The next day, Maeve awoke to the loud beeping of her alarm. With a yawn, she reached over and stopped it before sitting up and stretching. Half an hour later, she was sitting in the kitchen, gulping down scrambled eggs and bacon. Her Pokémon were right beside her, wolfing down Maeve’s attempts at homemade food with gusto, Lizzie just naturally hungry and Blue still acclimating to his larger body. More meat next time, Blue croaked. Lizzie didn’t seem to care about the contents of her meal.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Maeve and her Pokémon stepped out of the front door with full bellies and bright spirits. Blue took joy in leaping from one object to another as Lizzie settled down on Maeve’s shoulder, the one that Blue didn’t normally occupy.
They were at the Oreburgh Gym half an hour early, staring up at the imposing stone building that was the gym. Surprisingly, Maeve found Lara already there, battling with another trainer a couple dozen meters away from the gym. Lara had a Monferno out, and her opponent had a Glameow. It seemed like Maeve had arrived too late, as both Pokémon were already panting heavily with exhaustion. The Glameow looked to have it the worst, and Lara knew that.
“Finish it, Monferno! Flame Wheel!”
“No! Glameow, Hypnosis!”
Monferno growled and swayed slightly, but kept on going. Glameow yowled as Monferno’s attack met her shoulder, throwing her several feet away. Crumpling to the ground, the gray cat did not get up.
After waiting for a couple of moments, an eight-year-old that seemed to be refereeing the match looked at Monfero with bugged-out eyes. “The winner of this match is the fire monkey!”
Monferno grinned and whooped in victory as Lara patted him on the head. Glameow’s trainer returned her Pokémon to its ball, staring at Lara with squinted eyes. After a long, awkward moment, the other girl said, “Pretty eyes. They look familiar…” The girl rubbed her eyes. “Never mind. I must be seeing things.” She frowned and walked away.
Maeve stared after Lara’s opponent with a strange look on her face. Then, peering towards Lara, Maeve looked more closely at Lara’s eyes. Lara’s left eye was steel gray, and her right eye was bright sky blue. Maeve wracked her brain before her eyes widened. “Y—”
“I know, I know,” Lara snapped, her temper flaring suddenly. “My family is a rich nest of vipers just waiting to poison you for your inheritance because your last name is Wyde.”
Maeve’s voice turned meek. “Oh…”
Blue croaked protectively, glaring menacingly at Lara. A feeling of quiet anger simmered over their bond. Shh, Maeve whispered mentally. It’s not her fault. Her family sounds horrible. It’s not right to put a child through that sort of stuff.
You’re a child, he chirped back with amusement.
I am almost a teenager, Maeve shot back. I’m a tween, or a pre-teen, if you prefer.
Blue ribbited in amusement. Humans have the weirdest words for the simplest things. You are twelve years old, period.
Maeve was about to respond when she noticed Lara staring at her, eyes wide. Lara muttered something to herself, but Maeve didn’t catch it.
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Lara had seen it with her own eyes just a day after meeting Maeve Kaede. The girl had faded away from their conversation, eyes turning glazed as the Frogadier at her side went through a myriad of different emotions.
A telepath. Or, if you wanted to use a more religious name, a whisperer. Said to be blessed by Arceus himself. Telepaths achieved such profound connections with their Pokémon they could forge literal, mind-to-mind connections with non-Psychic type Pokémon. They were marvels of the world and terrors on the battlefield.
They were also incredibly rare. Rarer than legendary Pokémon, even. “Telepath,” she whispered.
At her words, Maeve broke out of her trance and stared at Lara with gradually widening eyes as she realized Lara had been observing her.
Then Maeve seemed to connect more dots, thinking back to the first day she had met Lara. “That was the reason you asked?” There was no accusation in the other girl’s words, only surprise.
“You seemed to be a decent trainer, but yes, I did have a sneaking suspicion about what you could do,” Lara admitted. She paused, wondering if Maeve would reject her as a traveling companion.
The younger girl shrugged. “Welp, at least you seem to know something about it. I think that could definitely help me out.”
Lara bundled away her emotions for review later before flashing a quick smile. “‘Kay.” Then she turned and strode into the gym lobby, hoping Maeve didn’t notice the faintest tremor in her walk. The gym receptionist glanced at her curiously but accepted Lara’s Trainer ID before scheduling her match with a small shrug. “Four days from now at 2 PM,” the receptionist said.
“Thanks,” Lara said, brushing past Maeve on her way out. She’d head to the park to get some real training done, not just the teaser she’d had outside the gym. Her Pokémon were still impatiently waiting for their chance to fight. On her way to the park, her Pokégear dinged with a notification.
A series of messages from Maeve. Lara texted her reply.
Maeve: My match is four days from now at 2:30 PM! You’re at 2, right?
Maeve: I saw you walking towards the park. I’m assuming you’re heading towards the park to train, right?
Lara: Yes and yes to both questions
Maeve: Cool
Maeve: All the crazy stuff can be discussed later
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Lara: Should I expect to see you at the park in a couple of minutes?
Maeve: Nah!
Maeve: I wandered into the forest ‘cause I had this really big hunch and now I’m in a big hole and I’m exploring and it’s so cool
Lara paused on that last message. Then she reread it. Then she read it again.
Lara: What?
Lara: Kindly elaborate
Maeve: I dunno
Maeve: It’s just a big hole in the ground covered by a bunch of plants
Maeve: Err, there’s a tunnel
Maeve: Signal is getting weak
Maeve: I think there’s something here…
Maeve: CAL FOR HELP
Lara’s eyes widened, especially at Maeve’s typing error. She frantically tapped at the keyboard on the screen.
Lara: Are you there? Maeve?
Lara: Maeve?
No response.
Starting to get nervous, Lara hurriedly dialed the Pokémon Rangers.
“This is the Oreburgh Ranger Station, what can I do for you?” came a friendly but tense voice.
“Yeah, I was heading to the park when my, uh, friend messaged me saying she had fallen into a hole in a quick trip into the forest. She said there was a tunnel underneath the hole, and that she thought something was there. Then she told me to call for help, and now I can’t reach her.”
The voice turned serious. “Where did you last see her, where do you think she is now, and where is she?”
“It should be the forest between th-the gym and the park. I don't think she could’ve wandered too far…” Lara started to get just a touch worried.
“Very well. Rangers are on their way,” the ranger said.
The ranger was true to her word. Less than a minute later, two Pokémon Rangers riding on a Pidgeot and a Talonflame swooped over the forest, circling before landing next to the gym, where Lara had hurried to during her wait. Dismissing their Flying-type Pokémon, the two rangers were soon joined by two more rangers. They all headed into the forest, with a Swinub leading the way. The little pig Pokémon moved through the forest, nose pressed against the ground, before stopping and pointing its nose towards a five-foot hole in the ground. The Swinub let out a small oink and pressed its nose against its trainer’s side. The rangers looked towards each other and nodded before one took out a radio and spoke into it, reporting the hole. Then they returned the Swinub to its Pokéball and summoned more combat-ready Pokémon, heading into the hole.
Lara watched them, holding her breath. Feeling a growing sense of unease as the rangers and their Pokémon dropped down into the hole, she almost summoned three of her Pokémon to bolster her mentally. However, she knew that if whatever lived in that hole could handle the rangers, they could handle her Pokémon without breaking a sweat.
Instead, Lara headed into the gym, sat down in the lobby, and watched as the receptionist stared into the forest and talked into her radio. Not long after, the gym doors shut at the command of the rangers.
“There have been a lot of rumors lately,” a voice said. Lara turned, surprised, to see the receptionist plop down on one of the lobby couches, staring at the heavy stone doors. “And Oreburgh is actually a very chatty town. The rangers have been pretty uneasy for weeks, ‘specially since a bunch of Pokémon start disappearing. Not the trained ones, just the wild ones. Something was bound to happen sooner or later. I would almost thank your friend for falling into a hole, but it’s not really the time.”
Lara sighed, “Yeah, Maeve was going to fall into a hole sooner or later. I know this for a fact, and I’ve only known her for a couple of days. So it’s really not anyone’s fault. She’d probably make a hole to fall into just for the sake of it.”
“Mhm,” the receptionist said. “Well, I’ll be watching your match. Might take a day off on Tuesday. Good luck, by the way. I think you’ll do just fine.”
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Heather strode down the tunnel carefully, each boot placed gently on the ground to make minimal noise. Her fellow rangers were by her side, and a Donphan and a Sandslash scouted ahead. The dirt walls were soft and loamy and sloppily reinforced by stone, likely courtesy of a Stone-type Pokémon.
“No sign of anything yet,” Rick murmured softly from next to her.
“Someone’s been here,” Lorsa said quietly. “The walls are blocked. Our sensors can’t get past them. We’re running blind.”
Heather kept her senses on high alert and said, “The rest of the rangers have been alerted. There are reinforcements that are going to set up a perimeter outside the hole. Even more are looking for more holes. There’s no way there’s only one entrance to this underground labyrinth, or whatever it is.”
The rangers tensed as the tunnel curved up ahead. Then, out of the dark, a single Eevee came running out, panting heavily from exhaustion. The Eevee ignored the rangers and tried to sprint through the tunnel.
“Knock the Eevee out! Gently,” Lorsa commanded. Her Donphan did as ordered, knocking the Eevee unconscious with his trunk. Lorsa hurried to the Eevee’s side, gently inspecting the Pokémon’s body. Her face visibly soured in disgust at the tattoo stamped onto the Eevee’s belly, a blood-red dragon symbol. “Pokémon hunters,” Lorsa spat. “The Drakes.”
Rick gave a report through the radio and received a confirmation. “Tread carefully, rangers,” the radio crackled.
“Of course,” Rick replied.
Heather released her Chansey, Fuzzy, from her Pokéball. As her kind-hearted pink Pokémon appeared, Heather motioned to the Eevee.
Cooing sadly, Fuzzy skipped over to the Eevee and settled down, slowly sending weak pulses of healing magic through the Eevee’s body. The small, tawny Pokémon shifted, relaxing with a quiet whine.
“How could they do that to a helpless Pokémon?” Heather muttered as Lorsa scowled.
Rick placed a hand on his Donphan. “They’re Pokémon hunters,” he said simply. “They capture intelligent, beautiful beings that have done no wrong to turn a profit.” Donphan stomped the ground with his foot, eyes burning with rage.
Chansey stayed behind to watch over the Eevee as the other rangers trekked ahead. Their Pokémon rounded the turn first and immediately jolted into defensive stances. Heather, Rick, and Lorsa hurried to round the corner. As Heather released her Roselia, orders flew from her fellow rangers’ lips.
“Scary Face!” Rick shouted.
“Sand Tomb!” Lorsa ordered.
Heather yelled, “Roselia, Stun Spore!”
The three Pokémon flew into action, Donphan’s face contorting into a frightening visage as Sandslash entombed their opponents in sand. As soon as their opponents, an Onix and a Machop, broke free, a flurry of spores were flying towards them.
Their opponents, two gangly teenage boys with the looks of hired grunts, shouted orders in return.
“Onix, Harden! Uh, uh, attack! Tackle!” the leftmost grunt shouted.
“Machop, dodge and get Roselia! Low Sweep!” the rightmost grunt shouted.
“Sandslash, Sand Tomb again!” Lorsa ordered.
“As soon as that Sand Tomb comes down, Donphan, Rollout! Knock ‘em down!” Rick shouted, jumping up and down with a manic battle rage in his eyes. The skilled ranger hadn’t battled in weeks, leading to a lot of pent-up energy.
“Worry Seed! Then, Toxic Spikes!” Heather shouted.
In less than a minute, the battle was won, and the grunts surrendered themselves to be cuffed. Another ranger came down to pick up both the grunts and the Eevee, freeing up Heather’s Chansey to be returned.
Heather, Lorsa, and Rick continued onwards. They had a hopeful young girl to find and rescue.