Ch 56. Pokemon mansion

(Unedited)

Having gotten his stay arranged at the Big Riddle Inn, Ares notified Jenny through Pidgeot, handing him a letter to deliver to Jenny. He had no clue as to where she was currently staying, but Pidgeot would surely find out.

Pidgeot was a master at tracking someone down.

Leaving messaging their current place of stay to Pidgeot, considering Jenny didn't have a Rotom phone, Ares left soon after.

As Jenny had previously said, finding the gym wasn't his priority right now. He had enough time to challenge Blaine, should he find the gym on his way. There was a lot to see on this island.

There was the fossil lab, where scientist were busy researching how to revive fossils. Then there was the volcano, a perfect spot at finding fire-type pokemon. Magmar would surely be a prime encounter in these parts.

Not that he needed another fire type pokemon. He already had Charizard after all. He didn't plan to fill up the pokedex either, leaving that to the other people who had received a pokedex.

If he were to climb the volcano, it would primarily be to train his pokemon or to see the view from way up there. Though the former was the likeliest.

No, the place he wanted to visit was a lot more... well... unliked.

It had seen better days, especially in the past.

But now, he wanted to find something.

Popping her head out of the bag, Mew currently stuck in her Ralts form till they separated from Jenny, looked around. Floating just in front of him, she waited till Ares carried her in his arms as she pointed her small hands forward.

[You know where to go, right?]

Mew looked up, one of her eyes hidden behind green bangs. Ares stroked the bangs aside, peering down at Mew's red eyes.

"The Pokemon Mansion. I can feel something from there, even when we were still on the sea. At least, I assume it is the Pokemon Mansion. Its history is rather shrouded."

Mew bobbed her head, nodding in agreement.

[To the Pokemon Mansion. There is a familiar yet odd psychic energy radiating from there.]

Mew commented, her white hand cushioning her little green head.

From the side, Ares noticed a group of girls giggling, taking pictures of Mew in her Ralts form. Some of them even asked if they could go on a picture with him and his two pokemon. Something Lucario was rather quick in accepting.

Lucario pushed Ares forward, pushing her right next to a lovely looking girl. Sending a questioning and betrayed look at his partner, his eyes changed. Lucario had a note in his hands. The handwriting on it painfully familiar.

[Make sure he gets home with a nice girlfriend next time, Jenny doesn't count.]

His mom had secretly given Lucario a note.

"Don't even think about doing this in the future."

Ares grumbled, his frown turning upside down as the picture was being made.

Lucario barked in laughter, the sudden change in expression funny in his eyes. He had never seen Ares change expressions that fast before. The girl in question didn't seem to mind in at all, as she stared dazed at their departing backs.

Giving Lucario a poke in the side, they quickly made their way to the Pokemon Mansion.

Lucario was laughing, yet ripped the note apart as the message had been relayed. No need to continue doing this.

[Onwards! Let's go on an adventure!]

Mew chanted, waving excited at the entrance of the worn down mansion. The roof was completely gone, as if it had been blasted apart. A few broken wall were seen here and there, with almost all of the windows broken.

Once inside, the walls were blackened, with none of the furniture having survived the carnage that had definitely taken place here.

"What the hell happened here?"

Ares muttered as he closed in on one of the walls, his hands tracing over the black smudges. His hands didn't leave any trails, the soot having already become part of the walls.

Frowning slightly, Ares and Lucario went to the second floor.

There, few traces of people were found.

[There are a few people filling bags in the third room on the right.]

Ah, so there were burglars here.

Figures.

Making his way through the upper parts of the mansion, Ares didn't find anything worthwhile. Libraries with books that were crumbling at the slightest touch, clothes for the working force here with holes in them, as well as a study that was remarkably empty for the size of this mansion.

As there was nothing to find here, there was only one way left to go.

"Down we go."

Easier said than done.

The way down was difficult to find.

The hole from the roof had also been in the ground, but it had collapsed inward, filling it up right back again.

Now they needed to find the man-made way down. If they were making holes in the floor, there would surely be a commotion just from the noise. He was sure he would get Officer Jenny's attention.

Jenny would surely laugh at that if she had to bust him out of prison for destruction of government property.

Not trusting to use his other pokemon in this building, mainly due to the unknowns below and the burglars present, Ares stuck with Mew and Lucario.

Teaming up with Lucario, Ares began to sense around with his aura, while Mew had disappeared out of sight with a quick teleport.

Unleashing their aura fully, they could feel it collide with solid objects, forming a mindscape of the surroundings.

They continued to do this as they moved, repeating it after every few steps. At some point they had once again gone over most of the mansion, that is up to the point they arrived at the study.

That's right.

The study that had been remarkably empty.

Something had felt different about this room. It wasn't his aura that picked it up first, no it was a slight draft he had overlooked before. A draft that was coming from the floor.

Crouching down to knee height, Ares once more let his aura pulse outwards, finally finding what he had been searching for. An updraft from below the desk.

Pushing the desk aside, a trapdoor was revealed.

Looking towards Lucario once, Ares opened it and went down.