Chapter 30

Leaf was right to train before flying to Cinnabar. It was a wonder that the island was ever chosen as a settlement. The island, which wasn't particularly big to begin with, was mainly occupied by a dormant volcano, leaving only a small strip of land for the town. The town was barely even a town. Most of it was confined to two streets: one for Cinnabar's residents and another for the tourists who came for the hot springs located at the base of the volcano. Since it was summer, the tourist street, called Spring Boulevard, was empty. The motels and most of the restaurants and shops were closed for the season. The other street, simply called Main Street, had just enough to support Cinnabar's meager population. There was a grocery store, a police station, a hospital, a bank, an elementary and high school, a library, and a movie theater. All of them were tiny. The Pokemon Center and PokeMart, situated on a short street perpendicular to Main Street, were also the smallest Leaf had been to. Only the Cinnabar Gym, conveniently placed next to the center, was of standard size.

Leaf had thought Pallet Town was suffocating. Now, she felt lucky to have grown up there. There was space to move around and easy access to Viridian City. Cinnabar Island had a ferry that traveled to Pallet Town every week, but otherwise, the people here were trapped.

In Leaf's opinion, Cinnabar's saving grace was not the volcano––though it was sort of cool––but the beach. It wasn't much bigger than Pallet or Fuchsia's, but it was undoubtedly more beautiful. The soft, pale sand sparkled like gold. The ocean waves, bluer than the sky, crashed onto giant, smooth rocks at the edges of the beach. It was a soothing sound. Only her and Venusaur were appreciating it, though. While they basked under the sun, the rest of the team ran amok. Golduck and Dragonair were in the ocean, racing each other from one end of the beach to the other (Golduck was winning). Fearow and Haunter were chasing Ninetales, who had the star light-up toy in her jaws. Leaf understood their hyperness. The past week had been a restless one as they waited for the heat wave to pass. It was as bad as Leaf had expected. One step outside and she was instantly drenched in sweat. They were practically quarantined in the Pokemon Center. For this reason, Leaf decided they wouldn't challenge the Cinnabar Gym today. Their first real day on the island was going to be a fun one.

Ninetales barked when Fearow snatched the toy from her. Just as Fearow was about to take off, Haunter swooped in and grabbed the toy from her beak, only for Ninetales to leap in the air and reclaim it. The fox ran towards the rocks, her nine tails flowing behind her like streamers. Like Dragonair, Ninetales was graceful. But while Dragonair was modest about it, Ninetales liked to flaunt it. When everyone first met her, Ninetales made a show of fanning her tails just as a peacock would. It was funny to watch, but it also reminded Leaf how far her team had come. Everyone was fully or close to being fully evolved. All within…two months? How had it only been two months since starting her journey? It felt like two years to Leaf.

Golduck and Dragonair finished swimming. They went onto the sand, not bothering to shake the water off themselves. A cackle made their heads turn. Haunter was zooming towards them, toy in hand. It tossed the toy at Dragonair, who instinctively caught it with his tail. Leaf laughed as Ninetales and Fearow barreled into the poor dragon. While Dragonair struggled to escape, Golduck walked over to Leaf and Venusaur as if nothing had happened.

"You're not going to help your friend?" Leaf teased as Golduck plopped down beside her.

The duck waved a hand. He laid down on his back, hands behind his head, and closed his eyes.

Leaf glanced at Venusaur, who was watching Dragonair throw the toy back at Haunter. The ghost cackled and took off, Fearow and Ninetales hot on its trail. The frazzled Dragonair shook sand off himself. Venusaur blinked wistfully at the scene and Leaf couldn't help but feel bad for him. There had been a tradeoff when Ivysaur evolved: greater strength and size for lower speed and agility. He wouldn't be able to keep up with everyone, even if he wanted to.

"Hey, wanna play a game?" Leaf asked. When Venusaur cocked his head, Leaf stood and called out, "Gather around, everyone!"

Golduck opened his eyes and sat up. Dragonair, Haunter, Fearow, and Ninetales joined them. Haunter still had the toy in its hands. Fearow made one last attempt to grab it, but the ghost held the toy away from her reach.

"I have a game for all of us to play," Leaf said. She gestured at Venusaur. "Go to the middle of the beach. Everyone else, stand in a circle around him."

Venusaur stood and walked to the center, each step leaving a deep print in the sand. Once everyone circled him, Leaf explained, "Venusaur is going to try to tag all of you with his eyes closed. Anyone who gets touched is out for the round. If he gets all of you, he wins. If he doesn't, you guys win. Venusaur, show me how far your vines go in every direction."

Venusaur stretched one vine forward and another back. He then stretched them to the side. Using a shell she just picked up, Leaf drew a circle with a diameter roughly equal to his vine length around everyone.

"Everyone must stay within this circle. If you step out, you're out of the round. Fearow and Haunter, don't fly too far up. Venusaur, if I see you open your eyes, you automatically lose. Does that sound good? "

Everyone made sounds of excitement. Leaf smiled. "OK, then. I'll be the referee. We can start with three minutes. Venusaur, let us know when you're ready."

Venusaur flashed Leaf a grateful look. He shut his eyes and everyone tensed, prepared to run away from his vines. Venusaur rumbled.


One of the few restaurants that was still open was a cheap diner called Glen's. Everything about it was old. The checkered tiles, the jukebox in the corner that didn't work, the cracks in the wall. Glen's was one of those places you ate at when it was late and everything else had closed.

It was the best meal of Leaf's journey. She never knew a cheeseburger could be so juicy and flavorful––it had practically melted in her mouth––and the fries had the perfect amount of salt. Her Pokemon were also very satisfied with their food. Both Fearow and Ninetales got a steak, though Ninetales was more ladylike about eating it. Golduck and Dragonair ate fish and chips. Venusaur, who couldn't fit inside Glen's, ate a large garden salad outside, peeking through the window every now and then.

Haunter hovered over Leaf's shoulder. The ghost was incapable of eating and thus was the only one Leaf didn't order for. Even though Haunter had no appetite, Leaf always felt bad whenever they all ate together.

Leaf smiled at it. "You're a clever ghost. You gave Venusaur a hard time today."

Her team loved the game she'd made up. Venusaur's laughs, everyone's startled expressions and squeals whenever they were touched by Venusaur's vines, warmed Leaf's heart. Her starter won half the rounds. The ones he lost were basically all because of Haunter. Venusaur's strategy had been, instead of flailing his vines all over the place, to listen carefully for movements. Unsurprisingly, Haunter was the best at being silent, drifting through the arena like the ghost it was. At one point, it hovered where Venusaur least expected someone to go: right above his head. It took Venusaur a few rounds to figure that trick out.

Haunter cackled and, turning to Venusaur, stuck its tongue out. Venusaur rolled his eyes.

Once everyone finished their meals, Leaf paid, returned the five Pokemon with her, and stepped out of Glen's. She pet Venusaur's head before returning him as well. It was still bright outside, though the sun was going to set soon. She'll walk for a bit and then head for the Pokemon Center.

Spring Boulevard was so dead right now. The other restaurants that were open had just closed for the day. Not a single person walked by. If not for Main Street, Leaf would think an apocalypse had happened. She tried to picture how Spring Boulevard looked during peak tourist season. It was so packed with tourists in swimsuits, their skin red from the hot springs, that everyone was touching someone and it took forever to move from one place to another. The motels and restaurants were open 24/7, the employees frantically running around to ensure every tourist was satisfied with their experience. Leaf decided she preferred Spring Boulevard's current state to that chaos.

She strolled onto Main Street, passing a middle-aged couple who gave her a friendly wave. Cinnabar Island went to bed early. The bank, library, and grocery store were already closed. The movie theater was nearing its closing time. Cinnabar's slogan was The Fiery Town of Burning Desire. Out of all city and town slogans, Cinnabar's felt the least accurate.

On her right was Ash Street, where the Pokemon Center and Cinnabar Gym was. It was still surreal to Leaf how close she was to completing the Gym circuit. Tomorrow, she planned on challenging the Cinnabar Gym Leader. Hopefully not too long afterwards, she'll face whoever the final Gym Leader was.

She arrived at the more residential area. Compact houses pressed closely together. There were barely any front or backyards, which would've scandalized many of Leaf's neighbors who took great pride in their gardens and freshly mowed lawns. Soon, she reached an intersection. A white rounded building diagonal to her left caught Leaf's eye. It stood out among the houses that all resembled each other. When Leaf approached it, she saw a sign that read Cinnabar Lab. The blue doors required a key card to open them.

Leaf peered further down the street and froze. At the very end was another building that was starkly different from the others. It was much taller and wider, so much so that it was the only house that had its own land. The land isolated the mansion from the neighborhood; probably the right choice because it really didn't belong on Cinnabar Island. Cinnabar's architecture was more contemporary, but this mansion was more gothic with its brick facades, mix of rectangular and elliptical windows, and was that a tower?

Or, more accurately, the remnants of a tower. The top part was missing and there was a gaping hole in the side. The rest of the mansion wasn't in a better state. The bricks were charred and all the windows had been shattered.

Leaf didn't need an explanation. She knew what she was looking at. The Pokemon Mansion, called so because it was the home of the famous Pokemon researcher, Isaac Schroeder. His research was revolutionary. He was the one who, as a graduate student, came up with all the different Pokemon typings. Afterwards, he dedicated himself to studying evolution. Not evolution, as in, when Ivysaur transformed into Venusaur. Isaac Schroeder wanted to know where exactly Pokemon came from, what caused some creatures to have mystical powers and others not to.

Unfortunately, he never found the answer. Because seven years ago, a group of Johto extremists burned down the Pokemon Mansion, killing Schroeder and the majority of his team. Leaf never understood why Schroeder was specifically targeted. No one really did, especially Professor Oak, who was devastated to learn about the death of the man he'd admired the most.

It was Schroeder's death that triggered the war. An enraged President Ken had declared the attack to have been an attack on Kanto as a whole and sent the army––and Blue's parents––into Johto. The Pokemon Mansion was never taken down in order to honor Schroeder's legacy.

Staring at the mansion, Leaf wondered if leaving it up was the correct decision. Maybe in the distant future, it would be regarded as a critical piece of history. It might even become a popular tourist attraction. But right now, it felt like a painful memory that no one wanted to remember. Leaf couldn't imagine what it must be like for Cinnabar's residents to walk by the Pokemon Mansion, or even see it from their window, everyday. They had seen when the mansion was consumed in flames, had heard the screams of Schroeder and his team.

Throughout her journey––hell, even her childhood––Leaf would be drawn to places she probably shouldn't be drawn to. Maybe it was her intuition telling her something, or maybe it was simply her curiosity getting the better of her. Whatever it was, it made Leaf walk down the street, onto the cobblestone path that bifurcated the front yard and led to the Pokemon Mansion's door.

The door screeched when Leaf opened it. She was surprised it hadn't been sealed shut. President Ken must've figured that no one would want to enter a house plagued by violence and tragedy. But she was willing to bet money that the bored teenagers of Cinnabar would sneak in here to drink or smoke. It wouldn't be too dangerous to do so. There was some rubble lying around, the maroon carpet and intricately carved wooden furniture were charred, and there were a few holes in the walls, but the Pokemon Mansion wasn't about to collapse.

Leaf walked up the grand staircase, wincing as it groaned under each step. She turned into a hallway. Most of the doors were closed and Leaf decided to leave them that way. One door was open; it was a bedroom. It looked to have once had emerald walls. Like the furniture downstairs, the dresser and queen-size canopy bed were of gothic style. Schroeder was old, but his house made Leaf feel she'd time traveled to the 1800s.

The mansion had a third floor. Again, she only checked out one room. It was a library that was double the size of Leaf's bedroom and without a doubt had been very lovely before the fire. Sunlight spilled in so generously from the windows that not a single corner was dark. The walls were lined with mahogany bookshelves that had a simple yet elegant design. At the center were velvet couches and a coffee table with a few books stacked on top. The books were black and unreadable.

Leaf's heart clenched. Even though the Pokemon Mansion looked like it was from the distant past, someone had lived and died here not too long ago. In fact, several people had died, in such a cruel manner that a war was born from it. She was wrong to come here. She needed to leave now.

Leaf rushed out of the library, down the stairs to the second floor and then the grand staircase, ignoring the screams of the wooden boards. It was the moment her feet touched the first floor when the wall nearby slid open, rumbling and screeching, and a man stepped out.

Leaf and the man were too stunned to react at first. The man was dressed in all black. Even his face was covered by a black ski mask. He carried a backpack.

"What's a young girl like you doing here?" He finally asked. Leaf could tell he was doing his best to remain calm. "Shouldn't you be doing your homework?"

Maybe it was because of their location, but despite her previous run-ins with shady figures, Leaf felt cold. "Who are you?"

"I'm an investigator. You need to leave so I can finish my job in peace. Don't tell anyone you saw me. My work is highly confidential."

This man didn't want to hurt her. It'd be so easy to look the other way. Leaf couldn't do that. "I don't believe you. What's in the backpack?"

"Look, kid––"

Leaf sent out Ninetales. There wasn't a specific reason why Leaf chose her; it just felt right. Sensing a confrontation, Ninetales glared at the man and let out a low growl.

The man's eyes darkened. "So this is how it's going to be. Fine, then. You're going to regret it."

He detached the single PokeBall from his waist and tossed it. When the light faded, Ninetales was looking at her reflection. The fox's surprise made her body relax slightly.

"Ninetales, use Quick Attack!" The man ordered.

Ninetales yelped when the other Ninetales tackled into her in the blink of an eye. The fox landed right by Leaf's feet. Stepping away, Leaf said, "Quick Attack!"

It was a move Ninetales almost never used, since Flamethrower was her strongest. But against another fire-type, Flamethrower wasn't going to do much. Ninetales rammed into her doppelganger, who swiftly recovered and retaliated. At least, that's how it looked to Leaf. The two foxes moved too quickly. One moment, the other Ninetales was yelping. The next, Ninetales was the one in pain. They seemed to be teleporting everywhere, too. Onto the stairs, onto the center of the floor, by Leaf's side, by the man's side, against the wall, against the banister. Leaf could barely keep up.

Ninetales appeared in front of Leaf, on all fours. The other Ninetales was in front of her trainer as well. They snarled at each other, bodies shaking, waiting for their opponent's next move. Leaf could hear Ninetales' breathing, rhythmic and heavy. The two foxes had stopped because they needed a break. The battle was going to end soon.

"Quick Attack!"

"The stairs!"

Leaf had blurted out the words, having no time to give clearer directions. Fortunately, Ninetales understood. She leaped onto the stairs, the other Ninetales hitting the tip of her tails.

"Confuse Ray!"

As the other Ninetales turned to use Quick Attack again, red eyes met red eyes. A ray of light shone from Ninetales' eyes and the doppelganger jerked away, whimpering.

"Quick Attack!" The man yelled desperately.

His Ninetales didn't obey. It staggered about, eyes darting around, confused by its surroundings. Its tails must've appeared in its line of vision, because it curled and tried to bite them.

"You know what to do, Ninetales," Leaf said.

Ninetales shot forward. With a yelp, the other Ninetales rolled several feet away.

The man acted fast. The moment it was clear that his Ninetales wasn't going to get up, he returned it and began to run. But Ninetales was faster. She dived in front of him. The man backed away from the snarling fox, hands raised.

Leaf crossed her arms and said in her most authoritative voice, "You're going to show me what's in the backpack."

The man muttered something before unzipping his backpack and flipping it. An assortment of tools clanged onto the floor: lockpicks, screwdrivers, a flashlight, a crowbar.

"You're a burglar," Leaf realized out loud.

"I'm not a burglar!" The man denied. "I'm an…archaeologist. I came here to see if there was anything of value. To study. But there's nothing!"

Leaf glanced at the opened wall. There was a flight of stairs going down. It reminded Leaf of Team Rocket's hideout.

"Ninetales, stay here and don't let the man go."

Leaf walked down the stairs. There was enough natural light from the first floor that she could see each step. When she reached the bottom, she nearly gasped.

Out of all areas of the Pokemon Mansion, this basement was by far in the worst condition. There was so much rubble that it would be difficult, even dangerous, to walk around. The only things that were somewhat recognizable were a few badly burned cabinets, and what seemed to have once been two tall glass tubes connected to each other by wires. Their metal bases and tops were intact, but the wires had snapped and most of the glass was gone, scattered on the floor in pieces. The glass that was still attached to the metal had jagged edges.

She was standing in a lab. What used to be a lab. Leaf didn't know the Pokemon Mansion had one. She thought Schroeder had just worked in the Cinnabar Lab. Considering how this lab was hidden behind a wall, Leaf figured that Schroeder conducting research in his own home wasn't meant to be common knowledge. But why? What could he have possibly been researching that he needed such intense privacy? Was that why the Johto extremists attacked?

Leaf examined the lab, searching for clues. Most of the wreckage was metal scraps. The rest, she couldn't tell. Research equipment, I guess. She crouched down and carefully picked apart the rubble right in front of her. Again, nothing was sticking out to her.

Leaf stopped. What was she doing? Of course she wasn't going to find anything. The attack had been thoroughly investigated. If anything significant had happened in this lab, everyone would know. Hell, there'd been survivors, including the Cinnabar Gym Leader, Doctor Blaine Anderson. They certainly would've explained everything.

With a sigh, Leaf rose. She was about to turn back when a flash of pale brown among the black and gray caught her eye. Crouching down once more, Leaf saw a corner of paper sticking out underneath a scrap. Gently, she moved the scrap aside and saw a journal. With much of the cover and spine gone, the pages were barely held together. Leaf lifted the journal up, not bothering to pick up the many pages that fell off. She could tell by how charred they were that she wouldn't be able to read them. In fact, she could barely read the pages that were in her hands. She could only make out snippets.

July 5…e discovered new Pokemo…Mew…Feb 6…We obtained a new Pokemon from Me…Mewtwo…Sep 1…Mewtwo…too powerful…cannot control…

A chill ran down Leaf's spine. She placed the journal back down. A part of her wanted to keep it, but she was afraid it would disintegrate in her satchel. Feeling numb all of a sudden, Leaf walked up the stairs.

Ninetales was still closely guarding the burglar, who'd sat down. The burglar chuckled nervously when he noticed Leaf. "Nothing down there, right?"

"How'd you find the basement?"

"Oh, it was basically an accident." The burglar stood and faced a burnt painting on the wall. Leaf could see the intricate frame had once been golden and the painting had been a portrait of white-haired, bearded man: Schroeder. The burglar took the painting off, revealing a keyhole.

"I saw it when I was trying to figure out if the painting was salvageable. I picked the lock and the wall just opened. There's also a switch inside."

To demonstrate, the burglar stuck his hand in the opening and touched the side. With a rumble, the wall began to close. The burglar gave Leaf an expectant look.

"I'm still turning you in," Leaf said.

"Oh, come on! I'm sure there's something I can provide––" the burglar stopped when Ninetales growled at him.

Leaf and Ninetales brought the burglar to the police station. Unsurprisingly, the officer lectured her for entering the Pokemon Mansion in the first place, but thanked her for bravely apprehending a criminal. After it was over, she returned Ninetales and made her way to the Pokemon Center. By then, the sun had set and was replaced by a full moon. Cinnabar Island didn't have many street lights, so it was a mostly dark walk. All Leaf could hear was the sound of chirping bugs. When she arrived at the Pokemon Center, she headed straight to bed.

She woke the next morning groggy and with her blanket on the floor. She must've tossed and turned too much. Leaf shut her eyes and tried to remember if she'd dreamed. The only thing she could recall was a pair of inhuman eyes blinking through flames.


And that's chapter 30! I recently realized that it's been a little over a year since I've started this fic, which is crazy to think about. It's also the longest fic I've written so far.

Some more background info on the Kanto-Johto war in this chap. And a little bit of mystery, tho I'm sure those of you who've played FRLG have an idea what happened.

As always, thanks for reading and I appreciate all reviews!