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A.G.T.H.H. Episode 27

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A Guide To Her Heart
Episode 27: Riddle Me This!

Drew's eyes lazily followed the round-and-round motion of Violet's black and yellow sneakers as they pedaled the bike in front of him.  His irises had faded to a dull green as he watched, his auto-piloted muscles the only thing continuing to motor him forward. Although they might not be visible, he could feel bags beginning to form under his lids from lack of sleep last night. Now he was starting to regret not having had enough gal to climb into bed with Violet, if only to have gotten some rest.  His hazy mind tried to decode what exactly prevented him from sleeping next to her, but his memory was as foggy as his noncaring vision.

The bike set that Shadow and Drew had won yesterday had been a Mach and Acro bike combo, and Violet (being the impatient person she is) darted straight for the free-flying Mach bike as soon as they had stepped out of the Poke'mon Center's doors this morning, and lost-in-his-thoughts Drew was conformed to the technical Acro.  Now the pair were working their way south on cycling road, an elevated bridge that clouded over the landscape between generator-powered Mauville and the seashore Slateport.  

Drew glanced down at the land beneath them as he followed a non-needing-attention line behind Violet.  The landscape was gentle grassland, dotted with clumps of taller blades, and the slight taint of salty air could be tasted in the distance.  

The smaller chain of Violet's Mach bike let her blitz ahead of Drew at boundless energetic speed.  The green-eyed Coordinator blinked into some soft sense of reality just enough to realize his companion had scooted farther up, and he forced himself to speed up just to catch up enough to clearly see the circling of her tires.

"Whooooooooo!" Violet screamed out as her long locks fluffed out behind her, an awkwardly large grin on her face.  It almost appeared as if last night's events had been erased from her memory.  A slight twitch of annoyance flickered in Drew's temple and he hurried up closer to her.

"Slow down," he grumbled, glancing sideways at her.  The mauve-haired girl's reply was a giggle.

"But going fast is fun!" she cooed and whipped ahead.  A grunt of dissatisfaction burst from Drew's lips as he rolled his eyes and pushed after her.  Both his bike and his energy wouldn't let him keep up with her however, so he settled for watching her in the distant background as she excitedly raced down Cycling Road.  They carried on this way for a while, even too the point of allowing Drew to slip back into his dazed state where he could ride and retreat into his thoughts at the same time.  Luckily enough, his head just happened to be up at the right time for him to see a small dot growing in the more distant trails of the Cycling Road. He was thrown into consciousness, eyeing what he discovered to be a few approaching bikers.  Two of them skidded to a stop in front of Violet, forcing her to slam on breaks. "What's up, guys?" Drew heard Violet asking good-naturedly as she looked around at them. A twinge of worry caught in his breath, and he hurried to catch up to his girlfriend. Another guy fell in behind her, cutting her off from the rest of the road so she was only flanked by the open-air of the Cycling Road bridge. This left one leather-clad rider to approach her from the other side, a Rayquaza tattoo and a snicker on his face.

"What'cha doin' ridin' down Cyclin' Road yer self, 'lil lady?" he cooed, revving his engine.

"She's not," Drew said loudly and quickly as he approached the group of bikes and stopped on a dime, sliding the bike sideways. The bikers looked up at him.

"Ooh, look-y here, boys," chuckled the evident leader. "She's got 'erself a boyfrien'." The other bikers laughed as if the great lump had told a funny joke. "Say," he went on, looking back to Violet. "What'cha got on ya?" His eyes flicked over her bike and other belongings like there might be some hidden gem amongst them.

"Nothing you would be interested in, I'm sure," Drew exclaimed firmly, his eyes narrowing. The head biker's face jerked towards him and seemed to turn to stone.

"Wel' I think I'll jus' take a look anyway," the thug grumbled, swinging off his bike and taking a step towards Violet. Drew immediately started his bike forward to cut the roughneck off, but two of the others were already on him. They revved their motorbikes loudly and rushed at him. He winced and turned sharply, bulleting off the other way. The bikers were faster, and their engines seemed to roar as they caught up to him. He was sure the heat on his back was coming from their motorbikes. Then, he slammed to a stop and they slid past him. His swift Acro bike reared up and turned around, letting him shoot back towards Violet.

The female Coordinator eyed the head goon with fear and contempt. She leaned off her bike, a foot on the ground, and reached for a poke'ball at her hip.

"Uh-uh!" laughed one of them, snapping a whip through the air and hitting her hand with a loud 'pop' sound. A screech rang from her lips as she grabbed her hand and clutched it to her chest. The gang leader stepped forward, chortling, and wrapped a huge hand around her arm; his burly, hairy arms could pull her around like a rag doll.

"Drew!" she wailed. The boy looked up and pulled to a stop, eyes on her assaulter. He glared lasers and went for one of the capsules at his waist, eyeing the other bikers that began to fall in around him. He twitched his arm muscle, as if it were about to move, and heard the whistle of metal whizzing through the air as one of them whipped a chain at him. His technical bike swerved on a dime and he tossed the poke'ball into the air after the chain had already been cast past him.

"Roselia!" he cried, pushing past them in the flash of bright light, which when cleared left the little rose-bearing diva in the middle of their circle. "Petal dance!"

"Rosssrrrr!" it sang as it twirled and a plume of pink erupted around them and Drew heard cries of frustration, anger, and a few of pain from Roselia's sharp petals. He shot towards Violet and her attacker, bull-dozing at the leather-clad man with the dragon coiled across his cheek. A grunt came from the roughneck's mouth as he looked up and growled, turning to face Drew. That's when a glint flashed out of the corner of Drew's eye.

Violet, a scared look written all across her face, felt a strange material snap over her mouth and wrap around her body. Her eyes flew wide and with a sickening jerk, she was yanked backwards, whisked off the bridge. Drew's breath flung from his body and his bike stopped in an instant. She had zoomed off too fast for him to even follow where she had went. A sudden force like a Tauros hit him head-on, throwing him off his bicycle. His backside met the asphalt with a painful 'thud' and he grimaced, looking up at the thug that loomed over him. A gross chuckle followed as another pulled up to his side, whipping his chain towards him. Drew threw his hand up in front of his face and gasped in pain as it struck his hand, then swung around it. Instinctively, he grabbed and pulled. Caught off guard, the biker shrieked and wobbled off his bike as the makeshift weapon was snatched clear out of his hand. The gang leader gave Drew a surprised look for just a moment before lunging forward. The green-haired boy jumped to his feet and whipped the chain forward across the giant man's face. He growled angrily and swatted at it like it was bug, but by the time he paid attention Drew had already darted to the side of the bridge and jumped. He approached the ground quicker than he thought and, taking a deep breath, hit the grass, rolling forward. When he stopped he had actually managed to make to his knees again, and turned to see Roselia leaping down to meet him, landing gracefully as always. The bikers above hissed at him angrily, shaking their over-sized fists as they yelled "Stupid kids!" and clambered back onto their bikes before speeding off. Drew stood, letting out a deep breath, and brushed himself off, then quickly found himself looking frantically amongst the tall grass for a blur of purple hair.

"Violet?!" he called, turning to look at every possible angle. The only thing around other than the waist-high greenery and Cycling Road overhead was a rather large house. The front looked relatively normal, made of simple brick, but the rest appeared as if it had been added on some time later, looking much like an old warehouse. He starred at it suspiciously before making his way forward, muttering a "Come on, Roselia" as he did.
He racked his knuckles against the front door and waited, but when he received no answer he glared at the door and reached for the knob. He jiggled it once; locked.

"Of course it is," he growled under his breath as he took a few steps back. Nodding to his Roselia, he charged forward and slammed himself against the door. After a few tackles from him and his Poke'mon, the door snapped open and swung violently back and forth on its hinge.  He blinked at first, almost as if he was surprised that it had worked, and stepped inside. The room was simple: just a small wooden table with a tablecloth, a chair, a cabinet stand to the far right, a few decorative plants, and another door in the back with a white sheet of paper slapped across it.

The trickmaster isn't home right now, but I am commandeering from the back room. Make your way through the puzzle room to claim your prize!
The note was signed "T.M. Jr."

"The trickmaster's son, no doubt," Drew thought outloud, agitated. He had heard of the famous 'trick house' on the route between Mauville and Slateport, but he had never visited. Apparently it was a side-show attraction for traveling trainers, a chance to test their wit in a puzzle room in order to obtain a prize in the back if they made it through. It was normally run by the trickmaster, a middle-aged man with a really bad sense of humor, but apparently he was away for some reason or another, and his son was filling in. "But why would he kidnap Violet?" the green-haired boy asked himself as he flung the back door open and stepped into what appeared to be the warehouse he had seen from outside.  

The door seemed to swing automatically shut behind him. There were warehouse walls extending out on either side behind him,  but boxing him around the front were what appeared to be thick, glass walls - mirrors.  Drew's eyes went up. The walls went all the way up to the ceiling. An aggravated frustration coursed through him. He didn't have time for this! He was about to call out Flygon to smash through the glass when he took a step forward and his foot sank into the floor as he clicking sound rang in his ears.

"Rosssrrr?" hummed his Roselia, turning about in curiosity. He looked down, surprised to see a pressed, foot-by-foot square switch beneath his shoe. There was another 'click' in the air and the glass wall in front of him creaked and slipped down into a trap door, opening a walkway of mirrors that veered in both directions. The Coordinator exchanged a look with his Poke'mon before veering left down the hallway of his reflections. He followed the pathway, turning this way and that, his head spinning from barely being able to see the actual walkway. When he reached the end of the hallway, he hardly realized it and walked straight into mirror. He growled softly, rubbing his forehead.

"There's got to be a switch around here somewhere," he thought outloud. "Look around, Roselia."

"Rosr," the rose-bearing grass-type nodded curtly and the two began stepping over every tile they could find, finally making their way back towards the original fork in the mirror way from the door, and then heading down the other hallway. It wasn't until they reached what seemed to be another dead-end (Drew's eyes were more alert now for where walls began and ended, but the effort made his head pulse behind his sockets) that Roselia trotted over a switch that clicked, and they heard the sound of wall sliding into the ground.

Drew knew a new passageway had opened, but where he wasn't entirely sure. It took a while for Roselia and him to make their way back through the hall of mirrors to find where an opening had been made. Come to find that this opening merely led a decent size "room" (walled in mirrors of course) that seemingly had no exits in it. They spent another great deal of time searching for another switch, only to hit one that (by the sounds of it) opened a mirror wall in the passageway behind  them. Drew growled loudly in contempt, impatiently running his hands through his hair and sighing. This was taking way too long. By the time they found their way out of the "room", back into the old passageway, and through the new opening, it felt like every bit of half an hour had passed. Upon the running into the next dead-end, Drew had finally had enough.

"That's it..." he sighed, feeling his temple twitching with tension as he pulled Roselia's poke'ball from his belt. "Return, Roselia," he muttered and the grass-type gave him a slightly confused look before disappearing in a blink of red light. He snapped the capsule back onto his waist before switching it for another and tossing it, slightly less gently than necessary, his frustration displayed in the toss. "Flygon!" he declared. "Smash through these mirrors!"

"Rrreeeiiyyyggh!" whinnied the dragon as it appeared in a flash of white light. It lurched forward, hovering only slightly with its strongly beating wings, and snapping its lean body around as its tail whipped through three mirror walls, busting them into a combustible array of broken glass. Drew threw his arms up, stepping behind his dragon, and felt the stinging wind of the shards flying past him, then peeked up past the green scales in front of him. "Rreeiigh.." it hummed softly over its shoulder, turning to look at its owner with its long neck, a fierce gleam in its eye - as if to ask what they were waiting for. Just then, Drew noticed a slight movement on the other side of what had been a mirror wall. Blinking a few times, he shrugged past Flygon and looked ahead intently. Beyond what had been a mirror stood a young man. He was of a rather small build, but only an inch or so shorter than Drew, and had platinum-white hair that Drew guessed to be around shoulder-length; it would've been easier to tell if the boy didn't have it up in a short, almost bushy ponytail.  Above his forehead sat wide, red-rimmed goggles that wrapped behind his head beneath his hair, the eyes they normally covered a gentle cerulean blue. He wore a red vest on top of a black shirt and cargo pants with various pockets and belts here and there. His arms too were thrown up to protect himself from the explosion of glass, and Drew noticed rather expensive-looking red fingerless gloves on his hands with a strangely mechanical look to them.

"What the - " he grunted, looking up with a somewhat disheveled expression, before blinking up in surprise at Flygon.

"I didn't know anyone else was in here," Drew murmured in an almost apologetic tone. Had he been in a better mood, it might've been sincere.

"It's fine..." the boy said slowly, trying to cast his glance away as if he didn't care. It wasn't working. "You shouldn't go around blasting through the mirrors though." His tone held a trace of scolding, but there was some gentleness behind it that prevented Drew from taking him seriously.

"I don't have time to work my way through this stupid maze!" the green-haired boy retorted in a matter-of-fact tone. "I'm in a bit of a hurry."  The other boy blinked once, as if he held some hidden concern, and waited curiously and patiently. He obviously expected an explanation. "The trickmaster's son kidnapped my .." Thoughts of Violet rushed into his head and his heart seemed to tug painfully on something in his throat. A shiver shot through him as he remembered last night in the Poke'mon Center when she had curled up next to him. His skin where she had been got hot and he found himself biting his lip, experiencing that recurring feeling of wanting to jump away. "...my girlfriend..." he finished finally, after realizing the boy had been looking at him intently.

"That doesn't sound like something that guy would do... Sure he's a little weird, but kidnapping?"

Drew shrugged at him; he didn't really care and honestly this boy was starting to waste his time. He made a point to turn away but the white-haired young man took a step forward.

"Maybe we could help each other?" he asked quickly. Drew did a double take and looked curiously at the boy. Just how could he help him? "I'm trying to get to the back room too," he went on. "And I'll battle any of the Instigators we encounter on the way."

"Instigators?" Drew repeated, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Oh, right," the boy said like he was remembering something and fell back. "This is your first trick house challenge.... There are other trainers back here trying to finish the challenge, but there are also trainers hired by the trickmaster to try and slow you down that won't let you pass until you battle. Those are the Instigators." Drew nodded in a 'go on' fashion. "If we run into any," the boy added. "I can fight them while you go on. Besides, two people looking for switches and doors will be quicker." Drew let out a loud groan. Truth be told, he rather just blast his way through the mirrors, but if there were other people and Poke'mon in here, then he really shouldn't.

"Fine," he growled and returned Flygon to its poke'ball.

"My name is Eli," the white-haired boy said softly as they started looking for switches along the floor. "And you're...." He paused for a moment, as if he was trying to remember something in the deep background of his memory. "...Drew...right?" The Coordinator blinked.

"Are you a fan or something?" Drew asked with an annoyed, forced smirk.

"Not really," Eli chuckled quietly. "I've heard of you though. I'm heading to the National Grand Festival as well." Drew's eyes twitched slightly.

"So you're a Coordinator?" he pushed.

"Oh, no," the boy replied quickly. "I'm just going to meet a friend." At being told they were traveling in the same direction, Drew's mind quickly gave a lurch.

Don't say it... Don't say it...

"Hey, after we rescue your girlfriend, we should just travel to Slateport together...?!" exclaimed Eli in a generally good-natured tone.  Drew flinched. He said it. With a groan, he rolled his eyes and gave no answer.








Violet struggled helplessly against what she had discovered to be thick, vine-like appendages, glaring at the trap and twisting and turning in hopes of seeing her attacker.

"Tangrowth!" came the scolding declare. She blinked her bright eyes forward to see a young man, perhaps in his early 20's at the most, glowering with his hands on his hips. He had greasy black, almost blue, hair that looked like it was trying to fall over his eyes and he wore obnoxiously large and round, black-ripped glasses that were tapped together in the middle. Prickly hair clung around his chin and his pants, shirt, and thin-looking jacket had a strange slimy look to them.

"Taaane, tane..." crooned the large bundle of vines behind Violet. She leaned back to peer up at it, seeing its sadly narrowed eyes in the depths of the plants.  A mumbling sound squeaked out of her mouth as she tried to speak behind the vines that were wrapped around her mouth.

"Oh geez, Tangrowth! Let her go!" the young man ordered, pushing and pulling at his Poke'mon's tendrils. It made a whining sound and unwound the purple-haired girl from its clutches. "I'm so sorry for my Tangrowth," the blue-black-headed man said with a frown. "He has a bad habit of picking up people off the Cycling Road." He once again turned to glare at his grass-type, to which the thing flinched back as if it weren't the 6 ft tall one in the relationship. Violet blinked once, then beamed as she realized the situation wasn't dire at all.

"It's fine," she grinned. "Just surprised me, 's all! I'm Violet!" The young man smiled at her and gave a cute bow.

"I'm trickmaster jr," he said slowly, seeming to expect the giggles that he received from her. "Buuuuuuut... You can call me Terry," the young trickmaster added quickly with an awkward smile as if he had experienced this situation once before already.

"What is this place?" Violet asked, her mouth making its curious 'o' shape as she looked around and realized that she was in a cozy, little room with a table (with a cute table cloth), some chairs, cabinets, a few other pieces of furniture, and a few doors leading elsewhere.

"Oh," Terry muttered. "It's the Trick House." Violet only tilted her head in response. "Trainers come here to see if they can get through the puzzle rooms my dad designs," he explained.

"Ooooh," she cooed as if it suddenly made sense, then let out a giggle. "That sounds like fun!" Terry gestured politely to a seat for her to take it before sitting down himself across the table, his Tangrowth sulking in the corner.

"Eh," he grunted, shrugging. "This is more of my dad's thing. I'm not really into it.  I'm just holding down the fort while he's away on his trip to the Sinnoh region." There was a silence for a while, as if neither knew what to say. The only thing that could be heard was the guilt-ridden groans of Tangrowth in the background. "Soooo... What were you doing on Cycling Road anyway?" he asked.

"Oh," Violet squeaked as if suddenly remembering. "My boyfriend and I are on our way to Slateport City for the National Grand Festival!" She beamed widely at him. "But then we were attacked by a group of bikers... and that's when Tangrowth grabbed me." Her peach-like face turned to the large grass-type. "I guess he kinda saved me!"

"Taaaangroooowth!" it exclaimed happily, quickly nodding it's head and happily flailing it's vinery. Terry rose an eyebrow and gave his Poke'mon a wary glance like he wasn't sure whether or not to believe it.

"Well..." he said after a pause. "I'm glad you're alright." Then his eyes twitched and got slightly wider. "What about your boyfriend?" Violet's gaze widened as well, her face appearing to quiver.

"Oh no!"

"Hang on," Terry cut her off before she could get too upset. "I'm sure he's fine. In fact, he's probably looking for you right now." This seemed to calm her down slightly, but the frown remained on her lips.

"Well... That does sound like Drew..." She giggled softly, then flashed a half-smile. Terry returned it.

"Can I get you anything...?" he offered politely, standing up.









"Finally!" Eli exclaimed as they found the newest opening in the mirror wall and stepped through the pathway, Drew right behind him.  The white-haired boy stopped for a moment to check his surroundings but Drew kept right on walking.

"This is taking too long..." he grumbled, scanning the floor for any signs of a new switch. He heard Eli sigh behind him.

"Are you always in such a foul mood?" he mumbled, and Drew could imagine the boy rolling his cerulean eyes. He almost couldn't help but feel amused by how much he was obviously getting on the boy's nerves. He gave no answer, but merely shrugged, and kept on walking as Eli caught up to his pace. The two veered the nearest corner, not expecting the blast of flames that spurted up in front of their faces.

"Whoa!" Eli shouted as both of them stumbled back a step, throwing their arms up in front of their faces. Startled from the flames, Drew gulped and then did a double take. Starring back at him with poised artillery was a snickering Magmortar. "Yikes..." the trainer next to him muttered, narrowing his gaze on the Poke'mon now. "What gives?" Magmortar took a step back to reveal a tall man, slightly on the cubby side, with curly hair and an over-sized t-shirt. Glasses set all the way up his nose, glinting with the light reflected by the mirror's around him so it was almost impossible to see through to his eyes. Standing beside him was a Blaziken, its wrists blazing with fire.

"Hello, challengers," the man grinned in an awkwardly high voice. "Prepare to battle, if you want to get through." Drew felt Eli tense next to him.

"This is an Instigator?" the Coordinator asked, casting him a sideways glance. The boy nodded.

"Go on ahead. I'll take care of this guy," he replied, tightening the gloves securely on his hands. Drew flashed him a curt, almost grateful, and ran ahead as he heard Eli groan behind him. "Fire types... Why does it always have to be fire types... Rai, Jaden, I need you!" He flexed his hands and the palms of his gloves popped open as a poke'ball appeared in either of his hands, seemingly out of no where, and he tossed them into the air as two flashes of white light revealed a Lucario and a Scizor. Rai, the Lucario, somersaulted into the air and knelt skillfully on the ground, peering up with fierce eyes as its appendages on either side of its narrow head flared up. Meanwhile, Jaden zipped overhead and hovered above the fire Poke'mon, the beat of its wings like a buzz-saw.

"Sciz!" Jaden hummed, looking down at its ally.

"'cario," grunted Rai, nodding quickly as the two of them dove into battle.

"Steel types..." Drew realized as he ducked behind a corner of the mirror wall and paused, checking back over his shoulder to make sure Eli's Poke'mon had the Instigator and his Poke'mon sufficiently distracted. Sure enough, he was free to run ahead as he pleased, but his eyes grazed over the battle scene one more time. Magmortar had let out a huge fire ball from its cannon, but both steel types were way to quick. Jaden zoomed overhead out of range and began letting down a barrage of air slash attacks while Rai leapt to the side, only to be intercepted by Blaziken and the two wrapped themselves up in blinding hand-to-hand combat. The unrelenting shelling from Eli's Scizor didn't seem to be affecting the fire type tank who kept shooting up jets of fire into the air that Jaden had to stop attacking long enough to zip around. The Lucario, who was sliding back from a blow from the Blaziken like it was nothing, looked up to get a face full of a flamethrower and threw its paws up. Drew grimaced as he looked on. Eli looked confident enough in his Poke'mon... but still...

He shook the thought away and turned to take another step, but something pulled him back as he heard the sound of Jaden being shot out of the air by a burst of fire and hitting the ground, sliding backwards into a mirror with a loud crash. He growled and turned on his heel, plucking a poke'ball from his belt.

"Vaporeon!" he called as the white light faded to reveal the aqua-blue Eevee-evolution.

"Ve'!" it squeaked, frills vibrating and tail up as it poised for attack.

"Drew?!" Eli exclaimed. "I thought I told you to get going...?!"

"Use surf!" Drew shouted, pointing towards the fire-types and ignoring Eli's shocked expression.

"Ve'!! ...Nya!" Vaporeon squealed as it summoned a powerful surge of water up around it and barreled towards the unexpecting fire types. The two blinked at the sudden attack.

"Mag..?"

"Blaze..?"

They didn't have another moment to think before the strong surf rushed into them, sweeping them off their feet. The water whipped around the confines of the mirror walls, whirling around, with Vaporeon in the lead, behind Eli's Lucario, picking the jackal Poke'mon up on its crest.

"'cario!" Rai growled as the swell forced it forward and it propelled itself into Blaziken, delivering a round-house kick into the fire-fighting type and slamming it backwards into the Magmortar, leaving both fire types in a dizzy pile beside their trainer when the water level died down. When the water disappeared, Vaporeon was curled around the Lucario's legs, shaking the water whimsically from its frills, blinking as its owner ran up to them.

"Is your Scizor okay?" Drew asked blankly, blinking at the red-armored Poke'mon.

"Fine," Eli muttered, kneeling next to Jaden and resting a gloved hand on its shoulder.

"Scizzz..." it hummed and gave its wings a gentle buzz, its voice confident and burly as if to say, "This is nothing..."

"Thanks," the white-haired boy said slowly, not meeting Drew's gaze. For a moment the Coordinator wondered if the boy was offended by the help, but he let his brain drop the subject. Instead, he let his gaze shift down to his Vaporeon coiled around Rai's paws.

"'carrrrioo..." it murmured down to it, closing its eyes and lifting its paws in front of it in a meditation position as its ear-appendages rose and the Poke'mon telekinetically lifted the water droplets from its fur.

"Ve'!" Vaporeon mewed happily and leapt onto its owner's shoulders. Drew ignored its slight wetness. He turned as Eli returned Jaden to its poke'ball, ready to continue making their way through the mirror maze, when a shuffling in his knapsack behind him made him stop and blink.

"Is your...pack moving...?" Eli inquired, raising an eyebrow. Rai's eyes narrowed and he took a cautious step in front of its trainer. Vaporeon bounded down from his shoulders as he swung the knapsack from his arms and put on the ground, flipping it open. From within its confines, shot a bright light. "Is that...?" the white-haired boy breathed. Some tiny little spark of excitement lit up inside Drew's chest and he pulled the familiar egg case from his knapsack, the egg within it shining bright white as it twitched behind the glass. He sat the case on the ground and immediately lifted the glass from the cushion and picked the poke'ball from the top of it.

"Ve'...?" Vaporeon cooed, taking a step closer to it and sniffing it slowly just as the glowing egg began to change shape. Drew's eyes widened as the shining form morphed into that of an egg to a small fox-like Poke'mon and the bright, white light faded away revealing the baby Vulpix.  Only, when the light cleared, its fur wasn't the gentle cinnamon-color one would expect from a fox Poke'mon, but rather, a blazing gold, like a new earring, and glitter like stardust laced the top layer of its fur, brimming from its single, curly tail.

"That's... That's a shiny!" Eli exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Charles and Carletta are special Poke'mon ....so their offspring will be special!" the daycare lady's words echoed in Drew's mind as he looked down at the baby Vulpix.

"Vul!" it declared, blinking its large, honey-brown eyes up at Drew. "Vul...!" He couldn't help it when the corners of his mouth tugged upward into a smile and he picked the baby Poke'mon up in his arms. "Vul!" it squeaked again and hid its nose against his chest, wrapping its one tail around it, and Drew petted its incredible soft, glowing fur.

"The egg must've reacted to the heat of the fire attacks..." he thought outloud, looking at the other Poke'mon owner. Eli blinked, still starring enviously at the baby shiny Vulpix, and nodded, then blinked again but this time with a different expression. Drew cast him a weird, curious glance. "Wait... I've got an idea..." The Coordinator rose an eyebrow. "Vulpix are born knowing how to breathe fire, right?" Drew gave him an "I guess so" look as he shrugged, still petting his new Poke'mon. Meanwhile his Vaporeon found its way back up his shoulders and looked past his ear, peering at the baby. "Have you ever seen glass heat up so much that it explodes?" Eli asked with a grin. Groaning, Drew rolled his eyes.

"Just get to the point..." he sighed, recognizing the growing excitement in the trainer's eyes. Apparently he got a rush from science-stuff like that...

"If Vulpix can heat up the glass quickly, and then Vaporeon cools off right before it explodes -"

"It'll shrink!" Drew exclaimed, cutting the boy off.

"And then we can get by," Eli beamed,  folding his arms proudly. The green-haired Coordinator blinked his eyes, impressed. He had to admit, it was a decent idea.

"Alright, we'll try it." He patted the newly born Vulpix on the head and sat it down. Vaporeon scurried, following it down to the ground.

"Vul..!" it squeaked as it got to its paws and wobbled a moment but after some help from Vaporeon, it was walking on its own four feet without difficulty.

"Vulpix, can you heat that glass wall up?" Drew asked, looking down to his little Poke'mon as they neared the glass wall. It blinked its cute, wide eyes and sniffed its reflection, then yawned and let out a jet of flame that quickly extinguished itself as it snapped its jaws shut. Drew blinked in what shouldn't have been surprise, but he felt a little of it anyway despite knowing all Vulpix were born with a flame inside them.

"Great!" Eli grinned. "Now heat up that wall for us. Nice and hot!" The green-haired Coordinator cast him a sidelong glance that was ignored, then decided to let it slide that the trainer ordered his Poke'mon.

"Vulllll!" Vulpix cried as it let out an inferno from its mouth that waked up to the glass wall like waves on a seashore, turning the glass a burning red. Both boys eyed the glass carefully, not letting themselves blink. Drew could feel the energy from where he stood, and was sure he could feel the glass preparing to explode. Just when he figured it was about to, he opened his mouth to call off the attack, but Eli beat him to it.

"Good, now stop and Vaporeon, cool it off!" he said quickly, taking an anxious step forward. Again, Drew felt himself twitch as the boy commanded his Poke'mon, but he pushed it aside and replaced the feeling with pride as Vulpix cut off the stream of fire immediately and Vaporeon squired a forceful bombardment of cold water. Steam and sizzling erupted into the open air, blinding them. He threw his arms up to hide his eyes from the "smoke", and heard the sickening crackling sound of glass warping.  When the water vapor cleared and Vaporeon called off its water, the boys looked up to see a crippled wall, folded in partially on itself like a dried-up cloth that had been soaked and had been left to dry incorrectly. Drew looked on, almost shocked that it worked.

"Awesome!" Eli exclaimed with more excitement than he should have.

"Now let's try the other side," the Coordinator reminded them all before they could get too excited. They nodded and Vulpix and Vaporeon repeated the process on the adjacent wall, once again shrinking the glass wall. Eli and Drew exchanged a few glances before looking at the gap between the walls, and it was all Drew could do to keep from smirking.

"Sooooo much faster...!"







"Mmmmmmm..!" Violet cooed as she put another piece of fluffy cake into her mouth and swallowed happily. "This is really good! Thank you for the cake! And I'm not the only one who likes it!" She looked down at her feet to see her Poke'mon enjoying their own slices of cake.  "Right, guys?"

"Sneaz," Onyx Ice grunted curtly, not looking all to please but quickly taking another bite so it must be at least somewhat eager.

"Rwarf!"

"Bre'!" barked Dark Thorn and Ghost Ring happily as they each took large mouthfuls of cake.

"....'saul..." White Fang murmured, blinking around - almost as if wary of something, before taking another slow bite. Violet nervously giggled at her Poke'mon before taking another bite herself, to which Terry chuckled fondly at it.

"I'm glad you guys like it," he said. "I'm a much better baker than I am a trickmaster."

"Why don't you just tell your dad that you don't like being a trickmaster....?" Violet asked, tilting her head to the side in that cute way that she does. He looked at her and smiled again, perhaps at the expression.

"I couldn't do that to him..." he muttered in a bittersweet tone. "He loves this stuff.  Besides, it's only for a few more days.  I'll manage."  The mauve-headed girl looked at the young man and frowned before taking another bite.

"Well..." she sighed after she had swallowed. "...if you say so..." She shook her head, making her fluffy hair sway back and forth. "But I would never do something like that that I didn't absolutely love to do..." Terry looked at her without saying anything for a moment.

"Do you love what you do with your Poke'mon?" he asked, resting his chin in his hand and his elbow on the table. The amethyst-eyed girl beamed widely.

"Of course!" He chuckled at her response.

"And what does your boyfriend do...?" he asked, seeming to slip back into a more friendly, less serious conversation topic.

"Oh, he raises Poke'mon too," she replied, then went on. "He's a Coordinator."  

"Does he enjoy it?" the blue-black-haired young man went on, still smiling fondly. Violet sat quiet for a moment, thinking, with her lips puckered in that little 'o' shape as she thought.

"I believe so..." she said finally.  "He seems to love Poke'mon Contests more than anything." At this, Terry blinked.

"Really?" Violet nodded furiously, still smiling.  "What about you?" Then, she stopped, and looked at the young trickmaster curiously.

"What....?"

"He loves Poke'mon Contests more than he loves you....?  Doesn't sound like a very good boyfriend!" He made a playful chortling sound. "I'm kidding! I'm sure you saying that was merely an expression." She looked at him, her expression blank and off in space, as if in another world. "Violet...?" Terry muttered as he leaned forward.

"Oh... Sorry," she squeaked, shaking her head and looking back at him, a smile returning to her little, pink lips. "It's just that I -"  Just then the sound of the door being flung open burst into the room and Violet stood up so fast she almost knocked the table over.  The hackles of her Poke'mon raised and Onyx Ice's claws glinted with a battle-ready stance.

"What on earth?!" Terry gasped as the door was blown open and Drew, Vaporeon and Vulpix at his feet, and Eli, a Lucario behind him, barreled into the room.

"Violet, are you alrigh-" Drew's words stopped short as his gaze fell on her and the cake passed out around them and the Poke'mon. He sparred them a few blinks then growled, feeling his temple twitch. "I thought you were in trouble!" he exclaimed in almost a scolding tone. Violet giggled slightly.

"So did I! Turn's out, it was just Terry's Tangrowth having some fun," she explained, pointing out the young trickmaster's grass type that was still sulking in the corner.

"Terry?" Drew repeated, then folded his arms and let a scowl appear on his face. "Who's Terry?"

"Oh," the young blue-black-haired man muttered, stepping forward and giving a short wave. "Hello there."  Drew gave him an awkward glance but loosened his tense muscles and nodded shortly.  

"This her?" Eli beamed from behind Drew, stepping side ways behind the green-haired boy to see Violet.

"Yeah," Drew muttered lamely with a shrug. "Violet, this is Eli," he went on, not bothering for further introductions.

"She's pretty," the white-haired trainer complimented, looking at Drew good-naturedly.  Both Coordinators let a gentle brush of pink sweep over their cheeks and Violet laughed it off, while Drew shivered at the awkwardness of it and shook it away.

"I've been worri-" he cut himself off as he stormed closer to the mauve-haired girl, keeping a close eye on the Absol whose red eyes stayed narrowed, but then holding himself back. Worried?! He sounded like a fawning mother! His eyes looked up to her and he took a quick, shallow breath. "...worried..." he finished slowly but more calmly.

"Sorry..." Violet mumbled back, not hiding the blush still on her face but looking away slightly nonetheless. The pink along her cheeks seemed to drift towards him like sweet scent and it wrenched around his senses, setting his awareness into a higher gear that made his heart thump ever-so-slightly quicker as he looked at her. This only lasted a moment though before he was washed over with a sudden dreary, heavy feeling when thoughts of last night hit his memory. He remembered pulling away and he gulped, his throat suddenly dry. He couldn't possibly be feeling guilty...?  The thought was pushed away as Violet scooped up his new Vulpix in her arms, crooning over it.

"Aren't you just soooooooo cute?!" she squealed, cuddling it next to her peachy face.

"Vul!" it exclaimed happily, licking her cutely on the cheek.  Drew held back a soft laugh and instead looked fiercely at Eli and Terry who were exchanging nonsense about the trick house itself. Probably about Eli's prize, Drew would guess. But Drew was no where near close to in the mood to listen.

"So how do we get out of here?" he asked lazily, returning Vaporeon to its poke'ball but allowing his girlfriend more cuddle-time with his new Poke'mon.

"I'll show you out," Terry said with a nervous smile and the young trickmaster preceded to show them out through a back hallway that led to the front room that Drew had entered in. After a few short goodbye's and Eli and Terry's discussion of his prize (to which Eli declined since he claimed "he had cheated" on the puzzle room; Drew would have liked to have told him he was being an idiot and would've taken the prize himself, but he wasn't offered), the trio were off.

"It was great to meet you, Violet," Terry beamed, shaking her hand fondly.

"You too, Terry!" she grinned, Vulpix in her free arm, clung tightly to her chest. "Good luck with everything." The two shared another glance and a nod before Drew shooed his girlfriend away from the trick house, much to Eli's amusement, and they set down towards the tall-grassy road that led south towards Slateport City. It wasn't long later that two noses perked up into the air.

"Vul!" Vulpix cried in excitement, leaping out of Violet's arms and bounding forward through the grass. The mauve-haired girl laughed and followed it, sniffing the air as well.

"I smellllll..." she trailed, racing after the little fire type.

"Violet!" Drew called after her as he hurried to follow, Eli on his heels and laughing at the young female's disposition. "Slow down!"

"I smelllll...."

"How do you put up with this?" Eli laughed behind him.  The green-haired Coordinator shook his head. He'd never know.

"I smelllll.... Ah! The ocean!" she exclaimed as she stopped atop the last heel and gazed ahead. Drew stopped when he had caught up with her, stopping to stand by her side.  His eyes followed her line of sight to see an expansive city, bustling with people and colors, sitting on the edge of the sea.  A gentle gust of wind blew towards them and he felt it dislodge the shape of his hair, and send Violet's into a confused array around her heart-like face, while Eli's ponytail quickly started writhing in the breeze.

"It's Slateport City, you guys," he grinned. Drew nodded, looking back and forth between the city and Violet who was wide-eyed in awe. This time he didn't hold back his smirk.

"The last time I saw the ocean was when we got off the boat at Lilycove..." she breathed, eyes sparkling. He chuckled at her.

"Yeah, so...?" This was when she turned to him, trying to hold her hair behind her ears but failing. Her pink lips spread thin in a huge smile.

"That means we've traveled almost an entire continent together!" she exclaimed. Her words hit Drew strangely - like both a bullet and a soft, welcomed pillow.

"Yeah..." he muttered, blinking slowly as he looked at her, but her gaze was already back on Slateport's skyline, like she didn't share the impact of her words with him. "We have..." Next to him, Eli gleamed at the couple and folded his arms.

"Surprised you put up with her that long...?" he teased.  Drew shook himself and scoffed.

"Something like that..."
Episode 27
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