CHAPTER 9

“Do you have the tuna?” asked Ethan as soon as they got to Gianna and Carlo’s house.

Gianna nodded, pointing to her backpack. “I packed two cans, just in case.”

“We’ve got something, too,” said Ethan. “But it’s a surprise—if Devin doesn’t spill the beans.”

His little sister wasn’t a great secret keeper. At that very moment, she looked like a bouncy Weedle ready to burst out of a Poké Ball. So he gave her his best grown-up look—the one that said, If you don’t play by the rules, you’ll pay.

She grinned at him and pretended to zip her lips, lock them, and throw away the key.

“Are you guys ready to do this?” asked Carlo, skipping down the porch stairs. He looked like he was dressed for a serious mission, sporting black biker gloves and a jacket with rolled-up sleeves.

Ethan looked down at his own clothes: the blue T-shirt that he’d once thought was so cool, and his baggier-than-baggy shorts.

He yanked up his shorts a bit and sighed. Oh, well. Maybe when I’m using my incense at the cemetery, Carlo won’t notice what I’m wearing.

As Carlo wheeled his bike out from the garage, Ethan saw a wire cage strapped to the back.

“What’s that for?” he asked.

“It’s our old bunny cage,” said Carlo. “It’ll help us catch Max and bring him home, safe and sound.”

“I never thought about how we were going to hang on to Max once we found him,” Ethan admitted.

That’s why Carlo is the Team Mystic Gym Leader, he reminded himself. And pretty much the coolest guy I know.

The bike ride across town felt longer this time. Maybe it was because Ethan knew that Max was in the cemetery—or had been. They actually had a chance at catching him. And with the incense, Ethan had a good chance of catching some Pokémon, too!

When they reached the cemetery gates, the sun had slid behind a cloud. The graveyard looked dark and gloomy.

“A little purple incense will brighten this place right up,” Ethan whispered to Devin as he pulled out his phone.

She clamped her hand over her mouth. “Are you going to do it now?” she whispered.

He nodded as he opened his items and clicked on the incense. “But don’t tell Gianna and Carlo yet. Let’s wait and see if it works, first.”

The incense appeared on his map almost instantly. A thin plume of purple smoke began circling Ethan’s Trainer avatar. The screen suddenly jumped into night mode, and with that purple ring of smoke in the middle of it, it looked dark and mysterious.

Ethan showed Devin, whose eyes grew wide. “Spooky,” she said.

Up ahead, Gianna was pulling something out of her backpack. “Hey, what should we do with the tuna?” she called to Carlo, who was in the lead. “Should we open it now, or wait till we see Max?”

“He might come running when he hears the sound of the can opening,” said Carlo. “Let’s try it now.”

Gianna set the can down on a cement bench. When she pulled back the tab, the sound cut through the stillness of the cemetery.

Ethan covered his ears and pretended to wince. “If there are any cats within a mile of this place, they heard that can opening!” he said to Devin.

But no cats came running.

“Now what?” asked Gianna. “This tuna fish kind of stinks.”

“Let’s put it in the cage,” said Carlo. “Maybe Max will come for it when we’re not so close by.” He carried the wire cage over and placed the tuna inside. “Now, let’s walk away for a while. Didn’t you say there were some PokéStops around here?”

Gianna nodded. “Follow me.”

She led them all in a giant loop around the cemetery, passing every PokéStop to collect Poké Balls. Near one statue, Ethan saw Devin checking the tracking feature on her phone.

“Do you see Pokémon?” he whispered. “Is the incense working?”

“You won’t believe it,” she said. She showed him the phone, and there was the gray silhouette of a cat—a cat standing up on his hind legs, just like a human.

“Mewtwo?” Ethan whispered.

“Probably just Meowth,” said Devin. “He’s more common.”

“Or maybe Mew!” said Ethan. They were all catlike Pokémon who stood on their hind legs. Why couldn’t it be the legendary Mewtwo or the mythical Mew?

“Wait, you see a Pokémon?” asked Gianna. “I thought there weren’t any here.”

“Well, it’s possible that Ethan might have used a little incense,” said Devin, giggling.

“You did?” said Carlo. “Nice move, Ethan. Hopefully it’ll work on Max, too, if the tuna fish doesn’t.”

Ethan walked a little taller after hearing Carlo’s compliment. But he stuck close to Devin, because that girl knew how to track a Pokémon’s footsteps. And if Mew was somewhere in the cemetery, Ethan wanted in on that action.

As Devin tiptoed toward a far corner of the graveyard, Ethan followed right on her heels. A tall tomb rose toward the sky, blocking what little light was coming from the cloud-covered sun. He tried not to think about what was inside the tomb.

“Two footsteps!” Devin whispered. “We’re getting closer to Meowth.”

“You mean Mew,” whispered Ethan, grinning.

She kept walking, past crumbling headstones in what looked like a very old part of the cemetery. “He’s here somewhere!” she said.

But at that moment, Gianna called from the opposite corner of the graveyard. “Ethan! Devin! Get over here—we found Max!”

“They found Max?” said Ethan. “Right now? But we’re about to capture Mew!”

Devin shrugged. “Max is more important than Mew,” she said. “I mean, think about it: Max is real. Come on!”

Ethan reluctantly followed her toward the front of the cemetery. But all he could think was, If we’re not going to chase down Mew, then that incense was an epic waste of my PokéCoins.

“He’s sniffing the tuna,” whispered Gianna, ducking down behind a headstone. “Look!”

Ethan glanced to his left and saw the big black cat near the cage. He stood on his hind legs, like Mew, with his front paws on the edge of the bench. And he sniffed that wire cage as if it held the most delicious meal in the world.

“He’s going for it!” said Ethan.

“So am I,” whispered Devin. She crept toward the cat and slowly raised her phone. Ethan saw a flashing light as she snapped her photo.

Max saw it, too. He took off like a shot into the heart of the cemetery.

“Devin!” everyone hollered at once.

But they didn’t have to say another word. Her face crumpled. “I’m sorry,” she said, her cheek quivering. “I’m so used to taking pictures of Pokémon. I just … I’m sorry.”

She sunk down onto the bench next to the cage.

“Can’t we try again?” asked Gianna. “Should we walk away?”

Carlo shrugged. “We can try. But Max might be on to us now.”

Ethan crossed his fingers while they started to circle the cemetery again. He was hoping that Max would return. But he was also hoping they’d have another run-in with Mew.

While the others walked from PokéStop to PokéStop, Ethan walked directly toward the tall tomb in the farthest corner of the cemetery. He checked his phone every few seconds, hoping to see the gray silhouette of a cat.

As he passed the tomb, he held his breath. But his phone stayed silent in his hand. No buzzing. No catlike Pokémon in the app’s tracking feature, either.

So he kept walking. He watched the ground carefully, trying not to trip over an old headstone. The sun was setting. It was almost dark as Ethan circled the tomb. And that’s when he heard it.

A long, low moan rose from the earth.

It sounded like the wind through the trees on an October night.

But it’s July, thought Ethan. And there’s not a tree in sight.

The hair stood up on his arms, and a cool shiver ran down his spine.