Disclaimer: I don't claim to own any part of the Pokèmon franchise and give full credit for Pokèmon characters named in my fanfiction to Nintendo, Inc. and (until recently) 4Kids Entertainment.

Chapter 3: Clues Take Their Form In Flowers

By: DragoonKain

He couldn't believe it; he had driven all the way to Celadon City only to find the Gym closed for the day! He didn't have time to spare, and he wouldn't be able to scope the Gym much longer or someone would begin to think the Gym was being broken into, and he couldn't afford that; he already had a bad enough police record as it stood. He walked back around to the front of the Gym and rang the bell one last time in a feeble effort, hoping somebody would answer the door so he could get going. It felt good for the 5'11", dark-haired boy to be back in Celadon, and, on a different day, he would've loved to explore the town and see how it had changed in the last two years, but he had a job to do. He turned around and began to walk away in desperation when, to his surprise, the door opened behind him.

A red-haired girl poked her head outside the Gym's door. "Look, we're closed; I'm sorry, but you'll need to come back on a diff....wait, what are you doing? HEY! Guys aren't allowed inside the Gym!"

He had stormed past her; he needed to take this opportunity, even if it was technically trespassing. He had done much worse in the past, to his regret, but it made situations like this seem trivial. Looking back, he saw her running towards him and realized he wasn't anywhere near where he needed to be. He took off, taking blind turns to lose the girl. He paused to take a rest and turned around. The girl was nowhere in sight. "Finally!" he muttered out loud; "Now I can get to the task on hand." He then set off to his destination in the Gym, only to notice he had no idea where he was. He cursed under his breath and figured he would just walk around until he was in a familiar setting. After about 15 minutes of wandering, seeing nothing but plants, he needed to think of a new plan. He leaned against the wall, and began to fall into it. "What the..?" He then realized, to his embarrassment, that he had leaned into an ajar door, NOT the wall. He was about to close it to avoid detection, but he heard several faint voices coming from the room beyond. One he plainly recognized; he had met her years ago, and was glad he had found her! He started to enter the room, but something Erika said stopped him in his tracks.

"So I just got off the phone with Violet Waterflower, and it turns out they are rooming FIVE different people around the same time. Guess Cerulean is popular this time of year!"

Another female voice that he didn't recognize responded with, "Who are they rooming? For them to fill up their Gym's room capacity, they must know these people really well, huh?"

"Well, one of them is Ash." That line prompted laughter from the rest of the group. "In truth, I've only met two of them, but I know of two out of the three. Brock, the former Pewter City Gym Leader, is accompanying Ash, and Rudy, Trovita Island's Gym Leader, is traveling with two of his friends and asked if they could stay at the Gym.

He was listening intensely and didn't notice someone approach him from behind until he heard a "Plume Plume!" He spun around, but was too late; his body immediately locked up in paralysis from the girl's Vileplume's Stun Spore. He fell backwards, and the door was knocked open, halting the conversation.

"Sorry it took me so long Erika; this guy is fast." As she stood above him, he realized it was the redhead. He tried to curse again, but his mouth was in the same state as the rest of his body. He braced to be forcibly led out of the Gym, but felt a sensation of relief come over his body as he heard Erika speak up.

"Hold it Julie," she said, amused, "I know this guy. It's been a long time, Blade! Can someone get him some Parlyz Heal?"

About a half hour later, his body had loosened back out. He wondered if he would be able to get out the Spun Spore from his custom-made leather jacket; he hoped so, because it would cost a fortune to repair! Looking around, he felt the stares of all the women in the room. Blade began to speak: "Erika, I need to talk to you alone if I may. I have some Kanto League business to attend to you, as you are the active Gym leader." He flashed his Official Kanto Pokèmon League Badge, and Erika asked the other girls to leave for a minute. "I was told to deliver one of these letters in person to an active Gym Leader from each of the seven main Gyms, excluding Viridian's, of course." He pulled an envelope out of his jacket and handed it over. "Now, I must be going; keep in mind that you are not allowed to disclose the contents of that letter, even to me. I don't know what they say, so don't credit me for what it tells you, good or bad."

Erika looked a bit confused. "You've been gone for two years, and you're just going to travel to another city without even visiting your house? You're not going to even check on your business?"

"Look, once I'm done with this job, I have all the free time in the world, but until then, my first priority is delivering these letters. The League Commissioner told me it was absolutely imperative to get these received as fast as possible; it's why he picked me! It's only taken me about 3 weeks to visit five of the seven Gyms, with only Cerulean and Pewter left." He turned and started strolling out the door, but paused about halfway. "By the way," he mentioned, looking over his shoulder, "you wouldn't happen to have been talking about Brock Slate and Rudy Trovita, were you?"

Startled, she replied, "Yeah, Trovita Island was named after Rudy's great-grandparents; the Gym has been in their family for generations. And I don't know Brock's last name, but he is tan, tall, and has a weird eye condition that causes him to repetitively squint. How do you know them?"

Blade smirked and responded with, "Forget I asked," before leaving the room. Turning to his left, he saw the front door of the Gym right in front of him. "Did I seriously run the entire way around the Gym?" he wondered. He couldn't believe he was that stupid to think he was lost; the length of time it had been since he had lived in Celadon must really have altered his memory. He walked out the front door, releasing his Cyndaquil. "Hey buddy, did you have a nice nap? I figured you'd like to ride on my shoulder all the way to Cerulean and get some fresh air!"

"Cyndaquil-quil!" (Yay! Road trip!)

Blade laughed; "Cynder, you have almost as much energy as your mother did!" He immediately regretted saying that, as Cynder started to get sad. "Sorry Cynder, I know how much you miss her, but we will find her again someday!"

"Cynda?" (Promise?)

"Promise! Now, let's get moving!" And with that, he got on his motorbike, and they set off for Cerulean City.

Back inside the Gym, Erika heard a motor start up and shook her head. She pondered whether that boy would ever sit back and enjoy life instead of being in a rush all the time. She looked at the sealed envelope in her hand and tried to guess what was inside it. She figured there was only one way of finding out, breaking the seal and letting the contents spill out. She read the letter three times; she couldn't believe it! She grew red-faced; looks like it was time for her to talk to the League Commissioner. She only hoped Blade would be able to stop this once he figured out what he was doing. It was only a matter of time with him...

End of Chapter