Pokémon Fool's Gold | Orre & Galar Fanfiction

Chapter 30: Shadow Trainers

Draven caught something. It was a ball of paper. He threw it to Amber, though his throw was clumsy and she missed it. She snatched it from the floor seconds before the disgruntled guard, Conrad, stepped out of the cloakroom. Examining it now was too risky. She was still relieved, because only Trip could have thrown something so accurately to Draven. He hadn't forgotten her. She wasn't sure how long it was, because she wanted to save what was left of her ceramic shard in case she needed it later, but she guessed it was about four days since he was moved.

Conrad usually took a bathroom break in his first hour. He told a colleague he always took his constipation remedies before work so Cipher could pay the water bill. Today, he was apparently still constipated. He shuffled up and down. When he got bored and called his wife, Amber learned she thought he was guarding offices in Phenac City. She had nothing better to do than imagine their lives. That wasn't what she planned in her head for Conrad. She pictured him as a single grouch, gambling and smoking cigars in a run-down, shared house in Pyrite Town. A toddler giggled.

'Daddy loves you too, Litzy. I know. I can't wait to get home.'

Sometimes Bianka joined Amber in planning lives for the guards. Otherwise, she'd taken to pulling at the hems of her blanket and tying the loose threads in an endless series of knots.

'Well, that's new.'

Amber stared down at her scratches. Bianka sighed. She assured Amber she knew Trip and whatever he said wasn't personal. He was depressed.

'Amber!'

Bianka shook her arm. 'Bathroom break!'

Amber found her hands trembling as she unfurled the paper ball. It was Trip's letter from Frankie. He must have kept it in his pocket. On the back, he wrote a shaky message in the only ink available: blood.

Toilet pipes are loose. I'll throw pipe. U throw plate + food if needed. Uniforms in cloakroom. Take keys uniforms pokemon RUN

She showed it to Bianka. They both winced at the bloodied paper. Was it worth a try? Amber had no other ideas, other than claiming she could see a Shadow Pokémon and trying to overpower whoever came for her, or asking Mayson to bring Trip back and running while the cell door was open, but she knew Mayson had a strong Unfezant. He was nice because she was amenable. His attitude would change if he discovered she was planning to escape.

Draven's toilet pipe was loose, too. While the guards changed and chatted to their friends in the cloakroom, during their bathroom and snack breaks, Trip spent three days hastily – yet painfully slowly – teaching him how to throw. If only Amber could take someone on one-on-one with no Pokémon, she was sure she could overpower even a bigger man. Jovi taught her martial arts and she used her dad's gym equipment every day. Though her physical strength was fading with her sanity...

***

Parvor won his Boat Badge. Grason and two others finally beat Cail and moved on. People whispered. They asked where their competitors were. A journalist accosted Seth's mom, Rui, in their apartment block's lobby.

'Seth's taking some time out to train.'

Olivia ushered the kids upstairs. Once she was gone, Zane slid back down the bannister. He crouched at the living room door, half-hidden by one of the fake plants, to listen in. It was the International Police's third visit. Jovi joined them. She and Pierre were working together to hack Cipher, but it wasn't going well. Leon sounded angry.

'Look, this is getting ridiculous. Me and Abbey can just go and defeat every last one of–'

'No,' Anabel interrupted, 'You can't. That didn't go well last time and it certainly won't go well this time. We have no idea how strong they are.'