Bill had arrived the following evening, sopping wet, as he had just hurtled through rain clouds for seven hours on the back of a determined Dragonite. The group had wasted no time in hiking up to the cave and entering.

The Den was perfectly silent. Eerily silent, in fact.

Lance was at the head of the group, his face determined, his stance expectant. Tay believed that nothing would ever surprise the Champion. Claire and Bill had followed him.

Bill was not at all what Tay had expected. Brock had talked about a renowned Pokemon researcher, and his description had brought to mind a lanky, bespectacled man with a whiny, high pitched voice and a sickly complexion. What Tay saw when Bill arrived was a slightly riled but perfectly pleasant almost-middle-aged man. He was good-natured and knowledgable, his face was expressive and his complexion was only slightly paler than Tay’s. It was obvious that Lance had known what he was doing when he had summoned this man.

However it was Brock who seemed to be the most at ease in this cave. He strode across the rocky ledges like a pro, and kept his poke balls on hand, in case the Dragonair attacked.

The problem was, the Dragonair were nowhere to be seen.

After an hour of climbing over wet stones and dodging crumbling stalagmites, Lance seemed to grow impatient for the first time. He turned to look at Claire, who looked extremely confused and rather sheepish.

“There’s nothing here, Claire.”

“I’m sorry,” said Claire. “Whatever was going on seems to be over now.”

But Bill did not seem satisfied. He scanned the walls and alcoves critically, but there wasn’t even the flicker of a scaly tail. Claire’s Dratini had wiggled into many of these small recesses, but simply could not find a single living creature.

Claire was extremely apologetic toward Lance as they all turned to leave. Brock was indifferent. Bill lagged behind, still studying every nook and cranny, trying to detect any sign of movement.

Tay sighed. What a waste of time.

When they emerged from the Den, the sky was utterly dark. Rain was falling hard and the surrounding trees were nearly bent over with the strain of the wind. They clung to their tattered foliage, but this unnatural storm was wreaking havoc on the area.

Lance looked uneasily at the swirling clouds. His Dragonite was emitting a deep growling noise that was audible even over the noisy wind and rain.

Bill, however, seemed almost gleeful.

“Brock,” he said. “This is rather like what happened at my lighthouse, is it not?”

Brock frowned. “Do you mean that giant… whatever it was?”

“Yes,” said Bill. “That was one reason why I was so keen to come. I wondered if there might be some sort of connection…” He spoke slowly, as if lost in a dream or perhaps an old memory.

Claire glanced at the researcher. “What are you two talking about?”

“That was a long time ago,” Brock pointed out, oblivious of the questioning looks on the others’ faces.

“What was a long time ago?” asked Lance.

Bill nodded. “Okay. We should find a place where we can hold a vigilance in case the beast appears. Any suggestions?”

“What beast?” said Tay.

“Maybe up on that hillside bordering the caves,” said Brock, pointing.

“WHAT ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT?” said Tay and Claire in unison.

Brock sighed. “Maybe we should explain this tomorrow, Bill. Start fresh, you know.”

So the group went their separate ways - Claire, Lance, and Bill all headed to Claire’s home for the night. Brock and Tay opted for the more familiar Pokemon Center. They arrived there completely soaked, and Nurse Joy made them dry off a bit before she would allow them to come inside. Tay positively shook himself off like a Growlithe. All dignity forgotten, he stripped off his sopping shirt and jogged into the reception area, leaving his bemused companion behind.

Nurse Joy gave him a very dirty look as he strode toward the front desk without a shirt on, but he didn’t care.

“Dress code,” she said, her tone monotonous. “Find yourself a shirt, or I’m turning you out. Tonight.”

As Tay turned to leave, defeated and annoyed, Brock walked in, still damp, but no longer dripping. A few other soggy trainers followed him, looking cold and annoyed at this unfortunate weather.

Tay returned a few moments later (with a shirt on) to find a sight that was truly too odd for his mind to contemplate. An intense happiness at the sight of his sister, Adelaide, mixed with the strange weight in his gut at seeing her deep in conversation with Brock.

Her hair was not nearly as wet as his was, but she had doubtlessly braved the torrent outside sometime that day. Tay barely recognized her. Her face was not as cute and round as it had once been (he had on several occasions referred to her as a human Jigglypuff), and you would never guess that in childhood she had been rather chubby. Her hair, which had been the exact same shade of brown as Tay’s, was now much darker and much longer.

She’s sixteen, Tay reminded himself. She’s old enough to take care of herself. Anyway, you might be jumping the gun on this…

Tay fought back those negative thoughts steadfastly. His little sister was simply having a friendly conversation with a fellow trainer. Who happened to be six years older than she was.

Time for a little brotherly intervention…

“Adelaide!”

The girl looked up and the joy on her face made Tay’s heart soar. Whatever discomfort he had felt at seeing her grown-up melted away as she hugged him.

“It’s good to see you, Laide,” he said. He held her at arms length and examined her. “I barely recognized you, kid. You don‘t look half as goofy as you used to.”

She smiled. “Same to you. Your hair is longer and your eyes aren’t crossed anymore.”

“Oh, you’re a regular comedian.”

Tay turned to Brock. “I believe you two have already met.” He tried to keep any accusation out of his voice, but it was a close run thing.

Brock nodded. “Uh…” He suddenly looked deeply uncomfortable. “Well, she introduced herself and asked if I’d met anyone named Lurie. I didn’t know she was your sister.”

Lame excuse, thought Tay harshly. “Lurie’s my last name,” he said aloud.

Adelaide smiled at Brock. “Actually, I didn’t get your name.”

“Brock,” said Tay quickly. “His name is Brock. Now, Laide, I’m sure you’ve got a ton of stuff to tell me. Have you got a room yet?”

“Speaking of rooms,” said Nurse Joy as she passed, “would you two guys mind sharing one tonight? We’re starting to get rather crowded around here.”

“No problem,” said Tay automatically. “Brock and I will have a grand old time.”

“Yeah…” said Brock slowly. “We can discuss what’s going on up at the Den.”

“Among other things,” said Tay pointedly.

Adelaide broke in. “But first, I want to talk to my brother.” She grabbed Tay’s arm and led him toward the trainers’ chambers. “You wouldn’t believe what I’ve been up to, Tay.”

That’s what I was afraid of, thought Tay.

“Brock, why don’t you come too,” she added warmly over her shoulder, much to Tay’s dismay.

“I think I’ll just wait out here,” muttered Brock lamely. He settled down with a copy of Breeder’s Digest and tried not to think about the incredibly awkward conversation he had just had.