"There, Dragonite, the city's just down below now."
Atop the back of the orange scaled dragon, I decided to head back to where my journey in this region started. Canalave City was sat just beneath the cloud line on the mainland's coast below where we were up in the sky. Dragonite changed her flight path quickly, landing just outside of the main city.
The sun had just past its peak, the clear afternoon sky covering the canal city. Dragonite was walking by my side but before we even stepped foot into the city, a crowd of people had gathered around us, blocking off the rest of the city from where we were stood.
They all seemed to be fixated on the two of us and as we looked around, I recognised most of the people to be pokemon trainers, somewhat experienced ones at that. Dragonite looked to me uncertainly but I was also confused at why we had suddenly attracted a crowd.
"There they are! It's Aaron from the news!" Numerous people called out to us from all around where we were stood.
Of course, I didn't know what they were talking about but the more I analysed the situation, the more I realised it was unfavourable for us. My eyes scanned our surroundings but there was no immediate escape for us.
"Yeah! He can't take us all on! We'll take him down here!" Once again, more voices rang out from around us.
Now the situation was becoming more clear, these trainers were only fixed on us and they clearly weren't on our side for whatever reason. I reached for a pokeball just as the surrounding trainers called out their pokemon.
"Dragapult use phantom force to get us out of here."
The stealth pokemon emerged from his pokeball, creating a small purple swirling mist just ahead of us. Each of the surrounding pokemon made their move but the shadowy portal opened up allowing us to escape before anyone could get their hands on us.
On the other side, the shadowy portal opened up behind the pokemon center. I stepped out with the two dragons, both looking as confused as I was. From what I could see and hear, the city seemed to be on high alert for me after my sudden disappearance. I thought for a moment, deciding the best course of action before making my next move.
"Alright, Dragonite return for now." The orange dragon nodded as she returned to her pokeball, leaving Dragapult by my side.
"Aegislash, I'll need your help too." In a flash, the royal sword pokemon emerged from his pokeball, a calm expression in his eye. I turned to the two ghost pokemon before continuing, "I'm gonna need your help to get through this city unnoticed. You two already know what to do, so let's get going."
Both ghost pokemon nodded excitedly, vanishing into the air before me. Before I could blink, I felt an unfamiliar wave of energy wash over me. I looked down to my hands, seeing that they were still there before looking up to see the two ghost pokemon floating above the grassy floor before me.
It didn't take me long to work out what had happened, the three of us making our way toward the busy city. As we turned the corner, all of the streets were filled with people who were attentively searching the area, presumably for me and my pokemon.
The first stop was the pokemon center. If there was anywhere that would tell us what was going on, then the building we were stood next to would tell us just that. The three of us turned to the entrance, stood in front of the sliding glass doors.
I took one step forward, the automatic doors sliding open causing everyone inside the pokemon center to turn to where I was stood. I froze, unsure if they were all looking at me but two trainers walked through my permeated body, stepping into the pokemon center.
The three of us let out sighs of relief, our disguises still working effectively. We stepped into the center, surrounded by pokemon trainers who hailed from all sorts of regions, not just Sinnoh.
A fair amount of people were gathered around the television which had been hung on one of the side walls, the international news on screen. Aegislash, Dragapult and I found a comfortable corner to observe from, my eyes fixed on the television.
"And once again, we're calling on all international trainers. These criminals must be bought to justice. Now, we'll cut to the international police department for more on this situation."
I watched on as the newscaster spoke so passionately about bringing criminals to justice. In fact, I felt invigorated enough to go out there and turn in some crooks.
The camera cut to the front of an international police station, a face I immediately recognised onscreen. The man was wearing a long deep brown trench coat, his black hair cut short as he leaned forward to speak into the dozens of microphones at the podium he was stood behind.
"Mister Looker! Over here!"
The detective looked somewhere into the crowd, nodding to someone who wanted to ask a question. "Has there been any word from the international police on how these criminals were allowed to operate uninterrupted for so long?"
Looker turned to the camera, an unsure look in his face. For a moment, I felt as if he was looking directly at me, an understanding expression spread across his face. It was as if he understood the situation but couldn't say what he wanted due to the circumstances.
He turned back to the microphones, leaning slightly forward as he spoke up, "Uh, we haven't released an official statement just yet, but we will release one shortly." The moment he answered the question, dozens more journalists called for him to answer their questions.
"Mister Looker, the public is in outrage seeing that such esteemed trainers are actually criminals and frauds. Is this any indication that they are the real threats to our safety?"
"Uh, well, as you can see these criminals are dangerous in their own right but the return of organisations like Team Rocket and Team Galactic is something we have to pay attention to."
"Mister Looker, over here!" The tall man half rolled his eyes, turning to the next person, "The former leaders of these organisations have pledged to bring these frauds to justice. Surely, pokemon trafficking is something that the international police have to crack down on?"
Looker let out a short sigh, unnoticed by the press as he answered the absurd question, "Yes, we are presently working on bringing every type of criminal to justice, and those that deserve the justice system will be punished as they should."
Before anyone else could ask any more questions, Looker turned away from the podium, nodding discreetly to someone offscreen. Then out of nowhere, the television screen faded to black, the news channel returning focus to the newscaster behind the desk.
"Uh, we're terribly sorry about that, the line lost its signal." After a quick shuffle of the papers on her desk, the newscaster resumed, "Once again, these criminals need to be bought to justice. As promised by the international police, all trainers will be rewarded handsomely for bringing in these frauds who are still at large."
Then, five pictures flashed up on screen. I quickly recognised the five trainers as the supposed international criminals. From left to right, the bounty posters read out;
'Kalos Queen Elaine: Wanted for fraud, pokemon trafficking. Reward: ₱15,000,000'
'Hoenn Champion May: Wanted for embezzlement, bribery. Reward: ₱19,000,000'
'Sinnoh Champion Dawn: Wanted for murder, treason. Reward: ₱19,000,000'
'Kanto/Johto Champion Red: Wanted for pokemon and drug trafficking. Reward: ₱22,000,000'
'Kalos Champion Aaron: Wanted for pokemon trafficking, espionage. Reward: ₱25,000,000'
After reading through all of those ridiculous claims, all I could think about was how they chose such a terrible picture for my wanted poster. I was surprised those trainers from earlier could even recognise who I was but nonetheless, the wine purple hair gave it all away.
It took me a moment to process how much money was being offered for our heads, realising that it was more money than any one trainer could carry. Both Aegislash and Dragapult looked at me, taken back that I was even worth so much. I only returned with a half pissed off look, realising that the people we were up against were using some seriously underhanded tactics to gain an advantage. If anything, this just shows how multiple international terrorist organisations were scared shitless of five kids.
Then again, we weren't any normal kids. The wanted posters said it all, we were some of the strongest trainers of all time. I wasn't particularly worried by this sudden change of events, knowing that we could handle ourselves. Plus, anyone with half a brain already knew that we were innocent.
This just made it seem like we had all taken shortcuts to get to where we are, when in reality, there was no easy way to get to the top. I just hoped the next generation of trainers wouldn't be dissuaded seeing such outlandish claims. The pokemon leagues couldn't die out because some terrorists were scared of falling apart again.
I didn't come to Canalave to see this, knowing that I still had something important to deal with while here. This just added to my list of problems and I wasn't any happier because of it.