by Alex Polan
Ethan felt a niggle of guilt. He knew at least one reason why Team Valor might have come after the gym; it had something to do with a red bike and a few accusations.
Brayden probably told Bella we were spying on her at the ice cream shop—in front of a whole group of Team Valor kids! he realized. But he couldn’t tell Carlo that.
As Carlo pushed up from the bench and waved good-bye, Ethan tried to swallow the Poké Ball-sized lump in his throat.
“Is he going to get Dottie’s gym back?” asked Devin as she finished locking her bike to the rack outside Dottie’s Doughnuts. Her cheeks were flushed red.
“I don’t think so,” Ethan said sadly.
“What? He has to!” exclaimed Devin. “For Dottie! Maybe if you help him win back the gym, Dottie will know how much we care about her shop, and she’ll keep it open.”
Ethan thought that was a pretty big maybe. But her words stirred the fire in his chest.
“Carlo says he can’t do it alone,” he said, thinking out loud. “But maybe if we help him—if we all help him …”
An hour later, they were sitting on Gianna’s porch. Ethan was surprised to see that Gianna had convinced Carlo to join them.
“You don’t have to do it alone, Carlo,” she said again. “There were three Team Mystic Trainers defending the gym. You don’t have to fight for it all by yourself. Do it as a team!”
Carlo shook his head. “You don’t understand. I don’t even know who BatGirl is, and Ethan, well …”
He didn’t finish his sentence, so Ethan finished it for him. “I’m just a beginner,” he said. “I know. Me and my Raticate aren’t much help.” Then that fire flared up again in his chest, and he added, “But you could teach me. If we work together, we can do this. I know we can!”
Carlo didn’t look so sure.
Then Gianna stood up and took a deep breath. “I have a confession to make,” she said. “I know who BatGirl is.”
Ethan whirled around. “Really?” he said. “You know who was defending Dottie’s gym with that fierce Zubat?”
Gianna nodded. She stared at the tips of her shoes when she said, “It’s me.”
Carlo scoffed. “You don’t even have a phone!”
“And your Trainer name isn’t BatGirl. It’s Giadude!” said Devin.
Gianna shrugged. “Dottie lent me her phone sometimes when I stopped by to visit. And I have two accounts and Trainer names because … I kind of didn’t want Carlo to know I was training at his gym.” She turned toward her brother and said, “I thought you wouldn’t want me around. I mean, you usually don’t.”
“Why not?” asked Carlo, raising his hands at his sides. “You’re good!”
“Yeah, you are,” said Ethan. “I should know—I battled you twice.”
Carlo grinned at Gianna. “Maybe you take after me, little sis.”
She punched him in the shoulder. “No thanks to you,” she said. “You never taught me anything. You wouldn’t help me at all!”
Carlo’s face fell. “You’re right,” he said. “I didn’t.” He stared off into the distance for a moment and then said, “That’s going to have to change if we’re going to win the gym back.”
“So you’ll try?” asked Gianna, jumping up.
He nodded. “But we’re going to need lots of Trainers and powerful Pokémon. And pretty much the only place we can train is at the library—that’s the closest Team Mystic gym now.”
Ethan groaned. “Mrs. Applegate will chase us right out of there!”
Carlo smiled. “I might know a couple of secret spots where we can hide out,” he said thoughtfully.
“Can I help, too?” asked Devin. “I mean, I know I’ve never battled before, but I could learn.”
“Hey, you could evolve some of your Pidgey!” exclaimed Ethan. “You could end up with a Pidgeot with pretty high Combat Power that way. I mean, only if you want to, though.” He remembered her words: You play your way, I’ll play mine.
Devin took a deep breath. “I do love my Pidgey,” she said. “But I love Dottie’s Doughnuts even more.”
“Good,” said Ethan. “So, are we really doing this?” He gazed at his circle of friends and then held out his hand, palm down.
Devin put hers on top of his right away. Gianna added her own hand, and then looked at Carlo. He hesitated for just a moment before adding his hand to the pile.
“Team Mystic?” asked Ethan.
“Team Mystic!”
CHAPTER 10
“The first thing we have to do is get you to Level Five,” Ethan announced to Devin when they got back home. “You need experience points—and lots of them.”
He set to work helping her evolve her Pidgey into Pidgeotto, and then into one really strong Pidgeot. “He’s actually pretty cute,” said Devin, staring at the Pokémon who burst out of the evolution ball.
“No he’s not!” said Ethan. “Take that back. He’s fierce. He’s powerful. He’s going to win back Dottie’s gym. Right?”
Devin laughed. “Right.”
While they were at it, Ethan healed his Raticate, which was pretty beaten down from its battle with Team Valor at Dottie’s Doughnuts.
Next, Ethan evolved one of his Weedle into a Kakuna, and then into a Beedrill. It wasn’t as satisfying as catching a Beedrill would be, but it was still pretty exciting to see the Beedrill in his inventory. “It sure takes an awful lot of Larrys to make a Beedrill,” he said to himself, chuckling.
“Huh?” asked Devin.
“Never mind. Let’s stay focused.”
They still had a long way to go to get Devin to Level Five, so Ethan racked his brain to remember all the ways to earn experience points. “You should try hatching a few eggs,” he said. “If you hatch a new kind of Pokémon, you’ll get, like, a thousand points.”
Devin put a couple of eggs in her incubators, and as soon as Dad got home from work, Ethan met him in the hallway. “Time for our family walk,” Ethan said. “And you’d better wear comfy shoes tonight!”
He and Devin led the walk around the block, through the nature preserve, and then around the block again. “What’s gotten into you two?” asked Mom. “I love this energy!”
Ethan just shrugged. He could tell Mom that they were doing this for Dottie, but she’d probably say something like, “That’s grown-up stuff, honey. You shouldn’t get your hopes up.”
So instead, he told her that he and Devin were going for their silver Jogger medals, too. They’d probably get them pretty soon, at this rate!
But on Tuesday morning, on the way back from the grocery store, Mom caught Devin shaking her phone in the back seat. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“Logging steps,” Devin admitted. “Maybe if I shake my phone like this, the app will think I’m walking!”
Ethan tried to get her to stop talking. He put his hands up in a T shape, like a time-out signal, but she kept on yammering away about the cool new trick she’d discovered. And just as Ethan predicted, Mom got mad.
“Devin, that’s cheating!” she scolded, bringing the car to a screeching halt. “Now you can either hand over your phone, young lady, or you and Ethan can hop out of the car and walk home. Get those steps in honestly. Which will it be?”
Devin shrugged and hopped out, which Ethan thought was kind of unfair. Why did he have to walk, too?
Then he thought about Dottie’s Doughnut shop and remembered they were all in this together. Team Mystic, he told himself. So he followed his sister out of the car and started walking.
“Where did Carlo say we should meet?” whispered Devin.
“Back here somewhere,” said Ethan, stepping over a pothole. They were in the alleyway behind the library, which was dark and littered with trash.
“Do you think rats live in this alley?” asked Devin, giving the dumpster a wide berth.
Ethan shrugged. “Hopefully there’s a Rattata or two,” he joked.
“Hey, guys!” Gianna’s voice echoed throughout the tunnellike alley. It was f
ollowed by a loud hushing noise, which meant Carlo was with her.
He waved Ethan and Devin toward the crumbling staircase that led to the back door of the library. “Let’s sit here,” he said. “We’re close enough to the gym to train, but Mrs. Applegate never uses this door.”
Ethan glanced up at the cobweb-filled window next to the door. He hoped Carlo was right about Mrs. Applegate. She wasn’t big on kids playing Pokémon GO anywhere near the library, and right now, they were about as near to the library as they could be without actually being in it.
“Are you all ready to train?” asked Carlo, rubbing his hands together. “Because I’ve got every tip and trick you need.”
Ethan was glad to see that brave, confident Carlo was back. With him as their leader, they couldn’t lose!
Carlo handed Gianna his phone, and they all tapped on the blue gym tower on their screens. The library was a Level-One Team Mystic gym, led by none other than Carlo.
I guess he’s the only kid brave enough to play here at the library, thought Ethan.
But soon, the three of them were taking turns engaging in friendly battles with Carlo’s Fearow. He showed Devin the basics, like swiping left or right to dodge an attack. But he gave Ethan and Gianna some insider tricks.
“Fearow is a Flying-type Pokémon,” he reminded them. “So fight it with a Pokémon that has high Combat Power, but is also strong against Flying-types—like Grass, Fighting, or Bug.”
“Like Beedrill?” asked Gianna, scrolling through her Pokémon.
“Exactly.”
Then he showed Ethan how to perform one of Raticate’s Special Attacks. “Wait till your blue attack bar starts getting full,” he said, pointing to the blue bar in the upper left of the screen. “Then press down on my Fearow with your finger. Now! There, see? You did it!”
“Raticate did Hyper Beam!” shouted Ethan, pumping his fist as Fearow disappeared in a feathery poof.
When he realized his battle had bumped the library up to a Level-Two gym, he was even more excited. “Can I leave my Raticate here?” he asked Carlo.
“No!” said Carlo right away. “You need to keep him for our real battle, against Team Valor. You need six strong Pokémon to fight a rival gym. So leave one of your less powerful Pokémon here.”
Ethan chose a Spearow, which Devin happily fought in her next battle. When she beat the Spearow with her Pidgeot, even Ethan was happy for her.
While Gianna was training her Beedrill, he leaned back against the brick wall, healing his tired Pokémon with Potion. That’s when he heard a strange mewing sound. “Are you battling with Meowth?” he asked Gianna.
“Shh! I’m trying to concentrate!” she said, keeping her eyes glued to her phone.
“That’s not coming from the game,” said Carlo, standing up. He stepped carefully around the dumpster, searching the shadows.
Then Ethan heard the sound again, coming from above them. He glanced up at the cobweb-covered window and saw a black cat pressed against the screen. Mrs. Applegate’s cat!
“Shh, Max, be quiet,” Carlo called up to it, as if he and the cat were old friends.
But Max wasn’t quiet. His meowing grew louder and more agitated. He pawed at the window. And then suddenly he was whisked away, and another face appeared.
Mrs. Applegate.
CHAPTER 11
Ethan fought the urge to run. It would be pointless now. Mrs. Applegate had already seen them!
“Carlo, what did I tell you about playing that game out here?” she said, shaking a finger at him through the window. She disappeared for a moment, and Ethan heard the click of the back door unlocking.
When Mrs. Applegate stepped outside, she didn’t look happy—not one bit. “The library is for reading, not video games. Now, if you kids want to come in here and check out a book, I’m happy to help you. Otherwise, I suggest you move along.”
“Yes, Mrs. Applegate,” said Carlo, bowing his head. He took his phone from Gianna and led everyone down the littered alley and out into the sunshine.
“Well, so much for that,” said Ethan, sitting on the curb across from Dottie’s Doughnuts. “But we learned a lot! Do you think we’re ready?”
Carlo sighed. “I don’t know. But we might have to be. I don’t know where else we can train.”
Ethan took one more look at his Pokémon. Raticate was now fully healed. “I feel ready,” he said, standing up.
“Me, too,” said Devin, even though she looked pretty nervous.
“I’m ready,” said Gianna. “I just need a phone…. Do you think Dottie would lend me hers for the battle?”
“If she knew you were trying to save the doughnut shop, she would!” said Devin. “You should ask her.”
Gianna nodded. “I will.”
“So, when are we doing this?” asked Ethan.
Everyone turned to Carlo, who ran his hand over his hair. “Tomorrow,” he said firmly. “Wednesday afternoons are dead at the doughnut shop. That’s when Ivan debuts his new ice cream flavors with free samples. Between two and two-thirty, Team Valor will flock there like a bunch of Pidgeys.”
Ethan chewed on a fingernail. Just the thought of doing battle with Team Valor tomorrow made his stomach flip-flop. But there was no use putting it off. Every day they waited, Dottie got closer to hanging a CLOSED sign in her shop window.
“Two o’clock tomorrow,” he echoed. We’re doing this. And we’re going to win—we have to win.
“Something’s wrong with Mom,” Devin whispered, poking her ginger-red head through Ethan’s doorway.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. She’s acting weird. Are we in trouble for doing something that I forgot about?”
Ethan laughed. “No, she’s probably just stressed about work or something.”
But at dinner that night, Ethan realized how wrong he was.
The first thing Mom said was, “How was the library today?”
Uh-oh. Ethan shot Devin a look, but she was playing with her peas.
“Um, fine,” he said, answering for them both.
“How many books did you check out?” asked Mom.
Ethan shrugged. Was that a trick question?
Then Mom launched into her speech. She really let them have it. “I ran into Mrs. Applegate on the sidewalk, and she informed me that you did not check out any books. You were battling Pokémon, which she strictly forbids at the library—which you’re very well aware of. So I think it’s time to set some restrictions on when and where you play the game.”
No! Ethan looked to Dad for help, but Dad was shoveling potatoes into his mouth so fast, he looked like he was going to hurt himself.
Devin was no help either. She kept sinking lower and lower in her chair, until just her eyes peered over her plate.
“From now on,” said Mom, “you may play for one hour in the morning. You will explore the neighborhood on foot, not on your bikes or in the backseat of my car. And not at church.” She gave Dad a withering look. “You will pass the Little Library, where you’ll each take one book to read. And then you’ll return home, and I’ll collect your phones for the rest of the day—until our evening walk.”
“What? Mom, no!” said Ethan, dropping his fork. “You can’t do that!”
Mom silenced him with her eyes. “I can do that, and I will. And if you take that tone with me again, you won’t be allowed to have your phone at all. Understand?”
Ethan couldn’t look at her. He felt like his chest was going to explode at any second. Getting his phone taken away was one thing. But Mom’s timing stunk. We need our phones tomorrow at two o’clock. Or Carlo and Gianna will battle Team Valor alone. And they’ll lose. And it’ll be our fault!
When he felt hot tears filling his eyes, he couldn’t take it anymore. He pushed away from the table and ran to his room.
Ethan woke to a grumbling stomach. He’d pretty much missed dinner, and then slept through breakfast, too. He wasn’t going to give Mom the satisfaction of eating the b
lueberry pancakes he could smell through the crack in his bedroom door. Hopefully, the special breakfast meant she felt guilty about the blow-up last night. Hopefully it meant she would change her mind.
But no such luck. By mid-morning, Ethan still hadn’t left his room. And Mom hadn’t come to talk to him like he thought she would.
Devin did, though. “What are we going to do?” she whispered as she sat on the edge of his bed.
Ethan shrugged. “What can we do?”
His sister listed the possibilities, counting them off on her fingers. “Um, run away and never come back. Or rebel and try to take over the house. Or find Mom’s hiding place for our phones, and sneak out at two o’clock.”
“Devin!” Ethan looked at her with new eyes. “You wouldn’t do something like that.”
She sighed. “Well, I don’t want to get in trouble. But this is important! Carlo and Gianna need us. Dottie needs us, too.”
They locked eyes, and that’s when Ethan knew. They were actually doing this.
He only hoped they could find their phones in time.
CHAPTER 12
Mom left for her job at the real estate office at one o’clock.
Ethan expected her to come into his room to say good-bye, or to say she was sorry, or at least to offer him some lunch, but she didn’t. When he heard the garage door open and close, his empty stomach sank with it.
She’s not going to back down this time, he realized.
The first thing he did was run to the fridge and scarf down some ice-cold blueberry pancakes. Then he heard Devin in the hall.
“Where do you think Mom hid our phones?” she asked. “In the Christmas closet?”
Mom had a not-so-secret hiding place for Christmas gifts. A few years ago—when he was way younger—Ethan had actually snuck into the closet and opened a gift early.
“Yeah, that closet is a good guess,” he said. “Let’s go look.”
The closet was beneath the basement stairs. The door was hard to open—it kind of scraped against the carpet. And when Ethan did finally get it open, he could barely see past the paper bags of clothing piled inside.