The Heart of a Trainer: A Pokemon Story [PokemonWattyAwards2017]

Six: A New Addition

Thursday, 10:00 am

Theo

Alice and I decided to wait until the police to arrive before we went anywhere else, this case has gotten bigger than any of us could've imagined. I never thought it would go this far. I was right; 'Chester' is an identity thief, and he's changed his identity so many times the past few years not even the police know who he actually is, let alone where he disappeared to. The moment the Kanto police entered the PokeCenter, chaos erupted and the quiet, relaxed atmosphere had disintegrated. Sirens and red and blue lights surrounded the building, police were flying in every direction, securing the perimeter. Alice and I didn't even have a chance to explain the situation before a few adamant souls were arrested and put behind bars until they could place a bail. The story even made the news, causing people to panic in their own homes all across the region! Nothing this big has happened in at least a decade, if not more.

An hour after the story hit the news, Alice's mother called, speaking in fast, almost indecipherable sentences, scolding Alice for being invested in a case involving a felon. We decided to regroup at her house, due to her mother's scolding and also so we could determine our next step in the investigation. We were not giving up, even though the police were now involved. I'm going to follow through to the end no matter what, and I'm sure Alice feels the same because of her Croconaw. On the way back to New Bark Town, Alice spent most of the time coming up with different strategies we could try, Chester couldn't have gone far. I, however, stayed quiet most of the ride, this mess is growing with each problem we encounter, and we are no closer than when we started to finding the truth.

Feeling discouraged as I parked my bike on the grass, I treaded slowly up the porch stairs, Alice following closely behind. The next thing I saw is what caused me to push Alice away and throw myself onto the ground. A badly packaged box was placed neatly by the heavy, wood front door and a digital clock could be seen on the surface, connected to whatever was inside with several different colored wires. The clock was counting down as Alice and I braced ourselves. Ten.. Nine.. Eight.. Seven.. Six.. Five.. My life was flashing right before my eyes, flashbacks of every regret and every wrong move I've made since the beginning of time surged through my like a raging river during a hurricane. I peered over at Alice, and from what I could tell, she was going through the same thought process as me. She looked awful, dirt was splattered all over her clothes from her fall, her ponytail was loose and her hair tangled, one of her shoes was lying, forgotten, a few feet away, and her face was full of fear and uncertainty. As I examined myself, I realized I wasn't much better off. My dark brown hair had specks of dirt and grime in it, my knees were digging into the grassy floor, I had grazed the porch staircase with my chest and the front of my jacket had torn, and a long, thin scratch was just barely visible through the material. If I could see my own face, I'd expect it to be full of fear much like Alice's with the addition of a handful of regret in my toffee-colored brown eyes. As soon as the timer hit five, it began to emit a loud, rapid beeping noise and the countdown to zero was accelerated. This time, the numbers appeared and were gone in less than a second, speeding through towards the end. Four, Three, Two, One, Zero. I squinted my eyes, preparing for the inevitable, but it never came. The beeping stopped, and after a minute, Alice rose in a grand feat of bravery and steadily walked towards the package.

"Alice, no! What are you doing?" I said.

"It's okay, I don't think it's a bomb. The wires aren't attached to anything." Alice reassured me as she picked up the box and tossed it into the air. Alice helped me up, and together, we inspected the strange box.

"What kind of sick joke is this? Who would do something like this?" I demanded, desperate for answers.

"Someone like Chester." Alice said as she pulled out a note on lined paper from the package. "It says, 'Did my clever little trick scare you? Oh I wish I could've seen your faces. Getting on with my main objective, I have a proposition for you two. Meet me on Mt. Silver tomorrow afternoon. Bring only yourselves, no police or the rest of the regions will pay. ~Chester.' What do you think we should do, Theo, should we go?"