by Alex Polan
“Oh, no,” he said under his breath. Carlo was sprinting across the back of the goat pen, racing toward Gia’s cap. But when the goats saw him running, they started to run, too!
The little ones ran away into the corner of the pen.
But the big goat set his sights on Carlo—and ran toward him.
“Hurry!” said Ethan, forgetting to keep his voice down. “Get out of there, Carlo!”
But Carlo seemed determined to get Gia’s cap. He slipped in something and nearly wiped out, but he managed to touch his hand to the ground and push himself back up.
When he finally reached the cap, he grabbed it and turned to sprint the other way. Then he stopped in his tracks and stared down at the cap.
He muttered something that Ethan couldn’t hear. Then he flung the cap to the ground and ran back toward the fence.
“My cap!” Gianna cried. “Why’d he drop it?”
Ethan couldn’t answer her. He couldn’t speak at all—not until Carlo made it out of that pen alive. He watched his friend dive over the wooden fence just as the big goat reached it.
The goat climbed up two rungs, as if he might leap the fence, too. But he didn’t. He just stared down at Carlo, who had fallen to the ground. Then the goat turned his head and started chewing something, as if he were now bored of chasing him.
Ethan raced around the fence toward Carlo, who was breathing hard as he pushed himself off the ground. Before Ethan could ask if he was okay, Gianna started shouting.
“Why did you leave my cap in there, Carlo?” she asked, her hands on her hips. “You climb into a pen filled with wild animals, you actually get my cap, and then you drop it? I don’t understand!”
Carlo shrugged. “They’re not exactly wild animals,” he said. “And it wasn’t your cap, Gia. It was just some dusty old rubber ball that was popped and full of goat spit.”
His words hung in the air for a moment.
Then Gianna dropped her hands to her sides. “Oh.”
“Did you hurt yourself?” asked Devin, giving Carlo the once-over.
He grimaced. “I think I slipped on goat poop,” he said. “But I’m okay.”
Gia’s cheek started to twitch. Ethan was afraid she was going to cry, but she didn’t—she laughed out loud instead.
“First, you stepped in bubble gum,” she said, covering her mouth with her hand. “Now, goat poop. My bad luck is sure rubbing off on you, Carlo. I can’t wait to tell Mom about this one!”
Ethan was glad to see that she was smiling again. If I’d known all it would take was a little goat poop, I would have stepped in some a long time ago! he thought with a grin.
“You don’t have to tell Mom about this,” said Carlo. “Actually, wait. Has she texted us back yet?” He pulled the phone from his pocket. “She hasn’t. That’s so weird. Is she still looking for that butterfly?”
“I don’t know,” said Gianna. “Maybe you should call her.”
Carlo punched in the number and then raised the phone to his ear. But when another phone rang nearby, everyone froze.
“Is she already here somewhere?” asked Carlo, whirling around.
“Ah, no,” said Gianna with an embarrassed chuckle. She slowly slid the ringing phone from her pocket.
“Uh-oh,” said Carlo. “We’ve had Mom’s phone this whole time?”
Gianna nodded, and then her smile was gone.
“If she couldn’t get a hold of us,” said Carlo, running his hand over his hair, “she’s probably really worried. She won’t know where we are.”
“She’s going to be worried and mad,” Gianna whispered. “We’ve gotta get back to that Butterfly House. Let’s go!”
“Hold it right there,” a man’s voice boomed. “What’s going on in here? Didn’t you kids see that the petting zoo is closed?”
A man in an orange shirt was walking toward the goat pen. And he didn’t look happy—not at all.
Uh-oh is right, thought Ethan, swallowing hard. He wished he could follow the baby goats right into the corner of the pen and hide.
CHAPTER 8
“Carlo tried to explain why they were in the petting zoo, but the man in orange wasn’t listening.
“Closed means closed,” he said, leading Ethan and his friends back toward the entrance gate. He stopped right by the CLOSED sign and pointed at each letter, one by one, as if he were standing in front of a classroom teaching them how to read.
The man’s zoo badge read EARL SWEET. But he’s about as sweet as that old goat in the pen, thought Ethan.
He hoped Mr. Sweet would let them go free after a good scolding. Instead, the guide asked the dreaded question: “Where are your parents?”
Carlo stepped forward. “Our mom is, um, at the Butterfly House,” he said.
“Call her, please,” said Mr. Sweet. “I’d like to have a word with your mom.”
Carlo stuffed his hands in his pockets and hung his head. “We can’t actually do that, sir,” he said. “See, she doesn’t have her phone—we do. We accidentally brought it with us when we split up.”
Oh, man, thought Ethan. Everything that came out of Carlo’s mouth sounded like a made-up excuse, even though it was all true!
So that was how they ended up walking with Mr. Sweet to the Butterfly House.
Mrs. Walker was standing out front with a scowl on her face. And when she saw that the kids were being led to the Butterfly House by an angry zoo guide, the furrow in her forehead got even deeper.
Carlo turned around. “Brace yourself,” he whispered. “We’re in for it now.”
“So let me get this straight,” said Mrs. Walker later, when they were sitting around a wooden table in the picnic area. “You chased a girl all over the zoo and accused her of stealing Gia’s cap, but it was the wrong cap. You broke into the petting zoo when it was closed to try to save Gia’s cap, but you saved an old ball covered in goat drool instead. Oh, and then Carlo stepped in goat poop. Does that about sum it up?”
Her mouth twitched. Ethan was pretty sure she was trying not to smile.
“Yeah,” said Carlo. “That about sums it up.”
“Did you find the Morpho butterfly, Mrs. Walker?” asked Devin.
She’s trying to change the subject, Ethan realized.
But Mrs. Walker sighed. “No, we couldn’t find the butterfly anywhere. It’s probably long gone by now.”
“What a terrible day,” said Gianna, speaking up for the first time since they’d left the goat pen. “And all because I lost my lucky cap!”
Her mom squeezed her shoulders. “You don’t really believe that, do you, Gia? You don’t have good days and bad days because of what you wear on your head. You choose to make a day good or bad. It’s up to you—and your attitude. Now, can you put on a happy face?”
Gianna tried to smile, but she ended up looking like Gloom, the stinkweed Pokémon with the sad face. In fact, Gia seemed to ooze sadness. Ethan had to look away.
“How about a peanut butter sandwich?” asked Mrs. Walker, digging in her tote bag.
“I’m not hungry,” said Gia.
“Then at least drink some juice,” said her mom, handing her a juice box.
Devin slid over on the bench next to Gianna. “You know, you’re kind of like a butterfly right now,” she said. “Did you know they don’t eat either? They only drink nectar.”
Here we go again, thought Ethan. It’s Devin the butterfly guide.
His sister took a bite of her sandwich and then said, “Did you know butterfly smell with their antennae?”
Ethan couldn’t take it anymore. “Devin, you’re not supposed to talk with your mouth full. And you shouldn’t talk about antennae. You’re just reminding Gia about her lost cap.”
Devin clamped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, sorry, Gia,” she said.
Gianna shrugged. “It’s okay. I like talking about butterflies. They smell with their antennae, and that’s kind of what I do with my lucky cap, too. I sniff out Pokémon. Or at least I used to …”
>
She set down her juice box and slumped forward onto the picnic table.
“Alright, that’s enough,” said Mrs. Walker. “It’s a beautiful summer day. We’re all here at the zoo together. And there are things to do and see that have nothing to do with that cap. Don’t you kids have a scavenger hunt to finish?”
“Oh, yeah!” said Ethan, glancing down at his shirt. “We only found two out of three stickers. Team Valor is still around here somewhere.”
“Probably in the Primate House, with all the monkeys,” joked Carlo.
He had been pretty down on Team Valor ever since they’d tried to take over Dottie’s Doughnuts, his favorite Team Mystic gym in Newville.
“Yeah,” Ethan agreed, “we should go straight to the ape cage to look for the Team Valor sticker.”
“Actually,” said Carlo, “maybe we should look in the Primate House—for real. Team Valor is all about strength and power, remember? And what’s stronger than a gorilla?”
“Yes! Plus we get a prize at the gift shop when we’re done, remember, Gia?” said Devin.
That perked Gianna up a little. “I hope the prize is one of those bug umbrellas,” she said. “If I can’t find my lucky cap, at least I can pop up a ladybug over my head.”
“That’s the spirit!” said Mrs. Walker. “Now, how about a sandwich?”
When Gianna took one, Ethan was relieved. Things were finally getting back to normal around here.
Team Valor, we’re coming to get you, he thought to himself, taking a big bite of his own peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Where is the primate house, anyway?
He glanced over both shoulders, wondering which direction they should wander in next. That’s when he saw the girl with the Caterpie cap—the one who lied about getting it in the gift shop!
But why did she lie? Ethan wondered. He followed her with his eyes as she walked toward the ice cream cart in front of the snack bar and the restrooms.
That’s when he saw his opportunity. “I’m going to, um, use the restroom real quick,” he said, excusing himself from the table. Then he darted toward the ice cream cart.
He was just about to tap the girl on the shoulder when he realized something. This wasn’t the same girl at all. Instead of a long blonde braid, she had shoulder-length brown hair.
Ethan couldn’t believe his eyes. Was there really more than one Caterpie cap floating around the zoo today?
He glanced back at the picnic table, hoping Gia hadn’t seen the cap.
Too late. She and Devin were already on their way over. Devin only had eyes for ice cream, but Gia’s eyes were trained on that Caterpie cap.
“Where are they all coming from?” she asked, throwing her arms out wide. “Is someone playing a mean joke on me?”
“No!” said Ethan. “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation. Remember the Team Mystic motto?”
“Sure. We calmly analyze every situation,” said Gia flatly, quoting Blanche from the Pokémon GO game.
“Or we eat ice cream,” said Devin, who had a wicked sweet tooth. She was already licking a peanut-butter-chocolate ice cream cone. “C’mon, Gia. They have cookie dough ice cream—your favorite!”
“Actually,” said the man scooping ice cream from the cart, “we just ran out. Sorry, girls.”
Ethan noticed that the blonde girl wearing the Caterpie cap was walking away with lumpy ice cream that looked suspiciously like cookie dough. He wanted to chase her down and grab it right out of her hand. That’s Gia’s ice cream!
But Gia seemed to be taking it all pretty well. Then Ethan saw that she was staring at something, or someone.
He followed her gaze—and couldn’t believe his eyes.
Another pair of antennae bobbed along with the crowd. Only these antennae were black, and they were stuck to a purple cap with little white wings.
That’s not Gia’s cap, Ethan realized. That’s not even a Caterpie cap.
That was a Butterfree cap.
It was as if the bug caps—and the mystery—were evolving right in front of his eyes.
CHAPTER 9
The Primate House felt dark and cool after the sunny picnic area. Ethan shivered and stuck his hands in his pockets.
The exhibit was one long tunnel winding around in a circle, past tree forts and jungle gyms showcased behind glass windows. Ethan wondered if the Team Valor scavenger hunt station was somewhere in the Primate House, but he didn’t want to hurry past all the monkeys and orangutans.
“Look at that one!” he said, pointing toward a black-and-white monkey with a long, white tail.
“That’s an Eastern Black-and-White Colobus,” Mrs. Walker read off the sign on the wall.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Carlo, peering through the glass.
“It says that the Colobus monkey makes lots of different sounds,” Devin added, reading the fine print on the sign. “It purrs, snorts, honks, roars, and screams.”
“Sounds like you when you’re sleeping!” Ethan joked. He had to duck quickly to avoid a punch in the shoulder.
“I like this guy even better,” said Carlo, pointing toward the orangutan. “Look at how long his arms are!”
“Ooh, we can measure our own,” said Gianna, pointing toward a measuring stick painted on the wall.
She leaned against the wall and spread out her arms.
“Okay,” said Mrs. Walker. “From fingertip to fingertip, you measure four feet, two inches. That makes you closest to”—she checked the chart—“a gibbon.”
That was the ape on the chart with the smallest arm span.
“I’m a smart gibbon, though,” said Devin. “Want to know how I know?”
Ethan laughed. “Sure.”
“Because I just spotted the third scavenger hunt station. Let’s go!”
Ethan followed Devin through the crowd. Just as they passed the chimpanzee cage, she slowed to a stop beside a table draped in red.
Sure enough, Team Valor had set up shop in the Primate House. Ethan turned around to give Carlo a high five. “We were right!” he said.
The woman standing beside the table gave them the whole spiel. “Good afternoon, kids. I’m Candela, leader of Team Valor. My team is researching ways to enhance a Pokémon’s natural power.”
Ethan was surprised she didn’t roll up her sleeve and flex her bicep or something. “Do we get a sticker?” he asked, hoping to cut her off before she launched into a full speech.
“Not yet,” she said. “First, let me share a few facts. Mankey may be a Fighting-type Pokémon, but the most powerful ape is actually the gorilla. Did you know a gorilla can lift ten times its own body weight?”
Surprise, surprise, thought Ethan. Everyone knows gorillas are powerful.
Then he saw something that was surprising. A chimpanzee was staring at him through the glass with sad, soulful eyes. And the chimp was wearing a hat.
A hat with antennae.
Ethan stepped toward the glass.
“Wait, you didn’t get your sticker yet!” Devin said, calling him back.
Ethan reached toward the antennae, as if his hand could pass right through the glass. Then he realized the chimp wasn’t actually wearing the cap. It was just a reflection on the glass.
Someone behind Ethan was wearing the cap. He whirled around and came face to face with a boy in a Beedrill cap.
“Seriously?” Ethan said out loud. “What’s with all the bug caps?”
Candela, leader of Team Valor, stopped talking, and all the heads at the scavenger hunt table whirled around to face Ethan. Mrs. Walker looked at him, too, and raised her finger to her lips.
“Sorry,” he said. “I just want to know where all the bug caps are coming from.”
The boy wearing the Beedrill cap shrugged. “From the gift shop,” he said. “Duh.”
Ethan fought the urge to go all Mankey on the boy. He knew the caps weren’t there. He had already been to the gift shop. But every kid wearing a bug cap at the zoo today couldn’t be lying about where the caps c
ame from.
Gia took one look at Ethan’s clenched fists and stepped toward him. “Calm down, Ethan,” she said. “Remember the Team Mystic motto. How does that go again?”
Ethan took a deep breath. “We need to calmly analyze the situation. Right.” If Gia can be calm at a time like this, I can, too, he told himself. “So, should we go back to the gift shop?”
“To the gift shop!” repeated Gia. “Let’s do it.”
“Wait!” Devin called. She was still standing by the scavenger hunt table with a miffed-looking Candela. “We didn’t get our stickers yet.”
Ethan wondered if the woman would still pass out the stickers, even though he had kind of interrupted her speech.
Luckily, she did.
So with their red stickers stuck beside their blue and yellow ones, Team Mystic marched back to the gift shop. The whole way there, Devin wondered out loud what their prize would be for completing the scavenger hunt. Ethan wondered instead where all the bug caps were hiding.
As soon as they stepped inside the gift shop, Devin hurried to the counter and showed off her sticker-covered shirt. “We completed the scavenger hunt,” she announced proudly.
Ethan, meanwhile, took another pass through the aisles. He looked high and low for bug caps. Were they hanging from the ceiling? Hiding behind the stuffed animals? Stuck at the bottom of a bin?
He searched everywhere—until Devin called him over to the counter.
“You get to choose one,” she said to him. But her voice sounded very strange.
“One what?” asked Ethan.
He stepped around the corner of the counter to look in the plastic bin that the cashier had uncovered.
And there, laid out in rows in the long bin, were …
Caterpie.
Butterfree.
And Beedrill.
The prize for finishing the scavenger hunt was a bug cap.
Ethan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
CHAPTER 10
Ethan chose the black-and-yellow Beedrill cap, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to put it on his head. He noticed that Gianna was having a hard time even picking out a cap.