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Chapter 84
Part 1
I'd just gotten assigned to my very first mystery dungeon expedition on Team Ember! My first dungeon mission on a real, serious, grown-up team! I had three days to prepare, and I didn't want to let anyone down!
The mission sounded scary in an exciting kind of way. We were going to search the remains of the Grayleaf Reserve and see if we could recover anything from Saura's old den. Saura used to live underground, so there might have been a lot of things that survived the fire, and Saura's dad wanted us to get as much stuff as possible. Grayleaf said there were valuable berries, toys for the seedlings, and even some enchanted items he wanted to get back if possible.
A big job! But Team Ember is a big team with high standards. I had to do my best. Especially for the poor little seedlings. I know what it's like to lose my childhood home. I wish I could have gotten some of my stuff back, too.
In the dungeon area, the fire left nothing behind but a bunch of bare trees and piles of ashes, and maybe some glowing embers we had to watch out for. We were warned about a high concentration of pitfall traps too, but luckily for us, I'm really good at spotting those.
Maybe I should have been more nervous, but I knew I could do it. I had lots of practice, and my friends were going with me! I would have Zona, who is immune to fire, and Adamant, who could put me out if I caught on fire. I was going to a mission that would make a big difference to Saura's family, and I had nothing to fear! And even better, I could evolve anytime I wanted, and go on the mission as a Luxio! Probably. Evolution doesn't work if you just aren't strong enough yet, but the only way to figure it out is to try.
Everyone around me was evolving and growing up. What about me? I was wondering about that, too. Part of me wanted to evolve like Adamant. But Zona didn't want to evolve, and I didn't want to leave him as a small Pokémon with his two roommates being so much bigger and stronger. I didn't want to tell Zona this because I knew he'd just tell me to evolve anyway and not to worry about him. Still, I didn't want Zona to feel bad getting left behind in evolution. I'm his friend. I want him to know that I'm there for him. That's why I didn't use the feral-shard right away.
But wow, I'm so happy for Adamant every time I look at him! He looks so proud and happy as a Vaporeon. He really looks like an adult now, even though I know he's only just a little older than I am. It must be so hard adapting, though. Sometimes I see him shivering at night like he's cold or sick, but he says he's just dehydrated. And I can't even cuddle him unless I focus really hard and keep my ions even. But through it all, he always has a huge smile on his face like he's so glad that his life as an Eevee is finally over and his real life has just started. And just like Ray says, that's the most important part: the smile on his face. Still, we need to get him a pool really soon, because I know how much he'd like it.
Now, what did I think of becoming a Luxio? Exciting, of course! Luxio have a bigger charge capacity, and have an easier time controlling their ions, too! And they get really wicked amazing claws that can turn into raw electric conduits for amazing control over lightning powers, and they have better x-ray vision! I saw nothing wrong with evolving except for maybe the day you usually need to spend off work so you can adjust. And I was really tempted to evolve so I'd be ready in time for the Grayleaf Reserve mission.
But we never got to go on that mission to Grayleaf Reserve after all. That's because a much more important mission came up!
Just when I was nodding off and the torches turned blue, I heard something go bang out in the main hallway and it made all three of us jump awake. So we opened the door to see what was going on. Saura had burst out of his room looking as excited as an electric-type Pokémon. Ray stepped out of the room behind him, looking just as surprised as the rest of us.
"I'VE GOT IT!" Saura shouted. "I know how we can find Scythe! The answer just came to me! Gotta talk to Char about this."
He hopped over to the door to the master bedroom and started snapping his vines against it. "CHAR!" he called. "Char! Get up! I just had a huge idea!"
The door took way too long to open, but Saura was very adamant and didn't stop rapping on it. Finally, the door opened and Eva appeared on the other side looking very sleepy and annoyed.
"Char is sleeping," she said flatly. "Can it wait until tomorrow morning?"
"Naaaaah!" Saura laughed. "I know Char. He doesn't mind being woken up in the middle of the night. We used to do it to each other all the time. And this is exactly the kind of thing he'd want to be woken up for."
"With all due respect, Char is not the same person as he was when you left," Eva said sourly. "Don't presume that he – "
But Saura literally just headbutted his way into the room anyway. Eva went after him, but it was too late. Soon Saura was yanking Char off the bed. I kind of wanted to laugh, but I also wanted to hear what Saura's idea was, so I stood by the door quietly and listened.
"What's the matter? Are you alright?" said Char, who didn't seem annoyed to be woken up at all, and actually seemed pretty delighted. Char was on his feet and paying attention pretty fast.
"Alright, look," Saura said. "I figured out probably the best way we can look for Scythe. I don't know how the logistics would work out, but I was having a dream just now, and I realized that I actually know of someone who is really good at tracking down missing Pokémon."
Char rubbed his eyes and looked like he was thinking. "Oh really? Someone you know, but I don't?" Char said. "Is it someone you met while you were away? Or is it…"
And then Char flinched like he'd just realized something amazing. I love when Pokémon do that! It's really one of the best kinds of happiness. That moment someone realizes something perfect. I call it the "happy static-shock." One of my dreams is to cause those happy static-shocks to as many Pokémon as I can.
"You don't mean… who I think you mean?" Char said, gaping.
Saura grinned wider. "Yeah, it's not something anyone else but me would have thought of, I'm pretty sure," he said. "Actually, it's kind of hard for me to forget in the first place," he added with a little grumble.
"Oh, wow. How would we even find him?" Char said enthusiastically, starting to pace back and forth at the foot of his bed. "I know he doesn't actually work for the Master."
"Excuse me, but would you mind explaining yourself to the Pokémon who cannot – or in this case, choose not to read minds?" said a very irritated Eva.
Saura nodded at her. "Hunter! The Flareon that Adiel sent to find me. He's just a bounty hunter for hire who has a really good track record. So if we can find him, and if we can pay him enough…"
"We can get him to help us find Scythe!" Char finished the sentence for him. "Saura, that's… an incredibly good idea! I like it. And you hold no grudge? Here I would have thought you hated that Flareon enough that you'd never want to see him again."
"Naaaah, I don't hate him," Saura said with a whimsical sigh. "It was just some dumb dreams that were making me hate him in the first place. Now if he were working for us, and we end up finding Scythe because of him, I think we could get along juuuuust fine!"
"Brilliant. Now our problem has changed from finding a Scyther based on no clues, to finding a Flareon based on no clues," Eva said bluntly. "Unless you have some semblance of an idea about how we might find this Flareon, I doubt this is a feasible solution."
"Well, we have at least a few leads, I think," Char considered, scratching his chin. "Saura, you ask your dad about Hunter. They worked together, however briefly, but maybe Hunter told him something that could tip us off. And I'll talk with Team X tomorrow. If I'm remembering correctly, they were working with Adiel around the time that Adiel hired Hunter."
Saura grinned really wide and looked all smug at Eva. "See? Told you I know Char," he goaded. "Maybe you should try trusting your teammates once in a while? It wouldn't hurt!"
I could tell Saura was only joking, but Eva looked like she got super mad. She tried to hide it, but I can spot stuff like that. Char gave her a stern glare and she said nothing.
That's when I scampered back to my room before Eva or Char realized I was eavesdropping.
"Is everything alright out there?" asked Zona, stirring from his rest.
"Oh yeah! Everything's fine! Saura just had an idea about how we can look for Scythe," I said. "He says we're going to hire a bounty hunter!"
Adamant blinked at me. "A bounty hunter?" he said. "Wouldn't that be a bit expensive? Like, really expensive? Especially someone willing to hunt down Scythe of all Pokémon?"
I only shrugged. "Only way to find out is to ask them! The only problem now is that we have to hunt for the bounty hunter. Nobody knows where he is. I hope we find him as soon as possible though. The sooner we find him, the sooner we know."
I grinned a big, big, big grin just then.
"Uh-oh. One of those smiles," Zona said, finding my smile contagious. "You're planning something sneaky, aren't you?"
I just shrugged. "Sneaky? Yeah, sort of! I just had an idea. It won't make too big of a difference, but yeah, it's really sneaky. Since every moment counts, I think I know how we can get started looking for the hunter just a little bit earlier than Char was planning!"
So I told them the plan, and when they heard it, we all laughed together at how silly it was.
Now I just needed to stay up a few more hours to do my sneaky plan. My friends tried to help me stay awake by talking about things like, what Anise would think if she knew where we ended up now. But they both fell asleep in less than an hour. So I charged myself up with the last of my spare power for the day, and I stood right inside the closed door and focused my x-ray vision really hard until I could just barely see the other side.
I was super patient, and I don't know how long I waited, but it happened. Another door opened in the Team Ember hall just like I knew it would. A certain someone was sneaking out and trying to make as little sound as possible. As soon as they snuck out into the Gold Division, I followed them. And then when the door was all shut behind us both, that's when I pounced.
"Hey Zachel!" I whispered from like, a few hairs behind her.
Zachel got so spooked she jumped all the way up to the ceiling and clung there. Strong claws!
"Leo. What the actual heck," she hissed, dropping back down. "What's the big deal? What do you want?"
I looked all sly at her. "You're going to see Seviper, aren't you?" I sang and swayed back and forth, teasing her.
She narrowed her eyes at me. "Yeah. So?" she said. "He's my friend, and this is the best time of day not to be seen in public together."
"Well, I have something to tell Seviper, so I want to come with you!" I proclaimed. Well, as much as I could 'proclaim' while still whispering. I'm sure I still sounded excited, though.
Zachel looked at me weird. Then she said, "Okay, sure. It's a bit of a walk, to warn you."
"That's fine!" I said.
She started crawling on all fours and still being really quiet even though there weren't any other Pokémon around to even see us. After she took about ten steps, she turned back to me and said, "How do you know I was going to see Seviper?"
"Because that's what you do every single night!" I laughed.
She rolled her eyes at me. "Alright, got me there," she sighed. "But if that's the case, then why didn't you just politely ask me this earlier, before I left?"
"Because then I wouldn't get to see you jump on the ceiling!" I laughed again, swinging my tail just to be extra cute.
She huffed at me, but I could tell she was amused. "You really like surprising Pokémon, don't you?" she whispered as we started walking again.
"Yeah! Better get used to it," I said. "I'm not the best at it yet. That's Ray! But someday I'll be better than him at getting Pokémon to smile."
"You electric-types are something else, you know that?" Zachel said. "I don't know how you guys can fit so much enthusiasm inside you. Just don't tell anyone about our hiding place, alright?"
"You got it!" I said.
So down we went, down through the base. Really far down. We hit the cafetiria level and went down another floor. Down past Team Stripes. And where we ended up? The exact same place that Asunder had caught Domo: down in the stairwell, underneath the very lowest flight of stairs in the entire Gold Division base. Now this was a perfect hiding spot!
There was a single blue torch there. I thought that was odd, since who ever comes down here? But it was convenient for secret meetings. Seviper was already there, waiting for us.
Seviper twitched uncomfortably. "Uhhh, hey there. Any reason you've brought… what, is that Leo, from Team Ember?"
"I see your memory still works," Zachel said. "He specifically asked to come see you. What this is about, I've got no clue."
"Very well!" Seviper said, slithering up to me. "State your business, Leo of Team Ember!"
"My business!" I said back, matching his enthusiasm. "I need to ask you about a Pokémon you might have heard of before."
"Well, you're in luck, because I remember every single Pokémon I've ever met before, ever,"he said proudly, in a way I couldn't tell whether or not he was actually serious.
"Char needs to do business with a Flareon named Hunter," I said. "He says that your team might know where to find him. Char wants to hire him to help find… someone."
"Scythe, I'm assuming," Seviper hissed, looking like he was deep in thought for a moment. "Yeah, I know about your secret mission. Zachel and I don't keep many secrets from one another."
"Now there's an understatement if ever I've heard one," Zachel said dryly.
This was actually pretty weird. It was so late, but Zachel looked like she was just very wide awake. And so did Seviper too, for that matter. Did they really meet up and talk every night? How did they manage?
Seviper ignored her joke. "Yes, I know of Hunter. Adiel hired him to find a certain Bulbasaur friend of yours – "
"Aaaaand your perfect memory is gone again," Zachel teased.
"Hey, tiger-eyes, you know perfectly well he was a Bulbasaur when this happened," Seviper shot back at her. "Alright. Fine. As I was saying: Adiel hired him to find a certain former Bulbasaur friend of yours – "
"Wrong again! They're still friends! Not former friends!" Zachel snickered. "Having an off-day today, snakie-pie?"
He swung his tail blade at Zachel to smack her, but she easily dodged. "No, but if you keep this up, I'll be having a ticked-off day," he hissed. Then he eyed me and said, "In case you haven't guessed by now, this Zangoose and I are still very much mortal rivals. Just… it's often in the realm of pedantics."
Now here, I was super surprised. Now Zachel was smiling more than I've ever seen her smile before. Usually she's got her small and subtle smile that makes her look smug. But here, as she was getting into a play argument with the Seviper, she was beaming like a little child. Like an electric-type. It was pretty wonderful.
I beamed back at them both. "Wowwwww! You two are in love, aren't you?" I kind of shouted.
They both froze so hilariously awkwardly like they just got caught stealing from the bank. That's when I knew I was right.
"You are! You're totally in love!" I said, bouncing around in thrill. "You even have pet names for one another! Tiger-eyes and snakie-pie? That's sooo cute! Wow! Now I get why you're meeting in secret all the time!"
"Excuse me, but my proper name is saber-tooth. Not snakie-pie," Seviper insisted. "I don't know where in the world that came from. I have perfect memory, and she's never said that before."
"Well, what if I want your name to be snakie-pie now?" Zachel outright laughed in a way I never knew she could laugh, swishing her tail up and down in amusement. "Snakie-pie of Team Blockheads! State your business!"
"Not unless you want to be kitty-pie!" he hissed back. "Oh, on that note, nice going, tiger-eyes! Not even eight days on Team Ember and you already let the secret out. It's so nice to know I can trust you!"
"Oh! Don't worry!" I reassured them. "Your secret is safe with me! In fact, I'll even help you keep the secret if I can! But that's just, wow! A Zangoose and Seviper in love! That's something I never ever expected!"
Zachel flopped back against the wall, looking so happy. "Yeah… neither did we, to be honest," she said. "It just happened. I wish I had more of a story to tell about how it happened, but there really is none. We literally just met one day and… yeah. Anyway, weren't you supposed to be discussing a Flareon? Can we get that over with yet?"
Seviper hissed a sigh. "Yes. I know Hunter. Yes. Boss knows about him. And Yes, Boss probably knows where to find him. He was a… well. I'll just say that Hunter is a ruthless one. He charges a life savings, but you really get what you pay for. If you need Scythe found that badly, I wouldn't call that a bad idea, to be perfectly honest."
"Alright!" I said. "So… can you tell your boss to find Hunter so Char can talk with him?"
"Certainly. I'll do that first thing in the morning," Seviper promised. "I believe his primary station is around Death Falls, but Boss'll know for sure. Any idea where Char would want to conduct the meeting?"
"At the hideout, I think!" I answered.
Zachel was sitting and twiddling with the end of her tail. "Saaay. Wouldn't your boss be awake at this hour?"
"Boss is always awake," Seviper said. "He doesn't sleep, at least the way we usually think of it. He prefers to simply… float into the corner and zone out for several hours."
"Welll… In that case… seeing that I am a member of Team Ember now, and seeing that finding Scythe is Team Ember's absolute-top priority at the moment, mind doing me a faaaavor, snakie-pie?" Zachel hummed.
Seviper squirmed. "On the condition that you never call me 'snakie-pie' again, is that a deal?" he said back.
"Deal. Never again," Zachel huffed. "Joke's on you, though. I want to die a little bit on the inside every time I hear myself utter that. Probably hated it more than you did."
"I find that unlikely," Seviper returned. "Anyway, if I go run this Patrat errand, can I expect the Shinx to be gone by the time I return?"
"Sure," Zachel said, shrugging. "He needs his rest anyway. His eyes are getting droopy."
I realized she was right. I was kind of completely out of electric charge and I was ready to just collapse. I was so distracted by a Zangoose and Seviper falling in love, I didn't notice.
But once Seviper had left, I told Zachel "thank you" for doing this favor for me and Char. I know it would only buy us like a day in the long run, but again, this is Scythe we're talking about. The Scythe. Every day of this hunt is going to count.
And before I left Zachel alone to her privacy, I said, "Hey, you know Pokémon are allowed to pick a name for themselves anytime they want, if they're just called by their species, right?"
"Yeah, so?" Zachel returned. "What, are you talking about Seviper? He's fine with being called that. And So am I."
"Well, I was just thinking," I said, "if he really wanted, he could make his name 'Sabertooth.' I think that would be a pretty wicked name. It sounds to me he really likes being called that."
I was hoping I was going to get one of those static-shock moments from Zachel. And I did! It was really subtle and she tried to hide it, because this is Zachel we're talking about, but I spotted it. Even with my sleepy, droopy eyes, I spotted it. I guess my X-ray vision kind of works on Pokémon, too…
"Y'know what? I think I'll bring that up. Neither of us have ever thought of that before," Zachel said with a wink. "Thanks, kid. Glad to be your teammate, for the record."
"You can even pretend it was your idea if you want, I won't tell anyone!" I said, winking back.
Then I left, tried to climb all the stairs all the way back to the Team Ember base, but I got just one flight of stairs before I passed out. Seviper found me on the way back down, and Zachel carried me back to my room.
Well, darn. That was almost a perfectly-executed ploy. Guess I just needed a little bit more energy than I expected. All the more reason to be a Luxio sometime.
At the team meeting the next day, I told Char that I already asked Team X about Hunter. He gave me a huge thanks, and that made it all worth it. I know it was just a small favor, but sometimes it's the little things that matter most. I can tell that Char is pretty worried about Scythe, and I'm happy to help.
Gemstone and Dragonbane came back, too. I can't believe Gemstone is evolved now. Everybody is evolving! I can't really blame them, but I feel like I just got used to them and now I have to get used to them all over again.
Evolving doesn't just make you stronger, you know. It also changes your personality a little. They say that when you evolve, it turns you a little more into the Pokémon you've always wanted to be on the inside. It's like you can make a little wish about how you want to grow, and evolving grants that wish.
I've been trying to figure out what I want my evolution wish to be. I really didn't know. To be honest, I don't think about myself a lot. I thought maybe I could ask my friends and figure out how they think I can be better, then wish for that.
Ever since Gemstone came back, she's been quieter. Almost as quiet as Glower. Seriously, I don't think I heard her say more than about six words since she came back. But she wasn't brooding or mysterious like some quiet Pokémon are. She wasn't angry, either. Just quiet and polite, like she had a lot to think about. I guess that's fine, but I knew I'd eventually get worried about her if she kept it up.
So anyway, on that day, everyone still thought I was going on the Grayleaf Reserve mission with Adamant and Zona, so we kept getting ready for that. We were trying to decide who we wanted our bag carrier to be, because we definitely needed a bag carrier if we found any loot in Saura's den. I wanted Ray to come, but I had the feeling he was going to be busy that day. So then it was either Zachel, or we had to go hire a bag carrier from somewhere else.
Turns out I was really right about Ray being busy that day…
So after spending that day doing practice battles against normal and flying types, checking out the map and analyzing the shape of the forest and the path we'd take, and talking to Saura's family about the pitfall traps that were apparently everywhere in the forest, we came to the conclusion that we'd need to ask for at least one of the team's reviver seeds.
We were feeling so prepared, really better than ever about the mission. And it was coming up in only two days.
But the next day is when Hunter showed up, and that's when plans had to change.
Hunter was seriously intimidating. He wasn't even that big – about the size of Adamant – but just the way he walked around made it feel like he owned the place and that you should be thankful he wasn't choosing to burn it to the ground whenever he wanted. And he had his own little team of followers: two Machamp bodyguards who were always standing behind him, a Fearow for keeping watch, and a really creepy ghost-type Pokémon I didn't even recognize.
Hunter was obviously strong. And to be honest, really scary. Maybe even Adiel-levels of scary.
Of course, we couldn't let him into the Gold Division base, so we had the meeting at the new hideout we were still building. So that's what happened at about high noon that day. Hunter and his crew of sidekicks showed up at the hideout, looking all serious and official like a legitimate bounty hunter ready to negotiate a new mission. Char and Saura were there to talk with him. I expected Eva to be there, but she was nowhere to be seen. Maybe Char didn't want Hunter to think that he was having quiet psychic conversations, or to worry about having his mind read. Though maybe Eva was hiding, because having quiet psychic conversations and mind-reading sounds like something you'd really want to do when you're negotiating with a scary Pokémon like this.
I guess Hunter didn't recognize Char and Saura at first, since they were evolved. The first thing he said was, "I've been told that you require my services." Straight and to the point.
Saura wanted to start out a little more casually. "Hey there, Hunter!" he said in a cocky way. "I have to admit, I'm curious: are you still looking for a more challenging assignment than me? Because I think we've got one."
I was waiting for it, waiting for it, and… zap! Hunter got the happy static-shock. He really looked like he wanted to laugh at how ridiculous it was. But he put his serious face back on pretty fast.
"Saura," he grunted. "I can't imagine why you would be interested in the help of a hunter who demonstrably proved himself a failure in your case, but since I've already gone through the trouble of coming this whole way, I'm willing to listen."
"We need you, because we've got a case that only the best can handle," Char told him. "Given that Adiel was willing to hire you, I think you might just have a chance at this one. A Scyther friend of ours has gone missing, and we need to find him. To the resistance forces, he is known as Scythe. To the Master's side, he is known as Adron."
I saw another big, big flinch from Hunter, though I'm not sure this was a happy one. "Adron," he repeated. "You want me to find Adron the Terrible. Am I hearing this right?"
"You're hearing this right," Char replied. "I see you're familiar with him already. So, your thoughts?"
"Everyone is familiar with him," Hunter muttered. "The Scyther who served the Master for nearly fifteen years. The one with the uncanny intuition to be ten steps ahead of his foes at any one point. The one whose position was filled by Adiel once he pulled off the for-all-accounts impossible task of escaping from the Master's command. If this Scyther has chosen to hide, I can only promise you that he is, without exaggeration, going to be the most difficult Pokémon in the world to find. I'll be level with you: this is the assignment of my darkest nightmares."
"Nightmares. How ironic," I heard Saura mutter, but I didn't know what he meant.
"Alright, so can you do it, or not?" Char asked.
"Of course I can," Hunter snorted. "For the right price, of course. I just wonder how desperate you really are."
"Yeah, so what's your price?" Char asked.
Hunter grit his teeth, looking like he was already regretting these negotiations. "How long as Adron been missing, exactly?" he inquired.
"Uh… four weeks, at the very least? Maybe more?" Char replied.
"And where was he last seen?"
"Zerferia," Char answered. "He was spotted entering Zerferia, and never returned."
"So you're asking me to find a corpse buried under four weeks of snow and ice," Hunter replied. "Ah. Even I know it will never be that simple. Is this a time-sensitive job? How long do I have?"
"I can't really say there's a deadline, but we… fear he might be walking into a trap," Char said. "So we'd really like to find him as soon as humanly – I mean, as soon as possible."
Hunter paced back and forth a bit, sniffing at the ground. Then he said, "Alright, I'll make my offer. And I'm going to say upfront that this is the most I've ever charged anyone for a job, but seeing as though you're asking the impossible, you should consider it very reasonable."
"I'm listening," Char said. "What's your price?"
"For this job, my price is fourteen hundred thousand gold," said Hunter. "And this is even including a steep discount I am offering, considering my begrudging respect for Saura and that I consider this both a punishment and an opportunity to redeem myself, so I will not be accepting further negotiations. Take it or leave it."
Char and Saura looked worried at one another. Oh my, that was a lot of gold. Gold. Not even Poké. For that money, you could buy half of Iron Town!
"How much do you want as a down payment?" Char inquired.
"Oh, I want it all up front," Hunter said. "In fact, put it all right here in a big pile. I will use whatever is necessary to pay for expenses, and I will claim the remainder upon the job's completion."
Again, Char and Saura looked pretty worried. Obviously they didn't have this kind of money. Team Ember would go totally broke. We could do all the jobs on all the bulletin boards in the entire base, and that wouldn't even be enough for what Hunter was asking!
As Char and Saura were still thinking about it, a voice from right next to me shouted: "It's a deal. We'll take your offer."
It was Ray! Ray stepped forward to join them, looking very confident about himself.
"We can pay you in full," Ray assured him. "Give us a few days to gather the money, and we'll send for you again when it's all ready."
Hunter tilted his head in surprise. "Charmander? Saura? I assume you are the final decision-makers. Are you in agreement with this Raichu?"
Char and Saura both looked at Ray for a moment. They looked… sad? I thought they'd be happy, but they actually looked kind of sad. I wondered why.
"Yeah, alright, it's a deal," Char decided. "Thank you for your time. We'll send Dusknoir to get you again when everything's ready."
"Very well," said Hunter, nodding at his bodyguards. "Until we meet again, then. I will await your message. And meanwhile, I will make an honest attempt to mentally prepare myself for this absolutely lunatic endeavor."
When Hunter was gone, Char and Saura turned to Ray. "You really don't have to do this," Char told him. "I was thinking we could just ask High Intelligence for the funds. You don't have to spend your whole inheritance money on finding Scythe!"
I was thinking: inheritance money? What is Ray talking about?
Ray just shrugged. "That's not even half my inheritance money, for one thing," he replied. "And High Intelligence would never lend us that much money for only a five-star mission, especially not when they're trying to keep this all under wraps. And besides… what else were you expecting me to do with all that money? Retire? And go just as crazy as Fern did? Hey, that money was always going to be for the team! I was always going to use it to help you out, Char. And now I can use it to help you accomplish what you're really here to do. Also, we'll have enough left over to buy awesome items for everyone! I promise!"
I tried to use my x-ray vision to look into Ray's heart, to see if I could tell what he was really feeling. Was he really okay with spending so much of his own money on a bounty hunter? Or was he just saying that? Char and Saura clearly thought he was just saying that.
But what did I think? The more I looked at Ray and thought about what he said, the more I thought he really was happy to help in this big way. I mean, I would be just as happy to help, if I had the opportunity! But Ray was sad about something, just something different, and something he was definitely keeping a secret.
Too bad. When you keep a secret, your friends can't exactly help you when you need help. I wondered if I could help Ray feel better somehow. After all the times he inspired me with his amazing energy, I wanted to repay the favor sometime.
Char crossed his arms. "Alright, Ray, looks like it's time for you to go dig up the treasure," he decided. "I guess you can start whenever you're ready. Who do you want to take with you?"
Ray considered it for a moment and looked around at all of us. "We need to go to Ion Plains," he said. "It's a very zappy place. So the only Pokémon I feel confident in taking with me, really, are… Gemstone and Leo."
And that's how I got taken off the Grayleaf Reserve mission and got to go on an awesome treasure hunt instead. Was I sad about cancelling the trip with my friends that we'd been planning together all week? Maybe a little. But I was definitely not going to complain about getting to go on a treasure hunt with Ray. I had a chance to help him out and make him happy. And I was sure Adamant and Zona would be happy for me, too. They knew how much I idolized Ray.
But I was starting to wonder… why did I suddenly feel so many positive charges from Ray? Was this trip even going to make him happy? Or did he even want to go on the trip at all?
…
…
…
Okay, that might not have made a lot of sense for anyone who's not an electric-type. When I say Ray had positive charges, I definitely don't mean he was feeling positive. Actually it's the opposite. Positive charges are inert and heavy and don't move as much. Negative charges are the ones that tend to go zippy-zap all over the place, chasing after the positive ones. I have no idea why we call them that, I think they should have been named the other way around, but that's how electricity works. So when an electric-type Pokémon gives off positive charges, that's a way of knowing they're sad or unsure about something.
Anyway, what I'm trying to lead into is… We ended up finding a lot more on that treasure hunt than just some money.