, shut the door – it made an uncomfortable screech as it did so, indicating a little maintenance was in order – and took a seat, then inserted the required amount of credits and began dialing. It was a number that she'd been taught to memorize... or rather, made to memorize. One of five numbers that she had permanently stored in her thoughts, she couldn't remove them if she wanted to.
He would be awake at this hour. Perhaps just him, but him, at the very least.
The screen bleeped, then flashed to black. If one didn't know better, one might have assumed that the connection had been lost, or that the booth's power supply had suffered some sort of hit.
Amanda knew better. It meant that the connection had been achieved, not lost.
A deep bass voice filtered through the speakers; it bore no kindly preamble. "This is irregular. You are no longer an Atlantis League gym leader."
She'd expected such a greeting and was prepared for it. "They made us remember the phone numbers and there's no rule against using them after our time there is finished," she answered smoothly.
"Very well. Be brief."
She didn't waste any time. "When I was inducted into the league, they injected me with something... said it would help ensure I didn't 'develop ties to others' during my time there, and assured me it was harmless. I didn't question it because I didn't want ties to others there anyway and I was still caught up in the whole idea of having to stay there against my will. What was it?"
"Mifepristone."
Though she hadn't discounted that possibility, her heart nevertheless dropped into her abdomen upon its confirmation. "A permanent sterility drug?"
"Correct."
"The Atlantis League decided to make me barren?"
"Correct."
Her eyes wide, she looked away from the screen and took a deep breath. This was what she'd worried about for the last month. The incident had been so long ago that she hadn't remembered it offhand. It had simply been one in a series of events designed to convert her into a gym leader loyal to the Atlantis League. But once it had re-entered her mind, she'd been unable to stop thinking about it.
A long moment of silence passed. Amanda knew that he would not disconnect the call, but neither would he be the one to break the silence. She would have to, and to prevent annoying him, she would have to do it quickly. She looked back to the blank screen, which in truth was displaying an image – but one of a completely dark room. Exactly how he liked it. "Is it reversible?"
"After three years, normal medical practices cannot."
Her breath caught in her throat – two years ago, Adam had freed her from a thirty-month tenure in the league. It's been too long... "What do you mean, 'normal medical practices'? There are alternatives?"
"There is an agent that can reverse the effects of mifepristone within five years."
Now her heart began to flutter. "Where do I find it?"
"In the exclusive ownership of the Atlantis League."
... You can't possibly be serious! was her first reaction. But her next was, Of course you're serious. You don't know how to be any other way. "Why didn't I know about it? For that matter, after I was released, why didn't I receive it?"
"You left the Gargantuan immediately upon hearing you were allowed to go. Had you not departed so swiftly, league physicians would have offered you the agent."
"Nobody tried to get hold of me after I left."
"Correct."
Amanda knew she wouldn't get any response beyond that; she was well-aware the league didn't keep tabs on former gym leaders, and since she was aware of this, there was no need for him to say it. "How do I get it, then?"
"Battle the league."
Her jaw dropped. "You guys must be five or six times stronger than the last time I did that! Can't I get it free of charge, having been a gym leader and all?"
"I should not need to remind you former rank matters nothing to the Atlantis League."
She rolled her eyes. No, he really didn't need to remind her of that. She knew better than most how transitory gym leaders tended to be in that league; this combined with the fact that they didn't keep tabs on former leaders after they parted company could only lead to that conclusion. "When does the Colossal dock next?"
"Fifteen days."
"Fine, then. Expect to see me on the next cruise."
That was when he offered her an unbidden – and slightly unnecessary – statement, an extremely rare occurrence for him. "Your deadline may arrive before you are able to defeat the league."
She felt slightly miffed by that. "What do you care whether I make it or not?"
"I don't. We will be expecting you."
The connection was severed from the other end.
–
The water was cold, as he'd imagined it would be. Fortunately, Pokémon trainers were afforded a few perks, and determined ones were able to afford a few more than those – in his case, one such perk involved a neoprene wetsuit he kept under his clothing during the day. He kept a tight grip on his Starmie, though he knew that there was no way it would let him wash away in the current. His Pokémon was nothing if not loyal.
His probing cane eventually poked a land mass below his feet; the water was shallow enough that he could rise without worry. He touched down, and after a few moments, found a calmer region through which he felt comfortable wading. He kept his cane in front of him, poking the floor of the rapids every two or three steps; he didn't want to tangle himself among seaweed, or worse, water-type Pokémon.
He remembered his classmates saying that a cave at night was a no-no. Perhaps they'd been right, if only because sight was the one sense they depended on the most. As cold and dank as it was in this place, he had no trouble believing no light whatsoever landed upon it during the night... and that very little fell upon it during even the height of day. He imagined under other circumstances, he might be frightened of a place like this, as well – but for the circumstances prevailing at this moment, he simply found it fascinating.
He could detect some activity happening just ahead. There was the flapping of wings and a high-pitched chirpchirp accompanying the noise. It sounded like a pair of Zubats combating each other... probably, he guessed, over rights to either a mate or territory. He didn't make the issue his business and quickly moved on, his cane making a steady tap-tap-tap against the cave floor. His Starmie, which he'd left free of its ball, complemented his cane's tapping by rolling along the rocks, making a tinkta-tink sound as it moved.
He smiled to himself. For all the fright my classmates felt about being in a cave with no light, they probably couldn't appreciate the noises that make a place like this come alive. It might as well be bright as day in here – they might still want to get out as fast as possible.
Of course, he had no objections to leaving the place himself. He was heading toward Kanto for a reason, and it wouldn't do to remain holed up in here for very long. Still, one could take the time to appreciate the company in a place like this. It might seem solitary to some, but for him, it was quite crowded with life and activity.
His cane struck the cave wall. He stopped, reached out and felt the slick, cool surface... then he began to move along it, his steps and manner assured. There really was no reason to panic here. He'd gotten in, he could most certainly get back out – if by no other method, then by the entry point.
But that train of thought proved unnecessary to continue upon, as he felt a breeze of air rushing into the cave, and he knew he'd found the exit. Another smile crept to his face when his cane pushed around a corner and touched soft ground instead of shale. Made it.
"Hey, mister!"
He blinked and raised an eyebrow at the voice; it sounded like a child several years younger than him. He was not often referred to by such a term as "mister", though he supposed by this point in his life he was indeed a young man instead of just a teenage boy.
"Wow, mister. How can you see in that cave with those sunglasses?"
He smiled again; the voice was emitting from right in front of him. He held up his cane. "Well, strictly speaking, I can't. But nobody can see in the cave even without them, can they?"
He heard a laugh. "I sure can't! So you just felt your way around?"
"Pretty much."
"Wow! Awesome Starmie! I wish I had one." He could hear how the boy moved; the child's knees crackled as he knelt down to inspect the Pokémon. "All I can find around here are Staryus. I keep hopin' to find a Water Stone so I can capture one an' then evolve it."
He tilted his head to the side. "So you can battle with it?"
"Uh-huh!"
"You're probably better off sticking with a Staryu, actually. I made mine evolve too quickly. It can't learn any new moves on its own that way."
There was hesitation in the boy's voice. "Really?"
"Oh yeah. Staryus can learn all sorts of attacks, all the way up to level 55. If you really want to balance out the power of a Starmie with great moves, you're probably better off waiting until it's gotten to that level. I only found that out after I evolved mine, though."
"Wow! I guess I'll do that, then." Then the boy's voice became playful, and he could hear the click of a button, followed by the whistle of a capture ball being enlarged. "You wanna battle? I got some awesome Pokémon an' I wanna show 'em off!"
He smiled once more. "Sure. But be careful, mine are pretty awesome, too."
Whatever else I'm gonna do on this journey, I'm gonna make sure you're proud of your legacy.