by Alex Polan
“Team Mystic!” the girls repeated.
And with that, the Case of the Stolen Jigglypuffs had officially begun.
By the time Devin and Ethan made it back to the house, rain was pouring down in buckets. So much for searching the neighborhood for a red bike!
Instead, Ethan flopped down onto his bed, searching through all the Pokémon he had caught or hatched. Could he evolve some of them? Now that he was training at the gym, he needed more powerful Pokémon.
He had already evolved a Pidgey to a Pidgeotto. That was pretty easy—it only required twelve Pidgey Candy. What else do I have lots of? he wondered, studying his list of captured Pokémon.
He sorted the list by name, and then he saw it—a whole pack of Rattata. “There’s a gazillion of them!” he said out loud, scrolling through the list.
He tapped on the one with the highest Combat Power and checked out its stats. Could he evolve it?
Yes, he could! The Rattata needed twenty-five Candy to evolve into a Raticate, and Ethan had forty-two of them. He pressed the “Evolve” button and sat back to watch the show.
Rattata snapped at him from the black screen, until he was lifted off the ground in a flash of light. The brilliant ball swirled and sparkled. Finally, a fierce Raticate sprang out, snarling and ready for battle.
“Cool!” shouted Ethan. That Raticate was exactly what he needed—a nasty-looking Pokémon that other trainers would be afraid to take on.
I can’t wait to take this bad boy to Dottie’s, he thought, setting down his phone.
“Ew!” someone said from behind, making Ethan jump.
When he looked up, Devin was standing at the foot of his bed, staring at his phone. “What are you doing with that big, ugly rat?” she asked, pointing at the screen.
“It’s Raticate!” he said. “I evolved my Rattata, like you should do with your Pidgey.”
Devin narrowed her eyes. “Not gonna happen.”
“Ooh, I just thought of the perfect nickname for my Raticate,” said Ethan, grabbing his phone. “I’m going to name it Devin.”
“What? You can’t do that!” she said, trying to pull the phone out of his hands.
“Sure I can. If Dad can call his Weedle ‘Larry,’ I can call my Raticate ‘Devin.’”
“Your dad did what?” Mom was suddenly standing in the doorway.
Before Ethan could answer, he heard Dad clear his throat in the hallway. “Hurry, dear,” he said quickly. “It stopped raining! We’d better get our walk in before it starts up again.”
“Yes, we’d better,” said Mom, checking her watch. “Are you kids ready?”
“Ready!” said Devin. She leaned closer to Ethan and whispered, “Time to keep our eyes peeled for you know what.”
He cocked his head. “For a Raticate named Devin?”
“No!” she scolded, sounding just like Mom. “For red bikes.”
Ethan laughed. “Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. Team Mystic?” He held out his hand.
“Team Mystic,” said Devin, putting her hand on top.
“How about if we walk someplace new?” asked Mom, lacing up her sneakers. “Maybe the lake on the other side of town? Or the trail through Pheasant Ranch Nature Preserve?”
“No!” Devin and Ethan said at the same time.
We can’t look for the red bike at the lake or in a nature preserve, thought Ethan. Of all the nights for Mom to try to change things up …
Mom’s eyes widened. “Well, alright then,” she said. “Another night, maybe. But be prepared to keep up, kids. I’m going for my silver Jogger medal.”
Ethan met Devin’s eyes and sighed. A silver Jogger medal required, like, a hundred kilometers of walking. That was a lot of family walks! But he was glad Mom had agreed to stick close to their neighborhood.
“Smell that fresh air,” Mom said as they neared the park. “Oh, and someone must be barbecuing. Do you smell that, Ethan?” She inhaled deeply.
“Yeah, I smell it,” he said. But it was hard to focus on smelling when he was trying so hard to see—a red bike, that is. He hurried toward the bike rack at the entrance to the park, but found only a shiny, purple bike with training wheels.
As Ethan followed his family toward the Little Library, he scanned every front yard and open garage they passed. He barely noticed when Gianna joined the group. And he ignored a wobbly Metapod on his map because he was too busy playing detective.
“Ethan, PokéStop!” Mom hollered, pulling him out of his thoughts. She was standing by the Pheasant Ranch trailhead sign. “Are you kids sure you don’t want to hike the trail?”
Gianna looked torn. “There are probably lots of Bug-type Pokémon in there. But …”
“But we should stick to our usual walk,” said Devin quickly. “Right, Ethan?”
Before he could answer, he heard yipping from across the street. Brayden and Licks, he thought. Again.
Except when Ethan looked, he saw that Brayden wasn’t walking the dog tonight. He held the dog’s leash and was slowly riding alongside it. On a bicycle.
A very red bicycle.
CHAPTER 5
“You know, Mom,” Ethan said carefully, “you and Dad should hike the trail. I can tell you really want to, and it’ll help you earn that silver Jogger medal! Devin, Gianna, and I were hoping to hang out here on the block and search for special Pokémon called …”
“Weedle,” said Devin quickly, checking the tracker on her phone.
“Um, yeah,” said Ethan, wishing his sister had been a little more creative. “Weedle.”
Dad winked and said, “If you run into my friend Larry, say hi!”
Mom cocked her head at that, but she didn’t ask any questions. She seemed too excited about hiking the trail. “Well, thank you, Ethan. We’ll be back in a jiff. Till then, remember to …”
“We know, Mom,” said Ethan. “We’ll stick together—and we’ll watch where we’re going. I promise.”
She nodded and hurried off down the trail, checking her phone pedometer as she went.
“What now?” asked Devin, stealing a glance at Brayden.
“Now we confront him,” said Ethan, narrowing his eyes. “And check out that bike.”
“Okay,” said Gianna, holding up her hand, “but remember what we promised Dottie. We’ll stay calm, right? Brayden is just a person of interest.”
“Right,” said Ethan. “Wanted for questioning.”
But a big part of him actually hoped Brayden was the thief. Then the girls would finally see what a jerk he could be—and understand why Ethan didn’t want to hang out with him anymore!
As they turned to walk back toward Brayden, Ethan’s and Devin’s phones buzzed at the exact same time.
“Whoa,” said Devin. “Beedrill alert!”
“Where?” Ethan spun around until he could see the Pokémon on his map. As he tapped on it and prepared to fight, he saw Devin hand her phone to Gianna.
Ethan angled his phone so that Beedrill was dead center. Then he flung his first Poké Ball.
Miss!
He flung again, just as the Beedrill flew upward. Another miss.
The third Poké Ball caught the Beedrill, but not for long. The ball wiggled and jiggled, and then it cracked open. Beedrill buzzed out—and disappeared.
“Excellent shot!” Devin cried, looking over Gianna’s shoulder. “I wish I could do that. Did you catch it too, Ethan?”
He looked away. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Catch what?” someone asked from behind.
Ethan spun around and saw Brayden on his bike. Sure enough, he had his phone out, ready to catch the Pokémon they’d found for him.
Figures, thought Ethan.
Then he remembered their plan. He took a step toward Brayden to check out the frame of his bike. What he saw sent a shiver of excitement from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.
There it was, plain as day: the brand name, MILER, in bold, white letters.
Ethan got Devin’s atte
ntion and gestured toward the bike. When she saw the writing on it, her eyes grew wide.
Now it’s time to catch Brayden in his lies, just like Gianna caught that Beedrill, thought Ethan.
“So, Brayden,” he said, trying to ignore the cute puppy sniffing the grass at his feet, “did you have a nice walk last night—after we saw you, I mean?”
Brayden looked confused. “Walk? No. I went to my cousin’s house for a sleepover. He lives in this ginormous house by the lake,” he bragged.
How convenient, thought Ethan.
“So you weren’t, say, at Dottie’s Doughnuts last night?” He watched Brayden’s cheeks, looking for any sign of blushing.
“What?” said Brayden. “No. Why are you acting so weird?”
Ethan was about to go in for the attack—he couldn’t help himself!
Devin must have noticed, because she stepped in front of him. “Did you catch any Pokémon at the lake?” she asked brightly.
Brayden grinned and checked his phone. “Yeah,” he said. “I caught a ton of them—way more than my cousin did. I caught Magikarp, and Poliwag …” He held up a photo of a Poliwag sitting on the end of a kayak.
Ethan didn’t believe a word of it. Brayden could have caught those Pokémon anytime—it didn’t have to be last night. “Prove it,” he spat. The words were out of his mouth the moment he thought them.
“What?” asked Brayden. “What’s your problem, Ethan?”
Devin sighed. “There was a break-in at Dottie’s Doughnuts last night. Someone stole doughnuts—maybe someone riding a red bike. We’re just trying to figure out who.”
“And you think I stole the stupid doughnuts?” asked Brayden. “Well, I didn’t. I told you—I was at the lake.”
“Wow, I bet you caught a bunch of rare Pokémon,” Gianna said suddenly. “Can I see your Journal? It’d be cool to know which Pokémon are out there. Maybe I’ll go sometime.”
What’s she doing? wondered Ethan. Why is she being so nice to him?
Brayden looked suspicious, too, until Gianna said, “I’ll bet you caught so many Pokémon there, you made it to Level Six!”
Brayden puffed out his chest. “Yeah, I sure did. I’ll show you everything I caught.”
He tapped on his Trainer Journal and held it out for Gianna.
Oh! That’s when Ethan figured out Gianna’s plan. The Journal would tell her exactly what time of day Brayden caught those Water-type Pokémon. And if he caught them last night, he couldn’t have been at the doughnut shop, which was nowhere near water.
Smart, Ethan realized. Why didn’t I think of that?
“Wow, that sure is a long list,” said Gianna, handing back Brayden’s phone.
But Ethan could tell by the expression on her face that Brayden’s story checked out. He must have caught those Pokémon last night, like he said he did. So he wasn’t at the doughnut shop.
Bummer! thought Ethan, kicking the toe of his shoe against the sidewalk.
As Brayden got back on his bike, he scowled at Ethan. “I can’t believe you thought I stole doughnuts. I’m not a thief.”
Ethan’s eyes flickered upward. “Nice Poké Ball cap,” he said.
“I told you—it’s not yours!” said Brayden. “My parents bought it for me.”
“Did they buy you that bike, too?” asked Ethan.
Brayden furrowed his brow. “No, it’s Bella’s. I’m only riding it because mine got a flat this morning.”
It’s Bella’s.
The words buzzed around Ethan’s mind like a Beedrill trapped in a Poké Ball, right before it busted back out.
He knew that Brayden’s older sister, Bella, was the Team Valor Gym Leader at Ivan’s Ice Cream. He knew that ice cream shop was Dottie’s main competition in town—and a rival gym.
And now Ethan knew something else: Bella owned the red bike that they’d spotted at the scene of the crime.
CHAPTER 6
“It’s got to be her,” said Ethan after Brayden had pedaled away. “Maybe Bella and her Team Valor friends stole the doughnuts to stop Dottie’s Jigglypuff sale. They don’t want her business to do well because it’s a Team Mystic gym!”
“I don’t know,” said Devin. “Bella’s pretty nice. She babysat for us once, remember?”
Gianna nodded slowly. “I agree with Devin. Bella doesn’t seem like a thief. It just doesn’t feel right.”
“It doesn’t feel right?” Ethan repeated. “You’re starting to sound like Team Instinct! What happened to calm analysis of the situation?” He suddenly felt very much alone. Do these two want to solve the mystery or not? he wondered.
Gianna sighed. “Okay, you’re right. We should at least check her out as a person of interest.”
Devin nodded slowly. “She does own the bike that was in the photo.”
“Okay, then,” said Ethan, relieved. “I’ll bet she hangs out at the ice cream shop on Sundays. Can you meet us there after church tomorrow, Gianna?”
“I think so,” she said. “But I hope Dottie doesn’t find out we went there. After everything she’s gone through, I’ll feel like a traitor.”
“Just remember,” said Ethan, “we’re going there to try to help Dottie.” But he had to admit that going to the ice cream shop would feel pretty weird. Like walking into enemy territory, he thought as he watched Brayden disappear into his garage on that bright-red bike.
“You two slide in next to your mother,” said Dad, standing beside the church pew. “I’ll take the aisle seat.”
Devin ducked in first, and Ethan sat between her and Dad. The church seemed especially hot today. Are those fans working? Ethan wondered, staring up at the ceiling.
Dad seemed extra fidgety, too. He kept twisting in his seat.
“Are you okay?” Ethan finally whispered, right in the middle of Pastor Jordan’s sermon.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Dad. “Just stretching my back.”
But when Ethan leaned forward to stretch his own back, he spotted something: Dad’s phone in his hand. And even from a seat away, Ethan could see the purple swirl of incense surrounding Dad’s Trainer avatar.
Dad was playing Pokémon GO in church! And he was actually using incense, which meant that for the next half hour, Pokémon would visit him right here in the church pews.
Ethan laughed out loud, which he covered up with a cough. Wow, Dad’s really hooked, he thought, shaking his head. No wonder he wanted the aisle seat!
He kept an eye on Dad’s screen, which was a lot more interesting than Pastor Jordan’s sermon. When a Pokémon popped up, he wanted to shout, “There’s a Pidgey in the pew!”
But he didn’t want to bust Dad.
As it turned out, he didn’t have to. The sudden vibration of Dad’s phone against the wooden pew made a bunch of heads turn, including Mom’s. She shot him a withering look and pointed at the phone, which he immediately turned off and slid into his pocket.
So much for that, thought Ethan.
When church finally let out, Dad was the first one out of the pew. And when Ethan asked his mom if he and Devin could walk to the ice cream shop, Dad said, “Sounds like fun! I’ll go, too.”
He obviously didn’t want to be alone with Mom, who was still fuming. But having Dad at Ivan’s Ice Cream would make it really hard to spy on Bella. So Ethan thought fast.
“We’re walking there, Dad—under the hot sun. And you don’t have sunscreen on. You know how fast you’ll burn your head on a day like this.”
It wasn’t a great line, but it was the best Ethan could come up with on short notice. And Mom picked it up and ran with it.
“Yes, dear. I really think you should stay out of the heat and come home with me.”
Dad looked like a little kid who was being tugged to the principal’s office by the ear. But he waved good-bye to Ethan and Devin in the parking lot and climbed into the car with Mom.
“What was that all about?” asked Devin.
“I think Dad’s going to get grounded,” said Ethan, laughin
g. “But don’t worry about that right now. We have a mystery to solve.”
As soon as Ethan and Devin got close to the ice cream shop, they spotted Bella’s red bike in the bike rack. “I knew it!” he said. “She’s here.”
Then he pulled out his phone and tapped on the red gym to check out the competition. “Ivan’s Ice Cream Shop: Gym level 3,” the bar along the top read.
He scrolled through a couple of Trainers and their Pokémon. And there was Bella’s blonde Trainer avatar, Bellasaur16, standing beside a nasty-looking Venusaur.
“Her Venusaur has a CP of 814!” Ethan said, tapping the screen. “And Ivan’s Ice Cream is already a Level-Three gym. Dottie’s is only at Level Two.”
As they walked through the front door, things seemed even bleaker. The shop was packed full of kids, which the doughnut shop never was—except for the day they had set the lure.
The bell to the ice cream shop jingled overhead as if to announce, “Enemy alert! Team Mystic approaching!”
About seven boys’ and girls’ heads popped up from a booth in the corner. None of them were eating ice cream—they were all bowed over their phones. And one of them was Bella.
“Act cool,” Ethan whispered to the girls as he approached the counter.
“Can we get ice cream?” asked Devin hopefully.
“Of course,” said Ethan loudly. “That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?” He hoped Devin and Gianna would both play along and not blow their cover. He also hoped he had enough money in his pocket to buy ice cream for everybody. “Do you two have any cash?” he whispered.
Devin pulled her pockets inside out, revealing absolutely nothing.
Gianna’s pocket held a butterfly pupa that looked like it was about to dissolve into dust. “Oh, I wondered where that went!” she said happily. “I collect them.”
Ethan sighed as he reached into his own pocket and dug out a crumpled five-dollar bill. After Devin and Gianna placed their orders, there wasn’t enough left for another cone.
“Just water for me,” he told the cashier, who had caterpillar-like eyebrows and a thick accent. When Ethan heard someone calling the man “Ivan,” he took a step back from the counter. So this was the man who was making Dottie’s life miserable! But he seemed nice enough. He winked at Ethan and handed him a chocolate chip cookie—for free.