A Hot-Top Discovery

It wasn�t long before Kaumi and Cass reached Cerulean City. Kaumi had stopped by the PokeCenter to get his pokemon checked on, and Cass went too. Not for the same reason of course, Cass was too busy asking about the hint to anyone who entered. Eventually, the girl at the desk pulled Cass aside.

"Could you please stop that? People come in here with injured pokemon and they need to get inside right away!"

"Sorry nurse�"

"Nurse Kirei."

Cass nodded. "Er, I haven�t used PokeCenters often�what happened to the Joys that used to run them all the time?"

"Well now." Kirei put a finger on her chin. "We�re all named Kirei now." She smiled perkily.

"Yeah, �pretty�, so what about �Joy�?"

"I believe there still is one nurse who calls herself Joy�that�s right, she�s stationed in Pallet Town. She swears up and down that her mother, Joy, gave her that name. Some of us don�t believe her though. �Joy� is really last-decade."

The nurse walked back to the counter. "So a Kirei with a fashion sense. Peh. That�s not right somehow�"

"Ready to go, Cass." Kaumi was packed up.

"I don�t know where to go next." She sighed.

"What about the Gym?"

"How�s that prissy Oceana gonna help? I don�t like her attitude�its just like that Nurse Kirei. I can get a Cascade Badge later too," she added when Kaumi opened his mouth to speak. "I don�t want to deal with that girl."

"Cass! Just listen a moment! Have your heard about the Waterflowers?"

"Yeah, they�re the ones who used to run the gym."

"Right. What happened to them?"

"Well�Violet had a daughter then passed away, Lily died as well after having Oceana, and�Daisy�s been missing for a good five years."

"Precisely."

"What?"

"Daisy�s the one we should talk to."

"And why?"

"Because she�s gone�I heard that she learned more than any pokemon researcher ever dared�She went into hiding to keep the secrets safe. And there you have it. She should know about it, and maybe more."

Cass let out another loud sigh. "It doesn�t make much sense to me. How�re we gonna find her? Will her niece help at all? I�ll go along with it�maybe with luck, Oceana will know."

So off to Cerulean gym they went. Cass paid no attention to the design or anything. She would have rather be anywhere than a place like that to see a girl like that.

"�And I was like, �Shana, are you sure you wanna do that? He is Kifa�s boyfriend!�"

Giggles were heard echoing down the hallway. They were moving towards Kaumi and Cass.

Cass grew tense. The one thing that she hated; despised, and the one thing that frightened her the most. She would have to face it. Sure, there were brutal pokemon trainers everywhere that would just as soon kill your pokemon as look at you. They were the most dangerous, but valley girlish gym leaders were definitely more unbearably annoying.

Kaumi looked and saw the two girls that rounded the corner. Oceana was the one with the short blue hair and lavender eyes; he had seen pictures of her.

"Like, look, Amelia, I have guests! Hey you two! You want a match or something?"

Cass grumbled and Kaumi, picking up on her dislike, covered for her. "Actually, we were here to talk with you. Would you mind?"

"Like, totally not at all."

Amelia giggled. "He�s way cute, Oceana!"

Kaumi�s face reddened. "Anyway�"

"Sure. Absolutely. Give me five, kay? You guys can wait for me in the lobby, I�ll be there in a jif!"

Kaumi led the irked Cass to the lobby where they sat down. "Must�kill�has to�die�"

"So, what do you think she can tell us?" Kaumi asked, ignoring Cass�s slouching.

She massaged her temples. "I�m gonna have a headache if I listen anymore to that prissy bi-"

"Whoa, ok, watch it. I�ll talk with her then and let you know what I get. What was the clue?"

"�Where fire sleeps and scrapes the sky, the Primeape Stone shall be nearby�. That�s what Utsugi said."

"Alright." Oceana took a step out of the hallway and beckoned Kaumi forward. He glanced one last time at Cass, who was still grumbling, and followed her.

She led him into a small room that seemed be too happy for Dark or Cass but okay with him.

"So, what�d ja need to ask me?"

"Well, there�s this poem, and I need to find the person who can answer it-"

She was staring at him, not even paying attention. "How old are you?"

"Er�17�why?"

"Wicked cool! I�m 16! Do you think�?"

"Er�no. Anyway," Kaumi cleared his throat.

"Right. A, like, poem?"

"Yeah."

"Shoot it."

"But I need to find-"

"You don�t think I�m capable of answering it?" She tossed her hair behind her shoulders and leaned in with interest, hands holding her chin.

"Uh, I was supposed to�oh well. �Where fire sleeps and scrapes the sky�. Where does fire scrape the sky?"

"Oh please!" She giggled. "I train water pokemon and even I know that! A volcano, like, duh!"

"Cinnabar�"

"Precisely�now about that date�"

"No time, gotta run," Kaumi said quickly, standing and already walking out the door.

"Wait! You haven�t even given me your number! Bummer!"

Cass stood up, ready to head out. "You find anything?"

"Cinnabar Island."

"Of course!" Cass smacked her forehead. "We�ve got some ways to go�"

"Why don�t you go for that gym match?"

"�"

"It�s Oceana?" Cass nodded.

"Hey!" Oceana called down the hallway. "I�ve been called out on Dream League business, so like, Amelia�s in charge now. Ta-ta!"

Cass�s eyes brightened. "At least she may not be as bad�"

"Let�s try it." Kaumi gave her an expression of question.

"Okay. Sure." Cass was already strategizing. �Pikachu�my best bet. Then there�s Gloom��

"Cass! Come on!" She got up and followed Kaumi into the main battle room. There were bleachers everywhere for public viewing of battles and in the center was a pool for pokemon matches. There were spots for trainers on the land, and floating mats for any type that couldn�t go in the water. Amelia tossed her amber hair back similar to Oceana�s motion.

"Amelia," Cass said curiously, "are you allowed to take over?"

"Dream League rules, officially." She called, smiling. "If Oceana has to leave she appoints the position to the qualified equal, that�s me. It�s the same way for every leader."

Amelia had weird looks and appeared oddly familiar�Oceana didn�t seem right either�There was something weird about the gym all in all. Cass figured that she was getting scared of losing a battle, so she gritted her teeth and stepped to the challenger�s area.

"Ready when you are, Amelia!"

"Ready to rumble I am, how about you?"

"I�m ready to win my badge."

They stared each other down for a long moment. Cass needed another badge to compete with Dark, so she hoped she didn�t screw up.