CHAPTER 2

It seemed as if the entire city had showed up for the evening reception, and the Satsuma Island Convention Hall was the perfect setting for it. The interior was of classical architecture, with majestic columns rising from the smooth marble floor right up to the arched ceiling. The arrangements for the reception itself were very posh, even ostentatious. Tuxedoed waiters, carrying polished silver trays of fancy hors d'oeuvres, made their way through the eager crowds. Along a wall to one side, long tables with fresh white tablecloths were piled high with other appetizers. A string quartet, composed of three human violinists and a Wigglytuff cellist, played classical music in the corner. And near the center of the room was placed a large, crystal clear water tank containing the Shiny Magikarp, the main attraction for the evening. Unlike typical members of its species, this Magikarp wore scales cast in myriad iridescent hues of blues and purples that mixed and shimmered together like a beautiful underwater, floating rainbow. The passing crowds were utterly transfixed by the lovely creature as it swam around in its tank.

"It's certainly a fancy setup," Ash remarked, as the three of them arrived.

"According to Nurse Joy, Cympelton insisted that it be set up exactly this way," Misty said. "Apparently, he only shows off his Pokémon under the finest of conditions."

Tracey noticed the Shiny Pokémon right away. Pulling out a sketchpad and pencil, he announced, "I've got to get a sketch of the Magikarp!" before running off in the direction of the tank.

Misty smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. "Well, Ash, I guess it's just the two of us for now..." she began, and then stopped suddenly upon turning around. Ash was no longer anywhere near her, as he and Pikachu had eagerly started off to the hors d'oeuvres table without her and were almost halfway there.

Misty sighed forlornly at finding herself left alone with Togepi again. She was not hungry, and decided not to join Ash at the appetizer table. Instead she scanned through the crowds, looking to see if there was anyone she recognized. Eventually she spotted Cympelton. He was now wearing a fancy evening dinner jacket over his gold-rimmed waistcoat.

Well, thought Misty to herself, I've always wanted to meet him. I guess this is as good a time as any.

She started off in his direction. As she got closer, she realized that Cympelton was engaged in a conversation with someone already. The other person was a tall, well-built man in a business suit and dark glasses. Although still far away, Misty could hear the man's voice as he spoke. He had a rasping voice that grated on the redhead's ears, even from this distance.

"I'm telling you, Cympelton," the man was saying, "the people in the far corners of Johto, like around Cianwood, would give their front teeth to hear a lecture series from you."

"Of course they would," replied Cympelton, with an air of self-importance, "but we would need to work out appropriate travel arrangements. Cianwood is a long way, and my prize Blastoise never stays in a pokéball. It is much too fine a creature to be stored in such a crude manner."

"Whatever arrangements are needed, we can provide," the man answered. "You let me represent you, and I can guarantee that my agency can work out a contract that would be to your liking."

It's just some talent agent, Misty thought to herself, but she couldn't shake the feeling that his voice seemed familiar. She was so distracted trying to remember where she heard it before that she failed to realize that her grip on Togepi was not sufficiently secure.

Chirping happily, the little egg Pokémon squirmed out of the girl's grasp and ran off playfully in a random direction, disappearing into a nearby crowd. "Togepi!" Misty called as she tried to follow it. There were a lot of people in this area of the reception, and Misty struggled to squeeze through the crowds in an attempt to catch up with her Pokémon. The baby Pokémon had a good lead and was having an easier time navigating through the crowds due to its small size.

Togepi bumped into a brown-haired man, who spilled his ice cube-filled drink onto the marble floor. Misty didn't even notice the spill until she had stepped into it. Several slick ice cubes stuck themselves firmly under her shoe, and she gasped in panic as she realized that she suddenly had no traction at all on the polished marble surface. Arms flailing wildly, she slid uncontrollably over the floor. The crowds parted and people screamed, trying to get out of the her way as she careened over the polished ground, and she suddenly found herself barreling straight towards Cympelton and the agent.

It seemed to Misty as if everything were happening in slow motion. Cympelton and the agent had apparently just closed some deal and were about to shake hands. Misty could see their hands approaching each other, seemingly very slowly, and she thought she got a glimpse of a small, shiny gold object in the agent's palm as it came up to meet Cympelton's. She was too close to them by this time, however, and she plowed right into the both of them before they could actually shake hands. The agent instinctively grabbed hold of Misty to keep her from falling and to hold her steady.

Once she stopped sliding, Misty freed herself from the agent's grasp, shook off the ice cubes from the sole of her shoe, and straightened herself out. She became acutely aware that all conversation in the immediate vicinity had stopped cold and that everyone was looking at her with expressions of shock and surprise. She was more than a little embarrassed at the spectacle she had caused.

"Little girl," Cympelton exclaimed in a patronizing manner, "just what is the meaning of this?"

"Excuse me," said Misty in a fluster. "It was an accident. I was looking for my Togepi..."

"Well, please see to it that there are no more such accidents," Cympelton replied, still in a condescending tone. "I do not tolerate such things at my public receptions."

Misty was about to respond when she saw Ash walk up. Togepi was in his arms, and Pikachu was following close behind while chewing happily on a morsel. Ash seemed completely oblivious to the fact that the surrounding people were all staring at them. "Hey Misty," he said, his mouth still full of food. "I found Togepi running around here all by itself." Handing the little Pokémon over to her, he looked up and saw Cympelton. "So," Ash said, smiling, "you must be Mr. Simpleton."

Cympelton turned bright red, and his eyes bulged slightly out of their sockets. "That's Cym-PEL-ton, you foolish boy!" he bellowed. He turned to Misty in exasperation. "I should have guessed that he was with you," the famous trainer declared.

By this time, Misty was fuming at the water trainer's snobbish attitude, but Ash didn't seem to notice. "Mr. CymPELton," he said, struggling to pronounce the name correctly, "My name is Ash Ketchum and I'm from Pallet Town. I hear that you are a famous water-type Pokémon trainer, and I'd like to challenge you to a Pokémon battle."

Cympelton snorted. "You in a Pokémon battle with me?" he asked in derision. A few chuckles could be heard from the surrounding onlookers.

Ash nodded.

The older man snorted again. "Young man, I am one of the foremost trainers in the Orange Archipelago. I won the Orange League trophy six years in a row -- the longest winning continuous streak in the league's history. Since evolving from a Wartortle, my Blastoise has never been defeated in battle -- not even once! I'm sorry, but little boys such as yourself are simply not in my league!"

Ash was a little surprised at being refused with such disdain. "But I placed in the Indigo League!" he protested. "In the top sixteen," he quickly added, saying the words more quietly so that no one could hear.

But Cympelton was already walking away. "Call me when you've actually faced off against Lance," he said as he was departing. The agent in the business suit also went off, walking swiftly away in the opposite direction. With the exchange now over, the surrounding crowd of onlookers started to break up.

As Ash stood, crestfallen, Misty took his arm. "Come on," she said huffily. She was still quite angry at Cympelton's condescension towards the two of them, but she decided to let it go. "Forget about him, Ash. He's just a pompous jerk. Why don't you show me where the good hors d'oeuvres are?" she said, as she led him back to the food table. Pikachu shrugged his shoulders and followed behind.

The agent made his way quickly out of the convention hall and to the end of the pier, where he met up with a blonde woman in pigtails.

"Did everything go according to plan?" she asked.

"No," replied the agent brusquely, "but we'll just have to make the best of what we've got."

*

Tracey was just finished sketching the Magikarp's dorsal fin when he felt a presence behind him.

He turned around and discovered Sergio, the Alakazam trainer from the afternoon, standing next to him.

"Nice drawing," Sergio commented.

"Thanks!" replied the boy. "Hey, that was a fantastic battle you fought against the Blastoise today, even if you didn't win."

Sergio nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you. We all lose sometimes."

Tracey stretched out a hand. "My name is Tracey," he said.

Sergio nodded again without saying anything as he took the boy's hand and shook it gently. It was obvious that the Alakazam trainer was very reserved and quiet. Tracey noticed the man's deep, penetrating eyes and somehow sensed that he had a thoughtful and sensitive nature. It probably comes from being a psychic Pokémon trainer, Tracey thought.

Tracey was trying to think of what to say next when another person came up to the Magikarp tank. It was Cympelton, and he grinned gloatingly at Sergio as he came up to the two of them.

Sergio politely stretched out his hand to the water Pokémon trainer. "Greetings, Mr. Cympelton. I congratulate you on your victory over me this afternoon."

Instead of taking Sergio's hand, Cympelton merely waved the other trainer away with a disdainful gesture of his hand. "Of course," he replied haughtily. "My Blastoise has never been defeated since evolving." Cympelton then noticed Tracey for the first time. He turned towards the boy and glanced at the sketch of the Magikarp.

"Are you an artist?" inquired the water-type trainer.

"Hello, Mr. Cympelton," Tracey replied. "My name is Tracey, and I'm actually working towards being a Pokémon watcher."

"Humph," snorted Cympelton. "So what have you observed about my prize-winning Magikarp, young man?"

"Well," Tracey said, "for one thing, I noticed that your Magikarp has a unique fin structure that I've only seen on Magikarp around Rind Island. I worked briefly on a research project there recently. I would guess that this specimen is from there."

"Young man," Cympelton scoffed. "Nothing could be further from the truth. I assure you that this Magikarp is from Rage Lake near Mahogany Town in Johto."

"But the fin structure..." Tracey insisted.

"Is irrelevant," said Cympelton, cutting the boy off. He pointed to the majestic fish's underbelly. "See these spots here?" he said. "These clearly indicate that the Magikarp is from Rage Lake. Only Magikarp from that area have this kind of underbelly marking. If you were a real Pokémon watcher, you would know that already."

Tracey was stunned into silence as Cympelton continued. "Young man, let me be frank with you. I've seen a lot of promising young men and women struggle to make a living in the Pokémon watching business. If the kind of observational mistake you just made is typical of you, it very hard for you to form accurate conclusions about the Pokémon you see. In my opinion, your future as a Pokémon watcher is extremely limited. I advise you to go and find something else that you are good at."

Tracey wilted. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was too shocked and embarrassed to say anything, and he stood in stunned silence as the water Pokémon trainer walked away without another word. Sergio, who had been watching the entire exchange quietly, looked at Tracey sadly for a few seconds before walking off in silence in another direction.

*

The three friends and Pikachu all met up about half an hour later, and, deciding to leave the reception early, made their way back towards the Pokémon Center in silence. Misty, still carrying Togepi, was fuming, Ash was disappointed, and Tracey seemed so despondent that he barely lifted his head as they walked through the now quiet streets of Satsuma City.

The Pokémon Center was now empty, as nearly the whole town was at the festival reception. Nurse Joy and her Chansey, who were still on duty, were the only two in the room.

Misty broke the silence first as they entered the center. "I can't believe that Cympelton guy! To think that I wanted to meet him! I can't believe that such an arrogant, conceited jerk is a famous water trainer!"

"I can't believe he won't battle me," Ash declared.

"He told me I'm a lousy Pokémon watcher," Tracey said, still not looking up.

"He said what?!" exclaimed Misty in surprise.

"Oh, it's okay," Tracey added. "It was something that needed to be said. Being a real Pokémon watcher was always sort of a pipe dream anyway, and it's about time somebody convinced me to let the dream go and pursue something more useful."

"Come on, Tracey, you can't mean that," Misty told him.

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "When I was getting badges for the first time, all kinds of people told me that I wasn't good enough to compete in the Indigo League. Fortunately, I never listen to anybody!" he declared proudly.

"Excuse me," interrupted Nurse Joy. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help overhearing." She walked over to stand in front of Tracey.

Tracey looked up.

"It's none of my business," the nurse said, "but your situation reminds me a lot of what my Grandma Joy used to tell me when I was studying to be a nurse and people said I couldn't make it. She had an expression she used -- she told me to let criticism roll off me like water off a Psyduck's back."

Ash was confused. "You mean, when someone criticizes you, you're supposed to get wet?" he asked, puzzled.

Nurse Joy laughed. "No, no, Ash. Have you ever seen how water droplets behave on a Psyduck when it gets wet?"

"Sure," replied Misty. "We saw it just this morning. The water just beads up and falls right off. Tracey said it was because of some special coating on its skin."

"That's right," Nurse Joy confirmed. She turned back to Tracey. "And that's what you have to do with other people's criticisms. You have to let them roll off, like water off a Psyduck's back, because in the end, only you can decide how you want to pursue your dreams."

Tracey nodded in silence, grateful for the advice even though he wasn't sure he believed it.

"Well," said Ash, yawning, "let's go to bed. We can see the rest of the festival tomorrow."

Pikachu in tow, the three of them started towards the common sleeping quarters, but Misty turned off just before they got there and headed towards the videophone. "I'll be there in just a minute," she said. "I need to make a phone call first. I was supposed to call my sisters today."

Normally Ash would have thought this was strange. Misty almost never called her air-headed sisters. But he was so exhausted that he didn't even acknowledge what she had said before he went into their quarters. Tracey, still depressed, also went into the room without saying anything.

Ash shut the door behind them, leaving Misty alone with Togepi in the corridor. She called out, "Good night," and waited for a response from either of them. But, receiving none, she simply sighed and shrugged her shoulders before proceeding to the phone.

*

Mack was bored.

He had just started his new job as a security guard at the Cloyster Pearl Jewelry Store in the business district of Satsuma City. For three nights in a row, he had had to walk around this stupid empty store, making sure that everything was secure. Of course everything was secure. The crime rate on the entire island was practically zero. It was a thoroughly mind-numbing job.

He shone his flashlight listlessly around the darkened store. Out of boredom, he was about to count the number of pearl necklaces on display for the fifth time that night when suddenly he heard a sound. A faint scraping sound, and it came from above.

Mack looked up, and his eyes opened wide.

The glass in the ceiling skylight was being slowly pried off. Mack watched, scarcely able to breathe, as the entire glass was lifted out of its setting. Then a dark figure appeared over the newly opened hole in the ceiling.

As Mack looked in surprise, a rope dropped from the skylight, and the figure lithely slid from the ceiling and down to the floor of the store.

The dark figure stood up and faced Mack. The intruder was human, short and light of build, and dressed completely in black from head to toe. A ninja-like mask covered the figure's face, and in the dark of the room, Mack couldn't tell anything about the thief's features.

This guy doesn't look so tough, thought Mack to himself. However, he wasn't about to take any chances. Keeping his eyes on the thief, he reached into his pocket and searched around until he found his pokéball. He felt very reassured having it. Most of the other security guards didn't even own a Pokémon. But Mack was fortunate to have received one from his brother-in-law, who had recently given up the trainer business. Mack was certainly no trainer, but at least he had the good sense to keep the Pokémon and take care of it, just in case he ever faced a situation like this.

He tossed the ball out, shouting, "Come on out, Geodude!"

The ball opened in a blaze of light. "Geodude!" the newly released Pokémon called.

To Mack's dismay, the thief also took out a pokéball and released it silently. The flash of light released by the newly materializing Pokémon was blinding in the darkness of the room, and it took a moment for Mack's sight to recover. Finally he could see again, and he looked up to find a spinning purple star with a rainbow-colored central gem hovering in front of him.

Mack was definitely not a real Pokémon trainer, and so he had no idea what the star-like Pokémon before him was. He had never been involved in a real Pokémon battle before, and he was nearly in a panic as he yelled out, "Geodude! Get that other Pokémon, whatever it is! Use Tackle!"

The Geodude charged straight towards the purple star, its stony body generating tremendous amounts of momentum almost instantly. The star Pokémon was ready, however, and it effortlessly darted out of the way. Mack's Geodude whipped around and came at its opponent again, building up to an even greater speed, but the purple creature dodged again, and the rock-type Pokémon once again missed completely, this time slamming into the far wall.

"Starmie, use Harden," the thief commanded. Mack thought that the thief's voice was unnatural-sounding somehow, as if it were being artificially altered. He's probably using some contraption to disguise his voice, he thought.

The star-shaped Pokémon complied with the order. Its body shimmered briefly in the dim light as its outer skin reinforced itself.

The Geodude charged at it again, and this time the Starmie held its ground. The Geodude slammed into the star Pokémon, but only managed to injure itself against the Starmie's now diamond-hard shell. Bits of rock crumbled off the creature's stony body as it went reeling.

"Water Gun," the intruder said. The Starmie instantly produced a torrential blast of water, hitting the rock Pokémon squarely in the back. "Geodude!" the stone creature wailed, as the force of the water blasted it all the way across the store to where it slammed brutally against the far wall. The water attack was too much for it, and it sank to the floor, unconscious.

Mack was now terrified. He turned to run, but the Starmie blocked his path and charged right at him. The last thing he could remember was the large, star-like creature barreling towards his face. Then there was only blackness.

After recalling the Starmie to its pokéball, the thief lost no time in scooping up some jewelry and stuffing it into a black bag before exiting out the front door. The black-garbed figure ran quickly down the dark street and turned a corner, meeting up with a blonde woman in pigtails and a man carrying an oddly shaped box.

"So what do you think?" asked the man.

The woman seemed very satisfied. "I think the subject is ready to start tackling the primary objective," was her reply.