"Ahh... Meatball Soup has never tasted so good!" Professor Maple commented.
"Wow! This is amazing Brock!" Nurse Joy complimented.
"Really?" Brock suddenly jumped to his knees in front of Nurse Joy and held her hands.
"But it's not as amazing as you-" Brock was interrupted by a Croagunk Poison Jab to the back.
"-But not as amazing as Croagunk's persistency..." Brock collapsed comically and Croagunk dragged him out of the dining room.
"I wonder if Brock will ever learn..." Ryan thought as he took a sip of soup from his spoon. As the gang returned to the Pokemon Center to have Umbreon checked out, they realized they had forgotten to eat! Thanks to Ash's stomach, they were reminded. Brock was found helping Nurse Joy with dinner, so the group decided to have the story told while they were eating.
So the group now sat at a round dinner table. Ryan sat between Daniel and Leaf, Ash sat between Brock and Dawn, the Professors sat next to each other along with Nurse Joy, and Pikachu, Piplup, Eevee and Squirtle sat on the table eating Pokemon Food. Ash and Dawn were talking about battle techniques, Brock was busy recovering from Poison Jab, Professor Rowan calmly ate his food with urgency, Nurse Joy finished early to go check on the pokemon, and Ryan, Daniel and Leaf looked on at an occurring scene next to them.
"Well, Professor Maple, I know you didn't wanna waste time, but..." Ryan said as he noticed Professor Maple wolfing down the soup as fast or even faster than Ash.
"If I could sweat drop, I'd be sweat dropping right now..." Ryan thought.
"Wow Matt, calm down!" Daniel warned.
"You might want to, you might choke on the meatball-" Leaf was a little late- Professor Maple clenched his airway, choking. Leaf reached over and forcefully patted Professor Maple's back, causing Professor Maple to stop choking.
"Here, take a drink of water," Leaf handed Professor Maple a glass of water and he drank it.
"And slow down!" Leaf added.
"Alright, alright!" Professor Maple said after chugging the glass of water.
"You know big bro, sometimes I feel like the older one..." Daniel commented with a gleam on his glasses.
"Is that right?" Professor Maple and Daniel started arguing back and forth, in a trivial, but comical way.
Ryan let out an awkward laugh at the situation. Professor Maple apparently had something big to tell, but here he was, being chastised by his seven year old brother.
"Daniel does seem somewhat mature for his age... definitely not like Carter's brother, that's for sure!" Ryan thought. His thoughts shifted to the serious air earlier- he figured it was time to see what was up.
"Professor Maple," He and Daniel stopped talking to listen.
"I was wondering, what was up earlier? You seemed serious, like something had happened." Ryan continued.
"Nothing has happened... yet." Professor Maple's answer caught the attention of everyone at the table.
"What do you mean, yet?" Ryan asked.
Professor Maple looked at Professor Rowan, who nodded, and turned back to Ryan.
"I've already told Professor Rowan about this, and it took longer than I thought... I can give you the short story."
"That's fine with me." Ryan said.
"Basically, a while ago, when my team and I were working on the ruins, we were attacked."
"Attacked? By who?" Ryan asked. His eyes shifted momentarily to the others in the room. Brock had recovered from Poison Jab and sat in his chair, listening alongside everyone else. Daniel and Leaf seemed surprised, as if this was the first they've heard of the incident.
"I have no idea. No one was hurt, but, a note was left behind, pinned on the cave wall. It warned of a mass attack in seven days for my research."
"Seven days? For your research?" Ryan redundantly asked.
"Yeah, and guess when the attack happened? Exactly seven days ago." A gasp confirmed shock from everyone.
"So, they're coming back today, huh..." Ryan thought.
"Basically an army's coming for your research? What were you researching?" Ryan asked as his curiosity peaked.
"Maybe he found something on Interdimensional traveling?" Ryan hoped in his head.
"He stumbled upon something beyond anyone's imagination." Professor Rowan cut in.
"Matt had discovered a second wall beyond the first one, and it described of a way to control the god of pokemon."
"The god of pokemon?"
Shocked looks appeared around the room. Pikachu, Piplup, Eevee and Squirtle shared the human's concerns.
"He found a way to control the god of pokemon?" Piplup restated.
"Apparently... this could spell trouble." Pikachu said.
"Hi, how can I help you?" Emily the receptionist asked the man who came through the front doors of the laboratory. The man wore light brown pants and a red sweater, which complimented his eyes that were covered by shaded sunglasses.
"I am here to see a Mr. Professor Maple." The man stated.
"I'm sorry, he's not here." Emily told him.
"Although he is eating dinner over at the Pokemon Center with a few kids and Professor Rowan..." Emily thought aloud.
"Hmm, that's... a shame. I would not want to interrupt him during such a time- I will come back later." The man said.
"Okay then, I'll tell Professor Maple you were here, and he'll schedule-" The man left before Emily could finish.
"That was weird... who wears sunglasses at night?" Emily shrugged it off and went back to work.
"Hmm... Professor Rowan and some kids... unexpected, but..." The man walked out of sight, beside the laboratory, and under it's window.
"This'll work out a lot better than the plan!" The man stripped his attire and threw it aside, revealing a black sneaking suit, black boots and gloves, and a small radio earpiece was attached to his ear. He suddenly pressed the earpiece activating it.
"Are you in position?" The man said through it.
"Roger! Indeedy! Aye-aye!" Three different voices rang through the earpiece.
"Good. Then you'll like to know we are switching up the plan."
"What? But what about our perfect part?" The voice responded.
"The professor is currently eating dinner with Professor Rowan and some kids at the Pokemon Center. Your orders are to distract them if I happen to trigger an alarm."
A response was lagged, but the man heard a group huddle in the background.
"Should we? He did promise helping us with catching Pikachu..."A clear decision was made.
"We got'cha."
"Good. After the heist, meet at the rendezvous point as instructed."
"Aye-aye!" The earpiece clicked off.
The man snuck over to the back of the laboratory. A simple locked door was standing, waiting for him.
"This should be simple." The man took a lock pick out from his pocket and skillfully jabbed it into the lock. Click! The door silently swung open. The room the door led to was surprisingly dark- it had stairs leading down into a basement being dimly lit by a single faint light bulb.
"According to the blueprints, the circuit breaker should be down there..."
"And that's all I've translated so far." Professor Maple finished explaining his findings to Ash, Dawn, Brock, Leaf, Daniel and Ryan. Professor Rowan sat silently as his student explained.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier Matt?" Leaf started. "I could've helped you keep an eye on those translations!"
"I thought it'd be better for you to have time alone, that's all. I was gonna tell you-"
"Were you gonna tell me? Brothers don't keep secrets!" Daniel jumped in.
"This is pretty serious, Dan. A possibly dangerous group's coming for those translations..." Professor Maple dodged the question.
"I know, but-" Daniel was cut off by a hand up from Leaf, telling him to drop it.
"Okay..." Daniel reluctantly dropped the subject.
"And, because of this situation, I need everybody's help tonight to help guard the translations. It'll be dangerous-" Ash stood up from his chair.
"Hey, no need to worry! We'll help ya out!" Ash said as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder, agreeing.
"That was my line, Ash. I'll help too!" Dawn also stood up. Piplup gave an agreeing cry.
"Me too!" Brock went along.
"You already know I'll help." Leaf added.
"Me... uh, five!" Daniel jumped in.
Ryan wanted to help, but he needed to ask Eevee and Squirtle if they wanted to.
"They aren't my pokemon, so I shouldn't drag them into anything…" Ryan thought.
"Hey, you guys wanna help out too?" Ryan asked, turning to face them.
"Definitely!" Eevee nodded. No response from Squirtle.
"Squirtle, come on, you can't be-" Eevee turned around- Squirtle had disappeared!
"Huh? Where's Squirtle?" Ryan asked. Everyone turned to him.
"I saw it over there with Pikachu and the others last time..." Ash said.
"Where could Squirtle have gone?" Ryan thought.
"Hey, Eevee, lets go look for Squirtle, whaddya say?" Ryan asked Eevee.
"Yeah!" She hopped onto Ryan's shoulder.
"I'll be back guys- I'm gonna go look for Squirtle." Ryan turned to leave.
"Hold it," Ryan stopped at the sound of Professor Maple's voice.
"Take this little contraption." Ryan turned and looked at the little earpiece he held out in his palm.
"It's a low distance radio I designed one day- if we need you, I'll call you through it." Professor Maple explained.
"Got'cha." Ryan took the earpiece and stuck it in his right ear. He turned to leave again.
"I'll see you guys in a bit!" He left out of sight with Eevee.
"Okay, now the rest of you, we need to form a plan..." Professor Rowan moved various dishes aside for the placement of a map.
"Wait!" Eevee turned her head suddenly as Ryan rushed past the Pokemon Center's reception desk.
"Brother!" Eevee said as Umbreon hopped from the table and ran up to Ryan.
"Your Umbreon is in tip top shape now!" Nurse Joy said.
"Thanks, Nurse Joy!" Ryan thanked.
"Umbreon, we kinda have a problem- Squirtle's gone missing..." Umbreon's ears twitched.
"I'm going out to look for Squirtle. You wanna come along and help?"
"Of course!" Umbreon nodded.
"Good, lets go!" Ryan, Eevee and Umbreon left through the front door and out of the Pokemon Center.
"And you two go around this area." Professor Rowan finished explaining.
"Right!" Ash and Dawn acknowledged.
"Okay, everybody is paired up now, right?" Professor Maple asked.
Professor Rowan's plan was to have groups of two patrol areas around the laboratory and the Pokemon Center throughout the night. If anything suspicious is seen, the groups are supposed to send a signal.
"I will stand up on the roof of the Pokemon Center and keep a visual upon the situation." Professor Rowan said.
"That's fine, you are getting old..." Professor Maple joked.
"Professor Maple!" Nurse Joy ran through the dining room door.
"Nurse Joy, what's wrong?" Professor Maple asked.
"Emily just called- the power's out at the lab!"
"No way!" Professor Maple rushed out of the room, leaving the others.
"There's no way the power should be out!" Professor Maple thought. He ran through the halls of the Pokemon Center and out through the doors, heading for the laboratory.
"Emily! Where are you?" Professor Maple looked around the darkened front of the lab.
The reception desk that usually had Emily was empty!
"Didn't she just make a call to Nurse Joy? So... where'd she go?" Professor Maple looked behind the reception desk. Every electronic device was off- since the power went off. A jumbled mess of papers were on the desk and floor.
"Emily wouldn't leave papers on the floor like this... I gotta find her!" Professor Maple turned away from the desk and thought.
"Hmm... this is starting to look like someone broke in... Wait, if that's true- The translations!" Professor Maple booked out of the moonlit front area of the lab and through the dark hallway leading to the top library floor.
"Argh! I can barely see anything!" Professor Maple halted his thought as he heard a voice echo through the hall.
"Double Kick!" Two loud booms also echoed through the hall.
"What was-" The lights suddenly turned back on!
"That should do it!" Emily wiped her face with a smile as she looked at the open circuit breaker.
"Someone was messing with this... thank goodness for the spare fuses, otherwise-"An alarm suddenly went off. Red strobe lights lit up the circuit breaker room.
WARNING. BREACH IN CONFERENCE ROOMS ONE AND TWO. WARNING. BREACH IN CONFERENCE ROOMS ONE AND TWO.
"Oh no! The translations!"
Professor Maple ran up to the source of the voice earlier as red strobe lights started going off.
"Yeah, I know there's an intruder already!" Professor Maple thought in annoyance as he heard the repeated warning.
Professor Maple suddenly stopped in front of the conference rooms.
"The doors! They've been blown to bits!" Professor Maple noted as splinters of wood lay across the floor. A man stepped out from the second room with a rolled up poster like object.
"The translations!" Professor Maple realized.
"Stop!" Professor Maple reached for and grabbed his Espeon's Pokeball.
"I don't think so." The man enlarged a hidden Pokeball and threw it. A white light dissipated to reveal a pokemon.
"Smokescreen." He ordered.
A dark heavy cloud of smoke appeared before the silhouette of the pokemon disappeared to reveal it.
"Can't... breathe!" Professor Maple coughed as he covered his nose with his hands.
"He's gonna get away!" Professor Maple thought.
The man returned his pokemon to it's Pokeball and darted off past Professor Maple.
"No!" The man shoved Professor Maple to the ground as he made his escape.
"I gotta stop him!" Professor Maple thought as he watched helplessly from the ground. He was coughing severely.
"Stupid asthma... Espeon! I need you!" As Professor Maple thought, Espeon popped out of it's Pokeball- almost like it had heard it's trainer's cry of help!
"Matt!" Espeon realized it needed to work fast as it saw Professor Maple wheezing on the ground.
"I- need- you to-" Professor Maple coughed out. "-Fol-low the m-an with- a lot of- black on!" He pointed towards the front. "Go-out the- front door!"
"But..." Espeon did not want to leave it's trainer in a compromised condition.
"Go!" Professor Maple told Espeon, who reluctantly obeyed and ran off.
"Where's my inhaler?" Professor Maple dug around his lab coat pocket.
"Here it is!" Professor Maple wasted no time in using the precious medication. A few inhales later, his coughs stopped and he started breathing normally.
"I hope Espeon can catch him... I gotta get the others!"
Professor Maple got up from the ground and started running back towards the front hall.
"Wait, I gotta find Emily first!" Professor Maple hesitated- if those translations fell into the wrong hands... but he couldn't leave Emily.
"Matt!" Professor Maple turned his head around.
"Emily! Where were you?" Professor Maple asked as he reached the front desk.
"I was in the back fixing the circuit breaker!" Emily explained.
"You fixed it?" Professor Maple shook his head, there'd be more time for questions later.
"Are you alright, Matt?" Emily asked as Professor Maple started wheezing slightly.
"I'm- fine... Call the others at the Pokemon Center- the translations have been stolen!"
Emily gasped and covered her mouth.
"Oh no! I'll get right on it- let's go, Matt!" Emily led Professor Maple to her paper jumbled covered desk. She moved a few papers out of the way to reach the phone.
"What's with the mess Emily? Thought you were a neat freak..." Professor Maple commented as Emily dialed the Pokemon Center number.
"I'm not a-" An image of Nurse Joy popped onto the screen next to the keypad of the phone.
"Emily?" Nurse Joy looked at her screen. "Professor Maple? Are you two alright? We heard an alarm coming from the lab!"
"We're fine, but a thief ran off with the translations!" Emily told Nurse Joy.
"Tell Ash and his friends to get a move on and get the thief- except Daniel. My Espeon's tailing him as we speak!" Professor Maple added.
"Right! I'll leave the line on." Nurse Joy left the screen's visual.
"What?" Ash, Dawn, Brock, Leaf, and Daniel all exclaimed as Nurse Joy told them of the situation.
"This is bad... is big bro alright?" Daniel asked Nurse Joy, who nodded.
"We gotta get that thief!" Ash turned to Pikachu on his shoulder. "Let's go!" Pikachu nodded as Ash ran towards the front doors of the Pokemon Center.
"Us too! Come on, Piplup!" Dawn followed.
"I'd better go too." Brock added as he followed.
"Same here!" Leaf reached into her yellow side bag and grabbed two Pokeballs from inside and clipped them on her belt.
"Me too!" Daniel said.
"Now, hold on Daniel." Nurse Joy interrupted. "Your brother told me to make sure you stay at the center so you don't get hurt."
"Aww, but-" Daniel stopped, figuring he couldn't win this argument.
"Fine." Daniel crossed his arms. "I'll stay here."
"Wait!" Everyone turned their heads to see Professor Rowan running up to them.
"You have no idea where the thief ran off! How do you plan on finding him?" Professor Rowan asked the would be search party.
"Easy! I'll send Staraptor out to look for Professor Maple's Espeon!" Ash said as he unclipped Staraptor's Pokeball and held it in his hand.
"The night will reduce Staraptor's vision... unless Espeon could send a signal..." Professor Rowan thought aloud.
"H-hey! Professor!" Professor Maple's voice rang from the phone in the other room.
"Matt?" Professor Rowan ran over to the other room with the phone, with the others following him.
"Yeah, it's me professor. I'll come along with them- remember the 'ability'?" Professor Rowan's face shot a look of remembrance.
"You're right. Come and join them." Professor Rowan said.
"Right, I'll-" Professor Maple was interrupted by a sudden series of violent coughs.
"Matt!" Emily exclaimed. She dug into Professor Maple's lab coat pocket for his inhaler.
"Here!" Professor Maple took the inhaler and used the medicine.
"You're not well enough to get out there- you know how bad your asthma gets!" Emily warned. After Professor Maple was done using his inhaler and pocketed it,
"But... they need me and the ability Espeon and I have!" Professor Maple objected.
"She's right." Professor Rowan agreed. "I remember your violent asthma attacks- even with the inhaler, you would still cough. Stay with Emily while the kids search."
"But professor!" Professor Maple began to argue, but Emily interrupted.
"No buts, mister- or should I say old man?" Emily teased.
"I am not an old man! You of all people should know! I'm only twenty one! We even went to Pokemon Day Care together!" Professor Maple started rambling in annoyance. Emily sighed and turned to the phone screen.
"Professor Rowan, I'll keep Matt over here to rest." Emily said.
"Right. We'll report back soon." Professor Rowan said to Emily, who nodded with Professor Maple still rambling as the screen turned blank.
"Stop being rambunctious." Emily told Professor Maple.
"I'm not! And I used that word yesterday..." Professor Maple answered as he sat on the counter.
"You're reminding me of when you were a kid- you're still reckless as ever..." Emily smirked.
"Hmph. I'm worried about Espeon and those translations- I can't just sit here!" Professor Maple said.
"Well, just let those kids and Professor Rowan take care of it! They looked like they know their stuff." Emily commented as Professor Maple grumbled. Emily sighed.
"Wait a second- I forgot!" Professor Maple began digging through his lab coat pocket.
"What's wrong Matt?" Emily worriedly asked.
"Aha! Here it is!" Professor Maple held a little earpiece similar to the one he gave to Ryan earlier.
"I forgot Ryan has no idea all of this is happening! I gotta tell him and ask for his help..." Professor Maple held his earpiece into his ear and pushed a button.