Pokemon Special: Protector's Code

Chapter Four

“Silver! I found her!” exclaimed Gold, glancing sideways at his partner in triumph.

“I found her,” retorted Silver, letting out a groan of exasperation and dropping his face into his palm. Sneasel tugged his trousers sympathetically, whilst Ataro chuckled with amusement.

“What’s going on?” asked the female trainer, her expression weary and cautious. She didn’t trust them and though Gold had a knack for overlooking these small hints, Silver could see it all too clearly.

She really did look like Crystal, Silver thought. There were obvious differences, such as her lighter, browner hair and her deep amber eyes.  Other than that though, she was identical to her twin, or at least as far as the eye could see. They both shared the same height, the same slimness in figure, the same wide eyes and same habitually furrowed brows. And of course, the biggest similarity was their choice in hairstyle, perfectly parted twin tails. While Crystal often wore a small yellow cap, Amber didn’t where one, and this wasn’t the only difference in fashion.

As far as Silver could see, both the sisters had completely different tastes in clothing, despite the fact that they clearly wore for comfort and mobility. Amber wore a simple outfit comprised with black slacks and a white-buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled to her elbows. Around the shirt’s neckline, she had a thin leather tie in a loose knot under an amber stone necklace with golden wings hanging from a long golden chain.

“Well, you’re Chris’s sister right?” asked Gold.

Amber started at the mention of the name and nodded, with an even more guarded expression. Her response puzzled Silver. Shouldn’t she be more eager?

“Alrighty then,” said Gold enthusiastically, clearly overlooking her expressions again. “Well you know that she’s a pokédex holder right?”

“A poké-what?” frowned Amber, her eyes darkening with suspicion. This answer finally caught Gold by surprise and he glanced over at Silver with unease.

“A pokédex holder,” explained Silver. “Professor Oak recruits trainers with potential and gives them a pokédex to help him gather information on Pokémon in the wild. Me and this guy have one too.” He held up his pokédex and motioned for Gold to do the same.

“So you’re saying Crystal is a pokédex holder too?” she asked, her expression unchanged as she glanced over at the red gadgets. They both nodded and she crossed her arms. “What does that have to do with me?”

It wasn’t like they were doing anything wrong, but both Gold and Silver felt discomfort under her cold stare. Wasn’t this meant to be an easy task? Give the recruit the pokédex and leave. What was her problem anyway?

“The Professor needs a new trainer to gather information for him and Crystal suggested you as a possible candidate,” continued Silver slowly. “She said you encounter Pokémon on a daily basis, so the task shouldn’t be so much of a problem for you.”

There was a long silence that dragged on for eternity. Gold constantly shifted his weight, his expression clearly baffled by the strange turn in events.

“Crystal,” she finally said shortly. “She’s a trainer that specializes in capturing Pokémon. In terms of getting information on Pokémon, she’s the best. Plus she’s devoted to her work. Why are you asking for me?”

“Well, she already caught every Pokémon in the Kanto and Johto region,” explained Silver. “So the Professor decided to give her a break.”

“And you need a replacement,” finished Amber, her tone dark and bitter. “And the best replacement would of course be her twin sister.”