New enemies
“I’ve never seen a gym battle here before, how does it work?” Saylee asked, sitting down on the edge of the battlefield. “Any special rules?”
“Same as a regular battle,” Key said. “Some gyms have special rules. I don’t think this one has any.”
“Nah, you just gotta hang loose!” Brawly said, striding past her to his side of the field. “Pimpin’ hair ornament, but a bit posh for this field!” He released his Machop, who flexed its muscles at Key.
“It’s not a hair ornament,” Key said, flicking her long blonde hair and the elaborate black-woven “ornament”, which unfurled into a large pair of Beautifly wings. Wanda floated elegantly over to the battlefield. “And it knows Gust!”
Machop was knocked straight down and did not get back up. Brawly replaced it with Meditite, who also fell to a single blow from Wanda’s wings. His Makuhita, however, was clearly tougher, so Key ordered Wanda to start out with Stun Spore to slow it down. Makuhita forced itself to move, raising its fist.
“Alright!” Brawly yelled. “Now, Bulk It Up and get ready to-”
“Gust!” Key ordered again, starting to sound a bit bored with the move that had carried her throughout almost the entire gym. Makuhita was knocked right out and did not get back up.
“That was easy,” Saylee commented. “He only had low-level Pokémon.”
“Well, missy, part of the rules are that we have teams for different trainer levels,” Brawly said, jogging over and tossing Key’s badge to her. “One badge, so one badge’s worth of power. If this was her last badge, I’d be breakin’ out the big guns! For you, ya see...” He took a good look at Saylee’s badge collection and whistled. “I think I’d need Groudon.”
“Groudon...” Saylee clicked open her Pokédex. “I don’t know about that one... oh, it’s mythological, that’s why,” she commented, following Key out of the gym. “I read up on Pokémon that I was likely to encounter on my way here. Didn’t figure myself likely to meet one that only has legends and not hard data listed under its name.”
“It’s said to be the Pokémon that created land,” Key said. “My mom told me all the fairytales about them when I was a kid. Groudon made land and Kyogre made sea, but they couldn’t agree on what the world needed more of, so they fought. Tsunamis and volcanoes and the like. It was a disaster, so Rayquaza sent them to sleep and wrapped the sky over the world to finish it.” She shrugged. “Kind of a silly story when you really think about it. If there was no land, sea or sky, where were the three of them before?”
“Well, that’s myths and fairytales for you,” Saylee said. “Sometimes they have a little bit of grounding in the truth, though. The Pokémon, at least, are sometimes real.” She snapped her Pokédex closed. “So, looks like your training this morning paid off.”
“Oh, did I show you?” Key said, excitedly grabbing Manami’s pokéball. “She evolved when I went back to train in the cave!”
“Oh, wow,” Saylee aside, appraising Manami’s new form as an Azumarill with interest. Manami winked at her. “They’re really very powerful, you know. Congratulations!”
“Thanks,” Manami said proudly. “Had a lot of fun swimming in the sea like this. We went fishing!”
“I wouldn’t bother, there’s nothing around here that you can fish for except for Tentacool,” Saylee said, rolling her eyes.
“I noticed,” Key said dryly. “I caught a Magikarp back in Petalburg. These fishing rods that the man in the centre gave us are kinda rubbish, y’know. What were you up to, if not fishing?”
“Arranging a very long-distance call,” Saylee sighed. The Professor had made some modifications to Saylee’s Pokédex to make it compatible with Hoenn technology, but it still didn’t always work properly and she still couldn’t have any of her Pokémon sent. Chaz was threatening to fly all the way out on his own, but Teddy, who had evolved that morning, had promised on the honour of his flame that Saylee was looked after. Saylee had heard Chaz and Chip talking like this before and it seemed to satisfy Chaz, which was what was important. “Mr Briney’s on his way back, so we’ll be on our way to Slateport soon.”
“By the way, how did you know that we were here to see Steven Stone?” Key said. “How do you know who he is? He was a big celebrity a few years ago when he became Champion, but then he left and nobody quite knows why.”
“I feel like we’re going to find out soon...” Saylee thought, but instead said, “like I said, I did my research. I know who most of the major figures in the country are. We met Mr Stone and he mentioned a letter for someone named Steven, the names Steven and Stone just kind of came together in my head, and when I thought about the precious stones in President Stone’s office... Steven Stone’s famously nuts for rare rocks, isn’t he?”
“Well, yeah,” Key agreed. “Those, and his crazy-strong steel-types. Oh, man, if I’d taken the challenge years ago, I’d have had to fight that Metagross...” She shivered.
“Powerful psychics, that line,” Saylee said, reading her Pokédex, “but steel. Very much steel. Steel-types are very tough, but I’ve never been frightened of them.” She snapped her Pokédex closed again, grinning. “I like playing with fire too much.”
~
“What the hell kind of landing was that?” Saylee sputtered, spitting out sand. “I thought this was a famous dockyard? Why are we crashing on the beach?!”
“Oh, them big fancy docks don’t like my little boat,” Mr Briney chortled, hopping down. Key pulled herself up and them fell over the edge of the boat, looking a little dazed. “Sorry ‘bout that, but I bet it woke ye up, eh? Now, I’m off to meet some old buddies o’ mine. Have fun, girls, and don’t hesitate to call on Mr Briney should you need me again!” He toddled off, Pecko sitting on his shoulder and singing old sea shanties. Saylee began smacking wet sand out of her hair.
“Eurgh... showers first, Captain Stern tomorrow?” Key suggested.
“Agreed,” Saylee said feverently. It was getting dark anyway, and since she had no idea where Captain Stern lived, catching him at work was probably a better bet. The docks would be closed already.
There was a bustling market, which was lighting lanterns instead of closing. Some people were packing up and leaving stalls, but other stallholders were filling the spaces straight away with crates of produce and new stalls. Saylee filed that under “check it out when I don’t look like a Sandshrew”. There was also a big sign pointing them to the Oceanic Museum, which apparently was having a big exhibit with water and soil samples from different regions; this didn’t sound vastly tempting to Saylee, but evidently it was exciting for a lot of tourists, because in the dim twilight Saylee could make out a large group of people massing in front of the museum, queuing for the opening in the morning.
~
“He’ll be working at his office in the Museum,” the designer said, pointing them towards the Oceanic Museum. “You can go right on up, the work’s all public.”
“Thank you,” Saylee said, heading back down towards the museum. “Geez. I hope these parts are important.”
“Yeah, then it’ll be worth wandering all over this city,” Key sighed.
“No, because then it means that they’re working on something major, and I want a look,” Saylee said. Key gave her a shove.
“You sound slightly evil when you talk like that, you know,” she pointed out. The queue outside of the museum was gone, but a look within showed it full of punters clustering in groups, examining the exhibits. For some reason, all of them were in hats and heavy coats.
“Where are they from, the desert?” Saylee wondered, paying her entry fee and heading in. She nearly walked right into a guy who was moving past the water samples. “Oh, sorry.”
“Watch it...” the man began to snarl, but when he looked around he suddenly whimpered and curled up into a ball. The others stared at him.
“Hey, are you okay?” Saylee asked, reaching down to him. “Did I hurt you?” She grabbed his arm to try and pull him back upright, but she only managed to pull his sleeve back, revealing several raw, parallel scars on his forearm. Scars in the shape of a Torchic’s claws.
“Pl-please don’t hurt me!” The thief whimpered, cowering away. He was starting to draw looks from others, so Saylee jerked him to his feet. Under his heavy jacket, he was still wearing the striped shirt, and she could see the edge of his headscarf under his cap.
“Give me one good reason why not to,” Saylee growled.
“I’ll tell you,” he whimpered. “We’re here for Captain Stern. Please! I’m sorry! Please have this! I’m sorry!” He shoved something into her hands, and when she let go of him to take it, he ran off.
“What the hell was that?” Key said, watching him run. “What did he give you?”
“A TM,” Saylee said, turning it over in her hands. “Thief, appropriately enough.” She leaned over the display, beckoning to Key to do the same so that they could whisper. “They’re all wearing the same thing under their coats as him. Striped shirt, blue headscarf, and all of their trousers are the exact same shade of blue...”
In her peripheral vision, Key could see it, now that she was looking for it; the same shirts, visible under their coats, and flashes of blue whenever someone moved their hat or pushed up the brim, sweltering in the beach heat. They were all dressed the same as the thief.
“He’s not a lone nutjob,” Saylee murmured. “This is an organization. They’re going to pull something here with Captain Stern.”
“His office is upstairs, right?” Key said, glancing briefly at the stairs. “Let’s hurry!”
“Don’t run,” Saylee murmured. “They’re waiting for something. We don’t want to press them into working early. Let’s just casually work our way over via the exhibits. Stay calm, don’t stare at them, and look interested in soil and water.”
“You sound like you’ve done this before,” Key muttered as they both leaned in to examine a scale model of a cruise ship.
“This was what I was hoping to avoid in Hoenn,” Saylee muttered, disgruntled. “Why is it always me...”
“Was this what Steven was warning me about?” She thought, carefully earwigging a couple of mooks who were complaining about “the boss” not being around yet. “Does he know about these people? About what they’re planning? What are they planning? Do they just want a ship? Or is Captain Stern building something else...?”
“What do you think’s upstairs?” Key said lightly, curiously, peering up the staircase. “Do you think we’re allowed to go up there?” A couple of the mooks glanced at them and then looked away, dismissing them as unimportant tourists. Saylee smiled.
“Well, it’s not like it’s blocked off, is it?” She suggested. “Let’s have a peek!” She headed up the stairs to the quieter upper offices. There was almost nobody up there; in fact, no actual, normal tourists seemed to be in the museum. The only person around was an older man in a labcoat and glasses, making some notes on a schematic. He glanced up when Saylee quietly shut the door behind her.
“Hello, girls,” he greeted them. “Can I help you?”
“Captain Stern, right?” Key said. He nodded.
“That is I,” he confirmed. “Are you looking for me?”
“We are,” Saylee said, “and so are a lot of people downstairs with likely sinister intentions. Is there another way out of here?”
“Another way out?” Captain Stern was looking alarmed. “What’s this about?”
“Nobody move! Hands in the air and no funny business!”
“Bloody hell, did they actually just say that?” Saylee said, turning to face the two men who had just burst through the office doors. They were dressed identically to the thief, and had released a pair of angry-looking Carvanha, which were propping themselves up on the office floor by their fins and snarling at them.
“Hand over the package,” one of them ordered Key, who was carrying it in her arms. “And you, Captain, you’re coming with us!”
“No, he’s not,” Saylee said, releasing Teddy. Key opted for Thomas. “Best to avoid direct contact as much as possible,” she added to Key. “They’ve got Rough Skin. It damages on contact. Nasty stuff.”
“Absorb should work, right?” Key replied. “Heals as it hurts.”
“Only one way to find out,” Thomas said, grabbing one of the Carvanha as it leapt forward, snapping at his head. Thomas caught it easily in his hands, and thought he winced in pain, a second later his hands glowed, his injuries healing as he drained Carvanha’s energy. The angry fish’s struggles slowly abated.
Meanwhile, the other kept leaping at Teddy, who repeatedly knocked it aside with powerful kicks. The Rough Skin was having a visible effect; Teddy only needed two kicks to take the fish down, but he winced, his feet developing raw patches where he’d made contact with Carvanha. One of the mooks released a Zubat, while the other made a bad attempt at sneaking around the battlefield towards Key and Saylee.
“Teddy, take out that Zubat,” Saylee said. “Ember’ll do it.” Teddy inhalted, igniting his flame glands, while Thomas leapt over his head and pinned the second mook to the wall.
“And what are you up to, genius?” He said, wrapping one of his wrist-leaves around the man’s neck. Behind them, the Zubat fell in flames, and Teddy leapt over to knock down the lead mook. “Showoff.”
“You’re one to talk,” Teddy replied, standing on the man’s upper arms in order to pin him down. “So, Saylee, what do we do with them now?”
“Right, you two,” Saylee said, going up to the man pinned by Teddy. “Who are you, what do you want, and who’s in charge, because you’re clearly not the brains of the outfit.”
“That would be me.”
Saylee whipped around to see that a third man had appeared in the doorway. He was different from the two thugs; Dressed differently, in a black suit with no shirt underneath, showing off a well-built physique. The man had a short black beard and moustache, with his hair hidden under a blue bandana like the rest. He had his arms crossed and was scowling at Saylee, Key, and their captives, focusing on the latter.
"I came to see what was taking so long to snatch some parts,” he snarled, “and you simpletons are held up by a pair of girls?''
“Damn straight,” Key said, stepping up to stand by Saylee. “And we’re more than happy to kick your ass too, big boy.” The man turned his glare on her, but Key glared right back, staring him down. He smirked.
“You’ve got spunk!” He laughed. “I like that. I am Team Aqua's Archie.”
“Charmed, not,” Key snorted.
“So you’re in charge of this disaster?” Saylee asked, poking her captive in the head with her foot. “What do you want here?”
“Tell me, why do you meddle in the noble affairs of Team Aqua?” Archie demanded. “Pokémon, people, all life depends on the sea. So, Team Aqua is dedicated to the expansion of the sea. Don't you agree? What we are doing is a magnificent undertaking!”
“I’m sorry, are you trying to make theft, assault and kidnapping sound like a good thing?” Key said incredulously. “Not to mention murder.” Archie looked taken aback by their negative reactions.
“Ah, fine...” He sighed. “You're still too young. It can't be helped that you do not understand our ideals.” He straightened his suit. “But, if you ever oppose us again, there will be consequences! Heed my warning! Farewell!" With that overdramatic proclamation, he whipped a pair of flashbombs out of his suit and dropped them. Saylee and Key both threw up their hands to cover their eyes, and Teddy and Thomas both jerked back, dropping their prisoners. By the time the light faded, all three of them were gone.
“...What the hell just happened?” Key wondered aloud.
“Bloody, bloody hell,” Saylee groaned, banging her head off of the wall. “It’s Team Rocket all over again. Only this time, the boss is an idiot too.”