Pokémon Obsidian | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 19: Road Trip

Aiko called Holly, Laila and Wisteria to the lab. They left their devices outside to sit on the floor of her office.

It was the first time any of them had met Yan. Holly was so used to hearing Aiko's praises, she felt like she was meeting a celebrity. She imagined him as arrogant, because he inherited Maxie's habit of calling himself 'the great Yan,' but he looked a little self-conscious. Zileh relayed everything they discussed so far.

'By the way, Holly,' Jovi said, 'Has your dad said anything? Now Fateen's gone, he's the only person we can really rely on for fortune-telling.'

'He did say a while back – like, six months ago – that he had a feeling something bad was going to happen. And he's been kind of moody in general, but you know he's like that anyway. He has terrible anxiety. It's hard to tell if it's really a premonition or just him being him. I've felt this sense of impending doom, for what it's worth.'

'Well... I'd say neither of you are imagining things.'

'So,' Zileh continued, 'We can be 99.9% sure that XD008 is Celebi, who was summoned either by a descendant of Eagun, or someone with access to a Time Flute. According to the International Police's records, the current guardians of Time Flutes are Dirk O'Reilly, Seth Vincent and the Pokémon HQ Lab.'

'The flute is most likely. Celebi won't appear just because someone is a descendant of Eagun – especially not if their intentions are bad. It needs a damn good reason.'

'But, Mom,' Wisteria replied, 'Ditto won't spend seven years as Ardos for just anyone, will it?'

'Gosh... have I missed something? Was it really seven years?'

'Oh, yeah. Kazuki hacked the records. A guard got Sleep Powdered and taken to hospital, but at the same time as he was there saying he was worried about missing his shift, he left work because he was vomiting. Then he went back. That has to be when Ardos escaped, right?'

'It must be. But yeah, you're right. That poor Ditto must've really trusted its Trainer. Still, I'm sure it's easier to lie to a Ditto than to Celebi.'

Yan studied the family tree. 'I must ask you, once again, to forgive my ignorance. I have no idea who Seth Vincent is, or how old he is, but he is a descendant of Eagun and you say he protects a Time Flute.'

'He definitely isn't responsible.'

'What about this child? Horace Vincent?'

'Horace is very weird,' Holly replied, 'Like his grandpa Cail. But I'm pretty sure he's been busy conning people into Impidimp Ready Dinner subscriptions whenever GoD has been out and about.'

'Ah! That is something I have heard of. In fact, I only escaped a subscription from a yellow-haired boy on my first visit to Pyrite Town when he found they do not deliver to Hoenn.'

'That's Horace, alright.'

'Is Horace a science-y guy?' Zileh asked, 'GoD, whoever he is, is capable of personally producing Shadow Pokémon.'

'I think that's like asking if Cail was ever an International Science Prize nominee. But he can hack. Not like Aiko, but he can.'

'Anyway, like I said, my priority right now isn't taking Cipher down. It's finding Reira and our Pokémon. Stella says the lair can be reached through the Carkol Mine, which is no longer actually a mine. It's just a Cipher hole. Leroy also told her about an "underground Orre" when he tried to get her to join Cipher.'

'So...'

Laila grimaced. 'He locked her up because she wouldn't join? For a guy so proud of his "Moore Industries," he sure is a textbook Cipher member.'