Following Meowth's Footprints

by Alex Polan

  “I wish,” said Ethan. “What I really wish is that we could set a lure here in the garden so that while we weed, the Pokémon would come to us. That would at least make family yard work day more interesting.”

  “Yeah,” said Devin. “But Mom would kill us. So that would be kind of a waste of time, too.”

  “I guess.” Ethan bent back over the tomato plant, and then he popped back up.

  “Wait a minute,” he said. “I think I earned a lure module when I hit Level Eight.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, checking first to make sure Mom and Dad were still trimming trees on the other side of the yard. Then he checked his items.

  “Yes, I do have a lure!”

  “Ethan, you can’t use that right now,” Devin scolded. “I already told you—Mom will kill you. We’re supposed to be working. And besides, you can only place those at PokéStops.”

  “I’m not going to use it now,” he said. “I was thinking we could set it at the graveyard tonight to try to draw in some Pokémon.”

  “Oh.”

  So take that, Miss Pea Eater, Ethan wanted to say.

  “But if you set a lure, then lots of people will come to the cemetery. And they’ll scare Max away!”

  Ethan hesitated. Devin was right—he knew she was. He hated it when that happened.

  “Okay, then, how about some incense?” he said. “That would lure Pokémon toward us, but no one else would see it.”

  “That’s a good idea,” said Devin.

  “Yeah,” said Ethan. “It’s brilliant. Except I happen to be fresh out of incense.” He sighed and reached for another weed.

  The next hour stretched into two, and after a lemonade break, into almost three hours.

  “Is it ever going to end?” grumbled Ethan as he pulled yet another thistle out of the ground.

  “Probably not,” said Devin. “Probably never.”

  Then they heard a yelp from Dad. He was using a weed trimmer around the base of a tree.

  “Are you hurt?” Ethan heard Mom call.

  “No,” said Dad. And then he mumbled something about a Spearow.

  “Hey, are you playing Pokémon GO?” asked Ethan, standing up to look. “No fair!”

  “Not a Spearow,” said Dad, wiping something off his head. “A sparrow. A real-live sparrow just pooped on my head.”

  Ethan nearly choked on his laughter. He could tell that Mom was fighting back giggles, too. And Devin didn’t even try. She was laughing like crazy, rolling around in the dirt like a wobbly Weedle. Everyone thought the sparrow incident was the funniest thing ever—except for Dad.

  He ran into the house to get a tissue. And that was pretty much the end of family yard work day. Hurrah!

  But the sparrow that Ethan thought was a Spearow had just given him an idea. He pulled off his work gloves and started jogging toward the house.

  “Devin, come on!”

  He waited until they were safely in his room before he shut the door and told her his plan.

  “Remember how I said that the gym at the library is pretty much worthless?”

  Devin shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Well, I was wrong,” said Ethan. “I still have a Pokémon at that gym—my Spearow. And any time you leave a Pokémon at a gym, you get a Gym Defender bonus.”

  Devin’s ears perked up at the sound of that.

  “I have a Pokémon at Dottie’s gym,” she reminded him. “I left my Pidgeot there.”

  “Right,” said Ethan. “So every day or so, you and I each get a Defender bonus—Stardust and PokéCoins to spend in the shop!”

  “What?” said Devin, her jaw dropping. “Why has no one ever told me this before?”

  Ethan shrugged. “I don’t know—because we’re pretty new at this, and we probably don’t have that many coins to spend yet. But maybe we have enough for incense to use at the cemetery tonight. Let’s check!”

  They grabbed their phones and clicked on the “Shop” icon.

  “There,” said Ethan. “See the shield in the top right corner? Mine has the number two in it, because I left two Pokémon at gyms—one at Dottie’s and one at the library. Yours has a number one, for your Pidgeot.”

  “Yeah, but how many PokéCoins do we have?” asked Devin. She tapped on the shield and nearly fell off the bed. “A hundred and twenty PokéCoins? Whoa, I’m rich!”

  Ethan didn’t tell her that he had twice that amount—and six thousand Stardust. He felt pretty rich, himself.

  Take that, Moneybags Brayden with the fat allowance! he thought with a grin. I have plenty of PokéCoins to buy incense.

  He could hardly wait to get to the cemetery and use it.

  CHAPTER 9

  “Do you have the tuna?” asked Ethan as soon as they got to Gianna and Carlo’s house.

  Gianna nodded, pointing to her backpack. “I packed two cans, just in case.”

  “We’ve got something, too,” said Ethan. “But it’s a surprise—if Devin doesn’t spill the beans.”

  His little sister wasn’t a great secret keeper. At that very moment, she looked like a bouncy Weedle ready to burst out of a Poké Ball. So he gave her his best grown-up look—the one that said, If you don’t play by the rules, you’ll pay.

  She grinned at him and pretended to zip her lips, lock them, and throw away the key.

  “Are you guys ready to do this?” asked Carlo, skipping down the porch stairs. He looked like he was dressed for a serious mission, sporting black biker gloves and a jacket with rolled-up sleeves.

  Ethan looked down at his own clothes: the blue T-shirt that he’d once thought was so cool, and his baggier-than-baggy shorts.

  He yanked up his shorts a bit and sighed. Oh, well. Maybe when I’m using my incense at the cemetery, Carlo won’t notice what I’m wearing.

  As Carlo wheeled his bike out from the garage, Ethan saw a wire cage strapped to the back.

  “What’s that for?” he asked.

  “It’s our old bunny cage,” said Carlo. “It’ll help us catch Max and bring him home, safe and sound.”

  “I never thought about how we were going to hang on to Max once we found him,” Ethan admitted.

  That’s why Carlo is the Team Mystic Gym Leader, he reminded himself. And pretty much the coolest guy I know.

  The bike ride across town felt longer this time. Maybe it was because Ethan knew that Max was in the cemetery—or had been. They actually had a chance at catching him. And with the incense, Ethan had a good chance of catching some Pokémon, too!

  When they reached the cemetery gates, the sun had slid behind a cloud. The graveyard looked dark and gloomy.

  “A little purple incense will brighten this place right up,” Ethan whispered to Devin as he pulled out his phone.

  She clamped her hand over her mouth. “Are you going to do it now?” she whispered.

  He nodded as he opened his items and clicked on the incense. “But don’t tell Gianna and Carlo yet. Let’s wait and see if it works, first.”

  The incense appeared on his map almost instantly. A thin plume of purple smoke began circling Ethan’s Trainer avatar. The screen suddenly jumped into night mode, and with that purple ring of smoke in the middle of it, it looked dark and mysterious.

  Ethan showed Devin, whose eyes grew wide. “Spooky,” she said.

  Up ahead, Gianna was pulling something out of her backpack. “Hey, what should we do with the tuna?” she called to Carlo, who was in the lead. “Should we open it now, or wait till we see Max?”

  “He might come running when he hears the sound of the can opening,” said Carlo. “Let’s try it now.”

  Gianna set the can down on a cement bench. When she pulled back the tab, the sound cut through the stillness of the cemetery.

  Ethan covered his ears and pretended to wince. “If there are any cats within a mile of this place, they heard that can opening!” he said to Devin.

  But no cats came running.

  “Now what?” asked Gianna. “This tuna fish kind of st
inks.”

  “Let’s put it in the cage,” said Carlo. “Maybe Max will come for it when we’re not so close by.” He carried the wire cage over and placed the tuna inside. “Now, let’s walk away for a while. Didn’t you say there were some PokéStops around here?”

  Gianna nodded. “Follow me.”

  She led them all in a giant loop around the cemetery, passing every PokéStop to collect Poké Balls. Near one statue, Ethan saw Devin checking the tracking feature on her phone.

  “Do you see Pokémon?” he whispered. “Is the incense working?”

  “You won’t believe it,” she said. She showed him the phone, and there was the gray silhouette of a cat—a cat standing up on his hind legs, just like a human.

  “Mewtwo?” Ethan whispered.

  “Probably just Meowth,” said Devin. “He’s more common.”

  “Or maybe Mew!” said Ethan. They were all catlike Pokémon who stood on their hind legs. Why couldn’t it be the legendary Mewtwo or the mythical Mew?

  “Wait, you see a Pokémon?” asked Gianna. “I thought there weren’t any here.”

  “Well, it’s possible that Ethan might have used a little incense,” said Devin, giggling.

  “You did?” said Carlo. “Nice move, Ethan. Hopefully it’ll work on Max, too, if the tuna fish doesn’t.”

  Ethan walked a little taller after hearing Carlo’s compliment. But he stuck close to Devin, because that girl knew how to track a Pokémon’s footsteps. And if Mew was somewhere in the cemetery, Ethan wanted in on that action.

  As Devin tiptoed toward a far corner of the graveyard, Ethan followed right on her heels. A tall tomb rose toward the sky, blocking what little light was coming from the cloud-covered sun. He tried not to think about what was inside the tomb.

  “Two footsteps!” Devin whispered. “We’re getting closer to Meowth.”

  “You mean Mew,” whispered Ethan, grinning.

  She kept walking, past crumbling headstones in what looked like a very old part of the cemetery. “He’s here somewhere!” she said.

  But at that moment, Gianna called from the opposite corner of the graveyard. “Ethan! Devin! Get over here—we found Max!”

  “They found Max?” said Ethan. “Right now? But we’re about to capture Mew!”

  Devin shrugged. “Max is more important than Mew,” she said. “I mean, think about it: Max is real. Come on!”

  Ethan reluctantly followed her toward the front of the cemetery. But all he could think was, If we’re not going to chase down Mew, then that incense was an epic waste of my PokéCoins.

  “He’s sniffing the tuna,” whispered Gianna, ducking down behind a headstone. “Look!”

  Ethan glanced to his left and saw the big black cat near the cage. He stood on his hind legs, like Mew, with his front paws on the edge of the bench. And he sniffed that wire cage as if it held the most delicious meal in the world.

  “He’s going for it!” said Ethan.

  “So am I,” whispered Devin. She crept toward the cat and slowly raised her phone. Ethan saw a flashing light as she snapped her photo.

  Max saw it, too. He took off like a shot into the heart of the cemetery.

  “Devin!” everyone hollered at once.

  But they didn’t have to say another word. Her face crumpled. “I’m sorry,” she said, her cheek quivering. “I’m so used to taking pictures of Pokémon. I just … I’m sorry.”

  She sunk down onto the bench next to the cage.

  “Can’t we try again?” asked Gianna. “Should we walk away?”

  Carlo shrugged. “We can try. But Max might be on to us now.”

  Ethan crossed his fingers while they started to circle the cemetery again. He was hoping that Max would return. But he was also hoping they’d have another run-in with Mew.

  While the others walked from PokéStop to PokéStop, Ethan walked directly toward the tall tomb in the farthest corner of the cemetery. He checked his phone every few seconds, hoping to see the gray silhouette of a cat.

  As he passed the tomb, he held his breath. But his phone stayed silent in his hand. No buzzing. No catlike Pokémon in the app’s tracking feature, either.

  So he kept walking. He watched the ground carefully, trying not to trip over an old headstone. The sun was setting. It was almost dark as Ethan circled the tomb. And that’s when he heard it.

  A long, low moan rose from the earth.

  It sounded like the wind through the trees on an October night.

  But it’s July, thought Ethan. And there’s not a tree in sight.

  The hair stood up on his arms, and a cool shiver ran down his spine.

  CHAPTER 10

  Ethan cocked his head, listening carefully. There it was again—an eerie moan, louder this time. It was getting closer!

  In a flash, Ethan took off running, as if a Zubat were swooping after him through the dark cemetery. He dodged headstones, tripped over flowerpots, rounded a statue, and finally ran straight into his friends.

  He was so out of breath, he could barely tell them what he’d heard. And as the words came out of his mouth, they sounded so silly—he knew they did!

  “You heard a what, now? A moan?” asked Gianna.

  “Are you sure it wasn’t the wind?” asked Carlo. The corner of his mouth twitched, as if he was fighting a smile.

  Great, thought Ethan. Just when the guy was starting to respect me a little.

  “Never mind,” he said, quickly changing the subject. “Did Max ever come back?”

  Carlo shook his head. “And it’s getting pretty late now. We should probably go.”

  Ethan didn’t have to be told twice. After the moaning incident, he didn’t care if he ever set foot in the cemetery again—Max or no Max.

  He practically had to drag Devin away from the cement bench, though. She kept looking over her shoulder, as if Max might suddenly appear.

  When they finally reached the front entrance, Ethan was surprised to see the gate closed. “Wasn’t that open when we got here?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” said Carlo. “It sure was.” He pulled on the handle of the gate, tugging it backward. Then he tried pushing it forward. “I don’t believe it,” he whispered.

  “What?” asked Ethan, his voice cracking.

  Carlo tried slipping his hand through the bars, but he couldn’t reach the handle in front. As he pulled his hand back through, he turned to face Ethan.

  “What?” Ethan asked again in a tiny voice.

  Carlo took a deep breath. “The groundskeeper must have come through and not seen us. We’re, um … we’re locked in.”

  The words hung in the air for just a moment.

  Then Devin started to whimper.

  Ethan turned around to comfort her, but he was surprised to see that she wasn’t crying. She was nervously chewing on a fingernail.

  Standing beside her, Gianna looked worried, but she wasn’t the whimpering type.

  Ethan strained his ears, and then he heard it again. There was someone else in the cemetery with them—he was sure of it. And this time, he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

  He used the flashlight on his phone and walked toward the nearest row of headstones. “Who’s there?” he called, wishing his voice would stop wobbling. “Come out and show your face!”

  The tougher Ethan talked, the tougher he felt. But when someone jumped up from behind a headstone, he shrieked and fell backward. He landed hard and then fumbled around in the grass, looking for his phone.

  When he found it, he shone the light in the direction of the headstone.

  He immediately recognized the boy standing next to it. Brayden the Great was blinking in the bright light of Ethan’s phone, looking not so very great.

  “Brayden! What are you doing here?” said Ethan.

  “I was just … h-hunting for Pokémon,” Brayden said. “But I didn’t know we were going to get l-locked in here. So now I’m kind of freaking out, actually.” He wiped his runny nose with the back of his hand.


  Ethan stood up, brushing off his shorts. “So you go and hide behind a headstone?” he said. “And jump out and scare me? Seriously?”

  Brayden shrugged. “I wasn’t trying to scare you.”

  “Did you come to help us look for Max or something?” asked Devin. “We saw him, but he ran away.”

  “Oh, that’s, um … too bad,” said Brayden.

  “Well, we’ve got worse problems than that,” said Carlo. “We’re locked in a cemetery at night. So now we have to do the unthinkable.”

  Ethan was about to ask what that meant, but Brayden beat him to it. “What do you mean? Do we have to stay locked in here all night?” He sounded like he was going to cry.

  Carlo pulled out his phone. “Nope, we have to do something way worse. We have to call our parents.”

  Carlo tried his mom, but she was still at work. But Brayden’s sister, Bella, was home. And when Ethan heard that Bella knew the groundskeeper’s son and was going to help them get out of the cemetery, he nearly jumped for joy.

  “That means we don’t have to call Mom and Dad,” he said to Devin. And for the first time in about an hour, she smiled.

  When Bella rode up in a Jeep with a tall teenage boy, Ethan suddenly felt shy. He was used to thinking of her as the enemy. She was the Team Valor Gym Leader at Ivan’s Ice Cream, after all.

  But tonight, she’s saving our butts, he realized. So he was going to have to rethink this whole enemy thing.

  As the teenage boy approached the gate with a ring of jingling keys, Bella gave Brayden a stern look through the bars. “What’re you doing here?” she said. “You were supposed to be home, watching your puppy.”

  Brayden shrugged. He didn’t look like he was going to give up any information to his big sister.

  So Bella turned to Ethan. “How about you guys?” she said. “Do you make a habit out of running around cemeteries at night?” She talked tough, but her eyes were smiling.

  “We were looking for a cat,” Gianna explained. “A black one. We saw it here, but it slipped away.”

  “Really?” said Bella, her eyebrows raised. “Brayden and I know the black cat that lives here. He’s a mean, nasty stray. If I were you, I’d steer clear of him. He bit Brayden’s hand last year. You should show them the scar, Brayden.”