10: A Message
Pikachu
I woke up on Friday morning to a loud blaring noise and Red's hand smacking the alarm clock a moment later but I wasn't angry or even sad that I was pulled out of my dreams. I wasn't sore, I didn't feel exhausted; I felt rested enough to get up and not even feel as tired as I had been a few days before. Instead of any of those feelings, I was excited.
The tournament was finally about to start! Sure, we were just going to find out who we were battling first, but that still counted! Where I was excited, Red was acting as if today were any normal day. He woke up grumpily and attempted to untangle himself from the confines of the sheets he'd wrapped around himself in his sleep. It took a little bit but he finally stumbled onto his feet, rubbing his eyes as the others started getting up as well.
When we completed our morning routine, we walked out of the room but go down the elevator immediately. Instead, we stopped in front of Blue's door. Red rapped his knuckles against the door twice and a few seconds went by before the door opened. Blue looked impressed and let us in as he said, "I'm surprised you actually got up on time today. You're early." I looked around the room and spotted his jacket hanging off the back of a chair that was in front of a cup of half-eaten yogurt.
Red yawned in response and I jumped off of his shoulder to greet Jolteon with tiny sparks that he returned.
Machamp was sitting on the couch with Alakazam watching some soap opera on the television and the two looked at me as I walked toward them."So, how did the date go?"Machamp asked.
"Well enough. Blue and Ethan almost interrupted the breakfast date, though,"I answered.
"We tried to keep them in the rooms as long as possible,"Alakazam said, his legs crossed."I still don't understand why it's such a big secret."
I shrugged."Espeon says that Red will tell him when he's ready."I looked behind us to see that Blue was still getting ready to go as Red impatiently sat in a chair.
"She's right, you know. It's none of our business what they want to do,"Machamp told me and I looked back at him, seeing him turn to me. He jabbed a finger at the television."Humans are complicated creatures."
I rolled my eyes. "You know this show isn't real, right?"
He ignored me as he slammed two of his fists together."Now, we machamp are proud pokemon! We fight for love! The female chooses the strongest male to mate with and that's it! Simple and effective!"
"If you call wrestling fighting, then suit yourself."
"What a barbaric way to choose a mate,"Alakazam mumbled under his breath."A partner will choose the most intelligent to mate with and stay that way for life."
"Our way is not barbaric! It is a show of strength! One that has been passed down generation after generation!"
"Then it's no wonder your kind are so full of block-headed morons."
I awkwardly took a step back as they began to argue with each other. "I'm gonna go visit someone else now,"I said, but I wasn't sure if they'd heard me.
Pidgeot sighed, perching beside the balcony door."Thanks a lot, Pikachu, now nothing will stop their arguing,"she told me.
I grinned."You're welcome."I sat down beside her to warm my fur in the sunlight."I think Red and White are starting to like each other."
Pidgeot smirked."I thought you didn't care about O.G.A.D. What changed your mind?"
"Red's different around her. He's happy when they're together and he actually verbally talks to her."
"That's impressive."She chuckled."Blue's starting to notice, too. He asked us the other day if something was going on between those two. He might even be jealous that he isn't the center of attention anymore."
I laughed."He wishes he'd always been the center of attention."We both glanced behind as Blue finally finished getting ready and grabbed his pokeballs.
"I'm glad you changed your mind, Pikachu. Tell Espeon I said hello."She ruffled her feathers as she gave me a challenging grin."If we battle, we won't go easy on any of you."
My cheeks sparked."You forget I can beat you and Gyarados any time!"
"You'd be surprised how much we've trained."She winked and then disappeared back into her pokeball.
"Let's go already!" I heard Blue say and Red quirked a brow as he watched Blue open the door, standing out in the hall with his arms dramatically motioning for the elevator. "Waiting on you now, come on."
Red glanced at me, jerked his head a little towards the door to tell me it was time to go and I jumped onto his shoulder with ease as we headed out.
We met up with Ethan as he entered the elevator on our way down. The younger trainer was pumped full of energy and Blue quickly reminded him that battles wouldn't start until Monday, though that didn't deter his mood in the slightest.
About halfway into our walk to the stadium, I heard a distant shout. I recognized the voice so I looked around but blinked when I couldn't see anyone. When I heard it again, I turned my head behind us as the boys kept walking, and finally spotted White running to catch up to us while Black struggled to keep up with her. I tapped Red's cheek and he glanced at me then paused to turn around to see what I was pointing at.
He finally stopped and waited for her while Ethan and Blue did the same when they realized we weren't immediately behind them anymore. "You guys walk too fast," White panted when she finally caught up. She panted hard to catch her breath with both of her hands on her sides as she winced slightly. "We aren't in any hurry, you know."
"You could eat more bananas if your sides hurt," Ethan piped up and grinned as she glared at him. "I mean, you'd have to eat a lot, but it would help!"
"That's a myth and I don't like bananas," she answered. "Plus, if you eat too many bananas you could get sick from potassium overdose or even radiation poisoning."
"You'd have to eat a lot more than one a day to overdose or get poisoned by a banana," Blue said with a roll of his eyes.
I shared a glance with Ethan. I didn't know humans could get sick by eating too many bananas, either.
Black finally caught up to us, however we barely let him rest until we started to walk again. He also held his sides as we walked. "Not fair," he said as he trailed behind. "You let her catch her breath!"
"You're the one who sucks at running, not me," White said and laughed as he made a rude gesture at her.
As we neared the stadium, I noticed Red was sticking to her side and I smiled as he kept stealing glances at her and even walked closest to the street so she wouldn't have to. I held back a snort. I jumped off soon and walked behind them on all four of my paws to observe them. When had he become such a gentleman? He never would have done that for Leaf, despite how close the two were.
I then turned my attention to White. She wasn't short by any means but walking next to my trainer made it seem like she was. I practically heard Venusaur telling us, "He's growing up." I wondered if Red was going to grow even taller than he already was. I started to snicker at the thought of him growing taller than Blue. The elder had always been taller than my trainer and constantly bragged about it when they were younger, but when he realized Red was catching up, he rarely mentioned it.
We arrived at the already full stadium and although we were running a few minutes late, we still managed to make it to the conference room before the director arrived. The room was already full and loud, excited chatter hit us like a wall the moment we opened those doors. We got curious glances but the looks went away to return to their own conversations.
Red led the way to a spot near the back with a few empty seats still available and I glanced down a few rows to see Brendan impatiently bouncing his knee beside Dawn. She said something to him that I couldn't hear but it made him he sigh and lean back in his seat. He wasn't the only one that seemed to be impatiently waiting, either. Rosa was barely sitting still and even Lance looked mildly irritated.
"I hope we get to battle each other," Blue suddenly said and grinned at Red when he lifted his head. "I'm ready to finally beat you!"
Red rose his brow.
Ethan huffed and shot his hand up as he interrupted with, "Me first!"
"Not this again," White mumbled.
The creaking of the doors opening again caused most of the room to turn our heads. The director hurried in but he didn't descend the steps and apologized for his tardiness and added, "Everyone, please follow me, we will find out in the arena who you will battle!" he called out.
I let out a sigh. I hadn't expected this to be a public event again. Red clearly felt the same as he stood up and patted my head. If finding out who we were battling first meant going out in the field again, then we would comply.
The wall of noise hit us before we stopped near the field doors. The director turned to face us and shouted above the screams and cheers, "I'll be out there and when I say 'meet your champions,' all of you walk out together and then gather to the center of the field!" He looked just as excited as the crowd out in the stands sounded. "Even I do not know who you are battling first! I'm just as anxious as you! See you out there shortly!"
Then he turned around and walked out onto the field, straightening his suit jacket and was handed a microphone by one of the stadium workers on the way out. "Welcome to the final day of the Gym Leader Circuit!" his booming voice said over the intercoms, followed by massive cheering from the entire stadium. "I want to congratulate all of the trainers that have participated in this tournament and to those who managed to make it this far!" He paused and I leaned forward on Red's shoulder to see if I could see him out there. The man was smiling as he looked around at all of the spectators. "Today we will see which gym leader triumphs over the rest!" He motioned to something I couldn't see and after a brief moment and lull of cheering he said, "Next week, we get into the Champion's Tournament, and those are all very exciting battles to witness! Wouldn't you all agree?"
"He's milking this too much," White said and then laughed as Red nodded in agreement.
"Why don't we all greet them one more time? Meet our champions!" He motioned dramatically towards the doors we were waiting next to.
As we stepped out there, I could barely tell who was screaming what, but I could hear all of the trainer's names coming from someone. I waved when I heard someone call my name as well. We stopped in the middle of the field just like we were told and the director walked in front of the group. "Please take a look at the screens and we will all find out who battles first!"
Red and I glanced up at the nearest screen, spotting his picture among the others when suddenly the pictures moved towards the middle of the screen. Then two pictures appeared on either side of the screen with a big orange "V.S." in the middle. Nate suddenly grinned and Dawn remained as calm as ever from beside Brendan.
"On Monday, our first battle will be between Dawn and Nate! Next up is—!" As the screen did the same animation, I pouted when I saw Blue's picture pop up. "Diantha versus Blue!"
Blue grinned fiercely beside us, glancing towards the woman close by as she smirked as well, the two ready to battle each other immediately.
"The final battle on Monday will be between…" The director waited for the pictures to show and then he shouted, "Black and Brendan!"
I whined instantly. I wanted to battle on the first day but Red didn't give anything away for others to know he was also disappointed. Not only would we not battle Blue, but we weren't even going to battle on the first day. I suddenly hoped we wouldn't be battling on Friday—I couldn't wait that long!
The director moved on, not noticing any of our dilemmas. "On Wednesday, our first battle will be between Steven and Lance!"
Lance's cape that seemed to have a mind of its own blew in the wind as soon as his name was called and he shared a look with Steven, the two giving each other polite yet challenging nods.
I paid attention to the screen again and watched as two blacked-out images flipped to the screens again and I grinned the instant I saw Red's stoic face with a smiling blond girl on the other side.
"The second match: Red versus Serena!"
Finally! Excitement coursed through me and I let out a couple of sparks as Red and Serena met each other's eyes. She looked nervous but she smiled at us anyhow.
Ethan, on the other hand, didn't even bother to hide his disappointment when he wasn't called to battle Blue or Red and pouted as White's face came up next with Rosa's as the last match of the day on Wednesday. "I have to wait until Friday? Aw, man!" he mumbled. I laughed at him as White and Rosa gave each other a fist-bump. I'm glad someone was happy about who they were battling and I was eager to watch their match if they were this excited.
I laughed harder when we found out he would be the final match of the first round on Friday against Calem, who also seemed upset he had to wait another week too, but when the two met each other's eyes, they gave off a challenging look that seemed to wipe away any displeasure.
With that, we were retreat from the stadium and once the doors closed behind us, Red purposefully slowed down as the others went ahead. Although Brendan rushed down a hall towards the stairs, he looked at Red as he jogged in place. "Dad's the first match today, gotta go! I'll be in the box; I'll save you a seat!" Then he waved before he disappeared up the stairs.
I glanced at Red curiously when he started to follow him. Had they been messaging each other without us knowing again? Maybe he hadn't been lying to us before when he had been messaging someone else, maybe that person really had been Brendan. I felt guilty that I had thought he had been lying to us.
That guilt faded instantly when excitement replaced that feeling. I wanted to watch a battle! It would be fun, especially if the match was between strong trainers! I smiled at him and gave Red a thumbs-up as we headed for the stairs.
"And remember we have to pick up Gramps tonight too!" Blue called after us and Red nodded as he turned around to leave.
"Have fun!" White shouted with a smile, waving as she dashed outside.
I felt excited again, my tail almost wagging as I smiled at him."We get to see Professor Oak again?"I asked. The old man was incredible plus he always spoiled us with extra treats every time we saw him. Maybe he was bringing some with him! My mouth watered and Red seemed to know what I was thinking about when he rolled his eyes.
He took a few steps forward to catch up to Brendan but as we finished climbing the stairs and went for the hallway towards a door that led to the box overlooking the field, a large hand slapped itself onto Red's empty shoulder and we both flinched at the sudden contact.
I hissed the instant I saw Giovanni, raising his hat slightly to see Red properly, who immediately ripped his shoulder away with a heated glare. "I need to speak with you," he told him. "Now." Then he turned and walked towards an empty hallway and entered the closest room to us.
I glanced at Red and shook my head rapidly. I didn't trust him but he gritted his teeth together before he glanced towards the doors the others had gone through and then reluctantly followed him."I'm pretty sure we meant to wait for a phone call, Red! Not go into a room alone with Giovanni!"I tried to tell him, language barriers be damned.
Any excitement and giddy joy I had felt just a few seconds earlier died instantly. I jumped off of Red's shoulder and made sure to stay right beside him as he opened the door to the room Giovanni had gone into. I could see Red's fingers inching towards the other's pokeballs as well, ready to fight if need be.
Red then watched Giovanni as he looked around the room, almost nervously checking to make sure that we were all alone. I frowned at that. Nothing made Giovanni nervous; he'd always been a confident, albeit arrogant man. He would even laugh if something went wrong with his carefully laid-out plans. Satisfied after checking the room, he turned to face us. "What do you know about the Shadow Triad?" he asked after a moment of tense silence.
Red's brows furrowed together. He didn't answer, just watching Giovanni irritably frown at him.
"I'm certain you've noticed the bisharp watching your every move, haven't you?"
My cheeks began to spark. How did he know that? How could hepossiblyknow about Bisharp? Then I felt worried and as fast as the sparks had come, they faded away. Had we been watched this whole time and not even noticed? I briefly looked at Red, but he didn't remove his eyes from the man in front of us.
When he realized Red wouldn't speak, Giovanni let out a quiet noise of indignation and mumbled under his breath, "Stubborn brat as always." He rose his voice again. "They came back last night and after what happened the first time I came to you in the middle of the night, I would rather not repeat that mistake."
I watched him cautiously, wary of any sudden movements from the ex-mafia leader.
"They again asked for Team Rocket to join them but then warned me to stay away from the arena on Monday."
"Why?" Red finally demanded.
"So you do speak?" He let out a sarcastic chuckle but lost the smile as he answered, "I don't know. They would not divulge that information to me."
Red frowned at him, concern dancing in the corner of his eyes. I gulped quietly as I heard Giovanni let out a long and tired sigh.
He started to head for the door, but stopped when he was right next to Red, though neither of them made a move to turn to the other. "Tell your new friends. I trust you can figure out what their plan is and why they want Team Rocket's help so bad." He then adjusted his hat to the way it was before and he stepped outside, letting the door shut behind him.
Red let out the breath he'd been holding and I looked up at him in worry. He looked troubled but he nodded at me and I followed him out of the stadium in a rush, forgetting all about Brendan and meeting him in the viewing box. We needed to tell someone—anyone who knew about the Shadow Triad and tell them the threat they had given Giovanni.
We were outside in seconds and I didn't expect to see others still here. Rosa, Nate, Black and White were standing near Serena and Blue was scowling at Ethan as the younger trainer held Calem's arm, whose blue sleeve was pulled up to his elbow so the other could investigate the strange black bracelet around his wrist closely. "Hey, Red! Look at this!" he called and dragged his poor captive with him, causing him to trip over his own feet.
Serena was with them, laughing as she watched and nodded at White. Her own arm was out so the other four could look at the thick bracelet. "Yeah, a couple can. The only one that can that I know off the top of my head is Audino, though," she told her.
"That's so cool," Nate said as Serena lowered her arm.
I tilted my head. Only one can what? When Ethan was closer to us, we looked at the bracelet attached to Calem's arm that Ethan shoved into our faces and I noticed it had a strange and colorful stone embedded into it. "Red, guess what this is!" he shouted excitedly.
My trainer looked at it and confused about Ethan's excitement, he shook his head.
"This is a key stone," Calem said. He pulled his arm free and lowered his sleeve. "I'm Calem, by the way." He paused and rubbed the back of his head as he grew embarrassed. "You… probably knew that already, huh?" When Red said nothing, he smiled. "Do you know what a key stone is?"
Red and I both shook our heads.
Blue came to stand beside Calem and nodded towards the key stone. "I never actually saw a mega evolution in person when I was in Kalos," he explained. "A keystone is a special gem that allows a pokemon to evolve one more stage after their final one, that is if the pokemon has their own corresponding stone." He grinned at Red's widened eyes. "You need to leave your mountain more and learn these things."
"Only a few pokemon can mega evolve, though," Serena said as she came to stand beside Calem. "Per League rules, however, you can only do it once per battle. Also, you need to have a close bond with your pokemon and they need to have their own mega stone to hold."
"It used to only be exclusive to Kalos until someone in Hoenn started to discover that there are stones there too," Blue added, looking at the rest of us. "Brendan, Wallace and Steven will most likely be able to mega evolve their pokemon, too."
Rosa looked excited, then looked at Serena. "Do you think that maybe Emboar can mega evolve?" she asked hopefully.
"Maybe in the future someone will discover their mega stone," she replied.
Rosa's shoulders sagged, disappointed. "Oh well, worth a shot."
"Can you show us a mega evolution?" Black asked hopefully.
Serena turned to him with a mischievous look. "I'm sure if you wait for Blue and Diantha to battle, you will see one."
I didn't want to wait that long either, but we had no other choice if they weren't willing to show off their mega evolution skills.
"Anyway, we're going to go have some lunch," Calem said and glanced at Ethan with a small smirk. "I look forward to our battle, Ethan.Bonne chance, mon ami."He turned around and walked away with Serena beside him.
As they disappeared down the street, Nate asked, "What did he say?"
"He said, 'good luck, my friend,'" Blue answered nonchalantly. We all looked at him in shock. He understood that? He blinked in confusion when he notice us all staring. "What?"
"How do you know that?" Ethan demanded.
He looked between Red and Ethan then sighed. "Why are you and Red surprised? I didn't go to Kalos for a vacation! You two should know that!" I looked at Red. I don't think he remembered either and Blue sighed at us when he figured that out. "You two have the memory of a magikarp."
"You've been to Kalos? I've always wanted to go there," Rosa said.
Red remained quiet and watched them all with his mouth set in a thin line. I scowled. I knew that look when I saw it. He better not be thinking aboutnottelling them what Giovanni said! He seemed to sense my glare and he looked at me with a little hesitance then sighed in defeat. I huffed with victory then pointed at them."Better tell them before I make you get Espeon out and have her tell everyone!"I scolded him.
"Anyway, why are you even out here? I thought you wanted to watch the matches today with Brendan. You two are like best buddies now," Blue accused and crossed his arms across his chest.
"Is someone jealous?" White teased, laughing as Blue's face turned slightly pink.
"No!"
Red interrupted them before they could start to argue. "Giovanni gave me new information," he said.
Blue turned to him right away, argument all but forgotten. "Wait, when did he do that? Did he call you last night?"
Red shook his head and looked towards the doors to the stadium.
"Just now?"
"What did he say?" White questioned.
"The Shadow Triad visited him again. Warned him to stay away from the stadium on Monday," my trainer responded.
"Why?" When he shook his head again, she shifted uneasily on her feet. "That's not a good sign."
"No, it isn't. Maybe… maybe we should tell the director," Rosa said.
I completely agreed with her. Finally, a strong trainer with some sense! Someone else besides us should know about the potential danger they posed.
Black pulled out a pokeball. "Cofagrigus and I can find—what?" he asked as White glared at him. "Oh—oh, come on! Cofagrigus is good at pinpointing any ill will towards anyone! You know this!"
"But why Cofagrigus!" White shouted.
"Yeah, he's a little… creepy," Nate admitted as Black sighed.
"And what? You guys are going to use psychics? What's a psychic-type gonna do? They can't find dark-types and guess what a bisharp is?" He motioned towards the stadium, pokeball still in his hand. "But oh no, better not think about doing anything bad! Watch out, Reunclius is gonna read my mind!"
"Hey! Reunclius can do so much more than just read minds!" White retorted.
"Like what?" Black challenged and White narrowed her eyes at him.
"Hey, guys, stop arguing!" Rosa interjected and jumped between the two of them. Then she looked at White and Nate and said, "Cofagrigus is our best bet! Ghost-types are really good at finding any ill desires! And his cookies are amazing!"
"See!" Black shouted, looking straight at his twin as she huffed in objection. "What did I tell you?"
I looked at Red, who looked just as confused as Blue and Ethan, but we all remained quiet at the bickering Unovan champions.
I sighed but my ears twitched when I heard a strange noise. I looked down the street cautiously. It sounded like something metal was scraping across the ground. I frowned as Red picked me up, but I felt grateful that we were retreating back into the stadium. I had no doubts in my mind that the noise had come from a steel-type and one that was very good at making a quick getaway.
I glanced at Red as he eyed me worriedly, noticing my distraction and followed my gaze. He hesitated at the door as the others continued to walk inside. He looked back at them and once they were far enough away, he turned around and quickly began running back outside.
I scowled immediately and jumped off of his shoulder to run beside him. "I didn't mean we shouldchasethe danger!"I scolded."This is what gets us into trouble!"
His mind was made up. Even if he could understand me, nothing I could say would deter him from protecting the stadium. He was the kind of person to go after danger and if we could prevent it, he would go in without hesitation to stop it. Sometimes I wished he would at least get some help before running head-first without thinking.
I heard that scraping noise again and it seemed as though Red did as well and we both looked down the street across the parking lot towards the city. Past the many stalls and up the steep hill close to it, I could see Bisharp in full detail: piercing dark eyes stared straight at us and it seemed to smirk before it stood straight, turned around and started to flee into the crowds nearby. An uneasy feeling bubbled in my stomach. Why was it trying to make its presence known?
Red wordlessly grabbed a pokeball and threw out Charizard. He jumped on his back and I followed just before Charizard took off, ignoring startled cries from nearby people and pokemon. I looked back at the stadium as we flew away and couldn't help but think about how angry the others would be when they learned what we were doing. I would be grateful for the lecture Lance would give Red for pulling a stupid stunt like this.
Pushing the thought aside, I looked back down at the ground and saw many pokemon with human as we flew past the stalls and over the hill. None of them was the one we were searching for. I saw a different bisharp, but it was clearly someone's pokemon and definitely not belonging to a ninja when it and the little girl it was with looked up in awe towards us.
I looked everywhere for the right bisharp then finally squinted towards the game stalls, seeing the flash of red and silver jumping over a startled human and escaped the crowds as it made a mad dash for the woods."There!"I shouted and Charizard immediately chased after it.
Bisharp didn't seem to expect how fast Charizard flew as it glanced over its shoulder in shock. It began to pick up the pace, jumping into a tree to avoid physical contact with us. It was nimble, easily crossing tree branches and dodging various pokemon that stared after us as we chased it. It even did a front flip to dodge a Thunderbolt from yours truly and kept going strong.
When we got close enough again, Red nodded at me and I ran forward as fast as I could, my cheeks sparking. I jumped off of Charizard with a loud yell and a powerful Thunderbolt, intending on stopping Bisharp from getting too far away.
Bisharp let out a pained cry when it hit and fell to the ground, his body shaking and sparking as he pushed himself back up. I grinned as I landed on the ground with ease and heard Charizard land right behind me with a growl."Hah! We caught you, sneaky little ninja dude!"I shouted at him."Now you can tell us why you guys are watching us! So go on, spill!"
He looked back as Red slid off of Charizard's back and narrowed his own eyes. Bisharp glared for a bit before he smirked at us and managed to get up to his feet. I lost my smile and let sparks fly from my cheese again. Bisharp was paralyzed, what did he think he could do against two of us?"Just a little bit farther,"he said and grinned as Charizard snarled.
"Oh, no you don't!"I snapped and started to run after him as he turned around and quickly started to run.
Charizard immediately followed us and used his wings to propel himself forward and lunge for Bisharp, his fist coated in fire with Fire Punch ready to strike. Bisharp tried to jump away but he went rigid as little sparks kept him immobile long enough for me to used Iron Tail and slam him back into the ground. Although it didn't do much damage, I knew that the impact on the ground had to hurt.
I sighed when it fainted and then grinned at Charizard and I gave him a thumbs-up."We make a good team, Charizard, don't we?"I asked but then I rolled my eyes as he snorted in response. Yeah, I knew we were going to easily win, too, but he could just lighten up at least a little bit. We finally caught our stalker, after all!
We both glanced at Red when he caught up and he frowned at it then looked around, likely looking for his trainer. I sniffed the air, trying to catch any abnormal scent but shook my head at Red when he glanced at me. He sighed and had turned to Charizard to get back onto his back and fly back, but we all jumped back into action when we heard someone laugh.
I looked around the area for the source, stiff and cautious. "You are powerful, aren't you? Stronger than he is," the voice said.
Red frowned and I looked up, finally spotting the black-clad, white-haired human in the tree staring straight at us. There was another Bisharp beside him, quietly watching us and I gasped in shock. I had no idea that he was up there! How long had they been up there? Were they watching us the whole time?
My eyes widened as he took a leisurely step into the air and fell off of the tree. He landed on the ground so fluidly that I knew he had done that kind of thing for years. Bisharp followed him but I wasn't as surprised as I should have been when he didn't make a sound upon landing. "You may know who we are by name only. We are the Shadow Triad, loyal followers of Lord Ghetsis," another voice said.
The fainted bisharp was recalled and I looked to our right, seeing another human putting the pokeball away. He had an absol beside him and where she had come from, I didn't know either. I tried to calm down when I noticed the third and final human appear behind us from the bushes with yet another bisharp and a banette floating beside him. We had been so intent on chasing down the one bisharp that we didn't even notice we were going right where they wanted us to be until it was too late.
I felt both relieved and nervous that we finally confirmed that Shadow Triad were the ones that had been stalking us. I didn't like the aura they gave out, it felt calculated and dangerous, completely different to the one I sensed from Giovanni. They weren't so overconfident like he was and they stayed a fair distance away so they would have time to be able to dodge attacks if needed. I knew we needed to keep a close watch on them; the way White and the others had talked about them made me nervous about their true capabilities.
Charizard let out a quiet snarl as the first Shadow member seemed to smirk from behind his mask. "You are quite the observant one to have seen Bisharp from so far away," he told us.
Red furrowed his brows, silent as he carefully started to reach behind him for another pokeball. Despite our strength, we were still outnumbered and we would need help.
"We have a message for you, the trainer who disbanded Team Rocket the first time," the second member said.
It was then when I realized why White had given us a warning not to go after them by ourselves. I wished we'd listened to them and stayed in the stadium to warn the director about the threat instead. Red suddenly let out a startled and pained cry and I felt my stomach drop as I whirled around.
Sparks flew out of my cheeks when I saw Bisharp directly behind my trainer. The bisharp behind us had finally noticed Red had been reaching for another pokeball and grabbed his wrist, twisted his arm cruelly then pinned it to his upper back. Charizard whipped his head behind as well, smoke rising from his nostrils when we saw the bisharp though Red did not struggle as the blade on his free arm was pressed up against Red's neck. The blades attached to the bisharp's stomach cut into his arm, and although they were shallow, Red still winced any time it moved. My eyes widened when I remembered Black subconsciously rubbing his arm. Had this exact thing happened to him as well?
As Bisharp kicked the back of his knees to force him to kneel onto the hard dirt, he told Charizard and I,"If you two know what is good for you, you will not attack."
Charizard hissed."Let him go!"he snarled, though the Absol laughed at him.
"If either of you attack Bisharp, you harm your trainer. If you harm your trainer, you won't be able to participate in the tournament,"she said, smiling triumphantly. "There is no need to worry, we won't hurt him if you don't attack."
The first Shadow Triad member calmly walked to Red, knowing neither Charizard nor I could do a thing to stop him without getting Red hurt. I hissed again despite this. If I attacked the Bisharp that held Red, the cuts could get worse or the blade that was pressed against his neck would go right through him. Seeing it pierce his skin even a little made more sparks fly and smoke rise.
He squatted to Red's level, unfazed by my trainer's hateful glare. "Lord Ghetsis wishes you hadn't disbanded Team Rocket the first time," he said, "although he believes you to be useful."
Red winced when he tried to free his arm but the bisharp holding him simply dug the sharp end of his arm deeper against his neck to make him stop. "What do you want?" he demanded through clenched teeth.
"We know the one called Giovanni has been relaying messages to you. Lord Ghetsis has thus forth determined he is a lost cause." He leaned closer so their faces were mere inches away from each other. "This message is for you: stay out of our way. You do that, and we will leave you and those you love alone. Our ideals are for the greater good of the world, and we will not let anyone—champions or not—stop us this time."
Bisharp finally released Red, who nearly fell forward from the sudden release though he quickly got back to his feet. I tried not let relief fill me too fast; the Shadow Triad was still with us, surrounding us from going anywhere. However, their pokemon didn't seem to be that strong; they clearly got their way by using dirty and underhanded tricks to get what they wanted. Now was our chance to beat them!
I jumped in front of Red protectively while Charizard was instantly behind him, roaring at Bisharp as it jumped away to stand with its own trainer again. It seemed just as unfazed as the member did even."You take those two, I'll take these two,"I said as I hissed at Absol and the bisharp in front of us.
Charizard nodded, keeping his eyes on Banette and the bisharp behind us. Before we could attack, however, the three humans recalled their pokemon and leaped backward. When I blinked, they were gone. My eyes widened. It was like they teleported! Charizard snarled furiously, trying to find where they had gone.
"We will bring glory back to Team Plasma and Lord Ghetsis!" one of their voices said, but I couldn't tell from which direction.
"We will meet again," another said.
When their voices faded, nothing but the sounds of the forest remained. Nothing was in the trees, no one was hiding in the bushes. I was still stiff and on high alert even as I looked back at my trainer. He was holding his arm to stop the bleeding but his eyes were still wildly looking around, trying to see if the Shadow Triad were still there as well.
Eventually, Charizard's snarling died down and he glanced down at Red. He then nudged his uninjured arm gently with his snout, careful about hurting him further. "Are you okay?" he asked.
As if he understood, Red nodded and patted his neck gratefully. "Hotel," he muttered, frustrated.
I felt the same and wordlessly jumped onto Charizard's back as soon as he lowered himself. Red briefly let go of his arm so he could climb up, and I looked at his bloody arm with a wince. Although the cuts weren't deep, they still looked like it hurt but he wasn't complaining. We would still have to get it cleaned up as soon as we got back to our room.
Once we were settled onto Charizard, the large fire-type took off in uneasy silence all the way back to the hotel.
