CHAPTER 30
"Do you think the Guildmaster is all right?" asked Vulpix as the group drew closer to the entrance.
"If I know Aggron," said Gallade, "he's more than capable of getting away from a Pokémon like Giratina."
The Pokémon approached the guild entrance and walked past the sentry grating and through the front door.
Gallade ran up to the door to Aggron's room and opened it. "Guildmaster!" he called out.
Much to everyone's surprise, the room was empty.
"No, he couldn't be gone…" said Buizel. "Not him, too…"
"Everyone," said Gallade, "I need you to search the guild top and bottom to see if Aggron is here somewhere. Rylan, Zorian, you two stay with me. Zorian doesn't know his way around this place."
"Right," said the others. Everyone except the three who were staying split up and started to search the guild.
"Come," said Gallade. "I'm going to examine Aggron's room. If he truly has been taken, or if he left, he would have left some kind of helpful hint behind. He's pretty smart."
The Guildmaster's quarters looked as neat and orderly as Rylan had seen them the first time.
"I need you three to help me look around for anything that looks out of the ordinary," Gallade instructed.
"And what do you mean by that?" Zorian asked.
"The Guildmaster always keeps his room tidy," said Gallade. "Look for something he may have left lying around."
Aggron undoubtedly had the largest room in the guild, and it was difficult, if not impossible, to point out anything untidy about it.
"Hey, I think I found something," said Zorian.
"What is it?" asked Gallade.
Zorian was pointing down toward the floor, at what looked to be a small hole.
"That's where Aggron had always placed his supply bag," Gallade said. "I've never actually seen that hole there."
"That was pretty fast," Rylan remarked.
"Well, I have good eyes," Zorian chuckled.
Gallade prodded the small hole a few times before slipping his finger into it. "I think I know what this might be…" he said. "Stand back."
Rylan and Zorian stepped back. Gallade began to pull backwards, revealing that the hole was a handle that opened up a trapdoor.
"Go figure," Gallade said. "Aggron always did love finding new ways to hide his important things. There seems to be a staircase in here. Follow me, you two."
Gallade lifted up the trapdoor and quickly descended the staircase. Rylan and Zorian followed.
"Probably a bad idea to come here in the middle of the night," said Rylan. "I can't see a thing."
"Well, you know what they say," said Zorian. "Dark Pokémon are kings of the night…or something like that."
Zorian took the lead. His eyes started to glow a faint red. "Stay close to me," he said. "I can see the way."
The staircase spiraled downwards a fair distance. When they reached the bottom step, they were greeted by a small room ahead that was lit by small torches.
"Aggron was definitely here recently," said Gallade. "These are fresh torches."
A small writing desk rested at the back of the room. Gallade approached it and examined it carefully.
"There's a note here…" he said, lifting a slip of paper off of the table. The note was written in what appeared to be an ancient Pokémon language, something Aggron and Gallade were well-versed in.
"To whom it may concern," Gallade read, "I have met my match and now reside in the Distortion World. The ones responsible are none other than the members of my once proud Team Tranquility, who believe that they can improve the world by ruling over it."
Rylan sighed with relief. He was not happy that Aggron was gone, but he was delighted to know that Aggron found out who was responsible for the disappearances.
"At this point," Gallade continued, "the only ones I believe can put a stop to their intentions are the dragons of legend, Reshiram and Zekrom. As hard as this is to believe, the existence of the third dragon, Kyurem, has been confirmed by one of my brightest young members of this guild, who fought the dragon alongside my trusted friend, Gallade."
Rylan smiled, honored by Aggron's compliment.
"According to the stories," Gallade went on, "the three dragons live in a dominion known as the Province of Balance, where few Pokémon have ventured and even fewer have survived. Alas, I do not know where this Province is or how to get to it, but I have surmised that in order to find a legendary Pokémon, one must speak to another legendary Pokémon. I shall remain here in the Distortion World, for I do not intend to submit to the iron will of Team Tranquility."
Gallade looked at the bottom of the note. "Aggron signed his name. I recognize his writing technique."
"Aggron is aware that Slowking is behind this," said Rylan. "He knows Slowking better than any of us do. He can probably think of some way to stop this if we cannot."
"But we are going to stop this," said Gallade. "We can't fail. There's too much at stake."
"But where are we going to find a legendary Pokémon?" Zorian asked. "They're called legendary for a reason. It's not like we're going to just waltz right into one as soon as we leave the guild."
"Yes, I imagine such a Pokémon would take much time to find," said Gallade.
"And after Kyurem," said Rylan, "who knows how many other legendary Pokémon Slowking may have ensnared?"
Gallade sighed. "You have a point," he said. "Still, I refuse to give up. One way or another, we need to find a way into the Province."
The three of them climbed back up the stairs and through the trapdoor. Gallade closed it and then they exited the room. The other four Pokémon were waiting just outside.
"He's not here," said Nidoran.
"We know," said Gallade. "He left us a note. He knew about Slowking's plan, but didn't know how to get to the Province of Balance. He advised us to seek out another legendary Pokémon and ask it for help."
"That's a start," said Wingull. "Who do you think would know how to get there?"
Gallade looked at Aggron's note once again. The moonlight shining through the window made it possible to see the other side of the paper. He noticed a faint inscription on the opposite side and turned the paper around to look at the other side. There was a small word written in the old language near the top.
"I can barely read this," said Gallade, "but there's something else here. Aggron must have written this in a hurry."
"What do you think it says?" Buizel asked.
"Ky…" Gallade read slowly, trying to interpret the hurried handwriting. "Kygran? Kygio?"
"Kyogre!" Buizel suggested. "The legendary Pokémon said to have shaped the oceans!"
"That must be it," said Gallade. "It seems we have a lead, so we had best take this time to prepare ourselves. We're heading out to the ocean."