The weather was cool and sunny the next day. Lexi put Serafine's pokéball back on her belt after giving it a good polish and took off Pero's. Serafine was walking alongside her, but her movement slower and more cautious today. She held her head low and only lifted it up to look at Aiden, who was walking a few feet in front of them. Lexi looked as well. They hadn't said a word to each other when they got up, but Aiden had waited for her to be done packing before walking away. She wasn't sure what he wanted so she followed him from a distance, paying close attention to his body language.
Lexi put her pokéball back on her belt and took her backpack off to look at the egg she put in there this morning. It was still sitting there, save and sound. Lexi zipped it back up and carefully put it back on. This was far more comfortable than hauling it around in her arms the whole day.
Suddenly Serafine's head shot up. She stood completely still, ears flicking back and forth. She let out a snort followed by a high pitched neigh and a jump to the side. Aiden turned around and stared up into the sky, eyes widening. Lexi looked as well and saw a brown haze rising up from the path and moving into the sky.
''What is that?'' she could hear Aiden yell.
''It's like some sort of sandstorm. But where does it come from?''
The dark cloud was closing in so Lexi decided to join her ponyta, who was already hiding between the trees. Behind her she could hear something fall. It was Aiden, who had tripped in his haste to get away. Lexi ran back to him as the cloud rose above them.
'Serafine, please, do something'' Lexi panted. Serafine swished her tail and reluctantly got out of her hiding spot. She shot two embers towards the threating, dark haze which had almost reached them. Lexi pulled Aiden up and wanted to run to the trees but was pushed down by Aiden just in time. Bright colored orbs flew over them, and landed on the ground with a bang.
''Sandstorms don't attack?'' Aiden took a pokéball out of his bag with a surprised but confident motion and stared at the cloud. He stretched his arm and pointed the pokéball up. ''Pidgey use Gust!''
Pidgey jumped out of the pokéball and moved his small wings furiously back and forth. The cloud of sand got blown apart, revealing a slightly windswept dodrio with a girl on its back. The girl jumped off when she got to Lexi and Aiden and glared at them.
''What do you think you're doing? First you try to burn me to a crisp and then you blow me away. Just leave me alone!''
Lexi just looked at the girl in shock, but Aiden recovered quick. ''I could say the same to you, do you know how dangerous it is to ride across a path at such a high speed? If our ponyta hadn't warned us we would have been run over. And look at the cloud of sand behind you, if you let your dodrio run a little slower you wouldn't damage the path so much.''
The girl looked surprised by Aiden's response, but took another step forward and put her hands on her hips.
''Those paths will fix themselves, I'm in a hurry. You can't expect me to calmy stroll through the woods. And I totally saw you two by the way,'' she quickly added. The girl got ready to jump back onto her pokémon, but then her eyes landed on Aiden's badge. ''Hm, that is the Crocuta badge right?''
Aiden blinked surprised and looked down before nodding.
''Good, I have a young eevee who's opponents can't be too strong yet. But I don't have much time so let's be quick about this.'' She took a black with yellow ball and out came a little brown eevee. It wore a red band decorated with small flames and had a blank expression, making it impossible to know what it was thinking. It sat down and stared right at them without making a single sound.
''But I don't know if I want to fight you.''
''It's a rule. If two trainers' eyes meet, they have to battle.''
Aiden frowned but opened his backpack. Hoothoot exited his ball, landed on a nearby rock and observed the eevee.
''I'll be the referee.'' Lexi stood between them, but the girl shook her head.
''Always better no referee than a bad one.''
Lexi looked up hurt. She turned around and sat down on big rock with her arms crossed.
''Okay Eevee, let's start with a Quick Attack.'' Before she was even done talking Eevee had reached Hoothoot. It had a hazy glow around it and let out a roar-like cry, as it threw itself against its opponent. As Hoothoot used his tiny wings to push himself back up, Eevee ran back to its trainer, waiting for the next command.
Hoothoot was breathing heavily, his feathers messy and his cream colored belly covered with brown smudges. Aiden ordered Hypnosis and Hoothoot, standing on both legs for maximum balance, released red, see-through circles from his glowing eyes. Eevee was quick and dodged the first two, but the third hit its target and Eevee sank down on the path, asleep.
''Okay!'' exclaimed Aiden, ''Now it's our turn, use Peck.'' Hoothoot ran towards the sleeping Eevee with short, unsure steps and tried to deal as much damage as he could. Lexi looked at the girl, she seemed annoyed but not worried. Hoothoot flew up quickly when Eevee started moving. It shook its head and placed its legs firmly under it, ready to go again.
''This has taken more time than I wanted. Hurry up and finish it with another Quick Attack.'' the girl said, waving her hand.
''Reflect'' Aiden yelled. Just in time, Hoothoot flapped his wings and a rainbow colored, flat circle appeared before him. Eevee hit the circle full force, launching Hoothoot backwards, but the bird stayed standing. The circle started to fade but Lexi could still see a weird waterlike wrinkle in front of him.
''Again!''
Hoothoot looked up at the approaching eevee, standing still, too tired to move. Eevee hit right though the protective layer and knocked out Hoothoot.
Aiden knelt before his pokémon and returned him to his pokeball.
''Okay, thanks for the fight but now I really need to get on.'' And with that the girl jumped back on the dodrio and continued down the path, throwing up some more sand in the progress. Lexi stood up and walked to Aiden who stared sadly at his pokéball.
''Come, we'll collect some Oran berries. I think I saw an orange bush a little while back.''
A half hour later they were back on the path to Pandam. Hoothoot looked a lot better but was still quite tired so Serafine allowed him to ride on her back.
''I'm sorry,'' said Aiden after a moment of silence, ''I shouldn't have whined about the food.''
''It's fine, I shouldn't have shouted. Though I still don't understand why you ran across that bridge.''
''Well...'' Aiden hesitated, ''The thing is, I actually found it pretty scary going over that bridge. And mom always told me: If you find something scary, just do it fast, it'll be over quicker.'' Aiden scratched his head and smiled. ''But looking back this probably wasn't the smartest idea.''
''I just remember that I never gave you my first aid kit. Are your legs okay?''
''Yeah, they're fine, and don't worry I've got my own.''
Lexi whistled to Serafine who had gotten a bit too far ahead and turned back to Aiden. ''Since when can Hoothoot use Reflect?''
''I forgot you weren't there. He learned it during the fight with Jasper, it was one of the reasons I won the badge. Though it didn't help much with this fight.''
Lexi frowned. ''What a horrible kid. Demanding a fight and not showing any respect. Who does she think she is?''
''I don't know,'' Aiden shrugged, ''but let's forget about her. You know, it is still a long way to Pandam. Do you wanna…RACE!'' As soon as he said it Aiden rushed forwards, with Lexi laughing behind him.
They ran for a short while before both were out of breath. Following the dodrio footprints on the ground, they passed many more trees and an old house. Aiden also noticed a group of parasect coming towards them on the other side of the path, so they decided to avoid the group by walking through the trees, which resulted in them losing the way for about an hour.
At night they camped near a field of flowers. Lexi put up the tents while Aiden searched for a place to finally let out Krabby. He came back completely drenched but laughing and with Krabby next to him. The next morning was cold and cloudy, but no rain. Serafine walked between the trainers as they talked with each other. The sun had almost reached its highest point when they arrived at a grassland. Far in the distance Lexi could see the row of hills they were traveling to.
A country road guided them past many meadows, crop fields, and eventually farms. The smell of hay and the swishing sound of the windmills made Lexi think of home.
On the east part of the hill, visible through the many farmhouses and people, stood red building with a sloping roof.
''That's probably the Pokémon Center,'' Aiden said, stepping aside quickly to let a straw-filled cart pass. ''Let's go inside first, after we can explore the town a little. I can't wait to eat a real meal again!'' Outside the Pokémon Center two people in white lab coats were having a heated discussion. Lexi tried to walk around them but Aiden looked curious and walked straight ahead.
''I can't wait any longer. I have an appointment with Vera at six. And I still need to bring this briefcase to Palm.'' The man straightened his red tie and looked at the farm Lexi had just passed.
The man caught sight of Aiden and walked over to him smiling. ''Hello boy, do you want to help me?'' the man pointed to the briefcase and took his wallet out of his pocket, ''If you deliver this briefcase for me, I'll give you 80 pokédollars. Sounds good right? It needs to go to Professor Palm, my colleague will tell you were to find him.'' The man nodded goodbye and then walked away with great strides. Lexi had joined Aiden, and looked at the big black briefcase on the ground.
Aiden picked it up and walked to the woman, stretching his hand. ''Hello ma'am, my name is Aiden Krean. Could you tell us where we need to bring the briefcase?''
The lady smiled and shook his hand, ''Aren't you polite. My name is Professor Moss, and you are?'' she looked at Lexi while brushing a blonde curl out of her eyes.
''My name is Lexi.''
''Well, it's nice to meet you both. The briefcase needs to go to a colleague of us, but I actually don't really know where he is either. Last time I saw him he said that he wanted to try the food here, but that was quite a while ago. He could have gone to the hotel already, or to the Gym to talk with Mr. Zart.''
''We wanted to go eat anyway, so we can check there first. But, uhm, where are all those things exactly? I've only seen farms.''
''It's your first time here, isn't it?'' When both trainers nodded the woman looked at her watch and sighed, before walking away and motioning them to follow. ''I guess I can show you the way, but then I need to go back to the Pokémon Center because I was supposed to meet another colleague. He's late.''
The east side of the hill was filled with entryways, all with a different purpose. They first passed a very wide one, where Lexi could see people push a big cart down some tracks. The cart was used to bring food and other essentials to the town. She could see crates filled with apples, many boxes with red crosses on them and shampoo bottles which were the same brand as she used back home.
They continued down many more, some opened right into souvenir shops or were just big enough for an ambulance to go through, but none of them seemed to be the one they were going to use, as Prof. Moss kept walking.
'There are so many professors in Pandam. You, that black haired man, the one you're waiting for and the one who needs the briefcase…'' Lexi remarked.
''Yes, you're right,'' the woman laughed, ''We have a meeting here this week. But that is actually a preparation for a big meeting that's going to be held in Branta in a few months. There lives a professor who does not only give out starter Pokémon, but actually breeds some of them as well!''
They walked past the farms and Prof. Moss explained things about the town, glancing back every few seconds. ''Pandam is different from other towns you've probably seen. It's like a network of tunnels, created by dozens of machamp over the course of more than a year. Look, now you can see the landmark they put next to the entrance.'' she pointed to a big tower Lexi hadn't noticed before. It was black rectangular tower which was slightly higher than the neighbouring farms.
''A lot of people have trouble finding the entrance because there are so many others. So, they built the tower to help guide visitors to it. I think it stands out nicely.''
The woman jumped when she felt a hand tap her shoulder, and almost bumped into Lexi.
''Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't hit you, did I?'' she apologized and then quicky spun around to the man behind her and frowned as he smiled cheekily.
''Fred! You know I hate that.''
''But I like seeing you jump, just like a little buneary.'' The man did a little jump himself and laughed.
''Aha, well you're way too late! Come on, there is lots to do.'' Prof. Moss grabbed the man's arm and pulled him towards the Pokémon Center. ''The man you are looking for is called David Palm. Brown hair, moustache, always wears pants that are way too short. Good luck!''
Aiden looked from the Pokémon Center to the tower. ''I'm actually kind of curious. Why don't we look around a little and go to the Pokémon Center after?'' Lexi and Aiden walked to the tower and gasped when they saw the huge opening. The entrance was decorated with multiple black pillars which supported the filthy white ceiling and walls.
'You could fit four Snorlax through that'' Lexi exclaimed. ''Why would they ever need so much space?'' They went in and looked at the rugged walls that were now surrounding them. Aiden ran his hands across one. ''It feels smooth and raw at the same time, and cold.''
Aiden and Lexi walked below the bright lights that hung from the ceiling, following them down the descending road. They reached the end of the tunnel and stepped into a big hall. The walls were slightly lighter in color, but everything had the same rugged texture, like it had just been carved out. The ceiling was filled with several large lights and the floor had multiple black lines across it. At the right side Lexi could recognize a restaurant and a little closer a sign saying ''Hotel'', but there were only a handful of people walking around. The left side however was very busy, dozens of people walking in and out of tunnels with names above them.
''Where do you think those tunnels go to?'' Lexi asked.
''Don't know, maybe an office or some other kind of work?'' Aiden looked down at the lines on the floor and followed one that led to the restaurant. ''Let's go eat, we can ask the waiter if he knows that Palm guy.''
They ordered warm meals and asked around but no one could tell them anything useful. Lexi had taken the pokémon to the Pokémon Center as Aiden continued searching, but the man was nowhere to be found. Lexi handed the pokéballs back to Aiden ''Were you able to get any leads?''
'''Nothing. I asked everyone at the restaurant and some people that walked in front of it, but I didn't want to go too far away. Didn't want to get lost without you.''
''But getting lost with me is okay?'' Lexi grinned and they linked arms. ''Well, let's go then!''
''Okay, so we already know the restaurant is here and the hotel is to the right, near the entrance. But we still don't know where the other tunnels lead to.''
''Oh! I asked Nurse Joy about that. Apparently they're like streets, with the street names above them. So pretty much everyone who walks around there lives in Pandam. But that wide tunnel in the corner goes to the shops, so I think that's the best place to continue.''
Aiden walked to the tunnel and started studying the walls, which were decorated with engravings. The left side was filled with engravings of individual Pokémon which were subtle and shallow. The decorations on the right side were detailed and small, showing a whole scene of playing Pokémon in fields, forests and lakes. These engravings were deeper, making the figures stand out more. Lexi moved her finger over it. ''Look at all that detail.''
''Look! There is a pidgey and a hoothoot.'' Aiden had put on his glasses and searched the rest of the engravings to see if he could find a krabby, while Lexi, after not finding any ponyta or geodude, was tapping with her foot on the ground waiting for Aiden to finish. The further they walked into the tunnel the more crowded it got. Lexi started to feel a bit trapped. Her heartbeat quickened when she thought about how far beneath the ground she was.
After a while they came across a second tunnel, the lines that were on the ground split off and disappeared around a corner. There were many doors, alternating black and white, but as Lexi could hear violin music coming from one that had been left open, she was sure it wasn't one of the shops and they kept walking.
The shops had the same black and white theme as the rest of the town, but because of the many products they were selling it seemed far more colorful. As they asked around for Prof. Palm, Lexi looked around the shops to see what they were selling. They had the same balls, potions, heals and repels as other shops. But they also had some items and clothing specially made. Black and white shirts, towels, mugs, keychains, hats and postcards all with the same symbol.
''What do you think it's supposed to be?'' Aiden tilted his head. ''It looks familiar.''
''Oh, I know! I can't remember the name but it looks like the ears and tail of a pokémon grouped together. Only they made the rings white instead of yellow.''
Aiden grabbed a hat to get a closer look at the symbol and Lexi walked to the counter. ''Excuse me, but have you seen a man walking around here today? He has brown hair and a moustache and a …'' Lexi looked around, ''Aiden, what was the third thing again?''
The answer came from behind a tower of books ''Short pants!''
''Oh yeah, and he's a professor.''
''A professor, well, I think I heard someone talk about a professor, but I'm not sure what they looked like.'' The woman waved to a girl on the other side of the shop. ''Helen, can you come here for a second?''
The girl put down the shirts she had been organizing and quickly walked their way. ''Yes?''
''These kids are looking for a professor, weren't you the one that talked to someone about professors today, or was that Kimberly?''
'''No, that was me. What do you want to know?''
''Was it about man with brown hair, a moustache, and short pants'' Aiden summed up as he joined them.
''Not about him, it was him. He came for a new pants as his ripped. He's probably at the Gym, cause he wanted one with the logo on his butt to surprise James.''
The sound of books falling on the ground disrupted their conversation and the girl quickly ran off to help the woman standing next to the pile of books. Lexi noticed the woman held a cane in her hand, but she didn't look older than 30.
''Why would she have that cane?'' Lexi whispered to Aiden.
''Well, it's because she's blind sweetie.''
Lexi turned around startled, her face red when she looked at the lady behind the counter.
''It's fine, no need to get embarrassed. There are many people with a visual impairment that live here, almost one third. And with most, you wouldn't know.'' The lady pointed to her own eyes, ''Including me, I have spots in my vision, but if you look at me you wouldn't think there's anything different, would you?''
Both of them shook their heads. ''But why are there so many blind people that live here?''
''Well, not all of them are completely blind, most of them see something, if only a little bit. But it all started a long time ago. The town already had the black and white theme and that sharp contrast was a great help for those with low vision. So, the town started to use the colors even more, and soon a lot of the town was changed to better accommodate the now large group of people with a visual impairment. Did you not notice the black lines on the floor? These are guide lines, people with low vision can see them clearly on the white ground and follow them, and people that can't see them can feel the texture change and use them that way. Instead of stairs there are slopes, were there are doors they will open automatically and many machines work with voice control.''
The woman looked at a man who had been standing patiently with a shirt in his hand and smiled. ''Good afternoon sir, would you like to purchase that?''
Lexi and Aiden quickly thanked the woman for her help, as they didn't want to bother her any longer. After learning that the Gym was outside on the northside of the hill, Lexi and Aiden went back to the tunnels and tried to retrace their steps. This time Lexi noticed the people walking on the lines and looking down at the floor to follow them. Some holding a cane or wearing sunglasses, but most of them did not.
When Lexi stepped out of the tunnel, she was much more aware of the warmth of the air and only now realised how much colder it had been below the ground. The sun had almost set, only the very top was still visible above the tall trees. They walked to the northside of the hill, passing many farms who were readying themselves for the night. Pokémon were brought inside, the courtyard's got swept and lanterns were lit.
''Look! I think that's the Gym, it has the same symbol as the things in the shop.'' Aiden pointed. The building was small, barely bigger than a shed, but stylish. Above it was a big sign decorated with the same ears and tail symbol.
''I still don't know what it is'' Lexi frowned as she thought about it. Suddenly she jumped. ''Is there something on me?'' she said spinning around.
''No?'' Aiden chuckled, ''What are you doing?''
''I swear I felt something'' Lexi took of her backpack to examine it, but almost dropped the bag when it wiggled a bit. ''It's the egg!'' Lexi quickly took the egg out.
''Is it hatching?'' Aiden came closer and both looked at the egg expectantly. But nothing happened, the egg stayed as it was.
''Guess it's not ready to hatch yet, but the movement means it's getting close.'' Aiden assured.
As Lexi tried to put the egg back, she heard a shriek and a little girl ran up to them screaming: ''Is that a real pokémon egg? Can I look at it? I've never seen one up close before.''
''Well…'' Lexi looked at Aiden, ''If your very careful, then I guess it's okay.'' The girl grinned and slowly touched the egg with her finger.
''Do you know what's inside?'' Lexi shook her head and the girl jumped with joy, ''Ohh! That so exciting! Maybe it's a riolu! Or a chatot or chichou or surkit!''
As the girl continued naming possibilities, Lexi saw two men coming out of the small building. One of them had to be Prof. Palm, as his behind was decorated with the logo above the door. Lexi looked at the other man. His skin looked pale, though not paler than many of the other people Lexi had seen that day, his short brown hair was styled, and he wore a black shirt with yellow rings around the arms. He also wore white pants and sunglasses, probably to stay with the color scheme.
Lexi wanting to go to them, but the girl was still talking and Lexi didn't know how to stop her.
''Or maybe an omanyte or a whishcash!''
The men started walking away. Lexi could no longer wait and quickly placed her egg back into her bag.
''Yep, could be any of those. It was really nice to meet you, but now we have to go. So, have a nice day.'' And with that Lexi pulled Aiden towards the men.
''Excuse me, we have something for you!'' Aiden waved with the briefcase. Both men turned around and waited. Aiden reached them first. ''We need to deliver this briefcase to Professor Palm, that's you right?'' The man nodded and took the briefcase from him.
''These must be the papers on psyduck anatomy. Thank you.'' Prof. Palm shook Aiden's hand and then turned to the man next to him. ''Well James, I guess I see you tomorrow. Don't forget, it now starts an hour earlier.''
''Don't worry, I won't.'' James responded. He looked at Lexi and Aiden, who were still catching their breath. ''I guess I'll better introduce myself. My name is James Zart, I'm the Gymleader of Pandam Town.''
'My name is Aiden, and this is Lexi. We're both trainers and….''
''Ahh, you're trainers!'' James proclaimed, ''Good. I thought I wasn't going to have any challengers today. Come in.''
''N..now?'' Lexi stuttered surprised.
''Yeah, why not. I've got time for two more battles. I'm sure my wife won't mind.'' James disappeared into the building, before Lexi had the chance to respond. Lexi and Aiden looked at each other.
''So, do you want to battle?'' Aiden asked.
''Well, he's probably already on his way to the field so I can't turn around and leave, and I can't follow him in there just to say no. So I guess it's time to fight.'' Lexi looked at the sky, to the first stars that had appeared, and took a deep breath before walking into the building.