Just as Hideo was fully slumped, he heard someone address him - by name. And not just by his name; they also mentioned Eris Halla . That really got Hideo’s attention, the boy righting himself in his seat.

Had Martín del Mar told this guy about him? Or did Eris? If either did, did that mean this guy knew something about the amulets?

“Oh, yeah,” Hideo said, properly adjusted. “I’m Hideo. And I know Eris. She’s a friend of mine.” Though he was pretty sure that wasn’t all this guy wanted to hear; Hideo fished into his pocket, his hand touching his Amulet.

O

The same voice saying the same letter every time he touched it. It took it out, showing it to the other guy. “I’m guessing if you already know our names, then you might know something about this Amulet? I’ve been asking around about it, but nobody seems to know much about it.” Heck, even he didn’t know much; something made him forget his discussion with Eris and Andy Blackadder , and Martin could only offer speculation.

Locke Jamison

THE BASIC SOLUTION

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS

ON THE SURFACE, nothing seems to happen. The charms refuse to budge, inert, a simple accessory at best.

Their lips remain sealed. Any push to mention UXIE will result in blank memories. A fuzzy canvas of experiences sit at the edge of their thoughts. Brain fog cloudier than the lakes they once revered.

But, should either pay particular attention to the other’s UNUSUAL CHARM, they will notice a letter embedded on its surface.

Coincidence? Or intentional?

Only time will tell.

Hideo Kino Locke Jamison

"Oh, yeah." Even if Locke already knew who he was, proper introductions were needed. "My Beheeyem over here is Elga. He really wanted to come along when I said I'd try asking about this amulet." And serve as Hideo's eyes, as many of his Pokemon did.

But with that settled, he could hear Locke take something out - and his Beheeyem confirmed it was an amulet just like his. And then...

…

It was just like with Martín del Mar ; Hideo didn't notice any sudden changes. No sudden recollection of his meeting with Eris Halla and Andy Blackadder , no memory of how he got this in the first place.

Hideo let out a deep sigh, slumping back in his seat. "Well I got nothing," he said, frustration leaking out his voice. "Don't suppose you suddenly got any memories coming back, do you?"

Before he could fully admit defeat, his Beheeyem Telepathically prodded him to check out Locke's amulet. He sat back up, taking a deep breath in. "Actually, you mind if I touch your amulet? I'm blind, but I hear a letter whenever I touch mine. And my Beheeyem is saying our amulets look the same."

It was worth a shot.

Locke Jamison

The Beheeyem stared back at Locke, waving back with his own stubby, fingerless hand. It was a stilted motion, like he was trying to replicate a motion he'd only seen in a book.

"Mine doesn't have an 'I' on it. Or any letter, as far as me or my Pokemon can tell." His Beheeyem nodded - his only literate Telepath. "But it does tell me a letter whenever I touch it."

He reached over, touching Locke's amulet. The Beheeyem's attention was back on the amulets, watching for anything.

O

It was the same exact voice as when he touched his own amulet, and the same exact letter. Hideo's brow furrowed as he leaned back on his seat. "You said yours is an 'I'? 'cause I just heard an 'O', like with mine."

He turned towards his Beheeyem. "You seeing or hearing anything on them, Elga?"

The answer had been a Telepathic denial - nope. However, he shook his massive head as well, for Locke and De-De to see.

A sigh from Hideo. "None of my Pokemon notice anything on my amulet, even when they touch it. It's so weird."

He turned back towards Locke. "So by all yellow amulets, does that mean you've met other people with the same amulet we do? And you saw the same letter on them?" Even if this meeting was shaping up to be a bust, they still might have a chance at uncovering something. Maybe even a lead.

Locke Jamison

Another sigh from Hideo. It wasn't Locke's fault, but this meeting didn't tell him much. "Well, something is better than nothing," he said, more to himself than to Locke. "It's alright."

Hopefully he'd remember it this time. He could still remember his meeting with Martin, but that one hadn't told him too much either. And Martin didn't have an amulet of his own.

Though there wasn't much information coming his way, he could at least share what he knew from his own meetings.

"I dunno if it was pink or not, but I did remember meeting someone with an amulet. She showed me hers and I took out mine, and then...well, I can't remember anything 'til I left the meeting. Dunno if she had a letter on hers at all or if it was different from mine."

Andy Blackadder was there too, though Hideo didn't recall if he had an amulet as well. Everything just blanked after Hideo took his own out.

"What I do remember is afterwards, my Rotomdex was out. I didn't have them out before the meeting. And afterwards, it dropped to the ground and started shaking. No long-term damage, and there was a new video saved on it."

Still an unintelligible video, even with Martin telling him what was on it.

"Only reason I could think of why I took it out was to record something. Me and my Pokemon were fine afterwards - including my Rotom - but we still don't know what the video means."

Maybe something odd happened to Locke too. "You remember anything weird happening to you after your meeting? Or your Pokemon?"

Locke Jamison

Hideo was initially intrigued to hear what weird stuff had happened to Locke.

Until he found out what it was, his eager face dropping immediately. "Oh. Oh geez." He didn't expect it to be that bad. "That's awful. You guys had to go to the hospital for that? I'm glad my Rotom only got off with a seizure."

He hadn't even seen a doctor since he'd left home. He had a lot of faith in his Pokemon, but could they find something as discrete as brain bubbles?

Unbeknownst to Hideo, his Beheeyem moved to him, one of its robot-like arms moving over Hideo's head. The three colored dots on its hand blinked rapidly, with Hideo none the wiser.

"Eris was at that meeting I mentioned before," Hideo said, "where I shared my amulet. I can't remember much about the meeting, but I know that I didn't feel any different after it. And I sure as heck didn't lose any Pokemon." He couldn't remember if Eris Halla had brought up her lost Pokemon during that meet, but he was sure he'd recall if things got that dangerous while he was there.

The Beheeyem's scan was still ongoing.

"And I talked to Martin too. I still remember meeting with him, but he didn't have an amulet of his own. He didn't say anything about his Pokemon dying, but he did ask a lot about how me and my Pokemon felt." In hindsight, Hideo could understand why Martín del Mar was so concerned. "He gave me his phone number if anything strange happened about the amulets."

The Beheeyem moved away from Hideo, its hand no longer blinking. It took a seat next to Hideo, once more listening to the conversation. If it had found anything, it wasn't expressing it.

"If he's got something planned, I'm all for it. I want to get to the bottom of this, before it claims any more lives. Pokemon or human."

As for Locke's offer? "Oh, yeah, I can share my number." He took his phone out of his pocket, ready to exchange contact information.

Locke Jamison

Locke's situation sounded fairly similar to Hideo's. "Similar thing happened to me," Hideo said, "First thing I remember is listening to a couple of my friends talking about something. Then I take my amulet out, and next thing I know, I'm outside."

With all his Pokemon alive, fortunately. Albeit with his Rotom on a rough state, but nothing that couldn't be healed. Still, the idea that his Pokemon could actually die if he wasn't careful weighed on his mind. This had just been an odd mystery to him until now.

But apart from a frown, Hideo wouldn't show it. Because a Champion had to be able to handle this kind of stuff. He couldn't be weak in the face of danger.

Locke offered him one more tidbit of information. Hideo didn't know what the Pokemon were shaped like, but there had been mention of a trio of Pokemon related to this. "The first trio that comes to mind is the Lake Trio, but I don't really know anything about them. Other than that they're a thing." He didn't even know if any of them were squidlike.

But before they could talk any further, an alarm ended their conversation. Though before Hideo could say his farewell, he felt Locke hand him something triangle-shaped. "Oh, thanks," he said, showing to his Beheeyem - who confirmed it was food. "You too. If I find out anything else, I'll let you know."

He waved to Locke as the latter made their way out. Alone, Hideo sat there - and slowly realized he should get some lunch too.

He unwrapped the sandwich, taking a quick sniff - egg sandwich. He frowned slightly, handing it off to his Beheeyem. "Here, you can have it. We can look for what they got around here."

The Beheeyem took the sandwich, Psychically carrying it to where his mouth should be, gently pushing it in. The sandwich practically disappeared, without a single crumb left over.

Hideo hopped off the bench, his Beheeyem following suit. It shouldn't be hard to find some food around here; it'd definitely be easier than finding out stuff about this amulet.

-End Thread-

Locke Jamison