Day 240

[from Pokémon xTreme]

On the deck of the small fishing boat drifting off the Seafoam Islands, there stood two cloaked figures. One was the mysterious girl who had met with Dr. Christmas in the caves beneath the islands. The other was a tall man whose cloak bore a pale blue insignia in the shape of a glacier. Through a pair of binoculars, he watched as a portion of one of the islands' ice sheets crumbled away into the ocean.

“Do you see?” he asked. “The waters in Route 20, and further south, have warmed up by some 2.3°C over the past 100 years. The glaciers have receded by almost 30%. The Ice-type Pokémon who live in this area are running out of habitat. This is all due to the pollution being poured out by factories all over Kanto and Johto. There is nothing being done about this pollution, and the Pokémon here are being left to their fates. I'm sure you'll agree that it's about time drastic action was taken to correct this injustice.”

The hooded girl nodded. “I agree,” she said. “I'm sure the rest of us agree as well.”

The man lowered his binoculars. “It's almost time,” he said. “Soon, our plans will be put into action. When the time comes, will you be ready?”

The hooded girl nodded. “I'll do whatever it takes to save these Pokémon. They will get the habitat they deserve, one way or another.”

***

Meanwhile, at Mt. Moon, Taylor and Kieran's battle was already over. Kieran's last Pokémon, a Rattata, collapsed to the ground and fainted. Taylor had, once again, been victorious. “Dammit!” exclaimed Kieran. “How do I keep losing to you?”

“Don't take it personally, kid,” said Brandon. “Everyone Taylor's faced so far has lost to her.”

“And Kieran's beaten everyone he's faced so far, except for Taylor,” said Seth. He placed a comforting hand on Kieran's soldier. “Don't let it get you down, man. If you want, you can think of her as your rival, just like Brandon and I are rivals. It's healthy to have a rival, to help spur you on to greater things, just as long as you don't let it consume you.”

“I won't,” said Kieran. “I just wanna beat her one time, that's all. I wanna prove I'm as good as she is.”

“You are, sport,” said Seth. “You'll prove it one day.”

Taylor nodded, as though affirming Kieran's skills for herself, but did not say anything further on the subject. “So, shall we head up to Cerulean and heal our Pokémon?” she asked.

“Yeah, I've had enough training for one day,” said Kieran. “Let's go heal up and have lunch.”

“We'll hold off any wild Pokémon that show up on the way out,” said Seth. “Between us we could probably take out every Pokémon in this cave.”

Brandon, however, was already being dragged off by Emma. “Sorry, man,” he said, “I think you'll have to take care of that yourself. My girl has other plans, apparently.”

Seth shook his head, grinning. “Don't tell me she's dragging you off to some corner of the cave for a quick blowjob while I'm stuck with these two?”

“I sure hope so!” Brandon called back. He then turned to face Emma. “Seriously, where are you taking me?”

“Well, you said we're going to get lunch, right?” she said. “So I'm gonna take us to this nice restaurant I know over in Cerulean. It'll be like our first date. Just the two of us. We can get to know each other better… or at least, you can get to know me better. I already know so much about you.”

Brandon felt a slight sense of unease, but he managed to hide it behind a smile and a nod. “Sounds good to me,” he said. “Looks like we're splitting us for now!” he called back to the others. “Don't wait up for us!”

As Taylor watched her mentor walk off, she sighed. “How am I supposed to learn anything from him if he's spending all his time with her?” she asked.

“You know, to be honest, I probably shoulda warned you about his womanising tendencies back when we first met,” said Seth. “Mind you, I never thought he'd ever actually get a girl pregnant, let alone Nicole's little sister! If it was anyone else he could probably cut his losses and run, but I don't think Nicole's gonna let him do that.”

“I don't think Emma's gonna let him do that, never mind Nicole,” said Taylor. “She's been clinging to him like a Binacle the whole time she's been with us.”

“Well, I'm sure he doesn't mind the attention,” said Seth.

***

At Indigo Plateau, Alicia Martin nervously paced back and forth through the Elite Four lobby, nervously chewing her lip. To the uninformed, she could easily be mistaken for just another challenger, come to have a shot at the Challenge Belt. However, she was not a challenger: she was a member of the Elite Four, and Brandon's replacement. Though she was confident in her skills as a trainer, she was undeniably anxious about whether she measured up to the rest of the Elite Four.

Alicia's anxiety began to have an effect on the only other person in the room. Her name was Claire Voigt, another of the Elite Four members, and as well as being a proficient user of Psychic-type Pokémon, she also possessed some latent psychic abilities. She was sat on a chair with her eyes closed, trying to tap into her abilities, but as Alicia continued to walk back and forth, her calm expression faded into mild annoyance. “Would you relax and stop worrying already?” she asked. “Your negative vibes are making it hard to see.”

Alicia opened her mouth to say, “See what?”, but Claire, being the psychic she was, answered the question before it was ever asked. “I'm getting a message from Brandon,” she explained. “He's clearly in distress, and your negativity is causing interference. Let's see… 'Claire, if you're listening, Emma Williams has dragged me off on a date. You know I'm not the dating type. Please come save me. While you're here, I can introduce you to my new protégée. I'm sure she'll be excited to meet you. Also, tell Alicia to...'” Claire cut herself off, frowning.

“Tell Alicia to what?” asked Alicia.

Claire sighed. “He says, 'Tell Alicia to man the fuck up and stop worrying so much. She'll do fine. And if she doesn't, they can give me my old job back. Oh, but don't tell her that last part...'” Claire's voice trailed off again as she realized she had said too much. “Whoops. Sorry.”

Alicia rubbed her temple, letting out an angry sigh. “Tell him he's not helping!” she said.

“I can only read minds,” said Claire, “I can't reply to them. Yes, I know that doesn't make me much of a psychic, but it's good enough for most people. Also, he did have a point in amongst all the usual nonsense: you'll do fine. They wouldn't have appointed you to the Elite Four if they didn't think you could handle it. Now, I'm gonna go see what's up with Brandon, and rescue him from his crazy girlfriend. You stay here and man the fort, so to speak.”

“But what if a challenger comes, and you're not back yet?” asked Alicia.

“I have a feeling nobody's coming today,” said Claire. “Gardevoir?”

Claire's Gardevoir burst automatically from its Ultra Ball, turning gracefully to face her trainer. “What do you require, mistress?” she asked.

“Take me to Brandon,” said Claire.

“Yes, mistress,” said Gardevoir.

“How do you know where he is?” asked Alicia, as Gardevoir prepared to use Teleport.

“I'm a psychic, remember?” said Claire. “I know everything. Oh, and tell John tha-” Before Claire could finish, she and Gardevoir vanished in a flash of light.

“Tell John what?” Alicia asked the empty air.