Three things cannot be long hidden- the sun, the moon, and the truth- Buddha

After my magnificent gym battle, if I do say so myself, I spend a bit of time looking around the city. Well, at least that was the plan. In reality, I spent way too long looking at Basculin. What is with them, anyway? Standard Mendelevian inheritance, like hair or eyes for us? It isn't species, as they are able to interbreed. I do learn some things, though. Fennel is currently not home, and is in some place called the dreamyard, so I cannot complete that task. Still, it's almost lunchtime, and I promised to meet back up with Bianca and Cheren then.

When I arrive at the restaurant, I am surprised to find that Bianca and Cheren are already there. Cheren won his gym battle, Bianca didn't. Still, Cheren claims it was close, and it takes a lot to impress him. She doesn't seem too beaten down, either; I suspect that she will be having a rematch before we leave the city.

When I explain about Fennel, they are not surprised in the slightest. If my life was a comic book, it would be a running gag- nothing ever goes right for me when I have a job to do. They're used too it now, though. Instead of teasing me, Bianca and Cheren just commiserate. They are even nice about it, and volunteer to go with me to the dream yard. Things like this are why I like having them as friends.

Luckily for us, the dreamyard is right outside the city, so we don't have to take a long, annoying side trip. We met a young girl there, who seems excited about our pokédexes. It appears as though she is as avid a reader of scientific journals as I am. No, she's even more interested- she knows about professor junipers study. She even has 3 elemental monkeys complete with hidden abilities. I whistle impressed as she shows them… Wait she's giving them to us? To help with science? Wow, that's dedication I can respect. I probably wouldn't have done that. Actually, scratch that. I definitely wouldn't have done that. I pick the Panpour, Bianca takes Pansear, and Cheren picks Pansage. That was really, absurdly nice. I feel vaguely guilty even, for taking advantage of it.

As we head in deeper, we meet a far worse sight. A pair of people, dressed it the team plasma uniform, are kicking a Munna. They are yelling something about a dream mist. It's weird. Still, as much as I would ike to ignore these morons, it's an abuse of sentient beings. Other than Pokémon's increased durability, this is exactly as bad as beating up a human being. Better yet, the law is on my side. As I am about to step over, however, I notice Bianca has already disappeared. And I insult her sense of timing. Ah well, I should probably back her up. Who knew what Pokémon these people had?

I step forward, intent on giving her a hand. Cheren has missed this- he walked off around the corner after he thought he saw a Hypno. Honestly, that guy. Luckily, these guys seem more interested in trading insults than actually fighting her. "a shrimp like you going to do to stop us?"

"A whole lot, apparently" is Bianca's reply. It's a struggle not to burst out laughing. She's right about that- while these special snowflakes were insulting her, they were standing still. The Munna left about 30 seconds ago.

When they finally realize what she means, though, they are furious. "What the hell did you brats do? Where did it go?" Finally, it proves too much, and a laugh escapes me. "Didn't you notice? While you two were too busy losing the argument, it ran off."

"I'll kick your ass for that. Teach you not to mess with an adult." As he says this, he reaches for a pokéball on his belt. I am forced to remind myself that despite appearances, these are likely hardened criminals. Who knew what Pokémon these people had? I frantically search for some plan, some genius strategy to defeat these people with. Kusanagi's pokéball is already clutched in my hand. I'm so focused that I nearly miss the girl, who has thus far remained silent, removing a pokéball of her own. They must have fought together before, because their movements are in synch. "Pokémon, Go!"

And, I needn't have worried. All they have to fight with is a Patrat and a Purrlion. Sure, they look a bit tougher than normal, but they're pretty much doomed. I send out Kusanagi, hearing Bianca do the same with Shell.

"Razor shell!"

"Leaf tornado!"

"Bite!"

"Growl!"

Heh, that last one is in for a surprise- wait, did the Watchdog just bite the razor shell? What the heck? Well, that's got to be painful. I almost feel bad for them. Now, if only they hadn't been beating up that Munna. Yeah, they're kind of screwed.

It looks like Shell has gotten a lot stronger since the last battle. She just picked up and threw the Patrat. Then Bianca called for a water gun, and Shell managed to hit it, midair. That's actually quite impressive. I can see why Cheren complemented her. Still, I should probably pay attention to my own battle.

And, not much has changed. The Purrloin lets out another two growls, making my Kusanagi stronger than ever. We, on the other hand, are continuing our attack- wait, did leaf tornado just pick the Purrloin up? What the heck? Well, that's game. It will just hover there, completely helpless. Kusanagi will be able to easily KO it with his razor sharp leaves. I guess we did manage to complete the attack. Way to go us!

After their embarrassing defeat, they attempt to run away. Sadly for them, I stop them. I'm not about to let them get away with this. I open up the X-transceiver and call 911, requesting a police pickup. They are skeptical, but they still send someone over. Luckily, they don't want much from us. As soon as they see our Pokédexes, we are completely believed. As much as I detest the Halo Effect, I realize that it's working for me this time, so I don't complain. I might as well enjoy it while it lasts. The police are more than willing to take them off my hands.

When I turn around, I find that Bianca has already managed to find the Munna, calm it down, and feed it a potion. And… now she's captured it? Wow. I've always teased her approach to Pokémon, but she managed to convince it to join her. I guess there is something to her ideas, after all. Munna is an extremely rare psychic type- This is the only place on the east coast where it can be found, and it is rare even here. How did she manage to communicate with it, anyway? I mean, Pokémon can understand people, and we can sort of guess what they are saying, but I swear she just responded to something it said.

Acting on an impulse, I open up my Pokédex. I scan it to find the normal things. Munna, Psychic, Female, 3' 7'', 113.4 lb, ability telepathy,- wait, Telepathy? Another Hidden Ability? What is with this day? 4 Pokémon with hidden abilities! Is it luck… or is it something about this place. It's definitely correlation, although that doesn't necessarily mean causation. Huh, something to think about another time.

As I finish my musings, Cheren returns. The Hypno managed to escape him- he thought he had it trapped, but then it teleported. I didn't know they could do that, but I'm not about to doubt him. He seems surprised about Team Plasma, but he hides it well.

Cheren's failure seems to be indicative of our entire day, because even though we scour the entire dreamyard, we find no trace of Fennel. I do find something called a dream mist, though, so it wasn't a complete waste. Happily, our luck begins to turn when we arrive back in town. Fennel is right outside the gym. Apparently she was waiting for us, because when she sees us she comes right over. I have to admit that despite her famous face, I almost miss her. I blame the unfamiliar background. There is some mutual embarrassment when we talk about heading to the dreamyard- she left early to try and meet us, and we looked all over there for her. She must have left while we were dealing with the grunts. When we ask what the professor wanted us to meet her for, she says that we should talk about it at her house. Apparently I was right. There is a secret.

After she brings us up to her room, she abruptly remembers her manners. "So like I said, I'm Fennel, and as you can see, I'm a scientist. In fact, the subject I'm researching is dreams! Professor Juniper is my friend from college. She asked me to help you guys. So! I'll give you something to help you. This Hidden machine is for you! I got three copies, one for each of you. These are all HM01, cut."

At this I fall silent. Hidden Machines, or HM's, are devices for teaching Pokémon moves. Unlike TM's, however, they are major improvements to a Pokémon. For instance, the Fly HM allows even a Pidove to carry a human. This particular HM allows the cutting down of trees. It is so powerful that Pokémon using it must actively restrain from damaging their opponents. What's more, these are almost as expensive as Pokédexes.

"I'd like to ask you a favor, too! There is an item in the Dreamyard on the outskirts of Striaton City. I'd like some of the Dream Mist that a Pokémon there called Munna gives off. With that, I'll be able to, in layman's terms, open up a portal to the dream world." I'm always happy to be useful, so I remove it from my bag. Besides, I don't want to go back there. It was really boring, so I'd just as soon skip it.

Before Fennel can respond, another person walks into the room. "Ooh, Fennel, are these trainers? No wait, I should be asking you! Are you a trainer? Do you use the PC box system? I'm Amanita, and I maintain it! Do you know about the battle box? No, of course you do."

Well, she certainly has a lot of energy. Just listening to her exhausts me, and I'm 12! What the heck. Still, I suppose I can try it. "Uh, Yes, No, Yes? I'm sorry, I think I missed something."

"Oh, I'm sorry did I do it again? Don't worry; I think I understand what you said. But, do you have any questions for me?"

Now, though, it is Fennel's turn to respond. "I was actually just thanking them for getting the dream mist. However, that isn't a terrible idea. Do you want to ask us anything?"

It's here where I hit a blank. There is so much I want to ask, but my brain is freezing up. Cheren seems to be suffering the same problem. So, it isn't surprising that it is Bianca who breaks the silence. "Uh, why did you call the PC box system Someone's PC?"

"Dang it, I thought I changed that." So saying this, she pulls out a phone and makes a few changes. "It wasn't important, though."

So saying, we leave the house and head back to the Pokécenter. Now all we have to do is wait for Bianca to beat the gym, and then we are finally out of Striaton.

A/N: In case you were wondering, Hypno can learn teleport via TM in RBY. I have rewritten all the previous chapters, but it probably isn't worth rereading for.