Chapter Twelve - Enter the PokéAcademy!

August 10th, 2022

PokéAcademy, Sparrow Town, Asture Region

Raine ran up the steps of the PokéAcademy and burst through the heavy wooden double doors, entering the spacious sunlit foyer. He was immediately greeted by a friendly middle aged lady, smiling at him from behind a counter between him and the grand staircase that split off to the left and right behind her.

"Good Afternoon, Dear" she said, beckoning him forth even though he was distracted by the building's opulence. "How can I assist you?"

There were busts of the Academy's former Headmasters along one wall and portraits of Pokémon from all across the World on the other. Eight banners hung above the staircase, one in each colour of Asture's Gyms. Finely crafted pillars supported the upper floors and the marble floors shone with bright reflections.

"I'm looking for Miles," Raine said, wandering up to the counter while still trying to take in every little detail.

"Headmaster Fortuna is not currently available. I can take a message and pass it on when he returns."

Weird. Where had he gone if he hadn't returned to the Academy?

"Is there somewhere that I can wait for him?" Raine asked, looking around for a bench or a seat to no avail. "It's rather urgent that I speak to him."

"You're welcome to wait in the waiting room, or if you would prefer you could sit in on a class that is about to begin."

"Oh no, I couldn't. This is too important for that. I'll head to the waiting room if you could point the way."

"Just over there, Dear," she said, pointing down the hall to her right. "There are refreshments inside, feel free to help yourself and I'll send in the Headmaster upon his return."

"Thank you," Raine said, walking across to the waiting room.

The room was far more lush than Raine had been expecting from a simple waiting room. He was taken aback by the tower of cakes and the fancy ceramic tea set on the coffee table between two luxurious lounges. Heavy curtains were drawn open and a gentle breeze was blowing in through the floor to ceiling windows.

He was too nervous to sit, so paced around the outside of the room surveying line art drawings of the PokéAcademy in all stages of construction. They were on aged, stained paper and had clearly been meticulously protected over the centuries.

Raine lost track of time. It felt like both forever and like no time at all had passed when the door creaked open and someone stepped inside. Raine looked up hopefully from eyeing a particular slice of cake, but immediately slumped in disappointment when he recognised the receptionist.

"It looks like the Headmaster won't be returning today," she said, "and I'm about to lock up so you'll have to return in the morning."

"Do you know where I might find him?" Raine asked, making his way to the door. "Can you tell me where he lives?"

"Oh, no Dear, I cannot. As I said, you will have to come back tomorrow."

Raine left dejected. Where on Earth had Miles gotten to? Had he followed Team Omni out of town to ensure that they actually left? Or had he been defeated and they had taken him captive knowing how vital he was to Sparrow Town and the PokéAcademy? Wherever he was Raine wasn't going to find him or get any answers today. So he walked outside into a blazing orange and red sunset and sauntered over to the Pokémon Centre where hopefully Constance and Mirella had better news.

"Zangoose is recovering," Constance said as soon as she saw Raine entering the Pokémon Centre. "Mirella is holding up, but she is already talking about going home as soon as he can be discharged. She knows what it means to put an end to Team Omni before they can cause any more harm, but she said that she doesn't have the will or the strength to fight them again. Not with what's already happened so far."

"What about the others?" Raine asked desperately. "Are they coming to help?"

"I had Nurse Joy from Jay Town track down Claire, Reuben and Spencer. They promised to get here as soon as possible, but we likely won't see them until morning. They're all far too old to make the journey any faster than that. I still have no idea where the others are."

"Damn!"

"What happened out there?" Constance asked hopefully. "Did Miles win?"

"I don't know. I couldn't find anyone when I went back. It was like they all just vanished. I even waited at the Academy for Miles to show up but he never returned."

"Hmmm. I suppose that's not the worst outcome as long as Team Omni is gone. Now we can recover and come up with a better plan. Splitting into three groups seems like it might have been a bad idea in hindsight."

"We couldn't have known any better," Raine said. "Team Omni shouldn't have been here trying to take over your Gym days after attacking Jay Town. But that does give me an idea of where we might find them next if they're looking to claim all of the Gyms. One of the cities to the East, West or South will hold our next clue."

"Miles can hopefully tell us which direction we need to go then. I'll see if he's home. You stay to support Mirella if she comes out. And keep an eye on the phone in case Fergus, Skye and Josie check in."

"Got it," Raine said and went to sit in the waiting area. The total exhaustion that had been building since Team Omni had first appeared in Jay Town was finally dragging him down. He lazed in the uncomfortable lounge and drifted off to sleep for the first time in what felt like forever.

"Miles wasn't home," Constance said, shaking Raine awake by the arm. "No one I spoke to has seen him since before the battle. They didn't even know that we were fighting Team Omni in the middle of the street! If you can believe that."

"He must be with them," Raine suggested. "Either chasing them or as a prisoner."

"He has to be following them." Constance flopped down on the couch beside Raine and almost bumped him off as the couch bounced under her small frame. "Why would they kidnap him?"

"I don't know. But nothing makes sense to me any more. I was having a wonderful dream that sadly feels unattainable now. The World was peaceful and welcoming and Professor Sakura was mentoring me as I finally became a Pokémon Professor."

"That sounds nice. I'm sorry that you can't have all of that now because of August and Team Omni."

"Excuse me," Nurse Joy said, standing patiently with her hands folded in front of her starched white apron. "You have a call."

Constance leapt off the couch and followed Nurse Joy to the terminal. By the time Raine dragged himself out of the lounge and approached she was already talking to both Skye and Josie.

"We just arrived in Junco Town," Josie was saying, pushing her glasses up her nose. "I'm sorry, but we won't be able to make it there in any sort of rush to be of assistance. If we agree that it's the best course of action we will continue on to speak to the Elite Four and the Champion."

All eyes fell on Raine and he waved awkwardly at the screen. "Keep going with that goal in mind," he said. "We can't put all of our eggs in one basket just because we ran into them here. If they're terrorising one town they probably have the might to do it to them all. We need to find out where their base is, not just where they're attacking."

"Sound planning," Josie acknowledged. "What about Claire and the others? Have you spoken to them yet?"

"Yes, they're on their way to lend a hand," Constance said. "Surprisingly though it was the Headmaster of the PokéAcademy who has been the most helpful." Constance went on to explain everything that had happened since their arrival in Sparrow Town.

"Poor Mirella," Skye said. "I hope that she'll be okay and that she won't give up. She was the first Gym Leader that I ever challenged. I remember how tough her Zangoose was even back then."

The mood was soured by the constant traumatic events that were befalling them. No one had anything light or uplifting to say and they all stood in silence for a while.

"We should all go and get some rest," Josie said. "It has been a tough few days for us all."

"I won't sleep until we hear what happened to Miles," Raine said and yawned, covering his face apologetically.

"You need to sleep, Raine," everyone scolded at once.

"Fine," Raine conceded, raising his hands up palms outwards. "I, uh, have to go and retrieve our bags, Constance. Can you get us a few rooms and I'll be back soon."

They wrapped up their call and Raine ran back to the outskirts of town where they had left their backpacks. He put one on his back, one on his front and carried the other back to the Pokémon Centre where they had several rooms for hire. Constance and Mirella were waiting by the counter talking amicably with Nurse Joy.

"We have a shared room, but you have one for yourself," Constance explained as Raine dumped their heavy packs on the ground with a huff.

Sleep would not come for Raine. So he sat cross legged on the bed with a blanket draped over his shoulders and the Pokédex grasped firmly in his hands. Buizel slept soundlessly in a curled up ball at the end of the bed and Teddiursa was safe inside of his Poké Ball.

For now they were all safe. Team Omni had been chased out of town and although Miles hadn't shown up again he was clearly a powerful trainer to have on their side. This time nobody had been killed and for that he was grateful. Although nothing could make up for the loss of Professor Sakura. His mentor and the best man he had ever known.

He allowed the Pokédex to scan and read out the detailed description of Buizel and then played around with the buttons. At first he had no idea what any of them did. Eventually he pieced together that the Pokédex not only recorded a description of every Pokémon, but it also contained basic average statistics for weight and height. As well as the Pokémon's type, habitat, evolutionary line and how many had been seen and recorded. Both Teddiursa and Buizel both had one direct evolution and could be found in many different regions around the World. It had never been his aim to evolve Buizel, but he could see the benefits of the increased strength in having a Floatzel and an Ursaring as well. Eventually he would have to make that decision when his Pokémon showed that they were ready to evolve.

Besides the descriptive element of the Pokédex Raine was sure that it had to have some other uses as well. Not that he could work them out. He needed to reach out to Professor Oak anyway to tell him what had occurred since they had received his parcel and deliver the bad news. At the same time he could inquire what else the Pokédex could do.

It must have been closer to the middle of the day in the Kanto Region so Raine dragged himself out of bed to take the opportunity to make the call. He left the blanket and his Pokémon behind and wandered out into the Pokémon Centre while wearing his pyjamas. The lights were dimmed and the desk was unmanned. Thankfully no one was there in need of urgent care. Raine sat down on the stool at the terminal and called the direct line to the Pokémon laboratory in Pallet Town.

"Hello," a gentle looking fifty year old man with grey hair and warm eyes greeted. He was wearing a red shirt beneath a white lab coat. "Who might you be?"

"Hi, Professor Oak," Raine said, stifling a yawn. "I don't know if you remember me, but my name is Raine and I am… or was rather, a researcher working with Professor Sakura."

"Of course, Raine, hello," Professor Oak said confidently, although it was a mystery if he actually remembered Raine at all. "How is Sakura doing? I hope he received my package. I haven't heard from him since our last conference."

"I don't know how to break this news softly." Raine took a long drawn out breath and felt tears welling up already. "Harn was murdered."

"No! What terrible news. Are you okay?"

"No I'm not, but I'm seeking justice. I will make his murderers pay."

"Oh, Raine, don't live for revenge," Professor Oak said, shaking his head and they fell into a silent lull. "Tell me what happened."

"A group of criminals calling themselves Team Omni burnt half of Jay Town to the ground and then when Professor Sakura confronted them they killed him in cold blood," Raine explained, fighting down the fury that boiled his blood. It didn't get any easier recalling what had happened. Not that he ever wanted to forget.

"Team Omni, you say? They sound just like Team Rocket from many years ago. Why must an organisation always rise up to terrorise our world? What purpose could they have for killing and destruction?"

"We faced them again here in Sparrow Town, but one of their members, August, was not forthcoming with their intentions except for trying to take over the Gyms. We're clearly missing some key knowledge."

"I will contact everyone that I can get a hold of. Here and in the other regions. Everyone must know and be on the lookout for this Team Omni."

"Thank you, Professor," Raine said, feeling tears stain his face. "I should have made this call days ago and alerted everyone what happened, but I couldn't bring myself to make it real."

"That's okay, Raine. I completely understand. But you don't have to do this alone."

"I recruited the Gym Leaders from Asture to track them down. We're doing everything we can to do so as quickly as possible. The Headmaster of our local PokéAcademy even joined the fight on our side. They won't be able to operate from the shadows for long."

"I should go and start alerting everyone," Professor Oak said.

"Wait, before you go. I need to talk about the Pokédex. Team Omni stole one from me. Please tell me that they can't use it for anything but identifying Pokémon. I have been unable to determine its other uses."

"It is only designed for that sole purpose. They won't be able to do any harm by having one in their possession. May I ask what you did with the other four?"

Raine pulled his out of his pocket and showed it to the camera. "I kept one for myself to see what it is capable of and the other three are in the hands of several of the Gym Leaders. I didn't see that this was the right time to give them to young trainers in order to send them out on their own Pokémon journey. Not while the World is so unsafe."

"I think that was a safe move," Professor Oak said, smiling with relief. "Even though a young Ash Ketchum defeated Team Rocket, I don't think that we can put such a heavy burden on children again. The adults of the World are more aware of the need to rise to defeat evil now. I will do my best to gather support and send you help. I'm sure that many of the World's best trainers, Gym leaders, Elite Four members and Champions will rush to your aid."

"The more help that we can get the better I think," Raine mused, yawning loudly. "Team Omni seems unusually strong."

"Go and rest now, Raine. It sounds like you've had an unusually hard time. I'm so sorry to hear about Harn's death, but together we'll make things right."

"Thank you and goodnight, Professor."

Raine disconnected the call, yet stayed sitting for several minutes crying quietly. He never got to say a final goodbye to Professor Sakura. What would he even have said if he could? Nothing would have been fitting enough to sum up a lifetime together. Perhaps just being by his side in his final moments would have to be enough.

Eventually he dragged himself to bed and collapsed out of pure exhaustion.