Chapter 22: Desert Blockade
June 6
Nimbasa
They were in a new town, at least to Nate. The light breeze smelled of the bay while the sun shone in a clear sky. “So what's around here?” he asked, since he'd gotten too busy with the Join Avenue venture yesterday to ask then.
“A lot of fun stuff!” Rosa said, starting to point things out. “There's Gear Station, the center point of Unova's subway system; you can reach most towns with it, plus they have a set of battle trains that are supposed to be a really tough competition for Pokemon.”
“Battling in subway trains?” Nate asked. “I'd heard of subway battles, but I thought they were at big stations.”
“I wonder if they have a time limit. Like you need to finish a battle before you arrive.”
He tapped his foot on the pavement, thinking. “That could be really tough. Subways are meant for fast travel.”
“It's probably better to ask them. Anyhow, you saw that big gate near the entrance, right? That leads to an amusement park! It's free to get in, but some of the attractions have to be paid for. But not the Pokemon Gym. And then, somewhere around here,” she turned around, pointing to a building in the opposite direction. “Over there, I think. I remember there being a really serious group of researchers who were looking for Trainers around the time that I left. Their lab might still be around, I don't know. But I do know that if you all the way to the north side of the city, you'll find the Pokemon musical theater!”
“Do they have Pokemon sing?” Nate asked, thinking.
She shrugged. “Sometimes, but it's mostly dance and dressing them up to be all fancy. I liked watching some of the shows, but there were Pokemon that didn't look too comfortable in their costumes. That annoyed me. Also on the north side, there's a pair of sports stadiums. I hear that the players and fans are really into Pokemon battles. As long as there's not a game going on, it's probably the best place to train inside Nimbasa itself. The subway battles are probably too hard.”
“No way to know until we try ourselves.” He closed his eyes for a bit. Argent poked him in the shoulder playfully.
“So, what do you want to do today?” Rosa asked. “I was thinking about trying to find some old friends, if they're still around.”
“I need to do some training, as usual,” he said, glancing at Argent then looking at her. “I also want to check out the desert area again; I've got some ideas about how to handle the Gym here. But now I've also got that mall to consider. So there's a theater... definitely should find someone who can groom Pokemon well, because that'd be a big draw.”
“Hey, how about a shop that sells accessories... oh yeah!” She pumped a fist in the air. “I met this girl in Castelia, Melissa I think. She's the one I traded Angel to, to get Grim. She likes fashion.”
“Could ask, at least,” Nate said with a nod. “Actually, I remember talking the Hugh's sister Violet a few times, about how her and her mother liked to cook. I wonder if I could convince them... but her mom already works as a cook.”
“Ask them anyhow,” Rosa said. She could remember their mother talking about how she would like to set up a small bakery of her own. “It might be out of the price range, though, since they'd need all sorts of gear.”
“The Join Avenue group will provide most things which are paid off through the wage system they have. They'll be all right. I'll probably look to an advertisement to get a groomer, but if you could put me in contact with Violet and the other girl, that'd be a good start.”
“Okay, I have their numbers right in here.” Since Nate had never spoke with the Castelia girl, and Rosa wanted to check up on Angel too, he let her call on Melissa.
Meanwhile, he was going to try reaching Violet and her mother. Rosa had given him a few numbers to try, but he got her after a few rings on her Xtransceiver. “Hi Nate!” she said, smiling warmly. “I wasn't expecting to hear from you.”
“Hi Violet,” he said, smiling back. “How are things going over there?”
“It's good. I thought it'd be quiet without you three around, but me and my friends have been having fun. How are you three?”
“Me and Rosa are doing great. But we actually don't see much of Hugh.”
She looked disappointed. “Oh, really? He called me a few times, but I haven't heard from him lately. Could you check up on him and make sure he's okay? And tell him to call home more. Me and mom and dad worry about him.”
Nate nodded. “Sure thing. I'll twist his ear until he agrees.”
She laughed. “Don't hurt him too much. But thanks.”
“No problem. I was calling about an interesting offer I got yesterday. Do you have anything going on this summer? Like a job or clubs?”
“No, not really,” she said. “I was thinking about getting a part-time job, but I might be a little late now. I wanted to work on my baking, but I was talking with mom about it and the problem is that if I practice, we'd be making too much for everyone to eat. Maybe we'll send you and Rosa some things.”
“Actually, that's perfect. See, I somehow became in charge of a indoors marketplace near Nimbasa.”
“Whoa, really?” Her eyes were wide with surprise.
He nodded. “Really, and I have a lot of empty spots for shops. The big thing is, there's a funding system with it that will provide what items people need to set up their dream shops. There's a lot of options for food shops, even for bakeries. When I saw that, you were the first person I thought of. Do you want to take charge a bakery here? You can invite your mom to work with you too, if she can manage it.”
“That's amazing!” Violet seemed to be hopping in excitement, based on the movement of the background. “I don't know if I’m good enough, but that would let me practice lots of things. And I think mom might be up for it. Can you hang on a moment? I want to connect mom in.”
“Sure.” He glanced over to see how Rosa was doing.
It was good timing. “He's right here, so I can ask him,” she was saying before looking at him. “Hey Nate, if she runs an accessory shop, does she have to make all the items she sells?”
He came closer and spoke up, hoping that Melissa could hear it. “No, we can put her in contact with a supplier to fill out her stock.”
“Did you hear that?” Rosa asked, looking back to the phone.
“Yeah, it's good that they'll let me sell other things,” Melissa said. “I don't have a lot of extra stuff. Oh, and would they have a sewing machine and supplies there too?”
“I think so,” Nate said. “If you want to meet up with me in Join Avenue later today, I can show you the options.”
“Nate?” Violet said.
“I'm here,” he said, then excused himself from the other conversation. Now a third window on the screen showed Violet's mother. “Did you hear about the offer?”
“It certainly seems interesting. Would you explain it again?”
He nodded and told her about Join Avenue's system. “You don't have to handle the business end of things because the office will take care of it.”
“Including the money and credits?”
“That too. You'll turn in the money you've made to the office and they'll sort out wages, taxes, and fees, the last part including start-up funds for the equipment.”
“That's certainly a welcome respite from hassle,” she said. “Work at the restaurant I'm at now has been really stressful lately, part of it because of the non-cooking tasks they assign me. I always thought it'd be great fun to have my own bakery, but I wanted to focus on the baking, not money and all that. This would be perfect... I wouldn't be able to start right away, since I need to give advanced warning of quitting.”
“Could I go over and start it?” Violet asked.
“If you have a few simple recipes to start with, I don't see why not,” her mother said, nodding. “What kinds of machines do they have?”
While he could meet up with Melissa because she lived in Castelia, Violet probably wouldn't be able to arrive for a few days. “I think I can show you now,” he said, requesting that his Xtransceiver bring up the Avenue files on the open fourth window. “Let me zoom in on this and find the bakery options.”
“Wow, looks like they can do so much,” Violet said, impressed on seeing the index for store listings.
“Yeah, they went all out setting this up,” Nate said. Again, he wondered what the purpose of putting all this effort into the Avenue was if Mr. Cartridge didn't seem to care. He selected the bakery option. “You can choose to focus on Pokemon, humans, or both. Looks like the items that will be there regardless are a work sink, a sanitizing station, an oven, a worktable, a display front, and a register. Also, ingredients and other supplies can be delivered on a regular basis, whatever you think you'll need.”
“Do they have different options on the oven?” Violet's mother asked. “And a fridge unit would be helpful.”
“What about a poffin mixer?” Violet asked. “They're easy enough to make by hand, but they don't come out the same.”
“I know I saw the poffin mixer in there,” Nate said. “And the fridge. Let's check on the oven.”
After showing them what was available, Violet and her mother agreed to open a bakery. Nate set that up for them so that by the time Violet arrived, the bakery would be installed. That just left Melissa to check up on. “She wants to check in on it in person, with her grandmother,” Rosa said. “They're going to come up here for lunch, so they'll meet us at the station about a quarter to noon.”
He nodded. “Sure, gives me a few hours to check out the desert. Maybe some other things. You want to come with me, or are you all right on your own?”
“Of course I'm fine on my own,” she said. “Wow, you've got a lot going. I wonder if the subway reaches Virbank now, if I want to visit Pokestar.” She giggled at that.
“Whatever works,” he said, smiling. “Well then, I’ll guess we'll meet back up when we can... oh yeah, nearly forgot something. Violet said she hasn't heard from Hugh in a while. Keep an eye out for him, and if you do see him, annoy him until he agrees to call home.”
“What?!” Rosa asked, frowning at that. “He hasn't called home lately? What's up with him? Well he'd better hope he runs into you, because I'm gonna really get after him about this.”
Nate shifted his visor. “Is it wrong that I’m hoping you do run into him, so he takes this seriously?”
“I dunno,” Rosa said. “I'll see you when I see you. Have fun!”
-+-
Nate had to head back through Join Avenue to get where he wanted. The boys weren't at their shop, but it was already adjusted to its new function. Which was a surprise, since turning it into a vending machine area meant taking out most of the counter and installing all the machines. There was a group of teenagers there, getting drinks and talking about their plans. As he thought, that worked better than the very narrow focus than it had been before.
Coming out from the building, there was a path to the right that headed to Desert Resort, joining up with the main part of Route 4. An elevated highway was overhead; the structure thankfully managed to block a lot of the noise. He headed straight ahead until he had to cross under the highway again to reach an unpaved path. Instead of the nice grassy ground that was elsewhere in Unova, it was all loose yellow sand here. He came across a trio of Pokemon cacti, who swayed and rattled their arms in some kind of dance. While they might be nice, he knew without checking for their type that they'd spook Rosa.
The next gateway building appeared at the end of a small canyon area, but he wasn't able to reach it. Right before the canyon opened up again, there was a blockade of packed dirt and rocks. It was piled three feet high in a perfectly straight line. Nate put his hands on his hips. “Look, it's the infamous waist-high fence. I'm sure it's not insurmountable this time around, though. Ruby, think you can break it?”
The Pignite strode up to the dirt pile, giving it a test prod. Something seemed to stand out to her, so she sniffed. It seemed to not be ordinary dirt, so she grunted and looked down at Patience. The Eevee pricked her ears up, then tilted her head at Nate.
“Go ahead and do what she asks,” Nate said, feeling that Ruby had noticed something he hadn't.
Patience gave a small bark, then went over and began digging at the base of the dirt piles. She wasn't making a lot of progress, but she did uncover something red and brown. Unsure of what it was, she touched it with her paw, then yelped and jumped back in fright. Nate went over and cleared some more sand from the spot. Something like a crab was buried in the sand. Or, was it buried? It was connected to the dirt pile. Up close now, he could see thin lines at regular intervals.
“It's a whole bunch of Pokemon lined up and asleep,” he said. Then he prodded the Pokemon's head himself. It shifted a limb, exposing a claw. However, it didn't wake up and it didn't get close to pinch him. “If I knew them better, I might try climbing over them, but... I wouldn't want to hurt them. What's got them asleep exactly like this?”
“Bzzt,” Argent buzzed, floating down to see. He gave a small spark to one of them, but it didn't do anything.
“Hello, what's this now?” a voice from the other side of the pile said. Nate stood up and saw Colress and his Elgyem there. “Building fortifications?”
“No, I just got here,” Nate said. “These appear to be Pokemon. But it's weird how they're straight in a line, exactly to block this path.”
Colress rubbed his chin while his Pokemon queried him. “I agree. These would be Crustle, an evolved form of Dwebble. I could see them getting together in a cold place, but that would be in a bunch, not a line. Are they doing anything on your side?”
“Sleeping. The only reaction I got from one was really sluggish.”
“Hmm.” The scientist brought out a handheld scanner and checked over one. “Huh. Tell me, do you know about the power point rating?”
He nodded. “Yeah, that's how much energy a Pokemon has for attacking. High level attacks take up more points, in most cases.”
“Pretty good,” Colress said, smiling in approval. “Most people don't know the actual term for it. Pokemon tire from daily activities, but they tire much faster if they're out of PP. From the scan of this one, I can tell that it's PP exhausted. It doesn't happen often with wild Pokemon.”
“But it happened to all of them, in this formation,” Nate said, puzzled. He looked at the ground, but only the prints of himself and his Pokemon were there. “Are there any signs over there that they were dragged or pushed into place?”
Colress looked over the ground on his side. “Not that I can see. These sands can shift rapidly. Still, this would explain the lack of people I’ve run into. I came here well before dawn for some investigation. But now that I think about it, I believe I have something that may help.” He pulled a storage device out of his bag and searched through its contents.
“I guess if we gave them berries or potions to recover some PP,” Nate said, thinking over what could work. “But, I seem to think that they're rather pricy.”
He nodded. “For this purpose, yes. Most Trainers don't go far enough from convenient Pokecenters to encounter PP exhaustion in Pokemon. But I did attempt to invent a device that could recover PP. Ah, here it is.” He summoned what seemed to be a remote control device, boxy and white with a short antenna. After adjusting a dial, he warned, “It works a little too well, recovering energy to any Pokemon in an eight foot radius. Your Pokemon may be a little wound up as a result, but just have them run it off.” He then pressed a button.
All of the Pokemon in the immediate area acted as if jolted by an unseen force, jumping on the spot or increasing movements (like the Elgyem's lights). This was most dramatic in the Crustles. In sync, the eight of them jumped out of the sand, their eyes looking around warily and their claws ready to strike. After a few questioning calls, the Crustles scurried off separately to find other places to hide.
“How do you get a machine to do that?” Nate asked, walking closer to Colress now that the way was clear.
“I'm afraid that you'd need a degree in physics for me to give a clear explanation,” he replied, recalling the device to storage. “In particular modifications to base physics laws as standard in Pokemon energy manipulation.”
“So a wizard did it.”
“More or less.” He looked over Nate's three Pokemon, thoughtful. “Say, what level is your Magneton there?”
“Bbzzzt?” Argent had been whirling one of his heads to discharge some power, but he paused at the question.
“Argent's level 25,” Nate said. “Isn't in in your data?”
“Yes, but I haven't gone over it today. That's good; I have a Magneton of the same level. Would you be interested in trade it for...” he considered it briefly, “a Golett? Some things have come up in the study and I want to look more closely at the differences between Pokemon that are traded or not.”
“Is it really smart to have two of the same Pokemon on one team?” Nate asked.
Colress shrugged. “It could be seen as not, but my study is far more important. The Golett's a Ground and Ghost type; I think it would be useful to you.”
It certainly seemed like an interesting typing, although Argent was useful too. But it wasn't quite that simple. He knew Argent and Ruby were friendly with each other, and he liked the Magneton as well. “Maybe. Argent, are you all right with that?”
“Kzzz.” Argent said something to Ruby, then went over and asked the Elgyem a question. It caused the alien-like Pokemon to seem puzzled, then cheerful as he replied.
“Is it important for you to ask?” Colress asked, watching the interactions curiously.
“I think it's respectful,” Nate said. “And, he's been a friend too; I guess you could call it that. So I don't want to let them go without knowing they'll be okay. Seeing how your Pokemon likes you, I feel like I can trust you.”
He put his hand to his chin. “You know, some Pokemon wouldn't care about being traded. I've seen it happen. But their Trainers didn't think of Pokemon like you do. This would make sense for you.” He pulled a Pokeball out of his holder. “This is Signet, the Golett I'm offering. I haven't used him quite as long as Triste here, but from what I've seen, he's quiet but capable. Scientists like myself have wondered for a long time how they actually work, but maybe you can understand him better than I do.”
“I don't really understand them.”
Argent came back over to Nate, sparking in excitement. Now that he had three units connected by magnets, it was a little harder to tell when he was agreeing with something. But a slight nod from Ruby assured Nate of what the Magneton was trying to communicate.
“Seems he's okay with it,” Nate said. “Sure, I'll take that trade.”
Colress chuckled a little. “And yet, you understand them better than most. All right, let's get this done.”
-+-
Nimbasa
It was like the old times, but it wasn't. Rosa had found two of her friends from when she'd lived here, girls she'd thought of as her best friends ever back then. Rikki and Amanda were still close, but Rosa hadn't heard much from them in the past couple of years. “You could've sent me an email or something,” she said.
“I had some trouble with a hacker a few months back, and all my internet accounts ended up messed up,” Rikki said.
“I kept meaning to send you a message,” Amanda said. “But I got busy with school and cheerleading club.”
Rikki nodded. “Oh yeah, you know how everybody thought the squad for Nimbasa's school was the best? It's because the coach is like a drill sargent with us. Sometimes I think it'd be more fun to be in another squad. How's the one at your school?”
“I didn't join the cheer squad,” Rosa said, feeling a little embarrassed.
“Oh, because you're too clumsy?” Rikki asked teasingly.
“No! I joined a karate class instead, and now I’m traveling around as a Pokemon Trainer.” Besides, she was getting better at not tripping up so much now. At least when she was paying attention.
“Isn't karate kinda violent?” Amanda asked, concerned for her.
“Not unless you make it that way,” Rosa said. “My teacher uses karate exercises as his fitness routine; he only uses it in practice or self-defense. I haven't been doing so good in keeping up with it, but I walk and bike a lot now.”
“I guess you don't have to worry about gaining weight that way,” Rikki said. “But I prefer being a cheerleader. It's made us a lot more popular around here.”
“Is that a good reason for it?” Rosa asked, skeptical. “Especially since you don't have fun with it under the coach.”
“Well I'm not about to let that wreck my reputation,” she said.
Amanda clapped her hands to get their attention. “Oh, you know what Rosa? If you're a Pokemon Trainer.. hey Rikki, you think we should take her to see the mystery Pokemon?”
“What mystery Pokemon?” Rosa asked, already interested.
“Yeah, what one?” Rikki asked.
Their friend put her hands on her hips. “You know... the one in the pond, the one that's not supposed to be there.”
“Oh...oh right!” Rikki grinned. “Yeah, there's this Pokemon out by the amusement park in the pond there. People keep fishing it out, but it never lets anybody catch it. What we do know is that it's not supposed to be there.”
“Yeah, there's none like it around here,” Amanda agreed.
“Really? But I don't have a fishing pole to get a Pokemon like that.” Though with how much Curtis talked about fishing, she had been thinking about buying a pole at some point.
“Don't worry about that,” Rikki said, grabbing her arm. “Come on, let's go see!”
They hurried over to the amusement park entrance. Right by the gate, there was a man-made square pond that housed a variety of fountains and lights for special occasions. A few wild Pokemon had found their way to it and made their homes there, even back when Rosa had lived here. There was a bar dividing the sidewalk from the pond, but it couldn't stop them from ducking under and going up to the water.
“People actually fish in here now?” Rosa asked.
Amanda nodded. “Yeah. A while back, they had a fishing contest but not all the Pokemon they let into the pond were caught. Then they changed the rules about fishing here because they were afraid it couldn't support all of them.”
“Still, how're we supposed to find your mystery Pokemon?” Rosa knelt down and tapped the surface of the water.
“I don't think it'll take long,” Rikki said. Then she cupped her hands around her mouth. “Hey Chuchu!”
“Chuchu?!” Rosa said, almost not believing that she heard that name again. That was a Pokemon she knew, one that her father had brought home to her on one of his photography trips. That had been years ago.
Then there was a splash as a Pokemon dashed up out of the pool and landed on the shore. She had blue scales and two glowing antenna tips. “Zzzbit-chu!” the Chinchou said.
“Aaa, it is you!” She grabbed Chuchu and hugged her tight. “I'm so sorry. It was a mistake due to those crazy people. Are you okay?”
Chuchu made a happy gurgling sound and nuzzled her cheek. Even though she had left the Chinchou behind, Chuchu didn't care now that Rosa was with her. It was good to know that she at least forgave her.
Still holding onto her old Pokemon, Rosa got up and smiled at her friends. “Hey you knew who she was. Thanks so much.”
Amanda nodded. “Sure, we've been keeping an eye on her. She didn't want to get captured, but we had to dissuade a few people.”
“Yeah, but she's one of the few released Pokemon that we were able to keep track of,” Rikki said. “Mostly cause there aren't other Chinchou around here.”
“I wonder if I can find my mom's old Pokemon still around,” Rosa said. “I’ll have to look. You want to come with me, Chuchu?”
Not that she really had to ask. They were still friends and it was better to be together.
June 6
Nimbasa
They were in a new town, at least to Nate. The light breeze smelled of the bay while the sun shone in a clear sky. “So what's around here?” he asked, since he'd gotten too busy with the Join Avenue venture yesterday to ask then.
“A lot of fun stuff!” Rosa said, starting to point things out. “There's Gear Station, the center point of Unova's subway system; you can reach most towns with it, plus they have a set of battle trains that are supposed to be a really tough competition for Pokemon.”
“Battling in subway trains?” Nate asked. “I'd heard of subway battles, but I thought they were at big stations.”
“I wonder if they have a time limit. Like you need to finish a battle before you arrive.”
He tapped his foot on the pavement, thinking. “That could be really tough. Subways are meant for fast travel.”
“It's probably better to ask them. Anyhow, you saw that big gate near the entrance, right? That leads to an amusement park! It's free to get in, but some of the attractions have to be paid for. But not the Pokemon Gym. And then, somewhere around here,” she turned around, pointing to a building in the opposite direction. “Over there, I think. I remember there being a really serious group of researchers who were looking for Trainers around the time that I left. Their lab might still be around, I don't know. But I do know that if you all the way to the north side of the city, you'll find the Pokemon musical theater!”
“Do they have Pokemon sing?” Nate asked, thinking.
She shrugged. “Sometimes, but it's mostly dance and dressing them up to be all fancy. I liked watching some of the shows, but there were Pokemon that didn't look too comfortable in their costumes. That annoyed me. Also on the north side, there's a pair of sports stadiums. I hear that the players and fans are really into Pokemon battles. As long as there's not a game going on, it's probably the best place to train inside Nimbasa itself. The subway battles are probably too hard.”
“No way to know until we try ourselves.” He closed his eyes for a bit. Argent poked him in the shoulder playfully.
“So, what do you want to do today?” Rosa asked. “I was thinking about trying to find some old friends, if they're still around.”
“I need to do some training, as usual,” he said, glancing at Argent then looking at her. “I also want to check out the desert area again; I've got some ideas about how to handle the Gym here. But now I've also got that mall to consider. So there's a theater... definitely should find someone who can groom Pokemon well, because that'd be a big draw.”
“Hey, how about a shop that sells accessories... oh yeah!” She pumped a fist in the air. “I met this girl in Castelia, Melissa I think. She's the one I traded Angel to, to get Grim. She likes fashion.”
“Could ask, at least,” Nate said with a nod. “Actually, I remember talking the Hugh's sister Violet a few times, about how her and her mother liked to cook. I wonder if I could convince them... but her mom already works as a cook.”
“Ask them anyhow,” Rosa said. She could remember their mother talking about how she would like to set up a small bakery of her own. “It might be out of the price range, though, since they'd need all sorts of gear.”
“The Join Avenue group will provide most things which are paid off through the wage system they have. They'll be all right. I'll probably look to an advertisement to get a groomer, but if you could put me in contact with Violet and the other girl, that'd be a good start.”
“Okay, I have their numbers right in here.” Since Nate had never spoke with the Castelia girl, and Rosa wanted to check up on Angel too, he let her call on Melissa.
Meanwhile, he was going to try reaching Violet and her mother. Rosa had given him a few numbers to try, but he got her after a few rings on her Xtransceiver. “Hi Nate!” she said, smiling warmly. “I wasn't expecting to hear from you.”
“Hi Violet,” he said, smiling back. “How are things going over there?”
“It's good. I thought it'd be quiet without you three around, but me and my friends have been having fun. How are you three?”
“Me and Rosa are doing great. But we actually don't see much of Hugh.”
She looked disappointed. “Oh, really? He called me a few times, but I haven't heard from him lately. Could you check up on him and make sure he's okay? And tell him to call home more. Me and mom and dad worry about him.”
Nate nodded. “Sure thing. I'll twist his ear until he agrees.”
She laughed. “Don't hurt him too much. But thanks.”
“No problem. I was calling about an interesting offer I got yesterday. Do you have anything going on this summer? Like a job or clubs?”
“No, not really,” she said. “I was thinking about getting a part-time job, but I might be a little late now. I wanted to work on my baking, but I was talking with mom about it and the problem is that if I practice, we'd be making too much for everyone to eat. Maybe we'll send you and Rosa some things.”
“Actually, that's perfect. See, I somehow became in charge of a indoors marketplace near Nimbasa.”
“Whoa, really?” Her eyes were wide with surprise.
He nodded. “Really, and I have a lot of empty spots for shops. The big thing is, there's a funding system with it that will provide what items people need to set up their dream shops. There's a lot of options for food shops, even for bakeries. When I saw that, you were the first person I thought of. Do you want to take charge a bakery here? You can invite your mom to work with you too, if she can manage it.”
“That's amazing!” Violet seemed to be hopping in excitement, based on the movement of the background. “I don't know if I’m good enough, but that would let me practice lots of things. And I think mom might be up for it. Can you hang on a moment? I want to connect mom in.”
“Sure.” He glanced over to see how Rosa was doing.
It was good timing. “He's right here, so I can ask him,” she was saying before looking at him. “Hey Nate, if she runs an accessory shop, does she have to make all the items she sells?”
He came closer and spoke up, hoping that Melissa could hear it. “No, we can put her in contact with a supplier to fill out her stock.”
“Did you hear that?” Rosa asked, looking back to the phone.
“Yeah, it's good that they'll let me sell other things,” Melissa said. “I don't have a lot of extra stuff. Oh, and would they have a sewing machine and supplies there too?”
“I think so,” Nate said. “If you want to meet up with me in Join Avenue later today, I can show you the options.”
“Nate?” Violet said.
“I'm here,” he said, then excused himself from the other conversation. Now a third window on the screen showed Violet's mother. “Did you hear about the offer?”
“It certainly seems interesting. Would you explain it again?”
He nodded and told her about Join Avenue's system. “You don't have to handle the business end of things because the office will take care of it.”
“Including the money and credits?”
“That too. You'll turn in the money you've made to the office and they'll sort out wages, taxes, and fees, the last part including start-up funds for the equipment.”
“That's certainly a welcome respite from hassle,” she said. “Work at the restaurant I'm at now has been really stressful lately, part of it because of the non-cooking tasks they assign me. I always thought it'd be great fun to have my own bakery, but I wanted to focus on the baking, not money and all that. This would be perfect... I wouldn't be able to start right away, since I need to give advanced warning of quitting.”
“Could I go over and start it?” Violet asked.
“If you have a few simple recipes to start with, I don't see why not,” her mother said, nodding. “What kinds of machines do they have?”
While he could meet up with Melissa because she lived in Castelia, Violet probably wouldn't be able to arrive for a few days. “I think I can show you now,” he said, requesting that his Xtransceiver bring up the Avenue files on the open fourth window. “Let me zoom in on this and find the bakery options.”
“Wow, looks like they can do so much,” Violet said, impressed on seeing the index for store listings.
“Yeah, they went all out setting this up,” Nate said. Again, he wondered what the purpose of putting all this effort into the Avenue was if Mr. Cartridge didn't seem to care. He selected the bakery option. “You can choose to focus on Pokemon, humans, or both. Looks like the items that will be there regardless are a work sink, a sanitizing station, an oven, a worktable, a display front, and a register. Also, ingredients and other supplies can be delivered on a regular basis, whatever you think you'll need.”
“Do they have different options on the oven?” Violet's mother asked. “And a fridge unit would be helpful.”
“What about a poffin mixer?” Violet asked. “They're easy enough to make by hand, but they don't come out the same.”
“I know I saw the poffin mixer in there,” Nate said. “And the fridge. Let's check on the oven.”
After showing them what was available, Violet and her mother agreed to open a bakery. Nate set that up for them so that by the time Violet arrived, the bakery would be installed. That just left Melissa to check up on. “She wants to check in on it in person, with her grandmother,” Rosa said. “They're going to come up here for lunch, so they'll meet us at the station about a quarter to noon.”
He nodded. “Sure, gives me a few hours to check out the desert. Maybe some other things. You want to come with me, or are you all right on your own?”
“Of course I'm fine on my own,” she said. “Wow, you've got a lot going. I wonder if the subway reaches Virbank now, if I want to visit Pokestar.” She giggled at that.
“Whatever works,” he said, smiling. “Well then, I’ll guess we'll meet back up when we can... oh yeah, nearly forgot something. Violet said she hasn't heard from Hugh in a while. Keep an eye out for him, and if you do see him, annoy him until he agrees to call home.”
“What?!” Rosa asked, frowning at that. “He hasn't called home lately? What's up with him? Well he'd better hope he runs into you, because I'm gonna really get after him about this.”
Nate shifted his visor. “Is it wrong that I’m hoping you do run into him, so he takes this seriously?”
“I dunno,” Rosa said. “I'll see you when I see you. Have fun!”
-+-
Nate had to head back through Join Avenue to get where he wanted. The boys weren't at their shop, but it was already adjusted to its new function. Which was a surprise, since turning it into a vending machine area meant taking out most of the counter and installing all the machines. There was a group of teenagers there, getting drinks and talking about their plans. As he thought, that worked better than the very narrow focus than it had been before.
Coming out from the building, there was a path to the right that headed to Desert Resort, joining up with the main part of Route 4. An elevated highway was overhead; the structure thankfully managed to block a lot of the noise. He headed straight ahead until he had to cross under the highway again to reach an unpaved path. Instead of the nice grassy ground that was elsewhere in Unova, it was all loose yellow sand here. He came across a trio of Pokemon cacti, who swayed and rattled their arms in some kind of dance. While they might be nice, he knew without checking for their type that they'd spook Rosa.
The next gateway building appeared at the end of a small canyon area, but he wasn't able to reach it. Right before the canyon opened up again, there was a blockade of packed dirt and rocks. It was piled three feet high in a perfectly straight line. Nate put his hands on his hips. “Look, it's the infamous waist-high fence. I'm sure it's not insurmountable this time around, though. Ruby, think you can break it?”
The Pignite strode up to the dirt pile, giving it a test prod. Something seemed to stand out to her, so she sniffed. It seemed to not be ordinary dirt, so she grunted and looked down at Patience. The Eevee pricked her ears up, then tilted her head at Nate.
“Go ahead and do what she asks,” Nate said, feeling that Ruby had noticed something he hadn't.
Patience gave a small bark, then went over and began digging at the base of the dirt piles. She wasn't making a lot of progress, but she did uncover something red and brown. Unsure of what it was, she touched it with her paw, then yelped and jumped back in fright. Nate went over and cleared some more sand from the spot. Something like a crab was buried in the sand. Or, was it buried? It was connected to the dirt pile. Up close now, he could see thin lines at regular intervals.
“It's a whole bunch of Pokemon lined up and asleep,” he said. Then he prodded the Pokemon's head himself. It shifted a limb, exposing a claw. However, it didn't wake up and it didn't get close to pinch him. “If I knew them better, I might try climbing over them, but... I wouldn't want to hurt them. What's got them asleep exactly like this?”
“Bzzt,” Argent buzzed, floating down to see. He gave a small spark to one of them, but it didn't do anything.
“Hello, what's this now?” a voice from the other side of the pile said. Nate stood up and saw Colress and his Elgyem there. “Building fortifications?”
“No, I just got here,” Nate said. “These appear to be Pokemon. But it's weird how they're straight in a line, exactly to block this path.”
Colress rubbed his chin while his Pokemon queried him. “I agree. These would be Crustle, an evolved form of Dwebble. I could see them getting together in a cold place, but that would be in a bunch, not a line. Are they doing anything on your side?”
“Sleeping. The only reaction I got from one was really sluggish.”
“Hmm.” The scientist brought out a handheld scanner and checked over one. “Huh. Tell me, do you know about the power point rating?”
He nodded. “Yeah, that's how much energy a Pokemon has for attacking. High level attacks take up more points, in most cases.”
“Pretty good,” Colress said, smiling in approval. “Most people don't know the actual term for it. Pokemon tire from daily activities, but they tire much faster if they're out of PP. From the scan of this one, I can tell that it's PP exhausted. It doesn't happen often with wild Pokemon.”
“But it happened to all of them, in this formation,” Nate said, puzzled. He looked at the ground, but only the prints of himself and his Pokemon were there. “Are there any signs over there that they were dragged or pushed into place?”
Colress looked over the ground on his side. “Not that I can see. These sands can shift rapidly. Still, this would explain the lack of people I’ve run into. I came here well before dawn for some investigation. But now that I think about it, I believe I have something that may help.” He pulled a storage device out of his bag and searched through its contents.
“I guess if we gave them berries or potions to recover some PP,” Nate said, thinking over what could work. “But, I seem to think that they're rather pricy.”
He nodded. “For this purpose, yes. Most Trainers don't go far enough from convenient Pokecenters to encounter PP exhaustion in Pokemon. But I did attempt to invent a device that could recover PP. Ah, here it is.” He summoned what seemed to be a remote control device, boxy and white with a short antenna. After adjusting a dial, he warned, “It works a little too well, recovering energy to any Pokemon in an eight foot radius. Your Pokemon may be a little wound up as a result, but just have them run it off.” He then pressed a button.
All of the Pokemon in the immediate area acted as if jolted by an unseen force, jumping on the spot or increasing movements (like the Elgyem's lights). This was most dramatic in the Crustles. In sync, the eight of them jumped out of the sand, their eyes looking around warily and their claws ready to strike. After a few questioning calls, the Crustles scurried off separately to find other places to hide.
“How do you get a machine to do that?” Nate asked, walking closer to Colress now that the way was clear.
“I'm afraid that you'd need a degree in physics for me to give a clear explanation,” he replied, recalling the device to storage. “In particular modifications to base physics laws as standard in Pokemon energy manipulation.”
“So a wizard did it.”
“More or less.” He looked over Nate's three Pokemon, thoughtful. “Say, what level is your Magneton there?”
“Bbzzzt?” Argent had been whirling one of his heads to discharge some power, but he paused at the question.
“Argent's level 25,” Nate said. “Isn't in in your data?”
“Yes, but I haven't gone over it today. That's good; I have a Magneton of the same level. Would you be interested in trade it for...” he considered it briefly, “a Golett? Some things have come up in the study and I want to look more closely at the differences between Pokemon that are traded or not.”
“Is it really smart to have two of the same Pokemon on one team?” Nate asked.
Colress shrugged. “It could be seen as not, but my study is far more important. The Golett's a Ground and Ghost type; I think it would be useful to you.”
It certainly seemed like an interesting typing, although Argent was useful too. But it wasn't quite that simple. He knew Argent and Ruby were friendly with each other, and he liked the Magneton as well. “Maybe. Argent, are you all right with that?”
“Kzzz.” Argent said something to Ruby, then went over and asked the Elgyem a question. It caused the alien-like Pokemon to seem puzzled, then cheerful as he replied.
“Is it important for you to ask?” Colress asked, watching the interactions curiously.
“I think it's respectful,” Nate said. “And, he's been a friend too; I guess you could call it that. So I don't want to let them go without knowing they'll be okay. Seeing how your Pokemon likes you, I feel like I can trust you.”
He put his hand to his chin. “You know, some Pokemon wouldn't care about being traded. I've seen it happen. But their Trainers didn't think of Pokemon like you do. This would make sense for you.” He pulled a Pokeball out of his holder. “This is Signet, the Golett I'm offering. I haven't used him quite as long as Triste here, but from what I've seen, he's quiet but capable. Scientists like myself have wondered for a long time how they actually work, but maybe you can understand him better than I do.”
“I don't really understand them.”
Argent came back over to Nate, sparking in excitement. Now that he had three units connected by magnets, it was a little harder to tell when he was agreeing with something. But a slight nod from Ruby assured Nate of what the Magneton was trying to communicate.
“Seems he's okay with it,” Nate said. “Sure, I'll take that trade.”
Colress chuckled a little. “And yet, you understand them better than most. All right, let's get this done.”
-+-
Nimbasa
It was like the old times, but it wasn't. Rosa had found two of her friends from when she'd lived here, girls she'd thought of as her best friends ever back then. Rikki and Amanda were still close, but Rosa hadn't heard much from them in the past couple of years. “You could've sent me an email or something,” she said.
“I had some trouble with a hacker a few months back, and all my internet accounts ended up messed up,” Rikki said.
“I kept meaning to send you a message,” Amanda said. “But I got busy with school and cheerleading club.”
Rikki nodded. “Oh yeah, you know how everybody thought the squad for Nimbasa's school was the best? It's because the coach is like a drill sargent with us. Sometimes I think it'd be more fun to be in another squad. How's the one at your school?”
“I didn't join the cheer squad,” Rosa said, feeling a little embarrassed.
“Oh, because you're too clumsy?” Rikki asked teasingly.
“No! I joined a karate class instead, and now I’m traveling around as a Pokemon Trainer.” Besides, she was getting better at not tripping up so much now. At least when she was paying attention.
“Isn't karate kinda violent?” Amanda asked, concerned for her.
“Not unless you make it that way,” Rosa said. “My teacher uses karate exercises as his fitness routine; he only uses it in practice or self-defense. I haven't been doing so good in keeping up with it, but I walk and bike a lot now.”
“I guess you don't have to worry about gaining weight that way,” Rikki said. “But I prefer being a cheerleader. It's made us a lot more popular around here.”
“Is that a good reason for it?” Rosa asked, skeptical. “Especially since you don't have fun with it under the coach.”
“Well I'm not about to let that wreck my reputation,” she said.
Amanda clapped her hands to get their attention. “Oh, you know what Rosa? If you're a Pokemon Trainer.. hey Rikki, you think we should take her to see the mystery Pokemon?”
“What mystery Pokemon?” Rosa asked, already interested.
“Yeah, what one?” Rikki asked.
Their friend put her hands on her hips. “You know... the one in the pond, the one that's not supposed to be there.”
“Oh...oh right!” Rikki grinned. “Yeah, there's this Pokemon out by the amusement park in the pond there. People keep fishing it out, but it never lets anybody catch it. What we do know is that it's not supposed to be there.”
“Yeah, there's none like it around here,” Amanda agreed.
“Really? But I don't have a fishing pole to get a Pokemon like that.” Though with how much Curtis talked about fishing, she had been thinking about buying a pole at some point.
“Don't worry about that,” Rikki said, grabbing her arm. “Come on, let's go see!”
They hurried over to the amusement park entrance. Right by the gate, there was a man-made square pond that housed a variety of fountains and lights for special occasions. A few wild Pokemon had found their way to it and made their homes there, even back when Rosa had lived here. There was a bar dividing the sidewalk from the pond, but it couldn't stop them from ducking under and going up to the water.
“People actually fish in here now?” Rosa asked.
Amanda nodded. “Yeah. A while back, they had a fishing contest but not all the Pokemon they let into the pond were caught. Then they changed the rules about fishing here because they were afraid it couldn't support all of them.”
“Still, how're we supposed to find your mystery Pokemon?” Rosa knelt down and tapped the surface of the water.
“I don't think it'll take long,” Rikki said. Then she cupped her hands around her mouth. “Hey Chuchu!”
“Chuchu?!” Rosa said, almost not believing that she heard that name again. That was a Pokemon she knew, one that her father had brought home to her on one of his photography trips. That had been years ago.
Then there was a splash as a Pokemon dashed up out of the pool and landed on the shore. She had blue scales and two glowing antenna tips. “Zzzbit-chu!” the Chinchou said.
“Aaa, it is you!” She grabbed Chuchu and hugged her tight. “I'm so sorry. It was a mistake due to those crazy people. Are you okay?”
Chuchu made a happy gurgling sound and nuzzled her cheek. Even though she had left the Chinchou behind, Chuchu didn't care now that Rosa was with her. It was good to know that she at least forgave her.
Still holding onto her old Pokemon, Rosa got up and smiled at her friends. “Hey you knew who she was. Thanks so much.”
Amanda nodded. “Sure, we've been keeping an eye on her. She didn't want to get captured, but we had to dissuade a few people.”
“Yeah, but she's one of the few released Pokemon that we were able to keep track of,” Rikki said. “Mostly cause there aren't other Chinchou around here.”
“I wonder if I can find my mom's old Pokemon still around,” Rosa said. “I’ll have to look. You want to come with me, Chuchu?”
Not that she really had to ask. They were still friends and it was better to be together.
Kinda sad Nate gave up Argent, but I'm sure it's for the best. I was starting to lose hope after about a week, but here you are!