Chapter 56: Searching for What's Lost

"Excuse me! Pardon me! Coming through!" I yelled to everyone I could as Ted and I rushed through the endless crowd of people, searching for the piece of red cloth that the wind carried off. My eyes scanned through the sky wildly in every which way direction, panic rising through my chest. I couldn't lose it! That cloth was more important to me than... than... I wasn't sure what I found just as important as it. Regardless, without that red cloth, all the adventures that I've been on with it tucked safely under my hind leg would mean nothing. Not only that, how would I ever be able to face both Lizzie and Pooch again knowing I stupidly lost it? What possessed me to even place it upon my back?

"Do you see it anywhere?" I asked, coming to an abrupt halt as I searched the all about the sky.

"Negatory," was his reply as another gust of wind blew through. "Wait! I see it! There it goes!"

"Where?" I questioned, looking in the direction he was pointing.

"Follow me!" he said, taking off in said direction. I followed as quickly as possible, hoping beyond hope that the wind wouldn't carry it outside the city. Following was made rather difficult, however, as we both had to keep our attention ahead so as not to run into people, having to stop abruptly every few moments to run around them before resuming the chase. We eventually ran out into a large opening which wasn't as crowded with people, but still had a lot of people walking every which way the eye could see as well as a few Pokemon. Our running slowed to a stop as Ted searched the sky. "Damn! Lost it!"

"You don't think the wind carried it out of sight, do you?" I asked worriedly.

"That's rather hard to tell," was his reply, having crossed his arms. "Your cloth could literally be anywhere from atop a building to somewhere out at sea if we're unable to see it."

My heart sank, a feeling of dread overtaking me as my head began to feel funny. My legs began to shake as the realization began to hit. I heard Ted ask if I was all right, only it was slow and slurred. I looked at him as he became nothing but a blur, as did everyone around me. I could feel my breathing increasing sporadically as everywhere I looked was nothing but a sea of blurs passing me by. "No!" was the first thought to come to mind. "This... this can't be... I couldn't have..." I scanned wildly about for any sign of it; in the air, on the ground, all around. No matter where I looked, no matter how hard I tried not to believe it, it was gone.

As all hope of seeing it ever again was dwindling quickly, my wandering gaze came upon two Pokemon some feet away. Normally I would have just dismissed them and continue to withdrawal into my mind, but for some reason, I found myself watching them as they were looking at something lying upon the ground. I watched as what looked to be like a purple cat pick up the object in question which snapped my attention back into focus as I recognized what it was they were holding.

"HEY!" I yelled out to them, catching their attention as I began running towards them. "You found it! I thought I lost it there for a second!" As I neared, the second Pokemon which looked reptilian like started spinning around on its stomach for some odd reason. The next thing I knew, my entire vision was blinded by a cloud of sand that mysteriously kicked up, forcing me to stop and shut my eyes, covering them so as not to get any grains embedded within them.

Once the cloud of sand settled down moments later, I blinked open my eyes, rubbing them to make certain no sand grains sneaked by. Finding that my vision was perfectly clear, I refocused my attention upon the two Pokemon to find them no longer where they stood. I looked around rather confused, finding no sign of them close by. Would they not have moved to a different spot so the sand wouldn't blind them as well? It wasn't until Ted came running up to check on me before learning where they were.

"You all right, Zack bro?"

"I think," was my reply. "I don't see the Pokemon who found my cloth are at though."

"Unfortunately Zack, I sort of saw the whole thing."

"You did? Where are they?"

"Gone."

"Gone?" I questioned curiously. "What do you mean they're gone?"

"I'm not sure what kind of Pokemon it was, but that reptile creature used Sand Attack before running off with the Purrloin. They still had your piece of cloth with them as they left."

"Wh-where did they go then?"

"From how I'm seeing it, they more than likely stole it."

"They stole my cloth? Why? What reason would they need to? How will I even get it back? Will I ever see it again? Will we be able to find them? What if they ran outside the city? What if-"

I was suddenly stopped mid-sentence as Ted placed a single claw upon my snout, which somehow managed to calm me instantly and cause me to go cross-eyed. "Chillax, Zack bro," he said calmly. "There's no reason to panic as of yet. We still have time before our next ship arrives and I highly doubt those Pokemon would be able to leave the city."

"What makes you say that?" I asked as he removed his claw.

"Because this is an island," was his response. "They can only get so far. Besides, I'm sure if we ask around, we're bound to find out some information regarding those two."

Well then what are we waiting for? Let's find out where they are!"

"Easy Zack bro," Ted said. "I understand that you're wanting that piece of cloth back and it means something to you, but with the state of mind you're in, it's better that I do the questioning."

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Keep an eye out for them," Ted said. "That way you can alert me if they show up."

"O-OK," I said as we began our search. Keeping an eye out for the Pokemon should we happen upon them, Ted and I made our way about the town, stopping on occasion to chat amongst the local Pokemon. Asking them about the Pokemon duo we sought, we came to learn that they were well known for being delinquent thieves, especially to those who visited the island.

"Considering that they like taking things from tourists, it can be said that they most commonly hang around both the pier and the amusement park," Ted said once we gathered what info we could find. "Even then it's still a large area to sweep and we may not come across them in time."

"Well I'm not leaving without it! I will not rest until I find it, even if I have to separate from you guys." Ted appeared to seemingly mull over what I had said, giving me a silent look as though he were studying me. A few moments later having done so, he said something I wasn't expecting him to say.

"Why don't we go grab a bite to eat?"

I blinked.

"Um... what?"

"This searching has me a little peckish," he said. "There's nothing wrong with stopping to recharge the system, am I right?"

"I... guess?" I questioned, unsure of what he was meaning. "What about the boat though? We don't have a lot of time before it shows up."

"There's always time for a quick snack," Ted said. "Besides, are you yourself not hungry with all this searching being done as well?"

As I opened my mouth to answer, I found my stomach suddenly grumbling with hunger. Weird. Was I hungry this entire time without realizing it? Or was there something about the way Ted worded his question that caused the hunger to occur? There were several questions about the bear before me that I was curious to know; questions that demanded answers, yet for now, filling my stomach was top priority over everything else.

"I figured as much," he said with a bit of a chuckle. "Question is though: which restaurant should we eat at?"

"Does it matter?" I asked as my stomach grumbled again. "Food is food."

"True, but I like eating some place I can come back to if it satisfies my hunger ."

"I guess that makes sense?" I said questionably.

"Come along, Zack. I'll pick us out a place."

Following suit, we traversed our way through the town in search of a restaurant, one in particular that could leave both Ted and I satisfyingly full, yet I couldn't help but feel both slightly annoyed and impatient that we were breaking to eat from our search. I realized that, as Ted looked about, I had no idea what a restaurant actually looked like. Of the numerous places I've been to, not once had I paid any particular attention to the size and shape of a building in general. That's what I saw them as, doing; having trying to figure out what kind of building each one as how I never stayed around long enough to study them. Perhaps it would be a good way to distract myself from everything going on, which is what I ended up

It wasn't long before my attention was brought back as Ted said, "I think this one will do" and walked towards the building he sought. Upon walking in, I was met with a powerful wave of aromas lingering about in the air. The sound of something sizzling somewhere added onto how powerful the smell was, causing my stomach to grumble furiously with hunger. Taking a seat next to Ted, I quickly examined the interior of the restaurant as to get an idea on how to recognize such a place. There were a bunch of flat-surfaced objects everywhere that people and Pokemon sat at upon which their food sat upon. The lighting was mostly dimmed more towards the back where even I could blend naturally well within. The seat on which I sat upon spun which I found quite fun to do. I soon stopped, however, as I began to feel a bit dizzy after a few spins. I felt the seat right itself so that I was facing the Pokemon standing on the other side who looked like he was scowling. At least, I think it was a Pokemon. Humans weren't usually blue with rocky skin last I checked.

Back to the matter at hand, the blue, rocky skinned Pokemon/Human thing was busy cleaning a glass cup whilst having the hugest said scowl in all of existence; and he was staring right at me. "Uh, hi?" I said.

"Whadd'ya want?" he asked in a low, gruff voice.

My mind blanked, unsure of how to answer that. My first thoughts were to ask whether or not he was a Pokemon, but considering he was holding an easily breakable item, I feared I would be his next target should such words be spoken. "Uh... what do you got?"

He instantly ceased cleaning the glass, resulting in me instantly panicking as thoughts of him grabbing me by the throat to strangle me came to the forefront of my mind. Luckily, Ted came to the rescue by asking for a menu for us both. He grunted as he placed the glass down and handed us both a large, plastic, unfold-able object with many pictures upon it with words I couldn't read. The rocky-skinned Pokemon then picked up the glass and resumed cleaning it while I nervously glanced periodically up at him from the menu. Who wouldn't have the fear instilled into them with a face like that? And what was with his nose? It started off with what looked to be a triangle, but then narrowed out across just above his left eye before widening back out as a semi-upside down triangle? That wasn't the only question running through my mind. The more important question I had to ask was why he was still cleaning that same glass. Surely it had to have been cleaned by now. Exactly how much cleaner did it have to be before he went and cleaned something else? Why did he just stand there staring at me? And would his face break if he were to make the attempt to smile? All these unanswered questions made me uneasy, causing me to fidget uncomfortably. The silence was beginning to gnaw at me feverishly; his intense stare made me squirm about internally. If the uneasiness wasn't broken soon, I just might-

"You gonna order or wha-"

"YOU HAVE THE WEIRDEST NOSE-BROW I'VE EVER SEEN!"

I instantly slapped a paw over my mouth as I'm sure I received silent looks from everyone. The rockey-skinned Pokemon once again ceased cleaning the glass and blinked. It was hard to tell if I had just insulted the guy or if he was trying to figure out what I had just said. Ted, on the other hand, seemed unfazed by my sudden outburst as he said, "I think I'm ready to order." Without moving a muscle, the Pokemon shifted his focus upon Ted as he placed his order. "I would like a Liechi Berry pie with ice cold water please."

"Whadd'ya getting?" he asked me as he took the menu.

I looked back down at mine to figure what I was going to pick and hide the embarrassment. Luckily Ted came to my rescue once again as he said, "You may have to give him a few more minutes. I may need to help him decide."

I kept my eyes fixated upon the menu as the Pokemon walked off to prepare the food; my cheeks burning hotly over what I had said as Ted looked about the menu that was given to me so as to help with what I couldn't read. "Let's see here," he mused, rubbing a claw thoughtfully under his chin. Just as he might have found something, my attention was diverted towards the entrance as a pair of Pokemon walked in. I instantly sat upright in my seat upon recognizing them, watching intently as they walked right by where Ted and I sat and sat jut a few seats from us. They never once spared me a glance as they walked in or even acknowledged my presence; and yet they had the audacity to sit just a few seats from where we sat?

"Hey!" I said, gaining the attention of the purple cat. "What did you do with my cloth? Give it back!"

"Cloth?" she asked in a young, child-like voice with a tilt of her head. "What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"You should know! You blinded me with sand earlier!"

"Uh... are you sure you have the right mon? I don't ever recall seeing you before."

"I'm certain!" I replied. "I saw you and your friend pick my red cloth up. Heck, you even saw me running towards you."

"Gee mister!" the reptilian Pokemon spoke, also with a young, child-like voice. "You sure are accusing us of committing such an act. Do you have any proof it was us who blinded you as you've said?"

"Of course I do! I saw you with my own two eyes. My friend here saw you too, right Ted?"

"Well..." he said as I looked to him for confirmation. "It is possible we have the right Pokemon, just not the right pair."

"But... but... how many pairs of those two specifically do you find together on a normal basis?"

"You make a valid point, yet I have to agree with the fact that we have no actual proof that they're the culprits we're looking for. For all we know, it could have been an entirely different pair of Pokemon who stole your cloth."

"But you saw them!" I said bewilderingly. "Shouldn't that be proof enough?"

"To accuse when you don't have the facts makes you look like a fool," the purple cat said.

"Yeah! Why don't you go do some detective work or something?" the reptilian Pokemon said. "Maybe then that'll teach you to accuse a couple of innocent children."

I gritted my teeth, feeling a growl of frustration coming on. These were the Pokemon we sought. I couldn't explain how. I just knew. How to make them admit they were was going to prove difficult. Fortunately, that problem wouldn't come to pass as a voice suddenly piped up. "Are you two little brats causing trouble again?" I watched as the Pokemon from before hit them upon their heads with his fists.

"Ow! Geez Uncle! What was that for?" the purple cat asked.

"Don't give me that crap!" he said. "I know full well what you delinquents do. The whole island talks about the two of you."

"We weren't doing nothing!" the reptilian Pokemon argued. "We were just minding our own business when this guy began accusing us of stealing."

"What have I told you about stealing other people's shit?" he questioned as he hit them upon their heads again. "You keep this up, the two of you will be living the prison life in the near future."

"Only if the cops can catch us," the purple cat said as she groomed her left fore paw. "Which they won't."

I could feel my eyes bulging through my sockets throughout the entire conversation. This guy was their Uncle!?And I went and had to comment on his nose-brow the way I did? What force on Earth hated me so to put me in such a predicament? How was I even supposed to talk to the guy without fearing he'd strangle me?

"Um... excuse me," I piped up nervously, quickly thinking of a good topic to start off with.

"Hn? Whadd'ya want?" the rocky-skinned Pokemon asked as he looked up at me.

"Er... forgive me for butting in, but shouldn't you watch what you say around them? They are children after all."

"You think I give a crap?" he asked, causing me to flinch a little. "These two know far more than what they should. If I weren't so busy all the time, I'd whip their sorry asses into shape!"

"B-busy d-doing wh-what exactly?" I questioned.

"Training," was his reply. "Porta Vista's got its own fighting dojo where Pokemon can learn to fight and better their skills."

"I figured as much," Ted said. "You do have the body build for it." A grunt was all he made on that matter. "Getting back to the matter at hand, your niece and nephew made off with something belonging to my friend here and we would like to have it back."

"Hate to break it to you, but if they took something of yours, chances are you won't be getting it back."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Because we're the only ones who know where everything we take is hidden," the purple cat answered. "What we take becomes ours."

"And we're not giving anything back!" the reptilian Pokemon said.

"You don't understand! That cloth was given to me by a good friend of mine! It holds sentimental value."

"Well you should have kept better care of it," the purple cat said. "We don't make special exceptions just because it means something to someone."

I turned back to look at the Uncle who was now back in his usual spot and asked, "Are you sure you can't do anything? I really need my cloth back."

"Sorry son," was his reply. "They're nothing short of stubborn. There's no amount of pleading, bargaining, threatening, etc. you can do to get them to change their minds."

"But-"

"Just give it up son," he said. "If I'm unable to coerce them, then there's nothing that will budge those made-up minds of theirs."

I sat there in a daze, the words sticking to my mind like... like... well, I wasn't sure what to use as an example, but one thing was for sure: there was no chance of me ever getting back my red cloth. It was gone. It was as though I lost a piece of who I was and would walk the world never knowing that side of me ever again. Ever so slowly turning to Ted I asked, "What do we do now?"

"Elementary, my dear Zachary," was my instant response from a voice I knew all too well. Turning about, my eyes landed upon the Skitty who was sitting a few seats over on my other side. How long had she been there? When did she sneak in without my notice? And why on earth was she wearing a hat? "When all hope seems lost, a random encounter shall occur in which the impossible unknown shall be fixed correctly." She spun the seat to face us. "And I just so happen to be that random encounter." The seat spun a little more until it slowed to a stop with Skitty now facing opposite from where we were sitting. Craning her head back, she leaned over to grab the edge of it and right herself so that she was facing us. "Let us cut to the chase now, shall we? Am I to understand that something of yours was taken, Zachary?"

"Y-yeah!" I said, pointing at the culprits. "They ran off with my cloth after blinding me with sand."

She shifted her gaze to the Pokemon behind me. "Is it true, my thieving rascals, that you did absolutely not deliberately did steal his cloth?"

"No," the reptilian Pokemon said. "I mean yes! I mean... what?"

"AHA! So by admitting not absolutely doing for surely not for certainly doing not so, you admit to the fact that you indeed not doing for surely so that you not did take poor Zachary's cloth from him and not absolutely will for sure upon doing what is expected of you return it to him."

"Uh... wh-what?" the purple cat asked, looking rather confused at what Skitty was even saying. Even I wasn't sure what she was talking about, yet I had a feeling she was helping out in her own Skitty way.

"Exactly," was all she said before pulling out some sort of weird pipe and blowing bubbles out of it. She giggled as they popped one by one. "I like watching the bubbles pop!" She then put the pipe away before clearing her throat. "Now then, here's what's going to happen. First, this hat will be returned to its rightful owner with help from the wind. Next, I'm going to wring the information of the cloth's whereabouts out of you. And third, where the hell is my sarsaparilla?"

As if on cue, the rocky-skinned Pokemon placed a glass of white liquid down in front of her. "Here's your damn milk," he said before walking off again. "Freaking weirdo."

As Skitty grabbed her glass and began drinking it, a gust of wind blew in just as I heard someone say, "Hey! Where'd my hat go?" I watched as the hat suddenly flew off Skitty's head to the side despite the wind was blowing directly into me and all the way to settle atop the person's head as he reached up to feel for it. "Ah! There it is! I could've sworn I took it off." I had to do a double-take as he got up. Did the hat somehow grow in size? It was fitting Skitty's head just fine; and she had a much small head compared to humans. I looked back at her as she slammed the glass down on the table, about half a glass drank already.

"Whoo boy that hits the spot!" she said with a burp. "Now then, I'm giving you one chance to reveal where his cloth is."

"Or what?" the purple cat asked as Skitty began grooming her left paw. "You're going to try threatening us?"

"Ha! As if," the reptilian Pokemon said as Skitty dipped her paw into the milk. What I found odd about that motion was that the paw itself wasn't dipped into it, but rather a single claw; and she was doing all this while keeping her attention upon the pair. "Threats don't frighten us. If they did, we'd be lousy thieves and probably quit early on. So what makes you think we'll tell you anything?"

Having kept watch on her claw, it was now being traced along the rim of the glass, as she remained silent, circling around and around without end without breaking her gaze. I wasn't sure what she was doing, but for some reason, watching her do that was somehow causing my ears to ring. As the ringing grew louder, I realized that it wasn't because of the sudden daze I was in watching her, but of the claw that circled the rim which was emitting forth the source of it. I noticed that people and Pokemon within the building were searching for the source of the noise as they attempted to block it out by covering their ears. Even I had to raise a paw to try and block out what sounded like somebody wailing at a high volume.

"Stop it!" I heard the purple cat cry out. "You're hurting my ears!" I noticed that Skitty seemed unaffected by the horrendous noise she was making as she simply sat there continuing to circle her claw along the rim. How was she able to tune it out so easily?

"All right! All right! We'll tell you what you want to know. Just please stop making that noise!" the reptilian Pokemon cried as Skitty brought her claw to a stop; raising an eyebrow inquisitively. It took several minutes for everyone to recover as we made to subdue the lingering ringing. Even Ted had his ears folded as I turned to look at him. He looked slightly pained from what had transpired, yet I knew he'd find his own way to heal quickly.

"So then," Skitty said once she gave enough time. "What were you on about with telling me what I wanted to know?"

The Pokemon looked at one another before the purple cat let loose a sigh. "We normally don't give back what we take, but in this case, we'll make an exception." Skitty remained un-moving, keeping the claw upon the rim on the off chance they changed their minds. I hope they didn't.

"We'll tell you where our hideout is, but..."

"But?" Skitty questioned.

"You have to play a little game we came up with on the off chance we actually were forced to reveal our location," the reptilian Pokemon said.

"What kind of game would that be?" I asked. "And will it take long? We're kind of on a time limit here."

"Worry not, Zack," Skitty said. "From the time we docked up until this point in moment, it's only been about fifty minutes."

"And you know this how?"

"I can see things no one else can!" was her response. I dared not question things any further than that as she refocused her attention. "So what game did you have in mind?"

"It's a question game you see," the purple cat spoke. "We came up with a twenty question scavenger hunt so that if by chance we were to reveal our hideout, they'd have no choice but to play."

"Even then they would never find it cause the questions would both stump and aggravate them to no end," the reptilian Pokemon added in.

"So I take it the questions are not as easy as we would like to think?" Ted questioned.

"We spent a lot of time coming up with them to ensure the safety of our hideout," the purple cat said. "I highly doubt you'd be able to answer them all within the amount of time you have."

"You have a deal!" Skitty said as she removed her claw from the glass. "We'll play your game, but on one condition."

"Which is?"

"We have a teammate who has a highly intellectual mind best suited for this situation which I think will be more than a challenge for you."

"You don't say," the purple cat said. "I just might take you up on that offer. What do you think Meguro?"

"I like that idea Lani," Meguro said. "I'd like to see what he's got."

It's settled then!" Lani said. "Bring your friend and let's see if the four of you can beat our little game."

"It is so on!" Skitty said as she hopped down from the seat. "Zack and I shall be back momentarily and then we can begin."

"Wait. I'm going to?" I asked. "Why?"

"Someone has to make more sense than I upon filling the fire lizard in," was her response.

"I guess that makes sense," I said as I turned toward Ted. "What are you going to do?"

"Someone has to make sure they don't run off to move their hideout," was his response. "Don't worry Zack-bro. With Char-bro's help, we'll get your cloth back long before the next ship arrives."

"All right then," I said as I followed Skitty out. "We'll be back as soon as possible."