Chapter 11: City Life Under Silver Moonlight - Part 7

The countless stars illuminating the night sky watching over the Aidenland limousine from above Route 202 cower away when the vehicle leaves the trees and dirt road behind for the concrete roads of Jubilife City. The neon lights and bustling city life ensure that only silver moonlight, filling the void of night, could gaze upon humanity and Pokémon from above.

In the white limousine, Isabella is quickly swerving through traffic. She has turned on the radio in an attempt to drown out Vanessa's excited shouting from the back.

"…in Sandgem Town this evening, the laboratory belonging to Professor Rowan was attacked by two men who had allegedly taken him hostage. The professor is now in safe hands after escaping, and is now being treated for his wounds. Police have issued a statement, telling residents in the district to stay indoors while the suspects remain at large…"

Then, her phone, connected to the car, rings loudly, interrupting the radio. She answers the call with a simple, "Speaking" and listens to a voice familiar to her speak frantically about a situation regarding an Aidenland warehouse in Jubilife City.

"A fire?" Isabella says with a hint of shock. She quickly collects herself, her calm demeanor returning, and gives the order, as the temporary lead of Aidenland matters, to stay put while the fire department puts it out, and to also keep her posted. She ends the call, restoring the radio to the vehicle, and in response to hearing Vanessa scream once more, she adjusts the volume slider to a much higher setting.

"Ahhh!" Vanessa screams in delight, feeling the breeze in her face. "This is so cool! Way better than a carriage!"

"Vanessa, please don't stick your head out the window," Lucas urges. "It's dangerous!"

Tony pulls her back to the safety of her seat, ignoring her going off at him for touching her, focused only rolling the window back up. Vanessa shouts, "Hey! Are you listening to me?" at him as he looks away to the front of the vehicle where Isabella sits.

"What's wrong with you anyway? Do you get motion sickness or something?" the loud girl asks him. "Hey!"

"It's none of your business!" he shouts back, startling her.

Vanessa looks away feeling awkward, saying, "Sorry. I was just concerned." Then, she is elbowed by the boy after a few minutes of silence, wanting her attention. She looks back at him and sees that he has taken a piece of paper and is writing on it. He finishes writing it quickly and places it in her hand.

"What is this?" She looks at it and it is but a string of numbers. He whispers in her ear, "Nemesis's Pokétch number. Get a Pokétch already."

Lucas raises an eyebrow at the younger teens sitting across from him. His fingers meet his chin, as if channeling his inner detective. He tells them with a hint of wariness, "Are you two dating?"

"Excuse me?!" Vanessa screams. She literally screams after.

"Hell no! Who would wanna date Scarecrow ?" Tony points at her. "I might as well date a real Primeape instead of her ."

"You did not just call me that again! Say it again!" Vanessa retaliates. "Say it again to my face !"

"Calm down!" Lucas urges with regret. "I was wrong! Calm down! I just wanted to know what you guys were talking about. How did you two even meet!"

"I kicked her ass," Tony says bluntly, much to Vanessa's chagrin.

"That was one time!" she yells at the grumpy boy whose smile slips through for just a moment.

Meanwhile, Lucas connects the dots, remembering a sullen Vanessa during breakfast before. He smiles, realizing Vanessa has found a rival of her own to help her grow.

"Don't listen to him, Lucas," Vanessa tells him. "He was just giving me a Pokétch… number…" Vanessa facepalms, realizing how it sounds, looking at Lucas' shocked expression and his silly grin. She sighs deeply again, saying, "It's not what it sounds like. Stop letting your imagination run wild. Speaking of which, have you bought Pokétches for us yet?"

"Uh… no actually. I kinda got kidnapped."

"Oh."

Tony clears his throat and takes out his cell phone which catches the eye of Lucas. Vanessa glances at his phone from the seat beside him, watching him briefly go through his messages with nothing better to do, and sees him open a message with a photo attachment. On it is a picture of Jason, Nadia, and Ray sitting outside at a restaurant. She notices the smile on his face.

"That's your friend, right?" Tony zooms in on Jason's face. "The one at my house?"

"Yeah, Jason," Vanessa answers.

"Let's take a picture," Tony says much to Vanessa's surprise.

"Huh?"

"My sister Nadia likes taking pictures. I guarantee she will show the picture to your friend. I want to show them we're okay… and better yet, in a limo. Make sense?" Tony explains. Vanessa smiles and nods, realizing that he's discreetly thinking of her well-being. She leans in for the selfie and he captures the photo.

Meanwhile, Lucas rummages through his bag after checking his pockets, reminded of something dire. "Oh shoot… my phone. It's still at the lab. I dropped it when… they got me. Darn. What will I do now?"

"Can't you make calls with your Pokétch?" Vanessa suggests.

"No, I have a much older model sadly. I can't make calls with it," Lucas replies. "I wonder if Professor Rowan still needs me… or Aiden. Ah, was he trying to reach me earlier? Is that why you got me, Isabella?"

"Not… quite," Isabella answers. "It was actually Jason who called me through Aiden's phone."

"Jason?" Vanessa lets out quietly, surprised to hear his name. She looks at Tony beside her and notices he seems shaken again for reasons she does not understand.

"Yes," Isabella answers, "his story fits with what we already know regarding what is happening."

Isabella finally explains to those in the vehicle with her the nature of Aiden's scheme. She explains the game show and his plan, how she was feeding answers to him, much to their disapproval, and how they lost contact without a feasible backup plan in place. She explains that Jason asked for anyone to help, citing Aiden's own words.

"Cheating? That's just sad," Vanessa comments. "Can't he just be a sore loser with dignity?"

"It would damage his image," Isabella mentions, causing Vanessa to roll her eyes. "Although he's done well enough already up until we lost communication."

"And?" Lucas says. "Why us and not Aidenland employees?"

"They're on standby in the event that Aiden is able to find his earbud and re-establish connection. This new plan does not require anyone important—and it was surprising, yet fortunate for me, I found you outside of the city that you were expected to be at—but I did hear from Jason that you're apparently a 'trivia wizard' in his own words."

"A what?" Lucas squints his eyes in doubt.

"Why the hell should we help him?" Vanessa complains.

"Well, it is to my knowledge that the grand prize happens to be an unreleased model of the Pokétch that will be released to the public next month," Isabella mentions. "You need Pokétches, correct?"

'This lady overheard us talk! Agh!' Vanessa screams in her mind.

"Yes…" Lucas says hesitantly. "Well, what do you need us to do?"

Isabella pauses for a good minute, a silence only masked by the sound of the radio, before telling them, "I was informed that the game show has entered the final stretch and that there won't be another commercial break. Therefore, it won't be possible to just simply give him a new earbud. I have a plan in mind. Just… trust me and follow my lead."

The vehicle stops causing Lucas, Vanessa, and Tony to look out the window. Outside, they can clearly see they have arrived at the Jubilife TV building. Isabella opens their door to the limousine and the three step outside.

"Woah," Vanessa lets out, marveled by the dazzling city lights of this part of the entertainment district that she could not previously appreciate.

"Follow me," Isabella says, entering the sliding doors of the building.

Aiden's eyes could not focus on the game show host as he explains the third round that he's already been filled in on before the show had ever started. His eyes instead meet Jason's who is sitting in the audience still. Although there are no words spoken between them—and none being mouthed out that anyone could pick up on—Aiden's urgent stare is enough to get Jason the message he wants to send, like a Psychic-type specialist to their Pokémon.

Jason merely nods, signaling that he's made contact with Isabella. She's late. The moment she should have gotten the message should have resulted in her swooping down from a helicopter and making miracles in that very moment. Aiden can't help but be annoyed by her lack of diligence.

While he's lost in thought, the sound of the game show host's voice shouting his name brings him back to reality.

"Okay, let's start with the next question! Give me Aiden! Give me Shaila!"

He watches Shaila walk away from her side of the room towards the podium in the center of the set that James Joepost stands behind and follows suit.

The game show host shouts, "We asked one hundred Pokémon trainers… 'which city's Nurse Joy is the friendliest in all of Sinnoh?'"

Aiden slams on the buzzer first before Shaila can, giving him the right to answer first.

"Aidenland!" he shouts. However, the incorrect buzzer sound plays, much to his surprise, meaning it was not a possible answer. "What?!"

The game show host looks to Shaila, indicating it was her moment to answer, and with a smile, she warmly says, "Hearthome City".

DING! The city's name appears on the board on the wall, revealing it to be the second-highest scoring answer. The audience applauds while Shaila and Aiden return to their sides of the room, the game show host following Shaila.

"Shaila! How are you doing tonight?" he asks while looking at the camera.

"I'm feeling fantastic, James!"

"Very good!" he says. "There are three more possible answers left on the board. You have one shot to correctly guess one of the answers until the board is cleared. Guess right and you'll get to keep guessing! Strikeout and Mr. Rowan will have one shot to steal the points you earned from this question."

"Let's do this," Shaila replies confidently.

"Shaila, which city's Nurse Joy is the friendliest in all of Sinnoh?"

"Sunyshore City, James!" DING!

"You're on a roll, Ms. Shaila!" the game show host exclaims. "Keep it up!"

"Ooh… I'm going to go with Veilstone City, James."

The incorrect buzzer sounds followed by the chorus of disappointed audience members. James Joepost gives her comforting words before moving his way back to Aiden.

"Mr. Aiden Rowan! You've been having a hard time all of a sudden. What happened?"

"I just wanted to give Shaila a fleeting moment to think she would win, James," Aiden replies. His snarky response is met with laughter. Shaila is shaking her head, with a smile, unimpressed.

"Man, you two are something else. I love a good rivalry!" James replies. "But let's focus. Aiden, which city's Nurse Joy is the friendliest in all of Sinnoh?"

Aiden begins clearing his throat again, stalling for an answer since his first guess wasn't satisfactory. Thoughts raced in his mind while the game show host sighs, probably disappointed that these coughs and unpleasant sounds would be live on television. How could Aidenland not be a top answer? Clearly the Nurse Joy there will need to be whipped into shape.

When Aiden ends the charade, since he cannot stall forever, he hears a familiar voice shouting "Jubilife" from the audience.

"Quiet in the audience. Not cool, folks." James gives the audience a serious look.

Aiden turns his head. What was once a nervous look on his face transforms into a smile. He sees Isabella and familiar faces moving their way to the audience to buy seats off of people near Jason and his new friends. Isabella gives him a nod which he instinctively reciprocates. That voice could belong to none other than her.

"Jubilife City, James," Aiden says unabashedly. DING!

"...Well, what do you know! That is the number one answer! We're not biased folks, I swear. The few points Shaila worked for are now yours!"

"Jason!" Vanessa sits down beside him after the seat empties.

"Do I know you, stranger?" he replies with a grin.

"Haha. Very funny. It hasn't been that long since we last saw each other."

Nadia pokes her head out from the other side of Jason and gives her a wave with Ray following her lead, giving an approving nod. She sees her brother Tony on the other side of Vanessa and cannot help but ask where he's been, leading to a conversation of their own.

Lucas is seated next to Tony and on his other side is Isabella. He is struck in awe by the answer she shouted to Aiden as they walked in. It was incredibly embarrassing.

"Please don't tell me that's your master plan," he says anxiously.

"Vaporeon!" Isabella screams, delivering another answer his way. Lucas is flabbergasted. He knew they were doing something immoral in aiding Aiden but this is just shameless.

"Hey!" A security guard approaches them from the side. "One more word out of your mouth, lady, and you're out of here."

Isabella nods while the guard motions with two fingers that he is keeping an eye on her. After he leaves, Isabella gives an intense look to Lucas, demanding he partake in this scheme. He clenches his teeth and looks away, feeling the pressure.

He focuses back on the game, listening to James Joepost announce the next question.

"Name the best Pokémon to have alongside you in the desert."

Shaila slams on the buzzer in front of her first before Aiden can, prompting her to answer with "Sandshrew". On the board with five possible answers, it shows up on the fourth row, indicating it holds the fourth largest amount of points.

"Your answer, Aiden," the game show host says.

Lucas watches Aiden look in their direction, and naturally, Lucas looks to Isabella who does not speak, but instead holds up a giant board she scribbled an answer to: "FLYGON"

"Flygon!" Aiden says, nearly laughing. James lets out a sigh and points to the board and it's revealed as the number one answer. Shaila shakes her head before she goes back to her side of the room as Aiden does the same with James following him.

"You!" the security guard shouts at Isabella. "Come with me! You're out of here."

"I never said a word," Isabella says calmly while adjusting her glasses.

"You just did. Get over here!" the guard says while tugging on her arm.

"Unhand me! I never said a word! You'll be hearing from—" Lucas watches the two exit the room, her voice muffled as the door shuts behind them.

"Is she serious?" Tony says, unable to ignore the spectacle.

"That's not what we really have to do, right?" Vanessa asks.

Lucas buries his face in his hands, deciding what needs to be done. He couldn't help but weigh the options. It's not like they needed Pokétches that badly, or so he thought. His hands lower from his eyes, rubbing his cheeks as they move down.

"Cacnea!" Lucas looks in shock to his left, realizing the voice came from Tony. He looks back to Aiden who, despite not knowing who Tony is, takes the answer and watches it pop up on the board, giving him more points.

"Tony! What are you doing?" Nadia asks her brother.

"I have something to take care of," Tony responds. A security guard points at him, demanding him to follow them out of the room, and he gets up from his seat without protest.

"What?" Nadia says. "Oh… you. You'll be in so much trouble."

"Relax," Ray tells her from beside her.

"Oh, I got one," Vanessa tells Jason with a whisper.

"Vanessa—"

"Garchomp!" Vanessa screams at the top of her lungs. She immediately ducks afterwards. Another guard approaches them, shouting, "Who said that?!" The guard looks around and points at Nadia, grabbing her by the arm.

"Hey! I didn't do it!" Nadia cries. "It wasn't me!"

"Let go of her!" Ray shouts, leaping out of his chair.

"Hey—" Jason begins to raise his voice but he feels the tug of Vanessa's hand, who is knelt on the floor. He turns and sees her pleading him to stay quiet with a single finger over her mouth.

Jason can only watch, surprised when he turns back to find Ray hurling his body at the security guard in an attempt to tackle the man. Unfortunately, his strength barely budges him as if the man were made of concrete. The security guard ignores the boy until Ray yells at him for his attention and swings his fist at the man's face. However, the man is too quick. He instinctively catches it with his free hand much to Ray's dismay. Angered, the security guard releases his grip on Nadia's wrist and begins to chase Ray who, realizing he's in over his head, makes a dash out the door that Nadia would have been dragged out of anyway. Nadia, in shock at the turn of events, chases after them.

"Why did you stop me?" Jason asks Vanessa, watching her rise back up to her seat.

"That girl wasn't going to help anyway," Vanessa explains. "We would do much worse if you were dragged out too."

The two look around and notice that it's just them and Lucas remaining as if it were fate that the Twinleaf Group would be left to support one of their own. However, it is more likely that the three feel mixed about this than a sense of loyalty to Aiden.

As Aiden responds with Garchomp, the incorrect buzzer sound plays, causing Vanessa to shout, "What?!" before covering her mouth and ducking again. Lucas and Jason can feel Aiden glaring at them, impulsively mouthing out "useless" to them when the game show host walks over to Shaila.

"Shaila, if you get an answer on the board, you will steal all the points Aiden got for this question. Are you ready? Name the best Pokémon to have alongside you in the desert," James tells her.

"I'm going with Mudsdale," Shaila answers.

James squints his eyes for a moment, as if doubting the likelihood of her answer, and much to the surprise of many, it was the fifth answer on the board, winning Shaila the points Aiden recently received. The audience erupts in cheers while Lucas, Jason, and Vanessa look distraught. They watch Shaila blow a taunting kiss in Aiden's direction who, although smiling for the camera on him, has widened eyes that say something different.

"Wow!" James Joepost exclaims. "What a surprise that was! Folks, we have now entered a sudden death round! Aiden and Shaila are currently tied!"

The game show host points at the board on the wall, and it displays three possible answers for the next question. Aiden stares at it nervously, understanding that he can't afford to mess up. Aiden and Shaila step forward to the podium in the middle where James stands behind. They give each other one last handshake as is tradition on the show, and stare at each other intensely.

"We asked one hundred hikers… 'What is the most impressive mountain in the world?'"

Shaila slams her buzzer first, causing Aiden to look up at her with a pained expression. She grins and answers with, "Mt. Chimney!"

DING! The mountain appears on the third spot on the board. Aiden looks to the audience and sees none of his companions saying a word much to his frustration. However, he isn't completely helpless without them.

"Mt. Moon!" Aiden exclaims. He closes his eyes, crossing his fingers, and after the longest minute he's ever felt before, he hears the sound of rejection.

"The game isn't over yet!" James Joepost says with his booming voice. "Shaila, fill up the remaining answers on the board or else Aiden can steal and potentially win the game!"

"Well that's a lot of pressure," Shaila says while laughing.

"Indeed, but you're an idol. I'm sure you're used to the pressure."

"Singing is more my ball game, James," she replies.

"And what a lovely voice you have. Let me hear you sing it!" Joepost says, looking back to the card in his hands. "Shaila, what is the most impressive mountain in the world?"

"Since hikers answered this question, I bet they wanted a challenge," Shaila explains. "So I'm going to go with Mt. Silver, James!"

Aiden could only stare at the board in dread before watching the second spot on the board turn over and reveal itself as a correct answer.

In the audience, Lucas, Vanessa, and Jason look at each other while the audience cheers again.

"We have to do something," Vanessa says. "We need to say something! Lucas, you have to know something, right? Right?"

"Well… yes… but…"

"Lucas, we're so close!" Jason pleads.

"Ugh… I guess it's really come down to this. Let me think…" Lucas says. As he closes his eyes to think of famous mountains in the world, he hears the incorrect buzzer sound followed by the disappointed chorus of "awws" from those around them. Aiden is about to have his last shot to get his answer right and win the game. He looks around and then back at Vanessa who would not stop desperately shaking him for an answer until a flashback quickly appears in his mind.

"I'm Vanessa Coronet. It's an absolute pleasure to meet you, sir…"

"Of course!" Lucas exclaims. His eyes catch the security guard around them who raises an eyebrow at his outburst. He ducks a little and explains to Vanessa and Jason that the highest mountain in the world is Mt. Coronet.

"Oh, duh," Jason says. "That's definitely the number one answer."

"And… we don't have to say a thing!" Lucas explains. "It's your last name, Vanessa!"

Vanessa's eyes light up after hearing his explanation. She turns around to look at Aiden who has gone back to clearing his throat as if he were in a desert without water—in much need of that Flygon escape route—buying as much time as he could. However, he wasn't looking at them for an answer.

Vanessa bites her lip, waiting for him to look her way, and then screams out, "Aiden!"

Aiden turns to the audience, hearing Vanessa's ear-piercing scream, and watches her get dragged out of her seat by security. He gives her a disgusted look but sees Lucas and Jason pointing frantically at her. He looks back at Vanessa who is pointing at herself while the security guard has their hand over her mouth. Then, it clicks in Aiden's mind.

"James!" Aiden shouts confidently. "I'm going to go with Mt. Vanessa!"

There is nothing but silence following Aiden's answer. James Joepost stares at him, stunned, with a lifeless look in his eyes after having the most chaotic game he's ever had. Lucas's and Jason's jaws drop, and Vanessa can be heard shouting profanities just before being pushed out the door. The silence is broken by Shaila laughing uncontrollably for reasons Aiden could not understand until the incorrect buzzer sound plays.

"...We have a winner everybody!" James announces after getting back into character. He lifts Shaila's arm up in victory while she continues laughing hysterically. On the board, the number one answer is revealed to be Mt. Coronet as Lucas suspected.

Aiden cannot believe what he is seeing on the scoreboard. He cannot hear the fanfare music play and the cheers of the audience members. His heart sinks and his facial expressions almost betray him, nearly revealing his feelings of frustration, losing not only an opportunity but his ego bleeding out.

Shaila walks over to Aiden to shake his hand, and he takes it, wanting to feel professional for the cameras. However, his body begins to shake—his hand trembling in hers. His eyes are shut and he can be seen clenching his teeth for a moment before his lips hide them again from view.

"Ah, screw it!" Aiden shouts aloud, hurling her hand back at her. "I'm buying the Pokétch Company!"

The audience gasps at his declaration and outburst, their eyes fixed on Aiden for his outburst. In his seat on the side of the stage set, out of view from the cameras, old Mr. Ketchikan of the Pokétch Company is left speechless, his mouth slightly ajar and struggling to form words.

"W-What?!" he finally mutters.