Circumstances *OLD VERSION*

Circumstances Part 3

Chapter 3: The Plot Thickens

"Oh dear, where do I start with this?" asked Nurse Joy as she put cups of tea down for everyone and sat on one of the stools opposite Clemont, Ash and Bonnie.

Clemont did his best to settle the unease settling in his stomach.Bonnie sat next to him with her face contorted into a frown. Ash sat on the other side of Bonnie and was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Why not start from the beginning." suggested Clemont.

Nurse Joy nodded.

"Yes, I suppose that would me best. Mind you, I can only tell you what I've been told."

"That's fine, just tell us everything you can." said Clemont. If this had anything to do with what happened to Ash then any information at all would be helpful. This story may shed some light on what occurred, or at the very least provide some sort of clue.

Nurse Joy nodded again.

"Well, Riolu didn't officially have a trainer, but...it has had someone looking after it. About a year ago, a kindly old man named Erwin found an abandoned egg by the riverside. He waited until nightfall but nobody, human or pokemon came to claim it, so he brought it home with him.

"Awww, Poor Riolu." said Bonnie sadly.

"Erwin made sure that the egg was always nice and warm." Nurse Joy continued. "A couple days later it hatched. Erwin welcomed Riolu into his home. He fed it, played with it and treated it as family. Riolu became like a grandchild to him."

Nurse Joy sighed sadly.

"Unfortunately, Erwin suddenly became gravely ill. There was no hope for him. Riolu stayed with him though. Refused to leave his side. Erwin passed away just over a month ago."

"That's terrible." said Clemont, as a wave of intense sadness hit him. He knew all too well what it was like to lose a loved one.

"Yes." said Nurse Joy. "The Nurse Joy of Santulune City brought Riolu to the Pokemon Center. For some reason, Erwin never actually caught Riolu so it was still technically wild, but since it's been around people for the first year of its life, it was too risky to just place it back into the wild. Nurse Joy offered to take Riolu in and although it was grieving, Riolu had seemed willing enough, but acouple days later, Riolu vanished from the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy searched and searched but Riolu was gone. It was like it just disappeared into thin air."

"There was no clue at all?" asked Clemont. It was hard for him to believe anyone could just vanish without leaving some sort of trail.

"Nothing" said Nurse Joy. "Well, actually there is one thing,but it whether it's related to this or not isn't clear. When I looked over the CCTV footage for any leads, there was a moment at about midnight where the images seemed to...cut out. For at least a full minute there was nothing but static. Then the CCTV came back online as if nothing happened. I had it checked, but there was no evidence of any problems"

"That's weird." said Bonnie.

"Have you called Officer Jenny?" asked Clemont.

"Officer Jenny searched the Pokemon Center but there was literally nothing for her to go on." said Nurse Joy. "There were no lead sat all." Nurse Joy stood up. "I should call the Santulune City's Pokemon Center and let Nurse Joy know that Riolu has been found and is safe. Please excuse me." Nurse Joy left the trio alone.

Clemont sighed and lent back, trying to process everything he heard.It was quite mysterious. He tried putting the pieces together, but nothing made any logical sense. Clemont turned to Ash, noting that he hasn't said a word throughout the story and seemed to be staring off in to space. His fingers were clutching his pants and his brow was creased.