"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 7 (08.26.02) After signing autographs for all of the children, Bridget and Whitney are left alone once again as they await to hear from Nurse Joy on Milty's condition. "Thank goodness for those kids," Whitney told Bridget. "It was nice to not think about my problems for once." "You're still worried about her, aren't you?" "Of course." Whitney sighs as Bridget gives her a comforting pat on the back. "Milty will be alright. She's just gotta be." "No matter how many times you say it, that always sounds so comforting to me." "That's why I'm here... to pep you up in times of need." "Thanks Bridget, but I'm surprised that you're not as worried as I am." "That's because I'm confident that she's fine." Suddenly, Whitney feels her hip vibrating. She reaches down and pulls her cell phone out from the clip-on and answers it. "Whitney here." "Who is it?" Bridget asks as she hears someone on the other end of the line. "It's Uncle Milton," Whitney replied. "What's that? You think Milty ate something bad?" "What's he saying?" "He's saying that she might have eaten something that might have been left in the grass." "Any idea what it was?" "He thinks it may have been some overripe raspberries from a nearby farm. He believes somebody swiped a few last night and dropped some on the ground. Milty might have ate a few while she was grazing this morning." "Exactly," a bright, cheery voice adds. Whitney and Bridget glance to the doors leading into the ER, which were now wide open. Joy and two of her Chansey walk out, pushing a stretcher on which Milty is lying on. Whitney and Bridget run over to her and see that Milty is sleeping peacefully. "Is she going to be..." Whitney began. "She'll need two to three days rest to recover. She actually had about half a dozen of those raspberries. But there were no internal injuries." "Thank goodness for that." Whitney breathes a sigh of relief as she pulls out Milty's Pokéball to recall her. But Joy raises her hand to halt her action. "Cramping her in a Pokéball wouldn't be the best medicine. The fastest way to get rid of any toxins that may still be flowing through her bloodstream is to keep her relaxed and let the body do its job." "But I want to take her up to my uncle's ranch." "No problem, Whitney. I can arrange for someone to transport Miltank up there." "Thank you, Nurse Joy." "Now, make sure she doesn't do any strenuous exercise. And tell your uncle to keep a closer eye on the Miltank when they go grazing." "I'll tell him." Joy walks to the desk to call for a driver while Bridget pulls Whitney off to the side to talk. "You're going up to the ranch, right?" "Of course. I want to help my uncle figure out how this happened in the first place. And I want to be sure Milty gets there safely." "Then I should go back into the gym and hold all challenges, yes?" "Yes Bridget, hold all challenges. I probably won't be there 'til after lunch." "Got it." Bridget exits, heading back to the gym. Whitney takes a seat as she waits for someone to take Milty up to her uncle's ranch. ====== Several minutes, Bridget sees the gym ahead of her. But when she sees several police officers wandering around, including an Officer Jenny, she runs up to see what's going on. One of the officers is interrogating Bruno, who for once was wearing a T-shirt over his muscular chest. A small crowd had gathered around the gym entrance, but Bridget manages to squeeze her way through. But as she makes her way to the door, Officer Jenny steps in front of her. "No one's allowed in the gym, miss." Bridget reaches into her purse and pulls out her trainer ID. "I'm the assistant gym leader here. What's going on?" "I almost didn't recognize you there, Miss Briggs. Is Whitney around?" "She's at the Pokémon Center. Her Miltank had a bad case of food poisoning." "Is she alright?" "Miltank will be fine. But what's up with all of the police?" "I think we need to talk inside, Bridget." ====== "What?" Bridget and Jenny were now in the gym's conference room with Victoria, Samantha, and Carrie. No one else other than the gym staff and police officers were in the gym at the time. "Olivine, Ecruteak, Mahogany," Carrie confirmed, counting off the cities. "Three gyms, three gym leaders, all gone at almost the exact same time." "How could that have happened?" Samantha asked in a panic. "Even with tighter security, those gyms disappeared just like the others!" "And after we thought it was all over," Victoria said. "Why didn't you call Whitney? She had her cell phone with her." "We thought that she would have been preoccupied with worrying about Milty. We didn't want her to have another thing to worry about." "Regardless, she'll find out about it soon enough." "The League wants this gym on full lockdown," Jenny piped up, telling Bridget the bad news. "The gym will be closed until further notice." "Doesn't Whitney have a say in this?" Bridget asked. "Unfortunately, no. As of right now, this is the only gym still standing in the Johto region. The Pokémon League wants to conduct a full-scale investigation. And to do that, they need the gym sealed off until their arrival." "When does the lockdown begin?" "Noon today. I'll tell the challengers about it." "Doesn't that mean we have to start giving out Plain Badges for free?" questioned Samantha. "Of course not," Victoria replied. "We practically don't have a Johto League anymore. Just how much do you think badges will be worth now?" Bridget sighs heavily. "I guess I'd better call Whitney and tell her the bad news. As if she could take anymore..." ====== Up at Uncle Milton's ranch, the transportation mission was a success. Milty was now sleeping comfortably in her stall in the cow barn. Meanwhile, Whitney and her uncle, Milton, were in the farmhouse, discussing things. "I'm telling you Whitney, there are some trainers who have no respect for keeping their hands to themselves. Or keeping the land clean, for that matter." "It's okay, Uncle Milton. I know it's not your fault." "I should've been watching all of the Miltank more closely." "Let me worry about that. I can probably petition for a police patrol out here in the country." "Forget it, Whit. I'm sure it'll die down eventually." "No! Take a stand! When was it okay to let people steal raspberries and leave the scraps in the grass?" "Never, but you know that's not going to stop others from doing it." "Maybe we should have some cameras installed..." "Absolutely not!" Milton started freaking out. Obviously, he wasn't too keen on having cameras up around the farm. "You know how much I'm afraid of those things! You don't know if someone rigs them to spy on you!" "But why would someone want to spy on you, uncle? All you do is produce Miltank milk." "The best in this part of the region! Competitors would do anything to reproduce my milking techniques." "Uncle Milton, anyone can milk a Miltank. I think you're being paranoid!" "Is it a crime to have a paranoia of some sorts?" "Well..." "Aren't you paranoid that someone's stalking you whenever you're alone?" "Don't be silly." Whitney slid down in her seat a bit. She quickly glances left and right, looking to see if there's anyone spying on her. "See? It's perfectly normal to be frightened of something." "Uncle, I'm not paranoid of being stalked!" Whitney then feels her cell phone vibrating again. She breathes a sigh of relief as she answers the phone. "Whitney here." She's silent for a minute as she listens to someone shouting on the other end of the line in a panic. "I see. Well, what can we do? We have to comply with the League." After talking for another minute or so, Whitney hangs up. "Problems at the gym?" "The gyms in Olivine City, Ecruteak City, and Mahogany Town were all attacked this morning. They're all gone. So are all of their Pokémon." "That only leaves your gym, doesn't it?" "A part of me wishes this nightmare was over and the guys behind this were caught. Another part wishes they'd just come here and get it over with." "And let me guess... a third part wishes you could be the one that stops them." Whitney blinked in surprise. "How did you know?" "I'm your uncle. I'm the one who raised you to be the bright and beautiful young woman that sits here in front of me." "Uncle Milton!" Whitney exclaimed, trying to hide her blushing face. "If you think you can stop these guys, then go ahead. But I only want you to do so if you feel confident in yourself." Milton gets up from his seat and heads for the door. "I'm going to go check on Milty. Feel free to take a few cartons of Miltank milk back to the girls at the gym." With that, Milton walks out and disappears. Whitney sits there for a few minutes, contemplating what to do next. "Only do so if you feel confident in yourself," Whitney said aloud, repeating her uncle's words. End Chapter 7 Has the Johto League met its end? Will Whitney come up with a plan? And have you figured out the mysterious trainers' battle plan? Here's a harder question for you to answer... just who are the mysterious trainers? The last gym standing fights for its survival in the eighth chapter, coming next Monday!