Cashe stumbled back, his reaction delayed out of shock. He collapsed in the mud and scrambled away from Gardevoir, crawling along the road backward until his hand brushed against something strange. It felt paradoxically ethereal and solid, like imagination come to life. He pushed away from it and looked up. And gaped.
Elise Oak sat facing Max Maple and Gardevoir, her expression a terrible contortion of focused rage. She wore the uniform of a champion, silver-gray riding pants and a matching blouse, clinging tight to her torso. Her hair, somehow dry in the pouring rain, flowed behind her head, blowing in the wind, moving in eerily similar fashion as the honest-to-god cape that hung around her shoulders and the flames that flickered around her mount's legs. The cape was the only thing on her person that was not colored like steel. It was pale blue, unmarred by accents or embroidery, swaying over the back of her steed. Standing out above it all was the eclectic display of pokeballs on the belt clasped around her hips. Cashe couldn’t count the exact number, but there were at least a dozen of various types. Humble pokeballs mixed with ultra balls, timer balls, even a few Beast Balls and a solitary Master Ball among them.
The steed itself was the cause for Cashe’s amazement. The horse-like pokemon was imposing, her withers standing just under five and a half feet, with her head rising to almost seven. She stood, bearing down at Gardevoir, her stance noble and pristine in the tumultuous rain.
Her fur was dark purple mixed with black, her mane falling from her neck, the hair forming several ribbon-like strands that almost reached the ground. Ghostly energy rolled away from her, pale gray flames rising up from the pokemon’s hooves; she was the embodiment of power and speed.
Unearthly power washed over Cashe as he stared at this pokemon. Gardevoir’s aura may have been implacable, but this pokemon did not care; she would ignore it, her ethereal being only a part of the world when she commanded it to be, her presence only granted to those worthy of it.
Spectrier.
Her aura was almost spiritual, insubstantial and delicate, it felt like a shadow passing over Cashe on a sunny day - not unpleasant, but impossible not to notice. It was still relegated to the back of the mind, uncanny but natural, like deja vu given form.
Spectrier grunted as Elise splashed down into the mud of the road, somehow avoiding staining her impeccable outfit. Without a word of communication, Spectrier stepped forward to engage Gardevoir. For the first time, Gardevoir’s expression turned serious as she backed away from Ivysaur and Emilia, taking position in front of her trainer. Her eyes locked onto the ghost, unblinking as she gave the new threat her full attention.
“Elise Oak,” Maple’s smug grin of self satisfaction was gone, replaced with one of mild surprise, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Take a guess,” Elise spat. She whistled, high and sharp and Spectrier began gathering power. At the same time, she reached for her belt, pulling off a dark green and black pokeball. She tossed it in the air as Spectrier attacked, the ball opening in a flash of red light.
A ball of pale energy flew from Spectrier and towards Maple. He snorted, crossing his arms as a second barrier was erected around Gardevoir, overlapping with the first. Just as the Spectrier’s attack was about to hit Gardevoir’s shield, Emilia’s second pokemon took form.
Heat washed over Cashe in a wave, the thermal bloom turning the rain to steam even as it fell through the air. With it, came the aura of ruinous envy. It hit Cashe like a truck, vile thoughts of discontent and desire rising in his mind. He was not enough. He was a broken, pathetic man, lying in the mud on the side of the road while those with actual worth and power treated him like dirt. It was galling, to be so low, to need such intervention. He needed that power. Cashe stared at Elise for a fraction of a second. He would take that power from her. And her sister. And anything else he wanted as long as it would make the hole in his chest go away.
The aura hit Cashe just as Spectrier’s attack slammed into Gardevoir’s shields. They cracked and shattered, Maple’s face turning from smirking to panicked in a flash. He swore, reaching for his own pokeballs and tossing two out. Elise snorted and whistled again.
Cashe pushed himself off his back and was halfway to his feet, ready to use the moment of distraction to take what should be his, when the feeling passed out of him, wind taken from his sails. A deep disquiet replaced it and he stared at its source, recognizing it for the danger that it was.
Chi-Yu, a flaming koi a foot tall and twice as long, darted through the air, melting the earth below him into lava. His body was a bright fire, orange and red, its surface roiling like flames caught in a breeze. Just looking at the pokemon, Cashe could feel his greed, envy, and desire rising in him and he turned away, his mind too exhausted from the day’s event to fight against the pokemon’s seductive presence.
Cashe pushed his attention back to the battle. Maple had summoned two more pokemon, Bronzong and a female Indeedee, while Gardevoir stepped back, taking position behind them.
“Two legendary pokemon for me? I’m flattered.” Maple’s voice was light, but his face was strained. Elise ignored him, giving another command with a long, trilling whistle. Maple shut his mouth and another set of barriers were erected in front of his pokemon, three this time. They snapped into place as Spectrier disappeared from the road, dissolving into shadows and wisps of light. At the same time Chi-Yu gathered energy around him. In a flash, a wave of fire, so hot that Cashe felt his clothes dry on his back, rolled away from him, crossing the distance and slamming into the barriers.
They shuddered and twisted under the pressure from Chi-Yu, but they held. Maple’s only response was more barriers, his pokemon wrapping them around their position, protecting them from all attacks.
Elise watched the display, crossing her arms, unimpressed with Maple’s tactics. More barriers snapped into place but Elise ordered no more attacks. Just as Cashe was beginning to ask why, Spectrier appeared in the midst of the pokemon, emerging from the shadows at their feet, her hooves lashing out at Gardevoir in a sudden strike. They sank into Gardevoir, becoming intangible for a brief moment, allowing the hooves to penetrate half an inch into Gardevoir’s flesh. The impact shot Gardevoir into the inside of the barriers like a rocket, the force shaking them and sending a spider web of cracks cascading through the innermost layer.
Maple panicked, tossing another pokeball out, this one containing the round, pink form of a Blissey. Elise whistled again, quick and short, and Spectrier disappeared. As she did, Gardevoir pulled herself up from the ground, no visible damage done where Spectrier kicked her. Despite this, she moved without the grace Cashe had seen previously, her uncanny floating movements giving way to staggering and unsteady steps.
Maple’s mouth moved as he gave Blissey an order, unheard through the many barriers. The air around Maple and his pokemon began to buzz and warp. Elise whistled again and Chi-Yu renewed his attacks on the barriers. Spectrier appeared from the shadows again, this time firing a pale gray ball of light at Bronzong, the attack crashing into its form and sending it tumbling to the ground. At the same time, Indeedee's barrier broke, exposing Maple and his pokemon to Chi-Yu's next attack. It was too late, however; the few second's delay were all Maple needed, and he vanished into thin air with a blink of light as Blissey teleported them away.
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Rain fell again on Cashe’s face as Elise returned her pokemon to their pokeballs, its patter the only sound in the cold, wet evening.
***
The next few hours were a mess of noise and color. Teleport warped the air in front of the Pokemon Center more often than its doors seemed to open. From his spot in the Center’s reception, Cashe saw a blur of people, coming and going.
Immediately following Max Maple’s retreat, Elise had pestered him with questions. He didn’t remember them, or how he answered. He only remembered shouting at her as he failed to lift Emilia’s body off the ground as he tried to get her into the Pokemon Center. She was rushed into the back immediately once Elise realized that the person in the lab coat was not an abandoned Team Starlight scientist, and he had not seen either sister since.
Dozens of Pokemon Center nurses appeared from the rear of the Center, minutes later, teleporting in using the Center’s network of Blissey, Clefable, and Audino. The public teleport space was in front of the Center, and Officer Jennys arrived in bursts of almost a dozen at a time. Following them were more esoteric teams of people, their purpose unable to be divined by Cashe. Bureaucrats from the League most likely. Suits standing around in the rain because someone needed to be here to tell the people in charge what was actually happening. A few tried to take shelter in the Center, but a nurse shouted at them for getting in the way until they left, returning to the rain in shame.
The missing villagers were found in the tunnels eventually, suffering the aftereffects of psychic domination at the hands of Team Starlight. The very idea that that could happen to someone made Cashe sick, his stomach roiling as the villagers were marched into the Center, flanked by Joys and Jennys. He now knew what First meant by processing, and his thoughts turned selfishly towards Emilia. He was only happy that she was not subjected to it. The villagers were a mess, covered in shock blankets and wearing only underwear underneath; every man, woman and child looked as though they were emerging from some act of unspeakable horror. But then, they were. He kept his eyes off of them whenever possible. There would be enough unwanted attention coming their way over the next few days. He didn’t need to gawk as well. He didn't need the guilt.
Some cried, some attempted to speak to their rescuers in a desperate attempt at normalcy, but most wore blank faces; all had dead eyes. They were escorted into the rear of the Pokemon Center. Lindon was not prescient, thank god. Hopefully he was asleep in his room and would miss the worst of it.
Somewhere along the way, a Nurse Joy decided he was in need of attention, and he soon had a shock blanket over his shoulders as well with a pair of nurses fussing over his every scrape and scratch. They ignored his questions about Emilia, only saying that she was being treated, and he would be told when he could see her.
Once they determined he was not going to die, they left him alone to again stare blankly into the wall on the opposite side of the Center. Time passed, Cashe did not know how long, but he was beginning to get his bearings about him, when a man sat down beside him. He wore a long, leather trench coat and a felt fedora, a sturdy presence emanating about him. His face looked like it had taken a beating in the past, possibly from a shovel, and a dark mustache decorated his upper lip. He was perhaps forty years old, and his dark eyes glinted with keen intelligence.
“Mr Cashe?” The man asked.
Cashe nodded and blinked. The man had a vague familiarity about him, but he could not place where he had seen him before. His head was still foggy from everything that happened, and he couldn’t place the man’s face.
“Seeker.” The man gave him a firm handshake that Cashe was unable to return.
“Seeker?”
“It’s a codename,” Seeker said. He reached into his jacket and produced a badge, “I’m with the International Police.”
The words clicked in Cashe’s head and he realized where he had seen the man before. Coming out of his concussion, the man had been interviewing people in the Pokemon Center on Route 2.
“I have a few questions for you, if you don’t mind,” Seeker continued, taking out a notebook and flipping through it.
“I don’t want to talk.” Cashe muttered, turning away from the man and staring at the doors leading into the Pokemon Center. Still no word on Emilia. He clenched his hands together, the stress of waiting getting to him.
Seeker followed his gaze to the doors, understanding crossing his face. “If you speak with me, I can tell them to let you through,” he said.
Cashe nodded, his head still muddled. He had the vague feeling he was forgetting something, but couldn’t remember what for the life of him.
Seeker gave him a small smile as Cashe consented to the questions and jumped right in, “This is your third time coming into conflict with Team Starlight, correct?”
Cashe nodded, “Yes.”
“And according to your file, they wanted to recruit you. What for?”
He had a file? Cashe gave the man a look, but Seeker only watched him, dark eyes scrutinizing.
“I thought it was to help find Jirachi,” Cashe said, “But I was told today that I was supposed to become Second.”
“Why does that mean?” Seeker said.
“I don’t know. I met someone today called Second. I guess it’s a codename, like Seeker.”
“Mmm,” Seeker nodded and jotted down a note, “Who told you this?”
“Max Maple.”
“How do you know Max Maple?”
Cashe frowned, “That’s not in my file?”
Seeker met his eyes, looking up from his note’s briefly, “I want to hear it for myself.”
Cashe explained meeting Max Maple during the True Rookie Tournament. It took longer than it should have thanks to his thoughts coming slowly. Thinking through the memories was like pulling a string through molasses. His thoughts gunked up and caught on irrelevant things, his mind wandering off onto tangents. Seeker nodded along, jotting down a few notes until the rambling story ended.
“He told you his goal was to catch Jirachi? Only to catch Jirachi?” Seeker said.
“I know he wanted to catch Jirachi,” Cashe said. He frowned, trying to recall if he was told anything else about the Team’s plans, “I think First told me that Max Maple was going to change the world. Make it pure. I don’t know what that means.”
“I see. How did you discover Team Starlight’s presence here in Tapu Village?” Seeker said.
“I didn’t. Emilia did. She went missing; I went looking for her.”
“Of course,” Seeker didn’t bother to write that down, “How did she discover Team Starlight’s presence?”
“I don’t know. She was supposed to meet someone we knew, but she noticed something strange. That’s the last I heard from her.”
“And where were you when this happened?” Seeker said.
“Near the mountains, hunting for pokemon.” Cashe said, “Lindon was looking for a Vulpix and so we split up while Emilia stayed behind.”
“And that was your idea, was it? To split up?” Seeker’s question was light and casual, but his eyes watched Cashe closely. "To come to the village as well?"
“It might have been. I don’t remember. Why does it matter?”
“It doesn’t, Mr Cashe, It doesn’t.” Seeker shook his head and gave Cashe a comforting smile that didn’t touch his eyes. “Why do you think Miss Oak was taken?”
“I don’t know.” Cashe wrinkled his face as he tried to recall the events of the day, “I think it was an accident?”
“How does one accidentally kidnap someone, Mr Cashe?” Seeker said, his voice unamused.
“It wasn’t planned,” Cashe clarified, “Both Maple and First were surprised and upset when they figured out someone had kidnapped her.” He bit his lip as he tried to remember, “I think someone said it was Second.”
“Second is the codename that you were supposed to have, was it not?” Seeker said, in the same light tone he used before.
‘That’s what Maple said,” Cashe nodded, “But-”
“Mr Seeker,” Elise Oak approached from the back of the Pokemon Center, cape flowing behind her as she marched through the crowd of people moving through the reception area, “What do you think you are doing to my family?”
Seeker looked away from Cashe and stood, crossing his arms and planting his feet as Elise approached, “Mrs Oak. I was conducting an interview with-”
“Save it for our lawyer,” Elise snapped. She turned to Cashe, her expression softening as she looked down at him, “Emilia’s going to be alright, Cashe. She’s not awake, but we can see her now.”
*****