Tia reached out a hand and lifted a shiny, metallic Poke Ball from the table. It felt cold to the touch, and the gold and silver accents glistened in the light. The letters “G” and “S” were etched onto the front of the ball.
“This is what you want us to deliver to Kurt, Professor?” Aidan asked.
Professor Oak nodded.
Tia turned the ball in her hands, eyeing it suspiciously. “The GS Ball, huh…” she murmured.
“It was one of the artifacts that was found during a raid of one of Team Rocket’s warehouses several years ago,” Professor Oak explained. “Many researchers have tried to open it, even using crude methods such as hammers and saws, but none of them left a dent upon it.”
“Is there any idea what could be inside it?” Aidan asked.
“Virtually anything,” Professor Oak replied, “Though it would be nice if it were a Legendary Pokemon. Speaking of, I hear you two are on the trail of another one!”
Tia looked up from the GS Ball and nodded. “Celebi. It’s the last Legendary left of the ones documented in Kanto and Johto.”
The professor looked back at them, impressed. “The last one? Very well done!”
“We’re working off of a scant amount of information, though,” Aidan added, “There are old legends showing Celebi as the protector of Ilex Forest, and there are many sightings of it in antiquity. But the last modern sighting of Celebi was 40 years ago, and it was unconfirmed.”
“So we figured that a visit to the Ilex Forest shrine was in order,” Tia said, still holding the GS Ball. “Maybe we could find some evidence that Celebi’s still around, even after 40 years.”
She looked back down at the GS Ball. “This thing’s just as much of a mystery as Celebi,” she added, “It’s strong and sturdy, like the prototype Legend Balls, but with a simple, elegant design. It’s unlike anything Silph has in development right now.” She ran a finger over the letters engraved on the ball. “’GS’… Does that stand for ‘Gold’ and ‘Silver’?”
“It’s anyone’s guess,” Professor Oak replied, “I’m hoping Kurt will make something of it.”
“We’ll make sure it gets to Kurt,” Tia answered.
“And while we’re there, we can explore the Ilex Forest for Celebi,” Aidan added.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Kurt said, turning the GS Ball in his hands. “It looks like a Poke Ball, but appears to be something else!”
“It doesn’t look like anything Silph is developing either,” Tia spoke up.
Kurt nodded. “Let me hold on to it for a bit, and I’ll examine it further.”
Tia and Aidan returned the next day, after a fruitless exploration of the Ilex Forest for Celebi’s whereabouts. Kurt looked up from his workbench and waved them over.
“You came at just the right time,” Kurt said excitedly, nodding toward the GS Ball. “This ball started shaking all of a sudden as I was examining it. There must be something to this!”
He was interrupted by a blast of strong wind that battered the outside of his house. He looked up in alarm. “W-what was that?” he stammered. Then he gasped, and quickly rushed out the door.
“Kurt?” Tia called out. She looked over at Aidan, puzzled. Then they followed him outside, Tia grabbing the GS Ball on the way out.
Kurt was looking toward the forest with an ominous look on his face. The wind ruffled his hair as it blew through the trees. “The forest is restless…” he said. He broke into a run, headed straight for Ilex Forest.
“Hey, wait!” Tia and Aidan ran after him.
Kurt kept running until he reached the shrine of the forest’s protector. He skidded to a stop and bent over to catch his breath. Tia and Aidan caught up with him, shielding their faces as strong winds blew through the trees.
Tia looked over at the shrine and gasped. “Look!” she said, pointing toward it.
The shrine was glowing.
The three of them approached the shrine, Kurt walking right up to it and peering inside the structure. His eyes widened.
“Hm? There’s a space here inside the shrine. It… looks like the perfect size to place a Poke Ball!”
Tia and Aidan glanced at each other, then Tia pulled out the GS Ball.
“Let’s see what happens if we…” Tia said faintly, handing the ball to Aidan.
Aidan nodded, then placed the GS Ball into the glowing shrine.
There was a sudden flash of light as the GS Ball made contact with the shrine, and a blast of energy knocked everyone off their feet.
Aidan looked up, and his eyes widened as he saw the GS Ball slowly open to reveal a green, leaf-like Pokemon with delicate wings and bright blue eyes.
“Celebi…?” he said weakly.
Celebi let out a cry and rushed toward him, followed by the distant ringing of a bell.
A strange, warm energy enveloped him, as if he was wrapped in a cocoon. The sound of ringing bells echoed through his head and he felt as if he were sinking. The world spun around him, and everything went black...