Gakuen Pokémon: Chapter 4 - Seek And You Shall Find...Nothing

I like to call this the chapter in which everyone is tripping on something.  But isn't.

You still know nothing.

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The Mind - the gateway of the Mental Link.  The pure power of thought and dreams, an enlightened voice of reason, the power to usher raw cognitive energy into tangible reality.

The Heart - the gateway of the Corruption Link.  The subtle power of permeation for good or for ill, a sweet voice whispering oil-slick words, the power to expand and manipulate intangible reality.

The Soul - the gateway of the Willpower Link.  The unquenchable power of human and Pokémon alike, a shouting voice of a charging warrior, the power to survive reality against all odds.

The Memory - the gateway of the Legend Link.  The primal energy of those who came before, the voice deep from the mists of time, older than the oldest rhyme, the dark of ages past and the world about to dawn combined in one ideal.

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"Alright, Hydregion, finish him off with Dragon Rush!"

"WHAT?!"

With a menacing growl, the Dark Dragon Pokémon charged into a flying tackle towards its opponent.  The Lucario barely even had time to begin a dodge before it was knocked backwards with a cry and skidded back to the feet of its Trainer, out cold.

"What the actual crap, bro?!" Les cried in defeat, recalling his Pokémon, and then turned his attention back to the triumphant DJ on the other side of the small clearing near the dorms sanctioned as a practice battle field.  "That's the third time you've beat me this week!"

"Sorry about that!" DJ laughed, returning his Hydregion after giving it a congratulatory pat on one of its three heads.  "But you need all the practice you can get if you eventually want to take on Duce.  And that, unfortunately, involves getting experience losing."

"So when do I get to get experience winning?!"

"When you've been in classes for longer, bro!  You've only had a couple of months in Battling Fundamentals."

Les merely huffed.  "But I was one of the best trainers I knew of back when I was training in Unova!  What - "

"Hold up," DJ interrupted, raising a hand in a signal to cease and desist.  "Do you hear that?"

The two boys held still and quiet, and simply listened.  Sure enough, DJ had been perceptive - there were two new voices in the background, faint but audible and coming closer to them.

"...right there with me!  How could you not..."

"...sorry, Duce, I don't know...just couldn't..."

"...don't understand.  Am I the only one seeing them?!"

"I-it seems like it!  I'm just as worried about Team Rocket as you are, but I don't know what I can do to help you get rid of them if I can't even perceive when they're there - "

After a moment of looking around for the source of the voices, Les found it - Duce and Aria walking down the narrow path that connected the dorms to the practice fields.  He found that he was getting used to the nearly-constant Teddiursa that lay flopped over Aria's shoulder.  "Hey, guys!  What's up?"

The upperclassmen started at the sound of the sudden voice cutting in on their conversation, but after confirming the identity of said voice's owner, they didn't hesitate to join him and DJ.

"What the heck were you two talking about?" DJ inquired.  "Sounds like you saw a ghost or something!"

"A ghost, you say?" Aria sighed, then shrugged a bit, being careful not to jostle her sleeping Dolce.  "A ghost may be - it was just like a ghost to me!"

Duce, who still seemed a bit flustered, deadpanned.  "You're quoting song lyrics at a time like this?"

"I was just trying to...anyway."

"Apparently," Duce continued.  "I'M the only one who can see these Team Rocket grunts that have been popping up sporadically over the past couple of months.  And I'm about as confused as a Psyduck tripping on Aguav berries!"

"You did say they'd been appearing more often," Les observed (he'd been let in on the problem since we last saw him), "but only when you were alone, right?"

"That's right," Duce confirmed.  "And the one time that one does appear when I'm with someone else - "

"I can't see them!" Aria appeared more frustrated with herself than anything else.

"That is pretty creepy," DJ said.  "Maybe you really are seeing ghosts, bro!"

"Arceus, I hope not."  Duce pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, seeming deep in thought.  "I just don't get it!  The first time I fought one of those grunts, it was physical - my Persian and Clefable physically knocked him around!  If this is ghosts - or all in my head - then how are my Pokémon sensing them and how am I tangibly hurting them?!"

"Maybe..."  Aria contemplated for a moment to get her wording right.  "M-maybe they are real!  I'm kind of oblivious, you know that - maybe I just didn't perceive them before they ran off."

"Aria," Duce sighed, "we had a conversation.  He mentioned someone I knew from I don't know how long ago, and exactly what had become of them from when I first saw them until now!  How could you have missed that?"

"Oh...who was it?  The person, I mean."

"That's - not important."

Aria tugged at the armband secured over her the sleeve of her uniform shirt unconsciously to adjust it - DJ noticed this out of the corner of his eye, and the action was enough to help him hatch an idea.

"Tell the other prefects about it, Aria," he suggested.  "They can all be on the lookout for more of these evil dudes - if they find more, then great!  We can get rid of them faster.  If they don't - "  Here he turned back to Duce and laughed a bit.  "Let's just say that I'm not helping out with your psychiatric bills, bro!"

The comment was enough to snap Duce out of his worried trance and cause him to laugh with DJ a bit.  "Wow, thanks, you're so sympathetic."

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A void - crushing darkness, and nothing but.  Blackness blinding her eyes, screaming silence deafening her ears, the distinct lack of any sensation on her skin almost a sensation in and of itself.  She tried to scream but no sound came - she would be crying but no tears could be felt - the dark was constricting, paralyzing, isolating -

She was alone - !

"No!"

Aria nearly gasped the word as she jerked upward and nearly panicked at her dark surroundings - before realizing that it was merely night.  Moonlight filtered through the open blinds of her dorm room window, the singing of Kriketots and the soft white noise of Aurora Falls could be heard outside.  Her eyes adjusted, and she nearly sighed in relief as she took in the familiar, albeit dimmed, sights of Angie's pile of dirty clothes beside the closet, the posters of the Johto Elite Four and numerous famous Coordinators papering the walls of her side of the room, her sleeping baby Dolce still nestled into the small pillow beside her own and her other four Poké Balls beside it, just in case.  She dared glance over to the second loft bed in the room and discovered that the quietly snoring Angie had been undisturbed by her outburst and sudden awakening.

She didn't realize that she was crying until she tasted salt on her lips.

"Sweet Arceus," she stammered under her breath, pulling her thin comforter around her and swiping her forearm across her eyes.  How much longer will these dreams go on...?

A slight cracking and fizzing sound startled her, but she calmed again at the sweet voice that quietly questioned, "Wiggly?"

"Harmony," she whispered, laughing reflexively at the Wigglytuff that now sat atop her lap.  "You always seem to sense whenever I wake up, huh, girl?"

"Tuff..."  The pink Balloon Pokémon tilted its head (rather, its entire body) to the side a bit, a worried look flashing dimly in its green eyes.  "Wigglytuff?"

Aria shook her head.  "No...I don't think I want to go back to sleep, I'm...not that tired anymore.  Thanks for the offer, though, Harmony."  She gave her Pokémon the best smile she could manage before holding up the Love Ball that was its dwelling.  "You, on the other hand, are probably still tired.  Go ahead and return, okay?"

"Wiggly."  Harmony didn't appear convinced but obeyed its Trainer's command, disappearing back into the Ball as quickly as she had appeared.  Aria's smile dropped as she set it aside - her Wigglytuff had Sung her to sleep numerous times after sudden inexplicable night terrors for how long now?  A month, maybe longer?

Curling further into herself, she reached under her pillow for her Pokétch, accessing the Memo Pad app to record her latest dream.  Might as well comes to terms with these sooner or later...

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"Hnng!"

Les grunted from the effort of the sheer physical exertion of his exploration - his red hair was matted to his forehead by sweat, and his loose black shorts and red t-shirt were covered in loose dust and tiny shards of gravel.  He was currently dangling from at least an eight-foot rock precipice on which he had lost his footholds - his upper body strength alone kept him aloft.  Despite this, he managed to, ever so carefully, draw out a Poké Ball from his pocket and release its inhabitant onto the ledge above him.  "S-Serperior, get me out of this!"

"Ser!"  The Grass Snake Pokémon quickly reacted, making good use of Vine Whip to tug its Trainer up to join it.  Les could breathe freely again once he was on solid ground.

"Thanks, buddy," he panted, smiling as he affectionately stroked the top of Serperior's head, who let out a low, content rumble.  Curious, Les leaned out over to get a better view of the rest of the rocky terrain - just as he had expected, the other fifteen or so students in his class, appearing as only red and yellow specks, with the rarer blue, from his perch, were either still on the shoreline or just approaching the base of the stair-step rock formation that he had already cleared.

One more day in Geography and Exploration 101, one of the most important required classes for Freshmen Rangers.  This particular exploration trip was taking place on Chiba Island, one of the islands owned by the school for training and recreational purposes - it was almost completely rocky ground and mountainous terrain, with only rare patches of green.  It was by no means barren, however - numerous Rock and Ground Pokémon inhabited its crevices, and Les had encountered many a Geodude, Sandshrew and Roggenrola on his climb.

As Les sat waiting for his classmates at the checkpoint of his considerable lead in distance, he couldn't help but allow pride to well up in his chest.  He had been performing average at best in his Battle Fundamentals class - and even then his professor had commended him for his determination - but in courses like these, it seemed he could truly shine, as if it was a natural affinity for him.  Anything that involved pushing his limits, surviving the challenge, seemed right up his alley.  His own stamina surprised even him when put to the test, and even when the test proved to be far too challenging for his own good, it seemed as if he absolutely could not merely give up.

Just as he thought he was beginning to hear the clamor of his classmates climbing below him, a cry almost like a warning siren jostled him out of his rest.  He lept to his feet and whirled about just as his Serperior coiled in preparation for a strike should anything go awry - and saw the source.  A silvery-white Pokémon was dashing atop the plateau, its blue face and crescent-shaped horn standing out clearly and seeming to leave a streak of color behind it.

"An Absol?!"

It skidded to a stop, as if responding to the utterance of its name, and turned to make eye contact with the boy.  It let out another mournful cry and then was gone just as quickly as it had appeared.

"What - what the actual heck..."

This can't be good, he thought.

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A laptop slammed shut, with a sandy-blonde head coming down on top of it soon after.  "This is ridiculous!  Any lore on Kanto Legendary Pokémon is IMPOSSIBLE to find!"

"Keep it down, Mr. Hanawa, if you please!" the computer lab supervisor snapped a bit sharply from her seat at her desk, never looking up from her book.

A pair of sheepish blue eyes were revealed as the face was removed from its place on the lid of the laptop.  "Sorry, ma'am," he muttered, leaning down to begin gathering up his books - he figured he had found all the information he was going to find for that day.  After tugging his Suicune-crested jacket and Prefect armband on and slinging his bag over his shoulder, he quickly strode toward the door and opened it - only to collide with his female Prefect counterpart, sending them both crashing to the ground.

"OUCH!"

"Do I need to tell you again?!"  The supervisor flipped the page with a huff, still not even glancing upward to see the commotion.

"Gah, sorry about that, Aria," the boy groaned, righting himself and then helping her up in turn.

"No problem, Josh," Aria laughed it off.  "Find anything interesting for your CRM project?"

"Absolutely nothing," Josh sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair in frustration as the two exited the lab to avoid any more scenes.  "The only thing I can find on the Winged Mirages is their suspected locations and their connection to Lugia.  But I'll keep digging - there has to be more somewhere."

"That's good.  And...sorry to be asking so soon, but have you or the other prefects seen any more...you know?"

"Team Rocket members, you mean?"  Josh shook his head.  "Sorry, Ari, I haven't seen anything.  Neither have the others, to my knowledge."  He laughed a bit, sounding as if he were trying to lighten the mood.  "I guess it's been a generally unproductive day in quite a few ways, huh?"

Aria laughed with him, despite her disappointment.  "Y-yeah, I guess so.  No biggie.  C'mon, Professor Graves said to tell you that she wanted to meet with us about some new project she's thought of."

"Another one?" Josh sighed, but began following Aria out of the Media Center building.  "Onward to AH, I guess."

"It's probably something to do with the Creation Day festival," Aria said, allowing Josh to hold the door open for her and exiting, him following after.  "I guess she figures the Suicunes can organize things like this better than - "

FWOOSH - her words were cut off by a sudden streak of white and midnight blue dashing past at an almost impossible speed.  Part of her mind was expecting it to disappear - but then it skidded to a stop, took on form, jolted her vision.

Josh gaped, eyes never leaving the Pokémon.  "Absol...those are rarer than heck!  What's one doing here?"

Aria couldn't answer, only stand there transfixed - the Disaster Pokémon's steely eyes were locked onto hers.  Its gaze seemed to be trying to say so much that she almost thought it would begin to speak.

And then it dashed off again, disappearing into the distance.

"What..."  Josh snapped out of his own surprised daze quickly.  "Whoa.  D'you think that's a sign that Gravie's project isn't going to work after all?"

"Arceus, I hope that's all it is..."

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Phase 1 In-Progress Report - Day 57

D. Kazuhira - vital - Mental link - suspected bond forming (NP251?).  Background research complete - ROCKET - RED - REVENGE.  Observation to continue.

A. Higure - vital - Corruption link - bond established (NP491).  Background research complete - INDIGO - SILVER - ESCAPE.  Observation to continue.

D. Sensou - holds potential - link not confirmed, suspected Legend - bond yet to develop.  Background research complete - PLASMA - DRAGONTAMER - PREVENTION.  Observation to continue.

L. Honda - vital - Willpower link - suspected bond forming (NP647?).  Background research complete - CHAMPION - SWORD - SURPASS.  Observation to continue.

J. Hanawa - troubling.  School database to be fortified.  Observation to continue.

Activity at Leohta Ruins intensifying.  Student access continuing to be blocked.

Students being warned of operation.  Measures against this to be taken.