The next morning, Cashe, Emilia, and Lindon were gathered around the kitchen table of their suite. The trainer residence they were staying at was a modern one, which really just meant all the furniture was lower to the ground and a little less comfortable, except for the kitchen furniture, which was too high. For some reason the designers decided that stools were the best option for kitchen seating, leaving everyone’s legs dangling about the kitchen floor with no support for their backs.

Cashe hunched over the table, resting his arms against it as he scrutinized Emilia’s laptop. Zill’s team wasn’t looking great for him. The gym leader’s daughter had a flying type, a fire type, and a psychic type on her team, three of his major weaknesses. His most recent addition of Sneasel helped cover some of them, but Sneasel could only do so much in a battle, and Zill still had two other pokemon to deal with as well. The only upside was that Cashe had been in a tough matchup like this before and came out on top. He could do it again.

Emilia and Lindon were making similar faces as Cashe, having already looked up the teams their opponents used. Cashe pulled away from the laptop with a disgruntled sigh and stood up.

“Gym Leader Kev didn’t pick us easy opponents,” Cashe said, “I don’t feel comfortable facing Zil with only four pokemon. She has too many counters for my team, and an extra pokemon.”

“I don’t need an extra pokemon. I’m still beating Herschel with only three,” Lindon said, though he sounded less sure of himself than he did previously.

“There’s an easy solution to that,” Emilia said, speaking to Cashe, “Catch another pokemon.”

“Where?” Cashe said, “Route 11 doesn’t have any common pokemon that can help me at all, and Route 10 is closed off completely.”

The announcement had come overnight. Gym Leader Kev was not taking any chances with the potential of a dangerous pokemon in the area, and had shut down all ground travel between Malie City and Tapu Village, including both Route 10 and Route 17. The routes were connected in reality, where in the games they were separated by an impassable wall of several bushes.

“So let’s go to Malie Gardens,” Lindon said, reading from his phone, “There are lots of pokemon that would be good for you there. The city keeps both Poliwag lines, Psyduck, and even Magikarp.” He looked up from his phone, “And you know what that means.”

Emilia nodded, “That’s a good idea, Lindon. Gyarados always pop up when there are a bunch of Magikarp around.”

“It’s a garden,” Cashe said, looking between his friends, confusion on his face, “You’re not allowed to catch pokemon in a garden.”

“Why not?” Lindon said.

“Of course you are,” Emilia said at the same time, giving Cashe a confused look of her own, “What do you think they are there for?”

“A pokemon battle would tear the place apart,” Cashe said, “And against a Gyarados? Aren’t they dangerous? Why do they even have them in a garden next to a city?”

“They don’t have them on purpose,” Lindon said, showing Cashe his phone screen. A large warning symbol was on it, one he recognized for potentially dangerous pokemon, “But it’s really hard to predict when Magikarp will evolve since they barely get any stronger until they turn into a Gyarados.”

“But wouldn’t the Rangers or whoever keep the gardens in order remove all the Gyarados as soon as the Magikarp evolve? They would be on the lookout for that kind of thing right?” Cashe said.

“Obviously,” Lindon rolled his eyes, “But they can’t watch everything all at once.”

“They can’t?” Cashe asked, “Wait, how big are the gardens?”

***

In the games, the Malie Gardens were ‘Johto’ style gardens, which really meant Japanese gardens. They were relatively small, with a few water features, a couple of buildings, and a handful of paths running through them.

And that was still true, for the most part. Even from outside the main gate of the gardens, Cashe could see sculpted trees that resembled Japanese maples and the flowing sound of water was loud enough to reach his ears. The gently tapered roof of a building built with traditional Johto architecture in mind even poked over the exterior walls of the garden, just visible from where Cashe stood. The size of the garden, however, was different.

The garden was huge. Even waiting in line, Cashe could see that they extended out of sight, the wall that separated the gardens from the city and the surrounding environment stretched out hundreds of meters, before curving away from the city and out of sight.

“All right, everybody, listen up!” A man dressed in a bright orange smock and stained jeans was waving to a group of grade-schoolers and the small group of parents and teachers who were chaperoning the class, “My name is Dinton, and I will be your guide!”

“This doesn’t seem like a place to catch pokemon,” Cashe said as Dinton went over how everyone needed to have a ‘hand buddy’ so they didn’t get lost, making sure the children were all holding hands with someone close by.

“You can see how big this place is,” Emilia said, “Once we get past the tourist area, there should be plenty of spots to catch pokemon.

“Hey! You might want to hurry! If you wait any longer you will be separated from the group! And don’t forget your hand buddy!” A second smiling guide approached Cashe, Emilia, and Lindon. She was wearing the same outfit as the first guide, though her bright red hair clashed horribly with her orange smock.

“Oh, we’re not with that group,” Cashe said.

“We’re here to catch pokemon,” Lindon huffed, crossing his arms at being confused with the group of elementary-schoolers, “We’re trainers.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the guide switched modes completely, her welcoming smile transforming into a businesslike seriousness, “Do you know the rules? Have you been here before?”

“No and no,” Emilia said.

“Okay, follow me,” the guide led them to the gate where another guide was standing by the entrance, “Dar, these three need panic buttons and the rules,” she said, leaving them at the gate and moving off after the school group.

Dar looked up at the three of them. He was a middle aged man with weather beaten features that spoke of a life outdoors. He reached into a fanny pack around his waist and produced three buttons that were attached to long, velcro straps.

“Strap those around your waist so the button is in easy reach,” Dar instructed, waiting for them to do so. He inspected each strap, making sure they were properly secured. “Good. You three are new to the garden?”

Cashe nodded with Emilia and Lindon.

“Then here are the rules,” Dar said, “One: if you see a pokemon that is not on the list-” Dar reached into his fanny pack again and produced a laminated list of pokemon, handing it to Cashe, “-then you press the button. I don’t care if you are Gym Circuit trainers or if you have a Master Ball. I don’t care if you see a wild Caterpie or Azurill that couldn’t hurt a Beautifly. If you see a pokemon that’s not on the list, you press the button.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Why not make a list of pokemon to press the button for,” Cashe said, looking through the list. The list was long and contained many pokemon, most not fully evolved, “It would be easier for people to remember.”

“We tried that,” Dar said, “But then a Celesteela showed up and no one mentioned it for a week. You’d think a thirty foot tall, flying-steel monstrosity would cause someone to ask questions, but no, it has to scare the crap out of one of our Rangers doing a patrol before anyone thinks to let us know about it.”

“Were they all right?” Lindon said.

“They were fine, kid, Rangers are tough stuff,” Dar said, giving Lindon a wry grin. He turned back to Cashe, “But you do have a point, it is harder to remember what pokemon are on the list. Which brings us to rule number two: If you see a pokemon, you scan it with your pokedex and then you check it against the list. You will do this with every pokemon, even if you know what pokemon it is already.”

Cashe, Emilia, and Lindon nodded again as Dar eyed them, making sure they understood.

“Next rule is if you are catching a pokemon, and your battle is taking you anywhere near the public area, you press the button. We don’t want any accidents.”

They nodded again, and Dar continued, “Finally, you are not to catch more than one pokemon of a species at a time. We maintain a balance here at the Malie Garden and we won’t have that thrown out of whack because you want to catch fifty Poliwag for your rain team.”

Another nod.

“Okay,” Dar grinned, “That’s it. If you get stuck or in trouble, don’t hesitate to press the panic button. We’d rather rescue someone who doesn’t need it than anyone taking a risk and going missing. You’ll want to follow the path marked for trainers, unless you want to do the school tour first. Have fun.”

With that, Dar pushed open the gate, revealing the garden behind it.

Cashe stepped through after Emilia, taking a moment to look around the sprawling landscape. It reminded him greatly of the Japanese gardens on Earth. The landscape was manicured and well maintained, with slight elevation changes along the paths and bridges. The paths were lined with well maintained bushes and trees, though they were any that Cashe recognized. A pond cut through the garden, forming several islands from the land. Several bridges led to a larger island where a small concession stood, with picnic tables and umbrellas to allow visitors to sit and rest with a treat.

A pair of signs stood in front of them, where the path they were on diverged. One was marked with the symbol of a pokemon, the other with one of a sightseer. They followed the sign marked with a pokemon. The path led over a crescent shaped, wooden bridge, hollow thumbs echoing through the quiet gardens as they stepped on it. As they passed over it, something flickered in the pond water.

“It’s a Magikarp!” Lindon announced as his pokedex chirped in his hand.

Cashe checked his list, “Magikarp is on the list,” he said. He frowned, eyes searching the list. He flipped it over, reading the pokemon on the back, “Gyarados isn’t on the list!” Cashe said.

“Shit,” Emilia stopped on the path and looked over her shoulder, “You want to head back?”

“No,” Cashe said, “We’re already here. May as well see what we can find.”

“But you came here for Gyarados,” Lindon said.

“We might still find one,” Emilia said, looking at Cashe conspiratorially, “And it could be that if we do find one, it attacks us, and we are forced to engage with it. By the time a Ranger gets here, the battle could already be finished. We might even be so surprised that we don’t have time to scan and check if it’s on the list.”

“That’s lying though,” Lindon said, “We’ll get in trouble if we do that.”

Cashe sent a questioning look at Emilia. She nodded.

“We will probably get in trouble, if that happens,” she admitted.

“Serious trouble?” Cashe said.

“I think it depends on what happens,” Emilia said, “Potentially serious though.”

Cashe frowned, “There are a lot of pokemon on this list.” Way more than what were in the gardens in the games, he was pretty sure, “Let’s see what we can find before we give up.”

***

Daryl shifted uncomfortably in the small chair in the room of dolls. Across the table, Connie was still curled up in a ball on top of her chair, glaring suspiciously at the walls of dolls.

Daryl couldn’t blame her. The room was creepy. Dozens, if not hundreds of the dolls watched them in the room, eyes unblinking as they stared down at the table. In two corners of the small room, larger dolls stood, around three feet tall, unable to hang easily from the wall. They were propped on stands, poised in positions in an attempt to look natural, but only came off as uncanny instead. A third stand stood empty from where one of the dolls had been removed for repairs or a sale.

“How long?” Connie said, eyes darting from the wall to Daryl for a second.

Daryl checked his watch, “An hour and twenty five minutes.”

“It was an hour and twenty when I last asked though!”

That’s because you asked five minutes ago,” Daryl said.

“That didn’t feel like five minutes, that was an hour at least!”

Daryl nodded. It did feel like an hour. Especially since neither of them were talking.

“Just be patient,” Daryl said, “Mr Holston said his son should be home soon. Then he can answer our questions.”

“I keep thinking they're moving,” Connie said, shivering in place, eyes darting around the small space, “I see them. Out of the corners of my eye.”

"It’s probably your eyes playing tricks on you,” Daryl said, “Like when it looks like your stuffed animals are moving in the dark at night.”

Connies eyes widened further, “That happened to you?”

“When I was a kid. It’s just your mind playing tricks on you.” Daryl said.

“That never happened to me!” Connie said, "You were haunted!”

“I wasn’t haunted,” Daryl said, though he had to stop himself from shivering. Did something cold just move across his back, or was that a drop of sweat?

“Oh my gosh!” Connie jumped up from ehr seat, pointing into the corner of the room.

“What?” Daryl spun around, only seeing the empty stand for the larger doll.

“That stand is empty! A doll got up and is going to get me!” Connie wailed, scurrying across the room and grabbed Daryl for protection. Or as a buffer.

“It was like that when we came in here,” Daryl said.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“I don’t remember seeing an empty spot,” Daryl admitted, “But I don’t remember it being occupied either.”

“Something but the stand there,” Connie concluded, holding Daryl tighter. Her eyes widened in a near panic, “It’s for me! Holston is going to turn me into a doll!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Daryl said, “It’s way too small even for-”

Thunk.

“What was that?” Connie said.

“It sounded like a door. It’s probably just Mr Holston moving around.”

“He’s upstairs,” Connie said, “The floor creaked every time he took a step. We would have heard him get up.”

“Maybe he got up and we missed it,” Daryl said, not quite believing his own words. They definitely would have heard him. They had been almost silent for the last hour.

“What was that?” Connie said, whispering now, “It sounded like a voice.”

Daryl frowned, it did sound like a voice.

“Dad?” The voice was hushed, like it was coming from a distance away, or from a very small body, “Where are you?”

“It’s just his son,” Daryl sighed, moving to stand up.

“Wait!” Connie said, “What if he turned his son into a doll? What if we’re next?”

“That’s ins-”

Thunk.

Another door shut. One right outside the room of dolls.

“Dad?” The voice was still hushed. Like it was trying to yell, but didn’t have the ability.

Connie looked up at Daryl, “Help,” she mouthed.

Daryl opened his mouth to speak and announce their presence. It was just the son. The hand of the door jostled before he could get a word out.

“Dad, are you in there?” The voice said, “I’m coming in.”

Daryl froze in place as the knob turned and the door opened a crack.

“Are they gone? Is it safe-”

The door opened all the way and Connie screamed, grabbing a doll from the wall and tossing it at the door as a figure revealed itself.

*****