by Alex Polan
Ethan put his phone down to show that he was paying attention. As he stepped through the second door, he felt as if he’d just walked into a tropical wonderland.
Sun streamed through the windows at the top of the Butterfly House. Lush green plants grew beside the stream that wound alongside the stone walkway. And colorful butterflies dipped and dove gracefully around him.
“Watch your step,” said Mrs. Walker, her eyes gleaming. “And if a butterfly lands on you, remember not to touch it!” She led the way down the path, looking up, down, and all around.
Just a few feet ahead of Ethan, Devin stopped suddenly. “Gia, there’s a butterfly on your shoulder!” she whispered, raising her phone to take a picture.
Ethan could just make out the orange butterfly, which seemed perfectly content hitching a ride on Gianna.
She tilted her head, trying to see sideways. “Is it orange? I think that’s a Queen butterfly.” She checked the brochure she must have grabbed at the exhibit entrance while Devin tried to get the perfect shot.
“Smile!” said Devin.
Ethan wasn’t sure whether she was talking to Gianna or to the butterfly.
Then Devin stopped to read one of the informational signs out loud. “Hey, Ethan, did you know that some butterflies are nearly invisible? Their colors blend in with their surroundings, like camo …”
“Camouflage?” he said. “Yeah, I think I knew that.”
Every few steps, she stopped to read another sign. Ethan wished he could empty out her item bag himself so that she’d start playing Pokémon GO again instead of playing Butterfly House tour guide.
He hurried past Devin toward the bridge crossing the small stream. Mrs. Walker pointed to the orange-and-white fish swimming below, which looked like giant goldfish. “See those, Ethan? They’re Japanese koi. Aren’t they beautiful?”
That’s when Ethan’s phone vibrated and he saw the Pokémon on his screen. “Goldeen! No way!”
“Where? I don’t have that one yet!” said Gianna, hurrying to catch up. She bent over the bridge, waiting for Goldeen to show up on her screen.
“Gia, for heaven’s sakes, don’t fall!” said her mother. “And don’t you dare drop anything into the water—especially my phone.”
“I won’t. But where’s Goldeen?” Gianna asked. She checked the other side of the bridge and bent herself into pretzels until she finally found the Pokémon.
“Gotcha!” Ethan heard her call, just as he scooped up the Pokémon with his own ball.
As he straightened back up, he heard Devin whisper to him. It sounded like she was standing just a few inches away. “Don’t move, Ethan. There’s a ginormous blue butterfly on your head.”
A shiver ran down his spine. “What kind of butterfly?” he whispered back.
“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you,” she said. “Let me get a picture.”
He heard the snap of her phone, which must have startled the butterfly. When Ethan felt the flutter of wings, he glanced up. Then he immediately ducked—he couldn’t help it!
It was the biggest butterfly he’d ever seen.
And it had just been sitting on his head.
CHAPTER 3
“It’s so big!” said Devin, showing Ethan and Gianna the picture of the butterfly.
“And so blue,” said Gianna, her eyes sparkling. “I’ve read about the Blue Morpho butterfly before, but I’ve never seen one. It doesn’t even look real. It looks more like a Pokémon, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, it’s very real,” said Mrs. Walker, rubbing her hands together as if she’d just received a great gift. “We don’t have them up here in the States. They live in tropical rainforests. We’re lucky to see one here today.”
“And Ethan was lucky enough to have it land right on him,” said Carlo, reaching over to pat Ethan’s head.
“Hey!” said Ethan. “Don’t touch the hair.” He pretended to smooth it back in place, the way Carlo would.
Then Ethan caught sight of something along the path ahead. A small table was set up with a very yellow sign on it. He recognized it immediately as Team Instinct yellow.
“It’s another scavenger hunt station!” he said. “C’mon!”
The station was set up next to a tall wooden cabinet labeled Chrysalis Case. As Ethan got closer, he saw what was inside: row upon row of butterfly pupae, hanging from long sticks.
“Are those real?” he asked the exhibit guide, a gray-haired man with thick glasses.
“Indeed,” said the man. “My name is Spark, and I’m the leader of Team Instinct. We study Pokémon intuition, and I’m pretty sure it’s related to how Pokémon are hatched.”
“Ha! Get it?” said Mrs. Walker as she stepped up behind Ethan. “Pokémon hatch from eggs. Butterflies emerge from a pupa, or a chrysalis. That’s very clever.”
“Well, thank you,” said Spark with a smile, as if he’d written the scavenger-hunt script himself. “Does anyone know how long it might take for a butterfly to ‘hatch’ from a pupa?”
Gianna raised her hand. “About two weeks,” she said. “At least that’s what Mom told me once.”
“Very good. You, young lady, earn a sticker.” Spark handed her a yellow sticker, which she stuck to her tank top right next to the blue one.
He gave stickers to the rest of the kids and even to Mrs. Walker, who laughed and stuck it to her tote bag. Ethan noticed that this sticker was in the shape of Zapdos, another legendary, birdlike Pokémon—and also the Team Instinct mascot.
“Only one more station to go!” he said to his friends. “We’re looking for Team Valor now.”
At the very mention of Team Valor, Devin turned around and scrunched up her freckled nose.
Ethan felt the same way. Team Valor was the rival team—and defenders of a rival gym—back home in Newville.
“Hey, it looks like a butterfly is coming out!” said Gianna, pointing toward the Chrysalis Case.
Sure enough, Ethan could see little butterfly legs poking through a slit in the chrysalis. He and his friends watched for a while, but it was slow going for that poor butterfly. When Ethan turned around, he saw that he and his friends were holding up a whole line of people.
Mrs. Walker must have just noticed it, too. “Let’s keep moving, kids,” she said quickly. “It can take a long time for a butterfly to emerge from a chrysalis.”
That’s when Ethan remembered his Pokémon Egg. Is my Pokémon going to hatch anytime soon? he wondered. He checked the numbers next to the egg.
Nope. He had walked only a single kilometer so far. Hopefully it won’t be like a butterfly and take two weeks, he thought with a sigh.
“Hey, Ethan, did you know that adult butterflies never eat? They only drink nectar from flowers.”
Devin was beside him again, stopping to read every single sign she saw out loud.
Great.
“Hey, Ethan, did you know that butterflies smell with their antennae?”
He kept walking.
“Hey, Ethan, did you know you have a butterfly on your butt?”
That one got his attention.
“Where?” he asked, freezing mid-step. “Is it another Blue Morpho?”
“No,” said Devin. “This one is a lot smaller. Turn around and see for yourself.”
As he slowly twisted around, he caught sight of a little black-and-white butterfly. It reminded him of the baby goat at the petting zoo.
“That’s a Zebra butterfly,” said Gianna, checking her brochure. “He’s so cute!”
“Yeah, but what do I do with him?” asked Ethan. “Should I start walking?”
“Wait!” said Devin. “Let me get a picture first. I’m going to frame this photo and call it ‘Butterfly.’ Because it’s on your butt, get it?”
Ethan groaned. “That’s a Dad joke,” he said. “You’re about as funny as he is.”
Devin stuck out her tongue, but her eyes were smiling.
As soon as he started walking again, Ethan was relieved to see the Zebra butterf
ly flutter away overhead. But as they neared the end of the exhibit, Ethan took a good, long look in the floor-length mirror to make sure he didn’t have any other “butterflies” on his backside.
A sign posted above the door read, CHECK YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR. DO A BUTTERFLY DANCE TO GENTLY SHAKE OFF ANY BUTTERFLIES BEFORE LEAVING.
“A butterfly dance?” said Devin. “I can do that.”
She started fluttering her wings in the air, and pretty soon Gianna was doing it, too.
“Wait for me, Carlo,” Ethan called as Carlo disappeared through the exit door. “The girls are taking this butterfly dance thing a little too far.”
As Ethan closed the glass door, he made sure no butterflies came with him.
“Where to next?” he asked Carlo, who was hitting up the PokéStop out front for more Poké Balls.
“It looks like there are more PokéStops near the Polar Passage,” said Carlo, checking the map on his phone. “And maybe a polar bear, too!”
So as soon as the girls and Mrs. Walker stepped outside, Ethan and Carlo led the way to the Polar Passage.
As they passed the seal tank, Ethan watched a spotted seal do a somersault in the water before swimming away. He checked his phone, hoping to spot a Seel there, too. He didn’t have one of those yet! But no such luck.
“PokéStop!” called Carlo. He was standing beside a statue of a polar bear rising up on its hind legs.
Ethan hurried over and racked up a few Poké Balls, too, trying not to think about how scary a real polar bear might be if it were standing beside him. Those things are tall! he realized.
“Oh, there’s the polar bear!” shouted Devin, which made Ethan jump.
He followed her gaze toward the entrance to the polar bear cave. “Where?”
“You missed it,” she said. “You were too busy looking at your phone.”
Ethan sighed. He wished he’d seen the polar bear, but he also wished he’d see some Pokémon sometime soon. “Where did all the Pokémon go?” he asked out loud.
Carlo shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen one since the Butterfly House.”
“And I’m wearing my lucky cap and everything,” said Gianna, searching her own phone screen.
“Wait a second. No, you’re not,” said Mrs. Walker.
“What?”
When he heard the panic in Gianna’s voice, Ethan whirled around. Sure enough, her head was bare. She spun in a circle, searching the ground.
“I lost my lucky cap!” she shouted. “We have to find it. We have to go back. Now!”
CHAPTER 4
Gia, wait!” shouted Mrs. Walker.
But Gianna’s dark curls had already disappeared around the corner of the seal exhibit.
“I’ll catch her,” said Carlo, taking off after his sister.
Ethan followed close behind, wishing he were wearing his new sneakers. He’d never seen Gia run so fast!
They caught up to her just outside the Butterfly House. She was rushing to get in, but a cluster of people at the entrance were blocking her path.
“Please,” she said, a panic-stricken look on her face. “I have to get inside!”
Ethan recognized the gray-haired man with the thick glasses who stood in Gianna’s way. It was Spark!
“I’m afraid there’s been an escape,” he explained to Gia. “A butterfly just got out of the exhibit. But if we could all keep our voices down and search quietly, we might be able to find it.”
“What?” cried Mrs. Walker, who had finally caught up to them. “What kind of butterfly?” She looked as upset about the butterfly as Gia did about her lost cap.
Spark sighed. “A Blue Morpho. One of the largest and rarest ones.”
Devin sucked in her breath, and Mrs. Walker’s face fell. “Oh, dear. What bad luck.”
“See?” said Gianna, spreading her arms wide. “It’s because I lost my lucky cap. We have to find it!” As soon as someone came out of the Butterfly House, she pushed her way in.
“I see the Morpho!” someone shouted from the edge of the crowd.
As Mrs. Walker’s eyes lit up, Carlo stepped toward the entrance. “You help find the butterfly, Mom,” he said. “We’ll help Gia find her cap.”
Mrs. Walker nodded. “Stay together. Do not split up. Do you hear me, Carlo?”
He nodded, ran his hand over his dark hair, and ducked into the entrance.
“Hurry, Ethan,” said Devin. “Follow him. We have to help Gia!”
When Ethan hesitated too long, she pushed past him and tried to get through the door, too. But the Butterfly House exhibit guides were making sure people entered one at a time.
“We don’t want to lose any more butterflies,” said the dark-haired woman in the orange shirt who finally let Ethan in.
By then, he couldn't see his friends anywhere. So much for not splitting up! he thought. He hurried along the stone path, making sure not to step on any butterflies.
This time, he paid attention to every sign he passed in the exhibit—at least to scan the signs for a green bug cap with yellow antennae. Had Gianna taken it off and hung it somewhere?
When his phone vibrated to tell him a Pokémon or PokéStop was nearby, he ignored it, though it took all his willpower. And he hurried faster along the trail—past the bridge over the stream, past the Chrysalis Case, and finally to the mirrors at the exit.
Gianna, Carlo, and Devin were all waiting there. And Ethan could tell by the looks on their faces that they hadn’t found the cap, either.
“Where could it be?” asked Gianna.
When Ethan saw tears welling up in her eyes, he tried to think of something to say that would make her feel better. “I don’t know, Gia, but we’ll find it. It’s just another mystery to solve, and we’re good at solving mysteries, remember?”
Devin nodded. “We are! We found Mrs. Applegate’s cat. And a cat is a whole lot harder to find than a cap.”
Gianna wiped her nose and laughed. “That’s true.”
“So is Team Mystic on the case?” asked Ethan. He held out his hand, palm down.
“Team Mystic,” said Devin, putting her hand on top.
Carlo and Gianna added their hands, too. “Team Mystic.”
“Good,” said Ethan, straightening back up. “So maybe we should retrace our steps. Which exhibit were we at before this one? Let’s think!”
“The petting zoo?” asked Devin. “No, wait, the Rainforest Center!”
Gianna’s face brightened. Then she pushed open the exit door and took off.
Ethan took a quick look in the mirror to make sure his body—especially his butt—was free of butterflies. Then he followed his teammates out the door.
“Hello, kids. My name is Blanche, and I’m the leader of Team Mystic.”
They had just stepped into the Rainforest Center, and it was as if the lady at the scavenger hunt station had never seen them before!
“We were already here, Blanche,” said Ethan, trying not to sound impatient. “See?” He pulled out the front of his T-shirt to show her the Team Mystic sticker she had given him just an hour or two earlier.
“Oh, sorry!” said Blanche, shrugging. “I meet a lot of kids, you know.”
“No worries,” said Carlo, who sounded much more calm than Ethan felt. “Have you seen a green bug cap, by chance? With antennae on top?”
“I sure did,” said Blanche. “There it is right now!” She pointed toward the doorway, where a couple of kids were walking out. A girl with a long blonde braid was wearing a green cap—a cap with antennae on top!
“Follow that cap!” shouted Ethan. He couldn’t believe their good luck! They’d caught the thief red-handed.
But as he ran toward the door, a group of kids in matching tie-dyed T-shirts piled into the Rainforest Center and charged toward Blanche and the Team Mystic table. Ethan tried to dodge around them and get to the door. But it was like swimming upstream. He finally had to stand still and let them run around him.
By the time he and his friends m
ade it out of the Rainforest Center, the bug cap was nowhere in sight.
“So someone stole it?” said Gianna, her eyes wide. “I can’t believe someone would do that!”
“Whoever stole it is probably going to catch some good Pokémon,” said Carlo, checking his phone. “Because I haven’t caught a single one since you lost that cap.”
“Me neither,” said Ethan with a sigh.
“Forget about the Pokémon, already,” said Devin, shading her eyes. “I think I see Gia’s cap.” She pointed toward a bunch of little kids lined up by a sign that read ZOO TRAIN.
Ethan spotted the green bug cap, too. The blonde girl wearing it was the tallest kid in line!
“Let’s go!” he shouted.
Ethan and Carlo reached the line first and tried to weave their way through it, toward the blonde girl.
“Hey, no cutting!” shouted a short kid in a striped shirt.
“My friend lost her cap,” Ethan tried to explain. “Someone up there stole it!”
“Really?” said the kid, his eyes wide. But as he stepped aside to let Ethan pass, someone else in striped overalls moved into his place.
The zoo guide dressed like a train conductor held up his hand. “Sorry, kids,” he said. “This train is full. You’ll have to take the next one.”
He pointed toward a second train coming down the tracks. It slowed to a halt with a puff of steam.
“We don’t want to take the train,” Ethan managed to say. “We’re trying to stop it!”
He pointed toward the first train. The girl wearing Gianna’s cap had her head out the window, with one antenna bouncing off the top of the train.
For just a second, Ethan thought about charging the train and yanking the cap off her head. But before he could make up his mind about what to do, the train started chugging down the tracks. Too late, he thought.
“This way, folks,” said the conductor, shepherding Ethan and Carlo toward the second train.
Ethan tried to step aside, but the line of kids behind him pushed him and Carlo forward—especially the little kid in the striped shirt.
“What are we doing?” he heard Devin cry from behind.