Pokémon Slate Gray

Season 1 - Episode 03: Action Plan

"Cryote? So that's what they were called, huh?" Slate remarked upon spotting the wild Pokémon. "No, it's not mine. We met earlier. I guess it must have followed me." Slate instinctively moved toward the wild Cryote, but it immediately scurried away into the nearest alley.

"Weird," said April. "Oh well, let's go inside."

Slate followed April up the steps and after a rhythmic knock on the door, into her home. There, they were greeted by a worried-looking woman with green spectacles and brown hair tied in a messy bun.

"You're back quickly, April," the woman said with concern, emerging from the kitchen wearing a white lab coat over a casual outfit. "Oh, who's this?"

"This is Slate Davy," April explained wistfully. "I met him on my way. He was already in town because he was chasing the guys who took Mrs. Davy. We were too late, Mom."

"They took Heather?" the professor said with alarm. Then, after a moment of anguish, she quickly turned her attention to Slate. "I'm so sorry, Slate. Please, come and sit down."

As Slate sat in the nearest chair, April's tiny Pokémon leaped out of her hood and curled up on his lap. Slate absent-mindedly stroked the Rodenki while telling the professor and her daughter exactly what had transpired earlier that day.

"...and then, they just took off with her! The last thing she told me was to find you. I went after them once I realized they might have to wait for the ferry, but I got delayed by a pack of—Cryote, was it? Then, once I got to the ferry there were all those Slugish things!"

"Yeah, that was weird, Mom," April commented. "More Slugish than I've ever seen had formed a wall around the ferry port. Slate would have made it if it weren't for them."

"Oh dear," Professor Larch remarked. "That doesn't sound like a natural occurrence to me. Slate, the people who took your mother, can you describe them to me?"

"Well, there isn't much to say. They all looked nearly identical, all dressed in black suits with slicked-back hair and wearing dark glasses—except for the one who attacked me," Slate recalled. "I'd remember his face if I saw it again. There was something different about his suit, too. He had a patch on the pocket of his suit, like an emblem or a crest."

"In the shape of an 'S'?" the professor asked.

"Yeah, I think so!" Slate confirmed. "Does that mean something? Who are they?"

Professor Larch shook her head in dismay and answered, "They're members of a group known as Team Shade. I believe they are behind the recent acquisition of Silph Co., but I don't have any concrete proof. I was hoping your mother would be able to help me with that. Oh, this is all my fault. I should never have involved Heather."

"Mom, you can't blame yourself!" April piped up. "With everything that's been happening in Nutera, we need to get the word out somehow, and Mrs. Davy agreed to help."

This struck a chord with Slate. "That's right," he asserted. "My mom didn't tell me what was going on, but I know that she's been concerned about whatever you've discussed. She never would have quit her job and moved us here otherwise. She never gives up on a story!"

Professor Larch smiled and responded, "Yes, Team Shade must be worried about a journalist of Heather's caliber nosing around. Unfortunately, I think that's why she was taken. Still, taking her, buying up the lab, and coming for me are such aggressive moves for a company trying to stay in the dark. It might indicate that they're getting ready to act..."

"So, what do we do now? Should I call the police?" Slate asked.

"I'm afraid the Nutera police have been infiltrated, so we can't rely on them," the professor advised. "Heather sent you here knowing that. We had a plan, you see. We were going to enlist the two of you to assist us!"