Chapter 17: A world of truth and ideals

Silver was really tired, the entire morning he was sitting against the cold rock face of the cavern. Terror made him stiff and he briefly wondered how he managed to crawl into a den swarming with gym leaders, police, and other law abiding officers unnoticed. He paced his breath and worried that someone might eventually see the small cloud of stream issuing from his mouth, thank Reshiram the place he hid in was dimly lit or else the game would've been up a long time ago.

Rime covered hands lowered the binoculars he was holding and he blinked his eyes, they were dry and painful. He dared not to summon any of his pokemon lest the gargantuan dragon sense its presence. Kyurem was continuously injected with a cocktail of drugs to keep it in a semi-comatose mode. Scientists took readings, calculating it stats and power output and the dragon was heavily guarded, he counted three gym leaders hovering close to the pokemon. This morning right after he managed to sneak in, the Unova champion had made an entrance and left shortly after. Professor Juniper had also came and left after gathering the latest data on the mythical creature. He himself had snapped several pictures, with great risk, each time the flash went off, his heart hammered against his rib cage and his frostbitten hands shook uncontrollably, zooming the digital prints up, he noticed the pokemon looked fatigued by the various experiments the scientists conducted on it, he gritted his teeth and exhaled. The red head wanted to get out of the gloomy, icy cave, at this rate his brain will freeze over; the parka he wore did little to ward off the chill infused air.

Sleepy, he was sleepy. Taking a sip of his once hot tea, he shifted his position ever so slightly, his pants were already damp and he discarded the wig for a beanie, blinking furiously, he checked his watch.

Afternoon

Unova

Giant chasm

It was past one o'clock already, how long was he required to stay here? And won't any of those damn gym leaders and police officers shift away from the entrance? The weak sunlight infiltrating the cavern was inviting, yet here he was, forced to sit in a still position for hours, not even uttering the slightest sound. His silver eyes swept the area countless times and each scene was already committed to memory. The blonde gym leader patrolled the entrance in a lazy manner, his hands shoved deep in pockets and two security guards were now standing permanently near the opening leading into the cave, black batons hung from their belts. A dragon tamer cracked her whip impatiently on the glacial floor ever so often, she issued orders and was the one who maintained order, lastly there was another young woman in an aviator-esque outfit, she merely sat in a camping chair and kept a hawk like watch over the entire cavern. Silver held his breath as her eyes brushed over his hiding location. He must be aware of her at all times. Eyes deviating, he spied several large tents and some equipment in the vast area, seems like these people actually slept in here! The rogue trainer shivered, who in their right mind would want to stay in a place like this?

"He's coming sir" one of the policemen reported and the blonde male shrugged his shoulders. Underneath his cap, Silver's hair stood on end, were they waiting to ambush some one? Perhaps he could slip out unnoticed in the ensuing chaos...

Instead the forthcoming spectacle had him rooted to the spot.

A young adolescent walked in, his leaf colored hair gathered in in a messy ponytail. He entered without any awe or hurry and seemingly unaware of his surroundings. The youth made a beeline for Kyurem, his stormy irises filled with the image of the dragon. Sneakers crunching, he marched right up to the dragon and stretched his arms out, thereafter he spoke to the legendary pokemon.

"Hello Kyurem" the stranger greeted, "It's me, N again, I'm sure all these experiments on you are causing you a great deal of pain right? But they won't listen to me when I tell them to stop you see, they say it is for the benefit of mankind." he paused as the dragonoid lowered its head and he stroked it fondly "you cannot contain your power is it? I understand, I know, it's a pity the rest of the trainers don't. Not to worry, I'm working hard with father to make an ideal world come true, one where you won't be chained and used as a slave for humanity's selfish reasons."

When the green haired youth began speaking, Silver had first dismissed his ramblings for that of a mad person, but it became apparent that it was not the case. Kyurem, famous for being angry and intolerant of humans was actually allowing N (or whoever he was) to pet his head, moreover he was growling softly and butting his head affectionately against the human. Fumbling for his phone, he held it up and recorded some video. This person was able to communicate with pokemon!

A flabbergasting fact indeed.

"There, there" the square bracelets decorating N's arm twinkled pleasantly in the stark space as he rubbed the ice dragon's maw fondly, "I'll visit again tomorrow alright?" The growls grew louder and more unpleasant to the ear as the person moved away from the dragon; Kyurem took a few steps forward and was promptly restrained by chains. Haltingly the trainer turned his back and began exiting and Silver, grasping the opportunity with both hands, hefted a medium sized stone and threw it. The rock flew through the air and struck N on the side of his head and the pale youth collapsed, his fragile constitution unable to handle any physical assaults. Concerned, the team inside the cave surged towards him and Kyurem gave off an earsplitting roar. The cavern shook and no one, absolutely no one noticed a masked individual slipping out of the cave.

Several hours later

Nimbasa city

Poke Park.

If Gold was here, he'd make fun of Silver for eating cotton candy. The red head was currently ambling around the park with a piece of the sugary confection stuffed inside his mouth. Weavile darted back and forth, delighted by new and un-terrifying surroundings. Gleeful screams of children clashed with mechanical hummings as a roller coaster and a mechanized swing groaned into action. He stood by and watched, a smile tugging on his lips. When he was a child, the luxury of riding a swing was not presented to him, in fact he had never gone to a park before. It was...fun. After exiting the cold cave, he flew all the way to Nimbasa to board a train, alas, he was informed that the next train to Kanto would take a few more hours to arrive, not having anything better to do, he went inside a bathroom stall and pulled off his winter clothing, after fixing the wig back over his red locks, he decided to give the PokePark a visit. Now he was standing in front of the Ferris wheel where a portly hiker was charging a fee for anyone wanting to ride it. Reaching deep inside his pocket, he handed over the money and proceeded to board a car, a while later another person entered and Silver froze, weavile, sensing his tension pressed its body against him comfortingly.

"Your Weavile really loves you" N stated in a monotone voice like he was confirming a fact. His slate tinted eyes gave the phantom thief a once over and Silver found it hard to relax under his scrutinizing gaze. The male reached up and vigorously rubbed the spot where the Johto native clonked him with a stone.

Silence, the Ferris wheel jolted into motion and the car began climbing higher. Ignoring the individual sitting opposite him, the thief trained his eyes to the scenery and found himself relaxing, with a subtle croon, his dark pokemon nestled in his lap and Silver was acutely aware of how N was staring at him. The man got up and squeezed next to him and the red head shifted up feeling awkward, he forced his gaze outside the window and watched. Unova was breathtaking, spring was giving way to summer and high up in the air, he could appreciate how the trees had started blooming, flowers peeked beneath green foliage and brought color. Cherry blossoms rained down, carpeting the ground in pastel pink petals. He sighed and his breath fogged up the glass. N's bracelets were chiming again; the youth must be doing something with his hands.

The car climbed higher.

"You are a bad person, yet your pokemon adores you...It's a formula I can't figure out..." Silver whipped his head back when N started accusing him of being a 'bad person' the eccentric was playing with a puzzle cube, twisting the blocks and trying to align the pieces up. His pendant glinted in the sun

"...Accusing someone of being bad when you first meet them...Is not good manners." The red head retorted, N's words had a profound effect on him.

"It wasn't my judgment," He twisted the cube again, "Kyurem told me," he looked up and pinned Silver with a beastly gaze "Kyurem said all the humans inside the cavern were evil, but you, hiding in the shadows are the worst."

A chill ran up the offended person's spine and he glanced at his watch in an effort to disperse his choked up feeling. The car descended and grinded to a stop, as soon as the door slid open, Silver bolted with weavile hot on his heels. The sharp claw pokemon glanced back once and thereafter scurried to its partner. Its master was exiting the park and walking towards the city. Soon the trainer made it to the battle subway and enquired about the train again. He was informed that it'd arrive in an hour. Giving up, he sat on one of the platform benches and brought his phone out to play games. Almost half an hour later a small tap on his shoulder alerted him to a young child shoving a poster in his face.

"Have you seen these two?" the boy, sporting a headful of lilac spikes asked. Silver snatched the poster and stared at it.

Today was not his day.

The picture showed two children, a boy with a self-confident smirk, russet tinted eyes and a visor; and a girl sporting dark brown hair styled in two Chinese buns, a shy smile and also a pink visor atop her head. A lump formed his throat; the child was staring at him with an intense, expecting gaze.

"Sorry kid" he droned "I haven't seen them; they are the ones who were kidnapped right?" Hugh took a step back and pain flared in his eyes.

"...Yeah, they were my classmates" he forced out through gritted teeth and bit his lower lip. A second passed and he relaxed, shoulders drooping, arm hanging limply by his side, "sorry for troubling you, I'll...Just take my leave." The boy was slinking away when a masked individual crashed into him, silver eyes watched as the thief discreetly slipped nimble fingers in Hugh's pocket and extracted a pokeball, the boy was too busy stammering apologies to notice what was going on, being a master thief himself, Silver saw it all.

'...But you, hiding in the shadows are the worst...' N's words echoed in his head akin to an ominous chant. Getting up, he approached the masked human and twisted his arm.

"Give the child back its pokemon or face the consequences." a low voice threatened. The boy's eyes widened and he bristled with rage.

"My...Emboar! HOW DARE YOU! GIVE IT BACK YOU FREAK!"

"Hmph!" the pirate snorted "get it if you can." Pulling out of Sliver's grip, he leapt over a bench and started running. Hugh gave chase, his poster fluttering to the floor, the red head simply stood there and called for his shiny gyarados, the pokemon emerged from its ball with a loud growl and the occupants standing on the platform all flinched in annoyance.

"Apprehend...The pickpocket." Red body writhing, the serpent shot forward. The fleeing mugger tossed out a ball of his own and commanded:

"Garbodor, use acid spray" gyarados merely charged through, not attempting to dodge the corrosive liquid. Purple fluid splashed on its skin and immediately the skin began burning off in patches revealing the flesh underneath, instead of stopping, the atrocious pokemon charged and its tail stiffened, he swept in in a low arc, carefully avoiding the boy and smashing garbodor and its trainer neatly into the opposite wall. The trash heap stirred and gyarados closed its jaws over the foul pokemon. The crushed pokemon screamed and its voice died out after a bone breaking crunch. Silver, who had run over, paled and hoped Hugh had not heard the sound. Thankfully, the boy's seething eyes were glued to the pirate and he stomped over as the shiny pokemon was recalled.

"My pokemon, cough it up!" The pokeball was meekly handed over and police rushed to the scene. Giving the boy a lopsided grin and accepting his thanks Silver discretely exited from the place.

"Kanto's train has arrived, all personnel please board the train" an electronic voice issued from the speakers. The Johto native hurried, he was going to miss the train if he lingered on any longer.

'...But you, hiding in the shadows are the worst...'

Alas the words in his head would not stop.

Evening

Kanto

Game corner in Celadon city

The din in the casino was loud as Silver entered, his eyes slid over the several slot machines and the greedy, hypnotized people operating it. Some of them sported half crazed grins, the flashing lights reflecting off their glassy irises seemed to not hurt their eyes. Moving to the poster decorating the back wall of the room, he was about to press the button behind it when another slender hand beat him to the punch.

"Silver!" Blue cried and hugged her adoptive brother with all her might. She clasped his face in her hands and studied him closely.

"I'm alright Sis, just tired." he intoned as they made their way downstairs "I found out some...Incredible information," he held up his phone, "there is a guy who can speak to pokemon..." The leader, with Platina in a tow, halted in her tracks.

"What?" she asked incredulously, "talk? As in communicate and understand pokemon language?" She grasped Silver and shook him back and forth, "where is he? Did you bring him here?"

"N-no...And stop shaking me!" Blue let him go and they advanced through the corridors, "His name is N, and he talked to Kyurem, I think he's a native of Unova and probably used in some sort of shady organization. That reminds me...there are people stealing pokemon in Unova, I just defeated one of them at the train station and met Lack-2's classmate, the child is search-"

"You met Hugh?" doe like eyes stared up at him and he regretted the slip of tongue, "How...How is he? Does he look healthy?" Whi-2, already good friends with her senior gripped the front of his black shirt and waited for a response.

"Yes he is healthy." he pried her fingers off "he's searching for you two...I'm going to my room." Spinning on his heels, he made a quick exit. Instead of breaking down to the floor and crying, Whi-2 merely smiled.

"I'm glad he's okay" she said to herself.

Platina sat on the high stool with her legs dangling, despite the hot weather, she was wearing a jacket. Pearl was chatting away, his words tumbling over each other as he flitted from one topic to the other. Diamond listened and commented once in a while, the blue eyed teenager fixed his chef's hat more securely on his black hair. He stirred something in a large pan and added a few chopped ingredients; the aroma coming out of the pot was mouthwatering. It has been a while since the Sinnoh trio gathered like this. Mostly either Pearl or Platina was always off for missions. Dia, doted on by Red and responsible for being the only decent cook in the entire organization often stayed at base. Today, seeing as none of them were saddled with duties, they decided to sit together in the kitchen to catch up on stories. However, it appears as if there was something gnawing on Platina's mind, the young noble was staring at the rack of forks and other cooking utensils as if her life depended on it.

"Are you okay? Platina? I'm sure you are hungry, just wait for a moment, I'm making pasta." Dia, sensing her conflicting emotions better than his best friend, smiled kindly at her and returned to his cooking, he seasoned his dish, taste tested it and sighed in bliss. Pearl kept on chattering like a monkey.

"...And so the lights went out in the facility and as expected, senior Green chewed me out and then I wandered into the holding chamber...Get that, the alien needed an entire room to keep it enclosed and the doors were thick, Chimhiko couldn't even bust the doors down! When the power returned, the door slid shut again and I had no idea Deoxys was in the room as well. Finally, I decided to call for help and this other worldly sound came from behind me, as I turned around, that thing's tentacles stabbed right through the bone of my upper arm and pinned me to the door. It broke that door down and escaped. Here look, I still have a scar" rolling up his sleeves, till his shoulders, he showed a disinterested Platina and a very interested Diamond the scar, his skin on the upper arm was flawed by a circular patch with ragged edges, "blood was pouring out of it and I collapsed while trying to escape, fortunately boss man found me when I fell unconscious and I woke up at base..."

If the tentacles had aimed for his heart, the blonde wouldn't be here right now, Platina ruminated, why was he not scared? Despite being in a life threatening situation he handled it as if it were and everyday occurrence.

"Dinner's ready" Dia called out and placed three steaming plates on the table. Showing a stiff smile, she began to eat the scrumptious meal gratefully.

Night

Celadon city

Constellate's common room

"I'm Pokaayyy~" not even their stand-up comedy routine was enough to get the heiress to show a natural smile. After finishing their supper, the trio decided to accompany Platina to her common room, it was deserted and the three took the opportunity to hog the entertainment system. Diamond and Pearl snatched a gaming system and positioned themselves at the back of the room, where the largest screen covered an entire wall, they pushed Blue's desk and chair aside and dragged a comfortable couch, thereafter they started playing together, the music and sounds of the video game was at random times, punctuated by either of their shouts or squabbles. Away from them, Platina contented herself to watch a documentary about Pokemon lore and mythologies. A few hours later, the two males tired of their game, sauntered over and started practicing their stand-up routine. Indigo eyes watched them but they did not crinkle in amusement or delight. Something was really bothering the young lady.

"Is there something wrong Platina?" Diamond sat down next to her and fished a rice ball out of his pocket; he ate when he was nervous.

"..."

"Come on!" Pearl hollered, "if there is anything wrong, you can't keep it away from us! After all" he took out his Pokedex "we are the Sinnoh Dex-holders and we are capable trainers trying to create a new world!" Smiling gaily, Dia pulled out his one and switched in on. Platinum did so as well and a synchronized ringing sound permeated the room. Crashing next to her, the three listened to the simultaneous beeps in a contented manner.

"This song keeps me going...When I hear it, I feel like I can do anything."

"Same here" the blonde agreed with his chubby best friend.

The heiress began unbuttoning her jacket, in alarm, the two teenagers blushed and looked away.

"What are you doing?!" They hyperactive one of the three gesticulated wildly.

"Look." Her soft voice commanded and haltingly the duo, still flushed, trained their eyes on her. Spherical bruises covered her body, one near her delicate clavicle, another one on her upper arm and she added that there were several covering her entire body. Done with this, she began to pull the jacket on but Dia stopped her.

"You don't have to hide anything from us, we are best friends aren't we?" he bit off his rice ball and continued speaking in an indolent manner, "look at our leaders, they have different personalities yet they all fit together like pieces of a puzzle..."

Pearl sighed and reached over to brush off a few grains of rice littering his friend's cheeks, "judging from the looks of the bruises, whoever did this to you must've used Magnet bomb...Dia is right!" the strong willed boy suddenly stood up, "just because you got thwarted by a few hills along the way doesn't mean you stop trying! Dia! Let's practice our comedy routine again!"

"Yes Sir!" The teenager in question got up and mock saluted.

Her eyes softened at their antics. Since the three first met (under mistaken circumstances) they had instantly clicked, like pieces of a puzzle as Dia would put it. Platina's thoughts eventually turned to her home. She had set out on a journey to Mount Coronet to create a family crest and unwittingly embroiled herself in this mess. It was Green who had approached one day as she was reading pokemon myths in the library in Canalave city; he introduced himself as a Professor and asked if she could help him with a small project. When she finished her required work, Blue swept out of nowhere and asked her to join, her first intention was to refuse but eventually she caved in when the older female promised her more information. Now she was a full-fledged member of the spy department and had acquired vast amounts of knowledge, something she couldn't have done if she was a normal trainer. She was sure the Berlitz family, her parent's would not mind. Knowledge was power and anyone who gained hold of it was powerful. To be frank, she was pretty sure her parent's would've encouraged her...

"Are you listening?" Pearl's impatient scold broke through her ruminations and she laughed in a dainty manner.

"Yes Pearl" She shook her head, her dark hair falling in front of her face like streams of ink, "I'm listening."

The two boys simply looked at her and blushed.

A/N: Early chapter because those reviews were very, very motivating. (And also because the electricity is fickle and might shoot off for another few days again). At Silvef (not sure if typo but I'll roll with it 'cause it sounds cool) I apologize for jumping to conclusions, it was wrong of me, thank you for not flaming, Virtual cake to you for being kind. And your theories are interesting (not going to say if they are wrong or right though, revel in the anticipation!) As for titles, how about this one: The digital encyclopedia committers of crimes? Sorry, feel free to hammer me with a mallet. It sounds horrible (basically translates to Dex criminals). At Eevee: You were missed! Did I mention it rains fish here as well? Yep, it rains mangoes, water and fish. I live in a tropical country. And who missed Hugh? Jack54311, here you go, a cameo appearance of the poor guy. Once again, thanks for the kind words and keep on reading and sending theories, who knows, one of them might just give me an awesome story idea.

Oh my goodness! I almost forgot! Much gratitude to illakir for following my story. I hope it's an enjoyable read for you.