Chapter 100 – Great Peril

Chapter 100 – Great Peril

The next morning we were standing in line at the ticket booth in Mossdeep City. The night prior I had Victini teleport us over the island in the hope that getting there before daybreak would guarantee us a spot at the front of the line. My genius plan was dashed as I encountered trainers and conference fans picketing outside. After asking some poignant questions I came to find out that all of them were either conference attendees or participants who had come up with a similar plan as myself. Emulating the others and hoping I wouldn’t run afoul of the local laws I set up my tent right there on the pavement and got started on making dinner for the team before calling it a night.  

Camping out in a city was a first for me but my team seemed to like the ambient atmosphere. None of us had to sleep with one eye open in case a wild Pokémon tried sneaking off with our rations. Furthermore, traveling with fire types you always had to keep a look out for the occasional sneeze which could result in forest fires. Before drifting off to sleep I recalled most of the team back into their balls except for Raven and Orin. Being ghost and dark type respectively they tended to prefer lounging under the open night sky.

Orin, who had completely come out of his shell at this point, enjoyed spooking some of the other picketers. Not intentionally but all the regular folks were jumping out of their sleeping bags after the friendly little fella phased through the linings of their tents to give each of them their own complementary meet and greet. The only person who seemed to enjoy his surprise visit was an unkempt goth girl who promptly decided to try and catch the little ghost indirectly causing me to lose a large amount of good night’s sleep.

Now that the sun was starting to peek through the horizon I had done away with my camping gear and joined the reformed waiting line together with all the other hopeful passengers. Raven kept still beside me giving me the doe eyes all too eager to get out of this line and have a hearty breakfast.

“…Aaaarf?”

“Me too girl. The booth opens up at seven AM sharp. We buy a ticket and then we’ll hit up the nearest seafood restaurant. Have you ever had Krabby claw meat? I heard it tastes delicious.”

“Ruff!”

Just like most other ethical food made out of Pokémon, a krabby's pincer grows back after removal. Regenerating its claws was a slow and arduous process but one that the Pokémon would eventually recover from. Without its claws a Krabby’s chances in the wild were slim to none so this particular delicacy was not hunted for but farmed.

As I was standing there waiting to be one of the first to buy their ticket I wondered where Victini had gone off to. At this point the little hellion had accrued quite a number of side projects and that’s not even mentioning all the friends that she made along the way. All of whom were potential recipients of her spontaneous visits.

‘Here’s to hoping she’s not picking fights with that pack of Electrike again.’

Window blinds were removed, and we could see the first sign of activity within the ferry booth. The crowd who had been waiting all night became animated as the first person in line received the opportunity to buy tickets. Just like that we progressed further up the line until eventually…

“How can I help you?”

“One ferry ticket to Ever Grande City please.”

“Business or pleasure?”

The man sitting behind the counter seemed bored and a tad lethargic as he processed my request. His navy-blue outfit and earring made it obvious that this man of the sea was not looking forward to spending the rest of his day sitting here stuck doing paperwork.

“Uhmm… business? I am competing in the tournament if that counts?”

“Yes, it does. Trainers who have properly registered and qualified for the conference get priority seating and have their admission price refunded.”

“Really?! The association actually pays for everything?”

“Indeed, although we don’t get many qualifying trainers. Those that do make use of our services will have their money returned once they arrive on the island. Still… It has long been a point of pride for first time participants to brave the waterfall leading up into the city.”

“That’s silly! I don’t even train water type Pokémon and who in their right mind would even want to climb a waterfall?!”

“Due to that old time tradition, we only get around one tenth of the actual competitors boarding our ships. Most of the people standing in this line are spectators who paid to see the conference in person.”

‘Ugh… so at least ninety percent of our competition have water type Pokémon on their team. That’s Hoenn for you.’

“It is safer than one might think. During the final two months of the circuit the rangers are deployed to save any trainer whose Pokémon are too weak or inexperienced to make the climb. Could I please have a look at your trainer’s license?”

“Yeah, sure here it is. What about my badges don’t you need to see those too?”

“I assume you’ve already successfully registered yourself for the league. That means your achievements are already in our system. We only really need some kind of valid ID to proceed.”

Not needing to be told something twice I hurriedly fished out my trainer’s license and pushed it through the small opening underneath the glass panel. The ticket salesman processed my information with practiced ease and I soon found myself discussing price and other small details with him.

“One regular ticket is two thousand pokédollars that doesn’t include meals or anything else. If you’d like the privilege to bring out Pokémon who are classified as larger than medium size that will cost you one thousand extra. There are two scheduled boat trips for today, one in the late afternoon and the other will set off in about thirty minutes or so. Which one would you rather be on?”

“The ferry that will be leaving in thirty minutes please. As for the premium ticket… would my Houndoom be classified as a larger than medium sized Pokémon?”

Standing up the man peered over the rim of his glasses to get a clearer look at Raven. She wasn’t the biggest Pokémon I had on hand, but I’ve gone into enough public properties to know that both Numsy and Glove were classified as large Pokémon.

“That Houndoom of yours should be fine. So just a regular ticket then?”

“No, I was just curious. Ring me up for a ticket with all the extra bells and whistles.”

If the money was going to be restituted anyway, I’d rather that our hours at sea be as comfortable as possible. The man did as I requested and in turn the ticket price went up from a clean one thousand all the way to thirty-five hundred. In exchange we got our own private cabin for the duration of our voyage plus a complementary meal for me and my entire team. Thanking the man I quickly left the ticket booth to avoid further wasting the time of the other people standing in line. 

Figuring that the boat was set to leave in thirty minutes I made my way further into the harbor looking for the double duty freighter that would carry us to the final point on my journey.

“Ruff…?”

“Sorry girl, here's hoping that they also serve Krabby meat onboard.”

‘If Tini doesn’t hurry up she’ll be late for the departure.’

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Onboard the S.S. Alyssum*

“And what would the sir and his companions like for breakfast today?”

“Vess!” “Arf!” “Came!” “Ninee!” “Pent!” “Nitan!”

Each of my teammates shouted, growled or otherwise chirped their order all at the same time, confusing both me and the waiting staff. I was also quite sure the sailors who doubled as this ship’s serving waiter could not understand a lick of pokéspeak from anything other than water type Pokémon.

“Not all at the same time you guys.”

“Ninee!” “Vess!”

“And girls obviously.”

As I was the only one who could read aside from Victini who wasn’t here at the moment. I picked out dishes which would suit each of my Pokémon best. Sadly, for Raven the menu contained no Krabby meat dishes.

“I’d like two Remoraid Tartare, one large Sitrus Salad with extra grains, one platter of assorted berries half Leppa half Cheri, One gluten-free glazed honey doughnut and a bowl of rice Krispies please.”

It had been a while since I’ve had puffed rice with milk for breakfast. My grandparents had a strong distaste for big cereal brands and wouldn’t let either me, or Zinnia have any. As the waiter walked away I now had the exhausting task of explaining the menu choices to my partner Pokémon.

“Arf?”

“I know but there wasn’t any Krabby on the menu this time. We’ll look for some in Ever Grande City, okay? Remoraid isn’t bad by any means. Rena had it before and she enjoyed the taste.”

“Nine!”

Rena wholeheartedly agreed with me. The remoraid dish she had eaten back in Striaton City had made a lasting impression on her. Deciding to believe in her teammate’s opinion Raven settled down. Glove and Numsy seemed content with the dishes I ordered for them but my team had another picky eater.

“Vess?”

“Gluten free is a healthier option. It's less fiber sure but, with the number of berries you eat that shouldn’t be a problem. You like honey right?”

“Vess…”

Ever since hatching Halo I’ve done plenty of research on the dietary habits of bug type Pokémon. Their diet plans written down by experts on the topic tended to contain a fair bit more natural sugars like honey or tree syrup. That’s why I didn’t mind getting her the occasional sugary snack when ordering out or visiting restaurants.

As we were waiting for my order to arrive, I couldn’t help but notice the weirdly dressed occult girl from last night staring at us like I owed her money. Probably still ticked that Orin already had a trainer. She was seated at the table nearest to us unaccompanied by any Pokémon. Feeling that it was best to bite the bullet now before things could escalate, I motioned for my team to stay put as I walked over to her.

“Uhmm excuse me?”

“….”

“Again, sorry for last night. My Lampent has only just recently evolved and now being able to fly has trouble containing his curiosity. My name is Egon and we are competing in this year’s conference.”

“…Helena.”

“Is that a Kalosian accent? I’ve never met anyone from that region before.”

“Yes.”

“That’s nice. Are you coming to cheer on a friend or relative?”

Me trying to engage her in small talk was met with partial success. I could already tell that this person was an introvert either due to crippling shyness or not being a people person in general. Every response she gave me was limited to one or two sentences at the most. From what I could glean Helena seemed to be an international tourist from Kalos and she especially adores ghost type Pokémon. Using that knowledge I cooked up a scheme to have her open up a bit.

“Orin! Come over here for a quick second.”

“Laaamp?”

The ghost type who had been busy entertaining Halo floated over from our table curious as to what was going on. My off-color ghost companion presence captured Helena’s attention completely, turning me into the equivalent of a background character.

“Beautiful…”

“Pent?!”

This was actually the first time Orin got praised for being a looker. Usually, the compliments were more in regard to his rarity or unorthodox behavior. Orin actually grew embarrassed, unsuccessfully hiding his face with shadow appendages. 

“There’s not much of a difference between my Orin and other Lampents, at least I think so?”

“There is! Other Lampents’ flames are indigo not violet.”

‘Gotcha.’

Just like that I managed to get her to open up a bit more. At first it was all gushing about Orin, but eventually other more interesting topics came to the fore. Helena only held a passing interest in the competition. Her true purpose was to have a life changing encounter as she put it. Still living with her parents in Geosenge Town, the girl saved up money as a fortuneteller. 

“Fortune telling, that's… interesting. Do you have a Pokémon who is well versed in Future Sight?” 

“No, I have learned the spiritual arts under the tutelage of my mentor.”

My suspension of disbelief was not great enough to overcome common skepticism. Future Sight which was practiced by psychic type Pokémon and espers using their greater than average mental capacity for probability calculations. Contrarily, spiritual divination relied on unseen spirits throwing practitioners a bone. I knew for a fact that invoking spirits was possible with the right training, but their fickle nature often caused people to go on fruitless golduck chases.

“Tomorrow I will offer my services in the city and earn my plane ticket back. Would you like a demonstration?”

“Ehmmm… that’s alright. I’d rather that each new day be a surprise. …!? What are you…?”

Helena ignored my wishes and had somehow magicked up an ancient looking Ouija board. The zipper on her own travel bag which was closed up until now had opened on its own power clueing me in to what was going on.

“A ghost type?”

“Pent!”

Orin confirmed my suspicions by intensifying his flames highlighting the girl’s unusual shadow which seemed to be dimorphic in nature contrasting unnaturally whereas normal shadows should remain still. Under my scrutinous gaze I could make out a pair of sharp eyes giving me a wink hello. Helena seemed to be completely unbothered by the entity living inside of her own shadow. 

“This is my lifelong friend Haunter.”

“Haaaauun!”

The Pokémon, who was now properly identified grabbed a hold of my hand with its spectral detached claws and forced me to hold on to the planchette, resting upon this piece of carved wood. I felt quite silly being made to participate in a children’s board game but staying at Phoebe’s home I had learned not to deny the whims of its spectral inhabitants or face severe pranking consequences. 

While both Helena and I held on to the planchette I felt this piece of carved wood move by its own power. Spelling out a sequence of letters which spelled out two separate words.

I M M I N E N T D A N G E R

“I see… You almost got me there! What a mischievous fellow this Haunter is.”

“You don’t believe…?”

‘How do I spin this without her taking offense?!’

“…In the eastern parts of the world and especially us Hoenn natives tend to put more stock in fortune lots or reading the cracks within heated Stantler bones. A friend of mine is a spiritualist herself. I could share her contact information if you’d like to learn more?”

Helena seemed distraught and I was about to recant my words when the woman stood up and turned away from the table we were seated at.

“Where are you going? Is it because of me?!”

“…I have to warn the captain.”

With that she rushed off into the crowd. I was about to chase her down when our server arrived carrying with him steaming platters of food.

“Pent?”

“She’s a strange one alright, but let’s eat breakfast first. I am starving!”

Our entire group proceeded to partake of their respective gratuity meals while minding their manners. I had taught each of them basic table manners for when we were in a public setting like this. While I was casually eating spoons full of cereal I couldn’t help but feel bad for Orin who usually made do with absorbing life energy.

“Glove, could you share one of your berries with Orin?”

“Nitan!”

Not minding at all, the most senior Pokémon on the team laid down one of his Leppa berries on the table giving tacit permission to the ghost type to drain its life energy. Scrutinizing the unusual meal Orin proceeded to slowly drain the berry of its vitality turning the perfectly ripe Leppa into a desiccated husk. This way of feeding was a tad ominous but something I had gotten used to over the course of our journey.Just like that it didn’t take long before all my Pokémon were finished with their meals. 

“Cameeee!” “Awooo!” “Nineee!” “Laaar!” 

All of them let out sounds of contentment while those who could patted their stomachs, praising my dish selections. Even Halo, who was the pickiest eater of them all, gave me a loving headbutt to express gratitude for introducing her to the world of fried pastries. 

“Aaaaw man, that hit the sweetspot! See? I told you gluten free wasn’t so bad you little cutie you!”

“Vess!”

“Well, it’s about time I go looking for Helena. That girl has a lot of explaining to do. Return!”

I returned all of my partners back to their respective poké balls leaving me free to go looking around the ship’s deck. The other passengers were a varied bunch, but I could also tell that most of them were not professional trainers due to the amount of poké balls shared between them. Most of them carried just one ball for basic self-defense and companionship.

‘Hmm it shouldn’t be that difficult to find one gloomy girl. I best check the ship’s helm.’

I had become quite familiar with the basics of a seafaring vessel’s layout during my three weeklong sea voyage to Unova so it didn’t take long to find out where I needed to go. However, as I kept walking a kind of lethargic energy started permeating my body. It got so bad that I had to keep a hold of the nearby railing to prevent myself from collapsing onto the deck.

“What the…? There’s no way I am this sleepy. Just got to lie down for a little bit…”

As my field of view darkened the last thing I noticed was a man dressed in a chef’s outfit standing over me.

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One unknowable span of time later*

Before I opened my eyes, I could already tell through my clammy clothes that my entire body had been soaked in sea water. The distinct smell of brine assaulted my senses, and the sound of ocean waves was ever-present. I felt myself tied up like a spoink heading for the slaughter, the ropes binding me didn’t even give an inch as I tried to hopelessly free myself.

“Our sleeping beauty finally wakes up.”

Opening my eyes I came face to face with a large green haired man with the worst case of the evil eyes I had ever met. The rest of his facial features were indistinguishable because of the painted diver’s mask he was wearing. The man was completely kitted out with a chameleon wetsuit, diving gear and a gnarly looking sidearm clearly built to take out both people and Pokémon.

“Who are you? Where am I?!”

“Who I am doesn’t matter. The only thing that does is you telling me where your last Pokémon is hiding itself.”

Having earned a moment to regain my senses I took this chance to assess my current situation. 

‘This is a limestone cave, there is a significant pressure build-up in my ears which means that we are deep underwater. Where are my partners…?’

Taking another look at the man’s supply stash which wasn’t covered at all I could see six of my poké balls lined up housed in glass cases made to house poké balls. The storage devices wriggled and heaved on their own clearly showing my friends’ best efforts to escape but those cases were locked too tight giving no space for the poké balls to fully open.

‘Highly illegal poacher equipment, not even the black market sells these. If a Jenny catches you with one of those glass cases, they’ll lock you up and throw away the key. This guy is a professional.’ 

The criminal seemed to have grown fed up with my silence resorting to whacking me over the head with a closed fist. 

Whack!

“Where is your last Pokémon!? We can do this all-day kid no one is coming to save you.” 

The flash of pain was only temporary, and I actually felt relieved for the fact that this poacher with all his skills at kidnapping and thievery didn’t have more brutal means to force my compliance.

“What Pokémon? Trainers are only allowed to carry six even little kids know that.”

“Do you take me for a fool?! This unregistered poké ball right here!! Where is my bounty?!”

The white and black rimmed poké ball he slipped out of his sleeve was waved in my face confirming my suspicions that at least one of his objectives was to capture Victini. 

‘The person who hired this professional must have also commissioned our previous stalker and gained knowledge on Victini’s status and power afterwards.’

“I don’t know what to tell you Sir.”

“Useless! I should’ve brought Hypno for this.”

‘Arceus! Thank you, lord! For making the criminal forget his mind molestation Pokémon.’

“Listen closely, brat! If you stay quiet and behave I will let you go after three days.”

“Three days?! That means I’ll be missing out on the tournament!”

“That’s the point! Now… to compensate me for my generosity you’ll be offering me all of your Pokémon. Plenty of customers would be interested in purchasing my new Larvesta and Lampent and as for the rest of them… there is always a need for extra bodies in the fighting pits.”

‘I’ve only heard rumors to think the fighting pits are actually real?!’

Pokémon thievery has always been a longstanding global problem. However, it is not like Pokémon just dole out their loyalty willy nilly to whoever illegally buys them. Partner Pokémon who have already formed strong lasting bonds are said to be sent to deep underground arenas where they are pitted against each other for the viewing pleasure of depraved individuals.   

“If you think you’re getting away with this guess again! I have plenty of friends who are expecting me at the tournament. If I don’t show up, they’ll come looking for me!”

“What did I tell you about staying quiet!!”

Whack! 

This time he had hit me hard enough for the blood vessels in my nose to rupture causing me to have a wicked nosebleed. Laying down on the ground hogtied and bleeding made it clear to me that I was well and truly screwed if I didn’t come up with a way to save ourselves on my own.

‘I don’t even know how long it’s been since we’ve been drugged. It could be a couple of hours or even an entire day. Think! What is one supposed to do in a situation like this?’

We’ve had lessons on this exact subject in trainer’s school with guest rangers coming over to explain how to handle a kidnapping situation. The corps is able to track a trainer’s whereabouts using the GPS chip installed in one’s electronic devices for me that would be my Xtransceiver and poké balls. Taking a quick glance at my wrist, I could tell that it had been taken, probably housed near a jamming device. 

‘That must also be the reason why this bastard brought me down to this underwater grotto instead of taking me ashore. It takes a while for a GPS jammer to calibrate to the frequencies emitted by seven differing signals.’

‘A half-flooded cave like this one is probably inhabited by some kind of wild Pokémon. Let’s see…’

Furthering my observations I could see that the cave’s flooded parts reflected red fluorescent lights. Which meant this place was home to either a galaxy of Staryu and Starmie or a swarm of Tentacool and Tentacruel. Having never heard of wild Staryu living anywhere else but the tourist beaches of Lilycove I could safely assume these were the latter.

‘Tentacruel are fiercely territorial. This man must have cowed the group into letting him do whatever he wants somehow.’

It was at this moment that the largest Tentacruel that I had ever seen jumped out of the cave’s waters joining my kidnapper’s side with a practiced familiarity.

“Tenta!”

“Hungry again?! Do you see a restaurant here?”

“Tentaaaa!”

“Just get those weaklings to gather up some grub. That’s what they’re there for.”

Directly following its master’s orders, the large Tentacruel let out a commanding bellow. This caused the denizens of this flooded cave to emerge from the depths. Rows upon rows of tentacool and tentacruel made their way ashore successfully using their appendages to find solid ground.

“Tentaa!”

“Cool!” “Cruel!”

‘This is the first time I’ve seen a live example of tentacool gang mentality up close. Despite being a human trained Pokémon, the others just mindlessly follow this Tentacruel’s direction by virtue of it being bigger and stronger.’

The large grouping of jellyfish Pokémon seemed eager enough to please their new boss. Hopping back underwater after receiving their orders but one of them decided to linger. 

“Cool?”

“Tenta!”

“What’s the matter with this shrimp?”

The man’s Tentacruel pantomimed in a manner that didn’t make much sense to me but did seem to clarify the matter to my kidnapper.

“Is that right? You want to work directly under us? Fine, make sure my stuff doesn’t get flooded by the water. If even a single drop lands on my equipment, I am taking the costs out of your hide.”

“Cool!”

 Acknowledging the man’s instructions the lone Tentacool crawled on over to the pile of equipment resting in the corner which subsequently was also nearest to where I was wrapped up. There it dutifully kept watch over the equipment until my captors’ backs were turned. Perhaps it decided that then was a good moment to slack off on the job or it gained some passing interest in the only other human in the grotto . In either case Tentacool made it over to me and looked me deeply in the eyes trying to convey some sort of message without making a sound.

“Sorry for making a mess with the blood. Your new boss doesn’t like his captives getting uppity.”

“…Cool.”

The jellyfish Pokémon whispered something to me that flew completely over my head. However, the tonal familiarity with which the poison type conversed to me was unmistakable.

“Do we… know each other?”

“…Cool!”

‘I’ve only met a single Tentacool in all my life and that was the one I saved from dehydration back at that tourist beach. This could be my chance!’

“It’s you… how have things come along since then? I see you’ve made some new friends.”

Tentacool used one of his appendages to make the so-so sign clueing me in that he was doing fine but that things could be going better. To my expectations being at the bottom rung of a Tentacruel gang would be a punishing lifestyle but it seems he was holding up well enough.

“Say… I know it’s a lot to ask but… Could you perhaps inform someone on the outside where we are located? This guy is going to take away all my friends and sell them off to the highest bidder.”

“Tenta!”

Tentacool knew what role needed to be played without me having to explain myself which came as a relief. Even if it did somehow manage to wrest my partners free from those cases, we were still trapped and surrounded by hundreds of its kind. Just like a gang they would not choose to oppose my kidnapper’s giant Tentacruel over one of their junior member’s personal friends.

Before this Pokémon thief could turn around Tentacool had already reassumed its former position. Acting the role of the obedient patsy waiting for the chance to slip away unsuspected.