Chapter 24 – Tea Leaves and Thunderclouds
The Celadon night faded slowly into a golden morning, the air fresh with dew and the soft hum of street sweepers rolling past the cobblestone alleys. Birds chirped. Somewhere, a Skitty meowed from a rooftop.
Kai sat on the steps outside the Pokémon Center, legs stretched, watching Riolu shadowbox in front of him. Each tiny punch came with a burst of focus. Gardevoir stood beside him, arms folded, occasionally correcting Riolu's form with subtle nudges of psychic energy.
"Little guy's getting sharper," Kai said with a smile.
"He's trying to copy Frogadier," Gardevoir responded, her voice softly echoing in his mind.
"Trying to?" Kai smirked. "He already stole his pose."
Riolu paused, puffed up his chest, and then dropped into a crouch—mimicking Frogadier's dramatic, arms-crossed stance.
From behind, Frogadier peeked out from a tree's shadow, deadpan. He flicked a berry at Riolu's forehead.
"Hey, easy!" Kai laughed.
The doors slid open behind him.
Ash stepped out with a stretch and a loud yawn, Pikachu perched lazily on his shoulder. "Morning already?"
Kai glanced back. "Barely. But we've got a schedule."
Ash blinked. "We do?"
Misty appeared next, half-asleep and holding a large thermos of tea. "Yes, we do. We're meeting Erika again for an early strategy session."
Ash looked confused. "Didn't we already win the badge?"
Misty sipped her tea and muttered, "She wants to discuss Team Rocket."
That got Ash's attention.
Pikachu twitched an ear.
Kai stood. "Let's get moving."
---
The Celadon Gym looked even more serene in the morning light, draped in dew-covered vines and sunlight cascading through its greenhouse glass. Inside, Erika waited in a wide chamber filled with aromatic herbs and benches carved from tree stumps. She wore a different kimono—this one cream-colored with a vine motif. A steaming teapot sat on the low table before her.
"I'm glad you came," she said without turning around. "The garden said you would."
Kai, Misty, and Ash sat cross-legged in front of her, the Pokémon resting nearby. Pikachu climbed into a small cushion and immediately fell asleep.
"You said something last time," Kai said. "About Rocket. About roots."
Erika nodded, pouring tea into four clay cups. "Yes. The Celadon Gym receives whispers from the city's undercurrent. And that undercurrent... has grown darker."
Misty took a cautious sip. "You're saying Team Rocket's here?"
"More than here," Erika said softly. "They're dug in. They're running a facility beneath the Game Corner. Smuggling. Genetic projects. Theft."
Ash's face tensed. "We've dealt with their kind before."
Kai's eyes narrowed. "Why hasn't the League stepped in?"
Erika's lips curled slightly. "The League looks where it is told. This city runs on money and fragrance. No one wants to smell corruption."
Gardevoir stood quietly behind Kai, her eyes watching Erika carefully.
"They'll make a move soon," Erika continued. "And I believe... you may be the storm they fear."
Kai lowered his cup slowly. "What do you want us to do?"
She reached into her sleeve and passed him a folded map. "There's a back entrance. Hidden beneath the old greenhouse in the north district. It's not guarded—yet."
Ash cracked his knuckles. "About time something happened."
Misty sighed. "Can't we just have a normal shopping day for once?"
"No," Kai and Ash said together.
Misty groaned and took another long sip of tea.
---
An hour later, the group approached the edge of Celadon's northern ward. Unlike the vibrant markets and glossy gym grounds, this area felt older—worn. Rusted signs. Overgrown planters. A slow fog creeping up the alleys.
They followed Erika's directions until they reached an ivy-covered gate. Behind it, a half-collapsed greenhouse leaned against itself, its glass cracked and vines bursting from every window.
"Charming," Misty muttered.
Blaze stepped forward first, flames lighting the gloom. Kai followed with Gardevoir, Ash beside him with Pikachu alert on his shoulder.
Riolu sniffed the ground near a cracked flowerpot. Frogadier melded into the shadows.
Inside the greenhouse, it was darker still. Fallen pots. Rotten tables. Something hissed from under a bench—just a wild Oddish.
"There." Gardevoir pointed toward a metal grate in the floor, half-buried under dead vines.
Ash moved first. He yanked it open, revealing a descending ladder with faint lighting below.
Kai glanced at Misty. "You sure you're okay with this?"
She rolled her eyes. "If a weed touches me, I'm going to scream."
"That's a yes," Kai said and climbed down.
---
The underground corridor was tight and dim, lit by old yellow emergency bulbs that flickered with age. Pipes lined the walls, and the air smelled of rust and chemical rot.
Gardevoir walked with her hand glowing faintly, lighting the way. Blaze took the front with Kai. Frogadier remained in the shadows overhead.
Ash kept an eye on the rear. Pikachu's cheeks occasionally sparked with tension.
Then they heard it—voices ahead.
They slowed, crept forward, and peeked around the corner.
Two Rocket grunts stood near a sliding metal door, arguing over a clipboard.
"You sure the shipment went to the right cell?"
"Yeah, yeah, Sector B. That weird egg thing."
Kai blinked. "Egg?"
Gardevoir placed a hand to his shoulder. "I feel something. Something... ancient."
Ash nodded. "Time to act."
They sprang into motion.
Blaze burst forward with a roar, unleashing a wide Flamethrower. Frogadier dashed up the wall, launching Water Pulses from above. Pikachu zipped forward and released a shockwave.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Flamethrower!"
"Confusion!"
The grunts barely had time to scream before they were thrown backward into the wall. The metal door slid open from the shock—and inside was a dim, blue-lit chamber.
And floating in a reinforced stasis tank...
Was an egg.
But not an ordinary one.
It pulsed with radiant white light, flecks of gold shimmering through its shell. Strange markings were etched across its surface.
Kai stepped forward slowly, breath held.
"Gardevoir?"
She reached out with a glowing hand and shuddered.
"This is... divine. It's not just a Pokémon."
Kai's system flashed in his mind.
> [System Notification: Legendary Presence Detected – Arceus Egg Located]
His eyes widened.
Ash stared at it in awe. "What is that...?"
Kai whispered, "That's Arceus."
Misty's jaw dropped. "Wait—the god Arceus?!"
Gardevoir nodded. "Or... a child of Arceus, reborn in this form."
Pikachu peered into the tank, ears lowered.
Kai turned. "We're taking it."
"No objections here," Ash muttered.
Just then, sirens flared. Red lights flashed across the walls.
"Intruder alert. Sector B breach."
Ash groaned. "Of course."
"Let's go!" Kai shouted.
---
The team raced through the corridor, alarms wailing behind them. Blaze scorched a path forward while Misty guided Psyduck through a mess of overturned crates. Gardevoir levitated the stasis chamber beside her with quiet precision. Frogadier created smoke screens at intersections.
A Rocket elite appeared at the end of one hallway with a Houndoom.
Kai stepped forward. "Gardevoir—together."
Houndoom launched a Dark Pulse.
Kai raised his hand.
A blue sphere of aura shimmered around him—and Gardevoir. The Dark Pulse struck and dispersed.
Kai blinked. "Did I just... block that?"
"Your aura is syncing with mine," Gardevoir confirmed. "We're growing stronger."
Kai smiled. "Then let's show them."
"Moonblast!"
A swirling orb of light formed in Gardevoir's hands and exploded toward Houndoom, blasting it backward.
Ash and Pikachu fought beside them. "Iron Tail!"
Pikachu leapt and slammed his glowing tail into a Muk, launching it into a crate.
More grunts poured in.
Kai gritted his teeth. "We need an exit!"
Then Riolu's eyes flared blue.
He pointed—upward.
"There!" Kai called.
They found a ladder, kicked open the hatch, and emerged into a dark alley behind the Game Corner.
The city lights were returning to normal. Morning had shifted into midday.
They were safe.
---
Back at the Pokémon Center, the stasis tank rested quietly in their room. The egg glowed gently, reacting to Kai's presence.
> [System Notification: Bond Imprinted – Arceus Egg Linked to Trainer's Daughter]
Kai froze.
"Wait... my daughter?"
Misty leaned forward. "Future daughter?"
Gardevoir nodded slowly. "It's fate. The egg waits for her."
Kai placed a hand on the glass.
The egg shimmered, and a faint echo whispered in his mind—
"Shiny...?"
A child's voice.
Soft. Curious.
Innocent.
Ash blinked. "Did it just... talk?"
Kai smiled slowly. "No. She did."
He didn't know her yet.
But one day, she would be here.
And she'd call Arceus something new.
Not 'Father.'
Not 'God.'
But a name only a child would come up with.
A name that meant love.
---
> Chapter End