Here, Phenac city plays the role of the setting, as we look into the Pre-Gym in greater detail. Keep your eye out for that pastry! *** Chapter 2 - Off to the Mayor’s Place! “…It’s hard to explain. I was in Pyrite town when I was kidnapped. I saw a… peculiar Pokemon. It was chasing Pokemon and then attacked a person. Then, when I shouted out for help… I was suddenly grabbed and thrown into a sack,” explained Rui, smoothing out her small ruffled skirt jacket. “Hey, did they use an odd Pokemon?” She saw a peculiar Pokemon that was attacking people? Could she have seen a shadow Pokemon? Maybe she got kidnapped because Team Snagem didn’t want her spilling the beans… thought Wes grimly to himself. But those people didn't look like Team Snagem to me... “You saw a Pokemon attacking people?’ questioned the athlete. “But why would they kidnap you because of that? And they didn’t have any odd Pokemon…” The athlete snickered at the thought of two Whismur being a threat to people. “I have no idea what they wanted to kidnap me for. Maybe they didn't want to have people knowing about that Pokemon,” claimed Rui. “But the important thing is that I got rescued.” Rui turned to Wes, who was trying to make himself invisible. “Thanks you, my gallant prince!” She exclaimed loudly, making Wes cringe. “Espeon!” (The girl seems to embarrassing Wes…) “Umbre…” (Heh. It seems he has a weak spot.) “Ah, can you escort me for now, please?” Wes was surprised by this question. “Umm, no, I’m busy and have… um, no idea about this city. I don’t know where things are…” “Only I’m a bit worried, what with being kidnapped and all. Please, Mr…?” Rui pleaded. She then started using the infamous puppy dog look. “Oh jeez…” muttered Wes to himself. “Ok, I will. My name’s Wes, by the way." “Yay! Thank you!” Rui said with a smile. “I thought you’d say that.” Wes, Espeon and Umbreon sweat dropped. “Espi…” (She’s… persuasive,) commented Espeon, observing the conversation. “Umbreon.” (This could get interesting,) replied Umbreon “I know what you can do!” said the lady suddenly, to the relief of Wes. “You should see the mayor. He’ll know what to do!” “Okay!” said Rui happily. It seemed that she already forgot about her ordeal - she was already smiling. “Only, I don’t know where it is…” “Oh it’s…” began the athlete, only Rui had already run off into the distance, singing happily. “Hurry up Wes!” she called, as she ran into a nearby house. “Oh dear… she energetic, isn’t she? Well, you better catch up to her then. I’ll go back to practicing for my race!” said the athlete, who ran off. He started running around the magnificent water fountain in the middle of the town. “You look like an attractive couple” smiled the lady, who also seemed to have forgotten the recent kidnapping. She walked off as well; leaving Wes thoroughly confused by the recent events. He stumbled off to find Rui. *** When Wes got inside the house, Rui was already talking to the people inside. “This isn’t the mayor’s house… is it?” asked Rui. “Only I need to talk to him about a kidnapping that was occurring here.” “Kidnapping? Huh,” replied a woman. “Well, this isn’t the mayor’s house, but… A KIDNAPPING?!? Huh - wait - come back!” she shouted in dismay - Rui had already left the building. “Sorry about that,” muttered Wes. A teenager, seemingly oblivious to the recent occurrences within the house, turned to Wes and started commenting about the lack of anime programs around recently. “I mean, there’s all these news reports about a person blowing up Team Snagem’s base… it’s not THAT interesting…” he said, as Wes turned to leave. What a very odd place this is he thought. And how DARE he think that anime is better than what I did to Team Snagem’s base! …Oh, there’s Rui he added to himself. Rui had already run off a fair distance, and was approaching a large building in the centre of the town. He ran to catch up to her. *** Rui burst into the building, with Wes panting shortly behind her. “Is this the mayor’s house?” she asked “No. This is the Prestigious And Highly-Esteemed Preparation Training Facility. Or Pre Gym for short,” answered a nearby person. Rui and Wes looked around to observe their surroundings. There was an elevated platform in the middle of the room. It looked like one could battle on it. By the battling arena there was a lift leading to a level below. On their right, there was a control room. To the left, there was a lesson on Pokemon going on. The teacher was looking frustrated at her students. Espeon and Umbreon trotted off to satisfy their curiosity. A man came up to Wes and Rui and introduced himself. “Hello. My name’s Justy. Interested in taking part in a Pokemon battle challenge? It’s 4 trainers in a row, 2-2 battles.” “I WOULD LIKE TO BATTLE!” shouted Rui happily. “But… I have no Pokemon,” she added, suddenly downcast. Her mood swings unsettled Wes. “You have no Pokemon?” enquired Wes. “You should get some, if only for protection...” “Yes, I guess you’re right,” sighed Rui. “Well,” said Wes to Justy “I guess I will take part in the challenge. The mayor can wait, Rui.” “I guess so.” answered Rui. “Great!” replied Justy enthusiastically. “When you’re ready, step up to the battle area on the left. I look forward to watching some enthralling battles.” Justy smiled and walked off to a control room. “Okay, Umbreon, Espeon, get ready! ...Where are they?” wondered Wes. “I’ll get them” said Rui, as she marched off into the general direction where they went. Wes sighed and followed her. Meanwhile, Espeon and Umbreon were observing an interesting class in maths. “Now then,” began the teacher. “Pokemon battles are an important part of life, as that’s all people seem to care about these days. However, if you want to be a good battler, you must be able to do a bit of simple maths.” Collective groans were made at this speech. “Now then - we’ve been at this for the last week, and we need to get some progress. Jimmy! Here’s an addition question. If I had 2 Pokemon, and then got 2 more Pokemon, how many would I have?” Jimmy looked surprised at being asked a question. “Umm… you would have some Pokemon.” “Yes… and no. Look - one, two, three, four. So how many are there?” The teacher drew some circles on the board to resemble Pokemon. “Let me think..." answered Jimmy. “There are three…and that one.” “Three and that one,” repeated the teacher with a sigh. “So if I add THAT one to the other three, what will I have?” “OH! Um… Some circles.” “Espeon…” (He’s rivalling the two idiots we saw before in stupidity!) “Umbre!” (And winning!) “Ah! There you are!” shouted Rui. She quickly scooped then up and handed them to Wes. “ESPI!” (Put me down!) “Hello!” greeted the teacher. “Don’t worry, those Pokemon were well behaved. And what fine evolved Pokemon they are! Jimmy! What do YOU think of these Pokemon? “Um… well behaved fine evolved Pokemon?” answered Jimmy. “No, that’s what I think. What do you think? Try to have a thought of your own, Jimmy, thinking is so important. What do you think?” explained the teacher patiently. “I think...thinking is so important,” replied Jimmy. The teacher sighed and turned to Wes. “Never mind Jimmy, he’s been at this for years. Hmm, do you have a P*DA?” Wes frowned. “Yes. I am a trainer, as you can see.” He held his P*DA - the Orre equivalent of a Pokedex - for the teacher to see. The teacher gasped upon seeing the P*DA. “You don’t have a Strategy Memo!” “No, I don’t,” admitted Wes. Personally he thought he could rely upon his own memory and knowledge to know what Pokemon were good against others. “Tell you what, if you beat the Pre Gym challenge, I will upgrade your P*DA,” said the teacher. “Thanks! Well, I better get started then…” Wes walked to the left of the battle arena with Espeon and Umbreon prepared for battle. “I’ll cheer for you Wes!” shouted Rui enthusiastically. “OK! First challenge is… Botan! You’re up!” shouted Justy. Sure enough, a person by the name of Botan walked out of the lift by the battle arena. “Wes, Wes, beat Botan, if you can’t do it, no-one can!” cheered Rui. Everyone sweat dropped at this… behaviour. *** All in all, the pre-gym challenge was a cinch. Even Jimmy would have beaten it, Wes reflected. After Botan proclaimed his love for all things green and grass types, he sent out a Sunken and a Hoppip. Only, when his Pokemon caught sight of Espeon and Umbreon, Hoppip jumped back into Botan’s Poke ball out of fright. Sunken could not dive into its own Poke ball, being a small, weak seed Pokemon. It resorted to waving its leaves as viciously as it could at Espeon. Shortly before Wes even ordered an attack, the Sunken fainted out of pure fear. The second battle was against a girl by the name of Liqui, who boasted that nobody liked water types as much as her. Her team was considerably better than Botan’s, consisting of Marill and Surskit. However, the battle lasted after only one attack. Espeon’s powerful Return had struck Marill right into the small water spider, knocking both out instantly. The third battler was a posh looking boy with the slightly less posh name of Dugo. He had a Trapinch and a Swinub. As soon as Trapinch was sent out, it oddly started dancing. This seemed to help it, as it successfully evaded both Espeon’s Return and Umbreon’s Bite. Meanwhile Swinub used Dig, meaning that Wes’s Pokemon could not target it. Unfortunately, it ended up burrowing underneath and hitting the dancing Trapinch, knocking it out. Swinub then got knocked out thanks to a swift Bite by Umbreon, after Espeon helped it with Helping Hand. The last battle was a relatively straight-forward one. The final battler, an uppity Lady Gwin, sent out two defensive rock-typed Pokemon - Geodude and Ryhorn. Geodude started off with a moderately-powered magnitude. This however, dished out severe damage to Ryhorn, making the battle easier for Wes. After Ryhorn fainted, Geodude stood no chance against the combined forces of Bite and Confusion. Oddly enough, Lady Gwin after the battle huffed at Wes distastefully. “My battle style must have been too sophisticated for you”. She struck her nose to the air, and walked off. Odd comment to make after losing thought Wes. Meanwhile Rui ever so causally stuck out her foot, resulting in Lady Gwin having a squashed nose. “Great work!” smiled Justy, commenting upon the battles. “You beat the Pre Gym Battle Challenge!” He tried to make it sound like a fantastic accomplishment, but both Wes and Rui felt that Justy knew how ‘challenging’ it really was. “As an award, you win… this WHITE HERB!” Justy handed a small white herb to Wes. “Ah… thanks…” said Wes, before he stuffed it to the depths of his bag, probably never to be seen again. “I would like you to battle me, Wes. But only when you get a full party of 6 Pokemon.” “Sure. I’ll swing by when that happens,” smiled Wes. On his way out, he got the upgrade for his P*DA from the teacher, who seemed to be using this as an excuse to stay away from her students. Wes didn’t blame her. She even gave Rui a P*DA, even though she didn’t have any Pokemon. *** The moment they walked out of the Pre Gym, Rui started to rush off again. Luckily, Wes pulled her up short. “Stop running off!” he said sternly. “If you want some help from me, you’ll have to stop rushing off into every house. From now on, just follow behind me. OK?” “Yes…” said Rui. “Good,” said Wes, confident that he got the hyperactive Rui under control for now. He started walking towards a house to the left. He had talked to someone upon leaving the Pre Gym, so he knew the location of the mayor’s house. To his frustration though, Rui started walking directly behind him. “Rui…” “Yes?” replied Rui innocently. “Can you please stop walking DIRECTLY behind me?” “But you said to follow behind you,” answered Rui mischievously. As Wes went to say something impolite to Rui, he bumped into a man, who had walked out of the mayor’s house. “Hey!” “Oww! Sorry…” apologised Wes, before stopping short. Rui also gave out a gasp of surprise. The man was a tall skinny person, who didn’t have much of a dress sense. He had long white hair, and unattractive purple clothing, save for a red, skirt- like thing. His eyes were cold and cutting. Overall, he had the appearance of an ugly, poisonous flower. The man… 'smiled' at Wes. “You are a travelling trainer?” he asked. He smirked at Wes and Rui’s looks of bewilderment. “I like your expression. Fufufu, I have a feeling we will meet again somewhere.” The man then abruptly walked off. “Well…” said a bemused Wes. “That was… odd.” “And… scary,” added Rui. “Umbreon!” (People in this town are strange, aren’t they?) “Espeon!” (I agree with you on that one.) “Well, let’s go in,” encouraged Rui, not one for waiting around. As they entered, they saw the complete opposite to the man they just encountered. The person seated before them was a fat, short rounded figure, with a wide smile. “You must be travellers! Welcome!” greeted the man. He waddled up to Wes and Rui. “I am Es Cade, the mayor of this town. Is anything the problem? Suddenly Rui stepped up. “I saw… IT!” she answered. The mayor looked blankly at Rui. “Oh… sorry. Well, I saw a peculiar Pokemon, no, that’s not quite right.” Rui was stumbling for words. “Well, what was peculiar about it?” asked the mayor. “Well," began Rui hastily, "I was walking around Pyrite Town when I saw two people having a Pokemon battle, and one of them had this Pokemon and it was giving out a black aura, and it was very odd, and then the man told it to use a odd move that sounded something like shadow rush, and I didn't think that was a real move, and then the Pokemon attacked the other Pokemon, and it looked very evil and I said “why does it have a black aura”, but nobody could see the black aura, and the Pokemon attacked someone, and they ran away screaming, oh and I like cake, and it looked like a fighting machine, not a Pokemon and then the man asked me what I saw and I ran away but then I was kidnapped by the man and this other man, and they put me in a bag took me here, and then I was rescued by Wes who had very strong Pokemon, and I’m really scared, and yeah.” The mayor blinked at Rui. “I think you need to explain that again, slowly, and more clearly… much more clearly…” Ten minutes of explaining later… “Well, then. So basically, you saw a scary Pokemon with a black aura? And it attacked people, and some shady characters kidnapped you because you could see it. If that is true, it would be scary. But I do admit I find it hard to believe at face value…" “But it’s true! MISTER MAYOR! It’s the truth!!” protested Rui rather loudly. “No, no, I didn’t say I DON’T believe you,” said the mayor hastily. “I’m just saying that it is quite the story… anyway. I will investigate this…” “Thank you!” gushed Rui. “Don’t thank me! It’s my job and I cannot allow this. Give me time to investigate and I will get back to you with information on how we are going later! By the way, are you Pokemon trainers?" Wes nodded. “Well then, while you’re here, why not go to our Colosseum, and take up a challenge? It’s state of the art, and the pride of our town.” All right. I already beat the Pre Gym challenge - this can't be much harder thought Wes. As Wes and Rui left the building, Wes thought he saw something in the mayor’s face. A look of contempt? Anger? Hate? Nah, I probably was just imagining it thought Wes. *** The next chapter is a bit longer than the others, and features a giant Pokeball-themed Afro attached to someone’s head with addictive salsa music playing in the background. Pity you cannot play that piece of music in a story, although by now if you’ve played the game, I think most of you know who I’m talking about…