He wore a green tee shirt under a midnight black cloak with a hood that covered his head. Pulling back the hood he stopped in front of Gardenia. "You wished to see me." Gary stated, monotonously. Gardenia nodded, turning to lead him into the room. He looked around him, examining the quiet city then followed the Gym Leader.
"How goes the search for her?"
"So far no results. As I was leaving everyone was splitting up to take the Gym Leaders on. Flint's come down from the League and Cynthia will be here soon."
Gardenia nodded once more, leading him into a giant room with a clock made out of grass. Th Gym was deserted, however, with not a soul in it except for the two. Calmly, Gardenia sat down in her Gym Leader seat where she usually awaited challengers. Gary grabbed a chair and turned it around to sit in it.
"What did you want from me?" Gary asked, trying to get straight to the point. It annoyed him that he couldn't help out in the search for Rae. Every time her offered to do something, Volkner would glare at him until either he backed down or left his gaze. Everyone else had agreed that their search by themselves was growing futile, and decided to split up to take on the Gym Leaders that they knew were with Drake. Gardenia had called him herself to meet her at her gym before he could set off on his own quest to find Drake himself.
Gardenia looked at the boy in front of her and smiled. "You remind me of her father. How much do you know about my daughter?"
"She's something called the Dragon Warrior who can call upon Arceus in times of trouble and is wanted by Drake and Team Thunder because of this. She's borrowing Pokemon from three Hoenn Gym Leaders for reasons unknown to me, and has three Dragon Types that she refuses to use." Gary answered, watching Gardenia.
"Interesting..." Gardenia muttered to herself. To Gary, she finished. "Right, all of that is correct." She stood up and walked behind her, grabbing three Pokeballs out of the device that heals Pokemon. "These three are her Garchomp, Kingdra, and Dragonite. They have just recently awakened from their slumber. See that they get to her, and use them if you know they'll help you."
"What do you mean by 'slumber'?" Gary asked as he accepted the three Pokeballs, putting them in his jeans pocket.
Gardenia studied him for a moment, as she sat back down. Gary held her gaze for a moment before she replied. "This isn't the first time Drake has tried to get Arceus." She finally admitted. "She is a Dragon Warrior through her father, not I. A couple years back when Rae was just starting on her journey Drake came to us demanding to hand her over for his grand scheme. Her father, who was a skilled trainer, battled him and sent him packing. However, that was only the start."
"What do you mean by, was a good trainer?" Gary asked, his eyebrows together in confusion. He looked to Gardenia who held sorrow in her eyes.
"Drake came back a year later, just as Rae had gotten home. He had been stalking her throughout the region this whole time, amazed at how quickly she had earned her badges. She wanted to train and come home before she took on the Pokemon League. He demanded once again for her to come with him. She came close to battling him, but her father stepped in and took him on himself. What he didn't know is that he had captured the legendary Pokemon, Articuno, promptly defeating Luke."
"I don't get it. Why didn't Drake just use Luke then?"
"The Dragon Warrior power skips each generation. Luke's father had it before him, so Luke only had his bond with his Dragon Pokemon. Rae has the powers of a full Dragon Warrior, the ability to bond with Dragons and telepathically speak with them." Gardenia said, motioning to the Dragons Gary now held. "The three of them were put into a deep sleep by Luke, to be awakened when Rae was in danger, that way Drake couldn't get to them."
"Wait, where is Luke then?" Gary asked with a frown on his face. "Did he disappear?"
Gardenia shook her head. "He's dead. Drake killed him once he realized he couldn't control him or make use of his Pokemon."
Gary blanched. "K-killed?" He stuttered. His face held no color. "They wouldn't do that to Rae, would they?" His mind was racing, his heart felt like it would rip out of his chest.
"No, she's too powerful and valuable to their cause for them to do that. But," She paused while studying him. "You and your friends are in impeccable danger, being associated with her. I wouldn't be surprised if they came after you for leverage against her to do what they want."
His hand clenched into a fist. "I won't let them get me before I get to them." He said, his eyes showing his blazing fury.
"And that's your plan? March into their headquarters and basically hand yourself to them?" She asked him dryly. "I would hope you'd have more sense."
Simmering, he replied. "I'm not going alone. I'll have some of the toughest trainers in Sinnoh and other regions with me. If needed to be, yes, I will storm the castle with them. I won't let them go around thinking that they can do what they want. Currently we're launching attacks against the four of the Gym Leaders that have gone to his side."
She stood up, grabbing a Pokeball. "Then Battle me and prove your stuff." She said with narrowing eyes. "If you can talk the talk, you better be able to walk the walk." She released a Grotle which growled at Gary, who quickly stood up reaching for his Electivire's Pokeball.
"Sunny day, Grotle." She told her Pokemon. Effectively the room became bright and sunny. Gary grinned since he knew he could use this to his advantage. His Electivire used a Fire Punch, which being powered up by the Sunny Day quickly made the Grotle faint. She recalled her Grotle and sent out a Cherrim, which became a happy Pokemon with the sun.
Electivire wasn't quick enough and got hit with Razor Leaf in the process, but was able to use Fire Punch again to make the Cherrim faint. He relucantly recalled Electivire to its Pokeball.
"Alakazam, come on out." He said as he flicked the Pokeball. Gardenia looked at the Roserade and it nodded as it stepped onto the field.
"Roserade, sludge bomb." Gardenia told her Pokemon as it obeyed. Alakazam eyed the Pokemon and moved as soon as it would have hit him, dodging it.
Alakazam countered the next Sludge Bomb with a Psybeam as directed by Gary. Alakazam, being the more powerful Pokemon, got his attack to hit the Roserade, effictevely knocking it out. Gary left his Alakazam out while Gardenia recalled Roserade. She reached into her pocket and tossed him a small, shiny object. He caught it and looked at it in surprise when he realized it was the Forest Badge.
"Why are you giving me this?" He questioned as he pocketed the badge. She rolled her eyes.
"You beat me, it's League rules." She answered as she sat back down. "The rest is up to you. I wasn't a match."
Gary stood there for an awkward moment, then realized he was dismissed. He recalled Alakazam to him and walked out of the gym.
Was it enough? He wondered to himself as he climbed on Charizard once more. Was it enough that he had all her Pokemon and knew that he could at least count on six of them? Was it enough to be runner up in the League back home?
His mind wandered as he flew back towards Veilstone. They had been staying with Maylene after the Gym Leader realized they had taken Veilstone as their base. She frequently trained with Dawn, whom being the youngest of the group, still had awhile to go. Paul would often watch the sessions, offering advice to her later. He could see the bond growing between the two, even if they wouldn't admit it.
He knew he could count on Ash and Misty to back him up on charging the school. Volkner would possibly agree, but unlikely without a fight. Drew and May would be in, demanding the other not to be. He knew Paul would, but wasn't sure with Dawn whether anyone would allow it.
He didn't expect Gardenia to help them, especially after their exchange today. He frowned, recalling how she changed in the middle of the conversation. He shook it off and pushed it out of his mind. He had more pressing matters to think about. Maylene and Candice had promised to help them, the latter already spying on the school. Cynthia was supposed to arrive in a day, seeing that the Elite Four, excluding Flint, didn't cause trouble.
The three Elites could be a problem in the future, he realized. They would be the ones most likely to be guarding Rae, and he was unsure of who could take them on easily. Luckily, they only used one type of Pokemon each. Drake would be a problem, seeing as no one had any idea what Pokemon he used. Except for the Articuno Gardenia told him about and the Kadabra he had seen. The Zapdos must have belonged to him too. He paled, trying to imagine what other legendaries he must had caught. Moltres was a prime candidate, seeing as the other two birds have already been caught.
He just hoped they had a chance.