Pokemon Heroes: Sinnoh Saga [Book 1]

Chapter 29: Eterna's Tower

"Team Galactic had been up to their schemes again; but this time we got to understand just what Professor Rowan was talking about when he said that they were capable of horrible things. We've battled a lot of bad people in our travels, but never have we seen people as horrible and twisted as Team Galactic. Their captives were starved; the Pokémon confined to cages and shocked every time they acted up...we knew Professor Rowan only allowed us to break our promises to him that one time in Jubilife City...he didn't know that we continued to try and stop them. He didn't know about the Valley Windworks or the past few days; we hadn't spoken to him since we arrived at Floaroma Town. No, Professor Rowan didn't find out until much later on in our travels. And for so long we wondered what he would have said if we told him before Team Galactic's final defeat...would we still be the heroes?"

Looker led the group quietly around the corner and into the alleyway. They had snuck past the several guards that protected the front entrance and were about to break in through the back door. Rounding the corner, Sam, Jeremy, Alyssandra and Niya fell in close behind the detective.

"All right," whispered Looker as they ducked behind a dumpster, "The coast seems clear, so we're going to sneak out from behind this thing. I'll crack the lock and we'll head inside. Once there we'll split up into groups of two, leaving me to go alone. We'll try to free who we can along the way—let them escape and then move towards the command Centre. If we're lucky we can stop some of the higher ups before they escape and arrest them. Understood?"

Everyone nodded, not daring to speak lest a guard hear their voices.

Looker understood their silence and gave a small motion with his fingers to instruct the group that they were going to ambush whoever was there, quickly, and quietly.

Counting down to three, the group jumped from behind the dumpster, and everyone let out a scream as they noticed—not a grunt—but a young girl, younger than Sam, Niya, Alyssandra and Jeremy, with short red hair and clothes best fit for gardening.

Looker placed his hands on as many mouths of possible, and the red-haired girl soon followed suit.

"Who are you?" hissed Sam, "Why is she here? She's just a kid."

"So are we," added Niya quickly, "Besides who are you to make judgments."

However, Looker did not respond, but only smiled as if he knew something the group didn't, though granted he probably did.

Looker was very selective with the information he possessed, to an almost unhelpful extent.

"Calm down. This isn't just any other kid," laughed Looker, "This is the local Gym Leader, Gardenia."

Sam scanned over the girl, realizing that she was his next opponent on the path to the Pokémon League. She didn't seem like something to be afraid of, but if there was something Sam learned recently, it's that looks don't always define something's strength, and things aren't always what they seem.

"Well, I guess it's nice to meet you then," said Sam slowly, extending his hand to shake.

Gardenia ignored his hand. "No time for formalities," she said simply, "But it is nice to finally see that Trainer that Roark told me so much about."

"Wait, Roark spoke of me?" asked Sam with surprise.

Gardenia smiled, her orange eyes looking Sam over. "Of course," she giggled, "We Gym Leader's talk, you know. I hope you're as prodigal as he made you sound, otherwise our battle later on is going to be very boring."

Sam smiled at the challenge. "I assure you; my tricks weren't all spent on his battle," he said, "I have plenty saved for you."

"Hey, can we keep the conversation to a minimum?" asked Jeremy with an anxious tone, "Looker's getting the door open now."