CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER NINE
"Hey boss, they told us to meet here to learn about the Arceus. Well, where is the flashdrive witht he info!?" A GRAM grunt yelled.
"I don't know. They probably failed to deliver it. Or some one could of come in here and stolen it. Those trees outside look really suspicous..." the boss said.
All the grunts were standing around. They were waiting for the letter to be read, or something of substance to be presented. But nothing was being presented at the moment, so the silent chatter turned into loud bragging conversation type stuff.
"I just got that new mutated zubat. It's green! and it goes directly for the trainer." The Grunt said.
"I heard about that! I just got promoted from stupid noob to noob! Isn't that cool?" One of the grunts said.
"I remember when I was at that level. Every one laughed at me. Well, you'll get higher in the rankings some day...." A grunt said.
"I got the electric whip, you know the one that the other member used, but he got his ass beat by that kid back in Solocean town. He said Arceus absorbed the shock. Thats a bunch of bull $h!t....." One of the other grunts said.
"Silence! I have an anouncement." The leader said. The room quieted down. "As you can see, we aren't presenting today because we can't find the flashdrive. It either was stolen or not delivered. But I assume it was stolen because I called the delivery member and he confirmed that it was delivered early today. And the dusty laptops on the second floor were all moved around. I think some one was here before us. And since we have nothing to present, you may return to your stations. That is all, dismissed!" The leader said. The grunts all left the building mumbling with anger.
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"We are going to Hearthome," Derek said. He sent out Staraptor and Grace got on it's back. Derek climbed on after. The others agreed to go and sent out their pokemon. Tropius and Togekiss appeared out of their pokeballs. Alex and Lucas climbed on. Hitomi sent out her Driflimb and let it carry her.
They flew over grassy fields and the top of a cave. Grace fell asleep while holding on to Derek. He held on to her to make sure she didn't fall.
"Gracey has a pokemon with fly! Why doesn't she fly on her own pokemon?" Hitomi said.
"It would waste her pokemon's energy. And there is room for two on here." Derek said.
"Can you save my pokemon's energy? I might be able to fit on you Staraptor!" Hitomi said.
"Hey, why don't you save your pokemon's energy and ride with me?" Alex said.
"No thanks....Im fine over here." Hitomi replied while turning her nose up in the air.
They arrived in Hearthome city and walked to the gym. There was a sign on the door that said: Fantina out for poffins. Will be back soon.
"We have to go to the Poffin House." Derek said.
"You are so persistent on finding the gym leaders, we should just chill for once" Alex said.
"We don't have time to chill right now. My schedule is: Find all the help we can get, Save the world, and then Vacation. We can all go to Hotel Grand or Snowbound Lodge after this is over."
"I don't have any money left remember?" Grace said.
"Then you'll stay with me again." Derek said with a smile. Grace and Derek both blushed.
"What if I don't have any money? Can I stay with you Derek?" Hitomi asked.
"I'm not sure if there would be enough room...." Derek replied.
"I know I'll have room!" Alex said. Lucas just shook his head side to side thinking, Wow, Alex is desperate.
"Talk about vacation later! Come on lets go to the Poffin house." Derek said. He ran so fast, his sneakers were slapping against the ground like a fast beating heart. The others had a hard time keeping up with him. They finally arrived at the Poffin house.
Derek walked in and looked around. There were a bunch of Poffin machines, a lady behind a counter, and a restaurant. He spotted Fantina making poffins.
"Hey Fantina. I'd like to ask you something."
"Yes?" Fantina asked.
"I'd like to know if you'd join our team. We are making a team of E4 members, Gym leaders, and trainers to fight team GRAM. If you know that much, than you must have heard the news about me," Derek whispered in Fantina's ear so that no one else could hear.
"I've heard about you. And I agree to be on your team. Add my phone number to your contacts list," Fantina said. She handed Derek a piece of paper with her number. Derek thanked her and the left the Poffin house.
"Hey Derek, I got an idea. Instead of going to all the gyms and pokemon leagues, why don't we get a phonebook and call?" Lucas suggested.
"I'm so stupid! We should have done that from the start. We should go to Canalave city's library to get the phone book," Derek said. The group sent out their flying pokemon and climbed on. They flew over a series of water and bridges. They flew over the roof of a cave and passed up Oreburgh city. Then, they flew over the grassy wilderness of route 203. They flew over the hustle and bustle of Jubilife city, and then over the big blue body of water that lead to Canalave city.
After they landed, they walked over the bridge and to the library. Inside the library, it smelled of old books. The floor was made of classy tiling. The walls were lined with shelves full of books. They walked up the stairs and found the 'How to' through 'phone book' section. They picked up four phone books. One phone book was for Sinnoh, the second was for Hoenn, the third was for Johto, and the fourth was for Kanto.
"Grace, you call the Hoenn gym leaders and E4 members. Alex, you call the Johto gym leaders and E4 members. Lucas, you do Kanto. Hitomi, you can….well considering your attitude, if they don't agree, you make them agree. I'll call the rest of Sinnoh." Derek said. They all took out their cell phones. It took about an hour, but they called every gym leader and every elite four member from every region.
"We finally finished," Derek said with a sigh of relief.
"Now all we have to do is recruit more trainers and go to Mt. Coronet right?" Grace asked.
"We have to recruit more trainers, but we need Arceus to signal all the legendaries to help us," Derek replied.
"There are a couple numbers of the top trainers in here. Let's call them," Lucas suggested. They called up all the trainers, and most of them agreed. Some were hesitant and said they might show up.
"We are going to Mt. Coronet. Are all of you coming?" Derek asked.
"Cool with me," Alex said.
"I'm going where ever you go," Hitomi replied.
"I'm going too," Lucas said.
"I've been with you from the start of this crazy trip, and I'll finish the trip with you," Grace replied with a smile.
"Then it's settled. We'll go tomorrow. We aren't safe at most hotels but since the Resort Area isn't near any mainland GRAM bases, we should be fine." Derek said. They left the library and sent out their flying pokemon. They flew over multiple grassy plains, cave tops, and cities. The ocean sparkled in the evening sunlight. By the time they arrived, the sun was starting to set.
"I still don't have any money for a room," Grace said.
"You can stay with me again," Derek replied. Hitomi seemed angry.
"I have enough money for a room, Gracey can stay with me!" Hitomi said.
"She can stay with me!" Alex said.
"If she wants to stay with me, my room is available." Lucas said.
"Thanks for all the offers guys, but I'm going to stay with Derek." Grace replied. Hitomi looked away angrily. Alex stared blankly away, and Lucas was cool about it.
They all walked up to the front desk of the resort and reserved rooms. Derek took his keycard and walked to the elevator. The door opened and the group walked in.
"We've had a long day, what are you guys going to do after you put your stuff in your rooms?" Derek asked in the elevator.
"I'm going to enjoy the resort's many luxuries while I'm here," Hitomi said.
"Yeah, me too," Alex said.
"I'm going to check out the resort too," Lucas replied.
"I'm going where ever you go, Derek." Grace replied. The Elevator door opened.
"Cool okay. See you guys around." Derek replied. They all walked to their rooms that were conveniently located on the same floor.
Derek swiped his card and the door opened. Inside, there was a flat screen TV mounted on a glossy wooden cabinet. Underneath, there was a refrigerator holding soft drinks, water, chocolate, and wine. There was a very large Jacuzzi by the sliding glass door to the balcony. The bed had red covers and several fluffy pillows. The bathroom had clean tiles, two sinks, a large mirror, a shower stall, a second Jacuzzi, a toilet, and several towels on a towel rack. Then, there were mints in a little candy dish sitting on the sink.
"You know, the sun hasn't set all the way yet. Do you want to go watch it set with me?" Derek asked.
"I'd love to," Grace replied. They put their stuff away, and changed into some swim stuff. Then they left the resort. Derek brought her to a hill that overlooked the resort.
"Wow, it's so beautiful up here," Grace said.
"Yeah, I found this place when I was exploring. It really relaxes me," Derek replied. They started watching the sun when it was dim enough to not hurt their eyes. It set slowly, and the sky's color faded as the sun got lower in the sky.
"I brought some lemonade and pretzels. It isn't much, but I'll take you to dinner tonight." Derek said.
"Wow, well it doesn't matter if it isn't much. It's the thought that counts. And I like you for that." Grace replied. The Starly flew over their heads chirping a mellow tune. They sipped their lemonade and watched the sun set as the bodies of water around the resort sparkled.
"When this is 'save the world' stuff is over, would you like to go out with me? I know I haven't known you for that long, but Grace, I really like you." Derek asked. He placed a pearl in her hand.
"Wow, I don't know what to say…This is so sudden, and how did you get this pearl? It must have cost you a fortune," Grace replied.
"Back when we were in Hoenn, I dove down looking inside multiple Clamperls searching for a pearl. When I found one, I knew it would be the perfect gift for you. Please agree to date me, I'm begging you." Derek said.
"You did that for me? We are taking this a little faster than I expected, but I'll think about it," Grace said.
"Maybe this will help you make your decision," Derek replied. He leaned in slowly and pressed his lips against her hot, soft lips. She didn't resist, and let the moment last. The sun gave off its final rays, and almost completely disappeared behind the treetops and sparkling water. The sky turned into a mix of purple, red, yellow, orange, and blue. This was the nicest moment of Derek's long trip, and he never wanted it to end.