The Noise Pokémon

"Uh... would you be interested?" Tetsuya froze. No one else had responded, so, embarrassed, he drew Terrance, who was standing closest to him, over and asked warmly.

But as soon as he spoke, he hesitated. Terrance looked to be only about ten, and was probably a rookie Trainer.

If they went deep into the mountains, it would be bad if something went wrong. A rookie Trainer might not even be able to take care of himself.

"..." Tetsuya's eyes suddenly widened. He was afraid Terrance would agree; he didn't want to bring a burden along. He had heard the incident was serious and thought it would be safer to find more people, but that didn't include a rookie who had just started out.

Terrance raised an eyebrow and hesitated. To tell the truth, he was tempted. The incident had indeed piqued his curiosity, but he had come with Master Katsumune, and doing this would surely cause trouble, so he dismissed the idea.

As if he had seen the spark of curiosity in Terrance's eyes, Tetsuya's face fell. This is bad.

"I-" Terrance was just about to politely decline, but someone else immediately cut him off.

"You're Tetsuya, right? Don't waste your breath on some little kid. The four of us are enough. A rookie like him wouldn't be any help even if he came." The speaker was a Trainer of fifteen or sixteen, one of the three who had stepped forward at the start.

Tetsuya said nothing. He merely smiled awkwardly, tacitly accepting the remark.

Terrance was stunned.

"Hey, how can you judge someone by appearances?" The girl Trainer who had stepped forward among the three sounded displeased. It was that same irritating tone; she had often been mocked by people when she had just started out.

"What's wrong with that? At his age, he's probably still playing house with his Pokémon, hahaha..."

Terrance stood to one side, dark lines crossing his face and his mouth twitching. He wondered if he had walked onto the wrong set.

"I'm not a rookie Trainer," he said. He felt he needed to explain.

He was a Breeder. Terrance had never paid attention to his status as a Trainer or anything like that.

"You're not? Then how many Pokémon have you caught?" The Trainer wore a dark blue jacket and seemed to enjoy picking on rookies like Terrance.

"Two." As soon as Terrance said it, he felt it wasn't very convincing.

Sure enough, the Trainer in blue immediately burst out laughing. "Come on, quit bragging. If you're not a rookie Trainer at your age, then I'm one of the Elite Four."

"..." Terrance was at a loss too.

"All right, ignore him. Everyone starts out as a rookie Trainer. Keep at it, and sooner or later you'll become an Ace Trainer who can stand on his own." The girl Trainer interrupted them. In her view, it was better not to let the conversation continue, so the Trainer in blue wouldn't damage the "prideful" Terrance's confidence.

Their attitudes made it clear they were convinced Terrance was a rookie Trainer.

Terrance couldn't be bothered to explain anymore. Forget it. A rookie Trainer it was. If he registered as a Trainer with the Pokémon League, he really was the right age to be a rookie.

But Breeders and Trainers really did belong to completely different systems.

"All right, stop arguing." Tetsuya felt a little uncomfortable too. He was young himself, and although he had only started out a year ago, he considered himself quite capable. Seeing Terrance being targeted, he took the blame upon himself.

"In that case, we've got five people now. There's strength in numbers, so let's not fight among ourselves." Tetsuya sighed inwardly. He was the one who had invited Terrance, and if he rejected him now, wouldn't that hurt Terrance's pride? He decided to let Terrance join after all. At worst, he could just look after him a little more.

Meanwhile, Terrance was completely baffled. When had he agreed?

Tetsuya had also forgotten that Terrance had never finished speaking. He had only seen curiosity and interest in Terrance's eyes, and had subconsciously assumed he was going to accept the invitation.

"It's okay, just stick with me. My Roselia will protect you." The girl Trainer patted her chest, wearing an expression that said she had everything covered.

Terrance declined again.

Only to be immediately rebuked.

"You need to have confidence in your abilities. There are five of us, so there shouldn't be any danger," Tetsuya said.

"..."

"So you're a rookie. Can't take a little criticism? Show some backbone, will you? Don't make me look down on you," the Trainer in blue said.

"This is a great chance to get some experience. Don't worry, I can lend you my Pokémon when it counts," the girl Trainer said.

"Just be careful..." the last person said.

And so Terrance's polite refusal was taken for cowardice. The group couldn't stand by and watch, and decided to give this "rookie Trainer" a helping hand.

The leader, the boy who had won four straight battles against Trainers he encountered on the road, was named Tetsuya.

The Trainer in blue was named Sōsa, and had competed in regional tournaments three times.

The girl Trainer was named Koki, and she was training to become an outstanding Coordinator. The last person, Agaku, was an apprentice from the Rustboro Gym.

Along with Terrance, who had been innocently pulled into the group, the five began planning their trip into the mountains to investigate the mystery behind the Whismur's rampage.

Work on the Rusturf Tunnel had been interrupted. Whenever these Trainers appeared, the Whismur would flee into the mountains, then quietly wait for a chance to return in force.

Having heard Master Katsumune's account, Terrance knew no less than the others. He was also very curious about the cause behind it all, and was eager to test a few guesses he had.

They planned to enter the mountains at midnight, when the police blockade would be at its weakest. Listening beside them, Terrance rolled his eyes. Curious as he was, he had no intention of going on an adventure with these kids.

Night was for rest. After nearly a month of training on Mt. Chimney, Terrance, who kept a precise schedule, was exhausted in mind and body. He absolutely would not put himself through more hardship.

The four talked excitedly, and in the end, they agreed on a time and a meeting place.

With that, everyone separated to make their preparations. Once Terrance left, however, he had no intention of seeing them again. He wanted to find a place to get some proper rest, and Swablu and Beautifly had their own training to do. There wasn't a moment to waste.

Master Katsumune hadn't left any instructions, and Terrance was at a loss. He wondered if Master Katsumune had forgotten that he didn't have Trainer credentials and couldn't stay at the Pokémon Center.

There were others like Terrance. They used tents they had brought with them, found suitable spots, and set up temporary shelters.

Terrance was no stranger to making do like this; in fact, he was quite practiced at it. With a sigh, he seemed to be back in the days just after he had left Fallarbor Town.

The next morning, Terrance was jolted awake by a vibration.

It was a huge disturbance. Terrance walked outside in a daze, wanting to know what was happening.

He looked around the area but found nothing. Then two figures caught his attention.

"Officer Jenny, and... Master Katsumune-"

Terrance hurried over to ask how things were going and how far the incident had progressed.

"Terrance?"

As he approached, Master Katsumune clearly noticed him.

"The sound drew me over," Terrance said.

"You heard it too." Master Katsumune frowned. "We have some leads, but it will take time to resolve."

"The sound came from Exploud, the noise Pokémon. It seems to be the Whismur's leader. The Whismur... and some Loudred all seem to have become irritable, and they're very unfriendly."

"Is it serious?" Terrance was startled.

"They're highly aggressive right now, but they've already retreated into the mountains."

"That's not good." Terrance rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on. "It seems a few Trainers went into the mountains on their own yesterday. I don't know if they were stopped."

Officer Jenny was shocked to hear that. "I haven't received any reports."

"If they went through with it, they're probably in the mountains now." Terrance looked at Master Katsumune.

If the Trainers were attacked by the irritable Exploud now, it was hard to rule out something going wrong.

"I understand." The situation was indeed serious. Master Katsumune hesitated, then tossed Terrance a Poké Ball.

"You know those Trainers, right? This is Pidgeot's Poké Ball. See if you can find them first and persuade them to wait for rescue and not act rashly. Officer Jenny and I will go investigate Exploud's situation right away."

"Is it all right to leave it to him?" Officer Jenny was startled and looked at Terrance, who was only about ten years old.

"Don't worry," Master Katsumune said. "He's a Breeder. If something unexpected happens, he'll have an easier time handling it than the average Trainer. And with Pidgeot accompanying him, nothing will go wrong."