"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 8 (09.02.02) Unable to get to the gym before Officer Jenny and the Goldenrod City police locked the building down, Whitney meets up with her staff inside of a conference room at the Pokémon Center. About 30-40 men and women are inside that small room, murmuring amongst themselves and wondering what will happen to their jobs. Whitney is at the front of the room with her four assistants beside her: Victoria and Bridget to her right and Samantha and Carrie to her left. "Will everyone please settle down?" Whitney shouted over all of the noise, raising both of her arms in the air. The room becomes quiet as of the gym workers want to hear what their boss has to say. "Thanks. Now, you're probably all aware that the Goldenrod gym is now closed until further notice due to all of the gym disappearances. I assure you that the Pokémon League has made the right decision, as they did not want to risk your safety. "Although the trainers behind all of the chaos that the Johto League has fallen victim to in the past few weeks have yet to be identified, I feel confident that the closure of the gym is necessary to bring about the capture of these hooligans." "How long will the gym be closed?" one of the men in the crowd asks aloud. "Indefinitely. All gym-related activities will be put aside until further notice. No one will be allowed in the gym itself except for the police. They are assisting the League in the investigation." "Will we get paid for any time off that we missed?" "We are working on printing our your paychecks for the past two weeks. We'll give those to you as early as tomorrow morning. But I'm afraid that we don't have a contingency plan for a situation such as this. So I'm not sure if there will be anymore paychecks distributed should the gym remain closed for a prolonged period of time." That worried most of the people in the room, some to the point where they were about to explode in anger. "Why can't you pay us yourself?" an enraged worker yells. "Yeah, you cheapskate!" yells a second. "Your paychecks are paid for through the city government and the Pokémon League. Under gym business rules, a Pokémon gym that has been closed for whatever reason cannot be given funds to pay any current employees." "You just don't want to give us anything!" "I'm in the same boat as you are, so please calm down!" "Calm down? We're all out of jobs and you want us to calm down?" "None of you have lost your jobs... it's just that no one's allowed to work at the gym as long as the League keeps it closed." "Why don't you fight the League and keep it open?" "Because I can't if I want to keep my job! Please, no more questions! I'm sorry, but this is the way it has to be. Trust me, you will all be the first to know when the gym can reopen." The whole room goes into an uproar as people start shouting out questions. Bridget, Carrie, Samantha, and Victoria surround Whitney, keeping the disgruntled workers at bay as she exits the room. ====== The four girls continue to act as Whitney's temporary bodyguards as the group is swamped by television and newspaper reporters as they leave the Pokémon Center. They too begin to shout over each other, trying to get Whitney to answer one of their questions. "What will you do now that the gym is closed?" "Have you thought about taking matters into your own hands?" "Are you prepared if the attackers go after you?" "Could the attackers be responsible for your ill Miltank from this morning?" "Are you still participating in the bike race this Saturday?" "Will you spend some time trying to find a boyfriend?" "Will this convince you to give up being a gym leader?" Whitney couldn't take all of the questions coming at her. And to her girls, that was plainly obvious as they began to hear Whitney growling angry. Luckily, a limosuine pulls up beside the Pokémon Center. Bruno hops out of the back and signals for the group to get in. Whitney and the girls don't hesitate, running into the limo. As the reporters approach the limo, Bruno gets back inside and signals the driver to go. The driver obeys the command, taking off just as Bruno gets the door closed. "Wow!" Samantha exclaimed. "Thanks for saving us from that mob!" "Yeah," Carrie agreed, "I didn't think we were ever going to get out of there." Bruno simply nods his head, acknowldging their thanks. Bridget turns to Whitney to ask her a question. "So, what now?" Whitney sits there, trying to think of a plan. It doesn't take long before one pops into her head. "We're going to give those trainers what they want," she tells them with a smile. "You mean we're going to fight them?" Victoria asked. "And risk losing our Pokémon and the gym?" added Bridget. "Trust me. By tomorrow afternoon, everything will be back to normal." ====== That night, Whitney, Bridget, Carrie, Samantha, and Victoria were all at Whitney's house prepping themselves for the impending battle. On the dining room table lie the 11 Pokéballs containing all of their Pokémon. The girls are all sitting around the table, with sheets of paper and pencils in front of them. "Victoria, a status report on our Pokémon based on the exam?" "Joy did the examinations and found that every single one of them is in good health." "Samantha, you checked the rulebook, right?" "Yep. Although we're not allowed inside the gym, there's no rule against being outside. Trainers can still challenge us, but only in a regular battle." "Good. Carrie, how much time do we have?" "Well, given that the three attacks this morning happened at almost the exact same time, there's at least three trainers. I bet they would like to regroup before coming to Goldenrod, so considering the amount of time it takes to fly from Olivine and Mahogany to Ecruteak, and then to here, the earliest we can expect them is around lunch time tomorrow." "Bridget... I guess that theory of yours from earlier this week is true." "I guess so. If these guys are supposed to be geniuses, they sure don't act like it. Especially with their predictable attack order strategy." "That might work in our favor. Anyway, no one knows about this other than us, right?" "Right. Bruno's the only one who knows we do have a plan, but he doesn't know what were pulling exactly. And we intend to keep it that way. I've got a false plan drawn up for him to find in the morning so that's he nowhere near the gym." "Good." "Question!" The group looks at Samantha, who has her hand in up the air. "What's up, Samantha?" "Well Whitney, I don't see the logic in not having Bruno there. He is an elite member, after all. We could use all the help we can get." "If Bruno's there, he'll try to do anything to keep us from going through with this. We'll be attacked by the trainers and the gym disappears just like the others. Then all of our careers are down the drain." "So our best bet would to do it without him around so he won't interfere," Bridget added. "Exactly!" "I still think this isn't a good idea," Victoria said, worried. "Not that I don't hate your plan. I'll do anything to help if you go through with it. But speaking seriously for once... if none of the other gym leaders could beat these guys, what chance do we have?" "You never know what you can do unless you try." "That's it? Whitney, are you thinking straight?" "I feel confident about this. This is going to work! And the only way it's going to work is if all of you feel confident that it will work! Are you with me?" "We're all behind you in whatever you do," Bridget told Whitney, speaking up for the others. "Win or lose, we're with you all the way!" Victoria, Samantha, and Carrie nod their heads. "Thanks! I don't know what I'd do without the four of you!" "That's what friends are for!" Carrie exclaimed. "Good." Each of the women pick up their respective Pokéballs and a copy of the plan before heading to the front door. "Remember girls, make sure we arrive in fifteen-minute intervals. Victoria, you have to be at the gym at seven. Understood?" "Yes." "And I'll make sure that Bruno gets the fake plan," Bridget announces. "Good. I'll see you all in the morning then!" Whitney waves goodbye to the girls as they go their separate ways. She then closes the front door and heads back to the dining room. Picking up her copy of their plan, she glances at them one more time before glancing at the ceiling and clenching her left fist confidently. "This is the greatest test of my career. And I will not fail." ====== The following morning, the sun's already up in the sky. Whitney was already up and getting ready, prepared to put her plan into action. In the bathroom, hot water starts flying out of the showerhead. Whitney feels the water droplets splash against her pale white skin. She allows the water to rinse through her hair and flow down her body. As she washes up, she closes her eyes and thinks about what she was expecting to face that day. That's something that she does regularly every morning. But today, she knew that the future of the Johto League was resting on her shoulders. And she wanted to make sure her plan succeeded... for all of their sakes. "Two weeks ago, there were eight gyms. Now, mine's the only one left. I can't believe someone would try to get rid of the Pokémon gyms. It doesn't make any sense. Then again, it doesn't make any sense that they can make the gyms disappear, or take a trainer's Pokémon even if they're in Pokéballs. "Why doesn't it make any sense? Even Lance and the Elite are stunned by the whole phenomenon. Even more surprising is how strong these trainers are." Whitney reaches down and picks up the shampoo bottle from the bath tray in the corner. She opens it and pours some on top of her hair. She then returns the bottle and starts lathering the shampoo through. "But it worries me that they have both brains and brawns. And yet, they attacked the gyms in a seemingly simplistic, and at the same time, unexpected order. What's the reasoning behind it? "Better yet, why are they going through all of this at all?" ====== Outside the Pokémon gym, Bridget had just arrived. She sees Samantha and Carrie sitting down with their backs against the side of the gym. They're watching Victoria have a match with a young trainer. She has one of her Sentret matched up against a Wooper. "Should Victoria really be battling someone right now?" Bridget asked, concerned about their readiness for today. "The guy's a small fry," Samantha replied. "She can handle him easy." "We should be worried about keeping our Pokémon at full health. You never know when those mystery trainers will get here, and there's no way we're letting them take the gym!" "But I calculated it all out last night," Carrie protested, trying to put them at ease. "At earliest, they won't be here until around noon." All of a sudden, a man in a black trench coat walks up to the trio. "I'm here to challenge the Goldenrod gym leader." As Samantha gasps in fright, Bridget shoots a glare at Carrie. "What? I thought they would've come here together, not one at a time!" "I think we'll have to postpone our battle. Official gym business." Samantha, Carrie, and Bridget turn and see that Victoria has also noticed the arrival of the so-called challenger. The trainer that Victoria had been facing runs off as Victoria recalls her Sentret and joins her fellow workers. "I'd better go call Whitney and tell her to hurry down here," Bridget shouted, running for the nearest pay-videophone. Victoria throws a Pokéball to the ground, revealing a fresh Sentret. "You'll have to get through us first!" Victoria exclaimed defiantly. ====== The shower was already off and Whitney was walking out of the bathroom. She was wearing two towels: one wrapped around her body; the other around her hair. She walks across the room to her closet. As she opens it, she lets go of the towel that had been hugging her freshly washed body, and searches for a clean set of clothes. Finding one, she begins to put it on. But she had only gotten a white T-shirt and her undergarments on before the videophone started to ring. With the second towel still wrapped around her wet hair, she made her way over to the desk where the videophone lied, and answered it. "Whitney! Whitney!" the cry came from the other end of the line, although for some reason Whitney could not see a picture of the person calling her. She could only hear her voice. And she knew that it belonged to Bridget. "Bridget, what's going on? Why can't I see you?" "He's here..." was all Bridget managed to say before the line suddenly cut off. "Bridget! Bridget, are you there? Oh, this can't be good." Whitney jumped out of her seat and ran back to the closet to finish putting her clothes on, not even bothering to hang the phone back up. "How can he be here already?" she asked herself out aloud. "Carrie said that there's no way all three of them could be here this early!" Going as fast as possible, Whitney got dressed, fixed her hair, put on a small bit of makeup, and pulled out the Pokéballs that contained her two most powerful available Pokémon from her personal safe, all in less than five minutes. As she did all of that, Whitney's thoughts continued to race through her mind. "Why is this trainer humiliating all of the gym leaders? What type of Pokémon am I going up against? What if this is a trap? What if this guy did something horrible to all of the other gyms and their leaders? What if he tries to do the same to me? Is this going to be my last battle as a Pokémon trainer?" Whitney checks to make sure she has all of her gym leader badges in her pocket. Then spotting the videophone's receiver still off the hook, she returns it to its rightful place. She slips on her white sneakers and finally bolts out the front door, not even giving a second thought as to locking it behind her as she races towards her gym. End Chapter 8 Whitney arrives at the gym to defend it from the mysterious trainers. Or trainer. Where are the other two? Just where did Bridget lead Bruno off to? And the question that you've been asking since the beginning... will Whitney prevent the League from going under? This Monday, it's the series finale of "Plainly Tested." In this battle, Whitney's got more on the line than just her gym or her pride. She's got the entire Johto League's future riding on the battle's outcome.