by Alex Polan
They took seats in the bright-red booth right next to Bella and her gang.
Devin practically inhaled her peanut-butter-chocolate ice cream cone. Gianna was pretty deep into her bowl of cookie-dough ice cream, too. But Ethan suddenly had no appetite. He wrapped his cookie in a napkin for later, and kept his ears trained on the booth next to theirs.
“You should have been here,” said one guy. “It was an epic battle. Five Trainers took down the gym. Team Instinct didn’t stand a chance!”
“I know, I heard,” said a girl. “I wanted to be there, but I didn’t get back from volleyball camp till this morning.”
“You missed out,” said the guy. “That’s all I’m saying.”
“Well, I kind of wish you’d stop saying it, already,” said the girl. “Shouldn’t we order something?” She slid out of the booth and headed toward the counter.
When Ethan saw that it was Bella, his hopes sank. “Let’s go,” he said to the girls. “You can eat while we walk.”
“Why?” whispered Devin. “I thought we were spying on you know who!”
“We don’t need to anymore,” said Ethan with a sigh. “She’s not our crook.”
He was fresh out of leads and didn’t know where to go next. He just knew that he wanted out of Ivan’s Ice Cream shop.
CHAPTER 7
As Ethan walked out of the ice cream shop, he nearly ran head-on into Brayden.
“Whoa …” Brayden said slowly, “what are you guys doing here?” He narrowed his eyes and looked past Ethan toward the booth full of Team Valor players. “Did you come here to point the finger at my sister for that doughnut thing?”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Ethan, stepping around him. “We know your sister didn’t do it.”
“How exactly do we know that?” asked Gianna as she dumped her plastic spoon and bowl into the trash can on the sidewalk out front.
“Because she was at volleyball camp last night.”
“Huh,” said Devin, licking ice cream off her fingers. “We kind of told you so, didn’t we? But at least the ice cream was good!”
“I wouldn’t know,” grumbled Ethan.
Gianna fell into step beside him. “I get why Dottie is so worried about her business,” she said. “Ivan’s Ice Cream was a lot busier than the doughnut shop usually is. I wish we could figure out a way to help her get more customers!”
Devin nodded—and then suddenly grabbed her vibrating phone from her pocket. “It’s Pidgey!” she said. “On the fire hydrant!”
She captured the Pokémon in no time. Even Ethan was impressed by her super-straight shot. But he was surprised when the Pidgey popped back out.
“How rude!” said Devin, trying again. She recaptured the Pidgey, but as stars floated up from the Poké Ball, she scrunched up her nose. Maybe Pidgey wouldn’t be one of her favorite Pokémon for much longer.
“I guess this just isn’t our day,” said Ethan. “We trailed another potential suspect, but still didn’t catch the thief. We discovered that Ivan’s Ice Cream is way more popular than Dottie’s Doughnuts. And now, even Pidgey is giving us the slip.”
As they walked toward home, he sank into a gloomy silence. Dottie’s Doughnuts was up ahead, but he didn’t feel like stopping in. How could they face Dottie when they had no leads on the stolen doughnuts—and when Devin was wearing a chocolate-ice-cream mustache?
Then Ethan remembered something: he might be a lousy detective, but he was also a Level-Five Trainer. And he had Pokémon to train.
The idea of fighting a gym battle at Dottie’s perked him right up. He could take out all his frustrations in the gym! “Can we stop?” he asked the girls, gesturing toward the shop.
Devin shrugged.
“Sure,” said Gianna, hurrying ahead.
Dottie seemed surprised to see them so early in the day. “I don’t have any day-old doughnuts yet,” she said. “I’m still hoping for more customers, but … maybe that’s just wishful thinking.”
“That’s okay,” said Devin, wiping her face clean. “We’re not really hungry. We just came to see you!”
“Well, how nice,” said Dottie. “Maybe you can lend me some of your expert doughnut-decorating skills.”
While Devin and Gianna disappeared into the kitchen with Dottie, Ethan slid into his favorite booth. He chose Raticate to battle with this time. The ratlike Pokémon looked tough—way tougher than Zubat.
As the battle began, Ethan dodged and attacked as if his life depended on it. He imagined Brayden’s face on that squealing Zubat, and pretended Zubat was wearing his stolen baseball cap. And he took Zubat down as quickly as Devin had captured Pidgey that afternoon.
But Raticate was still no match for Carlo’s Sparky. That Jolteon lit up Raticate like the Fourth of July. At least Ethan got off a couple of attacks this time before losing.
That hopeless feeling settled back into the pit of his stomach—until he looked a little harder at the “You lose!” screen. His battle had raised the gym’s prestige by three hundred points. And that was just enough to bump the gym to the next level: Level Three.
Ethan held his breath as he watched a spot open up for one of his Pokémon. He’d done it! Even though he had lost, he had strengthened the gym. And his reward? He was now an official Gym Defender!
But which Pokémon should he leave behind?
Ethan chewed on his fingernail, thinking. He wished Carlo were here to give him some advice, but the bench and sidewalk outside were empty—except for Mrs. Applegate across the street. The librarian was sweeping the sidewalk again, as if it were her very own porch.
Ethan’s finger hovered over Raticate, slid to Pidgeotto, and then came back to Raticate. That Pokémon had the highest Combat Power, and Ethan secretly hoped Carlo would see it and be impressed. Dream on, he told himself as he selected Raticate to place in the gym.
When he looked up again, Mrs. Applegate was locking the front door of the library. Why so early? wondered Ethan. Then he remembered. It was Sunday, which meant short business hours.
The librarian carried something at her side. Was it a duffel bag? No, it looked more like a cat carrier. Ethan could just barely make out a little black head through the mesh of the carrier as it bobbled along toward the bike rack.
The library bike rack wasn’t nearly as cool as the one in front of Dottie’s. It was small and silver—just big enough for Mrs. Applegate’s bike. She lowered the cat carrier into a basket at the back and then bent over to unlock her bike. Her red bike.
Ethan jumped up from his seat and called back to the kitchen. “Devin! Gianna! Come quick!”
Dottie ran out of the kitchen first, her eyes wide. “What? What is it?”
“Um, just a … Pokémon,” fibbed Ethan, gesturing toward the sidewalk out front.
Dottie breathed a sigh of relief. Then she said sternly, “Honestly, Ethan, you nearly gave me a heart attack. Sometimes I think you kids take that game a little too seriously.”
As she turned to head back into the kitchen, Devin and Gianna appeared in the doorway. Ethan waved them into the front room and gestured toward the library.
“What?” asked Devin. Then she did a double take. “Oh, wow.”
“She is so not the doughnut thief,” whispered Gianna.
“I don’t think so either,” said Devin. “But you said we have to turn over every stone, or whatever.”
“Actually, what I said was that we have to calmly analyze every situation,” said Gianna.
“Right,” said Ethan. “Every situation, even this one. Let’s go interview Mrs. Applegate.”
As they hurried across the street, Ethan kept his eyes trained on the bike. Even from a few feet away, he could see the word MILER clearly written along one of the bars. It was the same bike as Bella’s! Except Mrs. Applegate’s had a wire basket in back.
As he stepped onto the curb, he noticed her black cat watching him suspiciously from the carrier in that basket. Suddenly, a wave of nervousness threatened to wash Ethan awa
y. Mrs. Applegate was so strict. What in the world were they even going to say to her?
Before he could think of something, Devin started talking. “That’s a very nice bike, Mrs. Applegate!” she said. “Did you park that across the street at Dottie’s a couple of days ago? I think I saw it there.”
Mrs. Applegate nodded. “Yes, indeed. My bike rack gets way too full, especially on weekends. I’ve been after the city for a new one, but … well, these things take time, don’t they?”
Devin nodded enthusiastically. “They do. Yep, they do.” Then she seemed to lose her nerve, too. She looked to Gianna for help.
“So, Mrs. Applegate,” said Gianna carefully, “do you like doughnuts? Because it must be nice having a doughnut shop right across the street!”
The librarian shook her head. “Goodness, no,” she said. “With my diabetes, just looking at a doughnut spells trouble!”
“Oh, right,” said Gianna, nodding. “Yes, I guess it would.”
Well, that solves that, thought Ethan. We found the owner of the mysterious red bike. But she’s not our thief, either. We’re right back to square one.
Ethan suddenly felt tired—very, very tired. Devin and Gianna were dragging, too, as they turned to cross the street.
Maybe we should just walk away from the case, Ethan thought. It’s no big deal. It’s just a tray of missing doughnuts.
But then Mrs. Applegate said something else—something that changed everything.
“Are you kids going back to Dottie’s?” she called as she strapped on her helmet. “Please tell her that I’m so sorry to hear that she’s closing her shop. I don’t eat the doughnuts, but I’ve sure enjoyed smelling them all these years. I’m going to miss her when she goes.”
Closing her shop?
Ethan felt like a Pokémon who’d just been struck by Thunder Shock. Devin was saying something to him. He saw her mouth moving. But he couldn’t hear a thing.
CHAPTER 8
“Why didn’t she tell us?”
This time Ethan heard Devin’s words. And he could see the tears welling up in her eyes.
“I don’t know,” he said sadly. “Should we ask her?”
But neither one of them moved.
“We should at least get out of the street,” Gianna suggested as a car slowed to a crawl to go around them.
But as they filed back into the doughnut shop, Ethan couldn’t bring himself to look at Dottie. It hurt too much.
“My, my,” she said, wiping her hands on her apron. “Why the long faces?”
That did it. Devin burst into tears. “We h-heard!” she sobbed. “You’re closing d-down!”
Dottie’s face fell. She held out her arms and wrapped Devin up in them.
“Oh, sweetie,” she said, smoothing back Devin’s hair. “It’s just time. I’ve had a good run, but business is too slow. I can’t afford to stay open anymore, not with tough competition like Ivan’s Ice Cream in town. Plus, after the break-in the other night, I just … I think it’s time.”
Ethan was about to protest. But when he saw Devin wiping her runny nose on her sleeve, he reached into his pocket—he remembered he had a napkin in there somewhere.
As he yanked it out of his pocket, a chocolate chip cookie fell to the floor. The cookie from the ice cream shop. He’d forgotten all about it!
The cookie broke into pieces, and everyone turned to stare at the napkin in Ethan’s hand. The napkin that read IVAN’S ICE CREAM in bold, red letters.
He crumpled it up quickly, hoping Dottie hadn’t seen. But it was too late.
“It’s okay, Ethan,” she said quietly. “I hear the ice cream at Ivan’s is pretty good, actually.”
Devin shook her head. “It’s not!” she said. “It’s terrible! I mean, it’s not as good as your doughnuts. Not even close!”
Dottie gave her a sad smile. “It’s like apples and oranges, isn’t it? You can’t really compare them. So you kids enjoy your ice cream. I don’t mind.” She winked at Ethan, but he still felt terrible.
He picked up the broken cookie. Then he took a deep breath and finally asked the question that had been burning in his mind. “How much longer?” he asked.
“How much longer will I stay open?” she asked. “Well, my lease is up in a month. The end of August.”
One month, thought Ethan. So we have one month to change Dottie’s mind.
“How can she just close down?” asked Devin. It was Monday morning, and she was pushing her breakfast around on her plate.
“It’s grown-up stuff, honey,” said Mom, ruffling her hair. “Sometimes adults have to make hard decisions. And as hard as this is for you, it’s even harder for Dottie. Try to be kind to her right now, okay? Bring her a smile when you see her.”
But as soon as Mom’s back was turned, Devin made a face. She hid her eggs under a napkin and pushed away from the table.
Ethan couldn’t blame her. His toast was sticking in his throat, and no amount of orange juice would wash it down.
Dad had already left for work, and Devin seemed determined to lock herself in her bedroom. So Ethan stepped outside and sat on the porch, scanning his Pokémon GO map for anything new.
He saw the pink petals instantly. Someone had set a lure, but where? He slid his map around so that he was facing the falling petals. Then he looked up. He could see the water tower in the distance, the word NEWVILLE painted across it, larger than life.
He’d been to that PokéStop only once. There wasn’t much out there in the way of Pokémon. But with a lure, things would be different. Pokémon would be popping up every few minutes. Maybe this was just the thing to cheer Devin up!
He raced inside and knocked on his sister’s door. He didn’t know when the lure had been set. They might not have much time.
As soon as Devin saw the pink petals, her face lit up. “Let’s go,” she said, sliding her sandals on.
Mom agreed that they could ride their bikes to the water tower—as long as they stayed together. “And no phones out while you ride,” she reminded them. “Be safe!”
Ethan tucked his phone in his pocket and strapped on his bike helmet. Then he took off down the street, with Devin matching his speed. The breeze on his face felt good, and he found himself smiling as he rode, in spite of everything that had happened over the last few days.
The water tower rose up in front of them, and Ethan could see that there were already a few kids gathered around it. One of them seemed taller than the rest—and a whole lot more bald.
“Dad?”
Ethan dropped his bike and hurried over to his father. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work at the bank?”
Dad’s cheeks turned a little pink when he said, “Yes, well, I’m taking a lunch break.”
“At 8:30 in the morning?” asked Ethan, grinning.
Dad just shrugged. He’d been busted—again.
“Wow, there’s a wild Butterfree!” said Devin, hurrying toward the bushes. Dad nearly ran out of his shoes to get to it, too.
None of them could catch the fluttering Butterfree. “Where’s Gia when you need her?” said Devin with an exasperated sigh.
But the lure attracted all sorts of other Pokémon, too, from a snakelike Ekans to a poisonous Nidoran, and a cute, foxlike Vulpix. Ethan collected so many new Pokémon, he got bumped up to Level Six!
By the time the pink petals disappeared, even Devin was grinning from ear to ear. “That was so fun!” she said, climbing back onto her bike.
Dad straightened out his tie and walked to his car. Before he got in, he cleared his throat and said to Ethan, “About this morning …”
Ethan pretended to zip his lips shut. “Mum’s the word, Dad,” he said. “I mean, I won’t tell Mum—er, Mom.”
Dad smiled wide and nodded. “Good boy,” he said, ducking into the car. He rolled his window down, and Ethan could hear him humming as he started to drive away.
Riding back home, Ethan rode much more slowly. Devin did, too, stopping now and then to explore field
s for Pokémon.
As they passed the nature preserve, Ethan almost asked Devin if she wanted to walk the trail. It was a good day for it—not too hot, and not much else to do. But someone shouted to them from across the street.
“Hey, Team Mystic!” called Brayden from his scooter. “Defend your gym much?”
He grinned at them, but something about that smile sent a cold chill down Ethan’s spine. As Brayden disappeared into his garage, Ethan wondered, What did he mean by that?
“Devin,” he said. “We’d better get to Dottie’s. And fast.”
They biked full speed ahead—past the softball fields and the Laundromat. Devin fell behind, but Ethan couldn’t slow down. As soon as he reached the library, he whipped out his phone.
When he looked at the screen, his heart sank to the pit of his stomach.
Dottie’s Doughnuts gym, which had been Team Mystic’s blue all summer, was no longer blue.
It was blood red.
Team Valor red.
CHAPTER 9
Ethan spotted Carlo sitting on the bench by Dottie’s front door. For once, he wasn’t staring at his phone.
When they locked eyes, Carlo said, “Hey, Ethan.”
Wow, he actually knows my name, thought Ethan. When he got closer, he said, “I can’t believe Team Valor stole the gym. What are you going to do now?”
Carlo ran his hand over his dark hair. “There’s not much I can do,” he said with a sigh. “There are four Team Valor Defenders here, all with strong Pokémon. Bella’s Aerodactyl has a Combat Power of 1216! I don’t think I can beat them all. There’s too many of them.”
Ethan had never heard Carlo sound so gloomy. Where was the bold, cocky Carlo who walked around like he owned the place? Come on, Ethan wanted to say. Let’s fight! Let’s get the gym back!
Carlo took a deep breath and blew it back out. “It’s funny,” he said, almost to himself. “Bella and her team didn’t care about this gym at all for weeks. Then all of a sudden, they ganged up and attacked. What’s up with that?”