Chapter Six - The Plot Thickens! The Enemy Revealed!
Alexa, Ryder and Luana raced across the Vien Forest, quickly approaching the Lookout Ridge. Luana stopped and moved over to the edge of the hill.
"The view here is fantastic," she commented.
"Luana, we're supposed to be going to Pueltown," Alexa sighed. "You know, to check out what shenanigans are afoot?" Luana took a deep breath.
"TALK OLLIE!" she bellowed. The sudden shouting caused Alexa and Ryder to yelp with fright.
Bloody hell, that scared me half to death! Ryder exclaimed.
"What the hell was that for?!" Alexa asked. Luana faced her.
"It makes you feel good," she began. "You should shout something, Alexa."
"What would I shout about?" Alexa asked.
"Anything that's bothering you," Luana answered. "Come on, give it a go!" Alexa sighed as she approached the edge of the hill.
"Just a quick one," she sighed. She took a deep breath. "HANG IN THERE, KEITH!" she hollered. "Okay, let's go," she said abruptly, running towards the southwest with Ryder. Luana faced her in confusion, but followed Alexa and Ryder regardless.
In Pueltown…
NIRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
"Argh, there's that noise again!" Alexa exclaimed, covering her ears like she did in Marine Cave. Ryder covered his ears too.
"This is what you heard in the Marine Cave?" Luana asked.
"It's better here since we're out in the open," Alexa commented. "Anyway, where do we begin?"
"Hey, there, Rangers," greeted a male voice. A red haired man with a green t-shirt, blue shorts and sandals approached Alexa and Luana.
"Oh, hi there, Brook," Luana replied. "Do you know what's going on here?" she asked.
"Well, I saw a bunch of shady characters carrying those things around," Brook began, looking towards a red machine, identical to the one from Marine Cave. "Next thing you know, the town's Pokémon started acting crazy."
"Like in Marine Cave," Alexa whispered towards Ryder. Ryder nodded.
Seems like this dodgy business is more serious than we thought, he assumed.
"Looks like we'll have to destroy those machines," Luana began. "Alexa, how did you destroy the red one?"
"Crawford and I decided to get a Gastrodon to shoot water at it," Alexa responded. "Maybe if we can find another Pokémon capable of the same thing, we can destroy that one."
"I think I saw a Bibarel outside the town," Luana said happily. "I'll go catch it," she volunteered, running out of the town.
"Are you new?" Brook asked towards Alexa. She and Ryder faced him.
"Yeah, we're the new rookies at Vientown," Alexa began. "My name's Alex, and this is my partner, Ryder."
Nice to meet you, Ryder smiled.
"The name's Brook, nice to meet you," Brook replied. "Alex…interesting name. Is it short for something?"
"It's actually Alexa, but that's just the formality," Alex replied.
"Alexa. It's a nice name, it suits you," Brook complimented. "Mind if I call you that?"
"Coming from you, it doesn't feel so formal, so be my guest," Alexa laughed. Luana returned with a Bibarel at her side.
"Okay, now what do I do?" Luana asked. Alexa faced her.
"Simple; we get to the red machine and use Bibarel's water to destroy it," Alexa answered. She and Luana ran towards the red machine, but a hypnotised-looking Growlithe intercepted Alexa and Ryder. Alexa seemed hesitant to capture it; it wouldn't be befriended.
"Okay, Bibarel," Luana began. "Soak it!" Bibarel fired a ball of water from its mouth and it destroyed the machine. The noise ceased as the Pokémon gained their senses.
"Capture on!" Alexa instantly released her capture disc from her styler, which circled around the bewildered Growlithe. In a matter of seconds, the Growlithe was captured. "And complete!"
"Should we check out the rest of the town?" Luana asked. Alexa and Ryder walked over to her.
"Why are you asking me? You're the more senior out of the two of us," Alexa stated. "Anyway, I think we should."
"Okay, let's go to the west then," Luana suggested. She, Alexa and Ryder ran up the stairs and went to the western side of the town. At the same time, two men, dressed completely in black barring a purple logo on the front of their shirts, walked across the bridge.
"Geez, moving that thing was hard work!" the first one complained. "It took four of us to move it! And even then that was an effort!"
"Quit complaining, at least the job's done," the second one sighed.
Meanwhile…
"Oh, snap, not here too!" Alexa complained.
NIRRRRRRRRR!
There was another machine creating the ear-piercing noise, making the Pokémon in the town confused. This machine, however, was green.
"Huh? It's green instead of red," Luana commented.
"I can't see the relevance in having the same machines with differing colours," Alexa began. "Unless…hmm…"
"What's on your mind, Alexa?" Luana asked.
"The red one was destroyed by water," Alexa muttered to herself. "What's the connection…? Red…beaten by water…like fire…fire is weak against water… That must be it!"
"What's it?" Luana asked.
"The red machine was destroyed with water, therefore, if what I'm thinking is accurate," Alexa began. "Then fire will destroy the green one!"
"If you say so," Luana began. "It's worth a try, since you have Growlithe with you."
"Let's go, Growlithe, burn that machine to the ground!" Alexa exclaimed excitedly. The Growlithe ran over to the green machine.
"GROWWWWWWWWLITHE!" Growlithe shot out a burst of fire from its mouth. This destroyed the green machine. Growlithe left after the deed was done.
"I knew it!" Alexa exclaimed.
"Knew what?" Luana asked in confusion.
"Can't you see a connection? The red one was destroyed by water, the green one just got destroyed by fire; don't you get it? Elementals!" Alexa replied.
"Elementals?"
"Yes! Think of it this way," Alexa continued. "Fire type Pokémon are weak against water types, yes? That's how the red machine came to fall at Bibarel's water bubble! And grass types are weak against fire, therefore the green machine stood no chance against Growlithe!"
"I don't see why whoever made these would-"
"It's simple, really," Alexa interrupted. "Whoever made these obviously wants them to stick around! One would expect these machines to have a short life expectancy if they all had the same weaknesses, so they obviously gave certain machines different weaknesses to catch people off guard, making them think that they can all be destroyed in the same manner because they'd assume that the machines just have different paint jobs!"
"Wow, you know a lot about this stuff, Alexa!" Luana complimented. "Nice deduction!"
"Actually, it's elementary, my dear Luana," Alexa teased.
Literally elementary, Ryder sniggered.
"Let's see if there're any more machines on the east side of the town," Luana suggested. She, Alexa and Ryder left the area.
In the eastern side of town, Luana and Alexa found Melody trapped in a circle of running Pokémon. They witnessed Brook getting himself caught up in the same situation by jumping into the ring.
"Okay, that was stupid," Alexa sighed. "We need to destroy that machine, pronto."
"But we'll need a fire type Pokémon," Luana began. "We need to go-"
"Screw that, let's just push it over," Alexa randomly suggested abruptly. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall, right? They're heavy as anything, so they'll break when they fall!"
"O-kay…" Luana was left somewhat bewildered as she followed Alexa to another green machine. Alexa backed herself against the wall and started pushing the machine with her feet. Luana did the same thing, but Ryder pushed it manually. Ryder then got his feet on the wall and tried to expand his legs. Eventually, the three of them combined managed to push the machine over and it got destroyed upon contact with the ground beneath it.
"Ow…that hurt a bit, but it worked," Luana sighed with relief.
"We had Ryder's muscle, that's what did it," Alexa laughed. "Hey, wait…Ryder, where did you touch the machine?" she asked.
Hm? Oh, I touched the base, Ryder answered.
"Why'd you ask, Alexa?" Luana questioned.
"Ryder had an electric shock from the one in Marine Cave," Alexa replied. "I think you touched the top part of the machine that time, didn't you, Ryder?" she asked him. Ryder nodded in confirmation. "Then there's more to these things than what meets the eye…"
"Thanks, Alexa, we owe you one," Brook said, approaching her and Luana with Melody.
"Hey, you're Isaac's little sister, aren't you?" Alexa queried. "Melody, isn't it?"
"Nice to see you again, Alex," Melody greeted. "Thank you for helping us," she thanked.
"I'm glad we could help out," Alexa smiled. She sighs as she looks around. "Where do these machines keep coming from?"
"Last I saw," Brook began. "They went towards the harbour. The shady characters, I mean."
"Thanks, Brook, Alexa and I will get on it," Luana stated.
"Yeah, I fancy drawing circles around them," Alexa said sneakily. She, Luana and Ryder ran to the south of the town.
"Aw, snap!" Alexa complained. A blue machine was in operation, and a group of hypnotised Pokémon were blocking their way.
"A blue one?" Luana questioned.
"Try an electric attack," Alexa suggested. "There's at least one Elekid back where we helped Brook and Melody."
"Okay, I'll go get one," Luana volunteered, running back up the steps from whence they came.
"Okay, Ryder, let's try knocking this thing down like last time," Alexa suggested. Alex leant against the wall and pressed her feet against the machine. Ryder tried to assist, but he rested his paws on the top part of the machine, causing the same electric shock reaction as in Marine Cave. Ryder instantly let go before he got hurt. Alexa sighed as she stood back up properly. Luana returned with a befriended Elekid.
"I've got Elekid, Alexa. Elekid, electrify that machine!" Luana exclaimed.
"ELEBEEEE!" Elekid unleashed a thunderbolt on the machine, causing it to explode. The Pokémon, once the machine was destroyed, all scattered, with their senses returned. Elekid left, with the job done.
"Water conducts electricity better than air," Alexa prophesised. "Now let's see who's behind all this." She, Luana and Ryder ran towards the harbour.
They ran towards the port, but they instantly hid after entering that part of the harbour. They saw four guys dressed in black and a red haired man, dressed in a black jacket and black trousers – unlike the lesser-looking men, who were all wearing leotards – standing by the pier with a hypnotised Toxicroak and an active yellow machine.
"A yellow one?" Luana whispered.
"I think that one would be destroyed by something like Nosepass," Alexa whispered in response. "But shh; they're talking about something…"
"Sir, we've received words that the other Gigaremo units have been destroyed," one of the leotard men began.
"There's also word that there're Pokémon Rangers are involved," a second man continued. The red haired man didn't look too happy.
"Gigaremo unit?" Luana asked quietly.
"That must be what they dubbed the colour-coded ear-piercing noise makers," Alex whispered.
"We should ask them what they're up to," Luana suggested.
"Oh, yeah, let's walk aimlessly out in the open and say 'excuse me, can you tell us why you're hypnotising the town's Pokémon?' and get our asses handed to us," Alexa whispered sarcastically. "That'll work a treat…! We should just confront them instead."
"Either way, let's face up to them. Ready?" Luana asked. Alex sighs.
"Sure, let's find out who we're dealing with," Alexa agreed. She, Ryder and Luana ran into the open and confront the five men.
"Excuse me, what are you doing? And what's that machine for?" Luana asked innocently. Alexa and Ryder buried their faces in their right hand/paw.
"Yeah, like they'd take that seriously," Alexa whispered.
We're doomed, Ryder sighed.
"Oh, we're Team Dim Sun and this is a Gigaremo unit," one of the leotard men began. "We're using it to hypnotise the Pokémon in this town."
"Hey, hey, whoa, whoa, who asked you to reveal our plans?!" the red haired man scolded.
"Huh? I thought I was being helpful, they took advantage of that!" the leotard man wailed.
"Last I checked, I wasn't willing to know the answer," Alexa sighed. "Either way, your train stops here, boys!"
"I don't think so," the red haired man began. "Rattatas, attack them!" Four hypnotised Rattatas ran over to Luana and Alex and they attacked.
"Capture on!" Alexa and Luana exclaimed, releasing their capture discs from their stylers. The stylers circled around the four rat Pokémon, but the capture line kept getting interrupted. One of the Rattata charged towards Luana.
"Move!" Alexa shouted, pulling Luana away from the Rattata's attack. Luana aimed her capture disc at the fatigued Rattata while Alexa managed to capture the remaining three. Once the last Rattata was captured, they were all instantly released without question.
"You may have beaten the Rattata," the red haired man began. "But Toxicroak will put you two Rangers in your place."
The Toxicroak moved over to the two Rangers and prepared to attack. Luana, Alexa and Ryder were backed up against the large crates behind them.
"Well, I don't think we can escape from this one," Alexa commented. "Time to draw circles around this froggy!"
"Are you sure we can handle something like that?" Luana asked. Alexa readied her styler.
"Well I've faced something bigger than that bipedal frog," Alexa began in response. "If anything, this will be slightly harder. Emphasis on slightly. Capture on!" Alexa yelled, releasing her capture disc.
The capture disc circled around Toxicroak, but it managed to break the line. Ryder created an Aura Sphere and fired it at the capture disc; the disc took the hit and it stayed intact. The capture line changed from white to red. Alexa was left astonished.
"Hey, that's Ryder's Pokémon Assist ability," Luana observed. "Now your capture disc is doubled in power!"
"Wow. Thanks, Ryder!" Alexa said gratifyingly. Ryder nodded at her with a smile. Alexa controlled her capture disc carefully, not wasting Ryder's efforts. In a matter of a minute, the Toxicroak was successfully captured.
"And with that, it's capture complete! See, you guys aren't at the top of your game!" Alexa taunted.
"I don't think they would be, Alexa, we've only just met them," Luana commented. Alex faced her.
"Even so, they could've put up a more reputable performance that that," Alexa laughed.
"It's no good," the red haired man began. "We'll have to retreat. You four carry the last Gigaremo unit; it's heavy, but your punishment will be heavier still!" he ordered. The four men deactivated and carried – with great difficulty – the Gigaremo unit and fled with their higher-up. Alexa, Luana and Ryder raced towards the end of the port, but were unable to catch up to the evil group.
"Aw, they got away!" Luana complained. "And we couldn't destroy that Gigaremo unit either."
"Still, at least we know who we're dealing with," Alexa remarked. "Team Dim Sun…I wonder what they're planning…?"
"Let's report back at Vientown," Luana suggested. She, Alexa and Ryder left the harbour.
At Vientown…
"And then they escaped by boat," Alexa concluded. "Alas, we still know very little about what's going on, but at least we have a name for these guys; Team Dim Sun."
"I wish we could have caught them," Luana sighed.
"Don't be too hard on yourselves," Barlow began. "You two did well for a 2nd year and a rookie; it's mission clear."
"Thanks, Barlow," Alexa said with gratitude.
"And I'll let you knock off early as well," Barlow added. Alexa and Ryder were astonished.
"How come?" Alexa asked.
"You did a great job today," Barlow replied. "And if I recall correctly, was it not your deduction that allowed you to figure out the secret behind the Giaremas?"
"Gigaremo," Alexa corrected. "But, yeah, it was, sort of."
"Giarema, Gigaremo, whatever, you know what I mean," Barlow fussed. "By the way, Alexa, you've got mail."
"Mail? Haven't had that in ages," Alexa said in astonishment. Barlow gave her an A4 sized envelope. "Thanks."
"But do us all a favour and don't read it in front of us," Barlow teased. Alexa mimicked sarcastic laughter as she and Ryder made their way out of the base.
At Vien Forest…
Alexa and Ryder were relaxing at a small lake-like pond area. Ryder had his feet in the water and looked very tranquil. Alexa looked at her envelope curiously.
"It doesn't say where it's from," she began. "And I don't recognise the handwriting either. Who's it from?" Ryder opened his eyes, slightly turned his head towards her.
Well you aren't going to find out if you keep staring at it, are you? He asked teasingly.
"Alright, alright, I'll open it already, geez," Alexa laughed. She tore the envelope open and pulled the letter out. She was astonished at the letter's author. "It's from Keith!" Surprised, Ryder got his feet out of the water and went behind Alexa to read the letter over her shoulder.
Alex,
It's Keith. How're you doing at Vientown? I got stationed at Ring Town in Fiore. I wish I could see the look on your face when you found out this is from me; it must've been priceless, I bet! Anyway, are you doing alright? I know you were upset when Rhythmi and I left for Fiore.
Anyway, I've been making something of a name for myself. I recently stopped a Gyarados from rampaging, it was epic! I wish you could've seen it. You'll probably hear about it in tomorrow's paper over there, but I wanted to tell you in advance because you're my best friend. Speaking of which, have you found yourself a partner Pokémon yet? I have; Buizel. I know he and I will become a great combination, just like you and whoever your partner Pokémon is or will be.
Oh, by the way, I've taken the liberty of sending you something to hopefully make you feel stronger. It's enclosed, but take a look at it after reading this; I hope it'll make you feel better. I could tell that you were upset on the pier that day, and that had me concerned for you. But remember the promise we made before we said our see you laters – not goodbyes – and you'll hopefully be alright. Just looking out for you, that's all. Oh, yeah, one more thing; sorry for calling you weird on your first day. My bad.
So, yeah. See you later.
Keith.
Alexa, after reading every word on the page, looked at the letter with a warm smile. Ryder looked at the piece of paper in the same way.
"Keith…you took the trouble of writing to let me know you're okay," Alexa said quietly. "Truly he's a best friend for life… What did he mean by 'something to hopefully make me feel stronger'?" She took out something else from the envelope and looked at what it bore, with shock at first, but then with a warm smile; it was a portrait A4 photograph of Keith outside a Fiore Ranger base with his partner Pokémon, Buizel.
Ryder appeared to like the photograph as well. He squinted at the ending of the letter before looking back at Alexa.
Methinks he was a tad nervous when he wrote this letter, he smirked. Alexa faced him in confusion.
"Nervous? How do you mean he was nervous?" she asked. Ryder pointed to a specific line; 'So, yeah. See you later'. Alexa looked at the line and gave off a small laugh. "I see your point. I think we should send Keith a reply to let him know we're okay. And partnered up. What do you think?" Ryder nodded to confirm his approval for the idea. "Okay, I just need to make a call, ask if anyone has a camera and we'll be set."
Later…
Alexa and Ryder exited the Ranger base in Vientown and met up with a Pidgeot. Alexa gave the Pidgeot an A4 sized letter, bound for Ring Town in Fiore. The Pidgeot took the letter in its beak. The Pidgeot then flew away from the town and towards the sea.
"Well, it's up to Falcon now," Alexa sighed. "I know he'll get the letter, though; Falcon's very reliable when it comes to this sort of thing." Ryder nodded in agreement.
Later still, in Ring Town…
"Whew, I'm beat!" Keith sighed as he entered the base. Buizel followed on closely, also looking exhausted. "What was that big bird Pokémon doing flying away from the base?"
"Oh, that was a Pidgeot," replied the base leader. "It came by to drop this off; it's addressed to you, kid." The leader presented Keith with the letter. Keith took it and then made his way to his room.
In his room, Keith and Buizel sat down on the bed. Keith looked at the letter curiously before opening the envelope. He pulled out the first sheet of paper, turning out to be the letter itself. He was shocked about the author.
"Alex replied!" he exclaimed. Buizel climbed up onto Keith's shoulder to read the letter along with him.
Keith,
It's me, Alexa. As you may have already guessed from reading my name alone, I got your letter. This afternoon, in fact. If I was supposed to have received it earlier, I apologise; Luana and I were investigating some stuff in Pueltown. But I'll save that story for later. I was deeply shocked that you sent me a letter, but it made me feel better knowing that you're doing well in Fiore. Keep up the good work, Ranger Keith!
You asked me if I have a partner Pokémon yet; I do, but I'll let the enclosed reveal that for me, no spoilers in this letter, no sir. And congrats on the Gyarados; they're incredibly vicious Pokémon, and that's when they're not angry; I'll look forward to hearing about it whenever Almia picks up the news. You also asked me how I'm doing in Vientown, if I recall correctly – and I do, since I have your letter next to me as I write this – so I shall answer that in the form of a paragraph long synopsis.
After getting into my gear and socialising with the locals via my first mission – a "paper round", as Crawford described it – we investigated the Marine Cave – you probably won't know it, since the tide was up during the one-day internship – and found a disturbing machine that makes Pokémon unable to be befriended and loopy. After that, I had something of a hard time calming down Little Tim's Miltank. But she calmed down, no worries there. An accident caused the Vien Forest to be set on fire, but Blastoise cured that like the common cold. And then that brings us to what I said about Pueltown. Luana and I found more hypnotising machines and the scum what put them there. Unfortunately, they escaped after I captured the Toxicroak they set on Luana and myself. Barlow says there's no need to worry, but I still can't fathom what Team Dim Sun are planning. And I'm not going to try, I'm in too good a mood to worry about the scum what invented those stupid colour-coded ear-piercing noise makers they call the Gigaremo!
And that's everything I've done thus far in my Ranger career. But despite all of that, hearing from you was the highlight of my day today. My partner Pokémon thought so too, so we decided to let you know that we're okay. I hope everyone at your base is treating you right; if they're not, let me know and I'll come over there and smack whoever's giving you a hard time. But, yeah, I really felt flattered that you took the time to let me know you're alright. You have no idea how happy I was after we finished reading the letter. And I'll never forget what you said to me just before you went too far out to sea; stay strong… I won't forget that advice…ever.
I'm glad I got to hear from you, my friend. Thank you.
Alexa.
PS: If you want to reply to this, can you give me your honest opinion on the following; how do I look?
"Eh? How do you look?" Keith pondered.
"Bui," Buizel pointed at a particular sentence; 'I do, but I'll let the enclosed reveal that for me'. Keith put the letter to one side and took out the second item in the envelope. He looked at the photograph; Alexa and Ryder were striking a powerful-looking pose in front of the Vientown base. Keith blushed.
"Uh…"
To be continued…