Ash's Story (Part 6: Unova)

Chapter 44

We nod as we will soon go there and check out what's going on there, but first, we head to the Pledge Grove, that's where Keldeo wants to go. He says, "This is the place where I learned my Secret Sword. Cool, isn't it?"

"That sounds very awesome." Eve says. "So these are the carvings of Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion..."

We touch the rock and we can see a lot of visions of Keldeo's hard work. After that, we head to the Cave of Being, which is a place where Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf might show up.

Then in Castelia City, we take the Royal Unova since Cilan wants to go there. However, we also meet Mrs. Ripple, one of the foremost gem collectors in Unova, who is planning a showing of her gem collection after the tournament. When Mrs. Ripple graciously agrees to show us her collection privately, everyone is especially taken with the Eye of Liepard, the biggest known gem of its kind in the world. Although fellow collector Mr. Shaw is determined to purchase the rare gem, Mrs. Ripple refuses, much to his frustration.

Then we do the battling on the ship, and we notice a strong trainer named Teaque with his Vanillite defeating a lot of opponents. I go battle him, but he uses Galvantula instead of Vanillite. Galvantula's Thunderbolt apparently goes awry and strikes the ship's electrical system, causing a temporary blackout. Once the power is restored, we win our battle. And then, out of nowhere, Mrs. Ripple's Purrloin launches itself at Teaque in a furious attack. We manage to pry Purrloin off his opponent, and it runs away. Mrs. Ripple and the captain go looking for it, and when they decide to check the gem room, they find that Mr. Shaw has broken in and the Eye of Liepard is missing. Mr. Shaw insists it was already gone when he got there, but considering his extreme interest in the gem, he's still the primary suspect.

But after a thorough search, the captain reports that they couldn't find the stolen gem anywhere in Mr. Shaw's things. Cilan really acts like Minami when it comes to detective things, and we find that Purrloin was in the room during the blackout when the gem was stolen, so it's the best witness. And given Purrloin's attack on Teaque after the blackout, plus the water spot on the rug right next to the table that held the gem, Cilan has a conclusion: Teaque must have caused the blackout on purpose, then sent his Vanillite into the locked room through the air ducts to steal the Eye of Liepard.

We then arrest Teaque, finding that he's actually a wanted gem thief and a master in disguise. Good thing that we have help from our International Police fellows to take him away.

Now arriving at Joint Avenue, we find Grimsley there playing games with other people in his stand.

"Mister, do you want to spin this roulette?" He then asks me, and I decide to spin the wheel and it lands on a one.

"Amazing! You have earned a free ticket to the stores. Well. Aren't you a lucky one." The man steps forward and says, "I am Grimsley the Elite 4. I know you will be arriving here."

"That's good to know, Grimsley. I'm here for the Elite Four battle." I say.

"I see. Then how about we take a bet, what are you going to lose if you lose?" Grimsley asks.

"I know you did this and caused Hilbert to faint in shock, but I'm not him, and I know what I'm going to lose. I'll reveal if I really lose."

Grimsley smiles and says, "What will be determined here is which of us can absorb the opponent's light and shine... But who will decide that? It shall be I, Grimsley of the Elite Four, and I will fulfill my duty to be your opponent."

Eve is excited to see the battle because the Elite Four member specializes in Dark Type. The match, like other Elite Four battles, is a five-on-five battle. His first Pokemon is Liepard, so I decide to go with Sawk. Sawk goes for Brick Break, but a Fake out causes him to flinch. Then Sawk chooses Double Kick, which hurts Liepard.