Pokémon BW: whiteflareXblackbolt

19: Plasma Thieves

I rested a while in the Pokemon Center and fed Umbra and Shiny some treats. Then, I decided to go to the Pinwheel Forest.

The forest was vast and pretty dark. There's an easy way and a tricky way, but I want to train my Pokémon, so I went to tricky way. I battled a couple of Rangers and some locals; at the same time, I picked some berries for future use. There were a lot of bug Pokémon and grass Pokémon to battle with in the tall grass and trees. I kept thinking to catch more Pokémon so my team would be stronger. But I'm thinking on catching a cooler Pokémon to add to my team.

"Move!!!!!" somebody said and I was hit harshly on the side. I quickly recovered my balance before I fell on a mossy rock.

"Hey!!" I snarled and saw a Plasma Grunt running away with a Pokémon skull.

The skull looked very familiar. Wait...... its the Pokémon skull from the Nacrene museum! What the heck are they doing with it?!

"Thieves!!" I followed the grunt and some more of his friends through the thick bushes and trunks. "Hey!!"

I ran between trees, tall grass, rocks, and even went inside fallen, hollow tree trunks!!! I can't believe it! Before I know it, I'm as dirty as a Trubbish! My blonde hair was full of twigs and leaves!

We reached a small clearing blocked by thickly-clumped pine trees. I finally caught up with the grunt, who was panting as he carried the skull.

"You can't escape now!" I grinned as I reached for my Poké Ball.

"Ah, you have been followed!" a weird man came out of the trees with the other grunts. He was wearing a robe and a cloak. Unlike the grunt, he seems pretty old, like a grandfather.

"Wait. Who are you?" I removed my Poké Ball from my belt, in case I have to battle him.

"No need to take out your Pokémon," he said. "I am Gorm of the Seven Sages."

"Give the skull back!" I said. I had no idea what kind of gang or elderly group is 'Seven Sages' supposed to be but I was pretty sure they were allies with Team Plasma. "Or I'll use force!" I released Umbra. Though I was outnumbered, I'm pretty sure these grunts were noobs. Gorm is a mystery though.

"No! I'll battle you!" the grunt said as he reached for his own Poké Ball.

"No need to battle," Gorm interrupted. "This skull is what we need to revive the legendary dragon for our King!"

"Stop saying nonsense!" I snarled.

"It is not nonsense, this Pokémon once ruled Unova," Gorm said.

"Um, sir?" a grunt said. "Doesn't the Pokémon.." he whispered some words to Gorm.

Gorm looked surprised then looked at the skull and observed it. Another grunt took out a notebook and showed it to Gorm.

"I see.. so this is not the legendary Pokémon..."

"Of course it's not!" I said. "That skull looks like a Charizard or a Dragonite skull!" I said. I researched about the skeleton in the library and I saw a book about a big, orange Pokémon which was labeled 'Charizard'. It also looks like another Pokémon called 'Dragonite' which is also orange. They were both rare Pokémon in other regions but not Unova.

"...." Gorm was silent, probably shocked.

"Now give it back!" I demanded. I wasn't going to let Team Plasma steal a museum artifact, legendary or not.

"No," he answered. "I shall return it to its real owner!"

"How can I believe you?" I said.

"Fine then. You can watch us until the real owner comes!" the grunt said.

"Deal!" I stand near a tree and waited until someone comes. I did not dare take my eyes off Gorm and his grunts. Will the museum curators come or is Team Plasma bluffing and waiting for reinforcements?

Minutes later, I heard ruffling grass, panting and I saw a shape of someone come near us. It was Black.

I hid behind the tree. You never know. They can accuse you for being with the enemy.

The grunt took the opportunity to send out his Pokémon and battled Black. I knew this isn't on our deal but I know Black can win this anyway. Besides, I'm staying right here in case Gorm decided to break the deal twice.

"Give the skull back!" Black growled.

"Fine. This is not what we are searching for, anyway."

Lenora came out and so is a tall thin man with stylish clothing. They talked to Gorm for a bit and then Gorm and his grunts skedaddle. Black, Lenora and the man talked some more about Team Plasma. I wondered why Team Plasma would steal an artifact and just return it like it was no big deal. A few moments later, Black said goodbye and continued his way out of Pinwheel Forest.

And they didn't even notice me. Ha. My stealth skills must be getting greater!

When I'm sure Black is a bit far off, I went out of my hiding place and followed him.

"Hey, Black!" I shouted, trying to look surprise to see him there.

"Oh! Hey there Gray!" he smiled. "Stalking me again?"

I tried my best to ignore that. "I heard Team Plasma stole an artifact from the museum."

"Well, yeah! Those guys tried to steal the dragon skull but Lenora, Burgh and I chased them down!" he said.

"Is the skull back in place?" I asked, trying to act clueless. Me knowing about it brings suspicion. I have watched lot of detective movies before!

"Yeah! They found out that its not what they were looking for!" he said. "Are you going to Castelia City, too?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Come on, let's go!"