The Professor's Secret

14. Shalour City

When I got to the window in my room, from where I could watch Sycamore's coat waving in the wind as he walked away from the hotel, I had already decided not to follow his orders – not to coward before the unknown threat of team flare, which my friends were so excited to brave.

And so I didn't...

Route 10 was a curious one. The numberless stones scattered around the tall grass made me think of an abandoned, massive graveyard with its desolate tombs. The scenario was, however, undoubtedly beautiful – and that wasn't only my opinion: the place seemed to attract many tourists. The crowd of excited foreigners walking here and there seemed to be the only thing keeping the remarkable place from outright gloominess... That, and the casual battles: Those photograph enthusiasts seemed all too eager to fight, and their excitement glowed among the mysterious monuments.

But the most curious of all was how I could feel my Pokémon's uneasiness there... Not only mine, in fact: I could swear the creatures from both sides –friend and foe – performed poorly, as if their minds wondered elsewhere...

My share of battles done, It was while relaxing and taking my time in that vast field that I spotted what I soon assumed was one of them – Team Flare. How could I be mistaken, when they dressed so... oddly? A man in a red tuxedo seemed to be leisurely looking around, letting out an impatient sigh here and there.

I had left my friends far behind mingling with the tourists, and decided to take the opportunity to study this guy instead of jumping him like the group would have done, considering he hadn't noticed me there. So I watched him until he decided to take leave, then followed him up a trail that crossed the woods, to the west of route 10.

He was completely alone and untroubled – deaf to even the sound of my clumsy body rustling against the bushes where I hid, changing from one place to the other in a struggle to remain unseen. For a second I considered it might be a trap – he might be purposely luring me away from the group to corner and defeat me like they did Calem in that cave... I pressed my Pokéball in my hand under the thought: Charmeleon's. Sycamore favoritism might have brushed off on me a little, for the quiet lizard was my strongest ally – exceeding the others in battle experience – and I was sure I could not lose once I made him determined enough to give his best (which usually only happened by the end of the battle, when he was close to losing).

The effort proved itself unnecessary – The grunt stopped before a large circle of rocks, facing it intently. What could he want there? I watched, stretching my neck from behind a trunk, and he only stood in front of the stones, as if waiting for something to happen. And what could happen in such place? I felt that same uneasiness engulf me, too...

A loud, unwelcome ringing blew my cover – I hid back behind the tree trunk, only to realize that would never be enough: the Holocaster in my bag kept calling! I half crawled, half ran, crouched, as fast as I could, through the bushes, to a safe distance. Looking out, the grunt didn't have enough time to trace the sound to its source, and seemed to confusedly look for it within himself – his pockets and cellphone.

I slid behind a rock, sitting on the grass and sighing with relief. The call was from Professor Sycamore – his holographic face appeared, as haunting as the original.

"Hi Professor..." I greeted with some dismay.

"Anne, dear! Hi!" He gleefully replied "I have talked to your friends just now, and they told me you ran ahead – yearning to uncover those mega evolutions, are we? In any case..." he followed in a bit of a rush, not giving me enough space to react "...I thought you'd be quite close to Shalour city by now..." The question lurked in his tone and cold, digital eyes.