Chapter 60 – "The Unown Mystery"

Part One – A Mysterious Lead

I called back Professor Oak at the Vermillion City Pokemon Center and he gave us the directions to Professor Maple's lab. I also switched out Onix for my Fearow, and May retrieved her Pidgeot. When we left the Pokemon Center, we released our big birds so they could fly above us. It was so good to see them again after so long. Professor Maple's lab was not too far, and we only had to walk a few blocks. As we walked, I thought about Kadabra's incredible psychic power! With ability like that, he seemed nearly invincible! He certainly made a strong addition to my team. But I still wondered why I found him so far outside of his natural area. It was almost as if we were meant to meet for some reason, that it was predestined. Then I thought, "Nah, I'm reading too much into it! He probably just wandered off too far, like Tauros." Flamefox and Firestorm walked to either side of me, while Amber, Redfur and Inferno walked with May, the 2 birds flew above us, and Kadabra kept his whereabouts a mystery, as always.

Soon enough, we reached Professor Maple's lab and walked inside. An older, white haired man with wire glasses said, "Hello there! You must be the two Pokemon trainers Professor Oak told me were coming." I said, "That's right. I'm Joseph Ehlle, from Crimson Town, and this is my friend, May Redfield, from Violet City." He said, "Yes, yes, it's a pleasure to meet both of you! Your reputation proceeds you. Both of you did very well in the League Finals." We both said, "Thank you!" Then May asked, "So what is this very important item we're supposed to deliver to Professor Hale?" He replied, "I'll show you" and shuffled into the next room. He came out with something wrapped up in cloth, which he proceeded to unwrap. He said, "This item – it's quite rare." He revealed it to be what appeared to be a fossil, but the figures on it looked more like hieroglyphs. I asked him, "What language is that?" He answered, "It isn't a language at all! Those are Pokemon!" I said, "But they look like letters!" He said, "Yes. Those are the Unown. This is one of the few known fossils of them. In all of Kanto and Johto, there have been found only 3. This one was found in a forest, miles away from Cerulean City, known by the locals as 'The forest of unknown darkness'. They say it is haunted by a strange, otherworldly presence". I asked him, "You're a scientist. You don't really believe it's haunted, do you?" He answered, "In a manner of speaking, no. But, I do believe there are some things that science just can't explain yet." I then said, "Well, don't worry, Professor Maple. We'll get this delivered safely for you!" He said, "Thank you. I know I can count on you both. Professor Oak spoke very highly of you!" He wrapped it back up and handed it to me, and I put it into my backpack. With that, May and I left Professor Maple's lab, and our birds were waiting for us, perched in tall trees outside. I asked May, "Are you ready?" She answered, "I'm as ready as ever!" So, we recalled all of our Pokemon to their pokeballs except Flamefox and Amber, and of course, Kadabra, and we mounted onto the backs of our birds. Flamefox sat up on my shoulders, and Amber sat up on May's shoulders, as our birds lifted us up into the air. "Cerulean City, Fearow!" I shouted. May shouted, "You heard him, Pidgeot!" I had forgotten how free it felt to be flying high in the air, on the back of my Fearow. I still preferred riding on Tauros' back, but we'd reach Bill's house much faster by flying. As we continued ahead, I suddenly felt like we were being followed. I turned around, and in the distance, I saw something orange in the air far behind us, approaching quickly. "What's that?" I asked May. She looked and said, "I'm not sure. Let's slow down and see." Our birds slowed down a bit, and the orange dot got bigger and soon we could make out a shape – it was a Charizard! "Could it be?" I asked May. She replied, "Yeah! I think it is!" Sure enough, it was our old friend, Simon, who we'd met back at Mount Moon, with his laptop strapped around his shoulder, as always. "Hey guys!" he shouted. We both shouted back, "Hey, Simon!" Soon we were all flying even with each other and he said, "I saw the two of you flying above and thought I'd say hi." I said, "I'm glad you did. We haven't seen you for a while!" May asked him, "So what are you doing out here?" He said, "Oh, I was just exploring the wild areas, doing a little research for my crazy Pokemon researcher uncle, when I saw you two fly by. So where are you headed?" I told him, "We're heading for Bill's house, north of Cerulean City, to deliver something for Professor Hale." He said, "Really? Wow, that guy's really famous! He's done some major breakthrough research on legendary Pokemon! So what are you delivering?" May said, "It's a fossil that will help Professor Hale with his research." He then asked us, "Is it okay if I tag along? I'd really like to meet Bill! After all, he invented the Pokemon containment computer system!" I said, "Sure, I guess that would be okay." So, the 3 of us flew ahead, on the backs of our flying Pokemon.

We finally reached Cerulean City, and as we flew over it, I could see Bill's house further ahead, on the horizon. We reached it in about another 45 minutes or so, and we all landed on the lawn outside. "Thanks, Fearow! You deserve a rest after that long flight" I said, and returned him to his pokeball. May did the same with Pidgeot, and Simon also recalled Charizard. I released Firestorm and Vaporeon, and May released Redfur and Inferno. I was sure that Vaporeon and Inferno were anxious to see their breeder again! I asked, "Should we knock?" May said, "That'd be the polite thing to do." So, I knocked on the door, and Bill answered. "Hello, Joe and May. It's good to see you both again!" I said, "Hi, Bill. Its good to see you again, too" and May said the same. Vaporeon and Inferno both jumped up at him, knocking him down! "And hello, Eve and Inferno! Yes, it's good to see both of you, as well!" he said, laughing as they each licked his face. I had almost forgotten that Bill named her Eve, since I was so used to calling her Vaporeon. He said, "I see you're doing a very good job taking care of them." I said, "Thank you!" Simon cleared his throat. Then I said, "Oh, Bill, I'd like you to meet our friend, Simon. He's been anxious to meet you." Simon ran up to him to shake his hand, saying, "This is a great honor! Wow, I can't believe I'm meeting the inventor of the Pokemon storage and transfer computer! I'm also heavily into computers, and I have so many questions to ask you! I'd really like to…" Before he could finish, May pulled him back and said, "Take it easy, there. I'm sure Bill will be happy to talk shop with you later, but right now, we're here to deliver Professor Hale's fossil." Bill said, "That's right. Come inside. Professor Hale is in the back, working on his research." We followed Bill into a back room, where there was a man with long, black/grey hair, working on a computer. Bill said to him, "Professor, it's here." He turned around and said, "That's great. I'm anxious to see it!" Bill then introduced us, "Professor Hale, I'd like you to meet Joseph Ehlle, May Redfield, and their friend, Simon." He said, "It's nice to meet all 3 of you. I've heard a lot about you two, Joe and May. You've got promising careers ahead of you in the field of Pokemon." We both thanked him. Then I took the fossil out of my backpack and said, "Here it is." He took it and unwrapped it and said, "Wow! This is the real thing" and carefully studied it. Bill said to Simon, "Come with me. I'll show you my central computer downstairs." Simon was thrilled, and followed him. Inferno and Vaporeon headed off to a large room designed for Bill's Eevees and their evolutions, and got to see their Eevee parents, Eva and Edmund, again, as well as their Vaporeon and Jolteon brothers, Aqua and Shocker. Firestorm joined them, but Flamefox stayed with me, and Amber and Redfur stayed with May. Professor Hale said, "The both of you have done well in the Pokemon League. Congratulations to each of you on your championship wins." We both said "Thank you" and May said, "I'm surprised you keep up with the Pokemon League. You must be very busy." He replied, "Well, research takes up a great deal of my time, as does my wife and 2 year old daughter, Molly, but I try to keep up with all the current events." May asked, "Aw, did you bring Molly with you? I'd love to meet her!" He answered, "No, she's with my wife at our mansion in Greenfield, back in Johto." I said, "We didn't visit Greenfield while we were in Johto." He said, "Then you missed out! You should come by and visit sometime. Greenfield is a beautiful town." Then he jokingly asked us, "So, I don't suppose you two have seen any legendary Pokemon in your travels?" I frankly replied, "Actually, we've seen Suicune and Ho-oh!" He just laughed and said, "Yeah, of course! And I suppose you know who took the life-size Ho-oh statue at the Tin Tower, too?" I asked him, "Who do you think took it?" He replied, "Well, some crazy group of monks would have everyone believe that it was brought to life and flew away to restore balance to nature and prevent a great worldwide flood, but I still think the official story is true – Team Rocket probably stole it." May said, "Joe, can I talk to you for a minute?" I said, "Sure" and we stepped out of the room. She asked me, "Why did you tell him you saw Ho-oh and Suicune? You know that's supposed to be kept secret." I answered, "I know, but I also knew he'd never believe me! No harm done." She just replied, "Well, I suppose not, but please don't do it again." I said, "Okay. You're probably right." We went back into the room Professor Hale was in and asked him, "So, do you have any leads about the Unown?" He answered, "A few. This fossil was found in some woods outside Cerulean City, which makes me think there might be more fossils in that area." I said, "You mean, in those haunted woods?" He just gave me a funny look and said, "I buy that story even less than I bought your Ho-oh story. There is no haunted mansion in that woods!" I asked, "Wait a second. Haunted mansion? We were only told about haunted woods." He replied, "Supposedly, there was a mansion built there, years and years ago, in the middle of nowhere, by some rich psychic, who believed that the woods was a 'power point' on the earth. The story goes that he lost his mind and mysteriously vanished in the mansion. Ever since then, strange things have been reported, including, allegedly, sightings of a certain letter-shaped Pokemon. The mansion was left abandoned. After all, who would want a mansion built by a lunatic in the middle of nowhere? But it's a very weak lead. And air-surveillance of the area found no trace of a mansion. I've got far better leads at a canyon nearby. It's closer to where the fossil was found." I said, "Didn't you even try to go in on foot to look for it?" He answered, "No. I just don't have time to check every possible lead, especially one as far-fetched as that one. Besides, I was in the helicopter, myself. There is no mansion in that area." I was still very intrigued for some reason. So I said, "Professor, I think we can help you in your research! May and I will go look in those woods for the mansion. May asked, "We will?" I said, "Come on, May! Where's your sense of adventure?" Professor Hale said, "You're wasting your time. But if you really want to go check it out, it's up to you." May said, "Let's just forget about it, Joe. We should really get on with your Kanto journey." I replied, "Well, I really want to check this area out, just to see if it really is haunted. Let's a least take a quick look before we move on." May sighed and said, "Well, if it means that much to you, then okay. But I don't believe in ghosts. Ghost-type Pokemon, but not ghosts." Simon and Bill came up from downstairs and Simon exclaimed, "Guys, you have got to see this computer! It totally rocks! I definitely need to get one of those for myself!" I said, "Simon, we're going to check out some haunted woods. Wanna come with us?" He replied, "Haunted woods, huh? Okay, sounds like fun! Let's go!" May rolled her eyes and said to Amber, "Boys!" Amber sighed, "Vulpix."