17
"Oh my gosh! How did we wind up here?"
"It has to be that tile. It somehow relocates you in time and space."
"Like teleportation?"
"Actually I think that is exactly what happened! Team Rocket uses this technology to get around quickly. They could use it quite efficiently in one building, but if they could use it to get from Celadon to here..."
"They could use them to get anywhere whenever they wanted in all of Kanto!"
"Green, these guys are real bad news! Giovanni wants to turn his thugs into a militia and take over Kanto. With those crystals and tiles, he might be able to pull it off!"
"And he has Blue! Where did they take Blue?"
"I don't know..."
My stomach growls, and I suddenly remember how hungry I am. Green frowns and looks at me because she is also hungry, and both of us are very tired. We need to find Blue but traveling all the way back to Celadon tonight after going there from Vermillion earlier this morning just seems like too much.
"Let's check the tower and see if maybe he came through this way as well."
"OK. Hey, didn't you say something about a person or persons going missing?"
"Yes, there is a doctor here that went missing after visiting the tower. Everyone just calls him Mr. Fuji. I think Team Rocket is involved somehow."
We turn around and walk past the door we came out of which is marked "Personnel Only" and head into some big wooden doors. There are lanterns lit throughout the building but just enough to see. The stone columns and dark purple walls give this place an ancient and eerie vibe to it.
A woman in a long robe makes her way toward us. She has a staff in one hand and a necklace in the other looking ready to fight some spiritual battle. The look in her eyes tells us that this is no place to come and relax.
"Young ones, you must leave at once! It isn't safe here!"
"Why is that? Is Team Rocket here?"
"They are indeed, and they are quite dangerous! Its best you go on home. I will stay and pray for deliverance from this evil presence they brought here."
"Lady, WE are here to stop them! Team Rocket kidnapped our friend well friends. We have to find them!"
Erica or Summer as we now know her is really on our side against Team Rocket right? Whoever isn't against us is for us. That makes her a friend in my book.
"Please, it isn't safe. They are quite strong and have also stirred up the Ghost Pokémon! It's safe down here but upstairs is like a battleground!"
"Ghost Pokémon?"
"Yes, they aren't actually Ghost, but they are impenetrable to Normal touch and effects and tend to stay near graves. Team Rocket brought some device here that upset them. They are attacking guests and nothing seems to soothe them."
"Hmmm, I wonder if this is the Silph Drive. Alfie stated that Summer stole it, and they wanted it back for some purpose."
"You're right Green!"
"Alfie?" says the priestess. "One of the men that came through here called the other Alfie. There were three of three of them altogether, and they were carrying something upstairs in a heavy looking box. You really are here to stop them then?"
"Yes, they are the ones that started all the troubles you're having in the tower I'm sure, and they took our friends. We have sort of made it our mission to stop their plans and have already got in their way twice now. We're going to stop them for good!"
The priestess looks at me in disbelief but doesn't protest. She can tell we're serious business and steps aside bowing her head. She says a prayer for us before we advance.
I don't know what is upstairs, but stopping Team Rocket is part of the mission to honor my father, and I trust that we will succeed. I just hope Blue is OK. I'm thankful Green is by my side, but I also hope that no harm comes to her either.
We make our way to the steps and start our ascent taking in the odd staircase. The steps appears to be entirely made of amethyst and granite giving them a beautiful but cold feel. I can vaguely see my reflection on each one as well as the flickering of light from the fiery lanterns all around us.
For just a moment, I watch Green in the steps as she follows close behind me. She seems timid once more so I stop and let her catch up to me and take her hand. By accident I look back down at the steps and see her reflection turn to look at me in the strangely. The image blinks and opens its eyes not with Green's beautiful brown irises but with solid black eyes!
"Whoa!"
"What is it?"
"I just saw something weird on those steps. Did you see it?"
As I ask the question, her reflection returns to normal as if nothing happened.
"No...Red, this place is way too scary. I see what that lady was talking about. Can we hurry it out of here?"
I nod in agreement and keep my eyes trained before us.
Once we make it to the second floor, were greeted by a thick mist and the faint sound of whispering voices. I don't see any people just the long walls of the memorial. On all sides of the room stand black stone tablets depicting the names of those soldiers that died in the Big War.
I came here once years ago, but don't remember it very well. All I know is that my father's name is listed somewhere on the third floor, and I want to say that Blue's parents are written in on the fourth. I don't remember being fond of this place, but I also don't remember it being so creepy either.
"You came here before right?"
"Yes, I was sad about losing my father, and I didn't like this place because of that. This time it's just spooky."
"I'm sorry about your father."
She quietly wraps her arms around me from behind as we make our way across the room. Her touch is accepted and warm though now I have I walk a little slower.
"Is this to reassure me or you?"
"Both!" Green says.
The whispers keep coming and from time to time I see something in the reflection of the memorial, but just when I look at it, whatever I saw goes away. Ugh, I'm ready to get out of this place!
Whooosh!
Something flies right in front of me, and I stop in my tracks. It happens once more. Then again and again! Something is circling us like a bee, but it's much bigger an insect.
"Hellllllllloooooo?"
We turn around to see the outline of a man. Actually he looks like a shadow of a man, but where is the shadow coming from? I study him carefully and determine this is no man at all but some sort of creature messing with us. It repeats itself over and over.
"Hellllllooooo? Helllllooooo?"
Suddenly another shadow man appears to our left. Then a woman appears as well. Pretty soon there are half a dozen of these shadow people taunting us.
"Helllo!"
"Died? He can't be dead!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The squeal of the last shadow girl makes us jump back. I can feel my heart pounding. The air in the room is cold yet I'm sweating like I just got out of a sauna. Though they are shadows, these creatures walk up to me, and I feel that crowded sensation you get when real people are too many and too close giving me the urge to walk backwards. This is no light show. These creatures are here!
Then just as I'm starting to feel sick to my stomach, I see one lunge toward Green from the side. I want to do something, but as I turn I feel like I'm moving in slow motion. It steps in and opens its mouth and Licks her on the cheek like a dog!
"EEEEEEEEEEEEE! RED! GET US OUT OF HERE!"
At the sound of her cry, the others jump forward and start Licking me on the face feverishly as if they might lap up my skin from my skull. It feels weird and disorienting like someone pushing a damp and sticky rag on my face.
I try clawing and swinging at them but my hands go through them like smoke. I feel most in my hands and stop then spew Embers at them. The shadows dance back giving me the time to grab Green and run for the stairs.
"I can't touch them but fire hurts them like anything else!"
"Don't tell me, JUST MOVE!"
More of them start phasing through the memorial walls to peep at us and taunt us more with a creepy "helllloooo?" or two. I round a couple of corners and find the stairs.
We bolt upstairs passing some shadows that are simply standing in place. I don't know or care what they are doing because all I can think is "don't stop, keep moving." Until I can't anymore.
"Hey what gives? My legs aren't working. I can't move!"
"Red! Why are you stopping?"
"I...can't move...paralyzed!"
"WHAT? NO NO NO!"
She tries to tug me forward, but I simply fall over on the ground on top of her. I can't move at all, and she is pinned under my weight trying to hold me up enough to breath. This isn't how a date should end!
"Hang on…Red!"
Green pushes me off of her and lays my potato sack of a body on my side next to her. She cups my face for a second with her hand then turns and digs through her pockets in her dress.
Green rises to her feet and opens up her Bill Box with a loud thud. I close my eyes and try to relax my breathing as I listen to her frantically dig through its contents. She finally sprays me down with something, and I feel a burning sensation in my arms and legs. It stings for just a moment until once again I can feel them move.
"There! The Paralyze Heal should help. Can you move? Please say you can move!"
I get to one knee then close the gap between us and wrap my arms around her and kiss her on the lips. At first she tightens up her body and even steps back but slowly brings her arms around me and kisses me back. As we step back from each other, she looks into my eyes with in surprise and curiosity.
"Why did you do that?"
"You made me better. Sorry…I wanted to thank you."
She brings a hand to her face as if she has never been kissed before then nods at me. I don't know what she is thinking but decide that maybe that was too much for her.
"You ready, Green?"
"Uh huh, yes. Let's keep going."
Just as we turn to walk, we see a shadow couple before us. In a way that almost perfectly mirrors our last movements, the male shadow leans forward and kisses the female shadow. The two embrace but keep on kissing much longer than we did.
"Who are they? They look just like us."
"That's the point. They aren't people. I think they're Pokémon acting like people for some reason. Whatever Team Rocket did here is making them want to Torment the visitors. Just try to ignore them."
She nods, and I extend a hand to her. Green looks at my hand strangely then finally takes it, and we carefully tip toe around the kissing shadows and make our way around another bend. A lantern flickers brightly just enough to make me notice the wall, and I catch the name "Satoshi Himura, Sr." written on the wall in red ink. I see small vines and branches carved around my father's name and just below it is the caption "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
Indeed I do not know exactly what happened during the war, but I know that somehow Dad's death ended the war. Maybe greed and hatred started it, but sacrifice and love ended it or so I'm told. People in Pallet don't give details but all spoke about Dad as if he were their closest friend or even a father to them.
I try to remember what I can. There was something about a bomb. How did his death affect a bomb? Even Giovanni had stated that my father didn't need to die. There were other orders to follow. What were we talking about? Why don't I know what happened during the war? Am I so dumb for not asking more?
"Red? Are you OK."
"Huh? Sorry...I found..."
"Your father's name!"
Green cocks her head towards the name, and I nod in agreement.
Her hands find their way to the center of my back and slide carefully up my spine. The touch soothes me as she massages my shoulders and pulls me back. With her face close to mine, I savor the warmth breath on my neck.
"Red…" Green whispers.
"Yes?"
I feel her let go of me and step back.
"We…we should go."
"Oh…OK."
I try to look in her eyes, but she keeps her gaze on the ground as she takes my hand and pushes past me. For a second I lose my balance as she drags me to the next stair case. Once we get halfway up the steps, she stops and I nearly trip over her. Before I can complain I hear the reason for slamming on the brakes, voices.
With each step the whispers get a little louder though the words are gibberish. As we make it to the next floor, shadow people come into view. They wander around looking at the memorial walls like tourists would even though they aren't real people.
We try not to react to them, and though they sometimes run toward us, the Ghosts seem more playful than aggressive. I try to walk slow and avoid looking them in the eye the way one might act around a wild animal, and Green does the same.
"I think they mean to scare us more so than attack," I whisper.
Green nods but bites her lips nervously all the same.
As we near the last staircase, I hear a distinct set of voices talking over the shadow people. It's Alfie and Summer.
"So it's been a nice game Summer, but your time is up. You've outlived your usefulness."
"No! Please!"
BAM!
We peep over the banister of the staircase into the top room to see Alfie throw a limp Summer into one of the oversized crates from the warehouse. As Alfie drops her in the box like a bag of beans, I see Blue pop his head out the box. He has a gag over his mouth and struggles as if he is tied up until he looks my way. Did he see me?
Ca-chunk!
Alfie shuts the crate on the two of them and turns to look at an old man surrounded by children and teens. Butch and Jesse stand to the left and right of the group with their eyes trained on him like watch dogs.
"Please, don't do this! She is a real person like you and me. All of these children are!"
"Fuji, you know that real and useful are not the same thing to Team Rocket. We told you to make a weapon for Giovanni and you...you made a nursery of brats instead!"
"I helped with Project Silver! I tried to keep the boy to listen, but he ran away."
"Sure, but we never even saw this kid. Very convenient!"
"But he is real! He's possibly 15-16 years old now. And I helped with the Mew clone, too! The same problem...you can't birth a god creature. It will not listen to any normal man!"
"Yeah yeah, we know the speech. At least we saw Mewtwo, but you're right. We got the same results which is wasted time, a sad song and to boot there is more condescending virtue talk. Face it old man, you and the brats here are a story better left untold. Summer was the only one from the first generation that lived long enough to serve the Boss. She matched the Gym Leader to a tee, I'll give you that. We had trouble telling them apart sometimes, but all of these clones have the same problem, and that is getting wise. The Boss asked you to make soldiers not brats with attitude!"
"For the last time, I did not make carbon copies or shells of humans. I used REAL DNA to make REAL people. These 'clones' as you call them have human attributes because they are human even if they were conceived in a lab. I have acted as their surrogate father, but they all have biological donors. You can punish me if you want, but please leave the children alone! I beg you!"
"Sorry Hiden Fuji, you're out of time! Jesse? Butch?"
"Yeah boss, we got'em!"
"STOP!" I cry.
The generals of Team Rocket pause and look at me as I pop my head up over the banister. I have no idea what to do, but I can't sit back and watch them kill these people.
"Hey, look boys! It's that brat Red."
Green stands up next to me so that we're both exposed to the enemy. I try to tell her to run, but she won't listen to me.
"LET THEM GO!" she yells.
"Ah, his girlfriend came to the party, too!" Alfie chirps. "ALL RIGHT BOYS! KILL THEM!"
SMAAAASH!
We all turn to see a figure burst through a window behind Alfie and Tackle him to the floor. It's Yellow!
He stands up with his left foot on top of Alfie like a decorative rug. He stands tall in black pants and a trench coat similar to Looker's glaring at Butch and Jesse then turns to me.
"RED! GREEN! Duck and cover your ears!"
"What?" I
I stare in amazement as he raises his arms, and light starts to flood the room as if the sun were up even though it's the middle of the night. Just as I'm thinking I should look away, Green grabs me and pulls me back behind the banister into the steps. We cover our ears and tuck our heads down to the steps near our shoes as we shut our eyes tightly.
FLASH!
A loud explosion of energy echoes throughout the tower and I look at my feet as a glare reflects off the steps at me making them look white for just a moment. I grab my ringing ears and strain my eyes to see Green to my side bent forward and holding herself into a tight ball before closing my eyes once more. Above me I hear the faintest sound of punching and yelling then something slamming to the ground.
When the glare and ringing starts to subside, I slowly get to me feet and climb the steps. Yellow has knocked out all three generals singlehandedly!
The children have all gathered around Mr. Fuji on a corner of the room, and they don't let go of him a muscle when the flash finally resides.
18
"Red! Are you OK?"
"I'm...fine! What's was that? How did you do this? How did you know where to find us?"
"Slow down! You're safe now."
I take his advice and collect a few deep breaths. Green joins me at the top of the stairs as Yellow talks.
"Don't worry about them. These clowns aren't going anywhere. As for how I found you, you both have GPS on your Skillfinders thanks to Oak. We heard about your discovery of the Rocket Base on the news, and I was in the area so I came right away. What happened here?" he asks turning to Mr. Fuji.
"It's a long story, son. Please, help me get these children back home safely, and I'll tell you what I know."
Green points to the box, and we run toward it. I notice a latch on the side which I turn loose. Throwing open the lid, we find Blue untied and holding Summer in an intimate kiss!
"What is going on here?"
"Huh? Oh!"
Blue releases his partner, and the two sit up in the large crate and look at us though not directly in the eyes. Instead they both stare at the bottom of the box and bump feet with one another.
"OK, I won't ask right now. Look, I'm just glad you two are in one piece!"
Summer and Blue both relax a little and give me a faint smile. I call tell they are both tired by the look in their eyes, the exhaustion seems heavy.
"How did you guys save us?"
"We didn't, Blue. It was him," Green starts as Yellow walks over to join us.
"Ah man, you got to be kidding me! Aren't you supposed to be entertaining my sister or something?"
I see a vein form on Yellow's forehead, but he must catch himself and think of something soothing because he doesn't raise a hand or shout.
Our hero takes a deep breath and reaches a hand into the crate. Blue rolls his eyes and takes it to stand up then slowly he climbs out of his former prison. Summer looks at us with fear in her eyes, but Green reaches out to her, and soon she follows suit.
"Someday we will talk about your sister…it's not what you think."
"Whatever. Not now. Thanks!"
Yellow seems satisfied with that remark and gives a small smile before continuing.
"OK, so these guys are under Paralysis and..."
Whoooosh!
Three more of the International Police fly into Memorial Tower through the broken window and take position by the fallen generals. Yellow waves to them and walks over to Mr. Fuji.
"Hey guys! I'd like to spend some time with the doctor here and make sure he gets home safe. Can you take care of the Rockets?"
The IP silently nod and smile at us as they each grab a Rocket general and lift them onto their shoulders. These guys seems quite strong and do this as if it's a regular activity for them. They give a quick nod and then fly out the tower window with the bad guys in tow.
What are their lives are like? I remember how mysterious Looker was and now it seems like Yellow might have more to him than I originally thought. How cool!
"Please get yourselves some rest," he says turning back to us. "Go on! You take it easy OK! You've earned it after today."
"Thanks! I vote we go get some dinner and then pass out!"
Blue groans as he massages his scalp.
"That's sounds great!" Green says grabbing her belly.
It's at that moment I realize she is still in her fancy gown, and I'm in my dress clothes. Ah man! This was supposed to be a date night, and we didn't even have dinner yet! Green sees me looking at her and turns in surprise. We don't say anything and stare into one another's tired eyes. It's been a long, long day.
"Summer, come join us!"
We turn and look at Blue then Summer.
"That sounds nice...but I wish to stay here with my father and siblings!"
As Summer turns and starts walking over to Fuji, Blue runs up to her and tries to grab her hand, but she quickly rips it away like a dog protecting its bone. She freezes in place as if surprised by her own behavior and looks at the floor with wide eyes. When nothing happens she quietly says "I'm sorry."
"Hey," he replies, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just want you to come with us."
"Summer…" Mr. Fuji interrupts.
We all turn to give him our attention.
"My dear, you need to have friends, REAL friends! Please go eat something with them. I know you haven't had anything to eat, and your brothers and sisters already had dinner. We're going to stay and talk to Yellow. We will be fine."
She looks to him and then to Blue who uncharacteristically remains quiet and extends her his hand. I don't believe it! Is he being nice?
"Please? I'm buying this time!" he says turning to give us a wink. Nice, free food! I feel a big smile come across my face and notice Green even do a little dance.
"I...o…OK, but then I'm coming right back!"
Summer runs to give Fuji a hug then waves to the other children before walking back to Blue. He offers her his hand quite slowly, and this time she reaches out her own. They walk up to us, and we all make our way back to the stairs.
"OH NO!"
Dozens of shadow people come running up the staircase! I almost forgot about them.
Unlike the previous Ghosts, these figures have red eyes and bear fang like teeth. They wail and raise their arms to the ceiling. Some shadows even appear to have claws for hands!
"Everyone look out!"
I instruct the group to stay back by stepping forward and holding my arms out wide like a floodgate. No one moves forward as the Ghosts fly towards me. I transition to my Nidorino Skill and begin forming Poisonstings in my hands. I try to form as many as possible before they get too close then start throwing the needles widely at the attackers.
"RED, IT'S NOT WORKING!"
"RED, GET BACK!"
I watch in horror as my quills go right through the Ghosts. Most of them don't even flinch and keep coming towards me. One gets close enough that its claws graze my face and all I can do is hold my breath as the others pass by me.
"ENOUGH!"
SMASH!
In the distance, I hear a voice cry as something makes a slam. I open my eyes to see the shadows pausing and sliding back from us. They all seem to be looking behind me so I turn to look as well.
Off to the side of the room I see a Pokémon attacking a black piece of technology I didn't see earlier. This brown lizard like animal stands upright holding a long bone like a club and wearing a skull over its head like a helmet.
What is that? A Marowak! It's a Ground Pokémon, but why is it here? What is it doing?
After several strikes the box powers down and goes dark. I look around and see the mist start to clear and feel the room get a little warmer.
Turning around I see the shadow people start to morph into Gastly. In their true form, the Ghosts look like giant balls of smoke with cat like eyes and big toothy mouths. Seeming to notice that they are exposed, the Gastly begin to vanish from the room at once.
"Marowak! Thank you little guy!"
I turn back to see Yellow reaching out a hand to the Marowak. He talks to it as if it is a person, but the Marowak state was blankly back at him.
"Too close…box destroyed."
We all stand in amazement. The Pokémon just spoke! I recognize the voice. It was Marowak that yelled "Stop!" earlier. I can't believe it.
"Marowak…you can talk! How is that possible?"
"Not important…Yellow."
"You know my name?"
The creature nods.
Yellow looks to his coworkers and shares some confused looks before changing gears in the conversation.
"OK, why help us?"
"Team Rocket...use Pokémon like weapons..."
The Marowak reaches into the box and pulls out a control panel that fell in. On the side, I see the words for two settings: "Capture" and "Attack."
"What is this?"
"Team Rocket wants to keep clones secret...Ghosts used for their deeds...Silph Drive."
"I see. This device makes them listen to instruction, the Ghost Pokémon that I mean. They were forced to ward off visitors so Team Rocket could hide Fuji and the clones here."
"Clones?" I ask.
"Oh for crying out loud!" Mr. Fuji interrupts. "They aren't clones. I won't let anyone leave here tonight speaking ill of these boys and girls."
The kids look to us as if they are in trouble. I can't imagine how scary all this must be for them.
"Now let me explain. I used to operate out of a lab in Cinnabar Island and people brought sperm and egg cells to me so that I could help them have children. I tried to clone...for people that passed away...but it didn't work. Not exactly, I only ended up making a genetic sibling of that individual if the child actually developed. These kids are normal humans. Team Rocket heard about my project and blackmailed me to work on despite my protest in secret or they would kill these kids."
Marowak nods.
"Correct…not clones…born in lab…Team Rocket wants to take."
"But if these children aren't clones and were normal kids born in a lab, where are their parents?" Green asks.
"Hey what about the fact that Marowak can talk?" Blue adds.
We're all wondering the same thing, but Fuji ignores him and responds to Green.
"That's the problem with people's expectations. The donors thought I could create adult replicas of anyone that passed away...a wife, a boyfriend, a teenager...When instead I made babies that weren't the same person, some took children I provided, but some just left them as if they were groceries they didn't want anymore."
"How terrible!"
Green brings her hands up to her face in shock. An uneasy feeling comes over me as well. I lost my Dad at age 10 due to tragedy, but I've never doubted that he and my mother loved me and wanted me desperately in their lives. To be left behind, it's unthinkable. I notice that Blue is tightly grabbing Summer's hand as she stares at the ground thinking about something.
"That's why I tried to stop, but Team Rocket wouldn't let me. Then they dragged poor Summer into their dirty work..."
We all look to Summer, and she looks up from the ground to us with her mouth open but says nothing. This must be hard for her to share with everyone here. Fuji continues.
"All she wanted was to belong. We discovered she was Erika's sister and made plans for her to visit her right when Team Rocket showed up. Instead they made her pretend to BE her and never allowed her to meet Erika. They forbid her to be anything other than a pawn in their schemes or they would punish her by coming for me. She was forced to spy on Dr. Oak and his family."
"That's not all."
We turn back to the Marowak. He points to the other setting on the control panel.
"Yes Marowak," Yellow asks. "What did Team Rocket want the Ghosts to capture?"
"No...capture Ghosts!"
"You mean the device made it possible for Team Rocket to catch the Ghost Pokémon and get their Skills?"
Marowak nods and sets the control panel down.
"Team Rocket needs Ghosts...Poison didn't work..."
"Poison?"
"You mean the Poison type? Team Rocket likes Poison type Pokémon because they have less weaknesses," I state.
Marowak nods once again.
"But Marowak, why do they need Ghost types?" Yellow asks.
Then it suddenly dawns on me.
"Marowak...you aren't really a Marowak are you?"
The creature stares at me cautiously then slows nods it head.
"I knew it! I saw you before didn't I?"
Marowak drops his bone club in the ground and starts to glow with a bright light. We watch as he shape shifts into Bill!
"HUH!"
"WHOA!"
"BILL!"
"But you aren't Bill either?"
Bill then glows and changes into Alfie! We all jump back for a second until we realize we're OK. Then he changes once more into...me.
"RED!" Blue yells. "THERE ARE TWO OF YOU!"
"No, who are you really?" I ask. "Team Rocket wants the power of Ghost Pokémon to catch you? Don't they?"
My copy gives me an uncomfortably big smile then nods.
"Yes..." he says then changes back to Alfie and turns to Yellow. In Alfie's voice he repeats something he must have heard from the Team Rocket, maybe even Giovanni himself.
"Psychic has two weaknesses only...Ghost and Bug...take Memorial Tower...take Viridian...take Safari Zone...GET THE SKILLS! GET THE SKILLS! GET THE SKILLS"
And all of a sudden a bright flash floods the room, and I have to cover my eyes. When I can open them again, the creature is gone.
"OK…" Yellow days rubbing his chin.
"Who or what was that?"
"Green, I'm not sure, but I think that was the Pokémon Team Rocket is after."
We turn to Mr. Fuji.
"I worked on a project to replicate the DNA of human as well as Pokémon. Team Rocket wanted me to build some kind of super weapon. Without knowing I helped birth a creature named Mewtwo. This Psychic Pokémon is incredibly powerful and has unknown abilities."
"I've seen him before," I say, "disguised as one of the Bill's. I think he wants to help us stop Team Rocket."
"Yes! He gave us a clue!" Yellow exclaims. "What so let's see...Team Rocket is going next for the Viridian Forest and Safari Zone for Bug types? I'll tell the IP right away!"
He pulls out a cell phone and calls someone then quietly speaks so I can't hear more than snippets.
"Hmmm...Nothing going on in Viridian City or that forest...ah! There was a break-in at the Safari Zone...dressed in black stealing Pokémon...OK, when I wrap up here, I'll head that way! Just let me call Daisy and…you did? Thanks!"
Yellow hangs up the phone and Blue runs up to him.
"Safari Zone! That's where Team Rocket is. We have to go now!"
"Hold on Blue! YOU don't have to go anywhere. We're not even sure if Team Rocket is there anymore. The report came nearly an hour ago and besides you all could probably use a break. Why don't you all take a breather? IP will check up on Team Rocket tonight."
"Yeah, weren't you going to get us all dinner Blue? You're not trying to back out on Summer and your friends are you?"
Green smiles at Summer then gives me a wink. The look of concern on Blue's face genuinely surprises me. She did the trick!
"Oh no, yeah, let's go eat."
"That's the spirit! If you still feel strongly about taking on Team Rocket, the International Police will take all the help it can get, but for tonight, please get some good and rest. I know I'll see you again and if I don't say it earlier, thank you!"
I give Yellow a thumbs up and we all respond with a "thank you" back before turning to leave. Blue grabs Summer's hand this time without protest, and they walk ahead of us. I hope to grab Green's but she follows close behind them not noticing my hand or simply ignoring it. I can't say for sure. I feel kind of bummed but maybe it's just late. Stay cool, I tell myself.
We make our way down to the bottom floor of Memorial Tower to find the caretaker waiting for us. She looks frightened and happy at the same time.
"I heard a lot of commotion up there! The Ghosts have started acting like themselves again. What did you do? Where is Team Rocket? Are these your friends?"
"Whoa hold on, I'll explain everything!"
Blue volunteers to answer her questions with a level of decency that makes me start to feel like we're being recorded for a TV show and not real life. I even look around for cameras, but of course there aren't any.
Once we tell her we need to eat, the caretaker points to the only restaurant open in the Lavender Town at this hour, Sheeban's. Apparently they specialize in breakfast foods or something. If the group feels as hungry as me, the place will be cleaned dry before we leave tonight!
We get to Sheeban's and sit down then the rest of night goes by in a haze for me. I'm not surprised that no one really wanted to talk given the hour, it's almost 3am, but I anticipated some questions about everything that happened today. Maybe we'll talk more tomorrow.
Blue walks Summer back to Mr. Fuji's house, and I walk towards the Focus. This time Green does take my hand, but she seems to be avoiding looking me in the eye. Staring forward neither of us talk until we make it to the counter at the front desk to check in. She turns around and gives me a yawn and forced smile.
"Oh my goodness...I'm going to get some sleep."
"Yeah, me, too! What a day!"
"Red…"
"Yes?"
Green shakes her head and whispers "good night." She quietly kisses me on the cheek and turns to leave without another word. Was she going to say something? What was it? Argh, don't sweat it, Red! She's tired. You're tired! Be cool and go to bed already!
And after a quick change and trip to the bathroom, I get into a pod and do just that. I sleep hard like a man that has never slept before.