"Plainly Tested," written by Freedom Fighter Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of the characters associated with the show. All names and likenesses are copyrighted by Nintendo, 4Kids Entertainment, and anyone else who had a hand in creating the show. ====== Chapter 5 (08.12.02) After a day of ups and downs, the Goldenrod gym finally closes for the day. Several members of the gym staff are still around, tidying things up and finishing some paperwork. Whitney is busy herself, typing away on her computer as she chats with a friend online. ====== [Internet Chat Mode] GoldenGirl: So how long has this been going on? BirdBoy: About a month. GoldenGirl: You've gone that long? BirdBoy: Yeah. GoldenGirl: And you're absolutely sure she's not seeing anyone else? BirdBoy: Positive. I asked Rod to perform a security check on her with one of his pals. GoldenGirl: Geese, you are taking this seriously! BirdBoy: I know you'd do the same. GoldenGirl: Guilty as charged! ^- BirdBoy: I'd rather be safe than sorry, to tell you the truth. GoldenGirl: To be honest with you, I wouldn't pursue this right now. BirdBoy: Why? BirdBoy: Don't think I'm good enough for her? GoldenGirl: No! Nothing like that! GoldenGirl: It's just that with all of the weird stuff with the gyms and all... BirdBoy: Brb. GoldenGirl: Why? BirdBoy: Got a challenger here. GoldenGirl: At this hour? Shouldn't your gym be closed now too? BirdBoy: I'm still here, so technically I've gotta battle this guy. Brb. [End Internet Chat Mode] ====== Whitney turns away from the screen and grabs one of the random magazines from the top of her desk. She opens the magazine, entitled 'Pokémon Breeder Monthly Magazine,' and flips to a random article. She leans back on her chair, lifts her legs from under the table and places them on top of her desk. But just as she gets settled, her computer begins to beep. Leaning over, she presses one of the buttons on her keyboard. It automatically brings up her mailbox, with the new message flashing at the top of her e-mail list. "It's from the Pokémon League," she said as she drops her feet to the ground and reaches for her mouse to open the message. She reads it aloud as she tries to figure out what's up. "A trainer called the Cherrygrove City police station about fifteen minutes ago. He reported seeing a mysterious figure wandering around a pond along Route 31, muttering about 'his big haul of gym trained Pokémon.' Police are investigating the scene now. Be on the lookout for any suspicious characters. "The message is signed by Lance. But why do we have to know about this if the police are keeping a lookout for..." Something then turns on in Whitney's brain, as she realizes the obvious. "Route 31 leads into Violet! I've gotta warn Falkner!" Whitney reaches for the phone and starts dialing up the number to the Violet City gym. But then she remembers that she doesn't know the number by heart, so she opens one of the desk drawers and pulls out a small notebook. The notebook, labeled 'Phone Numbers -- Johto Officials and Gym Leaders,' is opened to the Violet City section, as she searches for the number to the gym. "How could I be so dumb not to realize it? I knew there's no way a challenger would come to the gym at nine o'clock! Aha! There it is!" Whitney dials the Violet Gym's phone number. After about ten seconds, she can hear the other end ringing. And ringing. And ringing. "Somebody pick up!" she yelled into the receiver. "The gym's in danger!" Finally, the answering machine talks on, with Falkner's voice. "You've reached the Violet City gym. The gym is currently closed for the night. If you wish to reach either myself or any other member of the gym staff at home, press 1 now. Otherwise, stay on the line and leave a short message after the beep." As Whitney hears the machine beep, she begins shouting again. "You're in danger! Get out of there, Falkner!" She hangs up and turns to the notebook again, this time searching for the number to the Violet City police. A minute later, she dials the number and waits for an answer. "Come on already!" she shouts impatiently as she waits for someone to answer. Suddenly, the door into the office opens. Bridget steps in, closing the door behind her. "What's with the yelling, Whit? I didn't even know you were still here." "The guy's in Violet, Bridget!" "Falkner?" Whitney nods sadly. But then she hears a click on the other side of the line, as the voice of a young female can be heard. "Violet City Police." "This is an emergency! I'm Whitney Emerson of the Goldenrod City gym, calling on behalf of Falkner Airy of the Violet City gym. There's someone attacking the gym!" ====== Ten minutes later, Officer Jenny and a squad of cops drive up to the Violet City gym on their motorcycles. But they're too late, as they see Falkner sitting on the ground with his head resting on his hands, in the middle of an imprint of where the gym once stood. All that was left were the desk and chairs that filled the gym's offices. "Not here too!" Jenny exclaims as Falkner walks up to her. "There's no way to beat that guy!" Falkner admits as he relays his story to the cops. "His Pokémon are too strong to be beaten by any gym leader, much less an ordinary trainer." Falkner then walks away from the scene, as some of the police officers begin investigating the gym's disappearance. "Where are you going?" Jenny calls after him. "Home," Falkner replies. "My gym's gone. I've got nothing else to do here." ====== The following morning, Whitney enters the gym. But she's not in her usual cheery mode as she sees Victoria, Samantha, Carrie, and Bridget all gathered around the TV in the staff lounge. She looks up and sees that the news of the disappearance of the Violet City gym is, naturally, the top story of the day. A female reporter is on the screen, talking live from the scene. "And just like the gyms in Azalea Town, Cianwood City, and Blackthorn City, the one here in Violet has disappeared right off of the map. Four gyms, half the number of those in the Johto region, all gone within a 48-hour period. This morning, a half dozen Pokémon League representatives, including Elite Four member Will, were scheduled to join the city's police force. Their job? To protect this gym from suffering the same fate as the previous three before. Too little, too late." As the news continues, Whitney walks over to the coffee machine and pours herself a cup before solemnly sitting down at a nearby table. Bridget is the first to notice, as she walks over and takes a seat at the table with Whitney. "You're not still sore over what happened last night, are you?" "If only I would've realized it right there and then! I could've kept him from challenging the guy! And now... his gym's gone, just like Bugsy's and Chuck's and Clair's." "You tried your best," Bridget says, consoling her friend and boss. "No one's blaming you for that. You did everything humanly possibly to help. But sometimes there's nothing we can do." Whitney could only frown sadly, as another one of her closest friends had lost his gym. "If it's any consolation," Carrie spoke up, joining the duo at the table, "our additional security staff from Indigo will be arriving in an hour." "Yeah," Samantha pipes up, bubbly as ever. "I heard that Bruno will be leading our squad, once he finishes up the investigation in Cianwood." "It's THE Bruno!" Victoria shouts, with hearts in her eyes. "We couldn't ask for a better hunk to help guard the gym than him!" "You see? Everything's going to be fine! And I'm sure that with all of the heightened security, things will get back to normal! There's no way any more gyms will disappear without a fight!" "Bridget... sometimes I wonder why I hired you." Bridget looks at Whitney curiously as she gives her answer. "Because no one peps me up better than you." Whitney's frown turns into a smile as both women reach over the table and hug each other. Victoria, Samantha, and Carrie join in the group hug. Finally, they all release each other. "Everything's going to be fine." Whitney smiles as she gets up out of her seat, with her coffee cup in hand, and heads out of the lounge. "Let's get to work, girls! We'll go undefeated today! I can feel it!" ====== A week and a half later, Bridget's prediction turns out to be true. None of the four remaining gyms have been attacked since Falkner's gym fell. And things were starting to return to normal. At least, in the cities still with their gyms. The gym leaders and the Elite Four were engaged in another videoconference, in order to get updated in the investigation regarding the still missing gyms in Azalea, Cianwood, Blackthorn, and Violet. Whitney and Bruno are both present in her office in Goldenrod, with Will paired with Jasmine in Olivine, Morty and Koga in Ecruteak, and Pryde and Karen from Mahogany Town. The other four gym leaders participate from their city's Pokémon Center. "As of this time," Lance began, "we have reason to believe that the mysterious trainer is not acting alone. And with more than one accomplice." "It could be possible that one individual attacked all four gyms," Karen stated, "but the time parameters are very close, especially between the attacks in Cianwood and Blackthorn." "I checked all planes flying between those two cities that night," Will said, pressing a button on a computer and bringing up a small table listing the departure times of those planes, "and the first plane to leave Cianwood that night arrives in Blackthorn at 8:23 a.m." "One of my assistants noted that the trainer was already in the gym at that time," Clair admitted, restating a proven fact. Chuck then speaks up. "So we could be dealing with two or three wisecracks that had this thing planned out all from the start?" "That's correct," confirmed Lance. "But we're still trying to figure out why they haven't tried to go after another gym after getting the one in Violet." "With my gym gone," Falkner noted, "that makes Whitney's gym the lowest level one remaining. And sending all of the young challengers from Violet to there by just handing them Zephyr Badges isn't going to work out for long." "Me too," Bugsy added. "Without a gym or any Pokémon, I have to give all of my challengers a Hive Badge and point them to Goldenrod." "No wonder all of the challengers here yesterday couldn't even get past Victoria," Whitney tells the group, letting out a smile. "I didn't even have to battle at all!" Bruno, sitting next to Whitney, reminds her of the seriousness of the meeting. "Whitney, please. You shouldn't be happy because you're not battling anyone." "I know. I was just mystified by the whole thing. That's all." "Mystified or not," says Lance, "these guys are still out there and they still have those four gyms. Whitney, Morty, Jasmine, and Pryde... keep your eyes open! I don't think this is over by a long shot." ====== Walking out of Whitney's office, Bruno immediately heads for the gym's security headquarters to inform the other agents of the details of the meeting. Meanwhile, Whitney walks back towards the gym battle room. On the way there, she runs into Carrie, who seems to be in quite a panic. "Carrie?" "Whitney, thank goodness! It's Milty!" "What? What about Milty?" "I think you should see for yourself!" ====== Carrie leads Whitney to the corridor where she and Victoria share an office. There, they see Victoria on the floor, watching over Milty, who is lying on her back and groaning in pain. "What happened?" Whitney asks Victoria, stricken with grief. "I was walking Milty like you said, when she fell backwards and started groaning in pain, like she's doing now. She doesn't look too well." Victoria, Carrie, and Whitney watch helplessly as Milty rolls back and forth in pain on the floor. "Call the Pokémon Center! Hurry!" Carrie nods and runs to her office to get to her phone. "Hang in there," Whitney tells Milty. "Please, be okay!" End Chapter 5 As the Elite Four get ever closer to solving the mystery of the disappearing gyms, things are about to get a whole lot worse! Who's the next target? I'm back with Chapter 6 next Monday! 'Til then, folks!