My Great Big Adventure
I slowly made my way up the hill at the edge of the city. At the top, a house full of ex-Team Plasma members waited. At least, according to the girl from the market, they were ex-members…
I was suspicious though, and for good reason. So far, Hugh and I had mostly encountered current members of the notorious gang. I was prepared to fight if I had to, Lucario's pokeball clutched in my twitching hand.
Hugh… I wondered if he had come to this house, too… if he had seen the girl in the market… what if he had done something rash? Then again, I did ask the girl in the market about Purrloin; perhaps she would have said something to me like, "oh, you know, a boy with porcupine hair asked the same thing earlier…" if the two had met. I hadn't seen him since the last time we saw Team Plasma, in Nimbasa City, so I wasn't even sure of what town he was in.
A very old, but still quite grand over the passage of time, very large mansionesque house loomed before me in the afternoon sunlight, casting a dark shadow over the weedy yard that surrounded it.
Long story short… It was a Haunted Mansion!
Biting back my fears, I walked up onto the porch and… knocked on the door.
My heart practically flew up into my throat as the knob turned and the door opened…
An elderly man in a long maroon robe stepped out, closing the door behind him.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" I apologized, completely flustered. It's just an old man! "I must have the wrong house! Sorry to bother you…"
"You're interested in Team Plasma, are you?" he asked, regarding me carefully.
"Yes…?"
"Well then, you've come to the right place…" he replied mysteriously. I was halfway between fleeing and staying put, and my body made a sudden jerking motion. He smiled.
"Don't be nervous," he reassured me. "However, if you want to know more, I must first test what kind of person you are. That's right, a Pokemon battle. Do you accept?"
"I…"
He was going to test me as a person through a Pokemon battle? What a stupid way to gauge my personality and morals! I could be a master trainer and still be totally evil!
But, whatever…
"I accept."
We went out into the yard next to the house. It wasn't a one-hit-KO type of match, but I defeated his Herdier and Swoobat fairly quickly with Lucario and Flaffy.
The man recalled his Pokemon with a sweep of his robe. Turning to me, he said, "You fight as if you really understand your Pokemon. You remind me a bit of a trainer I met a few years ago… she went on to challenge the Pokemon League… I wonder, will you do the same?"
I remind him of… a trainer like that? Challenging the league sounds more like something Hugh would do, but… Realizing he was waiting for an answer, I decided to be honest.
"I'm not sure… It would require a lot more training."
He nodded. "I'm sorry for testing you, but I had to be sure… Being former members of Team Plasma can be dangerous. We get the occasional vengeful trainer and the like."
Sounds familiar…
"ROSA!"
"Hugh?!" I jumped at the sound of his voice. I turned to see him running up the hill, sweat rolling down his neck. He jogged to stop next to me and… roughly shoved me away!
"Leave her alone, you old geezer!" he barked. Then, to me, "Did he hurt you? I saw you were having a Pokemon battle… Did you kick his ass?"
He didn't hurt me as much as you just did…! But I didn't tell him that. Instead I merely shrugged. Hugh would do whatever he thought was necessary, and I've never been able to stop him.
The man stared thoughtfully at the two of us. "So this is your friend? Very well… He may come inside, too. Follow me."