Chapter 58: A Challenge of Intellectual Wit
Humans and Pokémon alike bustled about the island of Porta Vista, being drawn into the delights of food, attractions, and most importantly: the beach. This island was known for its popularity in attracting tourists from all over who sought to travel or even get away as a means of vacation. Amongst the bustling crowd were the familiar group of Pokemon following behind the intellectual Charmander three of them, well maybe two at the very least, hoped would be able to come through for them. The other one, well, there's no real telling what she was thinking. She was just there with her friends following along.
The other two members of the group were in between both them and the Charmander ahead of them, anxious about the game they had started with the latter, but not completely letting it bother them. They've done this plenty of times before and each time they managed to reign victorious, so this time wouldn't be any different from all the other times.
As it were, Charcoal continued leading the group along the island, searching for the spot so as to give his answer to the two troublesome Pokemon. He stopped a few times to make sure he had his bearings right before continuing, scanning the area around.
"You think he's going to actually know where we first saw them?" Zack asked Ted. "He was still on the ship when we saw them."
"Have faith in our friend," Ted said calmly. "I'm certain that he'll be able to come through for us."
"I hope so," Zack said. "That cloth is sentimental to me. I can't just let those two keep it."
"No worries, Zack bro," Ted said. "Charcoal will have this in no time."
As it were, Charcoal began to slow whilst looking all around, placing his claws on his hips, tapping a foot before turning to face us. "Right here," he said. "This I believe is where my friends first saw the two of you."
"Ha!" Lani said. "A valiant effort but completely wrong."
"Yeah!" Meguro spoke. "We were nowhere near here."
"Sorry to break it to you," Ted said suddenly. "But I have to vouch on Char-bro's claim."
"Oh yeah?" Meguro questioned. "And how would you know?"
Without so much as a word, Ted simply extended his claw outward, revealing a bout of sand spreading out in a single direction. "Your sand trick could use a little work," was his reply. "Especially if all you're doing is targeting one individual."
The reactions Ted expected were spot on as Meguro gawked in response while Lani only facepawed due to Meguro's reaction.
"Need I say more?" Ted questioned
"Even if that were true, you ended up helping your friend," Lani said. "So you lose the game."
"And in what way did he help?" Charcoal asked them. "All he did was vouch for me, but it was you two who pretty much confirmed that this is where you were seen."
"And what makes you so sure?" Meguro questioned him.
"The fact you're acting confidently smug," Charcoal said with a smug grin of his own.
The reaction Lani and Meguro gave following suit is precisely what Charcoal had hoped for. They both flinched slightly, their expressions betraying them as Lani gritted her teeth while Meguro clammed up.
"You're not going to pull one over my eyes," Charcoal said. "So how about you stop playing games and be honest with the answers I give?"
Lani sighed, irritated that she had been called out. "Fine!" she growled. "So you got the first question right, but we're not going to make this easy for you "
"I'm more than ready," Charcoal said.
"Have it your way," Lani said. "Second question: what shines bright like the sun and able to blind others with their dazzling beauty?
"What kind of question is that?" Zack asked. "There're a lot of things that shine bright!"
"That is true," Charcoal said as he pondered the question. "There are a lot of things the sun's light reflect off of, so that'll be pretty hard to pinpoint."
Charcoal closed his eyes and pondered deep within his thoughts to discover what the answer might be. After a moment of deep thinking, he opened them back up and looked at the buildings close by.
"Searching through the stores would take too much time," he thought. "There are way too many trinkets and such that could cause a blinding effect on others and besides, there's no guarantee that the item I choose would be the right one."
Charcoal tilted his head, shifting his gaze upward toward the sun, being careful not to look directly into, a feeling of perplexity washed over him.
"You alright, Charcoal?" Zack asked. "You look stumped."
"Your friend's right," Meguro said. "It's totally fine to concede. Our questions aren't the easiest to answer."
"Indeed they're not," Charcoal said in agreement. "Yet they pique my challenging curiosity. Your question holds no limit to what the answer could be, for it could be a number of infinite things such as a window, a mirror, even a piece of jewelry or even a diamond itself, but I could be wrong on any one of those."
"Well you can take as much time as you need to think about the answer," Lani purred. "We don't mind waiting one bit."
"As you've stated," Charcoal said with crossed arms before looking back towards Zack.
"How would I know though?" he questioned himself. "How would I know what object it is they have in mind? A lot is riding on this and it's more than likely Zack will stay here until he finds this cloth of his."
He cupped his chin up on his claws, thinking deeply about what life it would be like if Zack weren't around. It was true that he was still working on his friendship with the Umbreon and had a long way to go, but without Zack around it would definitely feel less…. empty perhaps? A lot less joyous without his adventurous spirit.
Charcoal paused on the thought suddenly as he backtracked on a word that crossed his mind.
"Joyous…," he thought. "Joy brings happiness and happiness brings smiles. Smiles are known jokingly used as a way to be blinded like the sun!"
"I GOT IT!" Charcoal yelled suddenly as the answer clicked for him. "Smiles! Smiles shine as bright as the sun as they blind people with the dazzle others express!"
"Haaaaaaaa!?" Lani responded. "You figured it out? Er, I mean-" She bared her teeth and stomped her paw on the ground. "Damn it! That threw me off!"
"He really is an intellect!" Meguro said in astonishment. "We might be in trouble, Lani."
"It's not over until it's over!" Lani snapped at him, causing him to flinch. "Besides, that was only the second question. It was nothing but a fluke I'm sure that he would guess the answer."
"R-right," Meguro said. "We still have eighteen questions left and all the time to let them figure it out."
"It would be appreciated if you didn't," Ted interjected calmly. "Unless you wish to deal with her." Nodding his head, Lani and Meguro looked straight at Skitty who was busy wrestling with a familiar tattered shoe.
Meguro merely blinked while Lani hung her head in exasperation. "Fine," she said. "We'll get you through them all. It just depends on how long it takes your friend to figure it out."
"Speaking of which, third question please," Charcoal said.
"I'll take this one," Meguro said. "Question three: where can one go to beat the heat of the blazing sun that radiates down upon them?"
Ted instantly places a paw over Zack's mouth before he had the chance to say anything, preempting his reaction. Charcoal, meanwhile, returned to his usual thinking pose as he pondered the question.
"There are plenty of places one could go to shelter from the heat," he thought. "A building, shade, the ocean… some place that can protect them from the rays. What would be the right answer though?"
He shifted his gaze around, searching for a possible place everyone would flock to the most. Would it be some place shady? Or perhaps some place with cool air? These questions floated around in his mind as he tapped his foot again.
It did astound him that two young Pokemon would be able to create such difficult questions, but then again they spent a good deal of time working on this so as such, it would be expected to be challenged with questions such as these.
Back to the matter at hand, Charcoal ceased his tapping and turned. "No good standing here trying to figure it out," he said as he began walking. "Let's see what we can find around here."
Ten minutes had passed since the beginning of the game and only two questions of the twenty had been answered thus far. As it were, Charcoal was currently leading the party in tow as they walked along the bustling pathway, taking a good look at each building individually.
"You think he'll be able to figure it out?" Zack asked Ted.
"Chillax, Zack bro," Ted said. "Char-bro will come through for us. I have faith."
"I sure hope so," Zack said as Charcoal came to a stop suddenly. With claws on his hips, Charcoal turned his head in the opposite direction, staring at the numerous people and Pokemon upon the beach. There were long lines of them standing before food stalls, risking the exposure of the sun just for a bite to eat.
Some of them fanned themselves either with handheld fans or with just their hands while others wore hats in the hopes they could keep themselves protected. Then there were the poor unfortunate souls who simply stood there with no protection whatsoever with the possibility they were wearing sunscreen or not.
Charcoal's gaze remained fixated where he was looking, wracking his brain on the answer before he smiled, chuckling a little.
"Something funny?" Lani asked, a bit perturbed by his chuckling.
"Oh nothing really," Charcoal replied. "It's just that sometimes the hardest of questions could be staring you in the face and you wouldn't even realize it unless you really thought about it."
"Uhh… I guess?" Meguro said. "What are you even getting at?"
"The fact that this is the answer," Charcoal answered, pointing out towards everyone before them.
"What? People?" Zack asked. "The Pokemon? The two combined?"
"The supposedly dead guy drifting in the distance?" Skitty asked, receiving odd looks.
"The beach," Charcoal replied. "People flock to the beach to beat the heat."
"And what would make you so certain this is the answer?" Meguro asked.
"While it would be easy for people to use shade as a covering or an overhang with fans, they're still out in the heat, sweltering," he explained. "The hardest one to figure out were indoor buildings. Sure people were inside where they could cool down, but they would eventually have to go back out in it. Besides, there are multiple buildings people flock to, but not as expansive as a beach would be."
"Woooowww!" Meguro said in awe. "You really are an intellect." He gulped. "Lani, maybe we should just-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Lani growled. "We're going all the way with this. I need you with me on this."
"Well… alright," Meguro said a bit unsure. "You think we can stump him."
"Oh trust me," Lani said, glaring at the Charmander. "Sooner or later he'll find a question he can't answer."
"We'll see about that," Charcoal said. "Bring on the next question if you would."