Chapter 37

Redwald, Greta and Eusine were walking on the Route 5 to reach the next location in which Redwald would be challenging to get his third badge, for which he had been doing great so far. He proudly checked the two badges he earned so far – Boulder Badge and Cascade Badge. “I won’t fall behind.” He said. “I will get the eight of them and face the strongest trainers of Kanto. Everyone will see my face and know my name by the end of this season.”

“That’s the spirit!” Greta encouraged him to feel motivated. “If you keep your hard work, with Eusine and me by your side, you will bring out your best without a doubt.”

“Thank you, Greta.” Redwald said, enjoying himself. “I owe you two a lot.” But he got distracted once they turn from the corner when the trees rarefied, and the cold breeze licked Redwald from his arms unprepared and made him feel frozen despite of the bright sun shining up above. “This winter is going to be tough for sure.” He gasped.

The unpleasant look on Greta’s face worried Redwald for a second. She seemed shocked and terrified for something. “I might have overestimated the situation, Greta.” Redwald sighed. But it was something else. Eusine passed besides Redwald and held Greta from her arms. “Greta, what is it?” He asked. Now, Redwald and Eusine both were worried. What could, other than the cold breeze, turn Greta stone-cold in a second, after all? Greta finally moved a muscle and pointed towards a tree. There was an odd man lying down the tree, unconscious.

“Oh, boy…” Eusine scowled and ran to the man on the grasses. Redwald followed him right behind. Greta didn’t move. Eusine fell on his knees to check the man. He put his hand next to the man’s nose when Redwald reached there.

“He’s breathing.” Eusine said, but he seemed worried. It worried Redwald as well. “What should we do?” He asked. Eusine put his backpack on the grasses and put his hand in it in a hurry. He grabbed something but before Redwald saw what Eusine intended to take off, he felt a great pain on the back of his head, and he lost his sight before he fainted.

Redwald opened his eyes lazily. He still felt the pain on the back of his head. He lifted his head, but his neck hurt. He decided to take it slowly. First, he opened his eyes and let the blurry sight get better. It took only seconds to see that he was kept in a dark room. The light was weak but enough to see things around – which was pretty much nothing. He could not move properly since his hands were tied on his back just like his legs. His mouth was not covered. Was this a kidnap? But for which reason? What could they ask from Redwald, anyway?

He lifted his back and leaned on the wall. He tried to remember what happened the last time. He remembered the cold breeze on the Route 5. He remembered that he was on his way to the next city with his friends. Speaking of which, where were Greta and Eusine? It came to Redwald like the stages of a gameplay. He remembered seeing a fainted man on the grasses and rushing to him to help with Eusine. Eusine confirmed he was still alive. He remembered Eusine doing something… grabbing something in his backpack…

Of course! He was hit by the back of his head. That was what still hurt. He didn’t remember anyone hitting Eusine. Was he safe now? What about Greta? Apparently, they could not save Redwald. Were they fainted as well? Did they save themselves somehow but have to let go of Redwald?

Redwald knew he needed more hints. He checked the dark room. There was absolutely no room. He had no idea how long he had been lying down there. He also had no idea what time it was, if it was morning or night. There was this very old and messy sofa next to the wall. It was either grey or white. There was no carpet on the floor. The walls were covered with wallpaper. The motive was some rose illustrations, all yellow.

Redwald spotted half-glowing broken glasses on the floor under the weak light. He could use them to cut the rope that tied his hands and legs, he thought. However, the glasses were way too small to be functionable. In a big disappointment, Redwald tried to relax and wait for whatever was there to come. Until he realized his backpack was nowhere to be seen… with all the Poké Balls in it…

Redwald began to feel impatient of what may happen. He needed to know that his Pokémon were safe. He could not hold it anymore and began to yell. “Where is my backpack? Give me back my Pokémon!?” He was shouting out loud. He forced himself to stand up and walk towards the old door, but he could not move a step farther as he fell on the floor hard again. He hurt his chin.

The door opened. A strong light from the hallway illuminated the inside a bit. Redwald’s eyes were so used to dark that he could not recognize any shade of colours on the body of the person who came inside along. She stood and did nothing. Redwald got used to the light and spotted the woman waiting for something. She was quite tall. Redwald thought she was an adult. Her hair was tied on her back. It reached to her waist. But Redwald couldn’t tell the colour. He spotted the shade of glasses on her face.

“Keep it quiet, kid.” She hissed. Redwald tried to speak but he didn’t know what to say. He regretted he didn’t think of planning something before yelling. “Who are you?” He managed to speak first. “Where am I? What do you want from me?”

She stood still with no response. Redwald did what he only could – keep asking. “Where are my Pokémon? My friends? Where are they?” He wasn’t sure if he wished he had his friends in the building, or not. The lady folded her arms. “That’s a noisy one.” She said, belittling. She took a few steps with her court shoes echoing. She grabbed Redwald from his waist and lifted him up. “I will untie your legs. If you, by any hope, attempt to escape, not only I will catch you very easily, but I also will have to kill you. Nod if you understood perfectly.”

Redwald nodded weakly. The lady grabbed a Poké Ball from her pocket and pushed the button in the middle. “Parasect, Cut.”

Upon appearing on the dark floor, Redwald could still recognize a Parasect from its empty look on its face, the terrifying expression. His large right pincer glowed bright while preparing for the move, Cut. The pincer grew even bigger with its bright-glowing colour. Once he put his big pincer on the rope of Redwald’s legs, it got cut off in several pieces. The big pincer got through Redwald’s pants and hurt his legs also. Redwald felt the pain but the priority of this small pain was just way behind over his, his friends’ and Pokémon’s safety.

The woman held Redwald’s tied hands on his back and forced him out of the room. When Redwald reached to the hallway, the lightning went through his eyes and made them watery. Redwald had to squint. It took only when they turned around the corner that Redwald could see the inside more properly. The walls were brownish and cracked. The darker brown doors were all around, but Redwald had no idea where they could lead to. They reached to the stairs and walked down there. “Where are my Pokémon?” He asked again, hopelessly. The woman did not answer.

Eventually, they stood before a white door. That was the first door that was not brown. The woman knocked the door and opened it. There was a middle-aged man sitting on a chair behind a table. There was nothing besides those three things other than another free chair in that pure white interrogation room. The woman pushed Redwald inside and made him sit on the other chair.

Redwald looked at the man. He had a grey hair. He didn’t have any beard or moustache. But the glasses he wore made him look nothing younger. He was wearing a white lab coat. Inside, only a white shirt with blue lines was seen. “Tell me everything you know.” He said. He sounded very authoritative. Redwald tried to understand the situation, but it was just impossible without any sign of anything. “I don’t really know what is—”

He was calmly, yet aggressively interrupted. “For once and all, make it painless for yourself.”

Redwald was getting annoyed. “I want to know why I am being kept and if my Pokémon and friends are alright!” He said. “I literally woke up in this mansion, and I am not informed regarding anything! You want some explanations, but how am I supposed to give you some without knowing anything?”

The man did not change anything of his expression. Redwald expected him to be at least surprised, but no. He put his hands on the table. “Playing memory loss, huh… I can’t say I didn’t expect that.”

Redwald was really pissed off. If his hands were free, he would hit on the table so hard that the sound would echo through the whole building, no matter how big it actually was. He tried to keep it calm and say again. “I don’t know what you ask for.”

“Maybe, young man, this will remind you some things.” The old man said. “Our man has been found fainted and hurt whilst you and your people were with him. It is also reported that some of your people was trying to give some sort of potion to my man.”

“My people?” Redwald was shocked. “We are not some sort of coven. Besides, we didn’t hurt your man in any way. We found him fainted, and my friend was trying to save him.”

The old man seemed uncomfortable with all the talk. He put his chin on his hands, closed his eyes and took a moment to think. “Bring him back, Hadley.” He said. The same woman grabbed Redwald on his nape and lifted him. “Walk faster.” She dictated. Redwald returned back to his dark room with no answer.

He was left in the dark room again. He remained silently there for who knows how long. He thought about his journey so far, all the partners and friends he made on the way. He felt he already missed them. He could sacrifice a fortune to feel Eevee’s soft fur on his skin again… or to hear Pidgeotto’s cheerful cry… to see the hope in Charmander’s eyes…

When the door opened again, Redwald had no idea how long it had been since he was kept there. A few hours? Maybe even less? The same woman, what was her name, again? Hadley was there again along with her creepy Parasect. They both came inside. Parasect used Cut on Redwald’s tied wrists. The rope got destroyed. Hadley called the Pokémon back in his Poké Ball and grabbed Redwald’s shirt to lift him up. Redwald felt dizzy, but he managed his balance eventually. Hadley pushed his shoulder. “Keep going.” She was clearly annoyed for something.

Redwald walked the same hallway over again, but this time, he went to another room behind a brown door. The inside was brighter than the dark room he was kept in for so long. Hadley closed the door from behind. The two were inside alone.

Redwald spotted his backpack on the table. He quickly walked toward his backpack and checked inside. It was dug, but nothing was taken. The Poké Balls were in the backpack, as well. He grabbed them all, pushed the buttons and called each partner of his out. Eevee was the first one to pop up. He ran onto Redwald and put his head on Redwald’s chest, showing his love for his trainer. “I’ve missed you too, bud.” He said.

Charmander and Poliwag also squeezed Redwald around. Pidgeotto drew circles in the air on the top of him. Sandshrew and Tangela were the last ones to appear and gather around Redwald. Redwald felt relieved to see all his Pokémon doing fine safely and sound. “You better rest now, though.” He said, once he made sure that they all were fine. He called each one in their Poké Balls. Eevee struggled following his command, but Redwald convinced him easily to get in the Poké Ball.

There was one more thing to make sure, however. “My friends.” He was talking to Hadley. “Are they fine?”

“If you are done fulfilling your longing, follow me.” She said arrogantly. Redwald put his backpack on and walked towards the door, opened it. Hadley went to hallway. Redwald followed her behind. They climbed three floors. Eventually, Hadley opened another door and let Redwald go in. Greta and Eusine were sitting on a couch. They were hugging each other. Greta embedded her head on Eusine’s chest, crying. Eusine was trying to calm her down, apparently.

“Red! You’re alright!” Eusine responded. Greta withdrew her face and looked at Redwald. Her eyes were completely red, and her face was quite wet. Redwald thought she had been crying for hours. Greta suddenly stood up and ran towards Redwald. “I’m so glad you are safe, Red!” She cried out, hugging him very tight. Redwald did not expect that kind of welcome, but he felt good. He felt like he had a family there. “Thank you, Greta.” He said. “I was worried about you, too.”

“They blame us for that fainted guy.” She said. “I told them millions of times that we have nothing to do with it! But they didn’t believe!”

“It has changed now as it seems.” Hadley responded. She sounded so unpleasant that Redwald and the others knew Hadley still thought she was blaming it on Redwald and the others. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be walking freely, hugging each other, despite of hurting Adrian.”

“Are you alright, Red? Did they hurt you?” Eusine asked, ignoring Hadley entirely. Redwald nodded. “I’m fine. Are you?”

“I am fine, too.” Greta said. “But Eusine… Eusine…”

“Did they hurt you, Eusine?” Redwald asked.

“It’s nothing major.” Eusine responded. “They thought giving me some pain could make me talk. I would, maybe. Except I don’t know anything.”

“Why did they hurt you in particular?” Redwald asked. That was nonsense.

“He is the one with a Haunter, isn’t he?” Hadley interrupted again. By the look on her face, Redwald could tell that she already talked too much, revealed many things that she probably was not supposed to. But she was so much full of hate that she could not keep her mouth shut.

“Why is it relevant?” Greta asked. Before Hadley had a proper chance to answer that question, the old man who questioned Redwald in the interrogation room entered. Redwald felt alarmed and stepped back. He realized Greta did the same. The old man had rather more lovable face this time.

“Please accept my apology.” He said. Redwald, Greta and Eusine, all were shocked. “Your friend has a Haunter which led to us thinking you were part of Purple Town.”

“What is Purple Town?” Greta asked.

“The coven. Our everlasting rivals.” The old man said, feeling sentimental. He did not seem like he wanted to further with details. “However, we finally have come to the conclusion that you did not mean any harm to our beloved member Adrian.”

“How did you come to this conclusion?” Redwald asked. “When I told you the same repeatedly, you didn’t seem to understand and word I spoke.”

“Adrian himself… woke up and explained us what happened.” The old man responded, feeling guilty.

“His mind can be tricked! His memories can be changed!” Hadley interrupted. The old man rose his right hand to mean “Stop it, Hadley”.

“We have a secret coven over here ourselves, as well.” The man said. “Please understand that we will have to hypnotise you before letting you go. But before that, let us feed you well. We can at least do that.”

“Who are you?” Eusine asked a bizarre question. Everyone remained in silence, stared at Eusine for a second. “How dare you?” Hadley snapped.

“I am called Mr. Macdonald.” The man replied. “I am in the lead of our coven which we call Dawn’s Hope.” He saw the empty look in Redwald, Greta and Eusine’s faces, but he didn’t intend to give more information, either. “May we, please?”

Redwald, Greta and Eusine were brought to a dining room. The room was quite dark, only some candles were illuminating the inside. Redwald, Greta and Eusine took their seats and waited for the service to arrive. A maid came to the dark room, carrying a wheeled tray. The smell of the dinner covered all the room in seconds. Greta felt her stomach craving for some delicious food. The maid elegantly put the plates for each one. Eusine thought it was Tauros meat. Many people’s favourite. The maid then placed the salad in the middle and served wine for everyone. “If you please, we would like to serve your Pokémon as well.” She said.

Redwald grabbed the Poké Balls and handed them over the maid. Greta and Eusine did the same. The maid told them to enjoy the dinner and left the room. When Greta took a bite from the meat, she felt like heaven for a second. “It’s been so long since we had such expensive food in our plates.” She said. Redwald smiled gently but did not speak. He was too tired to speak, after all. Eusine was distracted by something apparently, as Greta spotted, he stared at some point outside of the room for a while. “What is it, Eusine?” She asked. Eusine did not answer but left the table, walked out of the room. Greta and Redwald stared at him from behind.

Once Eusine stood next to a table, both Redwald and Greta were shocked. A spoon was floating in the air on its own. A girl was staring at it behind the table. Redwald and Greta followed Eusine from behind. When Redwald came close enough to hear them, he heard Eusine asking. “Are you bending the spoon through your mind?”

The spoon fell on the table. The woman had a suspicious look on her face. “Who are you?” She asked. Eusine cleared his throat. “We are guests here.” He said. The woman seemed even more suspicious then. “We don’t accept guests here. Never.” Eusine opened his arms wide, implying “but here we are”.

“We are students here.” The girl said. “We all have special skills that you don’t find commonly. We are capable of using our mental capacity at the ultimate point, or we at least learn to do it.”

“Could you show us a trick?” Redwald asked. “If it is not too much to ask…”

The girl stared at the spoon on the table. She kept staring for seconds until the spoon began to bend. The top of the spoon bended over 180° and finally touched to bottom of itself.

“That was some quick trick…” Eusine responded. He seemed amazed. “There was this person in my town who was claimed to be mentally powerful. Everyone expected too much from his skills. He failed in the end. I always thought he was under too much pressure.

“That sounds about right.” The girl said. “In the beginners’ course, we are always put in a silent room and no one is allowed to enter.” She smiled at Eusine. “Concentration is the key.”

Eusine smiled back at her. “You seem like over it already.”

“This is my fourth year in this coven.” She responded. At the time, Redwald couldn’t understand why, but Greta became passive aggressive. “We have our dinner waiting, people.” She said. “Shall we go now?”

She held Redwald’s hand and tugged him along. When she looked back, she saw Eusine still talking to the girl. She did not say anything, reached to the room and ate her dinner in silence while the two kept their conversation for a little longer while.

They were done with eating around 30 minutes later. Greta was thankful for everything. Despite of the creepy look of that depressed place, she was glad to be there for the food in the end. “It was just like when I ate at home.” She said sometime, even.

Mr. Macdonald came with a gentle smile on his face. “I hope you are full now.” He said. “We are.” Eusine responded. “The desserts were also great. We appreciate your care.” He said. “I suppose we are ready to leave now.”

“I’m happy to hear that.” He responded. Redwald, Greta and Eusine stood up and grabbed their bags and backpacks. Just as Mr. Macdonald was about to say something, three people ran in the hallway as fast as they could. Soon after, some noise could be heard coming from the entrance.

“What is going on?” Greta asked. Mr. Macdonald had a worrying expression on his face. He left the room and followed the hallway to get where everyone gathered. Redwald, Greta and Eusine were right behind. The members of the coven gathered around something and made it impossible to be seen.

“Open up, let me through.” Mr. Macdonald said. He was using his authoritative voice again, changing his paternalistic sound back in the room. Redwald and Eusine fell behind him, Greta chose to stay back now knowing what was there. Mr. Macdonald finally saw what was in the centre of the circle. Redwald and Eusine did as well. There was a man shaking on the ground. He had the empties look in his eyes that startled Redwald in a sense. The man lying on the floor was terrified, he was in a shock. Mr. Macdonald grabbed the man from his shoulders and lifted him up. Hadley arrived just in time. “What is it, Mr. Macdonald?!”

“Take him to the nursing room, Hadley.” Mr. Macdonald responded. Hadley grabbed the man, covered his arm around her neck and carried him through the hallway. Greta, despite of not willing to see it, was terrified to see the man as he was. Mr. Macdonald wanted to disperse the crowd. “Everyone to their duties.” He shouted. Everyone went somewhere and cleared the entrance. Mr. Macdonald followed the hallway where Hadley went.

“What was that about?” Redwald asked. None made any sense to him. “What could have happened to him?”

“I have no idea… But I’m curious to know.” Eusine responded. Greta stepped in between. “I am not.” She said. “Let them do whatever they have to deal with. Don’t let us stay in between. I don’t feel like involving this, whatever it may be.”

“We don’t really have a choice, though. Do we?” Eusine responded. “We can’t leave here, because we are told it is a secret place, and we can leave only when we are hypnotised.”

“Let’s wait in the dining room.” Greta said. The look in her eyes was begging for it. Eusine was indeed really curious to know what was that all about. But she couldn’t reject Greta especially when she was scared this much.

“I can stay with her, Eusine.” Redwald said. “We will be in the dining room. You go and find Mr. Macdonald.” He nodded to make sure it was alright. It convinced Eusine to do it. “I will be back soon, Greta. Don’t worry.” He said.

Greta could punch Redwald in the eye and give him the ultimate pain she could ever give. Redwald was not the one Greta needed by her side, but it was Eusine. Despite of her extreme annoyance, Greta could not insist on anything since she could not just dare. She nodded and silently walked back to the dining room with Redwald. Eusine ran back to the hallway and chased wherever Mr. Macdonald or Hadley could have gone.

Redwald and Greta were sitting in the room silently. Redwald was lost in his own thoughts, he didn’t realise right away. But Greta was not alright. She had her eyes watery. “Why did you do it, Red?” She asked. She sounded very calm and sad. Redwald returned to real world in a sudden. He felt dumbfounded for a second. “I… I did what?” He didn’t understand what she meant.

“I wanted Eusine to stand by my side… Why did you have to offer it?” She asked. Redwald felt even more confused. “I… I didn’t think you would…”

“You never think I would…” Greta interrupted him. Despite of her question, she could not bear his answer in the end. “Enough.” She closed the case, ended the conversation. Redwald was lost in Greta’s thoughts. He remained in silence until soon after, a bunch of people came in the dining room.

First one to enter was Mr. Macdonald. Hadley was right behind him. She was holding the hand of another young girl. Greta checked the girl from bottom to the top. She was staring at one straight point. It hit Greta right away – she was blind. “What a pity…” Greta thought. “…for such a beautiful girl with such elegant hair.” Her pink hair was going down until her knees. The blue eyes that she had were so beautiful that Greta had troubles not staring at them. Next to this elegant lady, Hadley looked like a witch with dark red hair and annoying glasses, Greta thought. Finally, Eusine entered the room. But the feeling of pity in Greta was replaced with anger all of a sudden. Eusine entered the room simultaneously at the same time with the girl Eusine talked to at the dinner. Why were they together? Did they share a privacy together in the meantime? Why did they come last? Greta felt an abnormal pain on her chest but kept it cool.

“We are not leaving right away.” Eusine said.

Everyone gathered around the table. Mr. Macdonald was sitting on the top without facing anyone. On his right, the coven members were aligned; Hadley, the blind girl, the girl from the dinner. On his left, Eusine was sitting on the first seat. Redwald was next to him. Greta was facing the girl from the dinner very unpleasantly.

Eusine decided to explain what was going on. “The young man who just arrived has died a moment ago.” He said. Greta boggled. “He was cursed.”

“What curse?” Redwald asked. Greta was glad there was someone who could still speak and say what Greta had in her mind. Because she was too far from being able to actually use words to express her thoughts.

“It goes back to coven’s history.” Mr. Macdonald said. “We don’t need to waste our time talking about historical facts. Let me tell you as much as you need. Our coven, Dawn’s Hope finds people with telekinesis. We find them, offer our help and train them if they want to. Therefore, our signature type is Psychic. Most of us in this building have at least one Psychic-type Pokémon in our possession. In the other hand, there is this coven called ‘Purple Town’ that researches and goes beyond after-life. They do experiments more dangerous than us. It is even claimed that some members have gone to afterlife and returned.”

“It put us in a rivalry ever since. Both of us wanted to get the attention of the kingdom, we surpassed each other by time to time. With the fall of kingdom, we returned our shells and kept our covens as secret. There are rumours going on about us, but nothing is officially confirmed to be true, although I must admit most of them are true.”

“Sam was one of our most successful students in this coven. The young man you just saw on the floor. He had a promising future ahead. But he was cursed. I recognize this curse whenever I see. That is the curse of Ghost-type Pokémon. A Pokémon with too much experience. Only a member of Purple Town could do such damage. It was a job for trained Gengar.”

“Gengar?” Redwald responded.

“That’s a Ghost-type Pokémon. The strongest Ghost-type Pokémon that you could find in this entire region.” The girl from the dinner said. “It is the evolved form of Haunter. Which is why we suspected you were the members of Purple Town.”

“And they might still be their people.” Hadley interrupted. “Mr. Macdonald, all my respect but do you really believe this is only a coincidence that these people have come here, and right after, Sam, our Sam has passed away?”

“You heard what Adrian said, Hadley.” Mr. Macdonald did not make an eye contact. “Snap it out already.”

“What does all of it have anything to do with us?” Greta interrupted. She wanted to get to the case right away, apparently. Eusine kept explaining this time. “Purple Town probably wants to take much more lives of Dawn’s Hope. They need someone’s assistance to clear the situation. It could be me.”

“Why you?” Greta asked. “They could be using you as a bait. You may sacrifice yourself just for nothing.”

“That’s not it.” Eusine responded. “As you’ve heard, Purple Town trains Ghost-type Pokémon. I have a Haunter as my partner. They will be convinced easily that I have nothing in common with Dawn’s Hope. Furthermore, I can stop them from killing more innocent people.”

“I don’t feel safe about this, Eusine.” Greta said. Mr. Macdonald stood up. “I will keep Mr. Hunter’s safety as my top priority, Mrs. Parker. Believe me. You see the three people standing beside me. Hadley, despite of her immature behaviour, has a great knowledge that could help Mr. Hunter in their dungeon. Teresa next to you, Mrs. Walker, she is our spy from inside. The whole time Mr. Hunter puts himself in danger, he will be with her. We will never let Mr. Hunter go there alone. For the last, Lily is one of our most beloved members in the coven. She is given a gift. Through water, she can control anywhere and let us know if any danger approaches.”

Greta felt wrong about any of this. Eusine working with Teresa, putting his safety on a blind girl, letting Eusine go through life treating dangerous experience for a coven that has nothing to do with them. “Why should we help you, Mr. Macdonald?” Greta asked.

“Because I want to.” Eusine said. “I want to save innocent people. I want to help people who need it.” He stood up. “Remember, Greta. This is how we met, and this is how we decided to travel together. I didn’t need a reason to do it. I just did. It is exactly the same for this coven.”

He sounded like that was the end of conversation. Greta had very mixed feelings. That generous behaviour of Eusine made Greta love him even more. In the other hand, she worried that in the end, Eusine would want to stay with the coven and let herself and Redwald go alone… After all, they had a nice dinner every day.

Greta wanted to scream too many things, but no one actually needed her approval for anything.

Humans

 * Redwald Walker
 * Greta Parker
 * Eusine Hunter
 * Mr. Macdonald
 * Adrian
 * Hadley
 * Teresa
 * Lily
 * Sam
 * Members of Dawn's Hope

Pokémon

 * (mentioned)
 * Hadley's Parasect
 * Gengar (mentioned)
 * (mentioned)
 * Hadley's Parasect
 * Gengar (mentioned)
 * (mentioned)
 * Hadley's Parasect
 * Gengar (mentioned)