Chapter 27: Dew and flowers

A few months later, afternoon

Johto

Dex criminals' hideout

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yes sir, three males mock saluted and one sighed."

"Then brief me on the mission protocols." Green ordered.

"One question commander Green" Lack-2 trilled, "why are you giving out our assignments? Our leader is Red, not you." Gold exhaled, his student could be such a prick at times. There was a mocking undertone to his words as the spiky haired man glared impassively at him. It was common knowledge that Green and his best friend had some sort of a falling out; unfortunately the details surrounding the event were rather sketchy. The duo hardly communicated with each other without throwing insults and more often than not, Blue would always be sitting or placing herself between them. If things needed to be done, they co-operated with frosty manners and tried to get out of each other's sight as soon as possible. Green Oak was irritated at all times and although he did a good job of covering it up whilst Red spent his days holed up in his room and only came down to eat or when someone wanted to challenge him to a battle. Lack-2, the upstart took great pleasure in riling the leader up and trying to see when the black haired male would finally explode. As of now, all his efforts were in vain, Red simply trained his crimson irises at him and Pika, sitting on his master's shoulder, would discharge electricity through its cheeks. Knowing how terrible the little rodent could be, the youngest member exercised restraint.

"We have to go to route two hundred and twenty four that is way past the pokemon league in Sinnoh and probably crawling with police officers...it's a dead end as well." Lack-2 began drawling and Green scowled in displeasure, "thereafter...Oh wait, before that, we have to find this gleaming white rock and inscribe what we are grateful for. Thereafter, a new path magically opens up, this strait is called Seabreak path and it leads to the flower paradise. Shaymin, the gratitude pokemon will come up to us and lead us in the meadow where it will be frolicking around in it's personal heaving just waiting for us to catch it. Right professor?" He grinned, showing a mouthful of teeth and Gold blanched, his apprentice must be spending way too much time with ambipom.

"I see your head is screwed on correctly, well done. Child" the commander hissed in return. He turned his attention to the next pair, one of them was busy filing his nails and the other was listlessly scanning the room. "Ruby, Emerald, tell me about your mission."

"We are tasked with catching Latios, Latias and their hold item, called the soul dew. They are beautiful pokemon I might add. Anyway, they are located on southern island which is south-east from Slateport. We will find the eon duo there." Ruby stated and adjusted his red rimmed glasses.

"Good," Green rose up from the chair, "collect your cards from Crystal or Yellow and start your mission immediately." Lab coat swishing, he exited the room and the four boys of various ages let out a deep sighs. Gold, who was generally playful, looked contemplative, he only snapped out of his uncharacteristically deep ruminations when Lack-2 prodded him.

"You look awfully dejected."

"I guess" the trainer relented and picked up his cap, "bit stressed that's all."

"Don't worry...they are best friends right?" the boy chirped, "stuff like that happens all the time doesn't it? And considering how long they were together, their friendship will be patched up in no time."

His teacher smiled and he felt happy...Happy? "Man...I wish Crystal or even Silver would comfort me like you did just now-"

"I saw the two of them sitting with you when you decided to take a sudden interest in stars a few nights back. Don't lie senior" Lack-2 grinned, "Crystal is gonna be mad at you."

"Che, I'm really going to keep Aibo far away from you. Whatever, let's get our mission underway before-"

"Green gets his spikes in a tangle" the young male finished.

Laughing, the duo made their way to strategy's common room together.

The next day, morning

Sinnoh

Route 224

The route was a combination of sand and grass. Touching down, the two trainers inspected the area. Knowing how jittery he could be in the face of police and authorities, Gold used his togekiss to give the area an aerial sweep. For now, the league was closed since there were no trainers waiting to get in. The champion was probably not even in the building. Cynthia was a super intendant of the international police and was constantly travelling around her own and other regions doing her duty. Satisfied with his scouting, he returned to the designated spot only to see the boy had disappeared again. Panic gripped his heart as he called for his student and searched desperately. His first thought was that they have been ambushed by the police. Thanks to the rise of criminals everywhere, the authorities were on high alert. He whirled around on hearing a voice coming from behind a large boulder.

"Zekrom's sake, stop screeching like an ambipom, I'm right here!"

"I'm sorry!" Gold shrieked angrily, "but with the stunts you like to pull when I'm with you on missions are worrying for me. I've had it with you disappearing whenever we land in a new place!"

"I'm just checking the area out..." Lack-2 trailed off, "I apologize for worrying you." He understood his senior was not in the best of moods and after his best friends left on assignments, his temper plunged even further.

The duo walked on in silence, keeping an eye for the white stone Green lectured them about. Gravel crunched underfoot and they had to traverse the rocky terrain on hands and foot, climbing over ledges. Sea wind whipped Lack-2's brown locks and waves hit gently against the sand bars. Gold's humor improved considerably as he his mind angled away from dark thoughts and focused on keeping the wild pokemon at bay. He rummaged in wild grass and shouted in glee when he found pearls, heart scales and some discarded merchandise. Seems like the trainers don't like spending much time here. Maybe the legend of shaymin appearing was all a sham. The boy snorted, inscribe your gratitude on a stone and poof! A wild shaymin appears? The very idea was ludicrous. Nonetheless he plodded on with his teacher. They came to the end of the route and after scrambling up over a series of ledges, he alighted on a barren plain. The flat area was devoid of grass and one could see ground types peeking out from crevices. In the middle sat a giant white rock, the surface of the boulder was scratched up and upon closer scrutiny, it contained numerous words, no doubt left behind someone trying to catch the fabled gratitude pokemon.

"So what are we going to do now?" the boy peered at the words marked on the surface of the stone and frowned, "we have to write down for what we are grateful for right?" spinning around, he walked to the edge of the plain, "you can do that," he called over his shoulder, I'm not making a fool of myself by scratching up some wonder stone..." Ignoring Gold who took out a pocket knife, he sat down on in the dirt with his legs dangling over the ledges. Extracting a bottle from his backpack, he took a gulp of water and waited for something to happen.

Gold was at work, furiously scraping the rock with his knife. He stood on tip toes and toiled away, cursing when the knife skewed to the side or grazed his skin. About half an hour later he gave a triumphant shout and called his apprentice over. The russet eyed youth appeared lazily and stared at the inscription with mild disgust, at least his senior was a creative person.

"Seriously?" the male pointed at the roughly hewn words, "you are grateful for all the pretty gals in the world?" He angled his head towards the dead end. "I don't see the gratitude legendary coming up, either you are lying to yourself or Shaymin does not appreciate your thought processes. "Let's go back; I doubt a gratitude pokemon even exists."

The older trainer watched as Lack-2 kicked up a cloud of dust, "you seem adamant about there not being a gratitude pokemon. We have plenty to be thankful for"

"Like what?"

"The air we breathe..." the student glowered, "well, I'm thankful for everything really...Hey, get back here!"

"I'm going to sit at that spot and ignore you for an hour, if Shaymin doesn't appear; I'm leaving on my own. So make something work!" He heard Gold mutter something under his breath as the amber eyed trainer started scratching the rock again. Checking his watch he sat back down in the dirt and prepared to wait for exactly one hour before taking off, his mentor could stay here for all he cares.

I'm thankful for everything really...

The words echoed around in his head. Despite not showing it, he was a bit jealous of the ties the criminals had with each other. Even Whi-2 was unrecognizable these days. The subdued girl had morphed into a strong independent trainer who was not shy of stating what she wanted. She got along very well with her eccentric group of higher ranking members. Ruby doted on her, dressing both her and her pokemon up in outlandish contest outfits. Platina would be caught giving her gifts of expensive clothes or accessories. Blue adored her like a younger sister, constantly hugging the girl whenever the situation presented itself and as for Silver, she seemed to gravitate towards the solemn man the most. Despite being best buddies, the personalities of Gold and Silver were total opposites, one was outgoing, flirtatious and the other was quiet, serious. He heard his teacher mumbling under his breath again, the man was hard at work. Why did he waste his talents away with this group of people instead of making a name for himself? Why did anyone of these Dex holders even go along with the top three's hare brained schemes? Probably for the same reason he did. The act of Gold carrying him on his back and tucking him in bed was extra-ordinary, never would Lack-2, in his wildest fantasies imagine a gambling pervert to be so thoughtful and kind.

What is he grateful for?

Nothing much really.

He never had much of a life and he was perfectly happy with it.

Or was he?

Suddenly the barren landscape transformed. Literally. Lack-2 stood up abruptly and watched with his mouth hanging open. Like a time lapse video, he saw grass breaking the surface of the dusty ground. Flower buds pushed from beneath the earth and bloomed, washing the area in sea of color. Further on, a series of slopes rose majestically from the ocean. Route two hundred and twenty four extended before his very eyes. The water swished away from the strait and the earth, still wet, sprouted an array of multicolored plants and foliage. Rooted to the spot, both him and his senior watched as a small pokemon came up to them. It made contact with Gold's leg before scurrying away. Jolted into action, the older male hollered at Lack-2 to give chase as he himself went after the gratitude pokemon, sneakers squelching on the still soft earth. The brown haired boy moved mechanically and after stepping on to Seabreak path he looked back. He desperately wanted to see what his mentor had inscribed on the stone to make the pokemon appear. Torn between two decisions, he shook his head and tore after Shaymin; there was plenty of time to check the rock out later.

I'm thankful for my family and friends. For my teacher who taught me and for my student whom I hope to make into a great trainer one day.

Flower paradise was how it appeared, a flower paradise. Unlike the man-made gardens he was accustomed to seeing at rich people's mansions, this meadow was untamed, wild and thus much more beautiful. He stood at the entranced enthralled by the scenery. Small pink blossoms clamored for attention underfoot. Yellow centered flowers bathed the meadow with a sweet, enticing scent. Walking in further, his eyes feasted on long stemmed tulips, vying for attention against dewy petaled roses. Careful not to snap any of still growing buds, he sloshed his way through to find Shaymin frolicking on an elevated field which was blooming with Gracidea flowers, the blossoms allowing Shaymin to morph into the sky forme. The hedgehog-esque creature was rolling about and uttering high pitched squeaks whilst Gold, his mouth stretched into an amiable grin, observed.

"It really exists...wow" Lack-2 breathed deeply, the sweet scent brought a rush of euphoria. It spoke of warm memories, it tickled his raw emotions.

"Yeah, little dude looks so happy." the black haired adolescent pointed out, "and did you know Gracidea flowers are presented when you want to express your gratitude? I'm gonna pick some and shower Crystal with it." Saying this, he began snapping the flowers off their delicate stems, "oh yeah, I'll task you to get the pokemon, do a good job Lack-2, make your momma proud."

I don't have a mother.

Summoning his dewott, the youngster got to work. Shaymin, unaware of the dangers awaiting him, gave a happy high pitched squeak and ran to the discipline pokemon. Picking up its scalchop, the water type danced in an arc, holding the deadly blade out. It cut through leaves, stems and Shaymin's body. The poor beast squealed and toppled on its uninjured side. Emerald tinted beady eyes stared first at dewott who was staring emotionlessly and then at Lack-2 who exhaled. It didn't understand why the humans were hunting it down. Getting up slowly on its stubby legs, it licked its wound clean, the chlorophyll tinged blood made healing hassle free. The pokemon made another attempt at befriending the visitors, it has been centuries till anyone was able to find this path and thus meet him. Again, on approaching the visored male, it was brutally flung to the far end, right in a clump of gracideas. Forcing itself upright, Shaymin decided it had enough.

Small teeth clamped down and gnawed through a green stalk, when the flower separated, Shaymin transformed. Flying high in the sky, it trained it's fury on Lack-2 and dewott. He could deal with the flower picker later; perhaps that human would be much friendlier. The area around Shaymin glowed white and the air burst outwards, thousands of tiny seeds pelted the surface of the human's and it's partner's body. With sorrow, the gratitude pokemon saw how the trainer ran to the fainted water type, he brushed away the numerous spiked seeds embedded in the pokemon's body and recalled it. As the grass type turned its attention to the capped trainer, who was still squatting amongst the blossoms, it got a nasty shock. A ring of flames erupted from a fire pokemon's back and engulfed him in a burning vortex. Shaymin tried to fly away from the flames but the typholsion kept on sending out more. The flower picking person did nothing to help. Exhausted from the constant running and burns, which was staining its fur black and searing the wound, shaymin fell tiredly to the ground. Only then did the amber eyed man come to him, holding a bunch of flowers. The pokemon pawed the ground desperately when Gold produced an ultra-ball; it gave a piteous cry which was cut short when the creature was encapsulated.

Mission accomplished, the duo were now making their way back to route 224, on reaching the piece of land embedded with the white rock, Seabreak path sunk beneath the waves. The white foamed water washed over it and in a few minutes it was totally gone. The plain had also gone back to its original arid state. Eyeing the rock, Lack-2 broke away from Gold and made a dash for it, he was surprised when his mentor held him back by the scruff of his clothes.

"Where are you going?"

"To see what magical words you wrote on that boulder to enable us to meet Shaymin." he replied.

"I didn't write much, anyway, we need to make our way back to Canalave city, it's evening already and we must go home, no time for detours."

"The stupid rock is a few meters in front of me! And let me go, or are you embarrassed of what you wrote?"

Instead of replying, Gold held a flower out.

"...You are giving flowers to a man? There is something wrong with your head." the boy quipped.

The older trainer smiled and forced the blossom into Lack-2's hands, "just take it. I should be thankful for you shouldn't I?" the youngster opened his mouth to protest but was cut off, "and I'm really glad I got to train and look after you, I enjoy taking care of people and pokemon even though both Crys and Silver complains I'm irresponsible. I realized that having you around is forcing me not to take things for granted. Sure you can be a royal headache but in the end it's nice to see you grow up to be a responsible trainer. Man! Was my speech cool or what?" Gold kept on chuckling as they descended the ledges. Once they got out of the rocky regions, togekiss was summoned and its trainer sat comfortably on its back. He beckoned for the child who was deep in thought. Shaking his head, he joined his mentor. The avian squawked at the added weight and eyed its master with malice. It was not getting enough poffins and poke-blocks for all the back breaking work it was doing. With an almighty heave of its wings, togekiss rose in the air and disappeared in the cloudless sky.

"Thanks" the words whispered by Lack-2 drifted unheard in the winds.

Morning of the same day

Hoenn

Southern Island

A fashionista and an under developed boy stepped down on the grass and surveyed the area. The island was scenic, ringed with waterfalls, trees and elevated cliffs. The air was humid and Ruby, unappreciative of all the wonders of nature irritably fanned himself. Emerald on the other hand was happy to be away from base, not that he had a problem with his work, but recently Green was being rather unreasonable. Flopping down to the floor, he dug his hands through grass and soil, commenting about the unique energy imbued in the earth. The red eyed male paid no attention to the blonde's ramblings, locating a pool of water; he checked his reflection in it bemoaning his sweat plastered hair. A beep issued from his pocket and he pulled his PokeNav our and stared at Sapphire's amused expression. Without as much as a greeting, the two began bickering and it only stopped when Blue pulled the device away.

"Are you getting on with your job?" she queried.

"Take a look at me first!" he shrieked, "How do you expect me to concentrate when I look this ugly?" He heard his best friend snicker in the background and he scowled. His leader consoled him and together the duo went on a tangent about the wonders of fashion, as he was warming up to the topic, Constellate's leader changed the subject and admonished him for being lazy. With a click, the screen went blank and he sighed.

"Rald," he called, "let's get going, finding the legendries will be a bit of a challenge as they can hide themselves, also, they get protective over their soul dew so we need to stay sharp...and are you collecting dirt?" he watched as the blonde teenager scooped dirt into a little jar.

"Yes, you never know when you might need it." came the reply, "so we are starting our mission already? Sound's great! Not! Geez, now I have to go back and listen to senior Green's unrelenting demands again..."

The two shouldered their backpacks, gathered some berries and filled their bottles with fresh water before setting off.

In a building situated on Southern Island:

The alarms blared and the screens went haywire in the monitor room. The guardsman flailed about as he eyed two intruders creeping about on the island. He was sure their target was the eon duo; lots of people had come to this isle hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive creatures. During peak season, the tourism industry made good money giving a tour of the place. Due to the rise of criminals seeking legendary pokemon, it was agreed by both the police and Hoenn authorities to permanently station a team at this place, so far, the decision proved to be invaluable. Each month, the police ended up busting people ranging from unauthorized visitors, thieves and criminals with an agenda. All of them had been adults or adolescents. Watching the two children, the bulky guard snorted. Not willing to go down there and actually dirty his own hands, he reached for the phone instead; police officers Norman and Brawly would make short work of these brats.

Extra:

Team Constellate: Masters of spying, espionage, disguising and stealing. They procure info at any possible cost. Medium publicity, sometimes works in tandem with Execution. Their calling card picture is a cluster of stars.

Members:

Blue *flips hair and winks at the readers* : Team leader

Silver: Best in the group also known as a phantom thief. Blue's adopted brother

Ruby: Fashionista who hides his deadly battling prowess. Skilled in making disguises

Platina Berlitz: Provides funding for the group and their disguises

Whi-2: Kidnapped recruit. Still a bit of a novice when doing things.

A/N: Gold and Lack-2, I had so much fun writing these two together. At Jack54311: You thought they were going to do some good deeds? Think again! No, N's character will be more in tune with his manga and game counterparts. At Silver: Aw, I'm glad I could make happy. I thought it'd be funny to put it in because normally you wouldn't want people/pokemon frequenting hospitals for whatever reason and all the nurses are like: We hope to see you again. Actually that makes a good phrase. At Sylveon: You remind me of Eevee…except that you hate Green. Thank you for reviewing, I hope you find this story pleasing to read. I'm extremely happy that my writing moved you, your reviews were a huge motiving factor. Yes, I live in a small tropical country but trust me; the climate isn't something to look forward to. It's always humid and it rains cats/dogs/mangoes and fish. And here the electricity shoots off whenever it feels like it. I used to live in a southern, dry country and I miss it very much. Well…I didn't have trouble sorting them out in groups, I just thought about the characters and where they would fit in the best. As for Diamond, he can't really battle but I put him there because he is a huge fan of Red, the same with Gold (except that Gold is a good fighter). No, the members can't change but since they work often with each other, it doesn't really matter. For your question on parents' opinions, hopefully the next chapter answers your queries. At Blue: Ahahahaha, your review made my day! I was rushing to post the chapter so I forgot. I did Blue's one on this chapter.

I hope to see all of you again! And thanks for reviewing, virtual mangoes to you all. (Silver, I'm not sure how you feel about mango flavored cake…Might taste good you know)