Chapter 90 – Gymnapped!

Chapter 90 – Gymnapped! After graciously allowing us to stay the night, both Mr. Briney and Peeko decided to accompany us to Petalbug City.

Chapter 90 – Gymnapped!

After graciously allowing us to stay the night, both Mr. Briney and Peeko decided to accompany us to Petalbug City. Surprisingly, the walk over only took around an hour. If I had known that, we might have opted to continue on instead of crashing at Mr. Briney’s place. When it came time to leave the old sailor offered to join us on our quest to earn that last gym badge with the caveat that he’d stop by the market first. Having picked up on the fact that Mr. Briney had a thing for canine Pokémon I had Raven escort us the rest of the way. 

“Thanks a bunch for showing us the way to the gym Mr. Briney.” “Ruff!”

“S’nothing. We had some restocking to do anyways.”

“Being retired means having lots of free time, right? There must be a bunch of unexplored places the two of you haven’t been to yet.”

“Me and Peeko do all right. All of my old friends are already asking me to do charity work now that we are available. Nurse Joy from Verdanturf town even asked me to be a guest judge at their contest hall. What would a seaman like me even know about judging Pokémon contests? What about you lad? Any plans for when the conference wraps up?”

“Briney has free time, he could help us with the thing!”

“…Yes, there are two unexplored ancient ruins we have set our sights on. Tini made a promise to set free the ancient Pokémon held prisoner inside them. Have you ever seen the strange rock formation inside the desert on route 111?”

“The only routes these old bones travel are of the aquatic kind but I know which ones you are talking about.”

To elucidate the man on what we were looking for I showed him the pictures we made of the desert ruins and its inside chambers. Which Victini insisted I take before moving on back to Sootopolis.

“The rock formations look like this. There should be two more just like it. One somewhere inside the seas of route 105 and the other is located in the jungle of route 120.”

“Those I would recognize anywhere. That location is a prime spot for wailmer watching. And you say there’s a Pokémon stuck inside? We could turn around and get there in a couple of hours on my fishing boat.”

“The Pokémon inside are asleep so it’s become something of a long term goal for us. Also we kind of need to find a suitable trainer for them before going on over. The Pokémon inside are of the really really strong variety and have proven to regard anyone entering their ruins as an intruder. Having them battle against a prospective trainer has worked out once before.”

“Lad… not all Pokémon need trainers. Sometimes getting them into a reserve is the right choice.”

“These ones kind of do. If word gets out about their existence trainers from all over would fight for the chance to capture them. Giving them an opportunity to partner up with trainers vetted by myself and Victini at the very least we’d be assured they would be well taken care of.”

“Vi! Vi!” “Roxanne and Rocky are very happy with each other!” 

“Mr. Briney would you by any chance…?”

“Hold it! My training days have long since passed. The only Pokémon that I need by my side is my darling Peeko.”

“Gull!”

Peeko started affectionately nibbling her trainer’s ears. Obviously pleased by Mr. Briney’s words of endearment.

“It’s fine Victini was put in charge of scouting out promising trainers. Since it is her promise to the one who was already freed.”

“We know at least one person who’d love to partner up with Regice!”

‘No! Glacia is off the table.’

“Why not?!”

“She’s Phoebe’s rival. If we assist Glacia in this manner and she ends up fielding Regice against Phoebe letting slip about my involvement afterwards… I have seen what Phoebe’s ghosts are capable of when given free reign.”

“…What happened?”

“A tourist who had disrespected the dead by littering his trash around one of Mt. Pyre’s graveyards. What happened afterwards I wouldn’t wish befall upon anyone. Have you ever experienced what it’s like being given a swirlie by invisible assailants?”

“…Swirlie?”

‘You don’t want to know.’

“Then… We just have to find a new friend for Phoebe as well!”

“If that’s something you want to do go ahead. I’ll take no part in this legendary arms race.”

“Muuuu! I can do things on my own just you watch! Don’t forget I can learn everything you know!”

‘Just because I never figured out how to keep you out doesn’t mean you have an open invitation to peruse as you please. Some secrets are best kept between just me and Arceus.’

As we walked Victini kept herself out of sight while mentally arguing in favor of providing our friends the means of acquiring powerful Pokémon. Mr. Briney seemed content to just enjoy nature with Peeko sometimes flying upwards to socialize with other wingulls. Route 104’s adjacency to the ocean meant lots of her kin could be spotted flying around and nestling atop the seaside cliffs. It seemed that Peeko had a small celebrity status even among her own kind. There were a bunch of starstruck boy wingulls inviting her to come over for a house visit. Peeko when faced with such invitations gently rejected each of them much to the disappointment of those bachelor wingulls.

“Does this happen often Mr. Briney?”

“Choosing a mate is a life altering decision for Peeko. Wingull and Pelliper are monogamous Pokémon who pair up for life. Those bad boys got it backwards if they think a few compliments will win over my Peeko. If any of them showed true grit and determination Peeko might have been willing to give them a chance.”

We left the seaside cliffs of route 104 and crossed into Petalburg City proper. Unlike its name would suggest this place didn’t have the makings of your standard fare city. Every square inch of the city which wasn’t part of its active infrastructure was forested. Nothing as extreme as Fortree City where people lived in treehouses but it wouldn’t surprise me if this city had a large population of wild Pokémon living among the human populace. The welcome sign planted in front of the city’s entrance came with an apt description.

You are entering Petalburg City.

The city where people mingle with nature.

“Quite the place isn’t it lad?”

“Yes, but I’ve been to Fortree City before. Does Petalburg also have an active pickpocketing gang made up entirely of Kecleon? Or Meranti trees that grow to the size of skyscrapers?”

“Haha! That’d be something. Nothing as tall as that and as for Pokémon gangs; just some regular well-fed stray zigzagoon who subsist off of people’s donated leftovers. As for something Fortree doesn’t have… this city is home to two lakes, and it’s become a popular pastime to watch surskit skate across the waters. They are quite elegant and love performing in front of a crowd.”

Mr. Briney’s expertise in navigating the Petalburg streets came through as it didn’t take long at all before we reached the gym building. Getting closer I could already see a massive line forming comprised of other hopeful trainers who were looking to get their last licks in before the end of the season. Just before the conference starts all gyms would be closing down operations until the start of the next season three months from now. 

The crowd forming outside the gym’s entry way wasn’t entirely made up out of circuit trainers. Mixed into the crowd I could see the wondrous faces of ten year olds sometimes escorted by their legal guardians. The gym closing down during the off season also meant that freshly licensed trainers hoping to gain their first partner Pokémon were now also added into the mix.

A gym’s other primary purpose is to educate the local populace on how to care for and train Pokémon. That and occasionally assist those who’ve earned their licenses with acquiring their first Pokémon. Either by sending a sufficiently experienced gym trainer to escort prospective trainers as they attempted to catch a Pokémon from a nearby route or by handing over their weakest gym Pokémon. The latter option being used was a rarity since most ten-year-olds manage to win over a wild Pokémon on their own with enough treats and head pats.

“This is where I leave you young man. Me and Peeko are off to purchase this week’s groceries. If the receptionist gives you any trouble just drop my name. That’ll be enough to arrange a meeting with Nelson.”

With that Mr. Briney walked off into the crowd leaving me and Raven alone to stand in the appointment line. As far as I could see most of those trainers waiting in line weren’t of the seven badge variety judging by some of their Pokémon partners they left out beside them. Wanting to figure out the reason behind the gym’s larger than normal foot traffic I decided to ask the adolescent in front of me what was happening. An older teenager carrying aloft 

“Excuse me? Do you know what everyone is waiting in line for?”

“Hmm? Oh, I figured that earning even one more badge would convince my parents to let me take another year off. I still don’t really know what I want to do, only that I don’t want to separate from my partners for anything.”

“That makes sense. I wouldn't want to give up on Raven or any of my other Pokémon either. Isn’t that right girl?”

“Ruff!”

The situation started to make a whole lot more sense. Only around ten percent of trainers get around to earning all eight gym badges. Those that didn’t perform well enough to make it to the conference had little chance of building a career as a battler. As a logical consequence they would have to return some of their partners back to the wild. These teens typically couldn’t earn enough pokédollars to provide for a full team of six on their own. Their parents would usually allow them to keep one or two of their caught partners but not all of them. 

“Houndoom are pretty cool, but I’ve got a Manetric a Hoenn classic gotta represent.”

“Manetric are pretty useful to have around the house. They make for excellent guards and let you save on electricity bills by charging household appliances. You could convince your parents to keep some of your Pokémon around based on their utility. What other kinds of Pokémon have you caught?”

“Muk, Skarmory, Psyduck and Machoke.”

“Hmm, Skarmory would probably be the toughest sale. They shed their feathers once a year making their nesting area hazardous terrain.”

“I thought that Muk…”

“Not necessarily. Muk do like to eat garbage that others throw away. Any town or village with a garbage dump or waste recycling plant would pay for their services. The only problem would be keeping a muk inside residential homes. Their natural aroma is not something the faint of heart can endure.”

“Yea… we’ve been scolded so many times by officer Jenny… but the smell is not that bad honest!”

“Muk will subconsciously suppress the worst of their odour when in the company of Pokémon and people that they trust. Having him out and about among strangers is a surefire recipe to undo that bit of self control.”

The topic of our conversation shifted from the trainer’s Pokémon to different money making strategies for non-battling trainers. Which caused me to start ruminating about my own plans once this circuit ended. 

“Aren’t we going back to Unova? We can compete in their conference next!”

‘Yes, that too. But I’ve really gotten a taste for both teaching and exploring. Perhaps next year we can find a likeable rookie trainer to travel along with us while putting him or her through the paces. Chili should be about done earning his trainer’s license I believe, and the boy needs all the help he can get.’

“I want an Undella Town beach vacation!”

‘It is obvious you have gotten a taste for exploring treasure-filled ruins… but yes if we end up having free time.’

The waiting line processed further along until it was finally time for the amicable but still nameless teenager in front of us to schedule his last-minute gym match.

“We are sorry! Our available time slots for gym battles have all been booked. Trainers like yourself will have to wait until next year to get another opportunity to earn a Balance badge.”

‘Is she serious!’

Our standing in line buddy shoulders’ slumped for only but a moment before they straightened back up again.

“That’s okay Ma’am we weren’t getting a spot for the conference at any rate.”

The guy turned around 

“You don’t mind having wasted all this time standing in line?”

“Not with all the helpful advice you’ve given me. My goal wasn’t to make it as a battler anyway. Now me and my team have an excuse to train our homemaking skills. See you around … fellow trainer?”

“Egon.”

“Calvin, if you are ever in Crossgate Town look me up. Me and Skarmory are a shoe-in for the annual Pokéringer tournament.”

With that the teenager ran off no doubt excited to implement some of the negotiating methods we had discussed. Which meant that It was finally my turn to have a go at the chopping block. 

‘Crossgate Town… maybe in the future. When I actually catch myself a flying type Pokémon.’

“Hello, I’d also like to schedule for a match.”

The receptionist gave me a look over, idling her gaze upon Raven before replying to my request.

“Will this be your final badge match before the conference? As per our leader’s instructions, any new bookings are only to be made by trainers who have a decent shot at qualifying for the upcoming Ever Grande Conference.”

Feeling a bit better about myself, I scrounged around in my backpack to pull out my badge case. It took a while because I wasn’t one of those trainers who felt a need to show off to every random stranger we came across. After a spell I succeeded at my efforts and opened up the case in front of the receptionist showcasing all the badges I had earned this circuit. 

“That works out, because I still only need one more badge to enter.”

“…I see. Hold on a moment please.”

The person’s attitude changed completely. Whereas before she acted a bit stuck up and disinterested. Now she made a genuine effort to help us out.

“We have a timeslot available three days from now evening hours. If you are confident in being able to attend the conference on time after this waiting period, I can go ahead and book you in.” 

“Yes, please and thank you.”

“Perfect, I will need your trainer’s license and ID please.”

As the woman kept herself busy putting me in the system I frantically calculated the odds of me making it on time for the conference with the loss of three extra days.

‘It should be doable but I will have to get my conference registration done online. It also depends on how fast the gym updates my trainer profile to reflect my increase in badge count, were I to win.’

“Mossdeep is close right? We can visit Wynaut and fly on over to Ever Grande City.”

‘Well, perhaps we can acquire the services of a rental Pokémon. Naval travel should be doable as well. Since it’s less than a day’s boat ride away from Mossdeep City.’

“Can I go out to play? I have some friends that live inside the gym.”

‘We’ve never been in Petalburg before? I mean it’s great that you have some friends who work at the gym but…’

“Hmpff! I’ll have you know that they are close work associates!”

“Work associates? Don’t tell me…”

“They’re Kecleon of course! There are three of them that work for this gym. Model employees who use their information gathering skills to help us stay up to date with what products trainers need and actually use.”

“Employees? How do they show up for work? Fortree City is many days removed from Petalburg.”

“Don’t discriminate, Egon! Those three are stay at home workers. With free access to their trainer’s home phone and computer.”

‘Go ahead, just make sure to stay out of sight. Getting caught on camera was how you got noticed the last time.’

I felt an invisible weight leave my shoulders as Victini floated off presumably into the adjoining hallway which led to the other gym facilities. This moment coincided with the reception lady wrapping up my battle registration after which she handed over my personal documents.

“Thanks a bunch.”

“No problem, just make sure to show up on time. Our leader is working overtime getting to all you kids who struggle finishing up their circuit.” 

With that I made way for the next person in line calmly walking out the gym.

“Girl, can you sniff out where Mr. Briney went? We also need to stock up on foodstuffs.”

“Arf!”

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A couple of hours later*

None could escape Raven’s olfactory senses, so it didn’t take long for the two of us to link back up with Mr. Briney and Peeko. We caught them haggling with one of the open market vendors inside the city square. Mr. Briney’s expert knowledge regarding product retail value and shipping costs shone through and he got his payload of berries for two thirds what I would usually pay for a similar amount. After that I just had to stick around to get more guidance from the master bargainer.

“That’s… six hundred and fifty pokédollars, right?”

“Close but no cigar kid. Those Nanab berries are bought in bulk from Alola. More specifically on Akala island the locals grow so many at a time that anyone is free to come and take them from the plantation without asking. The larger expenditure is paying picker wages and transport.”

“So… four hundred?”

“Five hundred. Getting from Alola to Hoenn is a three-month sea voyage.”

The stall vendor was sweating like a snorunt caught in a Heat Wave. With Mr. Briney supporting me there was no way this greedy meowth was getting more than twenty percent on top of his personal expenses. As I was busy closing the deal a mental ping went off in my head signaling that Victini was in some amount of distress.

“Egon! Egon!”

‘What?’

“I got caught!”

‘Again!? Did those Kecleon raticate you out?’

“No! I was distracted watching Spinda dance. Now this girl won’t let me go! She’s talking about putting me in her breeding program. I am too young to be a mother!”

“You got caught up watching a spinda perform? That must’ve been the move Teeter Dance! Hold on, we're coming.”

“Ehm… Mr. Briney, I have to go back to the gym.”

“What for son?”

“Tini got grabbed by a young woman while she was exploring the gym facilities on her own. Now the girl won’t let her go.”

“A young lady? That must be Nelson’s grandkid Madeline. I better come along with you. Wouldn’t want a young lad like yourself getting caught up with a trespassing charge.”

After thanking the near to tears stall owner the four of us made our way back to the gym building. This time skipping the line and attempting to go straight into the adjoining hallway. The reception desk lady was about to stop us until she got a closer look at Mr. Briney.

“Colton it’s you… Nelson is currently busy. He won’t have time to see you I’m afraid.”

‘His first name is Colton. No wonder he never told me.’

“That’s alright Evelynn, these old bones of mine are just here to give young Egon here the lay of the land so to speak. He’s told me that he really wants to see the gym leader in action before taking the stage himself.”

“Hmm… alright the young man can go through as well. With the condition being that he sticks together with you. We have an Ursaring whom is in the process of nesting right now. She knows you Colton but the gym won’t take responsibility for any stranger that gets mauled on these premises.”

‘Why am I coming to save you again?’

“This crazy person is trying to put me into a dress. She’s being unreasonable, Egon!”

Somehow, I suspected that Victini didn’t mind her current predicament all too much and was only kicking up a fuss to save her pride. Disregarding the psychic type sending warning signals into my brain we kept a steady pace without rushing. Mr. Briney, already familiar with the gym’s layout, guided us into the residential area where the gym leader and his family were expected to live. 

Entering the living room we didn’t find anyone present. I was about to walk upstairs but got told off by Mr. Briney.

“Wait a minute lad. It is never a good idea to walk into someone’s private quarters without announcing yourself. Especially not when you know there is a lady present.”

“Girls go into the sailoring profession?”

“Occasionally we get some washed out water specialist who wants to stay with her Pokémon and save on money while doing so. Now hold on a second… MADDY!”

We could hear the sound of a heavy object falling onto the floorboards above us followed by girly shriek. Which was followed by the sound of a young woman’s voice.

“Uncle?! Just wait a moment, I am busy with something!”

After a minute the young lady did indeed decide to grace us with her presence. She was of medium height with cherry blonde hair sporting bright blue eyes. For some reason or another the woman kept her hands hidden behind her back. This was when Mr. Briney decided to give her a stern talking to.

“Maddy, can you let Uncle see what’s behind your back?”

“No! That’s… don’t freak out, okay? There was this incredible cute Pokémon inside the Pokémon pens, and I just had to catch her. This Victini as she calls herself will be the magnum opus of my breeder’s ranch; I just know it!”

Slowly but surely the object she had been holding onto was revealed to us. Victini wearing a pink frilly dress and giving me an exasperated glare.

“Vi Vi?” “Can you let me go now?”

“Please be my Pokémon. Together we will take the breeder profession by storm!”

“Vi! Vi!” “No way! I already have a human partner dummy!”

There were various things that I wanted to convey to this girl named Madeline, but Mr. Briney beat me to it.

 “Maddy, I am sure that your grandfather Nelson has taught you basic manners. Trying to convince a Pokémon who already has a trainer…”

Mr. Briney’s speechlessness wasn’t unwarranted. In trainer society attempts like these are considered the very height of misconduct with some associations even criminalizing such behavior. If a Pokémon was well treated and loved their loyalty becomes unquestionable. For Pokémon and trainer pairs who haven’t had the time to solidify their relationship, yet these poaching attempts could prove deleterious.

“Vi! Vi!” “Egon! She pelted my forehead with an Ultra Ball!”

“She did what!?”

Madeline or Maddy at this point realized that Victini’s trainer was in the same room as her. We’ve come across a good handful of girls and women who became enamored with the flying rabbit but this was the first time one made an actual attempt to capture her. Victini was powerful enough to shrug off any such attempts but even the notion of that happening was mildly insulting to my sensibilities.

“Are you Victini’s trainer little guy? Say how about we all sit down for cookies and tea?”

Exchanging one look with Mr. Briney I came to the conclusion that following Madeline’s suggestion for now was paramount to keeping the peace. I knew that Victini was acting out and could have left the woman’s clutches at any time. So, I was at least willing to let Madeline share her ideas especially since we were the ones trespassing to begin with.

“They better be good cookies!”

Victini now finally let loose quickly, wriggled out of child sized dress and plopped on top of a nearby cushion table. Which left me, Peeko and Mr. Briney to each take a seat at the larger dining table while Madeline made tea preparations.

‘How did things turn out with those Kecleon?’

“Great! They share responsibility for running the gym’s survey among visiting trainers. Trainers prefer using natural products over mass produced potions and elixirs. We are going to make a switch over to purely route grown products. We are sure there is a market for Tropius and Milotic scale accessories.”

‘Milotic!? You better not have been helping those Feebas down on route 119 evolve into Milotic!’

“It’s one of our current projects. Having a bunch of loyal hardworking Milotic employees will pay out dividends in the long term!”

‘Those prismatic scales are very expensive. Good luck finding a reliable human supplier who can keep quiet. If the word gets out there are going to be a bunch of trainers lining up to catch those future reliable employees of yours.’

Madeline eventually came back carrying a tray filled with cookies and steaming tea cups. Enough for all of us including Victini. When the woman finally sat down to talk her true purpose was quickly revealed.

“Victini is a foreign Pokémon, right? Are there any restrictions put in place on her species’ proliferation?”

 “No… but we don’t really have any plans regarding that. If Victini ever feels the need to produce an egg we’d prefer it happening on her own terms.”

I could see Madeline physically deflate as my words of disinterest got through to her. We knew for a fact that Pokémon like Victini could actually reproduce seeing as she herself was born from an egg found a hundred years ago. This led me to speculate that Victini’s breeding cycle doesn’t just happen once every year or so like it does for regular Pokémon. Pokémon of her status would most likely reproduce at most once every few hundred years or so and only after fully maturing. 

“Okay… but if the two of you ever decide to reconsider please remember me.”

“Chin up Maddy! You will still get to see me kicking butt in the Ever Grande conference!”

Growing ever more interested regarding the woman’s profession I decided to ask a few poignant questions.

“So… What kinds of Pokémon are included in your current breeding program.”

“All of the gym’s Pokémon but we don’t tend to put those up for adoption. Each of them gets to stick around and provide rookie trainers with an appropriate level of challenge. Petalburg citizens who cannot afford a starter of their own get to try their luck convincing any of our newborns to come along with them on their journeys. Provided their parents let them go of course.”

“Being a breeder… how do you deal with having to part with eggs and newborn Pokémon? In fact, how do the parents themselves feel about it?”

“That’s the toughest part of the job. But! Even in the wild parents eventually separate from their children once they have proven to be capable enough to take care of themselves.”

“It is the way of the world, kid. Every child needs to leave the nests of their parents at some point. Even Peeko flew off to make it on her own.”

“Gull!”

‘Thank Arceus, I am a long way off from having to make decisions like that.’